Page 57 of Recipe for Temptation (Madewood Brothers 4)

This was insane. She might actually get what she’d wanted all along. She might finally—

Her chest tightened, and the excited feeling in her stomach churned into something sour. If she was on the board, then what she had with Cole absolutely had to stop. In spite of the tiny hope that fluttered in her chest every time she thought about things working out differently.

Her hesitance could only mean one thing. Maybe getting a spot on the board might not be everything she’d ever wanted.

Penn ended her call with Sterling and made her way to the restaurant. They were still in Hawaii. Still in the little bubble they’d made for themselves, and until they broke through, she wasn’t going to think about the consequences of what a spot on the board might mean.

At the entrance to the dining room, she spotted Cole and her father.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the look on her father’s face and the rigid way he stood in front of Cole—the classic Sergeant Foster stance that had his shoulders pulled back and his hands clasped behind his back.

When she was within earshot, she heard her father say, “I’m just going to come out and say it.” He glared at Cole. “I think you’re a bad influence on my daughter.”

That was preposterous. Penn had veered off the path of so-called appropriate behavior long ago.

She couldn’t see Cole’s expression because his back was to her. But her father’s hadn’t changed. He still looked pissed. And didn’t that just make her retreat into the twelve-year-old girl who wanted nothing more than to please him.

She stalked up to the two men. “What’s going on?” Her voice was meek, wavering.

“You’ve been avoiding the family,” her father said between gritted teeth.

“We’ve…uh…”

She couldn’t exactly say she’d been fucking Cole’s brains out. Or that he was fucking hers. In the grand scheme of things… There had been lots of fucking all over her hotel room.

And maybe the bathroom.

Cole crossed his arms over his chest. “It seems your father thinks I’m a bad influence on you.”

He seemed to be taking th

e criticism in stride.

“Of course you are.” Her father glared. “My daughter is veering a long way from being the role model I raised her to be.” His frown deepened. “The only explanation is your presence in her life.”

“Forgive me for saying so, sir.” Cole stood straighter. She was glad that he was aware enough not to touch her, to not show any type of affection whatsoever. “But I don’t think you know your daughter at all.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. Now Cole was going to rat her out. Had she stumbled into some sort of twilight zone?

“We should probably get into the buffet. Everyone’s waiting for us,” she interrupted. This was ridiculous.

“With all due respect, your daughter isn’t the good girl you think she is. That is—” He regrouped. “She is a good girl, a great girl, but not the timid wallflower you’ve all made her out to be. And I, for one, admire that kind of strength and confidence. Penn’s audacity is what I love most about her.”

Her breath hiccupped, and she glanced up at him, but he kept his eyes on her father.

Love.

He’d just said love. And that he loved her non-good girl behavior. Her mind whirled. How could that be?

“I’m her father.” Harold pointed at Cole’s chest and loomed over the two of them in an intimidation tactic. “Are you trying to tell me that you know my daughter better than I do? Better than the man who taught her to ride a bike? To skate? To shoot hoops? To—”

“Yes. In fact, I do.” Cole’s face and body language were unflinching. He was playing the intimidator as well as her father. “When was the last time you actually sat down and talked to her?”

Her eyes widened, and her head spun even more. Cole was defending her. Again. He was by her side again. And she was just standing here saying nothing.

Her father bristled like a porcupine. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, young man. We may not be rich or famous, but we are a family, and we love each other no matter what.”

A half-laugh, half-scoff shot out of Cole’s mouth. “Yeah? That’s also what I thought families did.” He slid his arm around her shoulders, and she nestled into his protection. “Until I met yours.”

---