Apparently, that’s in the past now, and Midge assured him that she was sweet enough to keep him satisfied. I didn’t like the wicked gleam in my dad’s eye when she said that and I had to think of sick babies and abused puppies so my mind would not think of my dad and Midge having sex.
“I’m finished,” my dad says as he throws the rest of his money down. “I don’t have enough to pay this brutal landlord across the table from me, and I don’t feel like taking out a loan from her.”
“Poor baby,” Midge coos and then looks at me sitting to her left. “You want to finish Emma?”
“No way,” I tell her seriously. “Not about to have your beady little slumlord eyes all on me. I stood a slight chance when you were focusing on bankrupting my father.”
Midge lets out a bark of a laugh, and I give her a smirk back.
See… so weird that we’re sitting here joking with each other.
“Well, I’m going to suggest an early movie,” my dad says as he looks at me. “But before we do, Midge and I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Uh-oh,” I say teasingly as I start to put my very small stack of remaining money back in the appropriate trays. “This sounds like a parental talk.”
“It is,” he says soberly, and that catches my attention so I turn to face him. “We think you should head back to join the tour immediately.”
I’m shaking my head before he even gets the words out. “No way. A few more days and then I’ll go back.”
“Emma,” my dad says soothingly. “I’m completely fine, feel fantastic, and I’ve Midge here to worry over me. But you, my dear daughter, are restless. I know you want to get back to Evan, so you should just go.”
“I do not want to get back to Evan,” I say stubbornly, and I’m not surprised when both my dad and Midge snicker. They’ve both made fun of me the last week because every time Evan calls I act like a high school girl tittering over her crush. And once Evan sent me a huge bouquet of flowers and I had—according to Midge—the most adorably goofy grin on my face for hours.
“It’s time,” Midge says, and I turn to look at her. She’s not my parent but she is my boss, and she goes on to prove it. “I’m hereby officially rescinding your family medical leave. Your dad doesn’t need you hovering and you need to get back to work, and since I still pay your salary, you have to do what I say.”
And that is definitely a snicker from my dad, so I shoot a glare his way. He just shrugs at me innocently.
“Emma,” Midge says softly. Kindly. Like a friend. “Go back to Evan. He misses you and you miss him, and you’re still his attorney and you still have work to do with him. Your dad is fine and I’ll take good care of him, I promise you.”
“Honey,” my dad says just as softly. I turn to him, and his eyes are warm and adoring. “Please go. You have a life to lead and I’m pretty sure the best part of it is waiting for you in Chicago.”
It’s true. Evan’s there now and getting ready to go on stage in a few hours for the first of two concerts being held in Chicago. He’s probably on the bus with Sirius, playing his guitar or just chilling with a beer. His pre-show ritual is pretty basic and focused on relaxation. If I were there, it would be spent in the bedroom with his hands stroking my skin and his mouth on my…
“Alright,” I proclaim as I stand up from the table. “I’ll go.”
My dad and Midge give me smug grins, and I give them a pass. In fact, I give them so much of a pass that I lean over impulsively to hug Midge before rounding the table to hug my dad.
“Love you, honey,” he says as he squeezes me back.
“Love you too, Dad,” I tell him as I pull away, and then with no mistaking the excitement in my voice, I say, “I’m going to go call Evan right now.”
I nab my phone from the table where it had been sitting and practically skip my way back to the guest room I’d been staying in. I’m dialing Evan as I shut the door and he picks up as I hop onto the bed and cross my legs.
“Hello?” I hear on the other end, and I’m so stunned that it’s not Evan answering, I actually pull my phone away from my ear to make sure I dialed the right number.
I did, so I say, “Hello?”
“Emma?” I hear back, and then I recognize the voice.
Tyler.
“Um… yeah,” I say back hesitantly. “Is Evan there?”
Tyler gives a laugh and it’s neither snide nor menacing as I would expect. Instead, it sounds actually kind of warm and amused. “He’s out giving Sirius a walk. Has a lot of pent-up energy since you’ve been gone, and I’m talking about Evan and not your dog. He should be back soon though, but then he’ll be jumping in the shower and heading into the arena.”