Page 197 of Shy Girls Can't Date Celebrities
As the twins speculate on Wyatt’s recent memory comeback—Casey going wild on theories—I hear a distinct car noise out the front of the house.
I leave the couch and approach the foyer, nervous at the familiar sound.
Dad’s keys jingle outside the front door, and I may as well be ten-years-old when I see the disappointment on his face.
“You’re home early,” I quip.
Dad sets his briefcase down and closes the door behind him. “I settled things with my last client after the school called me.”
My insides spasms and loud warning sirens blare in my head to retreat.
I quickly b-line for the staircase, but only get a few steps before Dad’s voice turns stern.
“Josie,” Dad says firmly. “We need to discuss you cutting class.”
“Dad.” I pout, turning toward him on the step. “Can we not?”
Dad crosses his arms. “The discussion isn’t up for debate. I don’t like this, Josie. You spent a week in opulence, and now what? You’re acting like a brat?”
My jaw drops at the accusation. “I am not!”
Dad forces me to sit, and I take the third and fourth steps as my seat. Dad crouches before me and his eyes gleam with kindness. “Tell me what happened?”
I hug my knees and sigh. “I just can’t imagine going back.”
“Why?”
I shake my head, sinking deeper into the hunch. “The only future I see is homeschooling. Kylie will be fine without me. She has her boyfriend’s friends to hang out with. I was fine being a loner. I was totally invisible.” I sigh harder. “Now people will target me and hound me with questions.”
“I know you have your mother’s nervousness inside you,” Dad saysgently, “but you also have a strong resolve.”
I shudder. “All I do is imagine all the eyes on me. It makes me sick.”
A smile tugs the corners of his mouth. “It’s the questions you’re worried about?”
Something sour lines the back of my throat as I nod.
Dad’s smile spreads. “Didn’t you sign an NDA when you got to Cherry Beach?”
At that, the tormenting panic inside me pauses. I blink at Dad, my mind rewinding to my first moments in the presidential suite with Erika and Randall after I landed.
Dad chucks my chin. “Darling, you can’t answer any questions.”
With relief flooding through me, I launch forward and wrap my arms around Dad.
Dad chuckles as he rubs a circle on my back. “Feel better?”
I cringe. “I think the NDA was only about the clinic and Wyatt’s medical stuff.”
Dad hushes me. “It doesn’t matter. Anyone starts hounding you, you just stop them. Say, you signed an NDA, and legally you can’t say a word.”
I pull out of the hug. “Won’t that entice them more?”
“Initially,” Dad agrees. “But when you keep giving the same answer, with the blankest expression you can muster, they’ll get bored. Trust me.”
I crack a smile, no longer feeling like eyes are burning into me.
“You promise to never cut class again?” Dad asks.
