Page 24 of Surprise Baby for Daddy's Best Friend

"Yeah, he's fine. I think he just really needed some fresh air. Don't blame him. Being out here, the smell of all the food and alcohol isn't nearly as overwhelming anymore."

"You're right. It's not nearly as bad," she sucked in a deep breath. "Alright, fine. But you should go inside. I think your brother wanted to talk to you about something. I'll check in with my dad."

"Good luck. He might bite your head off with how grumpy he was when he left."

"Don't worry, I've dealt with the worst sides of him before."

They both chuckled as they walked past one another. I listened in as Kim walked back inside the restaurant and Mandi came closer.

"Dad?"

"I'm over here!" I stretched out a little and adjusted my pants to hide the hard-on I still had from being with Kim. I was all too thankful for the darkness of the alley to hide any clues of what happened.

Kim stepped around the building. A crease of concern coated her forehead. "Are you doing ok?"

I shook my head, "I’m fine. Barely drank anything either. You can check my drink if you don't believe me."

She sat next to me and clutched her knees, "About Kim."

I stiffened. I wasn't sure if Mandi knew and had just pretended to be ignorant. I was ready for whatever she had to say.

"She's been running off almost every night to see some guy and I'm worried she will get hurt."

I closed my eyes, trying not to show the relief on my face, "Why do you say that?"

She shrugged, "I don't know who she has been hanging around with and she won't tell me. I humor her and I'm probably encouraging it a bit much, but I wish she would stay in with me for once. I don't want her getting hurt. None of us know who this guy is, so how can we trust him."

I wanted to tell her she could trust the mysterious man because it was me, if for no other reason than to ease her nerves. Mandi didn't deserve to feel so upset about something that wasn't dangerous for her friend. And yet telling her would also mean destroying her trust too because I was hiding it from her.

"You could just ask her to stay with you tonight. I'm sure whoever this guy is will understand."

"You think so?"

I nodded. I understood completely. I might want Kim all to myself, but my daughter's well-being was far more important than any needs I had, "As a man myself, I think I know a bit more about their feelings than you could ever know."

Kim leaned her head on my shoulders and let out a heavy sigh, "Dad, I don't know where you get your wisdom from, but I'm glad you can ease my worries."

I kissed her on the top of her head and rested my cheek on her. These moments were worth more than anything in the world. I was a fool when I was younger to have missed out on all the moments we could have had together.

"You should join your friends. They're going to worry about you and soon everyone's going to come out here chasing one another. I like the quiet."

"Alright, dad," she gave me a quick hug and then stood up. "Don't stay out here too long. We don't need the cops called because some big scary man is lurking in the shadows all night."

I watched as she walked out of the alley toward the entrance and listened as the door opened and closed on her. I let out a sigh of relief at the quiet that engulfed me. I could let my thoughts be their own. If I wanted Kim to spend time with Mandi, then I needed to make sure I didn't cause Kim to want to leave. Even if it meant more stress tonight, I wasn't going to stay in my room for a while. Perhaps I could spend it with Maurice catching up a bit. Easier to keep Kim away that way and push her to spend time with Mandi and the others where she was meant to be.

The feral animal inside me paced back and forth, wanting to fight against the prison I was putting around it, but complied for now because its desires would eventually be met again.

9

KIM

Iface-planted into the bed and let out a low roar of frustration. Everything about the day had been way too stressful for me. This was supposed to be a vacation, and yet I had Mr. Handsome who was definitely out of bounds, always in my eyesight to remind me about the night before.

At least he didn't seem to mind that we shouldn't be so close to one another. The fact that he was my dad's best friend didn't seem to faze him. I couldn't understand how he did it. He could look at my dad one minute and then glance at me with those gorgeous eyes of his, that made me want to purr.

"This is ridiculous," I groaned and rolled onto my side.

"You say something?" Mandi called from the bathroom. The buzzing of her toothbrush filled the air. "I couldn't hear you," she managed to mumble out.

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