He just shrugs. “Plenty of people think that I’m too old for Hollie.” Well, he’s not wrong. He’s a good twelve years older than Hollie is. I’d be pissed if she was my daughter, even though I know Archer is a good guy. Just another reason that Violet and I shouldn’t be together. “Look, you can’t base your decisions on what other people are going to say. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life and that’s all because of Hollie.” The man is telling the truth, I’ll give him that. Archer was a miserable bastard before she came into his life.
“But what about Bianca? She’s Violet’s best friend. She’d never forgive us.”
“Your daughter is a spitfire, it’s true. But anything worth doing is going to be tough.”
“It may seem exciting to Violet now, but what if she decides she doesn’t want to be with an old man? Aren’t you worried that Hollie is going to change her mind?”
Archer shakes his head at me. “You’re full of excuses, Dante. It wouldn’t matter if Hollie was the same age as me or if I was fifty years older. There’s always a chance that someone will change their mind in a relationship. That’s the risk you take. But I’ll tell you right now, if Hollie changes her mind tomorrow and decides she doesn’t want to be with me, at least I’ve gotten to spend this time with her. Hollie is the love of my life and I’ll cherish every second I get to spend with her.”
I’m surprised with the vehemence in his voice. In all the years that I’ve known Archer, he’s never spoken about anything the way he speaks about Hollie. And her being the love of his life? I don’t know. Maybe it could be worth the risk of a broken heart.
“Look, Dante, since you’re basically the one who introduced my future wife to me—” I can’t help but choke on my own saliva at that. Archer Clarke getting married? I know they aren’t engaged but it looks like he’s already planning to lock her down. He just smiles and continues on. “Let me give you a piece of advice. When I went looking for her after I fucked up and almost lost her, Violet stood firm. She didn’t want to let me near Hollie until I proved that I wasn’t going to hurt her again. I’m a powerful man but your daughter and Violet put me in my place. Violet has the type of loyalty that is rare in this world and shouldn’t be overlooked, no matter what her age is. Don’t let the fact that you’re scared of getting hurt stop you from what might just be the best thing to ever happen to you.” With that he claps me hard on the shoulder and moves back inside to check on his girlfriend, leaving me alone outside with my thoughts and feeling just a little bit like a fool.
???
The party is in full swing. There are people everywhere and you can hardly move without getting jostled this way and that. The music is blaring and there are way more than fifty people here. I’m considering killing my daughter. That will have to wait because, at the moment, I’m leaned against a wall with the perfect line of sight to the front door. I’m trying to casually sip my beer and hope that nobody notices that I’ve been waiting for Violet to show up for the past thirty minutes.
I thought a lot about my conversation with Archer outside. Hell, I haven’t done anythingbutthink about our talk. I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s right and I’m an idiot. It was an easy conclusion to get to. I don’t know how this is going to work with Bianca or her parents, we can figure that out as we go, but Violet and I belong together. At the very least, we owe it to each other to give it a shot. I know that I hurt her by rejecting her last week and I’ll do anything I can to make it up to her. I’m not going to throw away the first chance at happiness I’ve had in years because I’m scared.
It’s another twenty minutes of anxious waiting before the door opens and the woman I’ve been waiting for walks in. I’ve always thought all those movies were bullshit. You know the ones where time seems to slow down around you when the woman of your dreams walks into the room. I’ll never make fun of those movies again. She walks through the door in slow motion, her hair swishing against her shoulders, her gait causing her breasts to gently bounce, the skirt of her dress swaying against her thighs. Then, she smiles. It’s that gentle smile that I’ve come to love. As I’m watching, my heart in my throat, she turns that smile to the person behind her. It’s only then I notice the man that she’s with, his hand resting gently on her hip like it belongs there.
I want to walk over there and rip his hand away from her. If I’m being honest, I’d like to take his entire arm off for daring to touch her. I don’t have a right to have these feelings, I’m the one that pushed her into the arms of another man, but that doesn’t mean I give a fuck. Soon Violet’s going to know that she’s mine.
I take another sip of my beer and push off the wall that’s been propping me up for the better part of an hour while I’ve been waiting for her. I’m about to make my way toward her, not having a clue what I’m going to say when somebody grabs my forearm. I turn and see Amanda sidle up to me, a lascivious smile on her face.
“So this is where you’ve been hiding,” she purrs at me. I don’t know how I can make it any clearer to this woman that I have zero interest in getting back together with her but I’m growing tired of this game. I look away from her back to where I just saw Violet and her crystal-clear blue eyes meet mine. They narrow when they see Amanda’s hand on me and before I can step away, she turns, whispers something in her dates ear and they both move in the opposite direction.
Fuck.This isn’t going to be easy.
“Look, Amanda, I thought that I made myself pretty clear the other night that I wasn’t interested. I don’t know what game you’re playing but count me out.”
She doesn’t even have the decency to look put off by what I’m saying to her. Instead, she stretches up so that she can whisper in my ear over the raucous sounds of the crowded house. “MaybeIhaven’t mademyselfclear, Dante, I want you. And I always get what I want.”
Jesus Christ, what is she a child? She always gets what she wants? I shake off her hand and take a significant step away from her so that she can no longer touch me. “This isn’t some fucking game, Amanda, and if you can’t keep your hands to yourself, you’re not going to be welcome in my house any longer.”
“We’ll see,” she says with a smile and walks off toward the makeshift bar we have setup out on the patio. I turn back toward Violet but she’s gone.
I’m about to go find her when Bianca comes over and envelopes me in a hug. “Thank you so much for my party, Dad. You’re the best.”
“You’re right, I am.” I squeeze her back, always happy to have affection from my girl.
“I know it’s a little bigger than expected, the guest list got a little out of hand and it looks like some people brought friends.”
“It’s fine, pumpkin, as long as you have fun. Well, that and the cops don’t get called.” She averts her eyes from me, and I wonder what that’s all about but quickly brush it aside. “But don’t think I’m the one that’s going to be cleaning up this mess.” I remind her, gesturing to the piles of half-eaten plates and empty plastic cups and drink pouches that are littering every available surface.
“No worries. Hollie, Archer, and Paige said they would help.”
“But not Violet?” I ask, knowing that I can’t give too much away. Luckily for me, while my daughter is very smart and talented, she’s not always the most perceptive when there are feelings involved.
“Oh, she offered. But I told her to forget it. This is her second date with Tyler, and I want her to be free to spend the evening with him, if you know what I mean.” She laughs and winks at me like that statement hasn’t just sent me into a blind panic. If Violet thinks she’s spending the night with that boy, she’s got another thing coming. “Oh, I forgot! Even Mom offered to stay and help so we should be covered.” That brings my attention straight back to her.
“Do you know what’s going on with your mom?” I ask.
“What are you talking about? Nothing’s going on with her, well other than her moving and everything. Why?” I didn’t really expect that Amanda would share with her the reason she’s moving to Seattle and the details surrounding her leaving her last job. No matter how much I want to, I’m not going to hurt my daughter by telling her that her mother seems to be moving here out of a mixture of lack of options and the inexplicable decision to start perusing me instead of moving here to be closer to her own daughter.
“Look, I’m not trying to cause problems but if she mentions anything to you, maybe just gently let her know that I’m not looking to date right now.”
“W-what? But I thought you two were getting along.”