Out of the Blue

Chapter 28

Dad wanted to meet Justin. Formally, that is. He'd met my boyfriend a couple times before, when Justin came to pick me up, but it wasn't enough to simply greet each other and make small talk. Dad preferred a sit-down meal, a proper conversation, a real chance to interrogate the man his daughter had been seeing for over a month. It was a father's prerogative, or so he said.

Maybe things would have been different if Justin wasn't the son of his former friend and the stepchild of his ex-wife. He may have waited for my relationship to develop more before requesting Justin came over for a barbecue.

Another person might think I would be the nervous wreck in this situation, desperately worried about my father liking my boyfriend. Me being me, that made sense. Tonight, however, it was not the case.

"Do you think he'll like it?" Justin asked, slowing his Jeep to a crawl in search of a kerbside car spot.

I reached across the console to take his hand. "He will enjoy whatever you brought."

"But is it good enough?" he continued, eyes darting from one side of the road to the other.

To distract him, and to avoid answering the same question I'd already answered three times, I steered the conversation to parking. "There will be more spots open in the next street," I suggested. We'd already driven by my house knowing there was no room in the driveway. It barely fit my own car and would in no way accommodate another, especially one the size of a Jeep.

Justin continued driving and sure enough, there were a few free spots. He whipped into the first one he saw. The houses on this road were larger and had more kerbside parking. My street was full of thin terraces, and it was a tight squeeze.

"Stop worrying," I sighed, closing the door. Justin rounded the car to meet me on the footpath. "Dad likes you, trust me."

It was the truth. If I had any doubts, I'd be the one freaking out. I knew for a fact that Dad was happy with Justin because I was happy. He'd told me so many times in the past few weeks.

"He does drink whiskey, right?"

I laughed. "Yes. Cheap, expensive, and everything in between." The bottle Justin currently held in his hand was on the expensive side.

He took hold of my hand, pulling us to a standstill. "I'm sorry," he started, a frown forming on his brow. "I'm just really nervous."

Taking a step closer, I said, "You've met him three times already."

"This is different. What if he doesn't like me?"

I shook my head. "How on Earth could he not like you?"

Justin's brows rose, stating the obvious.

"He's a very open person," I began, hoping my words would convince him until he experienced it for himself. "The past doesn't matter to him, he told me so. And even if it did, he would never hold it against you. What happened had nothing to do with us."

It had taken me a while to accept my father's words, so I couldn't blame Justin for feeling the way he did. When it came time for me to meet his family—in a formal way, considering I'd already met his sister and Caroline was, well, Caroline—I would be a mess as well. I dreaded the day.

"Okay," he finally agreed with a sigh.

I stood on my tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. "You ready now?

"Yep, let's go."

Hand in hand, we continued walking. When we rounded the corner onto my street, a compulsion took over me. I jumped up onto the short brick fence, just as I use to when I was a kid, and balanced as I walked along it.