Double Down by Alessandra Torre

Author:Alessandra Torre [Torre, Alessandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-18T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

“Oh my God, pull away now, before they hang up streamers.” I plopped down into the passenger seat, the leather warm against the back of my legs, and shut the door.

He shifted into reverse, the car growling as it backed up, then purred into drive. I pulled a baseball cap from my bag and put it on, waving to Meredith, who stepped onto the front porch.

“She’s a nice girl. More manageable than the other two.”

I smiled at the word manageable. With any other friends, I might have been offended, but Lydia and Jackie? Tolerable was a more honest way of putting it. “Yeah. She’s my favorite. I think she approves of you, too.”

Dario turned the corner. “I was thinking I’d drop you off at your parents’ house. Give you a chance to spend some time with them. I have some business I can handle while you visit with them.”

My nerves, which had begun to knot up each vertebra, relaxed, one stress point gone. My parent’s reception of Dario was more likely to be hostile than friendly. That dread, paired with my attempt to explain our relationship … I readjusted the seat belt across my shoulder. “That would be great.”

“How long do you want to stay there? A few hours?”

I glanced at the clock. We’d slept in late. That, paired with the morning sex and Eggo feast—it was already one. “Two hours would be fine. I don’t know if I could handle more than that.” I grimaced. “I think it’s going to be a combination of smothering and interrogation.”

He reached over, his hand covering mine and giving it a firm squeeze. “I can be there if that will help.”

Ha. I laughed and shook my head. “No. The only thing more awkward than discussing our relationship with my parents is for me to do it with you.” I peeked at him with a wince. “No offense.”

He smiled. “None taken. To be honest, I don’t have a great track record with fathers.”

I thought of Robert Hawk and felt a little queasy, my concerns about my parents so trivial in comparison to Gwen’s. The car picked up speed and a delicate breeze softly passed over my face. I had the sudden yearning for my old car, a Mustang convertible. When you put the top down on that, a cyclone of wind was created, conversation impossible unless you wanted to chew hair and scream at each other at the top of your lungs. In that, I could have avoided conversation and used the drive to think over what I was going to say to my parents.

Dario cleared his throat. “Just a reminder, tomorrow ... Gwen’s funeral is at one.”

“Oh.” I hadn’t realized, the days running together… I took a deep breath. “I wish I could go with you. Or support you, somehow.”

We had discussed this on the plane. It certainly wasn’t appropriate for me to be there, and honestly, Dario probably needed the time on his own to mourn. Still, I felt like I was abandoning him.

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