“I’m nervous.” As we walk to her door, he shoots me a stiff smile. He’s in love with a stranger, a stranger he wants to marry, and he’s nervous about meeting her for the first time.

Sounds about right.

“Does she like dogs?” I glance over my shoulder at Swarley.

“Loves them.” He adjusts his tie. When we stopped for coffee, he changed into a suit. It’s sweet—but still insane. He has to be drenched with sweat in this eighty-degree weather.

“What if she changes her mind when she sees me?”

My head and my heart are at war. I think this is a mistake, but I have never seen this vulnerability with my dad. I hug his arm, giving it a tight squeeze as I whisper in his ear, “Then she’s a fool.”

He kisses the side of my head as I release him and let him make the final steps to the door on his own. I pray that he’s everything she imagined and more and that she falls short of his expectations. Then he can walk away without feeling dejected—she’ll be the dejected one. Insensitive of me? Probably, but he’s my dad.

“Tommy!”

Oh precious lord of church chatrooms … Deedy is … well, she’s hot. And young. Wait, maybe that’s not Deedy, maybe it’s her daughter—oh, shit. They’re kissing. Clearly not the daughter.

“Well, praise Jesus we finally made it. You must be Deedy.” I walk up the porch steps.

Dear, God, make them stop!

My dad pulls away, breathless, with red lipstick smeared all over his face. “Sorry. Deedy, I’d like you to meet my youngest daughter, Avery.”

“Avery, I’ve heard so much about you. I feel like I know you.” She holds out her hand, and I shake it.

“Huh, I’d heard nothing about you until yesterday.”

Her jovial expression dies a little.

I revive it with a big, fake smile. “But it’s nice to meet you. Clearly, my dad thinks highly of you. I’m sure I will too.”

I won’t. It seems unlikely that she has the big dick I predicted, but I think I’d prefer it to perky breasts and an ass that could be on the cover of a glorious glutes exercise video.

“This is just like I pictured it,” Dad says, dissolving some of the tension as he glances around the outside of the house.

“Come in. Mi casa es su casa.” She hugs his arm and nuzzles his neck like I did just a few moments ago—minus the neck nuzzling.

“Can Swarley come inside?” I ask.

“Of course. I love animals. All life really. Especially this one right here.” She bops her finger on my dad’s nose then kisses it.

He grins and tips his chin to capture her mouth. It’s a quick peck, followed by another, and that leads to a deeper kiss.