Page 53 of Tempted By the Bosshole

“At the time.” But not after she was gone and I realized she’d lied to me for a decade. She and Doug drop-kicked my pride more than they broke my heart. “Not anymore.”

“Then what’s this revenge really about?”

I tap my thumb on my thigh and sift through my thoughts. “Anger.”

“Dig deeper.”

Fuck, I hate it when Steve reads me this way. “Me trying to force karma.”

“That sounds right. But Doug is always going to have a strained relationship with his daughter because he earned that. And Julia will be old and childless someday, and she’ll wish she had chosen family and love over ambition and adultery. They’ll both die with bitter regrets. You need to give up this revenge, search your heart, and decide what’s truly going to make you happy.”

“Steve?” Laurel calls from the kitchen. “Check your meat. I think I’ll be ready in less than thirty.”

“Think about it.” My brother hops up, leaving me with my thoughts.

I fear he’s right. What the hell am I going to do?

* * *

My niece and nephews return. Dinner is served, and classic Christmas tunes fill the dining room along with a lot of chatter, laughter, and love. I watch my wife. Isabella isn’t saying much, but her faint smile tells me she’s taking the scene in. She looks surprisingly content.

After dessert and a ruthless game of poker, Laurel begins yawning. She tries to be discreet, but she cooked an incredible meal for eight, so I’ll bet she’s been up since the wee hours. Besides, I want to spend some alone time with Isabella. I lost myself inside her barely nine hours ago, and I’m already desperate for her again. And I have to figure out how to undo all the damage I’ve done seeking this revenge so I don’t lose her. Maybe I’ll take her on a honeymoon…

In the car, I reach for her hand. “Have fun today?”

“Yeah. Even when I was a kid, Christmas wasn’t like that. My mom’s parents lived in Oregon, where she was from. I have an aunt, but I’ve only met her once, when she came to Mom’s funeral. My grandfather died when I was four. My grandma didn’t last too long after that. My dad’s parents had all but disowned him years before. Anyway, since I was an only child, it was always just the three of us for the holidays. For as long as I can remember, my parents fought—no matter what day it was. There wasn’t much happiness or Christmas cheer.”

“We’re definitely going to change that and embrace new traditions together—you, me, and our kids. Speaking of—” I stop the car with a scowl when I turn onto my street and see Julia’s familiar silver SUV in the driveway and Doug leaning against it, arms crossed like he’s pissed as hell.

He also looks like he’s aged ten years in the last two, when I last set eyes on him.

Beside me, Isabella gasps. “What is my dad doing here?”

He’s come to get in my face. He’s come to get payback for my retribution. I wanted this revenge so badly. I spent hours compulsively putting my master plan into place. I wanted to get a rise out of him, and I sent him a picture designed to boil his blood. Now I wish I hadn’t. I wish Doug would just go the fuck away.

How will Isabella handle his unexpected visit?

“Shit.” It’s definitely going to hit the fan.

Heaving a sigh, I pull in the driveway, my heart dropping to my stomach even as rage flashes through me. I haven’t been any sort of saint, but this asshole hasn’t paid attention to his daughter in a decade. What gives him the fucking right to think he can suddenly waltz back into her life and school me?

Sliding my car past my ex-wife’s and slinging it into the garage, I shove my Mercedes in park, cursing under my breath, and kick my door open. “Doug.”

He’s already coming at me, fists clenched. “You son of a bitch.”

I’m damn happy to meet him halfway. “You can say that after what you’ve done to Isabella? I should punch the fuck out of you.”

My wife hustles to my side and grabs my arm before I throw the first punch. “Nathan, don’t.”

“He’s ignored you. He’s hurt you.”

“She’s an adult. I let her live her life,” Doug argues, then peers at his daughter. “Why did you marry him?”

“Oh, yeah. Thirteen is so grown up.” I scoff. “You tool. She needed a father then, and you skipped out for money. Then you show up a decade later—after not paying for her last year of college, like you promised—and try to play daddy? Fuck you.”

Guilt flashes across Doug’s face before anger takes over. “Shit happened, and I dealt with it the best I could. Diana and I should never have gotten married. We were too young, and we wanted different things. But I never stopped loving my daughter. I just?—”

“You had a fucking odd way of showing it.”

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