Page 184 of Santa Daddies
“Hi.” Debbie smiles at Loren, but definitely notes something’s up.
“Hi, that’s my… Kace. He’s on his way out of town.”
“Okay. Hi, Kace.”
I nod and wave, not daring to shake hands with her given what they’re covered in.
“Thank you for bringing my keys, goodbye,” Bellamie says and motions toward the door.
Loren waits for me to move first. I don’t want this to be any more awkward for Bellamie, so I don’t fight it.
When we're outside, I step to where Bellamie and her boss can’t see us and try to reason with Loren. “Let’s meet back at the Airbnb. Talk this out.”
“Get the fuck out of town, Kace. Our family has enough to sort out.”
“You owe it to me, Loren.” I’m full of wishful thinking at this point, because there’s no chance he’ll see my side.
“You misled my sister so you could fuck her. I don’t owe you anything.”
Then it hits me. This isn’t about him or me. “Then you owe it to Bellamie.”
“Like I said from the start… stay away from her.” His nostrils flare as he looks ready to throw a punch.
I step backward raising my hands to show him I don’t want to fight. “I'm just trying to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life.”
“I’m making a mistake?”
“No offense, but you suck under pressure.” I’ve never used Loren’s need for planning against him, always accepted it’s his process, but I’m pulling out all the stops.
“Maybe itistime we stop working together.”
“If you’ll pull your head out of your ass for two seconds, you’ll remember that we’re good together. You’re the planner, I’m the risk taker. And I think it’s pretty safe to say she wants both of us. We can make this work.”
“She only hooked up with you because she misunderstood what I meant last night.” His words cut through me. He might be right.
But we can back this up even further. “Maybe, but she only made it to the virgin auction because she cut our date short. I didn’t get it at the time, but it makes sense now. She gave her word to be in the auction.”
“You don’t know that.”
“You’re right, I don’t. But I do know that if we keep fighting, we won’t just lose each other, we’ll lose her. And I’m not about to hurt her. See you at the house.”
Chapter Fourteen
Kace
After a few hours of waiting at the rental, I lose faith that Loren will show up. Pacing back and forth past his wall of giant sticky pages, I realize how hard this must be for him.
Why he needs so much planning time is beyond me. But the fact that he has never moved forward on a project without wallpapering a room with his thought process, I respect that it is his way.
That’s part of what makes us a great team. We’re like a sailboat. I’m the sail, ready to let the winds carry me on my next adventure. He’s the anchor ensuring we slow down and consider the path.
It all starts to click into place. That's why he runs the charity that helps young entrepreneurs. He spends tons of time with them, gets to know them–vets them.
He only discusses the most viable ones with me. I put money behind them. I help them sail to success. I take the risks.
I can't imagine how it hit him when he realized I fucked Bellamie in a dressing room hours after he won her in theauction. The optics don’t show how I feel about her. How I felt about her from the start. Fuck, it’s hard for me to believe. After all of the women I’ve gone on a first date with, what made Bellamie so different?
Is it the same thing that drove Loren to bid on her. That was a risky plan for sure. Or was the sheer thought of losing her enough to force his hand? Was it testament to the effect she has on us?
