Page 68 of Love Off Course

When I don’t find much on her, I look up Damian Birch. He does, in fact, have an entire show about revamping yachts. It’s pretty interesting and one day I want to watch some of the episodes. I end up finding his Instagram and getting swept up in the pictures there. He’s uploaded a lot from Mexico. There’s even one of my butt in my yellow trunks with the hashtag yummypilot. He has a ton of followers but one stands up on top from Estefania. She put a bunch of hearts and tagged SherBearHennessy. I follow the new tag over to what appears to be Sheridan’s Instagram.

Her Instagram is loaded down with recent pictures of her dad’s wedding. He stands with an older woman close to his ageat an altar. Sher is the bridesmaid beside them. She’s beautiful in a yellow dress that hugs her curves in all the right places. The best part of the picture is how she adoringly stares at her father as though he’s her whole world.

I look up at my dad who’s watching me with rapt interest. Chuckling, I show Dad the picture. He half smiles again. I scroll through more pictures and find one with this David shithead. As soon as I see him, my stomach turns. He’s old like her dad and has a smugness about him that gets on my nerves. It’s as though he knows he’s rich and successful and good-looking for an old fucker, and that gives him a right to the prettiest girl in the room.

My girl.

“That’s the asshole who she thinks she belongs to. Her dad’s best friend,” I explain to my dad. “What a prick.”

I shake my head and scroll through more pictures. The ones at the wedding are the most candid ones she’s posted on her Instagram. There’s a whole lot of books in front of windows with a coffee mug. They all look similar to me but with different books. Girls are so strange. When I get past the fifty or so pictures of books, I find ones of her at company functions and professional ones. This David fuck is in several and she looks at him like he has all the answers to life’s mysteries. But she doesn’t smile like she smiles at me. He’s so wrong for her.

Like the stalker I am, I scroll all the way back to the first picture on her Instagram. It’s one of her about nine years old sitting at the piano with her mom. The woman is frail and clearly sick. Both of them are looking down at the keys, but they’re smiling all the same. I recognize that smile. Her mom is wearing a smile of wonder and love. I’ve seen that one on Sheridan’s face many times—times I was responsible for. The caption on this picture says, “Hold onto what you love and don’t let it go.”

“Ve, hijo.” Go, son.

I dart my gaze up to my dad and frown. He can’t talk. The stroke ensured that. Did I imagine that? His dark eyes shine with determination and his half grin is unwavering.

“Enough dicking around?” I ask with a laugh. “I hear you loud and clear, Dad. I’m going to get the girl one way or another. It feels like we’re meant to be as crazy as that sounds.”

Another tear rolls down his cheek. I stand up to hug him. Underneath the smells of a nursing home, I can smell my father. Sunshine and warmth and happiness and a little spice. Such a familiar scent that makes my heart thunder.

“Thanks for the advice, Dad,” I tell him, kissing his wet cheek. “Love you.”

He doesn’t have to say the words because I feel them in my soul. Dad has loved me with every ounce of his being since the day I came kicking and screaming into this world. His love has never wavered. He’s been a steady rock in my life, building me up step by step so I could reach for my goals that just so happened to be high in the sky. I owe him for everything. I owe him for the man I’ve become.

Which is exactly why I need to make him proud.

“I’m going to get the girl. See you soon, Dad.”

Chapter 21

Sheridan

My suite is big and spacious. Decorated beautifully. Smells like oranges. And so lonely. I look around the space and wonder how this stuff made me happy at one time. It feels like my life was intersected by Rodrigo and I’m having trouble merging the before Sheridan and the after Sheridan. The before Sheridan wants to get back on track, pursue David, and become the powerhouse corporate princess she was born to be. The after Sheridan misses her friends, the chaos of Mexico, and the devilish grin of her nemesis-turned-lover.

Just thinking about David makes me cringe. I’m not sure what I expected when I got to Costa Rica, but it wasn’t for David’s undivided attention to be on me. Before I’d gotten stranded in Mexico, it was my goal and my only hope. To spend quality time with David and finally get him to see how good we could be. The moment I stepped on that limo, he’s had his eyes locked on me. No one will tell me how he got the black eye, but I know it’s important, and something tells me Daddy gave it to him. Just a hunch.

My phone buzzes and I snatch it up, hoping it’s Estefania. When I see it’s a text from David, I cringe. Again.

David: Lunch on my balcony? Private massage after? I’ve missed you.

I’ve been avoiding him, which was difficult considering Daddy and Mona got married. We’ve had to be at plenty of dinners together and then the ceremony. I just glued myself to Daddy’s side, uncaring if it made David sad. I’m not used to seeing the lost puppy look on David’s face and quite frankly it’s freaking me out.

Me: Not feeling so hot. Maybe another day.

David: I’ll always make time for you.

He says that, yet it’s not true. It’s been quite the effort in making him keep his attention on me. That sort of thing should be natural. With him, it’s been anything but natural.

Now…all his attention is on me. I don’t feel like I should. I feel agitated and skeeved out, which is silly considering I’ve known him and cared about him my entire life.

Rather than thinking about David, I can’t help but miss my friends. Me. I have friends. The thought makes me giddy. After Sheridan definitely loves connecting with strange people who you can’t help but love.

Like Camilo.

This time, I don’t cringe.

My flesh heats and my heart sputters to life. Our connection was different than the other Funky Flyers. It was electric. Fire. An explosion. Seeing David and feeling nothing but irritation has made me realize the difference.

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