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“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Can we just do this? It’s my first father-daughter dance.”
Her dad let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, honey. Yes. We can dance.” He kissed her on the forehead, then twirled her around, making her giggle. “There you go. I put the smile back on your pretty face.” Her dad looked past her shoulder. “He makes you happy, doesn’t he?”
She didn’t need a name to know who he was talking about. “He knows me. He picked me. I know those things seem simple.”
“They’re not. Not when it comes to real relationships. They matter.”
“Especially to the girl who thought she wasn’t enough.”
“Does he make you feel that you are?”
“Yes. And then he asks me to be more to him because he won’t settle for anything less than all of me. I think that’s probably the best thing about him.”
“You deserve to be treated like you matter more than anything.”
“It’s a unique experience for me.”
“Not anymore. Because that’s how I feel about you.”
Right there in the middle of the dance floor, she stopped moving and just hugged him. “Thanks, Dad.”
Nate held her close until the song ended.
“Mind if I cut in?” Cody’s deep voice resonated through her, just like the first time they’d spoken. Just like it did every time she heard his voice. And just like all those times, she wanted to be closer to him.
Her dad stepped back and met Cody’s gaze. “You two make a really good couple.” With that, her dad walked toward their table and Miranda.
Cody watched him leave, a dumbfounded and relieved look on his face. “Did I miss something?”
“I think my dad just gave us his blessing.”
One eyebrow shot up. “I thought he was okay with us seeing each other before tonight.”
She went into his arms and resumed the dance so they weren’t the only ones standing still while everyone else enjoyed the slow song. “He was. But even if he wasn’t, I’d still want to be with you because it’s my choice. But him saying that to you, to us, it makes me feel even more like his daughter.”
Cody glanced to the side where Brooke and David were dancing together. “They haven’t left each other’s side all night.”
“I have to admit, I was a bit jealous when you danced with my sister.”
Cody’s head whipped back toward her. “What?”
She chuckled. “I’m kidding.” She glanced at Brooke. “They look like they’re having a good time. Brooke is smiling and laughing and enjoying herself. You’ve mentioned how remote and despondent she was after losing her husband. I have to think seeing her like this tonight feels good.”
“It does. I just never saw this coming. My sister and my best friend.”
“I never saw you coming, and look how well it’s turning out.”
Cody pressed his forehead to hers. “Damn good.”
She kissed him on the dance floor in front of everyone. It didn’t surprise her to hear Miles’s signature whistle come from nearby.
An hour later, and after several rounds of conversation with people Cody knew and introduced her to, Summer was ready for another dance, or to get out of there. Either way, she wanted some quiet time with him.
She’d never been great in large crowds. The noise, the conversations, the expectations always drained her.
While she loved standing at Cody’s side, his hand always at her waist, his introducing her as his girlfriend and talking her up to the people who mattered to him, she was ready to have him all to herself.
