Duffy just rolled her eyes.
“Go drink some beers, for God’s sake,” Tony said in disgust. “I’m fine.”
Duffy opened her mouth to retort, but I quickly put my arm around her and asked, “Do you want to get some air?”
“Yes,” she said, looking up at me. “Because if I stay in here, I might kill my father with my bare hands.”
“You got your nails done this week so that’s total bullshit,” Tony said, waving her off. “No way would you pay for salon tips and then do something that would ruin them. You’re too practical for that.”
“Thank you…?” she said sarcastically.
“You’re like your mother that way,” he said with a shrug.
Duffy looked down and swallowed. I gave her arm a squeeze and led her out of the room. She didn’t talk the entire walk down to the lobby. I knew she was freaking out inside because her dadwas her whole world (whether she admitted it or not), and when we got outside, I couldn’t stop myself. I wrapped my arms around her, needing to pull her closer and make that eyebrow wrinkle disappear.
I felt her body relax into me, and I kissed the top of her head.
“Thanks for bringing me here and for being so understanding,” she said, and I could feel the vibration of her voice against my chest. “I’m sorry to have ruined yet another attempt at a second date.”
“Yeah, what’s the deal with that?” I teased. “It’s like the universe is conspiring to keep us in the friend zone.”
As I said that, I realized how strange our situation was. I was at a hospital, worried about her worrying about her dad—who I’d hung out with multiple times—yet we still hadn’t been on a second date.
We weren’t technically…anythingyet, so why did she feel a lot like everything?
Movement caught my eye, and then I saw the guy with the camera. He didn’t have creepy paparazzi vibes—he wasn’t hiding in a bush and he looked more like a professional photographer than anything else—but there was definitely a guy standing in the parking lot taking a picture of me and Duffy.
“I hate that they’re here,” she said, scowling in the photographer’s direction. “My dad would hate it if people found out he’s sick. How do they even know where to find you?”
“I have no idea,” I said, but then I realized, I just fuckingknew, that Brian had probably called someone. “I don’t think they follow me, I think people just get lucky.”
“Well, he definitely got lucky,” she said, sounding amuseddespite her annoyance. “Not only did he score a picture of Connor Cunningham, but he scored a picture of Connor Cunningham wearing slutty leather short-shorts. He might win the prize for this one.”
“You think they’re slutty?” I asked.
“You know they are,” she said with a grin.
Her brothers had to get back to work, so Duffy and I stayed at the hospital until they got her dad situated upstairs. When we were about to leave, the old guy dropped a bomb on her.
“You’ve got to cover practice for me in the morning.”
“What?Me?” she asked, sounding outraged. “Why can’t one of the boys do it?”
“They’re all busy and the kids like you better anyway,” he said.
“No, they don’t,” she argued. “And what are they busy with?”
“It’s an hour, Duff,” Tony said. “You can’t give up an hour of your time to help your dad? To be nice to some kids?”
“Don’t play me like that,” she said. “I bet you didn’t say that when Ty said no.”
“Come on, kid,” he said. “Let me rest, knowing it’s handled. Don’t you want me to have peace?”
God, Tony was good.
“Fine,” Duffy said with a groan. “I’ll do it.”
“Such a good girl,” he said.