Page 48 of Enemy Daddy Next Door

“And given how my feelings are developing for her, I want to bring it to your attention and ask for your blessing to continue seeing her and allow things to get more serious. Perhaps.”

Kent rubs his chin and glances off in the direction of the party. My eyes have been firmly locked on him the whole time. Nothing else can distract me from my mission. “Listen, Hunter…”

My heart braces for impact. If he doesn’t give his permission, I have no choice but to respect his wishes. But, god, it will rip me apart. Will rip Jessica apart too. And I’m not sure how I’ll handle that, so I just put on a brave face and start planning my exit route just in case.

“You know, if I’ve learned anything in the past couple years, is that my girls are grown. They’re adults.” Kent swallows and then locks eyes with me. “They make their own decisions. And if you want to pursue Amy, then the only opinion that matters is hers.”

I breathe a sigh of relief.

“As long as she’s happy – and you’re respectful, Hunter. I know your habits for –”

“Promise, Kent, what I’m feeling for Amy is nothing like that. Not at all.”

Kent’s brow finally releases and he smiles. In silence, he reaches his hand out to me to shake. I accept it, filled with gratitude when I feel the intensity of his grip.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Kent says, looking askance. “You’ve got someone else to answer to for your feelings.”

I finally loosen my gaze from him and look toward the party. My eyes immediately land on Amy who is cautiously idling on the outskirts of the festivities, pretending like she’s not looking at us. All that relief immediately goes away. Fuck, I have to tell her how I feel.

The feelings I’m having…they’re serious. They’re not love. Not yet. That would scare her off. And given that we haven’t consummated our relationship in the bedroom, I wouldn’t dare throw that word around for fear that she might feel pressured to give herself over to me. I’ll wait as long as she needs.

Amy does make it very difficult, though. Just seeing this pretty green and yellow dress draped over her torso and her nipples poking out through the fabric makes me want to –

“Okay, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I don’t like it,” Kent says with a groan.

I shake my head. “I’m not –” I start to lie even though I very much was thinking about ripping Amy’s dress off.

“Best of luck,” Kent says and pats my back, a meek chuckle on his lips. Then, he walks off toward the drink table where Victoria, Grant’s sister, waits for him with a stiff drink. For a famous model, someone who is looked at all the time, she certainly has an uncanny ability for reading a room.

Amy doesn’t waste a single moment making her way over to me. I like that she really says, “fuck being subtle”. It’s both charming and refreshing. “What was that about?”

“Hello to you too.”

“Why were you talking to my dad?” She crosses her arms over her chest.

I tilt my head to the side and smile. “You’re worried.”

“Of course I’m worried! You two were talking over here like it’s Fort Knox or something, and when Dad looked right at me, well, I just knew –”

“Hey, hey, hey, relax, honey,” I say and gently touch her forearm. “It’s okay. I promise, everything’s okay.”

We both look at the point of contact, my fingers lingering on her arm. I withdraw them cautiously for her sake more than mine. “I told him about us.”

Her eyes flash with fire. “You what?!”

“I just wanted to get his permission. To continue seeing you. Since it feels like things are getting more serious.”

Amy’s anger abates. “Oh.”

I chew on the inside of my lip. “Am I wrong?”

“N-no! No, of course not,” Amy says adamantly.

“Good.”

There is a hush under the tree. Despite the party bumping and bubbling around us, I can only hear the leaves shuffling together. Conjuring something.

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