Page 52 of Kick the Candle (Knight Games 2)
Girlfriend? "How old are you?" I sputtered. "Oh, hell, that was rude. I'm sorry." I pressed my thumb and forefinger into my temple.
My father held up his hands. "I should have told you..." His voice trailed off and his eyes rolled toward the ceiling.
Seraphina gave my father a harsh look and handed him the casserole.
"Sorry about that. Let's start again," I offered. "I'm Grateful."
"Seraphina." She extended her perfectly manicured hand.
I waited for a "nice to meet you" or some sort of greeting that would indicate she accepted my apology but all I got was a retraction of her hand and a regal movement of her fingers, like she was waving our greeting out of the air before the smell could hit her. We all stood staring at each other. Dad made a sound like a cough. Seraphina rubbed the palms of her hands together. My lips parted. I was staring, definitely staring. She had no pores. Was she my age? She couldn't be much older.
"Can I take your coat?" Dad finally said. Seraphina nodded and shrugged it off into his hands, exposing a red wrap dress that showed off her ridiculously svelte figure.
I forced my lips to form words. "Can I get you a drink?"
"Don't you want to take off your coat, too?" Dad asked.
Crap. I unbuttoned and handed the heavy wool to my dad, flashing him a confused and accusatory look.
"Dad, can I talk to you in the kitchen for a moment?"
"Of course, honey. Seraphina, wine?"
"Please."
Dad led the way through the dining room and the swinging white door into the kitchen. I waited until there was a polite amount of space between us and the complete stranger he'd invited to our family gathering before I raised eyebrows and pointed at the closed door.
He answered without me having to ask. "She was a client. We hit it off. We've been dating a couple of months."
"And it's already serious enough to bring her home to meet the family?"
From a cabinet behind me, he retrieved a wine glass. "Wine?"
"Ooooh yeah."
He pulled down two more and retrieved a bottle of red wine from a rack on the counter. "I've been lonely, Grateful. Your mom's been gone a long time. She's a beautiful, intelligent woman. Give her a chance."
All of my annoyance drained out of me, replaced by guilt for not putting my father's happiness above my own. He had never introduced me to a woman before. Did I expect him to play the monk forever? It was one afternoon and it was his house. Was it too much for him to ask for me to put on my happy face and deal for one afternoon? No. And I was a complete bitch to even suggest it. "Oh...ah...I want you to be happy, Dad. Of course she's welcome. I just wish you had warned me. I'm shocked, that's all. I've never seen you with a woman before."
Popping the cork, he filled the glasses one by one. "Overdue, then. Wouldn't you say?" He shot me an accusatory glance, took a swig of his wine.
Okay. I deserved that. I hadn't reacted to Seraphina fairly.
"You're right. I'm so sorry. I should have handled that better. I was just caught off guard." I concentrated on the best way to make it up to him. "Hey, why don't you go out there and smooth things over while I start dinner? Make her feel at home. Once she's settled in, I'll come out and get to know her better."
"You can't cook." Dad stared at me blankly. It wasn't an insult. I'd admitted the truth of my inability to cook enough times that Dad was simply repeating the undeniable fact.
"I'm a grown woman with a smart phone. I'll figure it out."
Dad wrapped me in a too firm hug and kissed me on the forehead. "Excellent idea. She's wonderful. You'll see." He grabbed two glasses of the wine and shouldered his way into the dining room.
I lifted my glass from the pristine counter and paused. So, Dad had a girlfriend. An incredibly young, shamelessly beautiful girlfriend. Wrap your head around it, Grateful! I mentally shook my own shoulders. Well, one good thing, I'd be too busy cooking to have much time to visit.
I yanked open the door to the refrigerator, resigned to get started. No turkey. In horror, I opened the freezer. Yep. There it was: one, frozen, twelve-pound turkey. I pulled the ball of ice from the freezer and plopped it on the counter with a foreboding thunk. The icy sheen on the shrink-wrap frosted from the heat of the kitchen.
Wine in hand, I returned to the dining room to break the bad news. It was empty. I proceeded to the living room. Dad and Seraphina were shoulder to shoulder on the couch, carrying on an animated discussion. After a few moments, I cleared my throat to get their attention.
"Dad, the turkey is..." I trailed off when I saw his face fall. For some reason, this was really important to him. He must have strong feelings for Seraphina to introduce her to me and I could see he wanted tonight to be special. I hated the thought of disappointing him.
