Daddy Issues

While I'm not clear on where one gets an official copy of the girl code, it seems like "thou shall not covet thy bestie's hot dad" would be pretty high on that list. Even if my hormone-ridden peanut brain would love to read into every interaction we've ever had, and imagine he's been pining away for me too, my judgment is clearly not to be trusted here. It's time to move on. Unfortunately, coveting is a hard condition to kick when you find yourself spending Christmas alone with him at his fancy house. It's even harder when you throw in the storm of the century, a mountain of snow where the driveway should be, and learning your best friend's father isn't quite as disinterested as you thought he was. Now, the one thing I know for sure, is this is a Christmas I'll never forget.

So, before you judge me too harshly for what I'm about to tell you, I think it's important to lead with the disclaimer that this is not like me. At all. If somebody Googled "cautious, responsible, people-pleasing eldest daughter", a picture would probably come up of me baking twenty-four loaves of banana bread for all the neighbors in our building after my roommate flooded the bathroom. So, as you can see, I am not the kind of person to catch feelings for my ex's tech-billionaire father after spending three days stranded at his house over Christmas. Nor am I the type to keep in touch with him after I go home, keeping up the façade of friendship when the unspoken "if only things were different" hangs over our heads. Now, it's Valentine's Day, and Julian Ballard is on my doorstep. It shouldn't change anything. After all, cautious, responsible, people-pleasing girls do not fall in love with their ex-girlfriend's father. ...Oops.