Page 52 of Knot My Only Fan

Bardot purses her lips into a straight line. “But not before?”

“What’s the point? It’s not like he’ll be there and rub my aching feet.”

“He might,” Bardot says.

I shake my head before I swipe a layer of rose pink lipstick over my lips. “He won’t.”

“We’ll talk more about this later.” Harlow kisses my cheek and checks her watch for the time. “Stanton will be here soon. Finish getting ready. I need to make sure Bardot is looking half decent.”

“Excuse me,” Bardot hisses.

I chuckle, and I’m glad the conversation is over for another day.

Chapter 17

Lucas

“I told you to leave it alone!” I yell at my father.

“It’s about time you listened to me. You need to find a wife and settle down.”

“Why? It’s not like I bring any shame to you. I play hockey and come home.”

“And drink.”

I raise the bourbon in my hand that Stanton handed me before he told me he had a surprise for me later. Then he left to pick up his date, and I stayed to argue once again with my father. “It helps me to forget everything.”

“You have a good life. What the hell do you need to forget?” my father yells.

“Everything. You. The fact you ruin everybody’s life.”

“If you’re talking about your brother, then forget it. He ruined his own life. He couldn’t hack being in finance. But then at least his career was admirable.”

I glare at my father, but it’s not the first time he has been disparaging about my choosing to play sport for a living rather than a financial job in the city. “Low blow.”

“Honest,” he retorts.

“How is this for honesty? Levi left because of you, not because he couldn’t hack his job. He left because of your expectations, because of the demands you put on him. The same demands you are now putting on me. But I’m not Levi, because...” I pause as I stare at him. His back is against a floor to ceiling window which has views of Central Park behind him.

“Because—“ Father looks around my apartment. “You have everything because of me. This apartment is owned by me.”

“Stanton and I can afford to pay the rent,” I hiss.

He shakes his head. “I’m prepared to make a deal.”

His deals only ever suit him. He’s the reason my brother fled not long after he tried to make his last deal.

“Go on.”

Dad strides forward until the toes of his black leather shoes touch my bare feet, and we’re eye to eye, even if it means he needs to look up to me. Normally, he prefers to stand a little away for that reason, but this time, he must feel confident.

“Marry Raine, and I’ll give you this apartment. I’ll sign it over to you the day you sign the marriage certificate.”

“No.” I don’t hesitate as I answer.

I can’t. The moment I let him buy me, I’ll owe him for the rest of my life.

“And when you give me a grandchild, I’ll give you fifty million dollars.”

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