Page 79 of Daddy Down Under

“And now he’s here. I thought I saw him last week when Ocean and I were out for dinner, but I convinced myself it couldn’t be him. But this morning, he left the Krause headquarters right before I got there. It’s him. And I don’t know what he told Garrett and James, but they treated me differently. He poisoned them against me.”

The bitter taste of betrayal filled my mouth all over again.

“Shit.” Oliver’s sharp intake of breath matched my own roiling anxiety. “Did you speak to him?”

“No, I… I couldn’t.” The admission felt like defeat. “I froze, Ollie. Like a goddamn coward.”

“Hey, don’t do that,” Oliver chided softly. “After what he did to you, it’s understandable. But now you’re packing? You’re leaving?”

I glanced at my half-packed suitcase, shame and indecision warring within me. “I don’t know. My first instinct was to run, to get as far away from here as possible.”

“And now that you’ve thought about it?”

I closed my eyes, Ocean’s face swimming into focus. His soft smile, those captivating eyes that seemed to see right through my carefully constructed walls. “Ocean,” I whispered, the name catching in my throat.

“Ah.” Oliver packed a world of understanding in that single syllable. “What about him, Cash? Have you told him what’s going on?”

My chest tightened painfully. “He’s not here. I came back and found a note. He’s out surfing.”

The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken implications.

“Cash…” Oliver’s voice was soft. “Don’t you think he deserves to know the truth? You can’t leave without telling him.”

He was right. I owed Ocean that much.

But god, this would hurt him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

In which Ocean convinces me to take a stand and then defends me in the most glorious way.

I heardthe keycard beep and Ocean burst into the suite, his hair windswept and eyes sparkling. But his carefree expression quickly faded as he took in the half-packed suitcases on the bed and the tension radiating off me in waves.

“Cash?” Ocean’s brow furrowed with concern. “What’s going on? Why are you leaving?”

“You better sit down for this one.”

He followed me into the living room, where we sat side by side on the couch. His hands were shaking a little, which somehow reassured me.

I took a deep breath as I laced our fingers together. “Preston is here.”

He paled. “What?”

“He walked out of the Krause headquarters as I showed up for my appointment this morning.”

I watched as Ocean pieced it together. “He’s trying to ruin your deal.”

“James said there was another buyer, one he had misgivings about initially. I think he was talking about Preston, and I fear that, by now, Preston has gotten to them with lies about me.”

“What kind of lies?”

“I don’t know, but they were different this morning. Garrett and James, I mean. Considerably cooler.”

“Fuck.”

“Ocean, your father…” My voice caught. “I can’t believe he’d stoop this low.”

Ocean’s jaw clenched, a storm brewing in those expressive eyes. “That man stopped being my father a long time ago. But this? This is a whole new level of fucked up.”

---