I have a never-ending appetite, and when I’m on any kind of break from school, it’s usually a guarantee that I’ll spend half the day stuffing my face. Thank God for my fierce metabolism, I guess.

James turns back to whatever it is he’s doing, sorting through envelopes, a quiet, broody air about him. It’s not unusual. My father, for all intents and purposes, isn’t a wordy man. He’s a strong silent type for sure, and emotions turn him into even more of a statue.

I won’t say I don’t understand it, because I’m an introvert myself. But no one sulks quite like James McAllister.

And because I’m me, my need to fill awkward silences becomes an itch I can’t not scratch. “So when are you leaving for Boston?”

He stiffens. I can see it most in his hunched shoulders as he mutters, “That’s not happening.”

My surprise whirls. “What do you mean… You’re not going?”

He takes in a long breath, then turns slowly, leaning up against the island. “Leslie and I broke up.”

The sudden wave of feels hits me head-on, damn-near knocking me down. “Oh…” My mouth is just hanging open, for many generous seconds, before I follow it up with what I’m hoping comes out as a normal response. “What happened?”

He stares at me for a moment, dark gray eyes locked on mine in a way that makes my fingers twitch. I desperately want to look away, but I can’t. I’m stuck.

“She just… wasn’t the one,” he huffs, his tone final as he spins and saunters away, calling over his shoulder, “I’m gonna grab a shower. We can order pizza later, if you’re still hungry.”

And then he leaves me, standing like a stumped moron in the kitchen with my mouth agape.

Blinking myself out of it, my body’s first human reaction is a secret smile, tugging at my lips uncontrollably. I bite down on the bottom one to keep it in check.

They broke up. My heart is pumping wildly in my chest.

Of course I would never wish unhappiness for my adoptive father. He’s the only family I have in this world, and I definitely don’t want him to become a grumpy old hermit who never finds love.

But at the same time, after enduring two years of that snobby, pretentious woman, I can’t find it in myself to be upset about this news.

James deserves better. Let’s be real here… Leslie is a bitch. She clearly doesn’t like me, and I’ve never been able to figure out why, since she barely knows me at all. You’d think if you were trying to get serious with someone, you’d at least make an effort to bond with his son. But she hardly ever came around.

Part of me held onto that, knowing that if she were making more of an effort to get to know me, it might’ve actually worked out between them. I’d been secretly hoping she wouldn’t try, which she didn’t. Good. Who needs her?