Page 32 of Bread with the Orc
I grasped Laney’s hand and pulled it to my mouth, kissing her palm while holding her father’s gaze.
“Laney is myMate. Get used to it.”
Without speaking, the man stumbled backward again, knocking into a table, putting out his hand to stop himself from falling. Laney lurched forward.
“Baba?”
But her father held out his palm to stop her, then turned and stumbled toward the door. He looked weak, broken. Nothing like the male who’d swaggered in here before.
Had I gone too far? Had I hurt him?
Would Laney forgive me?
As the bell over the door jangled—jarringly cheerful in the sudden silence—I turned to look down at her. MyMate was chewing on her lip, watching her father’s exit…leaning trustingly on me.
Better apologize preemptively. “I’m sorry if I went too far.”
She blinked, then shifted her gaze to me. With a sad smile, she shook her head. “He was going to find out sooner or later. I suppose it felt good to take him down a peg.”
My hand settled on her stomach as I ducked my head toward her. There was no reason to think she was breeding already, but… “You want him part of our life in the future?” I murmured.
She sighed, then nodded, tipping her forehead against my shoulder. “He’s still my father. I guess I keep hoping I’ll be able to make him proud of me one day.”
And Gods below, if my heart didn’t break a little at that.
“Laney, love, you are strong, brave, and have the biggest fucking heart of anyone I’ve ever met. Anyone in Harmony Glen.” I straightened to send a pretend glare down at her. “You have not only built a successful business, but you’ve made this town a better place by giving everyone someplace to gather. If your father isn’t proud of you, that’s his own fucking fault.”
To my surprise, behind me I heard someone call out, “Hear, hear.” Another voice muttered, “Yeah, his own fault,” and a third said, “I love hanging out here.”
My grin wasn’t big, but it was there. “See,dkaar? The whole town is proud of you.”
Her little huff of laughter sounded sad, but at least she was trying. “Thank you, Dorvak.” She blew out a sigh. “But still, you didn’t have to lie to my father for me.”
“Lie?” I frowned again, trying to remember what she was talking about. “What did I lie about?”
She nudged me. “When you told him we were Mated, you said…” Her chin dropped. “You said you loved me.”
Horror slammed into me.
Oh hells no.
Had I really been so stupid?
Chapter Twelve
Laney
I’d feltmy energy leave with my father. But now? Now instead of collapsing into a ball of tears, I had to face Dorvak and the look of horror on his face.
“You think that was alie?” he growled, his fingers gripping my chin, lifting my eyes to his. “You think I would lie about something like that?”
My smile probably seemed weak, but I tried. “Thank you for defending me, Dorvak. Seriously. It really meant a lot to me that you stepped up like that.”
Judging by the way his scowl just went from fear to anger, it had been the wrong thing to say.
“You think I told your father I loved you because I was defending you? Because I was trying to get rid of him?” Still holding my chin, he bent down, his nose inches frommine. “Laney, I told him the truth. OfcourseI love you. You’re my Mate.”
Right. The Mate thing. I exhaled on a nod and forced a cheerful tone. “Right. Mates. That’s us. In love.”
