Page 17 of Someday You Learn

Cashlynn takes a deep breath and then marches over to me, weaving her arm through mine and flashes a bright, suspiciously forced smile. “I’m here to see my fiancé. I believe you know Parker, Dad. I mean…obviously you know Parker.”

My mouth drops open as Robert’s eyes snaps to mine. “I…I’m sorry,” he stutters, “Did you just say…fiancé?”

“Uh, Cashlynn—” I start, but she cuts me off.

“Yes. Fiancé.” She squeezes my bicep, then presses up on her toes to kiss my cheek. “It was time to stop hiding, right,muffin?”

“Muffin?” I mutter to myself, the urge to vomit coming on strong.

Robert turns to me, bewildered.Yeah, you and me both, boss.“Parker? Is this true?”

“Dr. O’Neil—” I start, but Cashlynn tightens her grip, practically cutting off my circulation.

Ouch. That fucking hurts.

“It’s true, Dad. We’re in love, and I’m moving here to be with him.”

At that moment, Seth waltzes into the office and stops dead in his tracks as he takes in the scene. “Uh, Dr. O’Neil, I thought you were supposed to be resting…”

“I’m fine,” Robert grates out before directing his irritation back at me. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand how you two are engaged.” The skin on his neck is turning red, which can only mean that the yelling is about to start again.

Cashlynn lets out a nervous laugh. “Well, Dad, it’s actually quite a funny story…”

“I’m not laughing,” he replies, his eyes darting back and forth between us.

Me comforting you on a flight and then fucking you so hard in a hotel bed that we left marks on the wall isn’t a funny story, Cashlynn.

Robert narrows his eyes at me. “I have to say, Parker, I would have expected to hear something like this from you, not to be bombarded like this…”

“Don’t blame him, Dad,” Cashlynn interjects. “It was my choice to keep this from you. He was just going along with what I wanted.”

“And why would you want to keep it from me?” His face starts to turn red again, and I brace myself to cover my ears. “If my daughter is engaged to one of my employees, one I practically think of as a son, why would you hide that?”

Seth clears his throat, clearly perplexed. “I’m sorry. Did you just say that these two areengaged?”

Cashlynn nods and moves in closer to me. Her breasts are plastered against my arm now, reminding me of what they felt like when she was beneath me that night almost a year ago.

Fuck, not now. I can’t get a fucking hard-on during this chaos.

“Uh, Cashlynn—” I start, but she interrupts me yet again.

“Yes, we are!” Cashlynn declares enthusiastically.

Seth crosses his arms over his chest and a slimy smile spreads across his face. “Then where’s your ring?”

Cashlynn and I both glance down at her left hand that’s wrapped around my arm right now—the one with a very bare ring finger.

“You didn’t get my daughter a ring?” Dr. O’Neil inserts himself once more. “And more importantly, you didn’t ask for my permission first?” The vein in his forehead begins to pop. “What the hell is happening right now?” His eyes dart around the room, but everyone else is hiding behind machinery and counters, watching from a safe distance.

Smart of them.

Beth chimes in, thank God. “Cashlynn asked him not to say anything, Robert. Remember?” She motions for him to move toward a chair, but he waves her off. “Perhaps you should take a seat…”

“I’m fine!” he yells again as my balls shrivel up and try to climb up inside of my body.

Yeah, not sure how this could get any worse.

“Parker proposed spontaneously, so he didn’t have a ring. We agreed to pick one out together when I came down here.”

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