Page 85 of Daddy Issues

“It’s a crying damn shame.” Jester moved past us toward the bar, swatting at Dylan’s ass as he went. She dodged with a spin and flipped him off.

“Anytime, anyplace.” He gave her a cheeky wink.

She shocked me when she didn’t immediately fume and instead rolled her eyes with a smirk. “Even he can’t ruin my joy. I’m happy for you.”

Dylan wasn’t much of a hugger. That was more my thing. When she bent to give me a short, hard hug, I clung to her. “Thanks.”

But what was I thanking her for? I wasn’t his ole lady, we hadn’t made itthatofficial. I mean, we’d decided not to screw around with other people. But…he’d just told that Romeo guy to back off and called me his. Worse, I really really liked it. Just like I’d liked picking up Eli from school and meeting Puck here. Like a family.

The sort of thing I’d never had. Something I was probably never going to be worthy of. It was only a matter of time until I fucked shit up. The desire to run, to hide, made all my muscles twitch painfully.

“I need to go,” I said to Puck, side stepping toward the door. “I’ll get a ride share to the shop.”

His brow furrowed. I’d marvel about how cute Puck looked when he was confused. He snatched my wrist with one wide, strong hand. “Stay for the family dinner.”

Rocking on my heels, I didn’t pull away. Even his fingers circling my wrist felt warm, safe, enticing. I focused on that feeling while I frantically sought an excuse to leave. Not that I didn’t want to be with him, I did. Too damn much.

“I don’t want to risk seeing David and Nadine. And it would be a good time to swing by the house and pick up more of my stuff.”

“We can do that tomorrow.” He reeled me in and wrapped both my arms around his waist. Our bodies touched from thighsto chest, and my heart raced. When he touched me, I couldn’t think straight. “It’s family dinner. Stay.”

Instead of looking at him, I pressed my forehead against his chest and spoke like that. “But David…”

“Wasn’t invited. Club house is closed tonight, the people here are it. Plus, Cam and Riley when he gets back with her.”

I wanted this so badly it hurt. The acceptance, the…whatever this was.

“You sure?” I didn’t just mean the dinner.

He chuckled and hugged me close, resting his chin on the top of my head. “Never been more sure in my life.”

“You must really be hungry.”

His chest shook with a full-on belly laugh. “Come on, I need to collect my kid before he steals Romeo’s new dog.”

While the guys pushed the long tables together, I helped Dylan set out all the condiments and utensils. Drop Top and AP had booted everyone from the industrial kitchen. I’d been to a family dinner or two with David, but this seemed something more because I was there with Puck.

When I took my seat, he held my chair. Eli scrambled onto the chair between us, spending as much time talking to me about Roxy as he did eating his lasagna. Across from us, Cam stared lovingly at Riley between bites. In some ways, she’d made him softer…gentler. But that edge was still there. I had a feeling he could still bite when he needed to.

The warmth that made my chest tight clung to me, making it hard to eat, though I couldn’t stop smiling. I glanced over to Puck while AP and Jester argued playfully over who was taking the trash out. And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t have the urge to move constantly, like I was on the cusp of making a run for it.

Puck was undeniably attractive. Today, he’d trimmed and braided his beard. His hair was pulled back like they’d beenriding, and his eyes were crinkling around the edges as he smiled. More than attractive, he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen.

I wanted to kiss him right then.

Instead, I leaned down to kiss the top of Eli’s head.

“What’s that for?” he asked, mouth full of noodles and sauce.

“Being cute.”

“Then you should have kissed me.” Puck smirked over him.

“Maybe later,” I teased. The feeling that had been buzzing in my chest all day, finally developed a name.

Love.

This was something I never got to hold on to for very long. Someone or something always ripped it away from me. I’d thought Mom going away would have brought me that, but then there was Ghost. Then David until Nadine.

---