Page 75 of Forever Yours

I’d spent the entire car ride back to CU not asking Dad the thing I was literally dying to know. But I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“What’s her name?”

Dad glanced over at me, eyes wide like I’d caught him off guard, which I probably had. He looked back at the road and white-knuckled the steering wheel.

“I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure.”

“Sure about what?”

I was so curious to find out who he’d been secretly seeing. He and Mom had been high school sweethearts. After the divorce, he hadn’t dated anyone… that I knew of. Maybe he had, and I just didn’t notice. Then again, when would he have had the time? The man worked nonstop, and when he wasn’t working, he was home. It was like he’d pushed the pause button on life and just existed.

“Do we have to talk about this now?”

I could tell he was struggling to find the words.

“You said we’d talk about it later. It’s later.”

“Elijah.”

“Are you afraid to date again?”

I didn’t want to push, but I also did. Mom had done a number on him, especially the last time she came back… and then left us.Again. It had been only eight short months since she walked out on New Year’s Eve, and she was getting married to another man. It must’ve broken his damn heart to find out.

His throat worked as he swallowed. “Yes. But that’s not it.”

I reached over the console and palmed his shoulder. “I just want you to be happy. If this new woman makes you happy, that’s all that matters to me.”

“I can’t allow another woman into my heart who will eventually break yours. You are my world, Elijah. My son. You come first before anything and anyone else. I’m not making any sense.”

On the contrary, he was making perfect sense.

“Have you told her I’m gay?”

His large hand briefly cupped my cheek. “Of course I did.”

“And you’re still seeing her?”

“Yeah.”

He would’ve dropped her in a hot second if he sensed that she held any prejudices.

“I’d like to meet her then.”

He breathed in deeply and sighed loudly. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. As long as it’s not Miss Prachett.”

I was fishing.

Coming to an intersection, he flicked the blinker to indicate a right turn.

“Her name is Pamela.”

“That’s a nice name.”

I beamed a smile at him, and he rolled his eyes.

During the ten minutes it took us to finally arrive on campus, we had made plans for me to come home next weekend to meet Pamela, chatted about my new swim job, Jessi shocking the hell out me when she told me about her ‘open relationship’ with Diedre and avoided anything that had to do with the bruises on my face or the man who put them there. I hadn’t had any more headaches since that first day in the hospital, so I was calling it a win. I might not have liked that Dad and Fallon took over and handled the situation without listening to my opinion about that matter, but I decided not to fight them on it. It was done. Time to move on.

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