I had never felt the allure of another human being this strongly, warmth and curiosity mixing to form an unspoken question in the air.

It didn't help matters that I was shy and wore glasses. I was never one to stand out in the crowd. I liked to stay in corners. And I was happiest when I was alone reading. That and the good grades I got in school had doomed any chance of being popular with my peers. So it was a foregone conclusion that boys like Hardy were never going to take notice of me.

He was so far from the gallant knights in her romantic fantasies...He was tarnished, scarred, imperfect.

He wasn't mine anywhere except in my heart.

Dad," I said hesitantly, "I wish you could be there for me even when I'm doing the wrong thing. I wish you could love me even when I'm screwing up.

You deserve someone better than me. Someone young and idealistic…someone who can experience things for the first time along with you. I'm not always kind, and I have more faults than I'd care to name. All I can promise is that I'll want you until my last breath.

Our gazes met. It seemed an entire conversation took place in that one glance. Each of us saw what we needed to know.