Page 47 of Sweetheart

"I love you, Dad," I said. "But I'mgood."

"Okay," he said and gave me a hug. "I know it's weird with your sister being out of the house. But just know, I'm here if you need me. For anything."

I cocked my head. "Anything? What if I want to talk aboutnormal teenage stuff?"

Dad opened his arms. "I'm up for hearing all the gossip, who's hooking up with who,whatever."

My nose scrunched. "One, never use the phrase 'hooking up' again in my presence. Two, you hate gossip."

"I'll gladly listen for you."

"What if I wanted to talk about the cute guy in my chemistry class?"

"Fine—but if you decide to date him, you'll have to invite him over so he and I can have the talk."

"You and the talk," I grumbled.

"It's not so bad," he said.

"Really? Lotte said Bowas horrified afterward."

Dad smiled. "Glad to hear it."

"What if I want to talk about female issues?"

His smile dropped just like I'd hoped it would.

"My period, heavy flow, stuff like that," I added, biting back a laugh when he winced.

"Well, I'm not sure," he said. "Growing up in a house full of brothers didn't exactly equip me with the rightknowledge.We might want to get your aunts Sally or Lillian on the phone for those. Or maybe Grandma Kent could—"

"Kidding," I said and walked toward my car. "I'll ask Charlotte or the cousins or even Google if I've got questionsabout that. No worries, Dad."

"Thank God," he murmured.

I waved goodbye, got in my car, and laughed all the way to school.

Once there, though, I wasn't laughing anymore. This was it.Time to implement stage one of the plan.

Becoming the new 'It' couple didn't seem too hard in my mind.

But what did I really know about relationships?I'd never had a boyfriend. Never been on a date. Never been kissed before yesterday.

This could all crash and burn.

But then how would Sam ever get Brisa back?

And how would I complete my list?

These were the doubts that plagued me last night. But it was a new day.

Another thing I'd never been: a quitter.

Sam and I would just need to be on our game to pull this off.

Speaking of which…

I sent Sam a quick text to make sure we were on the same page.

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