by Eliza Boyd
“Can’t you just ask her to come?” She hit him with a pouty, sad, puppy-dog glare. “Please?”
Oh, how he wanted to. He wanted nothing more than to walk into that school later with Nicole’s hand in his and a proud smile on his face. All he could have hoped for was for her to show up for Hadley the way her own mother never had. The way Hadley wanted her to. The way he wanted her to.
But how unfair would it have been for him to ask her for yet another favor? For him to offer her more money to do the one thing she’d walked away from?
Totally, completely, and utterly unfair.
And if he wanted to get her back, he absolutely couldn’t do it.
Even if it meant disappointing his daughter.
He’d thought he’d do anything for her. And he would. But not this. Not if it was going to hurt someone he cared about too. Not if it was going to do the one thing Nicole didn’t want to do to anyone else. He couldn’t hurt her again. Hadley would understand that in time.
The car behind him honked, jolting him out of his thoughts. Instead of answering his daughter’s pleading question, he spun around and navigated out of the pick-up line, heading back home.
The ache in his heart grew every mile he drove without word from Nicole.
18
“Ladybug?” Nicole’s dad called from his chair in the living room. “You left your phone in here. It won’t stop buzzing.”
Nicole pried her cheek away from her pillow and tore the blankets off. It didn’t matter that it was dinnertime. She didn’t care a single bit who was trying to get ahold of her. It wouldn’t be the person she wanted it to be anyway, so what did it matter?
With the amount of money in her bank account, she could quit her job and spend a whole three months without looking for another one. Her dad was already enrolled in more physical therapy sessions—which she’d paid for upfront—and his medications had been refilled for the month.
Everything she needed to do had been taken care of. And if it was work, they could just keep calling. She was still healing her broken heart.
In sweatpants and a hoodie, she padded down the hall on bare feet to get her phone. “Sorry, Dad,” she said. “I’ll just turn it off.”
“It’s okay. It might be important though,” he said. “Maybe you should check it.”
She scooped it off the coffee table, turned it on silent, and flopped onto the couch. She’d been on autopilot, zooming through life for so long that she didn’t want to go back to that. Answering her phone felt like a step away from her new relaxing, slower place.
Her dad spoke up when she didn’t respond. “Look, ladybug. I know who you want it to be. And maybe it’s not him, but ignoring the rest of your life won’t fix this.”
“I’m not ignoring everything,” she countered. “I’m just setting it all aside for a little bit.”
When her dad didn’t speak right away, she gazed over at him. He had one eyebrow up as he deadpanned, “That’s exactly the definition of ignoring.”
She sighed—long and loud. “I know. But I want to ignore the fact that I’m ignoring everything too.”
“How about, just for tonight,” her dad said, turning onto his side on his recliner, “you stop ignoring everything and see what’s on your phone? What if it’s Evan and you’re missing it?”
“It’s not.” Her heart ached as she said those words, but she believed them fully.
Her dad huffed out a deep breath. “Fine. Suit yourself.” Then he rolled onto his back and picked up the remote control.
“I will,” she told him. “Not ignoring things got my heart broken, so I like this better.”
He said nothing as he skimmed through the guide on the TV. So she snuggled deeper into the couch, adjusting her hoodie so the hood was over her head.
After she’d explained to her dad what had happened at Evan’s house the night of Hadley’s party, she’d retreated. She hadn’t wanted to hear his lecture about it. All she’d wanted was to sleep it off, so she’d been doing that for weeks. And it’d been quiet. Restful. She could get used to a life without chaos. A life without surprises. A life with routine and sleep and meals she didn’t have to rush through.
Even though it was a life without Evan.
“Ugh,” she moaned. “What if it’s him, Dad? What if he’s finally admitting how much we screwed up?” She paused for her dad to answer, but he didn’t. “Maybe I should call him. It’s been three weeks now.” But when she thought about how that conversation would go, she decided not to. “Then I’d have to apologize for leaving him in the middle of that mess. I’d have to figure out how to say I’m sorry for not telling him how I felt that whole time…” Lifting her head, she aimed her gaze at her dad, but he wasn’t looking at her.
As he flipped through the channels, she realized what he was doing: ignoring her.
She groaned again, snatching her phone off the coffee table and taking the gigantic hint he was throwing her way.
She didn’t like to be ignored, so she shouldn’t do it, either. Especially when something so important could be waiting for her.
However, the number on her phone didn’t ring any bells. The missed call had come from an unfamiliar line, but they’d left a voicemail. And once she’d listened to it, she felt even more conflicted than before.
“So, who was it?” he asked when she ended the call.
Hesitantly, she answered with, “It was Hadley’s school.”
He moved back to his side, narrowing his eyes at her. “They called you? Why?”
“Because it’s parents’ night tonight. It was a reminder to attend.” Slowly, she set her phone down.
“How did they get your number though?”
She took a measured breath before sitting back on the couch. “Remember how this all started? With him needing a fiancée to get his daughter into that school?”
He nodded, looking skeptical. “Yeah.”
“Well, they asked for my contact information and I blurted out my real phone number.”
