Page 21 of Enemy Daddy Next Door

“I’m glad she likes it.”

“It’s made her ask me a lot more questions about her mom, which I don’t necessarily know how to answer, but…it’s better than her pushing it all down. I know what that’s like. And it isn’t a good thing.”

Amy nods. “Yeah, I can’t imagine how challenging it must be for her to understand when she’s so young. I was thirteen and I can still barely wrap my mind around it.”

I study Amy for a moment. Whenever I’ve seen her, she’s either bubbly or in the midst of a tirade. I knew this part of her must exist. After all, she’s a thoughtful writer. But I thought maybe she just saved it for the pages. Now, though, a different side of Amy is cracking through. “Parents are…tricky,” I say. Understatement of the century.

“Yes, they are. I’m lucky my dad is the way he is, though. I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for him.”

“Your dad is…” I shake my head. “If I can be half the dad he is, then I’ll have done a good job.”

“He is a pretty good dad,” Amy says. “And so are you. From what I can tell.”

I want to immediately refute that. But I don’t. Take the compliments where I can. “Thank you. It doesn’t always feel like that.” I swallow. I don’t talk about this stuff openly. Well, actually, I do now. With Grant and Axel. I used to keep it close to my chest. The funny thing about vulnerability is once you do it a little bit, you want to do it more and more. It’s like a drug. “My dad was nothing like Kent Solace type.”

“Oh yeah? What type was he?”

“A ‘never around’ type,” I say, raising my eyebrows. “You know, running a hotel conglomerate takes a lot of work. And his generation was so much about work…not about family at all. So, we were so disconnected. And he didn’t know how to care for me at all. Never said ‘I love you’ or ‘I’m proud of you’…” I trail off. “And you know what, I don’t think it was because he didn’t know how to say it. I think it’s because he didn’t feel it.”

“Hunter, don’t say that,” Amy admonishes. “That’s not fair to you. Of course he loved you. You run his company!”

I bite back a bitter laugh. If only she knew the stories about that. “I want to be better. I never want Jessica to question how I feel as her father.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t. You’re so good with her.”

“You say that, but –”

“Hey! I mean it!” Amy retorts. She grabs my arm and squeezes it. “I mean it.”

Why did she have to touch me? Just the way her hand wraps around my bicep sends shockwaves through me. I close my eyes, try to stave off the attraction stumbling through me, but I can’t. It’s too quick. Too unavoidable. Deep breath, focus. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she says.

The second her hand drops from my arm, I want to grab it and put it against me again. I restrain myself. “I’m sorry I invited you down here to just burden you with all my problems.”

“They’re a nice distraction from mine,” she says jovially.

“That’s good, I guess,” I chuckle.

Amy and I smile at each other; she looks away first, her smile fading, eyes drooping at the corners. I continue to watch her, willing her eyes back to mine. Something is happening here. Something I haven’t felt in years. Years. I feel my body charged around women I want to sleep with, no question. But this feeling is deeper. My heart is opening to her. And that terrifies me.

“Can I tell you something you can’t tell anyone?” she asks, her voice soft and wavering.

“A secret? For me? To what do I owe the honor?” I smile crookedly.

Amy shakes her head. “I don’t know. Maybe just hearing you talk about your dad or…I’m not sure, but I feel like I have to say it.”

My mind runs through a never-ending list of possibilities of things she could say.

“Sometimes I text my mom.”

Oh shit.

“She never replies.”

It’s not my life, not my mother. And it still feels like a slap to the face. “Amy, I’m so sorry. That must be so hard.”

She raises her eyes to mine. They’re glistening with unshed tears. “It is. It really is.”

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