Page 2 of Almost Always

“Maybe next time it’ll just be you and me.”

“Maybe. Now, tell me everything!”

As her father talked about his holiday, Daisy thought back to the day she met Olympia ‘Pia’ Jacobs. Her father had been through so much—saving her from the clutches of her abusive mother, settling into a new life in New York, then in South Carolina, supporting her through an eating disorder and a devastating divorce—and all she wanted was for him to be happy. Even when he insisted love wasn’t necessary for happiness, she knew better. Her various sneaky attempts to set him up fell through because her father was always one step ahead of her.

The day after graduating from business school, she was at IKEA with her father and Clarke, her ex. They were shopping for furniture for their new apartment and the shopping cart was heavy, but her father insisted on pushing it despite veering all over the place. Clarke offered to help a few times, but got shot down with an embarrassed chuckle. Her father wasn’t prideful, but he believed that as herfather, he should be doing the heavy lifting. During one of those swerving moments, he crashed into the cart of a woman who was struggling just as much. They joked about the size of the boxes and the lack of weight distribution, and ended up in the food court for hours.

Pia and her dad moved in together after six months. A year later, they were married. Daisy was the maid of honor.

Now they were retired and spending their money wisely by traveling all over the world—they’d finished a huge chunk of Asia and were in Europe. She envied their joy and lifestyle. Not that she wanted to retire or had anyone to travel with, but thefreedom with which they moved through life and the world was beautiful.

“We’re heading to Chefchaouen in a few days, so expect a postcard,” Pia chimed in. “It’s so wonderful here, sweetheart. If your dad doesn’t take you, maybe you and I can go on a girl’s trip.”

Daisy chuckled. “I’d love that. It’s been awhilesince I’ve gone anywhere. My last trip was to Springfield for a wedding.”

“As your father, I believe it is my right to remind you that you work too hard.”

She scoffed. “I know, Dad. Until I find someone to travel with, this is what I’m doing with my time.”

“No eligible folks in that town of yours?” Pia asked and Daisy could hear the hope in her voice.

“Sadly, no.”

“What happened to that woman you went on a date with the other day?”

Her father sighed at the change in topic. “I’m going to excuse myself while you ladies talk. Love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too, Papa bear. Keep sending all the pictures!”

“Now that it’s just us girls—” she heard shuffling and whispers ofI love youbefore Pia’s voice came back on the line “—what happened?”

She sighed and started to rearrange the flowers on the table. “The date was fine, the woman was interesting. But something was missing. She dropped me home at the end of the evening and neither of us reached for the other. I didn’t even care that she didn’t walk me to my door. It felt like we were out together because we’d agreed to meet and for nothing else.”

“Oh, honey. That’s not fun. I’m sorry.”

“Eh. Even the men I’ve gone out with have been lackingsomething.”

“And you still don’t know what it is?”

She shrugged, even if her stepmother couldn’t see. “Not really. It’s not like they’re boring or terrible. I never want to leave the date early, I just don’t need a second date. If that makes sense.”

“That’s how it was with all the dates I went on before I met your father. I didn’t even realize he was exactly what I was looking for until he was crashing into my cart.”

“I’m glad you two found each other. You make him so happy.”

It might have taken her father a long time to accept companionship, but he was the happiest she’d ever seen him. Pia had everything to do with that.

“You’ll find your person, sweetheart. Gotta deal with all of the ones who lackitfirst,” her stepmother said with a sigh.

They chatted about the trip some more and when her dad started to rush them, Pia told her not to give up hope before the call ended. There was a split second break before a low voice filled her ears and Daisy startled, forgetting that she was listening to an audiobook. Restarting the chapter, she settled her racing heart and closed her eyes.

It wasn’t a conscious decision to compare every person she met to the two people she had loved. One had been her childhood best friend and her first kiss. Three years older, Rafferty had been her entire world and the owner of the cap she was wearing. When she and her father left New York, she pitted everyone against the memory of him. Nobody brought her flowers in Greenville. Or called herHero, because she hadn’t been able to properly pronounce her surname as a kid. Or protected her from the bullies and Southern princesses that made her life hell. It had been twenty years since she’d laid eyes on him—it took a lot of effort not to look him up in the time they’d been apart—but the version she’d created in her head was competition for every date.

Then she met Clarke. Different from Rafferty in every way, they were blond and brown-eyed, and snarkier than they looked. She loved everything about them. She knew it was a good thing that she’d found someone to love and love her in turn, because for a long time Daisy thought going back to New York was her only hope. However, even Clarke found a way to disappoint her, so maybe she hadn’t been entirely wrong in expecting more from everyone else.

Andyet, the people she met didn’t even measure up to them.

Sighing heavily, Daisy turned off her audiobook and pulled out her AirPods. She’d missed the entirety of the chapter and her head wasn’t in the right place for it anyway. She started to gather the flowers when someone said her name. She looked up to find Frankie Willows of Wildes Events & Weddings standing at the table.

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