Chapter 22

Lanie

“Is that you, Lanie?” Mom called as I closed the front door behind me.

“Yeah!” I hung my jean jacket up and made my way through the house, following the spicy-sweet scent in the air. As expected, my mom was in the kitchen. As I entered, she pulled a baking sheet of cookies from the oven and set them on the stove top.

“Those look good,” I commented, leaning against the kitchen island.

“They’re for the library bake sale tomorrow. I thought we could ice them.” She turned to me, and her eyes went wide. “That’s not what you’re wearing, is it?”

I looked down at my jeans, ankle boots, and sweater. “Uh, to the bake sale? Isn’t that tomorrow?”

Mom pursed her lips. The oven mitt hit the counter with a grand display of annoyance. “To your father’s event.”

“What?” Realization, come days too late, struck. “Crap. That’s tonight?”

“Yes. I hope you’re going home and changing.”

“Mom, I forgot. I have plans.”

She studied me. “What kind of plans?”

“Plans with Andrew.”

“Lanie—”

“Mom, don’t.”

“You’re still seeing him?”

“It’s going super well.”

“Oh, yes? Has he found a secret serum that will help him become younger?”

“Very funny. You should consider going into stand-up.”

“You still haven’t told your father, I assume.”

I directed my focus at the bowl of fruit on the counter, unable to meet her eyes. “Um, no.”

And I didn’t have any plans to tell my dad about Andrew and me. I would have to one day, though. Even though I hadn’t seen Andrew since the dinner at his house, due to it being a busy week for him, we’d spoken almost nonstop. A few nights, after he’d finally finished for the day, we lay in our beds and video chatted. It almost felt like we were in the same room. Almost.

But tonight, we really would be. It was the night of his fundraiser event, and I’d been tingling with anticipation all day.

“Come to your father’s thing.” Her back was to me, her hands busy in the fridge. “You know how much it will mean to him. He’s been so busy lately.”

“Yeah,” I conceded.

It was true. Part of the reason I’d sympathized with Raven from the beginning was that I understood the pains of having a father who worked all the time. Even as an adult, my dad’s busy schedule got to me. It had been weeks since I’d last seen him.

“I’m sure this Andrew man will understand,” Mom went on.

I winced at her calling him “this Andrew man” but decided to ignore it. “I’ll go. I do want to see Dad. And I have a dress in the car. I was going to change here for Andrew’s thing.”

“Wonderful.” Mom turned to me, her face aglow. “We’re leaving in a couple of hours.”

“What is this again?”

Her hand fluttered. “Oh, honey, I don’t know. I can never keep up with your father’s projects. Some work thing.”

“Okay.” I laughed. “I’ll be right back.”

Snatching my denim jacket from the hook, I went back onto the front porch and made the call. With each ring, my heart sank further. I hated feeling like I was choosing between my father and Andrew, but maybe Andrew and I could see each other tomorrow?

“I was just thinking about you,” came the deep, smooth voice over the line.

“Hello to you too.” I laughed, deciding to launch into it. “Hey, I um, I can’t come tonight. I’m so sorry. My dad has this thing I forgot all about, and I haven’t seen him in weeks. I think it’s important that I go. But I am sorry. I want to see you so badly”

“Lanie, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

I nervously twisted a button on my jacket. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Am I disappointed? Of course. But I’ll see if Raven wants to come. I haven’t seen her much this week either, and it’ll be a family-friendly event.”

I let out a relieved exhale. “Okay. Good.”

“Do you have plans after the event?”

“After?” I repeated, confused. “Um, it’ll be pretty late, so I think I’ll go home.”

“Come to me, instead. My house.” It was a demand, not a question, and it made my breath catch.

“Okay,” I drunkenly whispered.

“You’ll have to sneak in. As long as that’s okay.”

“That’s fine by me.” I giggled.

“Good.” I could almost hear his smile. “Text me as soon as you’re done. I can’t wait.”

“Neither can I.”

“See you soon, baby.”

It was the first time he’d called me that, and something about it was too endearing to handle. “See you soon,” I repeated, my heart so full all the good feelings spilled out of it.

