The Friendship List(106)

“Someone has to. You’ve pretty much been in love with him from the moment you met him. You hid it behind friendship, but it was there. That’s why everything was so easy on the trip. You’re good together. This is your chance, Ellen. He’s a hunky, sexy guy who’s in love with you. Not handing over your heart is about as dumb as spending three years of your life hiding from the chance of healing and finding happiness.”

“Why are we so scared?”

“Because we’ve both been hurt. It’s hard not to flinch.”

“I want to be brave,” Ellen said. “Maybe.”

Unity hugged her. “We could be brave together. Just join hands and take a leap of faith. Oh, I know. We’ll add being brave to our lists.”

Ellen laughed. “Great idea. You first.”

  Keith gritted his teeth, then knocked on his daughter’s half-open bedroom door. Lissa looked up from the book she was reading.

“Hey, Dad.” She sat up on her bed. “What’s up?”

He set two books next to her, careful not to look at her or the titles. “I got these for you. I don’t want to talk about them. Just read them and if you have any questions, you’ll have to ask someone else. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.”

She read the titles, then looked at him, her eyes huge. “Dad, these are books about sex.”

He retreated to the door and stared over her head. “If you’re going to do that with Luka, I want to make sure you’re doing it right. He should be, ah, taking care of you and he’s just a kid, without a lot of experience.” He dropped his gaze to her face. “Lissa, I love you more than anything, but I can’t explain that stuff to you. I don’t have it in me.”

Honestly, he would rather be shot. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t need the information.”

Now it was her turn to look away. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“It’s my job to worry about everything where you’re concerned.”

She studied both books, then returned her attention to him. “I’ve had an orgasm, Dad.”

He took a step back and tried not to wince. “Could we not talk about that?”

“I’m just saying we’re figuring it out together. Guys are so easy. It’s not really fair. You barely touch them and they—” She waved her hand. “You know. But it’s harder for girls.”

Where was that bolt of lightning when he needed it? “That’s why I bought you the books. So you could read about different things.” He waved his hand. “It’s all in there.”

Lissa scrambled to her feet, raced toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “You’re the best dad ever.”

“This is not my favorite part.”

“I know, but you did it anyway.” She looked up at him. “Thank you.”

She was so beautiful, he thought, brushing the hair out of her face. “I love you, little girl.”

“I love you, too. Now what’s going on with Ellen? You can’t still be mad at her about the trip.”

“I’m not.”

“Then why are you grumpy?”

“She’s a difficult woman.”

Lissa stepped back. “That’s not the reason. You should marry her.”

Keith sagged against the doorframe. “Yeah, well, I don’t see that happening. I broke things off with her.”

“What?” she yelped. “Why? You’re crazy about her.”

“It’s complicated.”

Lissa’s expression softened. “Dad, she’s totally into you. We can all see it. Maybe she’s just scared.”

He wanted it to be that easy. That she just had to overcome a few fears, but he knew it was more than that. Ellen wanted to play. She’d just come into her own and now she was ready to experiment with a lot of different men. His head understood but his heart wanted to claim her as his own. He didn’t want to share Ellen and he couldn’t play when his feelings were so real.

“It’s not going to work out,” he said at last.

Lissa hugged him again. “She’ll come around. You’ll see.”

He had his doubts. He’d laid it on the line for Ellen and she’d not only let him walk away, he hadn’t heard from her in days. As signs went, that was a damned clear one.

  Serena was a beautiful redhead with more curves than should be legal and a warm, nurturing personality that should have been exactly what Thaddeus was looking for. She was in her early thirties and a partner in a local cupcake company. They’d met two weeks ago at a charity luncheon and this was their second date.

“Two years in, he said he’d changed his mind about having kids,” Serena said in answer to Thaddeus’s question about what had ended her first marriage. “I was blindsided by the information. We’d always talked about having a family. Kids are a priority for me. We tried counseling, but he was firm in his decision and that was the end of things.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, thinking the fact that she wanted children was a plus.

“Me, too. I felt betrayed in a way, if that makes sense.”

“It does. He changed the rules.”

She smiled. “We’re probably getting a little too serious for the second date. Let’s change the subject. The Seahawks are looking good for the season.”