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understand.”
    “What’s not to understand? Ma Belle encouraged Gia to give up her child for adoption. Gia signed the papers, regretted it, and blamed Ma Belle for forcing her hand. See? Simple.”
    “Jail has done wonders for…”
    “Let’s get one thing straight. I ain’t proud of being in here. And once I get out I ain’t ever coming back. But being locked up makes a man see things differently-you view time differently. You might not want Gia to come back, but if she’s ever going to heal- she has to.”
     
     
    “Okay, young ladies. Are you two ready?” Daniel asked, breezing into the living room and fastening his cuff links.
    Starr and Neve glanced up from their current issue of Seventeen magazine and frowned at his attire.
    “You’re not wearing that are you?” Starr asked.
    “What?” he asked, and then glanced down at his outfit. “You don’t like it?”
    Starr’s gaze skittered over to her best friend and then ricocheted back to her father. “Well...you look like you’re going to one of those boring medical conventions. Don’t you have something more...casual in your closet?”
    Embarrassment flashed across her father’s face as he glanced down again. “This is one of my best suits.”
    “Exactly my point, Dad. This is a date not a business dinner.”
    “And lets not forget it’s the holidays,” Neve added. “You should be casual and fun at the same time.”
    Starr agreed. “Oh, what about that sweater I bought you for your birthday? That would look nice.”
    “Yeah. It warms your eyes.” Neve nodded.
    Starr and her father frowned at the teenager.
    Neve shrugged. “What? It’s hard not to notice.”
    Sighing, Starr shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I think you should change,” she told her father. “If she’s an interior designer, she probably has a good sense of fashion, too. You don’t want to scare her into thinking you’re stuck in the dark ages or something.”
    A palpable silence stretched between the girls and the lone adult in the room. After a few awkward seconds, Daniel turned and marched back to his bedroom.
    Starr smiled, but then turned toward her best friend. “It warms his eyes?”
    “Well, it does.” Neve shrank deeper into the plush sofa.
    A few minutes later, Daniel returned to the living room and sashayed around like a male model sporting his only Sean John outfit. “No autographs. No autographs,” he said, pretending the girls were a part of his rock star fan club.
    Starr and Neve giggled at his theatrics, and then thrust their thumbs high into the air.
    “Now, that I’ve passed inspection, let’s go before I’m late. Starr, did you already pack an overnight bag?”
    “Yes, Dad,” she moaned, easing out of her chair. She hoped they didn’t have to run through their usual checklist of the items she might have forgotten. She was only spending the night next door at Neve’s. If she had forgotten something, she would just walk back to the house.
    “Did you pack your toothbrush?”
    “Daaad.”
    Daniel held up his hands. “All right.” He smiled, grabbed her bag by the door, and waited patiently while the girls slid on their coats.
    “A few pointers, Dad. When you first show up, make sure you compliment her. But don’t just say ‘hey, nice shoes’ or something crazy like that.”
    “Make sure you thank her for the date,” Neve added.
    “Yeah.” Starr bobbed her head. “Good manners are still in style.”
    “That’s good to hear,” Daniel said sarcastically.
    “Dad. We’re trying to help you. We all know you’re a little rusty.”
    He looked as if he was about to reprimand her, but then dropped his shoulders and asked, “Is there anything else?”
    “Kissing,” Starr answered quickly.
    “Wait.” Daniel held up his hands. “I’m not taking kissing advice from my fourteen...”
    Starr stared at him sternly.
    “ Almost fifteen-year-old daughter,” he amended. “I have to draw the line somewhere.”
    “When was