Chapter 54

Scarlett

Thursday comes quick. Matt and I are in his car on the way to the usual restaurant, Charred . I was a little confused when my dad first chose to bring his vegetarian daughter to a steakhouse, but they have quite a few options. It’s nostalgic now.

I’m keeping to myself in the passenger seat, trying not to show how nervous I am, but keep playing with my dark red blouse. Matt keeps looking over at me.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart.” He taps my thigh.

I bite my lip and nod.

Once we arrive, we find out from the hostess my dad is already sitting down. She apologizes and blushes while she stares at Matt. We follow Little Miss Gawker. Matt looks at me with a smirk, but puts his hand around my lower waist, leading us to a booth where my dad is seated.

He rises from his seat and grips me in a hug.

My dad is an average height. He has dark hair, but it’s beginning to show signs of gray, especially in his goatee.

He isn’t thin, but isn’t fat. What does stand out are his eyes; even with his glasses on, they’re a stark contrast to the dark hair—the same blue color as mine.

“Hi, Letti.” After a moment, he turns to my boyfriend. “This must be Matt,” he says, holding out his hand to shake.

“Yes, sir.” Matt reaches out to complete the handshake. “ You must be Scarlett’s dad, Mr. Daniels.”

“You don’t miss a thing,” he says. I noticed he doesn’t say to call him by his first name, John. Oh boy.

My dad holds his hand out for us to sit. Matt unbuttons his dark gray blazer before he sits down, his sage green shirt bringing out the small specks of green in his eyes. He looks calm, but I see him adjust his watch.

Once everyone is settled, my dad starts the conversation. “Thanks for coming to join us. Scarlett and I usually do this to catch up, but I’m glad she brought the guy she has been seeing. How long have you been seeing each other?”

Jump right into it, dad. God, I need a drink for this conversation.

“Dad, we have plenty of time to chat, let’s get something to drink first,” I pipe in, hoping to alleviate a little tension.

Matt isn’t on the same page, apparently. “We’ve been seeing each other for about three months.”

My jaw drops in surprise. It sounds like Matt has counted the days since we had our first date. I didn’t even realize it had been that long. Good move, Matt, good move.

“Is that true, Letti?” My dad raises an eyebrow. “How long were you planning on keeping him a secret from your old man?”

Before I can answer, Matt pipes in again.

“She just wanted to make sure I was one hundred percent in before wasting your time. I can assure you, that I am all in with Scarlett.” I glance at Matt with my eyebrows up to my hairline.

I don’t know why he felt the need to answer for me, but at the same time, the answer was so sweet I bet I have hearts bulging out of my eye sockets.

My dad isn’t so in love. “She does have her own voice, Matt.”

“Of course she does. I just wanted you to know I’m taking our relationship seriously, and me answering would be a way to show you I truly care for your daughter.”

My head is moving back and forth between my favorite men like I’m watching a tennis match. The match is interrupted by our waitress for the evening, who asks for our drink order. As soon as she leaves, they’re right back at it.

My dad serves the next question. “So, what do you do, Matt?”

“I’m in real estate. I usually buy apartment complexes, fix them up, and rent them out. I could dabble in anything that makes money, though. We’ve done very well in Texas so far and I’m here for a project. Testing the market.”

“Yeah, dad, he does a lot of the work himself. Well, he does a lot of things on his own, in general—like flying planes,” I explain.

“You’re just here temporarily?” My dad has his hands in front of his mouth with his elbows on the table. His bushy eyebrows raise over his glasses. “What’s your plan moving forward with my daughter if you’re going back to Texas?”

My shoulders are up to my ears and my leg starts bouncing under the table.

“I have plans to ensure my future with Scarlett, but I’ll let her explain.”

“Wow. You’re finally going to let my daughter talk? How thoughtful of you.”

I want to put my hands over my face and hide under the table. “Dad, can you relax a little, please?” I widen my eyes, hoping he’ll get the hint. “Matt has done nothing wrong. If anything, he has treated me like a princess. Let’s all be nice.”

He glares at Matt for a moment, then swishes his drink around. He takes a sip. “Okay. How is the gym doing?”

My shoulders relax from my ears. “It’s going well.

We have a steady base of clients and I’ve hired more trainers to help in addition to adding more classes at more times.

We’re about to add childcare since we didn’t need so many offices and have gotten more modern equipment.

It’s coming along. The gym is actually where Matt and I first got to know each other. ”

“Sounds like you’re making a lot of progress,” my dad replies, followed by another swig of his drink.

“How are your classes going, dad?”

“They’re going smooth. Having an actual job always helps.” My dad maintains eye contact with Matt.

How can I end this night?

Matt seems unfazed by the comment, although I notice another twitch of his wrist with his watch. Pretty positive he does that when he’s nervous. It’s hard to spot, but I know what to look for now. We eat in silence since there’s no safe topic. Before dessert, Matt excuses himself.

My dad turns to me. “He seems nice, Letti. He also seems like he’s going to break your heart. What’s your plan? Are you going to another state for a guy? Up and leaving your dream job?”

