“No,” Andy says.
Fuck.
“Dad, you can’t just say no. We need to talk about this,” Billie pleads.
“What’s there to talk about?” Andy looks at Billie and Janet. “Well? You promised me, Billie. You said you’d stay away from him. And now – a few days later – here we are, and you’re telling me you want to, what… to be boyfriend and girlfriend?”
It seems like such a ludicrously understated way to phrase it, but perhaps he’ll be able to accept that easier than the rest.
Not that it looks like he’s going to accept any of it.
“Yes,” I say firmly. “That’s what we’re saying. I know we’ve had our differences. I know we’ve had our arguments. I know there’s a lot of history here. But I swear, Andy, I swear on my dead parents and I swear on my life that I only want the best for her. I want to be there for her, to support her.”
Andy groans and bolts to his feet, hands on his hips as he walks over to the window, his back to us.
Janet, Billie, and I exchange glances, and then we wait for him to speak.
“You couldn’t make this stuff up, could you?” He laughs bitterly. “I never should’ve taken you to that concert.”
“Don’t say that, Dad,” Billie snaps, some sassiness entering her voice, breaking through the film of nervousness. “If you never took me there, Aaron and I never would’ve kissed—”
Andy spins. “That’s my whole point, Billie.”
“But if we never kissed,” Billie goes on, her voice getting louder, “we never would’ve gone on a date. I never would’ve known what it’s like to feel wanted, to feel beautiful, to feel like I don’t have to be locked in my own freaking head all the time. Aaron makes me feel alive, Dad, like nothing and nobody else ever has.”
Andy bites down, looking at his daughter with emotion in his eyes.
“Dad, I sang yesterday.”
“What?” Andy says, moving forward. “Really?”
“Aaron took me to a theater. It was only a few lines, but it felt so good. It felt so right. I never would’ve been able to do that without him.”
“You would have,” I say firmly. “I just gave you a little push.”
Andy groans and begins to pace up and down the sitting area, his hands still on his hips. “We were best friends, Billie. Surely you knew how difficult this would be for me.”
“It’s difficult for her too,” Janet says. “Do you think she’s enjoying making you feel this way? But you can’t help who you fall for. And I can tell you, for a fact, that these two have fallen for each other. Hard. You can’t stop this.”
“You promised,” Andy says, glancing at Billie. “You said you’d stay away from him.”
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t. I can’t. I want to be with him all the time.”
“And you feel the same?” Andy stares at me.
“Yes,” I say fiercely, without pausing. “The second I laid eyes on her, I knew I had to have her. I knew she was the woman of my dreams, the woman I never thought existed. I knew I had to be with her forever, to have children with her, to have a life with her. All of that happened in a single moment.”
Billie gasps. Janet stares at me.
Andy tilts his head, as though I’ve gone insane.
Dammit.
My passion got the better of me.
I wasn’t supposed to say that.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Billie
I stare at Aaron, as he sits forward in his chair, his shoulders back, his jaw clenched tight. He looks like he did after we had sex last night, vivid passion captivating his features.
It’s his primal side coming out. As his muscles flex in his leather jacket, his lips go from a smirk to a frown when he realizes what he’s said.
We agreed not to reveal all of it, but his passion burst out of him like he couldn’t contain it.
“I don’t understand,” Dad says.
Aaron looks at me, and I nod. There’s no point in hiding it now.
Moving my hands over my belly, I silently tell my baby that it’s all going to be okay. Dad will accept us and we’ll be free to enjoy our family life. There will be parties and barbecues and too many memories to imagine, all of them bright and filled with love.
“It’s true,” Aaron says. “I can’t explain it, except to say Billie is one of a kind. The second I saw her, I knew I had to have her. I didn’t know she was your daughter at first. She’s… she’s everything to me. She’s all I ever wanted. I need to protect her, to support her, to be with her forever.”
My heart flutters at the certainty in his voice. I can’t believe I ever doubted Aaron, even for a second.
Dad looks at me. “Tell me you think he sounds crazy.”
I shake my head. “I feel exactly the same way. I know what you’re going to say. I’m too young. I don’t know what I want. But I do. I want him. I want a future together. I want to have a family and a life with Aaron. I can’t even think about being with anybody else.”