Page 55 of Wicked Knight

I can’t always tell with her because she’s like a robot sometimes. She does whatever she thinks my father wants her to do.

She’s been smiling away tonight, but I’ve noticed the dullness in her eyes, suggesting she’s not herself. I can only guess that means Father either did or said something to hurt her. I pity her sometimes for being in love with him.

“That is absolutely hilarious,” Pat says, still laughing. He’s a burly guy with aWreck it Ralphbuild, so it almost looks comical to see him laughing so hard when he looks like he’s always prepped to smash things.

“I know. It took me days to figure it out,” Father chuckles.

I still don’t know what the hell they’re talking about, and I don’t care to find out.

What I do care about isthis…

Them together—Pat and my father talking like old buddies who lived life together, attended each other’s weddings, and were present for the birth of each other’s children.

What the hell is up with that?

I didn’t even know my father was in contact with Pat or knew him.

My father is the kind of man who can meet anyone on the planet he wishes to meet. I’m guessing his football career helped here. But he’s only talking to Pat to have some fucking control over me.

It was obvious he used Pat to lure me here tonight because he knew I’d come. Although, I almost turned him down.

The niece—Alina—is another story.

She’s what my father would call pretty. I’ve seen him with girls like her. Perfectly polished in that fake, Instagram-filtered kind of way, butshehas a high-pitched laugh that grates on my nerves.

Her designer dress hugs her fake tits too tightly every time she tries to get my attention by batting her lashes at me. She’s doing it again now.

Jesus, I wish I could leave.

I can’t believe I’m here and that I left Mackenzie for this.

“Your father is definitely my kind of man,” Pat says to me in a hearty voice and an emphasized nod. “I’m so glad we did this.”

“Me too.” I try to keep the irritation out of my voice to put on a good front for Pat.

“Feel free to message me anytime you’re in town. We should do this again,” Father says, nodding at me.

“Absolutely.”

“It would also give Dmitri and Alina a chance to get to know each other. Although, I’m hoping they’ll get acquainted outside our meetings.” Father throws a determined smile at me.

Bastard.Sometimes I want to strangle him. This is his response to me saying I needed to focus on football. Get the scout’s niece to entice me.

It’s not going to work.

“Me too,” Alina replies, tossing me that look again. “I’m at Harvard, so it wouldn’t be that hard to meet up.”

Raventhorn is right next door to Harvard. They even share a part of the campus, so I could potentially run into her or meet up like she’s suggesting. That’s just not going to happen.

I want to tell her exactly that, and why, but I hold off the asshole in me and decide to play nice with a polite smile. It’s not her fault this is happening.

“Ever the matchmaker.” Yuliana shifts in her chair, and her gaze flickers to mine. She knows I’m not happy about this, but like always, she won’t say anything. She’ll do what she must to please my father.

“I try my best because I have the best wife.” Father grins easily and plants a kiss on Yuliana’s cheek.

She gives him a forced smile and takes a sip of her drink, looking uncomfortable again.

I take that to mean my previous assumptions were right and there’s trouble in paradise. My father only displays affection when he’s been caught doing something.

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