Page 55 of A Lonely Road
With a sigh, I replied, “Actually, I’ve met him.”
My mouth snapped shut when I realized what I’d just said, distracted as I was by ogling Jake. Though I could have met the chief of police on any number of occasions in a small town like this, my father apparently caught something in my tone that sharpened his attention.
“Oh? Where exactly did you run into him?” he asked.
His voice was deceptively even, a sure sign that I was completely screwed. I closed my eyes, recognizing a trap when I heard one. John Cassidy knew very well that I couldn’t lie to him without cracking, just as he knew that I would always try to evade an indirect question if given half a chance.
Dammit. I’d backed myself into a corner and there wasn’t a chance in hell that my father would let it go after that slip.
“At the police station,” I finally admitted.
“Nora, are you in some kind of trouble?”
Am I?I wondered idly. My heart seemed more at risk than my physical safety, but I had even less interest in talking to my father about love than I did about a potential threat. The truth would have to do.
Part of the truth, anyway.
“My apartment was broken into when I wasn’t home. Nothing was stolen. It might have just been kids screwing around. My neighbor already replaced the door and the locks, and we just set up some security cameras. I’m fine. Everything is fine.”
Accurate, if oblique. There would be no mention of the romantic lakeside getaway, no freaking way, and certainly no mention of what the culprit left waiting on my bed.
My father made a sound that indicated he wasn’t fully satisfied with that explanation, but for once in his life, he didn’t push. “Well, I’m glad it’s taken care of. I was thinking I’d come out to visit next weekend, actually. I’m about ready for a change of scenery and I still owe Roberts a beer from the last time I saw him. There’s a campground by the lake, so you don’t have to worry about entertaining me.”
I banged my forehead gently against the new steel door. “It’ll be great to see you, Dad. Text me the details.”
“I will. You take care of yourself. I love you. See you in a few days.”
“Love you, too, Dad. Bye.”
I stared down at the phone for a long moment before shaking myself back to reality. It had been too long since I spent any time with my dad, and at least we had a little bit of time to get used to the idea of him showing up in Spruce Hill. I shoved a few more changes of clothes into a bag, secured the locks on my sturdy new door, and went around to Jake’s deck to let myself into the house.
Heaving another sigh—was I really so pathetic that my life was boiling down to a series of heartfelt exhalations?—I left my bag on the kitchen table and found Jake positioning furniture around his new area rug.
“I told you it would look great in here,” I said.
Jake straightened and surveyed his lair. “You are a goddess among women,” he replied, watching my lips twitch. “Everything okay with your dad?”
I plopped down on the couch and threw an arm dramatically across my eyes. “Yes, but he’s coming for a visit. I had to tell him about the break-in, though I made it sound like the matter was resolved. It seemed like he was planning to pitch the visit even before I told him.”
With a grin, Jake sat beside me and rested his hand on my knee. “So I’ll get to meet him?”
“Yes,” I muttered. “I conveniently left out the part about being assaulted and then stalked. Oh, and about sleeping here every night. And about banging my insanely hot neighbor. And . . . well, I guess that’s the bulk of it.”
His laughter earned him a glare, which did nothing to quell that damn dimple. “Well, I didn’t exactly plan to inform him that we were ‘banging’ either, Nora, though I do appreciate that you think I’m hot. But he can’t be opposed to you having a boyfriend. You’re a grown woman.”
“Are you opposed to a background check?” I asked sweetly. “Because that will only be the first step if he knows you’re . . .” I waved an airy hand and Jake caught it, kissing my fingertips one at a time.
“Knows I’m what?” he murmured. “Making sweet, sweet love to you at all hours of the night? Exploring every inch of your skin? Giving you countless orgasms until your legs are shaking so hard you can barelystand?”
“I’m glad you find this amusing,” I hissed when his teeth nipped at the pulse in my wrist.
Jake’s heated gaze settled on my face. “Or did you mean if he knows I’m in love with his daughter?”
My lips parted at the words, but I didn’t pull away. His beautiful blue eyes held mine without flinching.
“Are you?” I breathed.
Our earlier comments had been offhand, qualified, lighter somehow. The way Jake looked at me now wasn’t any of those things. It was simultaneously intense and scorching but soft and sweet. I could practically feel the emotion flowing from him, twining up my arms and wrapping tightly around my heart.
