Page 37 of The Pucking Kiss

“She’s just being diplomatic as usual,” he replied darkly. “If she wanted me to have a good relationship with my dad, she would have never divorced him.”

“Come on, Bryan,” I reasoned. “Marriages break for all sorts of reasons. At least you’re old enough now to have separate relationships with your parents.”

“I just want to see him this trip and get it off my chest that I never tried,” Bryan admitted. “I don’t have any expectations anymore from either of them.”

I squeezed his hand, “Trying is the only thing that counts. And who knows? Maybe you’ll have a better relationship with your dad by the end of this trip.”

He nodded, seeming to listen to my words intently. “Let’s just get this over with.”

But seeing him like this tore me apart. I didn’t want him to just ‘get it over with.’ I wanted him to have a good time and fix his relationship with his father.

And that’s when I realized. My feelings for Bryan had grown more than I had ever expected them to. It was more than just a little crush now.

Chapter 14

Bryan

Romai gave my hand a reassuring squeeze as I pulled up in my father’s driveway. It had been years since I had come to this place last, and a lump of nervousness formed in my throat.

“Hey,” Romai pulled me out of my thoughts, “Every time you get nervous, just focus on me, okay?”

“Since when did you get good at social situations?” I half-smiled, touched by how supportive she was being.

“When it comes to dire circumstances, even an introvert like me can come out of their shell.”

“Well, I’ll hold you to that.”

I took a deep breath and pressed on the doorbell. The door opened to reveal Samantha, my stepmother.

“Oh, you’re here,” she eyed me. Her smile seemed fake, and I knew that she probably wasn’t too happy to have me here.

“Yup. It’s me. My dad’s only biological son,” I couldn’t help but sound bitter. “I’m sure he must have mentioned me once or twice.”

Romai and I made our way inside the house. The vibe was a lot different from the house my mom had. This one was cozier and was built in the style of a cottage.

“Don’t be like that,” Samantha’s mouth curled into a frown. “Of course, I know all about you. Your dad mentions you all the time. Just because you forgot all about him doesn’t mean he did, too.”

Her words surprised me. Maybe I was too much of a pessimist, but in my lowest moments, I often thought that my dad had forgotten all about me when he started his new family.

“It’s great to meet you,” Romai spoke up, extending her hand out for Samantha.

“Likewise,” Samantha replied. “I have only seen photos of Bryan from his childhood. But it’s so insane to think that he’s old enough now to have a girl over with him.”

“Oh, well, my grandmother always says that children grow up in the blink of an eye. One moment, you’re changing diapers. The next, they’re off to college,” Romai replied, smiling politely.

“What are you doing telling her anything about changing diapers, Romai?” I chimed in, “She’s not the one that gave birth to me.”

Samantha’s botoxed-up face tightened into a grimace. “Your dad warned me that you’d be like this, angsty and teenager-like. As always, he wasn’t wrong.”

“I’m only pointing out the truth, Samantha,” I emphasized her name, reminding her that she would never get the privilege of me calling her mom, even though it would probably boost her ego if I did that.

“Bryan, after all these years, haven’t you realized that I am not the enemy?” she crossed her arms out, looking at me directly now. “You’ve kept a grudge with your father because things between him and your mother did not work out. I had nothing to do with that.”

“Do you expect me to give you some sort of reward for that?” my words were sarcastic.

I found it funny that Samantha was trying to act innocent. In my head, anyone who replaced my mom was the enemy, and I didn’t care how illogical that sounded.

“Your father and I found love with each other,” Samantha pressed, “You know, it’s not like I was waiting in the wings to snatch your father up. I went through a divorce myself! I just wish you’d give us at least the chance to welcome you into this family. You make it so hard for both of us by always dodging calls, never coming for Christmas….”

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