“Hey,” I greet, squatting down in front of her. Her little hand pushes her hair away from her face as she pants from running. “If it isn’t Princess Avery,” I say, and she smiles. “How old are you, Avery?” I ask her, even though I know the answer, but just to make sure I’m not dreaming it.
“I’m four,” she states, holding up her whole hand as she tries to bend her thumb in, making me laugh.
“Who is your little friend?” My father shocks me when he walks up beside me.
“This is Avery,” I tell him. He looks down at her, and then he looks back at me. He does it so fast it’s like he got whiplash.
“Um…” he starts, but his voice trails off. His whole face is filled with all the questions that I have myself.
“Not now,” I tell him.
Avery looks at my father, unaware of what’s going on around her. “I’m a princess today,” she announces, holding the side of her dress while she twirls on one foot.
I swear I see a tear in my father’s eye. “You are the most beautiful princess I’ve ever seen,” my
father compliments softly, squatting beside me to get a better look at her.
“Okay, bye,” she says right before turning around and rushing back to the kids she was running with.
“What the fuck is going on?” my father grits between clenched teeth, his voice very, very low. The both of us still squatting down.
“Um…” I start to say because I have no idea what the fuck to say. Not sure he would like, “I just ran into the girl I had a one-night stand with, and I have a daughter.” In fact, he would probably kick my ass from here to outside the universe.
“Either I need to get my eyes checked or…” he says, pointing at Avery.
“Not here,” I say, getting up.
“Then I suggest you walk out with me.” His voice is tight, and I can see that if I don’t go with him, he’s going to grab me by my neck and drag me out of here, just like he did when I was younger.
I nod at him as we pass everyone chattering and enjoying the wedding. Some have even decided to go and sit down at a table.
We walk out of the barn and go toward the groom’s house where we got ready at before. Away from the noise. When we get close enough, he turns around. “Care to tell me what the fuck is going on?” My father, who is usually cool, calm, and collected, sounds like he’s about to freak the fuck out.
“I just found out,” I tell him, my heart speeding up as I run my hand through my hair and then hold my neck.
“What do you mean, you just found out?” He glares at me.
I think about lying for about one point two seconds but know I can’t, not with him. If anything, I’m going to need all of his help. “We had one night together,” I finally say.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” He throws up his hands. Yup, exactly how I thought it would go.
“I literally just found her today,” I tell him, shaking my head. If this were anyone else, I would be laughing at the whole situation, but now that I’m in it, it’s no laughing matter. “When I went into the bride’s suite, she was just as surprised to see me, and then Avery came in, and I was shocked. I had no idea what the hell was going on.”
“Well, what about Avery?” He says her name with a softness to his voice.
“All I know is she’s four, and she wants to be a princess.” I smile. “And she likes to twirl.” My chest fills up. “And she’s fucking perfect,” I say, knowing three things about her.
“This is a big deal, Stefano.” His tone is softer now.
“You think I don’t know that, Dad?” My voice rises. I’ve always been in control of everything.
I’ve always been cool, calm, and collected, something I got from my dad. I treat everything like it’s a chess game. I sit down, patiently waiting for the next move, already having my opponent’s move in my head so I can come in and steal the king. But this situation is pushing me to the edge of the cliff, and I feel like I’m hanging on by the tips of my fingers.
“This isn’t just a deal that you can go in, sweep up, and then leave when you’re done.” He makes
sure I’m looking at him while he says it. As if my saying I have a daughter hasn’t cemented the situation in my brain.
“Dad, I get it.” I’m frustrated because I do get it, and there are questions I didn’t even think of.
“You don’t even own a house.” He points out another reason that I am not ready for this. “You live in hotels.”