Page 86 of All Too Well
“I could be sleeping right now,” I say, fucking with him.
“Shit. Sorry, bro,” he whispers. “I won’t wake you up.”
I laugh once. “Listen, you should go to bed. You sound pretty fucked up.”
“I am.” I’m not sure whether he’s agreeing that he’s in bed or fucked up or both. “The Admiral came for an inspection.”
I blink. “What?”
“Yup. He came here, with his endless supply of disapproval.”
No wonder he’s drunk. Caspian is the son that the Admiral tried to break. My dad, for all his endless faults, didn’t try to make me into someone I wasn’t. He let me play sports and be a kid. Caspian didn’t have the same freedoms. I think a lot of it came to optics and goals that his father had.
“You’re not a kid, Cas. You’re a grown-ass man who doesn’t ask your father for a fucking dime. Don’t let anything he says change the way you’re living.”
“I’m not. I just had a few shots when he left and then some beers. Then I told him the truth about Ainsley. So he’s going to fix her next. He’ll tell herallthe things she does wrong.”
Fuck. I have a feeling I know what he’s implying. “What do you mean he’s going to fix her?”
“I tried to call you, but you are sleeping. But I might have slipped that Ainsley was staying with you, and he was not happy.”
I pull down my driveway and see a white Mercedes with the plates RADM and ... there goes my night.
eighteen
Ainsley
“Daddy, hi!” I say as I open the door, completely out of breath from running around to not look like I was waiting naked in Lachlan’s bed.
“Hello, Ainsley Christine,” he says, disapproval ringing in every syllable.
It’s amazing how easily he can make me feel like I’m six and in need of a lecture.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, wishing to God I put on more than just a pair of shorts after Caspian called literally one minute ago. I didn’t have enough time for much else, and I’m still wearing Lachlan’s T-shirt.
This is so bad.
So. Bad.
“I could ask you the same,” the Admiral says as he takes in my attire.
“Well, I’m here because I’m working on an article. I told you that.”
“Yes, but you failed to mention you were staying in the house with Lachlan.”
I sigh, feeling like screaming and also still battling the desire to please him. “I didn’t know I had to mention it. He’s Lachlan.”
“Yes, and you’re my daughter. You didn’t mention it because you didn’t want me to know. You said you were staying in a log cabin.”
“That was the original plan, and I did stay in one, but there was an issue, I needed to leave, and Lachlan told me I could stay here. I figured you’d be happy since I’m not alone in the woods.”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “I’d prefer that to you staying in a house with a man.”
I shake my head. “Daddy, I’m staying with Lachlan and Rose. He’s not just a random guy. Not to mention, how many nights did he stay at the house when we were growing up? I’ve slept in the same house with him a hundred times, and it’s been fine.” And we just had dirty, sweaty sex in that back bedroom, but ... you know, I’m not mentioningthatto him.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
Oh, I don’t know, because you’re an overprotective lunatic.
