“And you never looked at her before her eighteenth birthday?” Dad asks.
I gasp and Bennet sits upright in his chair, as though a zap of electricity has just hit him. “Are you really fucking asking me that? Honestly?”
“I’m her father, Bennet. Even if I know you never would, even if you’re the best man I’ve ever known, I have to ask.”
I reach out, placing my hand on Bennet’s forearm to try and calm his rising anger. I can feel it, rising in the air, like a scent.
Dad’s gaze snaps to my hand.
Crap.
I quickly remove it, but then I see the smile trying to lift his lips. When I was a kid, I used to insist that we have little contests, the first to smile or blink. His lips would twitch in the same way then as if he found it difficult not to break into a grin.
Does he like that my first instinct was to calm my man?
“The answer’s no,” Bennet says, sighing gruffly. “Obviously. She was just a little kid in braces and her nose in a book. But something happened when she turned eighteen… It was like, suddenly, there was this woman there. And I knew I had to be with her, support her, for the rest of our lives.
“Shit, man, just imagine how crazy I thought I was going. And then multiply that by a thousand. I thought I was having some sort of breakdown. My friend’s daughter, my best friend… and here I am thinking about having children with her, about being with her forever.”
Bennet breaks off, shaking his head. “There’s nothing I can say to make this right. I get that. But that scares the shit out of me, Rick, because I know I can’t stop feeling this way, ever.”
Dad nods, composing his face, giving nothing away. The near smile is gone. “And Lorelei, what about you?”
“I felt the same. I won’t lie. I’ve had a crush on Bennet since I was a teenager, but what he’s saying is true. He never looked at me, as much as I might’ve wanted him to. And then, when I became an adult, I thought I was hallucinating when we almost kissed. I couldn’t believe it. My dreams were coming true.”
“I think it’s romantic,” Mom suddenly says.
Dad looks at her. “Sammy, how is that helping?”
Mom stares at him, refusing to back down. “I’m giving my honest opinion. We both know Bennet would never be interested in Rory before she turned eighteen. You know that better than anyone because you’ve known Bennet for two decades. In fact, Rick, I think it was a very spiteful question to ask.”
Dad stares at mom a few moments longer, and then a smile finally lifts his lips. Reaching out, he takes her hand. “You really took that promise seriously, didn’t you?” he asks her, warmth in his voice.
“What promise?” I ask.
“When we were first dating, I promised your father I’d always tell him the truth… no matter how much he didn’t want to hear it,” Mom says with a small smile.
Dad grins. “And sometimes I really don’t want to hear it.”
I glance at Bennet, and he looks at me. We share a passing glance, silent communication passing between us.
Maybe we can do this. Maybe this can really work.
“There’s part of me that wants to ask you both something,” Dad goes on, turning to Bennet and me, but keeping mom’s hand in his. “And I know it could make me angry. But…”
“We have, Rick,” Bennet says bluntly. “I’m sorry. We tried not to. I swear, but… Hell, how can I explain it? It’s like I’ve finally found my soulmate, after so many years convinced I was going to be alone. I don’t want to make excuses, but—No, no, let’s just leave it there.”
It takes a second for me to realize what they’re talking about. When it hits me and my cheeks heat.
They’re talking about the fact Bennet and I had sex last night.
“Go on, Bennet,” Mom urges. “What were you going to say?”
“Remember in the SEALs, Rick, the shit I’d make up whenever someone asked about my childhood?”
Dad chuckles, looking at his oldest friend in a way I know well from growing up around them. It’s a brothers-in-arms look, calling up a thousand memories from their service together, an experience unique to the two of them.
“Care to share the joke?” Mom asks.
“In the SEALs, the men can be real hard bastards. They have to be. So we probe each other for weakness, make sure we don’t crumble at the first sign of adversity.” Dad pauses, smiling, as though wishing he was back there. “I’m not sure how much you know about Bennet’s childhood, Lorelei…”
I think about what he told me, hiding in that closet as his family was tortured and killed in front of him. This time I don’t question the urge to take his hand. I squeeze, hoping he feels my support.