“Have you ever tried to contact her?”
Miles shakes his head. “Edward made it very clear I was never to contact her, and if he found out, my life might as well be over. Like I said, I was young and arrogant. If it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen. I wasn’t going to compete with a man who could crush everything I’d worked so hard for.”
“Do you still love her?” I ask, but it’s faint.
Miles glances toward the glass of chardonnay, skimming his fingers along the rim of the glass.
“Some things you can’t change no matter how hard you try.”
The waitress serves our food which warrants a change of topic.
We spoke for hours. He asked me questions about my life, my work, and friends back home. I learned so much about him and my brothers, still shocked I have an Australian father.
We laughed, having a similar sense of humor which made it easy to converse. Spending time with him is effortless. I could have listened for several more hours if it weren’t for the restaurant staff sweeping the floors around us, warning it was almost closing time.
“This isn’t goodbye, Gabriella,” he tells me outside on the pavement. “I’m glad you have found me. I really hope we can be a part of each other’s lives.”
I throw my arms around his waist, pulling him in for a tight hug. His arms feel like shields of love—his protection and warmth filling the void which has consumed me my entire life.
I don’t want to let go, the tears shimmering in my eyes at the thought of never seeing him again.
Miles buries my head in his chest, stroking my hair as he plants a kiss on the top of my forehead.
“Hey,” he whispers. “It’ll be all right. We’re family now. You’re not alone.”
The heavy sobs gurgle up in my throat, the typhoon of emotions bearing down in this one embrace. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything, Gabriella.”
I pull myself away, creating a distance as I look into his eyes. “Can I call you Dad?”
His beaming smile is enough to wash away any doubts I had about meeting him.
“It would be my honor.”
We say our goodbyes, agreeing to meet for breakfast the morning before I leave for the States.
Back at the hotel, I knock on Aubrey and Chance’s door.
Chance is still out with some friends while CJ’s sleeping peacefully in the middle of their king-size bed.
“So, it went well?” Aubrey yawned, sitting at the edge of the bed with her legs crossed beneath her.
“He was everything I could have asked the universe for in a father,” I whisper, contently.
Aubrey leans her head on my shoulder. “I told you it would work out. How can anyone not love you?”
I linger beside her until my eyes weigh heavy with exhaustion. “I’m going to go to bed. Tomorrow night for dinner?”
“Yes, it’s fancy. Some restaurant which revolves around a tower. Chance booked our table, so we’ll meet in the lobby at six.”
“It’s a date.”
For the first time in a long time, I wake up in a delightful mood. It’s almost as if a piece of me has returned, and boy have I missed her.
The tension of meeting Miles has disappeared. I am optimistic things will be great between us and look forward to meeting my new family.
The bed in the hotel feels like a giant cloud, so soft and inviting making my sleep completely dreamless, giving me the much-needed rest my body craved.
After a healthy breakfast, I shower and change into a navy dress I bought at Venice Beach. It’s kind of quirky, nothing like the stiff wardrobe my mother used to make me wear. The dress has a lapel neck with the hem sitting mid-thigh. Around my waist sits a thin camel-colored woven belt. But that isn’t the best part—it has cats all over it—small white cats. I love it so much I bought the same dress with pineapples.
The weather forecasts for some mild rain, so I decide to wear my white sandshoes and tie my hair back into a ponytail.
Chance and Aubrey are visiting Chance’s family out in the suburbs, so I decide to take in more sightseeing. Now I know my father is Australian, I want to learn and see more of this beautiful country.
With my map in hand, I make my way to the concierge.
“Hi, I was just wondering the best way to get to Taronga Zoo.”
“Sure.” Byron, as his name tag says, draws on my map. He’s rather good looking—very Chris Hemsworth with his sandy blond hair and deep voice. “The quickest way would be to walk down to Circular Quay, then catch a ferry over, unless, of course, you fancy a bus ride.”
“A ferry will be nice.”
Byron suggests some attractions at the zoo which are a must-see. I take it all in, noting his warning to start at the top of the zoo and make my way down because the hill is a killer walk.
“So, meeting someone there?”
“No.” I smile, politely. “Just me.”
“How long are you here for?”
“We leave on Monday.”
“We?”
“My friends and I. I just want to get in as much as possible while they attend to other commitments.”
Byron’s a wealth of knowledge. We talked for a while about places to see in Sydney. He told me some anecdotes, all of which I welcome with a laugh. Somewhere during his story about handling a snake at the Australia Zoo, Steve Irwin style, Chance is standing beside me in the lobby.
“Hey, Gabbo.” He pulls up beside me, bumping my shoulder on purpose.
Where this new nickname has come from is beyond me.
“Listen, I want to talk to you…”
The second he says it, Oliver walks through the main door. My breathing becomes hitched as our eyes meet carelessly.
Why does he have to be so unbelievably sexy?
I hate that he still has a firm hold over me like a spell unable to be reversed no matter how hard I try.
He’s dressed casually, yet even in his chino shorts and plain white tee, the man manages to make me weak in the knees. Oliver has always been fit, but his body looks even more defined than I remember it being.
I notice the black Mercedes parked by the concierge and bow my head, keen to avoid an argument with Oliver in public.
“I was just heading out.” I clear my throat. “Byron was giving me the directions to Taronga Zoo, so off to hug it out with some koalas.”
“Byron…” Chance says confused until it registers. “Oh, this bloke.”
“Listen, I should go.”
Accidentally, my glance shifts toward Oliver, again. Beneath his baseball cap, his eyes drill into me, but his words are non-existent.
If he wants to play the game of being an asshole, I won’t entertain his childish behavior. I’ve gotten sleep, finally easing the tension of meeting my father, and with a small amount of confidence finding its way back to me, I’m nothing like I was the night I crashed his apartment. Sad and pathetic would be a great way to describe my behavior.
I’d tried to apologize and true to his arrogant persona, he made me feel ten inches tall with his disregard for my presence.