We hung up, and I sat there grinning at the autumn leaves. Life just kept getting better and better.

The black, slinky dress with a slit up the leg looked so good on me, it was a shame Andrew wasn’t there to see it. As I did a makeup check before getting out of the car, though, I reminded myself that he would soon be taking the dress off me. That one action would make up for the hours we’d be apart this evening.

“Ready?” Dad asked, climbing from the car and taking Mom’s hand. His gaze drifted between the two of us. “Just look at these fine ladies. How did I get this lucky?”

“Stop it.” Mom nudged his shoulder with hers.

“You look great too, Dad,” I promised him. He gave me an appreciative smile, and I was instantly glad I’d chosen to come tonight. There was room for everyone in my life. Like Andrew, I needed to make careful time management a priority.

The venue was a historic mansion with a massive front yard. At the door, a coat check took the wool coat I’d borrowed from my mom, and I followed my parents into what could only have been built to be a ballroom of some sort. People dressed in finery milled around, expensive jewels dripping from the women’s necks.

Was the event Andrew was at like this? I imagined so. In some ways, he and my father were very alike. They ran in those upscale, money-infested circles that I cared nothing about. Give me a cozy apartment and a job raising kids’ self-esteem. What else, other than a hot boyfriend, did I need?

Thinking about the hot boyfriend part, I took a seat at the circular table my dad led us to.

“You’re smiling a lot,” Mom commented.

“Am I?”

She gave me a knowing look, but, thankfully, didn’t mention Andrew. “Your father is thrilled you’re here. Cohosting this is a big thing for him.”

“I’m glad I’m here too.” I looked over at my dad, who had half-disappeared in a sea of people.

“Janice. Elizabeth. How are you doing?” I looked up to see a smiling, balding man. He seemed half-familiar, but I couldn’t tell from where.

“Nice to see you, Bernard.” Mom smiled.

“It is Elizabeth, right?” the man asked me. “I apologize if I got it wrong. I haven’t seen you since you were little.”

“That’s all right.” I smiled. “And yes, that’s my name. But everyone calls me Lanie. My middle name is Helena.”

“Lanie,” he tested out. “Yes. I remember now. Well, it’s so nice to see you here. I’m going to make the rounds. Hopefully, I’ll see you before the night is over.”

“Isn’t this fun?” Mom asked once Bernard had departed.

I nodded. Since a waiter had arrived and poured me a glass of wine, yes, I could agree it was indeed fun.

“No one has called me Elizabeth in years,” I commented.

Mom shrugged. “Oh, your father’s friends. You know.”

I waited for more.

“He’s so busy,” she explained.

“Yeah,” I nodded. What she meant was that it often felt like Dad lived in a world separate from ours. One of lunch meetings and last-minute flights to the east coast. For not the first time, I wondered if my mom was lonely.

I looked down at my lap, thinking about Andrew again. I didn’t want life for him and Raven to be like it had been for my dad and me. Things looked good, though. He and Raven both seemed happy.

And, heaven knew, I was.

I wanted to check my phone to see if he’d texted me, but I resisted the urge. Soon.

In just a few hours, we’d be in each other’s arms again. The beginning of a golden age. That’s what it felt like when I thought about us.

“Lanie, I want you to meet someone.” I looked up, seeing my dad had arrived back at the table. “This is one of my closest friends. He’s cohosting tonight. Andrew, this is Lanie.”

Dad stepped to the side, and then I saw who was right there with him. Deep, expressive eyes. Firm jaw. The lips I knew as well as I did my own.

No.

Andrew’s mouth fell open, and everything around him blurred. It was as if we were in a tunnel, being sucked away from the rest of the world.

Dad clapped his hand on Andrew’s shoulder. The camaraderie there couldn’t be missed. “Andrew’s wanted to meet you for years. Isn’t that right?”

He glanced at Andrew, but the man standing next to my father looked as speechless as I felt. Our eyes locked, and so many questions hovered there.

But greater than the questions was the pain.

Andrew was my father’s close friend.

Thirty seconds ago, I’d been looking forward to our future together. And now I stared at the painful end.