Page 51 of Sexy Bad Daddy

“Paynt’s wedding, I know. Speaking of, are you going to make me go shopping with you when you buy outfits for you and Abby to wear to the wedding?”

“Why do you ask?”

He leans close to my ear and whispers, “Because I want to make out with you in the dressing room.” Then he sucks my lobe into his mouth, and I grab the edge of the counter to keep from leaping into his arms and demanding he take me right here, our audience be damned. Or maybe Danny and Abby can go play something in her bedroom so we can…

“You guys are gross,” Danny says, sending me careening back to reality. “And do I have to go to this wedding shindig?”

“No,” Garrett says.

“Yes,” I say at the same time. “You’re working, remember? Ronnie’s paying him to help with setup,” I explain for Garrett’s benefit.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“I might be busy that day,” Danny says.

“Did you see how much she’s paying you?” I ask.

“Even if she’s paying you ten bucks an hour, that’s more than you’ve made in—when’s the last time you had a real job?”

Danny sniffs and lifts his chin in the air as he walks over and places his empty beer bottle in the sink. “I can tell when I’m not wanted.”

“If I had to choose between hanging out with you and Spot, it’d be the goat, hands down,” Garrett quips.

“Really?” Abby says from her seat at the table.

“Don’t get any ideas,” Garrett warns her. “Now go away, Danny. I want to hang out with my family.”

His family. He’s including me when he says that word. Except it’s all for appearance sake.

“Here,” I say to Danny, grabbing yesterday’s leftovers from the fridge and handing him the plastic container. “I’ll see you later.” He accepts the peace offering and heads out the door, and I’m left with my new, pretend family.

***

After dinner, Garrett bathes Abby while I clean up the kitchen, and then we both tuck her into bed. As soon as I pull the door closed behind me, Garrett wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me to him before pressing my back against the wall, trapping me between the drywall and his hard, hot body.

He licks my neck and whispers in my ear, “Finally, we’re alone. Now, let’s get naked.”

Oh, that sounds divine. Except … I’m not in the mood. I mean, I am, especially when he shimmies his hips like that. But I can’t get out of my head enough to focus. For the past two weeks, I’ve deluded myself into believing this is real, and now I realize it isn’t, and I’m not sure how to handle it.

Before, when I knew I was just a steady fuck, the rules were laid out ahead of time. I’d accepted them and my role in his life. Now I’ve spent two weeks believing I’m more than that and I don’t know if I can go backward.

Too much time has passed with me not reciprocating, because he leans away so he can look into my face. “What’s wrong?”

I avert my gaze. “Nothing.”

“Whenever a girl says nothing, that means it’s something. Even I know that.”

I squirm to the side, trying to get out from between him and the wall, and he lets me go. I wander into the living room with him trailing along behind me. Clearly, I’m not nearly as good an actor as he is, and I know I won’t get away without offering some sort of explanation.

“Danny told me why you’re acting like this.”

“Like what? And why do you listen to anything that guy says?”

“Because he’s usually right.”

“He’s an idiot. What did he say this time?”

There’s a magazine on the coffee table. Golf Digest. Garrett’s on the cover, with Abby perched on his left arm. They’re both grinning at the camera and holding golf clubs, hers a miniature version of his. The caption reads: Garrett Frost and daughter: two generations of golf greats. Kalvin Cooper didn’t mention the errant nanny in the article, other than to allude to the fact that Garrett’s life seems to be damn near perfect at the moment.

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