Page 54 of Sexy Bad Daddy

Chapter Fourteen

GARRETT

“How’re the prince and princess of golf?”

“Is there any truth to the rumors that you two are looking to tie the knot soon?”

“How has your daughter taken to you shacking up with the nanny?”

“Erin, Erin, how do you deal with the female groupies?”

Gripping Erin’s hand, I don’t stop until we’ve made it past the line of paparazzi outside the event Callum talked me into attending at the golf club. Sooner or later, I am going to have to stop listening to him when it comes to anything that doesn’t make or break my career.

“Are we doing okay?” We stop for a moment at the top of the stairs and make a show of being together. A kiss on the cheek, my hand at the small of her back, a wave to the crowd. It can’t be easy to be thrown into this the way Erin has.

“Are we?” she murmurs. Her smile’s a little too big, a little too tense. If I had only said no, we would be at home in bed right now. I never expected that bed would become one of my favorite places. It’s a marker of how much Erin is changing my life that we spend Saturdays in bed, drinking coffee and reading newspapers while Abby plays with Spot Junior between us. Or that she sleeps in my bed more nights than she doesn’t. The fact that I never planned for her to dig her way between my covers doesn’t even bother me anymore. It’s just right.

Right for me, and right for Abby.

“Do you miss being single, Garrett?” Fiona Davenport weaves between a couple of fans to get as close to us as possible. “Do you think you’ll ever regret getting tied down by the woman who’s supposed to look after your kid?”

Fiona’s voice is nails on a chalkboard and instantly grates on my nerves. The woman refuses to let up, and I’m not sure if she digs for a story or her own personal satisfaction, but if she’s hoping for the latter, she hasn’t got a chance.

“No, I don’t.”

“You were the bad boy of golf, able to have any woman you wanted, and now you’ve settled for this Cinderella story? Is Garrett Frost in love?”

Erin does that thing where she almost turns around but doesn’t dare give away the fact that she wants to know the answer, too, so she stares at a fixed spot somewhere ahead of us. And yeah, maybe Garrett Frost is in love for the first time. It’s possible. Logical even. But how am I supposed to know if this is more than just really great fun? Leaning closer to Erin, I whisper in her ear, “If looks could kill, Red.”

“I can’t stand her,” Erin says, then we’re moving inside the building and the tension melts from her face and shoulders as I take her coat to check it.

A few of the other guests stop to talk to us as we make our way into the room where tables and a dance floor are set up. We make polite chitchat over champagne as we do the rounds, nothing too stimulating, but, frankly, I’m stuck on the whole love thing. Callum, having spotted us, waltzes across the room, a glass in one hand and a woman I’ve never met before on the other. God help me, I cannot talk media strategy tonight. The sponsors are happy for now. Why can’t we let it rest? At least until I come to grips with this new belief taking root in my skull that matches the constant sensation in my chest.

“Let’s get a drink.” I take Erin’s hand and start dragging her toward the bar.

Digging in her heels, six-inch stilettos that match her floor-length silver dress, she grasps my arm. “Garrett, about what Fiona said.”

“That woman is all bark and no bite.” I intend to press on to the bar, but Erin’s gnawing at her lip like she might actually be considering running away. I finger a loose lock of auburn hair and tuck it behind her ear. “You shouldn’t listen to a word she says.”

“Why is that?” She drops her hand from my arm. “Is it because she’s right that you’ll regret this? Or is it because you’re in love with me?”

“Neither,” I tell her, taking her by the crook of the elbow. Now I really need a drink, because I may have just lied to her face. “Let’s get some champagne and enjoy the evening. Callum’s spotted us anyway.” I pick up a couple of flutes from a tray resting on the bar a moment before a server picks it up and meanders through the crowd. Handing one to Erin, I toss back the sparkling liquid. “Can we talk about this later?” Winding an arm around her waist, I pull her closer, so that we’re almost standing side by side. “At home? In bed?”

“Maybe.” She takes a breath and nods as though she’s come to some conclusion, some resolution. “Okay. There’s something I should tell you about my employment situation anyway.”

Most likely she wants to quit being Abby’s nanny. Almost surprising she let it go this long before she called the fact I’m still paying her into question. Especially after Callum brought it up three weeks ago, when we decided to try turning our relationship into a relationship. It’s strange how hard it is to see what’s right in front of your face until someone else points it out to you.

“Evening, Garrett, Erin.” Callum finally catches up to us. “You two are the talk of the evening. The way you ignored Fiona Davenport’s questions outside. It’s all anyone’s chattering about. Is professional golf’s bad boy in love for the very first time?”

Is he? How on earth am I supposed to know the answer to that when I have never felt this way about anyone before?

I glance at Erin, who is standing frozen by my side, pretending not to pay any attention whatsoever as she stares at nothing in particular at the far end of the room. In this case, nothing in particular might be the band setting up or the older guy off to the side of the stage who is looking, no ogling, my girlfriend again. Wasn’t he doing the same thing when we walked in? Christ, is she my girlfriend?

“Excuse me,” she says. “I need a minute.” She practically thrusts the glass into my hand and walks off.

“Is Erin okay?” Callum asks. We both watch her go until she’s out of sight. “She doesn’t seem her usual spirited self.”

“It could be everyone asking me if I’m in love with her while she’s right beside me,” I snark.

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