Page 68 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 2

I laughed. “Nope. That’s normally reserved for me.”

Her shoulders stiffened, and I could see tears fill her eyes. “You’re not going to get rid of me, are you? Send me away to some boarding school for rich kids whose parents don’t love them anymore.” I watched in horror as the tears fell down her ruddy cheeks.

“What on Earth would give you the idea that I would ever let you go?” I gasped, my free hand going over my heart as if it were breaking in fucking half.

She shrugged.

I reached out and tilted her head up with two fingers under her chin. “Emily, you are the most important thing in my life. Maia was not wrong when she said that. Nothing will ever come between me and you. I am your father, and that will be so until my last breath.”

She swallowed, and her lips trembled. “But what if you want to like get married, and then go off and be free like Mom does with her men?” She cast her gaze away as if afraid to see my response.

I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose, my nostrils flaring as I mentally tore Portia a new one for creating this new fear in our daughter’s mind.

“Emily, I may have a girlfriend, and I may, in fact, want to marry her, but she does not replace you. Not now, not ever. She will be added to our lives, not replace another’s position. And there is no way I’d ever shuttle you off to a boarding school. I love you. I love being your dad. I love having you just down the hall when I put my head on my pillow at night. Nothing gives me peace like knowing you are safe, sound, and happy, living right under my roof.”

Emily flung herself into my arms and cried against my neck.

“Is that why you were so nice to Maia? Because you’re worried I’m going to replace you with her if you don’t like her.”

She nodded against my neck, her tears wetting my skin.

I held her tight. “I want you to get along with Maia. She could really use a good friend like you. And for me, I really like Maia as a part of my life. But she will never replace you, because you’re irreplaceable, Emily. I will never love another the way I love you.”

“But Mom never wants to be with me…” she sobbed. “And if you want to be with Maia like she wants to be with her boyfriends…”

“No! Absolutely not. Do not compare me to your mother. I loved Portia, and the best thing she ever gave me during our marriage was you. A gift I’d never give back. And if she can’t or won’t spend time with you, then she’s missing out. I will not be missing out.”

“I love you, Daddy.” Her voice cracked.

“I love you, baby. Forever and always. You never have to feel otherwise.”

She sniffed, wiped her nose on her sleeve, and smiled. “I do like your new girlfriend. She’s really pretty, dresses cool, and she’s so small. Do you think she’ll want to hang out with me too?”

I cupped both her cheeks and wiped her tears away with my thumbs. “If she doesn’t, she isn’t worth my time.”

Emily snickered and softly punched me. “Daddy, if you keep up that talk, you won’t have a girlfriend for very long.”

“Oh is that right, because you’re the expert on girlfriends?” I tickled her ribs until she howled with glee. “Get out of here. Go paint with Christophe.”

She bounced up, the melancholy gone as quickly as a swift breeze passing through a window.

Exhaustion set in as I watched her bound up the stairs. My gaze became rather blurred at the edges and my eyelids were hard to keep open. I eased up and went to my room to find Maia hadn’t moved an inch. I removed my pants and overshirt and slid into bed next to her in my underwear and t-shirt. I curved an arm around her slight form, tucked my face into her sweet-smelling hair and passed out.

Episode 52

Make-up Sex

JACK

“Get naked,” I demanded, pulling my shirt over my head and tossing it to the floor.

Summer stared, mouth falling open as her gaze traced every dip and valley of my chest. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink as she licked her bottom lip, making it glisten.

I groaned and flicked the button on my jeans. Her eyes lit up with a desire I was eager to quench.

She took her time crawling up and onto her knees.

I cocked a brow. “I showed you mine,” I gestured to my bare chest. “You show me yours.”

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