“Yeah.” I bite my lip. “It makes sense to go with him eventually. My plan is a little unclear right now, but I told him I would move with him.”

“Sounds like you’re running on fumes. You can choose to go with him, but what about the life you have here ?”

“Dad, I know. You don’t think that I haven’t thought about this exact issue every step of our relationship?” I glare at him. “We couldn’t stay away from each other. I can’t ask him to move here. He has a lot he would be giving up too.”

“I want you to use your head here, Scarlett. Falling for someone has major consequences, as you’ve seen first-hand with your mother and I.

Look how that turned out. I just want you to be smart.

Is he really the best guy for you ? Are you really willing to sacrifice everything you’ve worked so hard for? ”

“With all due respect, we aren’t you and mom.” I squish my eyebrows together. “Whatever I decide to do is my decision. I’ll figure something out. I always do. I just know it’s hard to see a life without Matt.”

“Jesus,” he responds, combing his goatee with his hand while taking a deep breath. “Sounds like you’ve made up your mind. I have to say, it doesn’t sound like it’s the smart decision.”

“Dad, come on. I’m an adult and I know what’s best for my life.” I get up to get some space from him. I don’t think I’ve ever been mad at my dad, but he’s projecting way too much from his own relationships onto mine. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” I walk off without a response.

I think I’m so mad because I know my dad is right. Choosing to leave to follow a guy isn’t a clever decision. I’m highly aware it’s not a good move to leave a business I just started. He could choose to leave me any time and then I’ll be left alone and abandoned somewhere I don’t know.

My heart says leaving Matt would be an even worse decision.

I’ve gotten to know the real Matt and I’ve seen the side he doesn’t show everyone.

I’m trusting him to keep my heart safe even though I’m scared.

I’m scared to leave behind my friends, the town I’ve lived all my life, and the routine I know, but love is worth it. I think.

My feet have led me to the front patio. I needed some fresh air from the crisp night to bring some relief.

I’ve never had a big argument with my dad; we usually come to a quiet agreement on most things. Tonight, I had to protect Matt as well as my own choices. I can’t believe he won’t try to give Matt a chance. He doesn’t know him. He doesn’t know all the support Matt has given to me.

I guess that’s my fault. I didn’t keep him informed. But it’s not any of his business.

As I’m fuming, an arm wraps around my waist and Matt’s smooth voice is in my ear. “You okay? I knew I shouldn’t have left. What happened?”

He knows right away something is wrong and came to talk to me about it. Not only that, but he felt like he could protect me if he stayed. My eyes tear up, thankful for the thoughtfulness.

I’m still entering into unknown territory.

I don’t know if Matt and I will last, I don’t know what the gym’s future will hold, and I don’t know how I’ll fit into a new place.

My dad is making me see the side of this situation I’ve been avoiding.

I know I want to be with Matt, but there’s so many questions.

I don’t want to tell Matt, though. I need to figure out what I want on my own.

“Nothing. My dad was just being overprotective. I didn’t care to stay to hear more of his nonsense.”

“Scarlett, I’m here,” he starts. The tears almost fall. “When you want to talk, I’m here, okay?” He kisses the top of my head.

I’ve never been in a relationship with such caring and openness before. Matt knows me and he knows what I need. It’s why I want to do anything to keep us together.

“Thank you, Matt. Thank you for being there for me and for coming tonight. I know it’s a little awkward.”

“Oh, your dad? Don’t worry ’bout him. I grow on people.” He winks, making light of the moment.

“Come on, sweetheart, let’s wrap this up and then I’ll take you to get dessert downtown. ”

“We are in Seattle’s downtown.”

He gives me his infamous sideways grin, making me think I missed something.

“If you mean your dick, you’ll have to try again.”

“Oh, come on. After such weirdness, I thought my dick would be a welcome treat to make things better.” He keeps his smirk in place and I laugh as he leads me back to the table.

“You’re back. I didn’t know if you’d be returning. Are you staying for dessert?” My dad asks, making me almost start laughing because of Matt’s remark. I manage to keep it together.

“I think we’re about to leave, dad. Thanks for dinner. See you soon,” I tell him and give him a side hug and kiss on the cheek.

He pulls me in for a full hug. “I love you, Letti. I just want the best for you.”

“I know. Love you too.” I pull away. “Goodnight, dad.”

Matt shakes his hand. “Goodnight, sir. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

I could have read that wrong, but was Matt just rubbing the fact that we’re staying together in my dad’s face? The balls on this guy. My dad looks at him with squinting eyes as he finishes the handshake.

Matt and I head out of the restaurant with his hand on my lower back.

“So where did you go?” I look up at him.

“I went to take care of the bill. I don’t want you to feel like you owe your dad anything.”

I freeze. “I’ll pay you back.”

“Nope. You’re my girlfriend. I want to take care of you. When are you going to listen? I want to do things for you. Let me get this one. ”

I mutter, “I can take care of myself.”

“I know. Sometimes it’s nice to have some support just because.”

Matt makes me avoid the “what if’s” again. He makes me think it’ll be fine if I move with him. At some point, I’m not going to be able to avoid things anymore, but it’s not tonight.

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