I side-eye her hard.
揧ou put the grey there, Dess. And what do you mean 憇he?挃
揅抦on, it抯 obvious you have a date tonight.?
I bite back a smile.
?what if I don抰？？
揧ou do, Dad. I抦 not dumb. There抯 no point in acting like you抮e on a secret mission.?
Shit. I wasn抰 expecting this conversation right now.
Still, I look at her and say, 揝hould we talk about it??
揢m, no. There抯 nothing more awkward than talking about your love life.?
Thank fuck.
I dodged a massive bullet.
揃ut it抯 okay, Dad. Really. I want you to be happy, have a normal life, especially after you抳e spent so much of it raising me. No need to worry while I go listen to Sarah whine all night about her loser ex. I told her not to date him anyway.?She huffs out a breath. 揓ust try not to ruin this, okay? I like Eliza.?
Gaping silence.
I抦 almost taken aback, even if I know I shouldn抰 be.
揧ou know it抯 Eliza??
揇uh. You drool when she walks in the room.?
I抦 definitely boned. Someone in HR must be too scared to bring me in for a talk if a fifteen-year-old noticed.
揑t抯 not that obvious, is it??
She stares through me like I抦 stupid. 揢h, maybe not if you抳e never seen a movie or gone to like middle school.?
Damn.
揑t抯 cool. I think she likes you too.?
揧ou do, huh??I quirk an eyebrow, adjusting my sleeve in the mirror again.
揧eah. When you抮e in a room together, she always watches to see if you抮e going to look at her. When you do, she tries to look away but always smiles when she does.?Destiny shrugs. 揑 guess some things never change after high school. Oh, and if she didn抰 like you, she probably wouldn抰 have agreed to this date in the first place.?
揧ou抮e too observant,?I clip.
揥ell, yeah. Uncle Troy told me too.?
Of course he did.
揧ou and Troy talk a lot lately.?How much time is he spending with my daughter?
And what the hell is he telling her?
I need to have a talk with him since he抯 been hanging around the office longer than planned.
揇on抰 be mad! We both think Eliza is lit條ike, totally good for you棓
揇estiny, you can抰 say anything about this, okay? Not even to Troy. Don抰 encourage him. He might be my age, but the man never left high school, socially. This is all very new.?I sigh. 揥e also have a strict policy against managers dating their employees for everyone抯 protection. Eliza and I need to figure out an ethical way to see each other soon, but until then, I need you to keep quiet. You promise??
揚romise. And Dad, there抯 one more thing…？
揥hat now??
She shifts in place, staring at her feet before she looks at me again. 揑 kinda have a date tomorrow, too梐nd you抮e not going to complain.?
Oh, damn her to hell.
She抯 engineered this whole thing in her favor.
揥ho??The word comes out like a bucket of nails rattling.
揢m, with my boyfriend??
揧ou have a boyfriend? Since when??Goddamn, I抦 going to need to pull that tactical knife out of storage after all.
She nods nervously.
揇o I know him??
?I don抰 think so. He抯 a freshman…at Seattle University.?
Rage tears through me, all teeth and claws.
揥hen were you planning to tell me you抮e dating a man? How old is he??
Her cheeks heat. She knows she抯 in deep fucking doo-doo.
揘ineteen. We…we haven抰 done anything and he promised he won抰 until I抦 eighteen. He抯 a really nice guy. Can抰 you just be cool??Hope strains her voice.
I shake my head like she just pulled out a syringe full of heroin.
揘o. Not cool.?
She gives me the saddest pout.
揥hat the hell? Hypocrite much? Because Eliza is like twenty-six, and you抮e like forty. I抦 fifteen, Dad. He抯 only four years older than me.?
I fold my arms, not amused in the slightest.
揊irst off, I抦 not forty. Not even close. Secondly, how do you know how old she is??
揝he bought me a smoothie in Kona and they asked for her driver抯 license when she picked up a beer.?
揥hen you抮e thirty-seven, you can date who you want, young lady. While you抮e fifteen and under my roof, you抣l follow the rules. And one of those rules is zero college boys, no matter how 'nice' they may seem. Also, you don抰 get to date until you抮e a senior.?
揌ypocrite,?she mutters, her face flushed red with disappointment.
揃ull. When I was fifteen, I did what my parents said.?
揑 find that hard to believe.?
I sigh. 揂re you serious about this boy??
Slowly, her eyes snap back to me, and her anger fades into a pained grin.
揋otcha! I don抰 have an older boyfriend. I just wanted to see if I could make your forehead wrinkle up.?