Page 62 of When Stars Collide
“Are you ready?” Luke asked.
Elle nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”
Followed by Luke, Elle began walking toward Mark Damsky, who was still oblivious to our arrival. It wasn’t until we were just over halfway to his table that he looked up, stopping Elle dead in her tracks. He seemed confused at first, unsure of who the leggy beauty was in front of him. But then it clicked, and what unfolded next would bring tears to my eyes for years to come.
The moment Mark Damsky realized he was staring at his daughter, confusion melted away, revealing a look of awe and unadulterated love so pure you would have thoughtthat he was staring at his newborn daughter for the first time, not his adult daughter. Perhaps, maybe he was. Because that’s when the tears slid down Mark Damsky’s cheeks, and from the way Elle was ever-so-slightly shaking in front of me, I knew they were falling down her face, too.
Mark stood up, prompting Elle to uproot herself from the floor and slowly walk toward him. By now, Luke’s arm was firmly around her waist, probably afraid she was going to collapse without the added support.
“My God,” Mark said, his eyes never leaving his daughter’s face, “you look exactly like your mother.” He took a step toward her, his arms cautiously outstretched. Without needing any further invitation, Elle stepped into his embrace.
“I look a little bit like you, too.” Elle wiped away a tear.
“That you do,” Mark acknowledged, beaming. “That you do.”
Elle looked back at us as though she had just been reminded that we were there. “Oh, this is my fiancé, Luke Hutchins, and my best friend, Mena Straszewski.”
“Luke, it’s a pleasure,” Mark greeted him, shaking Luke’s hand at first, but then unexpectedly bringing him in for a quick hug, followed by the ceremonial back pat.
I held out my hand when my turn came. “I don’t hug.”
“She’s reached her limit for the day,” Elle said, backing me up.
“More like for the year.”
Mark grabbed my hand as though it were made of glass and gently shook it. “Mena, Elle warned me about you.”
“Really? You gave your father a disclaimer before meeting me?”
“Not a disclaimer,” Mark clarified. “She just said you were a feisty one. That’s great. The world needs more of that. She also went on about what a great friend you are and how you’ve really helped her through some things. Sounds like the kind of friend everyone should have.”
“Well, you know.” I caught Elle’s eye, smiling.
“Have a seat,” Mark said, gesturing at the table.
I pulled out my chair just as the waitress arrived to take our drink orders.
“I chose this place because they have the best fried mushrooms.”
“There’s such a thing as a best fried mushroom?” I asked.
“There sure is, Miss Mena. I seen you were a city girl, so I’m not surprised you haven’t sampled an array of fried mushrooms.”
“Oh, so yousawI was a city girl.”
“Yeah, I seen you were a city girl from one of the messages Elle sent me.”
“Nope.”
I looked over to Elle, who just shook her head, and I decided for her sake that I would let my biggest grammatical pet peeve go this one time.
“Nope? You don’t live in the city?”
“No, I meant, nope, you’re right. I haven’t been fortunate enough to sample one of Jasper’s famous fried mushrooms. But that ends tonight, Mark.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
Beside me, Luke chuckled just audibly enough for me to hear him.
