Page 142 of From Nowhere

I nod slowly.

“Are you upset that she didn’t die?” he asks in an incredulous tone.

“Of course not,” I mumble. “But how can I risk Lola going through this again?”

“So what are you going to do? Dump her when she gets home? Nowthatwould make you an asshole.”

“Or a good father.”

Diego grunts. “You’ve said it yourself. Lola adores her. How do you think she’ll react to you walking away after all that Maren’s been through?”

“How do you think Maren will react when Lola never wants her to fly again?”

Diego sets his bottle on the ground and laces his hands behind his head. “What makes you think Maren will ever want to get into a plane again?”

“Because it’s in her blood. Like cops who take a bullet or firefighters who get burned, Maren will recover and go back to work.”

“Butifshe didn’t fly again, would that make a difference for you?”

“Yes. I’d have to deal with two traumatized women instead of one.” I smirk because humor is my escape.

“I know you won’t walk away.”

I glance at him. “How do youknowthat?”

“It’s the blow job.”

“Fuck you,” I mumble, shoving him until his chair begins to tip over. Diego catches himself while cackling.

When his laughter settles and my grin fades, I blow out a long breath. “I worked on her plane.”

Diego doesn’t look at me; he just slowly shakes his head. “Fuck.”

I nod.

“You know there’s a good chance it had nothing to do with the plane.”

Again, I nod, but I don’t know if I’ve truly convinced myself that it might not be my fault.

I check my watch. “I need to go feed the cat. And Lola wants to make Maren a welcome home cake before she arrives tomorrow.”

“That should be a fun reunion. I can’t imagine anything feeling at all awkward just because you’ve ghosted her since she woke up from a coma.”

“The awkwardness will be short lived. We won’t stay long. Jamie said Maren’s parents will be with her. They’re staying until she’s fully recovered, or at least her mom is.” I wish my confidence matched my words. I am scared out of my mind that everything is my fault. What if the reality is that I’m a bad dad, a shitty boyfriend, and an unreliable mechanic?

“So you’re meeting her parents for the first time after coma ghosting.”

I stand. “Shut up, man.” I chuckle. “And I’ve talked with them on video calls, so it’s not really a first-time introduction.”

“Yeah, but they liked you then. Now they’ll find you unworthy of their daughter. Awkward.”

“Lola will be a good buffer. Everyone loves her.” I toss my empty beer bottle and put on my helmet. “Lola, let’s go.”

“Five more minutes,” she yells, zooming past the driveway with Kai behind her.

“Five seconds,” I counter. “Later,” I say to Diego.

“Let me know how it goes.”

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