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Oh, shit. I’m the problem. I’m the one who’s messed up, who’s staring at her dad as if he’s the most magical creature in the universe.
I’ve done my best to avoid doing just that for years. Kept my eyes off my best friend’s dad whenever she was around.
Now, this. I’m the worst friend ever.
“Marcus.” My lips stretch with a broad, fake smile. On the inside, I’m dying a humiliating, painful death at being caught. “Hi. I’m great, thanks. How was your day?”
He smirks. A small curve of his lips on his otherwise hardened face.
“Such good manners.” Marcus repeats the same words he says nearly every day.
“What about me?” Rylan tugs on his hand, reciting the same question.
“You know I think the world of you, sweetheart.” He tilts his head, his smile sincere. “My favorite girl.”
“And you’re my favorite everything.” She beams, her adoration for her dad seeping from her every pore.
They’ve always been like this. He’s been showering her with affection—as much as Marcus is able to show—and she’s been eager for every ounce of him that he has to offer.
Completely understandable, given their circumstances. Rylan doesn’t have a family other than Marcus. Her grandparents on both sides passed away a long time ago.
She’s never had a mother or a mother figure around. The closest thing she had to a mom was Marcus’s two girlfriends—the only women he dated when Ry and I were thirteen then fourteen.
They hadn’t stuck around, though. One moment they were here, the next, poof, gone.
Naturally, I’d been jealous of both women. But even the younger version of me knew it was for the best. It would’ve been good for Rylan to have another parent to love her.
After the second woman one ghosted him, it seemed like he gave up. There was no one else for him. Which, again, I secretly loved.
Then again, poor Rylan. For over eight years, it’s been just the two of them. No wonder she doesn’t want to let go of him or her role as his child.
Hope blooms in my chest. This isn’t a bad thing. Maybe there’s a chance he can still see me as an adult. All he has to do is say the word, and I’m his. Rylan would grow to approve of us, I’m sure of that.
Delusional. The man doesn’t want you. Get over yourself.
“Leighton.” Marcus cuts through my thoughts, melting me into a puddle with his deep voice. “To your question.”
“Yes?” Holy fuck, did I finally do it? Did I ask him to marry me while I’d been daydreaming?
“My day was good. Just like the rest of them. Thank you for asking.”
Phew. No accidental marriage proposals.
“Would you girls like me to cook, or do you prefer we order in?”
Girls. Ugh. The butterflies fluttering in my belly die a mortifying death.
Suck it up and move on, Leigh.
“It’s your turn to choose, Ry,” I direct the question to her, glad to focus on my best friend instead of her dad.
“Mmm.” She taps a finger on her chin, smiling again. “Pizza while watching the first Halloween movie?”
Two of Marcus’s least favorite. Both food and movie-wise. I’m not a huge pizza fan myself, but he really doesn’t like it.
I know what his answer will be before it leaves his lips.
“I’ll sit both out if that’s okay.” Marcus nods, patting her head again.
