Page 17 of Father of the Bride
“I talked to him earlier,” Mark said. “He don’t seem like your type.”
“That’s funny. He doesn’t think much of you, either.”
“Oh, for real?”
“He said you’re uptight.”
He shrugged. “Answer my question.”
Sunny set her fork on her plate, leaning back in her seat, her toes wiggling in the sand. “We met. We dated. He proposed. That’s how those things usually go.”
He eyed her curiously. “You seem defensive.”
“Well, the way you asked that question made it seem like you were questioning my judgment.”
“I apologize. I guess I was just surprised to see you downgraded so much after me.”
She burst out laughing. “Okay. I see Kez is still in there, too.”
“Back like I never left.”
Sunny cleared her throat. “I’m sorry about your wife. Brooklyn mentioned that—“
He put up a hand. “We don’t have to get into it.”
She nodded. “Did she tell you she wanted me to…step in for her this weekend?”
“No.” His brows knitted together. “Step in, how?”
“To be there for her. As her mother-in-law, but also in a motherly capacity.”
He was quiet for a few moments before his eyes moistened. “And you said yes?”
“I did.”
“Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sure that means a lot to…Brooklyn.”
“She’s a sweet girl. I just hope I can do justice to the role.”
They sat in silence for a moment. In truth, Sunny was looking forward to it now that she was here. As a boy mom, she’d never get to go to the bridal shop for dress fittings or pass down her grandmother’s pearls. No mother-daughter pictures or brunches or shopping trips.
But maybe she could have all of that with Brooklyn.
“How did the future Johnny Cochran end up as Dr. Nip/Tuck?”
Mark chuckled. “That’s quite a story. How much time you got?”
“I have all night.”
“All night, huh?” His eyes darkened to two pools of black ink.
“Stop.”
He laughed and set his fork down. “One semester in, I realized I made a mistake. Oneyearin, I finally admitted to myself that I didn’t have to suffer in that mistake.” He took a long sip of the brown liquid in his glass. “It’s never too late to pivot.”
“No, but it can be very expensive.”
“You got a point there.” His gaze intensified. “It definitely cost me a lot.”
