Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“Then what is your agenda?”
He stared for several seconds, his jaw moving again. “I have none.” He rose to his feet and walked away. “I’ve never had an agenda with you.”
I knocked on the open door to his study.
He sat behind the desk, in jeans and a t-shirt, scribbling something quickly on a paper. “Yes?”
“I finished the spreadsheets.”
When he realized it was me, he abandoned his task immediately and looked at me. “Thanks, sweetheart. I haven’t had a chance to check my email.”
I approached the desk. “Axel is waiting for his check.”
“Well, I’m busy today. He’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
I stood there, the laptop tucked under my arm.
It was clear he wanted to get back to work, but he didn’t want to be rude and ignore me. “Is there something else?”
I wanted to fire off my grievances right there, but I could tell he had more pressing matters on his mind. “Can we have dinner tonight?”
His eyes always lit up at the prospect of spending time with me, something I never took for granted because I knew others weren’t so lucky. He was the greatest father in the world, always putting me first, even when I was a grown adult living on my own. “I’d love to. I’ll pick you up at six thirty.”
“Great. See you then.”
I got into the back seat beside my father, and his driver took us to the restaurant a few blocks away. We were dropped off at the front, and my father’s men remained behind us, trying to blend in even though they didn’t look like patrons of the restaurant.
We were taken to a two-person table, while they sat together at a table for four, their guns and knives hidden underneath their jackets.
He pulled out the chair for me and sat across from me. “I was so busy today, I forgot to eat.” He looked at the menu. “I’m starving.”
I took a quick glance at it even though I already knew what I wanted.
“Getting the gnocchi?” he asked.
“You know me so well.”
The waitress came over, making eyes at my father, and then took down the order he gave for both of us. He ordered the wine too, making all the decisions in a nanosecond as always.
The wine was uncorked, and the bread was brought to the table.
I dug into the warm bread and ripped off a piece to dab in the olive oil.
“How was your day?” he asked.
“Good.” I swallowed the piece. “Yours?”
His eyes shifted back and forth between mine, like he picked up on my tone. “Something on your mind?”
I wiped my fingers on the linen in my lap before I looked at him. “Do you like Ryan?”
He stilled at the question, his eyes narrowing.
I waited for him to speak.
He took his time in responding, choosing between a lie and the truth.
I gave him the easy way out. “Because Axel tells me you don’t.”
He remained quiet.
“Which is news to me…”
He was a man of few words, always thinking carefully before he put his words out into the universe. He did the same thing now, rehearsing his approach before he spoke. “Sweetheart, it’s complicated.”
“We tell each other everything. It’s not complicated.”
“I’m not sure why Axel told you that.” Accusation was in his eyes.
Some strange part of me wanted to protect Axel. I had no idea why. “We were talking about relationships, and it accidentally slipped out. He was under the impression I already knew how you felt.”
The clouds in his eyes slowly passed. “Casting judgment on the man you’re interested in puts me in a precarious position. I have a lot more to lose in the situation than you do.”
“How so?”
“Because if I tell you I don’t like him, that might make you like him out of defiance.”
I gave a subtle shake of my head. “I don’t have that kind of attitude.”
“Or perhaps I’ve misjudged him, and I negatively influenced your good relationship when I should have stayed out of it. Or even worse, you distance yourself from me because my opinion makes you uncomfortable. If this were business, it would be more straightforward, but when it’s family, it’s infinitely more complicated. Being a father is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s also the best. And the last thing I want to do is ruin this pure, beautiful thing that we’ve built together.”
I looked into his kind eyes and saw the love he had for me burning from his soul.
“I’m sorry that I lied to you, sweetheart.”
“It’s okay, Dad.”
“I’ll be honest with you from now on. But please don’t ask me if you aren’t prepared for the answer.”
“Fair enough.” I gave a slight smile.
He smiled back.
“So, why don’t you like him?”
That brilliant smile disappeared, and he didn’t answer because the waitress brought our dishes. I got pasta, but he got a prawn salad. She walked away, and then we were left with the tension of my question.