Page 49 of Spinning Out Of Control

It was awkward as all hell.

“That’s right,” Camila pops in, wine swishing in her glass. “Can you believe that our little Kira was once a shy little child? Wouldn’t say a word to anyone but her daddies, her brother and her Tía. We had to coax her with lollipops to order her own food in a restaurant. Then that became the only time she’d speak up foranyone else. So, we started letting her order for the whole table. I can’t tell you how many chicken tenders and plates of mac and cheese we ate until we finally begged her to explore the adult side of the menu.”

“Yeah, biggest parenting mistake you guys ever made. Now it’s twenty years later and she’s still a control freak that hasn’t shut up.” Dean says, ducking when Kira chucks a dumpling at his head.

His needling bothered me at first. I don’t like the idea of anyone talking down to my woman, but I quickly learned that annoying each other is Kira’s and Dean’s sibling love language. As the night goes on, I find their jabs more and more endearing.

For the first time since we were caught with our pants almost down, I decide to risk a touch and put my arm around her Kira’s shoulder.

“I’m glad for it. I’m having a hard time imagining you as shy or quiet. It doesn’t suit you. I quite like the sound of your voice, darling.”

A chair screeches across the hardwood floor and Jay–ahem,Mr. McKenna–is pushing up from the table, tossing a cloth napkin on to his plate.

“Warren, I’d like to speak to you outside.”

“Jay, honey,” Keith says, placing his hand in his husband’s, but it’s shaken off. I stand, brushing down the front of my shirt as I do.

“No, it’s fine. Please, Mr. McKenna, after you.”

I follow Mr. McKenna as he stalks towards the back of the house, ready for what I hope is only a verbalflogging and not an actual beatdown for deigning to touch his little girl.

“IronDad, if you kill my boyfriend, I’ll never forgive you!” Kira calls out. I turn to look at her over my shoulder.

Boyfriend?I mouth.

Fuck yeah.She mouths back.

Am I too old to be a boyfriend? Maybe I should ask her to call me her man friend. Though that makes me seem like a dog…boyfriend it is.

Holy hell. I’m Kira McKenna’sboyfriend.

Jay McKenna had better not kill me before I get a chance to kiss her again.

He swings open a door and gestures for me to cross into the cool night air. I haven’t seen Kira’s backyard yet, but I’m not surprised to find it lit up with fairy lights, highlighting an array of wildflowers and several lemon trees. I eye a garden gnome dressed in a pink tutu, ballet slippers and a crocheted yellow hat on its head. I can’t help myself; an amused chuckle slips free.

“Is something funny?” Mr. McKenna asks, and I shake my head.

“Not funny, just amusing. I haven’t seen the backyard before. It’s just…it’s so Kira. It’s lovely.” I lean against the railing of the small balcony, trying to see what kind of plants and other gnomes I can spot in the low glow of the twinkling lights.

“My daughter is a brilliant woman. She’s smart as a whip, strong. She's a killer.”

“I know. She’s quite remarkable,” I agree.

“But she has a history of trusting the wrong people. People who have taken advantage of her.”

Ahh, I see where this is going.

“I’m aware of what happened between her and Jonathan Graham. Trust me, I know what he took from her. I don’t take that kind of betrayal lightly, sir.”

“And yet, here you are. You’re her boss, but she’s making out with you in her kitchen and calling you her boyfriend? You bought her company out from under her and then…what? Used the opportunity to seduce her?” I can hear the anger, fear, and love in the man’s voice, and I can’t say I don’t understand where he’s coming from. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to defend my feelings and the relationship Kira and I are building together.

“I can appreciate your questions, Mr. McKenna. But honestly, you’re selling Kira short if you think she’d ever let herself be seduced. Your daughter is a headstrong, confident, pain in the ass who doesn’t do a single damn thing that she doesn’t want to do. Even if my intent with her was malicious–and I can assure you, it’s not and never has been–I’d be a stupid man to think a little wooing would get her to sway to do my bidding.”

“Then what is your intention? Because from where I’m standing, you’re just another grown man who thinks he can take what he wants and fuck with my little girl’s professional career. You sit there, eatingnoodles off her plate and claiming her with an arm on her shoulders and yet you were complicit in the destruction of her dreams. Explain that to me, Warren.”

There’s no point in arguing that his little girl isn’t little or a girl, but a grown woman who can hold her own. Again, if I had a daughter, I’m sure I’d be calling her my little girl even when she was old enough to collect Social Security. There’s also no point in bringing up the fact that I had no idea that she was involved when I inked the deal to buy Spin Sync because that would open a can of worms that involves me tongue-fucking the man’s daughter in an abandoned bridal suite. So, I pull the only card I have that has the potential to be the trump.

“I’m going to tell you something in confidence. No one knows this, so if Kira finds out before I get a chance to tell her myself, I’ll know who let it slip. Spin Sync is hers. Not officially, not until she agrees, but it will be. When Jonathan Graham approached me with an opportunity, it was just that. An opportunity to try something new. To spend some of the money that’s constantly burning a hole in my pocket. To actuallyworkat one of the companies I invest in and maybe not feel so fucking lonely for once. And then I showed up and got to know your daughter. I was furious when she told me how Jonathan had betrayed her, taking her idea and then selling it without giving her a chance to throw her hat in the ring. Kira is the lifeblood of Spin Sync. She’s the beating heart that makes the place run. I saw it on myfirst day. I experience it every time I sit in on or watch one of her classes. I saw it this weekend, when she took Manhattan by storm and closed two deals with ease.

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