Page 20 of Unwrapping Spring Break

These men are seriously pissing me off. I’m half tempted to get my stuff and leave without them. Though, doing so will be exactly what Dad wants, and I’ll be damned if I give him that. Instead, I storm after Dad and Jax.

“Oh,thisis being an adult?” I’m beyond caring who hears us in the hotel lobby. “Stomping away like a toddler having a tantrum because he doesn’t get his way?” The eyes of guests and hotel employees alike follow the three of us as we storm across the lobby. Dad finally has to stop unless he wants to take the stairs.

“Is it possible for you to not make a scene?” He pinches the bridge of his nose, keeping his voice low, though it’s still laced with frustration.

The detached part of me finds this amusing when I realize Dad and I had similar arguments when I was a teenager. If I’m behaving the same way now, it’s only because he refuses to see that I have grown up. “Maybe if you didn’t make me chase after you, I wouldn’t have to!”

Neither of us looks at Jax directly, but I can tell he’s uncomfortable. He shifts on his feet and is smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Neither Dad nor I would appreciate his input at the moment. He has the unfortunate luck of being stuck in our proximity. I do feel slightly bad that he’s stuck in the middle.

Things change when a couple just checked-in goes to the elevator with us, along with the bellhop carrying their luggage. An uncomfortable silence hangs thick in the air as the elevator passes each floor. It reaches the fifth floor first, and we pile out, taking the awkwardness with us.

The three of us stomp to the room Dad shares with my mother. He leads the way, followed by Jax and then myself. All of us burst into the room, startling my mother. She looks up from the shopping bags she was organizing with a stunned expression, and who can blame her? We’re one big hot mess. Jax slows to a stop right in my way, so I shove past him to go after my dad.

“You know, sooner or later, you will have to accept that I’m old enough to make my own choices, Dad.” Out of the corner of my eye, my mother blinks as she tries to catch up to what’s going on.

Meanwhile, Dad whirls on me, his face contorted in a mask of fury as he points a stern finger in my face. “Perhaps, but fucking my business partner is NOT a choice I’m going to allow you to make!”

Chapter Sixteen

Jax

Gretchen’ssharpgaspendsthe shouting between father and daughter. After what came out of Alexander’s mouth, I want to climb under a rock. Instead, I glance at my partner’s wife, who has straightened and is pressing her fingers into her chest. I’m not sure which shocks her more: the idea I slept with Lily, or the language her husband used in her presence. If I had to place a bet, my money would be on the latter. Gretchen tends to have odd priorities sometimes.

But Gretchen’s reaction isn’t what weighs on my mind the most. Somehow, everything went straight to hell and is still falling. My entire world, everything I built, is now crumbling to the ground, possibly irreparably. I spent hours upon hours, years upon years, helping make this business and this partnership, yet it seems to be imploding right in front of me. And for what? Some mind-blowing sex? How can I throw everything I value away just for . . .

I won’t let my mind finish the thought. No. Lily is more than great sex. She’s more than any flippant impropriety I can come up with. She’s far too intelligent and honorable for that. It’s not as though I took advantage of her. She knew what we were doing, what we did. Lily has proved that she knows her mind and how to use it. Not just personally but professionally as well.

It’s more than that, though. Deep in my heart, I know it’s not just a wild fling during a trip to an exotic location. We aren’t two ships passing in the night. When I look in Lily’s eyes, I find happiness. Love. Mutual trust and admiration. Something I haven’t felt in a long time, not since Emily died. Emotions I was sure would never stir within me again. Being with Lily brings me back to life.

No, this is not something akin to a spring break fling.

“Andyou!” Alexander turns his outrage on me now. Not that I wasn’t expecting it, but it takes me by surprise because my thoughts were elsewhere. “How long has this been going on? How dare you take advantage of my daughter?”

I shake my head, stunned. “Excuse me?” I blink, frowning. It’s beginning to sound like Alexander is accusing me of much more than sneaking around with Lily behind his back.

“Only an immoral cretin would seduce a girl of her age.” Alexander stalks toward me.

All I see is red. How can he think that of me? We’ve known each other for so long, been partners for longer. We’ve moved past friendship into family. He and Gretchen were there for me after Emily died. There’s no one who knows me better. And yet, here he is, throwing foul accusations in my face.

“Be careful, Alexander.” I keep my voice low and even. In control. Enunciating every word.

He doesn’t heed the warning. “No. You planned this. That’s why you asked her to come with you. You waited for the right opportunity to get her into a situation where she couldn’t handle herself.”

“How fucking dare you!” I stare at him, clutching my fists at my sides. The urge to put one in his face is overwhelming, but I must stay in control. And besides, no matter how he acts or what he says, I can’t punch him. There’s far too much between us to resort to physical blows.

I do the best thing I can in this circumstance. I turn on my heel and storm out of the room before either of us cross a line we’ll never come back from.

It’s a brief distance down the hall to my room. No sooner had I touched the doorknob than I realized the partnership is over. There will be no business relationship after this. Too much has been said, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive the accusation he made. Sure, we’re old school, but he should know me better than that.

When I get to my room, I throw my suitcase on the bed and begin packing. I can’t stay here another moment. What I want to do is get on the next plane home, but the rational part of my mind tells me that catching the next flight isn’t likely. Fine. I can at least check out of this hotel and into one closer to the airport. As long as I’m out of this one—that’s all that matters.

I ignore my usual standards of neatness in lieu of practicality and toss my clothes into the suitcase without folding them. It doesn’t matter if they’re clean or dirty; they’re all getting thrown in.

My cell rings as soon as I toss the last piece of clothing in the suitcase. I don’t look at it, assuming it’s Alexander. I’m not inclined to be shouted at or hear any further accusations. But when it rings again, I glance at it only to realize it’s Lily.

I slow to a stop and let out a long breath. My finger hovers over the accept button, but I don’t press it. I want to answer the call. I want to hear her voice, hear the sweetness in it dripping like honeysuckle. More than that, I want to listen to it in person—albeit scared more harsh words will rain down on me.

It’s bad enough her father turned on me. I couldn’t handle it if she did too. I don’t want to know for sure.

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