The Right One

by Ariadne Wayne

  As we turned into my street, I squinted into the distance at the house next door to mine. Elliot’s car? That beat up piece of crap was parked next door, and my heart sang as we pulled into my driveway.

  “Do you need me to take you to get your car in the morning?” Logan asked.

  “I’ll just grab a taxi over, though if Elliot’s home I’ll ask him to take me. I’ll call you if I get stuck.”

  “Elliot?”

  “My. Um. Well.”

  He laughed. “Never mind. You can tell me all about him later.”

  He got out and walked around the car to open my door, taking my arm to lead me to the house. “I’ll make sure you’re inside and okay before I go,” he said.

  “You are so good to me. What did I ever do to deserve you?”

  “You have always been so good to my lady. I’ll always love you for that.”

  I laughed. “Aww that’s so sweet. I should have recorded you saying you loved me.”

  “Becs?” From the dark alcove at the front door came Elliot’s voice.

  “Elliot?”

  He moved forward, and I squealed, throwing myself into his arms. “I didn’t know you were home yet.”

  “Obviously.” I looked up at his face. He wasn’t looking at me, more over my shoulder at Logan.

  “I’ve been at Katya’s wedding. I had too much to drink so Logan brought me home.”

  “Is that right?”

  I nestled my face in his chest, so warm, and his familiar scent filled my senses. I’d missed this man so much.

  “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Ahem.” Logan stood behind me.

  “Oh. Logan, this is Elliot. I thought he was back next week, but he’s here early.”

  “You’ve still got my jacket.”

  I clapped my hand over my mouth. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I promise I haven’t got too many girl germs on it.” My head was light now. Nothing could stop me washing away the wave of crap from this night.

  Slipping the leather off my shoulders, I let go of Elliot to pass the jacket back to Logan.

  “What are you doing, Rebecca?” Elliot said. I hadn’t noticed the pain in his tone until then.

  “Just giving Logan back his jacket. He can go home and we can go inside. I have a lot I want to say to you.”

  “Have you been screwing him too?”

  The words hit me like iced water. Did he really think I would do that?

  “No, I …”

  “I have just been through the worst time of my life and couldn’t talk to you about it because I was terrified you were going to walk away from me." His voice wavered as he spoke and I had no idea what he was talking about. Worst time of his life?

  He shook his head, clearly emotional. "Are we still a thing, Becs? Is he what you want instead?"

  Holy shit. With those words I had just about had it with all the men in my life. Apart from Logan. But that lasted about thirty more seconds.

  “Elliot, I haven’t …”

  “Have you already fucked him? Or was that coming after you told him you loved him?”

  I had no idea Logan could move so fast, but in an instant he had Elliot pinned to my front door, held by the throat.

  “What did you just say to her?”

  “Logan. Stop it. I just need to explain.” I grabbed hold of Logan’s arm, trying to pull him back, but I might as well have tried to move a really freaking big rock.

  “You don’t need to explain. If this is the guy you’ve been losing your shit over, he should know you wouldn’t do anything behind his back. And if he bothered to ask, he'd know I'm marrying one of your best friends.”

  Elliot glared at Logan before shifting his focus to me. “Becs?” His arms were down; he didn’t even try to fight against Logan’s hold. They were comparable in size, but maybe he realised it would just make things worse.

  “Let him go, Logan.”

  Logan nodded, dropping his hand. “Sorry, man. She didn’t deserve what you said to her.”

  Elliot kept his eyes on me. “I’m sorry. I’ll go.”

  “Don’t. Stay and tell me what’s going on and I’ll tell you about what’s happened with me,” I pleaded.

  He shrugged. “I can’t stay anyway. I just wanted to see you.”

  “Why can't you stay?"

  "I've got to get back to Nan's place."

  "See you in the morning, then?”

  Elliot moved past Logan, bending to kiss my cheek. “We’ll see. I’ve got other priorities now.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

  “Goodnight, Rebecca.” He looked back over his shoulder. “Logan.”

  I watched as he walked away, the earlier tears returning as he disappeared into the darkness.

  “What a dick,” Logan said.

  “I thought he’d give me a chance to talk to him,” I whispered.

  Logan wrapped his arms around me, giving me a big bear hug. “Let’s get you inside. Liv’ll call you in the morning.” He kissed the top of my head in a father-like gesture that just made the tears worse.

  Fishing my key out of my bag, I trembled as I slid it in the lock and pushed open the door. I flicked on the living room light, and sighed. It felt so good to be home, but my heart ached for Elliot. Too drunk to even think about going next door and talking him into coming back, I flopped on the couch.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Logan asked. He slid his jacket on over his arms and stood in the doorway as if unsure about coming in.

  “I’ll be fine now. I’m just going to go to bed and sleep this off. I’ll have to tackle Elliot tomorrow.”

  “Rebecca, for what it’s worth, the way he spoke to you wasn’t acceptable and I’m not sorry for what I did. But I think you mean a lot to him from the way he reacted to me. He’s gone off half-cocked, but his heart is in the right place.”

  I nodded. “I know.”

