“Should I?”
“I’m Juliana Manghini, and this is my sister, Janine.”
“Oh!” My heartbeat speeds up.
“Bobby is our dad. He didn’t tell you about us?”
I take a breath and will myself to speak. “Uh, n-no. I mean, I knew he had kids, but I didn’t know the specifics.”
I don’t know why I feel assaulted by this visit. They seem friendly enough. It doesn’t seem like they’re here to hate on me. But I knew nothing about them. Not that he had twins. Not that they’re grown-ups, not children.
It makes me realize how little I know about my benefactor. Because that’s all he is. We’re not in a real relationship. Even though that’s what I want. Everything is on his terms.
I draw in a breath and force myself to smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
The girls smirk, as if they’re pleased with themselves for finding me. “Um, how did you find me?”
“Our Aunt Jessie gave me your card at the wedding last night.”
Wedding.Last night. That’s why he was late.
He was at a wedding. A family wedding that I knew nothing about. My stomach twists. Nothing about this is sitting right with me.
“Technically, she’s a cousin,” Janine corrects her.
“Right. Whatever. She said she met you at a Yankees game?”
“Uh...yeah,” I manage. My hands thankfully operate on their own accord, combing Juliana’s hair and parting out sections to trim. “So…why are you here?”
I brace myself, ready for anything. For them to tell me he’s married. Or drop some other bomb. Maybe they’re trying to expose me as a money-grubbing prostitute. I don’t know.
That’s definitely how I feel right now.
This thing with Bobby is just a business arrangement. I’m not good enough to take to weddings. Or to introduce to his kids. I’m not worth making a commitment to.
Hell, I’m not even supposed to call his phone. I have to text.
“We just wanted to meet you. He’s all secretive about you. He wasn’t going to introduce us, so we figured we’d take it out of his hands.”
I’m all awash with cold now. “Oh.” That’s all I can think to say.
His daughters seem nice. If I’d met them under different circumstances, I’m sure I’d love them. But everything about this interaction is making me dizzy.
Nauseous.
Suddenly, everything I loved about last night seems icky now. He wasn’t working late or doing mysterious mafia business. He was at a family wedding. One that I wasn’t deemed worthy of attending.
It’s not okay.
This situation is no longer okay. Not in the slightest.
I press my lips together, my hands still working steadily, snipping the ends of Juliana’s layers.
The sisters exchange another glance and an uncomfortable silence falls. “Sorry if this is weird,” Janine says.
“Um, no,” I say in a tone of voice that’s clearly too high and therefore a lie. “I’m just, ah, realizing that maybe his keeping me a secret doesn’t work for me anymore.”
Bobby’s daughters exchange another look. “Well, don’t take it the wrong way. He just doesn’t like to mix his dating life with us,” Juliana offers. “It’s our fault—when our parents first got divorced, we pitched a fit about them dating anyone else.”