Page 61 of When Stars Collide
“I’m going to pretend that your ‘Thank God’ refers to me being the one and not the only.”
“Then I suggest you keep pretending.” He moved to say something further, stopping himself short.
“If you’re going to ask me how I’m holding up, please refrain from doing so. I’m here. I’m standing. That’s all that matters.”
Luke nodded. “Okay, but I was going to tell you that you were standing on my foot. Then you took a step back, so …”
“Oh. Carry on, then.”
*****
I stepped off the elevator into the lobby of the hotel precisely at our designated meeting time. Directly in front of me, near the entrance, stood Elle, her eyes glued to her phone. A smile overspread my face when I caught sight of her dressed in a cute black cocktail dress with bright red heels that elongated her already lengthy gams.
“Are you meeting your dad or asking him to be your date to the winter formal?”
“Too much?” she asked. “You think I should run back up to the room and change? Because I brought other outfits.”
“I’m sure you did,” I said, grabbing her arm to stop her from running to the elevator. “You look great. Really. You’re going to be the fanciest woman in the sports bar.”
“I’m just … I just want to make a good first impression, you know?”
“You will, because you’re going to be yourself.”
“That has got to be the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.” She turned to me with a familiar gleam in her eye.
“Sorry, my hug quota has been maxed-out for the day.”
“One more time isn’t going to kill you.”
“I’ve heard that one before, but under a completely different context. Oh, hey, here comes your fiancé. Take your hugging out on him.”
“Not that I mind, but why are you supposed to be hugging me?”
“Mena said something really touching.”
Luke looked from Elle to me, feigning shock.
“I’m just as taken aback about is as you are.”I shrugged.
“So, are you ready?” Luke asked Elle, inspecting her face for the slightest sign of hesitation. Like Elle, he had also chosen to dress up for the occasion, donning a nice pair of slacks, button-down shirt, and matching tie with hints of the same shade of blue as his shirt. I guess I was going to be the raggedy one tonight in my basic blue jeans and T-shirt.
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
“How far away is this sports bar?” I asked.
“Three blocks,” Luke answered. “I figured we’d just walk.”
Elle exhaled. “Okay, let’s go.”
*****
The aroma of grease assaulted my nose the moment we entered the lobby of the downtown Jasper bar, nestled between an ice cream parlor and a beauty shop. I entered behind Luke and Elle, noticing Elle grabbing onto Luke’s hand for support. He leaned down to whisper something in her ear, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. Poor Elle’s anxiety was at its peak. I couldn’t say as I blamed her. It wasn’t every day that a person met the father they didn’t know existed. Most of us got that out of the way the second we were born. It made things a little less awkward that way.
Standing on my tiptoes, I scanned the faces of the patrons seated inside of the establishment, looking for the face of the man whose social media profile picture I’d only seen once. Something about his venue choice for their first meeting bothered me. For a man who was supposedly a recovering alcoholic, a bar seemed to be the last place he would want to be. Mark Damsky better damn well still be on the wagon, because if he had fallen off, only to hurt Elle the way her mother had, I would throw him back on the damn thing myself.
“There,” Elle said, her voice quivering.
I looked in the direction she was nodding. Seated at a table near the back of the bar was the rest of the man whose face I’d seen.
