Page 10 of Driven Daddy

My black Jag sat in the driveway. My dad was already gone. I’d had the car for twelve years and I barely had twenty thousand miles on it. Most of them coming up here. There was really no need for a car in the city—but man, did I love to drive her.

I slipped inside, where the inside was as jet black as the outside. Curious, I checked the glovebox and found two missing from the already dwindling pack.

The old man did give me life, and it was his funeral if my mom found out.

I backed out of the drive and made my way around the curvy lanes and streets that made up one of the older suburbs of Crescent Cove. It was an eight-minute drive into Main Street. The foot traffic was high since it was such a nice day.

September was capricious in Central New York—especially late September. And since it was a weekday and I’d seen myniece and nephew at my mom’s house, I assumed it was one of those half day or teacher day deals.

Instead of trying to figure out off-street parking and hoping someone didn’t mark up my Jag, I turned into the lot behind Brewed Awakening. And because I was there, I snuck in for an Americano before I walked down to Every Line A Story.

The trees were starting to drop their leaves and the air off the water was crisp enough to remind me it was Fall. It was still a bit warm since New York could never decide just how warm it would get by midday.

The pedestrian traffic was high, but far more sedate than what I was used to. I slowed my usual brisk walk and forced myself to look around instead of rush along. I took in the sweet vanilla scent of the bakery with its window full of fall treats.

Cupcakes decorated with leaves and pumpkins in traditional oranges and yellows along with pastel pink versions of the same. And because it was Crescent Cove, there were a few crescent moons as well as baby-themed cookies.

As usual, Sugar Rush had a line to the door for treats. If it calmed down by the time I left the bookstore, I’d pick up some sweets for the house.

A few of the smaller stores had come and gone since last I’d been in town. Lately, I’d just been doing my familial duty with the family dinner and rushing back to Chelsea to work.

I could only get away with missing one or two before my mom gave me shit about it.

I paused at the sandwich board outside of Every Line. It had a list of upcoming events, including my signing. I’d convinced Ryan Moon to come with me for the first printed edition for her web comic. She’d been one of my first artists to come on board with Duality Press.

Her significant other had been a ball-buster with her contract. Helped that he was a lawyer with a sharp eye. He’deven pointed out a few things I hadn’t noticed in the boilerplate contract.

I wasn’t trying to screw my people out of funds—I was far too aware of what that was like, but she was an untried artist. But I’d taken the chance on her, just like Ryan had taken the chance on me, and we’d done very well together.

So much so that the digital had demanded print. It reminded me of my old days of hoarding Garfield comics. I turned to the window, which had half a dozen of myKnights of Chaosgraphic novels, as well as the first edition of Ryan’s charming fox and cat duo.

A woman with lemon blond hair was idly picking her way through a spinner of postcards. She was petite and wore one of those floral—nope, strawberries—dresses that had taken over this summer. This one was a frothy pink that reminded me of a champagne cocktail with the playful berries print all over.

She moved to the other side of the spinner, and I got a look at her face, and it was a punch. She was a mix of girl next door with the freckles dusting her nose and cheeks, but the very delectable top of the dress showed off not-so-petite breasts.

But the surprise was the chest plate tattoo that didn’t exactly match the rest of her. It was delicately done with a cameo in the center. Except when you looked a little closer, there was a Mona Lisa smile on the tattooed woman’s face.

One that reminded me of secrets and that that indefinable female essence that made men forever insane.

When I dragged my gaze back up to her face, she caught me looking. Her full lips quirked up into a half smile. Her green eyes were darkly fringed and amused before those dark lashes lowered and reminded me the secrets of her cameo. A sweep of lemon-colored bangs hid most of her brows and I had a feeling those brows were just as emotive as her eyes.

She melted away into the store, and I quickly went to the door to follow her, but she was gone. I went down the aisles at the front of the store. I was tall enough to be able to see her, but she’d vanished.

A creak of the stairs at the back of the store gave me a clue to where she had gone to, but Colette Edison, the owner of the establishment spotted me, and she rushed forward.

“Penn! I didn’t know you were coming in today.”

I craned my neck toward the back of the store, then gave up and smiled down at the stunning brunette. Her bright golden eyes edged toward whiskey and she always had a ready smile. She wore a similar dress to my mystery lady, this time in lavender with matching darker plum flowers, and she was far lusher than the blond.

But there was no fist strike with Colette. She was beyond beautiful, but there had been something about the other woman. Something I hadn’t felt in a damn long time.

She frowned up at me. “Something wrong?”

“There was a blond when I came in…” I shook my head. Now I was going to sound like a creep. “Never mind.”

Her wide lips pulled into a smirk. “You crushing on one of my customers, Penn?”

I felt my face heat. “I’ve never seen her before.”

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