Page 62 of Rock Chick Bonus Tracks

Seth sat opposite them.

Sadie had her head bent and she was talking a mile a minute while sliding photos across the table toward her father.

“Her name is Gretl. She’s everything. Hector gave her to me for Christmas.”

Seth spared Hector a quick glance, then looked to the photo and murmured, “Adorable.”

“She totally is!” Sadie gushed. “I’m going to be sad when her ears stop being floppy, but she’s such a good girl. Hector got her for my protection, but she’s so friendly. I’m not sure she’ll be good at protection, unless the bad guy is allergic to dogs or being licked to death.”

The glance Seth gave him that time lasted longer, but not too long, Sadie was sliding another photo across the table.

“That’s me with the girls at Roxie’s wedding. Roxie is obviously the bride.” She pointed the rest out. “That’s Indy, and that’s Ally. There’s Ava. And there’s Stella. And Jet and Jules. And that’s Annette, she’s a hoot! And Daisy, you know. Also, Shirleen.”

“That’s a large wedding party,” Seth noted.

“I know! Isn’t itaces?” She asked a question, but she didn’t wait for an answer. She slid another photo to him. “That’s Tex. He’s crazy. And very loud. But he’s a total sweetheart and he makesthe bestcoffee.”

Seth frowned down at the picture that showed Sadie glued to Tex’s side at Roxie’s wedding, his arm around her shoulders crushing her there.

He was smiling at the camera.

If you were trying to be kind, you’d describe the smile as awkward. If you were telling it like it was, you’d describe it differently.

“He looks like a serial killer,” Seth said.

Yup.

That’s how you’d describe it.

Sadie dissolved in peals of laughter, laughter that Hector paid very close attention to in order to assess if it was fake, stressed, forced or other.

But it was real.

What unnerved him was, when he returned his attention to Seth, he knew with her father’s sharp attention on his daughter, he was making the same assessment.

When she quit laughing, she assured, “He really is a sweetheart.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Seth drawled.

Sadie smiled at him.

And fuck him, Seth Townsend transformed when the man smiled back.

Because that was genuine too.

The bell rang, and that meant time was up.

Seth beat back his look of disappointment in record time (something else that shocked the shit out of Hector, the fact he’d let it show at all).

He then leveled his eyes on Sadie and said, “I’m glad you came, darling. I loved looking at your pictures. And please tell your friend, Jet, I appreciate the cookies. But if you don’t mind, I’d like a quick word with Hector.”

She paled a bit, looked between Hector and her dad, and settled on her dad.

“I do mind, Dad.”

“It’s not going to be bad,” Seth told her.

“Then why can’t you talk about it with me here?” she pushed.

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