His eyes flashed wide. “And if you think that’s coincidence…”
“It’s not,” she said, getting up from the couch. “But it doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does.”
She shook her head as she walked toward the kitchen. “It really doesn’t. I can’t go.” Before she disappeared around the corner, she asked, “You okay with spaghetti for dinner?”
“Actually, I already ate.”
Nicole paused on her way to the pantry to retrieve the noodles. As her dad’s words processed, she spun around and marched back into his line of vision. “You did?”
“Yeah,” he said, lowering the footstool part of the recliner and sitting up straight. Then he stood, grabbed his crutches, and made his way over to her. “These things get me around pretty well now. You’d know that”—he stopped in front of her and bopped her on the nose—“if you hadn’t been ignoring life happening all around you.”
“Dad, you’re walking!” She couldn’t care about the rest of his words. Just the fact that he was strong enough to stand and walk on his own.
“Not very far or for very long,” he said, using his crutches to get him into the kitchen. She followed behind. “But far enough and long enough to get me into here to microwave something without falling and hitting my head again.” He chuckled.
But Nicole had tears in her eyes. Choked up, she could barely speak. With a hand to her mouth, she smiled so wide. “This is amazing.”
“All thanks to you, ladybug.” He winked at her, but then his face went serious. “Which means you need to get on with your life. Get dressed. Go get that man back.” He shooed her away with one of his crutches.
“Dad,” she said, her smile sliding off her face. “I can’t go.”
“I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “You can’t sit around here forever with me. I’ve been waiting for you to find someone special so you can get on with your life.”
“My life is here. With you.”
“No, ladybug. It’s not.”
Furrowing her brow, Nicole put her hands on her hips. “Of course it is.”
“No,” he repeated, more sternly this time. “It’s not.” He huffed out a breath and crutched back to his chair. Nicole followed him with her gaze until she had to walk behind him. “Do you know why your mom left?”
She rolled her eyes, not in the mood for this discussion again. “Yeah. She met someone else and took off.”
Her dad shook his head and softly said, “The real reason.” Then he sat in his chair and waited for Nicole’s response.
Her arms fell to her sides as she took that in. “What?” she questioned, not sure she’d heard him right.
“Yes, she left because she’d met someone else. But she told you that was why she was leaving because she didn’t want you to be mad at me, even though you were anyway.” He sighed and scratched the side of his head. “She left because she and I hadn’t communicated properly in years. We’d grown apart. But we both knew the minute it started happening and hadn’t done a thing to fix it.” With a finger, he pointed at her. “That same thing is going to happen to you if you don’t get on out of here and make things right. Three weeks has nothing on six years, so you have plenty of time to fix this. But you have to go now. Tell that boy how you feel before it’s too late.”
Her breathing grew shallow as this news washed over her. With her head growing light and fuzzy, she used her hand to find the wall behind her so she didn’t fall over. That was why her parents had split up? They could have been honest with her before. Lies didn’t solve anything.
Which she’d learned the hard way recently.
And that made his timing make so much sense.
Ignoring was just another form of lying. This time, she was lying to herself.
She rushed over to her phone, hoping to see another voicemail or a text from Evan. She’d told Hadley she’d go to parents’ night if it was okay with him, but she hadn’t heard from him. When she checked her texts, though, one from his number sat in her inbox.
Evan: Please go to parents nite.
Her heart stung as she read those misspelled words. Evan obviously hadn’t sent that. It was clear who had. And the last thing she wanted to do was disappoint that little girl more than life had already done for her. If Nicole could do one thing to help rewrite history for herself and for Hadley, she would do that thing, hands down, no matter what it was.
And that thing was going to parents’ night to make that little girl happy.
Even if it might break her to see Evan again.
With her vision blurry from tears, she zoomed down the hall, threw a comfy sweater on, pulled her leggings up her legs, and strapped boots onto her feet. Then she fixed her hair in a high ponytail, brushing her fingers through her bangs. When she looked appropriate enough for a prep school, she rushed over to her father and kissed his cheek.
“Thanks, Dad.” She made sure his cell phone was on the arm of his chair. “Call me if you need anything.”
“I won’t,” he chuckled. “But I promise not to hit my head tonight. Okay?” He winked at her, which loosened the vise squeezing her chest.
She didn’t have to worry about her dad. He’d proved he was getting stronger, healthier, and happier. And he’d been honest with her, which had led her to be honest with herself. That made her want to be honest with Evan.
They’d messed up. They’d lied. They’d hurt people—including themselves.
It was time to make it right. Her stomach clenched with the thought, but she knew it was true. She was ready.
Ready to stop being a fake fiancée and become a real girlfriend.
Only if Evan still wanted her too.
19
“Mr. Charleston! So good to see you,” Headmaster Jamison said as she held the door open for him and Hadley. “Will Mrs. Charl—”
“No,” Evan interrupted, his hands on Hadley’s shoulders. “Just us tonight. And we’re really looking forward to seeing what you guys have in store for us. Thanks for having us here.”
“Of course.” She swept a hand out for them to enter the small lobby. “Just follow the arrows on the walls. They’ll take you down the hall and into the classrooms.”
