Page 113 of Shortcake
Even if a court document said I could.
There was nothing left to say. Looking up at the moon, I took another deep breath and choked out, “You’re always welcome to visit. You know that. Harper would love to see you.”
Her pause was long enough that I wondered if we’d gotten disconnected. Finally, she said, “What about you?”
“Whataboutme?” I practically snarled.
“Wouldyoulove to see me?”
Jesus Christ.
Same Meghan.
Same games.
“I love to see Harper happy. And your visit would make her happy.”
“So… yes?”
“Not in the way you’re thinking,” I answered firmly.
Her giggle tittered, rubbing me the wrong way, like stroking a cat’s fur in the opposite direction. “You’resoeasy to fuck with, you know that?”
“Goodnight, Meghan.”
“Goodnight, Conrad. I’ll see you soon.”
God help me, Iwasa shitty dad. Because as selfish as it was, I found myself wishing upon one of those brightly lit stars that Meghan flaked out on this visit.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Addy
Conrad was working a rare Sunday night shift at the Maple Grove precinct. Usually, his deputies and the few officers he had worked the weekend shifts, but when he started as sheriff, it was one of the things he had promised. That he would work one overnight weekend shift every month.
For any other girl dating him? It probably would have sucked.
But as a bartender, nobody was more understanding than me about weird hours. The only thing that I wish I could change was that his shift was Sunday night, myoneweekend night off… and not Saturday when we both could have been working.
Then again, that would mean no one would be here with Harper. It was one thing to leave her alone for an hour or two while grocery shopping, but for an entire twelve hour shift? I think Conrad was more than a little terrified that his daughter might have boys over with no adult home… or rather, one boy in particular.
And I wasn’t sure he was wrong. Because truthfully, if I were Harper’s age and given free range of my house for twelve hours?
I would have had a boy over, too.
I’d barely seen Conrad in the week and a half since that day I took Harper to the bookstore.The day Conrad tongue fucked me in the kitchen, then carried me down to bed.
It almost seemed like he was avoiding me. He worked late almost every night this week. And while Harper was out with her friends and on dates with Adam, he always seemed to have a reason why we couldn’t hang out.
With the exception of one or two stolen kisses while Harper was up in her room, we hadn’t had any physical contact in over a week. I hadn’t even spoken to him for two days, other than the occasional text messages. He’d been up and out the door to work every day before I’d woken up. And by the time I got home from the bar, he’d been in bed already.
So this morning, I had woken up extra early just to catch him before he left for work.
I heard the clack of his dress shoes on the hardwood floors upstairs before I ever saw him. Then, with each quiet tapping step, he came more into view.
At first, my heart flipped in my chest at the sight of him coming down the stairs in his uniform. I grinned and handed him a freshly poured cup of coffee.
He froze at the sight of me.
