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“Preferably the asshole who almost ran you over.”
I figured that might be what he was still thinking about. “It was an accident. Shit happens. But it’s over now, and I’m okay. That’s all that matters. Now, can we smile a little bit when we walk in? I don’t want Violet to think something is wrong.”
He glanced at me, and a little quirk appeared at the corner of his lips, but I wasn’t sure if it was so much a smile as it was a cringe. “You’re really something…you know that, Lisa?”
Now, what did that mean?I blinked at him, but before I could ask, he got out of the car. I got out, too, following closely behind him.
When we pulled open the front door, we happened upon a cozy sight. His aunt, Ingrid, had Violet on her lap, and she was brushing her hair and apparently telling her a funny story because my daughter was giggling like a maniac.
“I told you no squirming, you little imp,” Ingrid ordered with mock sternness. But in a counterproductive measure, she proceeded to tickle Violet even more, who laughed and squirmed until she became a mess on the floor.
Ingrid caught sight of us in between their play, and she looked slightly disappointed. “Oh, you guys are back so soon. I thought it would take you at least thirty minutes.”
I smiled at Ingrid. I figured she had sent us out together as a set-up so she could spend more time alone with Violet. I allowed it because even though I had only just met the woman, I liked her. I didn’t think she would do anything to hurt my daughter, and she clearly adored Violet. Also, the fact that Nick, a man who didn’t trust many people, spoke so highly of her was a plus in my book.
In fact, she was the only family he ever spoke about. Which begged the question, what happened to his parents?
“We brought back the potatoes,” Nick said, and he managed to do so with a smile that looked barely fake. He almost looked normal right now, and it was like the past thirty minutes hadn’t happened. Maybe he really was over it, and I was the one who was overreacting. But then his eyes met mine, and I saw the darkness flash in them again. I knew that he was remembering.
I tore my eyes away before it could become awkward and then injected forced joviality into my voice. “Alright! Do you need any help with the meal, Ingrid?”
“Always. You can help me out in the kitchen, dear, while Nick continues with his dau…Violet’s hair.”
I saw her glance at me during the slip-up, and I smiled weakly. It seemed like the cat was going to come out of the bag soon enough. Might as well do it sooner rather than later.
And I did intend to tell Violet about her father soon. I just had to pick the proper time to rip the bandaid off.
I immediately walked into the kitchen, and Ingrid began handing me some onions to start chopping up. Nick took over styling Violet’s hair, and at some point, I could hear him telling Violet to stay still. Violet was giggling, which led me to believe that he had also continued his aunt’s tickle game.
“So,” Ingrid started as we continued cooking. “Nick says the two of you met in high school.”
“Yeah, something like that,” I replied, slightly nervous. I wasn’t sure if Nick had told his aunt the real story behind our meeting or the PR version.
“Good. Then what on earth took you both so long to get together? And why did you let that Kim girl have him too?” She bumped me a little with her hip as she said it to let me know she was joking. I laughed a little, but she still looked to me for an answer.
“Nick and Kim’s relationship had nothing to do with me,” I said. “We started dating after them.”
“Yes, but that’s only because my son is a moron. I could have told him to start dating you before. Then he never would have gone for her.” She winked at me, and I blushed.
“You’re such a sweet girl,” she said, taking my hand and staring into my eyes. “I can see it from your soul. You have such a good spirit.” She took a deep breath. “Which is what makes what I’m about to ask you so selfish but…please be patient with my nephew. I know he can be….”
“Difficult?” I offered, amused.
“To put it mildly. He’s very hardheaded. He gets that from his dad. But please be patient with him.”
“What happened to his parents?” I asked curiously.
At my question, Ingrid’s expression immediately darkened, and she shook her head. “I wish he would be the one to tell you that story.”
I nodded, respecting that she wanted to keep his secrets. She was still looking at me, and I realized she was waiting for an answer to her request. It would have been easy to say a simple yes. But I found that I couldn’t lie to this woman.
“When I was younger,” I started. “I didn’t value myself much. My mother was verbally abusive, and I didn’t realize until much later how much I’d internalized a lot of what she said. And I believed all those ugly, cruel things about myself. It was what made me so tolerant of other people’s bullshit for a long time, much more than I should have.” I smiled a little at her sympathetic look. “But I’m slowly working on it and changing that aspect about myself. I definitely don’t want to go back to being that doormat.” I turned to her. “All this to say, I’m not sure I can give you a definite yes. I’ll try to hold out for as long as I can, but I won’t take any abuse. If I sense that he’s trying to take advantage of me, then I will be out for good.”
I expected Ingrid to look sad or mad at my answer, but on the contrary, her grin widened, seeming almost proud. “That’s precisely what I hoped you would say.”
The rest of the dinner passed pleasantly, with easy conversation and no tension at all. Despite my initial reservations, I actually enjoyed myself. By the end of the night, the incident from earlier completely slipped my mind.
But at the start of the next week, I could sense something was off with Nick. He hadn’t called much since the visit with his aunt, and all our conversations since then had been stilted, limited to talking about Violet. We had a “date” planned, but he called it off, saying he had too much work to do. And that in itself wasn’t unusual, but it was more the fact that he didn’t set a follow-up or even call to check in on me.