He smiled warmly at her and then gently guided his daughter forward, relieved he didn’t have to answer any more questions about Nicole.
“Daddy,” Hadley said as they headed toward the arrows. She peeked behind herself, stopping in the middle of the path. “What was the headmaster talking about?”
“Nothing, Had.” He tugged on her hand to move them along. “You coming? We’re going this way.”
“But wait!” She ripped her hand from his grip and stood still, facing the door like she was waiting for something. “Just wait, okay?”
He turned back toward her. “For what?”
“Just…” She held a finger up, keeping her gaze straight ahead.
The door opened then, and a gust of chilly March wind whipped around them. Hadley sucked in a breath, holding it in with her chest puffed out. But when a woman walked in with her son, the air flew out of her mouth and she slumped her shoulders.
“What are you looking for?” he asked his daughter, kneeling next to her.
Pouting, she scuffed the toe of her boot on the carpet. “Nicole,” she mumbled. “I asked her to come. I thought she’d be here.”
“Oh, little lady,” he said, deflating too. He wished she were there as well, but he’d decided to be present with his daughter instead. His heart would just have to wait. “I know you wanted me to ask her to be here, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. And you may not understand right now”—he smoothed a hand over her hair and pressed a kiss to her temple, “but you will later.”
As the woman who’d come in with her son walked by them, Evan nodded to them. Then he rose and held his hand out to his daughter, who didn’t want to budge.
“You didn’t ask her, Dad,” Hadley told him, tugging back on his hand, “but I did.”
When his daughter spun her head back and to the side to look up at him, a crease formed in his brow. “You did?” he asked, confused.
Her small head bobbed up and down. “After dinner, I used your phone and texted her to come to parents’ night.”
Quietly, he sighed. “Oh, Had. That doesn’t mean she’ll be here though.”
“But she might!” she insisted. The hope in her eyes threatened to break his heart.
He reluctantly reached into his pocket to see what she’d said to Nicole. Unfortunately, the text was so unspecific that Nicole wouldn’t know what date or what time to go to the school. So he had severe doubts, but he didn’t want to disappoint his little girl.
Still, he’d discovered how much lying could destroy things. In a way, what he and Nicole had done had given him a newfound respect for Patty. She might have given up on her daughter, but at least she’d been honest. At least she’d told the truth and cut the cord before she’d made everyone miserable. Maybe Hadley didn’t have a mom, but that had to be better than having an unreliable one who couldn’t be trusted.
At least she didn’t have that.
She did, however, need a father who’d be there for her. One who’d tell her the truth and guide her. And the truth was that Nicole probably wasn’t coming.
“Hadley,” he started, preparing himself to break her heart. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think—”
“Just give her a minute, okay, Dad?” Hadley begged. “She might still be here.”
He sank back down, meeting his daughter at her eye level. “I don’t think so, little lady.” He took her hand, brushing the fingers of his other one over it. “I wish she could be here too, but her dad, remember? She’s probably—”
“Or,” she interrupted, tugging on his hand, “she’s on her way, Dad. You don’t know.”
No, he didn’t know, but that was the point. He hadn’t spoken to her, and she hadn’t reached out to him. There was no way she’d know to be there.
Except, w
hen he opened his mouth to say that to her, Hadley squealed and pointed toward the door. When it opened, it revealed a beautiful woman with hazel eyes and bangs and the power to crush him by walking away again. But also the power to make his daughter’s entire life by showing up to parents’ night against all odds.
“Nicole!” Hadley shouted, leaving Evan in her dust as she ran over to her. She squeezed her around her middle, pressing her cheek against Nicole’s stomach. “You did come!”
“I did, ladybug,” Nicole said, rubbing his daughter’s back. She waved at Headmaster Jamison to say hi. Then she picked her up and carried her over to Evan. As she set her down, she said, “I told you I would if it was all right with your dad, and I got a text from him today.” She winked at Evan when Hadley turned her surprised face toward him.
When his daughter whipped her head back to Nicole, she said, “But that was from me!”
Nicole widened her eyes and feigned surprise. “It was?”
Hadley nodded vigorously.
“Ah, well,” Nicole said, shrugging. “I’m here now, so you wanna show me what you’ve been up to in school?”
After grabbing Nicole’s hand, Hadley took Evan’s too and dragged them down the hall.
Evan barely had a moment to register all of this before they made it to the classroom door. Finger-painted artwork lined the walls, taking up space between inspirational quotes and a poster of the US presidents. But nothing else surrounding him mattered as much as two of the women in the room.
Hadley ran inside, waving for them to follow, which they did—just at a slower pace. Nicole had her hands inside her jacket pockets, and when she peeked over at him, his heartbeat picked up. Suddenly, it was much warmer than it’d been a moment before. And it was all because of the woman next to him.
“Thank you,” he said quietly, bumping her with his shoulder.
Nicole lifted one shoulder and then let it drop. “It’s no big deal.”
Evan stopped in the middle of the classroom, holding a hand out to Nicole so she’d stop too. “Of course it is. We haven’t spoken in three weeks. And she only got into this school because of you. I’m grateful you’re here.”