  “Don’t let him speak to you like that. Ever. If he does, he’ll have to answer to me. Okay?”

  I sniffed and nodded again, forcing a smile.

  “Call us if you need anything. Even if it’s three in the morning, we’ll be here.”

  “Thank you,” I said. I sounded hoarse from the combination of alcohol, crying and needing sleep.

  He winked and closed the door behind him. A mix of emotions swirled inside me as I sat there, unable to grasp everything this day had brought.

  Time for bed.

  * * *

  When I woke, I pulled myself up and out to the bathroom. I was still wearing the clothes from the day before, and my eyes were still red and swollen from crying. I am such a wreck.

  I swear the jackhammers in my head had multiplied since the last time I’d been drunk. And to my utter joy, the smell of bacon permeated my senses. Relief that Elliot must be back drove away the noise in my brain as I pushed the mop of unruly hair back out of my eyes and stumbled down the hallway.

  The kitchen was a mess. Beeping its head off was the fridge, the door hanging open the way I’d probably left it. Drops of bacon fat were everywhere, and a half-eaten sandwich sat on the kitchen counter.

  I groaned at the sight. Don’t drink and fry. Ignoring safety information was nothing new, but this was just stupid. I’d risked my house and my life for the sake of a memory. Thank God nothing had caught fire.

  Worse still was that Elliot wasn’t there, and I couldn’t even remember eating the damn sandwich.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  My mouth was like sandpaper.

  I am never drinking again.

  I wandered to the front window, taking a look next door. Elliot’s car was gone from the driveway. Shit.

  Picking up the phone to send him a text, I closed my eyes when I saw there was a message waiting. Please let it be something good and not more crap to deal with.

  I’m sorry. I have been through so much these past months and I really need to see you.

  My heart was in my throat as I read it. I wanted to see him so
badly, but at the same time my irritation at his behaviour still grated.

  We need to talk.

  I pressed send on the text. I nearly followed it up by telling him I loved him, but that might be a bit much for him to deal with right now and doing by text didn't feel right. I’d get him back to talk and then I’d explain everything. He had to understand. Maybe then he’d open up and share whatever he had kept from me.

  Elliot had secrets.

  I hated secrets.

  I hadn’t heard from my father either. Memories of seeing him and Nicola weren’t helping the nausea situation.

  I guess after all this time I couldn’t blame Dad. He might have had other women in his life since Mum, but he’d never made a big deal about it. Of all the people for him to be with.

  Oh God. What if this is serious and Nicola becomes my stepmother?

  Laughing out loud, I wished I had someone to joke with. Katya would be honeymoon humping, and Gemma was probably doing something similar with Justin.

  I picked up the phone and called Grace.

  “I’m not coming in today. I’m sick.”

  She snickered. “Your father is looking for you. That kind of sick?”

  Urgh. “Something like that.”

  “I’ll tell him you’re not coming in. If he wants to come looking for you then it’s up to him. He just showed up here with flowers. Is someone in trouble?”

  "Thanks, Grace." I hung up.

  I sat on the couch, hugging a cushion to my chest. Hell, if he wanted to screw someone younger then good on him. Without his identity, I’d cheered her on to pursue him. Did it really make that much difference knowing it was my father? Oh crap. It was my father.

  Lost in thought, a knock on the door startled me, and I held my hand to my heart, begging it to stop racing. Dad or Elliot?

  Please be Elliot, please be Elliot, please be—

  Dad stood in the doorway, a big bunch of geraniums in his hand and a pleading look on his face.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I just wanted to make sure we were okay.”

  I stepped aside so he could come in, his arm brushing mine as he walked past.

  “Dad, I don’t know what to say.”

  He looked me over, standing there in my daggy old track pants and sweatshirt, my hair unbrushed and tangled, and gave me a smile I hadn’t seen in years—the smile that said that no matter what had happened, he loved me. Sometimes, that was all I needed.

  I wrapped my arms around his waist, snuggling into his chest. He sighed, bringing in his arms for a hug, and we just stood there for a while. My daddy.

  “Do you want a coffee?” I asked.

  He kissed the top of my head. “That sounds good. Got a vase I can put these into?”

  I let go, nodding and taking the flowers from him. “They’re gorgeous, Dad.”

  “Just like my girl.”

  I shook my head with a grin, and left him to sit on the couch while I went into the kitchen. Moments between us like this had been few and far between for so long. Mostly our meetings were about business, and even when they weren’t, they inevitably turned that way.

  “I’ve only got instant,” I called out. Most days I grabbed take-out coffee, and my coffee machine sat on the kitchen counter unused. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d bought anything for it.

  “That’s fine.”

  It didn’t take long to boil the water and mix it all together, and I took two cups back into the living room, passing him one and sitting on the couch beside him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  I cradled the mug in my hands, taking a deep breath of that coffee scent and closing my eyes.

  “I should never have put you in that position yesterday. It was thoughtless and impulsive,” he said.

  Sighing, I opened my eyes, meeting his. “Dad, I don’t even know what to think.”

  “Not hating me would be a start.”

  “I could never hate you.”

  The silence hung between us as if we hadn’t just had the warmest hug in so very long.

