A Million Little Things (Mischief Bay, #3)

“Oh, you agree on one thing,” she said. “You both want me to marry Chad.”

He surprised her by shaking his head. “Actually she doesn’t. She disapproves of Chad very much and would be disappointed that I mentioned you marrying him.”

“What?” Pam taking her side. “I thought she hated me.”

“She doesn’t. In fact, my guess is Pamela’s reaction has nothing to do with you at all.”

Like she was going to believe that, Zoe thought, choking down another swallow of herbal tea.

“She lost her husband unexpectedly,” her father continued. “She suffered greatly and didn’t know how to deal with the grief. Pamela wants control so she can keep those she loves safe. With you pregnant by Chad, there is no way for her to protect Steven. That’s why she’s lashing out.”

Zoe stared at her father. “Oh. My. God. Have you been watching daytime television?”

He frowned. “You disrespect me. I’m disappointed.”

“Dad, come on. That’s not fair. I can’t believe you’re being so emotionally deep and understanding.” She groaned. “That came out wrong.” Note to self: breakfast with Dad was a very bad idea. “What I meant is, you’ve really been thinking about this.”

“I have. You should do the same. Be more understanding.”

“Is this before or after I marry Chad?” she grumbled. “I’m the one who’s pregnant. Shouldn’t she be more understanding of me?”

“Yes, but that is not going to happen, so it’s up to you.”

“I hate being the mature one in a relationship.”

He smiled. “I’m well aware of that, yet you continue to rise to the occasion.”

“So you’re okay with her attitude.”

His humor faded. “Not at all. She hurt you and that makes me angry. But I’m trying to understand why.”

“You must really like her.”

“I find her...intriguing.”

Zoe wasn’t sure what to do with the information. For a while she’d been all in when it came to her dad and Pam. She’d been a little flummoxed by her dating Pam’s son and Pam dating her father, but this was Los Angeles and she was sure things like that happened all the time here. But her pregnancy had changed everything.

“Are you going to pursue things?”

Miguel flagged down the waitress and asked for more coffee. “You want more tea?”

“No, I’m good.” She was awash in herbal deliciousness. At least for now.

She waited, knowing her dad would return to the subject at hand. Sure enough, when the waitress was gone, he said, “I haven’t decided what to do about Pamela. We’d only gone out a few times. I thought there was some potential, but now I’m less sure.” He smiled. “You’re my daughter. I will always be on your side.”

“Thank you for that.” She wanted to say that Pam was a bitch and they should all ignore her. Except she knew that Pam was actually a really nice person. She’d seen it for years. This was the first time she’d been on the receiving end of anything that wasn’t supportive and positive. Maybe she was an idiot, but she was willing to think her dad was right and that she should give Pam the benefit of the doubt.

“She’s very protective of her son,” she said. “Looking at it from the girlfriend perspective, I was upset. But I suspect my thoughts on that will change when I have my own child to worry about.”

Which was as close to “go for it” as she could get right now.

“There’s nothing to be done at this moment,” Miguel pointed out. “Pamela is on her cruise. I’ll decide what to do when she gets back.”

“Waiting for a sign?” she asked, teasingly.

“One never knows. Stranger things have happened.”

Zoe believed that. After all, she’d been given a bad birth control shot and was now pregnant with her ex-boyfriend’s baby. That definitely fell into the “strange” category.

*

Pam stood on the corner with her friends and stared down at the double brick line that marked where the Berlin Wall had once stood. There were shops and restaurants and behind them the beautiful Berlin Ritz-Carlton Hotel. It was hard to believe that less than forty years ago, they would have been standing in the no-man’s-land between the two halves of the city.

She looked at the poster showing what it had been like before, then glanced around her. There were cars and buses. They were only a few steps away from luxury shopping. Her mind simply couldn’t reconcile the images.

“This is my favorite stop,” Laura announced, as she took pictures with her phone.

Olimpia laughed. “You say that at every stop. Each one is your favorite.”

“That’s not true.”

“Oh, but it is,” Eugenia confirmed. “Two days ago, Oslo was your favorite. Before that, Copenhagen. I’m sure when we get to St. Petersburg, that will be your favorite.”

Laura sighed. “Now I have to stop speaking to all of you. It’s very sad.”

Everyone laughed. Pam joined in, but more out of social politeness than because she thought the comment was funny. Not that it wasn’t. The problem wasn’t them, it was her.

Ever since leaving Mischief Bay, she’d felt strange. Off, somehow. Not sick, just out of sorts. Not that she knew what sorts were, but she was out of them for sure. Or sad. No, she wasn’t sad. She knew what that felt like. She’d lived and breathed it after she’d lost John. This was different.

She missed her kids. She knew that for sure. She kept wanting to text Jen or Steven to find out how they were. She’d specifically added the international plan to her cell phone so that wouldn’t be a problem. But what was she going to say? It wasn’t as if they’d parted on happy terms.

“That place looks great,” Eugenia said, pointing to a café. “Let’s get lunch there and then poke around town. We’ve got three hours until we head back to port.”

They’d already been on a city tour and had seen most of the sights, including the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie. Now they were on their own until it was time to get back on the bus that would take them to the train station and from there, their ship.