He takes a moment to collect his thoughts. “Did you know that your mom and I broke up once?”

I’m a little taken aback by his question. I’ve always known my parents to be a strong unit. How did I miss this?

“When was this?” I ask.

“Mmm, you were about six, and Kylie was two.”

Six? How did I not remember my parents being broken up when I was six? And why is he telling me this now?

“What happened?”

“Well, you remember me working sixty-hour weeks when you were younger? That was honestly great work-life balance compared to what I was doing when you were that age. I was never home. Your mom was tired of raising you two by herself and not being heard by me. I lost sight of what was important. She had me leave the house and we were separated for six months.”

“You lived in a different house from us for six months?”

“Yep. It only took me one day to realize the mistake I made. The rest of the time I had to earn my place back by your mom’s side. Coming home to that empty apartment every day was hell on earth.”

“So what did you do to get back home?”

“I had to put in the work. Prove to your mom that I heard what she was saying and was willing to make the necessary changes to get my family back. I took a sabbatical from work to focus on you kids and attend couples counseling with your mom. We agreed that when I returned to work I’d be doing fewer hours. Granted it was still a lot, but I found a schedule that worked so that I always made time for family. She wanted to quit her job as a CPA to start her own accounting firm, so I gave her the support she needed to do that. It took a lot of work and compromise, but we found the perfect balance for us.”

I’m not even sure what to do with this information. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I want you to understand that if you really want something, you have to be willing to work for it. To give it your blood, sweat, and tears.”

Ahh. He’s telling me not to give up on Olivia. He doesn’t have to tell me twice.

“I got you, Pop.”

“I know you do.”

I spend another forty-five minutes catching up with my parents before I head out to run the rest of my errands.

By the time I get back to Olivia’s house, it’s almost dinnertime. As I’m about to walk into the house, a familiar Audi R8 pulls up into her driveway. What the fuck is Shane doing here?

“Why are you here?”

He laughs and I’m trying to figure out where he heard a joke. “Our girl invited me over for dinner.”

Our girl.