“Yeah, we all know you can hold a grudge… I mean, can be a grump.” She quickly pulls away and continues before I can give her comment some thought. “But everything is good now. We even video chat, believe it or not. So I at least know what he looks like, even if his name is still a mystery.” She immediately winces. “Forget I said that last part. Where is the food anyway? Do we have to get up and get it at a counter or is this—”
“You don’t know your father’s name?” I ask incredulously.
She plants her elbows on the table and drops her head into her hands. “Ugh, can we go back to not being friends? I blab too much around you. A woman can only handle so much embarrassment,” she mumbles into her hands.
I slide my hand behind her neck and lift her head. The movement brings her close enough for us to feel each other’s breaths on our lips. Her eyes widen for a moment, looking at my lips before she meets my eyes. She clears her throat and painfully adds some space between us. “M-my name.” She clears her throat again. “I hate my name. I mean.” She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “Okay, let me try that one more time without my brain short circuiting.” She gives me a shy smile. “When my parents met, my mom fell head over heels in love. She thought he did too, but clearly, he didn’t because he gave her a fake name.”
My body stiffens immediately.
Nicolette.
The memories of the night we met hit me like a ton of bricks. The feeling of betrayal when my sister informed me that Nicolette was actually Nikki.HerNikki. Putting into question every moment we’d shared together, every second since I’d fallen in love with her at first sight.
I shake away the knee-jerk reaction and blow out a breath.
I need to stop. This isn’t the same thing. Technically, that is her real name, and I need to stop feeling personally slighted by her giving me that name when we first met. After all, we were strangers to one another. This isn’t about me. It’s about Nikki’s absentee dad, and I need to keep the focus on her.
“What name did he give her?” I drape my arm over her chair, leaning in a smidge.
She groans before finally answering. “John McClane.”
I’m not quick enough to stop the laugh that bubbles out of my chest, but out of respect for Nikki, I try to cover it up with a cough. Her face lets me know she’s not buying it. “Yep. Clearly my mom hadn’t seen, or hadn’t paid attention toDie Hardmovies, even though I was born in the early nineties.” She rolls her eyes. “I only found out during my preteen years, because I was watching the movie with my mom on Christmas morning, and she goes, ‘Hey, what a funny coincidence that he has the same name as your father.’ That was another reason I had cut him out of my life. He let me walk around with McClane as my legal name when it was just a stupid alias. To this day, he swears that John is his real name, but he won’t disclose his actual last name.” She starts peeling the wrapper off her water bottle. “It sucks when the first man who’s supposed to love you unconditionally won’t even claim you with his last name.”
Her pain cuts me deep, and in that moment, I realize I would do anything to take it away.
It’s his loss for never claiming her with his last name. A second realization hits me then—I’d happily give her mine.
Fuck. Why did I go ahead and plant that seed in my head? I need to slow down. I don’t want a repeat of the last time I got close to Nikki. The one that ended with her forgetting me the very next day. If I’m in this for the long game, I need to start acting rationally.
“But there’s nothing I can do about it. So I just take what he gives me, sporadic video chats and texts, and move on with my life. And I know I must sound stupid, but there are times when I feel like he’s with me. Not like a spirit or anything like that, but ever since we’ve started video chatting again, I feel his presence more prominently in my day-to-day life. And it’s kind of soothing,” she finishes.
I take a moment to think about everything Nikki has disclosed about her family today. I can’t even imagine how alone she must have felt growing up. It’s worlds different from my experience. I’ve been smothered with family my entire life, some of whom I’m not even related to by blood.
There’s nothing I can say to change her past, but I know with every fiber of my being that I’ll make it my mission to make the rest of her days better.
I clap my hands, bringing her attention back up to me. “Well then, now that we’ve gotten your villain origin story out of the way—”
Her whole face lights up with mock fury. “Excuse me!”
I sloppily place my index finger over her lips, almost to the point of picking her nose. “Hush, I’m speaking. As I was saying—” She swats my finger away while giggling. “You’ve planned an amazing day for us, but now I’m taking over. We have a couple hours to kill before this excursion is officially over, so how about we have a little fun?”
She fully turns toward me with a mischievous grin. “So what do you have in mind, Tony?”
Oh, wouldn’t she love to know?
* * *
We’ve been going at it nonstop.
Cave diving, bachata dancing, and eating. Lots of eating.
Nikki’s tried every fruity cocktail under the sun, and I’m pretty sure the bartender who keeps sending beers my way is my second cousin.
For the last hour, this restaurant has turned into a dance club packed with young college students taking advantage of the legal drinking age.
I’ve never felt older than right now, seeing young kids vying to win the club’s dance off competition. The prize? A mamajuana shot.
But that doesn’t mean I’m not grinning from ear to ear as I watch Nikki cackle at all the outrageous dance moves these rowdy kids are performing.
