Page 100 of Mr. Charming

I had plans on talking to Derin to let him know that his daughter is in good hands with me. That I’m not that guy I was when we broke up. But I allow Mason to drag me down the hall, and he stops me in the doorway of what I guess was Theo and Toby’s bedroom as kids. There are two twin beds and a million trophies—mostly from hockey by the looks of it. Two dressers and two desks.

“My daddy played hockey too.” He picks up a trophy and brings it to me.

“Want to see my room?” Tedi whispers behind me, winding her arm around my waist and holding a beer in front of me.

Mason takes the trophy and goes back over, stretching on his tiptoes to reach another one. “I’m gonna play this year.”

I feel like a bad guy for not following his every word, but Tedi is distracting me with her tits pressed against my back.

“I hope you love it,” I say.

“I’m gonna go show Rowan this one.” He moves to slide by me in the doorway. “Excuse me.”

Then Mason is gone. What would it be like to have that much energy?

Tedi takes me by the hand and leads me down the hallway.

“I thought hand holding wasn’t approved?”

She looks over her shoulder but doesn’t say anything. I step into her childhood room that’s half gym, half bedroom. Last time I was here, it was still her room, and we slept in the bed together. Derin was a pretty chill guy, but I’m not taking my chances now. I stop, releasing her hand and placing my palms on the doorframe.

She turns around. “What are you doing?”

I look down the hall. “I’m not going in there.”

She crooks her finger, and fuck, how much willpower does she think I possess?

I shake my head, and she tilts hers, teasing me. “I was going to loosen up a rule. I thought maybe a kiss in my old bedroom where I used to dream of kissing a hot hockey player.”

“You fulfilled that dream years ago.” I push back into the hallway, away from temptation.

“I’m starting to second-guess how much you want me.” She tries to saunter past me, but I hook my arm around her waist and tug her to my chest before she can walk down the hall.

“If you said yes, I’d take you to that garage, make you place your hands on the wall, and sink into you,” I say, and she giggles. “I’m trying to be respectful, and I need to talk to your dad before I leave here.”

She circles out of my arms. “No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. I want him to know that I’m serious and I’m not going to hurt you again.”

She inhales and studies me for at least a minute. “Tweetie.”

“Jeez, lovebirds, get your asses in here for dinner,” Theo shouts down the hall.

“You swore. You owe me a dollar,” Mason says.

“Come on, let’s just eat.” She walks in front of me.

I’m not going to lie, all I can watch is her ass shift side to side as she walks. We get back into the kitchen, and Tedi might miss the way her dad is giving me the evil eye, but I’m not.

The table is set, and we all sit down to eat. Mason carries most of the conversation, consisting mostly of questions about hockey. We hear about Kyler Watkins and the bully he is to Mason. I think Kyler might get a visit from Tedi before we fly out tomorrow.

Rhonda doesn’t say much, but when she does, it’s to Mason about wiping his face or to stop talking while he’s chewing, making Toby go more and more rigid in his seat.

Derin’s head is down, focused on his plate almost the entire meal.

By the time dinner is over, the guys say they’ll clean up, and Rhonda tries to tell them the steps to do it in and where things are. Toby’s jaw clenches, and Theo laughs. So opposite those two. Because the guys are helping with clean-up duty, Mason is suddenly interested too.

I take my opportunity and approach Derin. “Do you have a minute to talk?”

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