Page 93 of Love Without Demands

“All I did was give him the opportunity. He’s the one who did all the work and turned Estrada Investigations into a booming business.”

I knew he was just being modest. Paul had been the catalyst behind Papa’s success while still allowing him to maintain his pride. Something twisted in my stomach, but it wasn’t unpleasant at all. It took me a minute to realize what it was.

Love for Paul.

The man who’d seen someone struggling and helped in the best way he could. The man who’d sacrificed his own wants and happiness to do what he thought was best for his child.

Benjamin Estrada loved and raised me, and I absolutely loved him with all my heart. He was my papa. But that didn’t mean that I couldn’t make room for someone else inside my heart.

My chest felt like it was expanding, forming a new and open space, and for the first time, I truly saw Paul Bouvier for what he was.

My dad.

Chapter 30

“Ms. Kincaid, we havea delivery for you,” the concierge for my apartment building said. “Would you like me to have someone bring it up to you?”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll come down and get it.”

A few minutes later, I walked back into my apartment with a huge white box adorned with a bright red bow. “What the hell?” I asked the box, but it didn’t answer.

Placing it on my couch, I opened it, my eyes bulging when I pulled back the tissue paper to find a glittery emerald-green dress and a shoebox with strappy black stilettos. A small velvet bag held pretty silver jewelry dotted with dark-green stones.

A grin crept over my lips when I saw the cream envelope with my name on the front in Cruz’s handwriting. I impatiently opened it and read the card.

I was positively giddy. We must be doing the final role playing scene on my list… a one-night stand with a dark and dangerous stranger.

I’d never had a one-night stand in my life, but it made me hot as hell when I read about them in books. And tonight, I knew Cruz would fulfill my fantasy.

Entering the upscale space, I walked straight for the bar, keeping my eyes forward. Everything was done in dark woods and greens, and the lighting was dim. I’d wanted to be someone totally different tonight, the kind of woman who would go home with a complete stranger, so I straightened my hair and fashioned it into a high, sleek ponytail with a thick strand wrapped around the base. My makeup was more dramatic than I usually wore, my eyes smoky and my lips a sparkling copper.

As instructed, I took a seat at the bar and hung my small black purse on the hook underneath. A bartender approached immediately, his gaze dropping to the ample amount of cleavage on display in this green dress.

“What can I get you?”

“Top shelf margarita on the rocks, please,” I ordered.

The man was back in a few minutes, placing the icy drink in front of me and waving me off when I pulled out my wallet.

“Your drink has been taken care of by the gentleman in the back corner,” he informed me, inclining his head to a spot behind and to the right of me.

Hmmm, he’s already here?

Picking up my drink, I took a leisurely sip before swiveling my chair to find the “stranger.” And sweet baby Jesus, I almost choked on my drink. Cruz Estrada was seated in a round booth, looking like a sin I’d like to commit.

He was dressed in solid black, from his pants to his suit jacket to his button-down shirt, which had three buttons open. I noted a gold cross on a thin chain around his neck, and it hung directly against his muscular chest. His hair was slicked back tonight, giving him a dark and dangerous vibe.

Going for aloof, I lifted my glass in thanks before turning back to face the bar. From that angle, I could only see a sliver of him in the mirrored back wall, but each time I turned slightly to cast a glance at him, his full attention was focused on me.

My heart galloped with anticipation. This was as exciting as I’d hoped.

As soon as I finished my drink, the bartender set another one in front of me. “Oh, I didn’t order this,” I told him.

He smirked. “Your admirer sent this one as well.”

“Hmmm, that was sweet.” Rotating my stool a few degrees, I met Cruz’s fiery blue eyes and gave him a coquettish smile over my shoulder before mouthing,Thank you.

He gave a sharp jerk of his chin, as if to tell me to come over there, but I simply lifted an unimpressed eyebrow at him.

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