  “You have always come first, Rebecca. No matter what. I loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you, and the thought that our relationship could be damaged by this is killing me.”

  Tears sat on my cheeks as I took another sip to try to get my head together.

  “I just wish you’d told me. Finding you like that was the worst part.”

  “Would you have understood?”

  “I think I would have tried.”

  I was tired, just wanting to crawl away and sleep the day away. Not just because of the after effects of my drunken night, but I wanted my brain to stop working, thinking about what I’d seen, thinking about what Nicola had said.

  Oh. My. God.

  “Now I know who she was talking about.”

  He cocked an eyebrow, his lips turned down. “What?”

  “We had a girls’ night a while ago. A sleepover.”

  He nodded.

  “Nicola told us all about this older guy she was seeing. How amazing he was and how he …” I stopped as I remembered her words.

  “Yes?”

  “Dad, it was a girls’ night. We were talking about S E X.”

  His eyes widened. I’d never seen my dad blush before, but there it was, his cheeks blazing as we stared at one another.

  He lowered his gaze, and I could see his indecision as he clearly struggled with asking me what Nicola had said.

  “I don’t know everything, Dad, but she told us a lot. Enough to know that she was very obviously impressed.”

  He grinned before blanking his face, but it was too late. The size of his smile told me volumes about how he felt about her.

  “You love her.”

  He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing as we looked at one another.

  “Well, I don’t know about that.”

  “I do. It’s written all over your face.”

  He sighed. “Say that’s the case. How would you feel about that?”

  “I can’t pretend it’s not weird, but I’m not going to be a bitch and stop you from being happy. Not after all this time alone.”

  His face softened as he took another sip of coffee. “She makes me feel alive, Rebecca. I buried myself in everything when your mother and I separated, and I know I haven’t always been the most attentive of fathers, but I want to change that.”

  I ran my finger around the rim of the cup. “So. Have you told her parents yet?”

  “We haven’t told anyone. It’s going to be a lot tougher for her than me, I suspect. You’re being very reasonable. But then, I wouldn’t expect anything else from you, my big-hearted girl.”

  He reached for my hand and I grabbed hold of him, squeezing his fingers in mine.

  “I love you,” he said.

  “I love you too.”

  “I had hoped you wouldn’t be too mad. Not after your dalliances with Lance.”

  There was no mirror required to tell me that any colour in my face was gone. I sat there, stunned, unable to say anything.

  “I’ll never forget when I worked it out. We were talking in his office when I spotted your shoes beside the desk, tucked under but not well enough. And then I saw a glimpse of foot with that bright red polish that you had spent hours on the night before.”

  I gulped. “All this time, you never said anything.”

  “What would I have said? You were an adult, and we weren’t that close at that time. Raising a girl was so hard, I had no idea how to connect with you and have the kind of relationship where I could talk to you about your sex life.”

  “Dad,” I croaked the word, fighting back the overwhelming feeling of helplessness. Back then I could have reached out to him, but had no idea how to connect with him either. It could have all been so simple.

  He smiled. “Tell me what else is going on in your life now.” He didn’t let go. I think he just wanted to the contact, wanted to know that he still had me despite my rea
ssurances. I didn’t want him to let go.

  “Katya’s wedding was such a screwy day. She found out about something I never told her from my uni days and got all upset with me, I found you with Nicola, and Alexander asked me out for dinner.”

  Dad’s lips twitched at that last bit. “Isn’t he engaged to someone?”

  I nodded. “He was there with his fiancée.”

  Dad screwed up his nose. “I hope you said no.”

  “As if that’s ever going to happen again. Besides, I have someone else. I think.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “You think?”

  “I’ve kind of been seeing someone. It wasn’t serious, but I wanted more. But the night of the wedding things got all screwed up.”

  “You didn’t take him to the wedding?”

  I shook my head. “He’s been away working.”

  “Oh? What does he do?”

  I bit down on my bottom lip. Here we go. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath.

  “Elliot doesn’t really have a career as such, he does odd jobs and picks up work where he can find it. He’s away labouring on a construction site at the moment.”

  Slowly, I opened one eye, peeking at Dad, who didn’t look half as horrified as I'd thought he might.

  “Does he have any career plans?”

  Might as well lay it all out there. “Not really. I think he has to work out what he wants first. He plays in a band sometimes, too.”

  One side of his mouth appeared to be trying to smile. “So my girl has found herself a musician?”

  “It’s been pretty casual so far.”

  “But you want it to be serious.”

  I shrugged. “I guess. I mean he treats me better than most other guys have. This whole him being away a few times like this has hit me harder than I thought it would.” I lowered my gaze, unable to look Dad in the face anymore. His expression still wasn’t giving too much away.

  “You love him.”

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “I do. It’s written all over your face.”

  I let out a choked laugh. Using my words against me—what was the world coming to? Dad grinned, his eyes sparkling like I’d never seen before, letting go some mischievous little imp inside.

  “I’m glad you’re happy,” he said. “I hope you’ve found someone who will love you forever. Maybe I’ll end up with grandchildren after all.”