Page 37 of The Bodyguard and the Bombshell

“I’m happy to have Carys here,” her mother said. “I’m also very glad Carys has apparently been mentoring Daisy at the club. She’s right. I would like to know why my daughter stays in the locker room when she has a whole club to play in and Liam”—she pointed a finger Da’s way—“don’t even start on her being a good girl because I will bring Erin in here. I love you, but I won’t let you shame our daughter. She isn’t some shrinking virgin.”

“Well, she’s not anymore, and that’s young Nathan’s fault,” Da shot back.

“No, it’s Justin Harper’s fault.” He’d been her boyfriend, though she wouldn’t have called them terribly serious. They’d had a bunch of classes together and they seemed to fit, and not once had she felt for him like she did for Nate.

Probably because he wasn’t Nate and never had been even close. She had to acknowledge the fact that she’d been thinking about Nate Carter for years.

“I don’t need to hear that,” her da said. “I knew we shouldn’t have let you go off to college.”

“You probably shouldn’t have let me out of the house,” Daisy said quietly.

“Aidan, I’d like an answer.” Her mother stared a hole through her brother. “What does your father mean?”

“I’d like to know, too.” Carys crossed her arms over her chest. “I would also like to know why it’s perfectly okay for me to play in the club but it’s too dirty for Daisy.”

“Now, you know what I’m talking about, Carys,” her da insisted. “You have a perfectly good fiancé. It’s fine for you and Aidan to do whatever you like.”

“But I’m alone so I should be a virgin?” This conversation was everything she’d been afraid of.

“I only want you to be safe,” he replied, his voice going low. “It’s not the same for you as it is for Aidan. We have to protect you, and part of protecting you means having conversations with the men who want to get close to you.”

What had Nate said? She hadn’t believed him at the time, but now she wondered. “Like you had Aidan talk to guys at The Hideout?”

“What?” Carys’s head shook like she didn’t even understand the words Daisy was saying.

“Sweetie, why would you think your brother did that?” her mom asked.

She felt tears fill her eyes. “Well, it’s not like I haven’t tried to play. But when I do, suddenly no one is available.” She turned to her brother. “Did you or did you not warn all the Doms at The Hideout not to play with me?”

“Don’t you dare lie to her,” her mother warned. “Aidan, I’ve dealt with your father putting Daisy on a pedestal because I thought he didn’t know how to handle having a daughter. But you damn well know how to handle a sister. So I need to know if you’ve been meddling with your sister’s relationships.”

“I’ve been protecting her.” Aidan sighed and pulled the cap from his head, shoving it into the pocket of his scrubs. “I know those guys, Mom.”

Oh, but he didn’t. “You barely knew that guy named Grim. And Josh Barnes.”

“I knew his name was fucking Grim, and he wasn’t getting his hands on my sister,” Aidan shot back.

Carys’s jaw had dropped. “You warned Doms off her?”

“I did what my father asked me to do,” Aidan replied with a frown.

“Yes, he’s done a good job, but he took his eyes off her this time,” her da replied.

The room went quiet for a moment and her mother stared at her father. “Li, I need to speak with you in private.”

She rarely heard her mother talk to anyone in that tone of voice. It was usually directed at her, a sure sign she was in trouble. She almost never heard her mother use a harsh tone when talking to Da or Aidan.

Daisy’s gut clenched. She didn’t want to be the reason they had this conversation. She hadn’t meant to make her mom upset. She loved her mom. Loved them all. Her family was all she had.

Were they going to ask her to give up Nate?

What would she do if they told her she had to choose? Should she choose momentary joy over her lifelong family? When Nate eventually decided she was too much trouble, who would she have?

She’d only spent a single night with the man. The best night. The hours she’d spent with him had made her happier than she’d ever been, made her feel more than she’d thought she could, and it hadn’t all been about sex. He’d talked to her, opened up to her, and it had been everything.

But if it hurt her father, did she have any right to momentary pleasure?

“Avery, you don’t understand,” her da argued.

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