Page 27 of Daddy Crush (Silver Fox Daddy)

I took a deep breath before answering the question.

“I think we should take some time,” I said slowly, hesitantly, watching for any signs that she disagreed with me, hating the way I sounded like every bad breakup scene in a movie.

But Clover surprised me by nodding in agreement and taking a step closer, smiling at me weakly when our eyes met again.

“Time for what?” she whispered, looking like she was ready to cry at any moment, and I detested being the man who did that to her.

We stood there for a few moments, neither of us saying a damn word, just listening to the sound of each other breathing, until Clover finally broke the silence.

“Are you breaking up with me?” she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

I sighed, taking her hands gently in mine and squeezing them lightly as I spoke. “Yes,” I said softly, “but not because I don’t care about you or wish you ill. You deserve so much better than me, and this isn’t something that can work without causing pain to someone we both love. I’d never forgive myself for coming between you and your dad.”

Clover closed her eyes and nodded, bit by bit, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “So, it doesn’t matter how I feel. Basically, my love life gets to be determined by two men who know nothing about what I desire.”

“It’s not like that,” I said firmly, my throat tightening with emotion. “You need time to figure out who you are and who you want to be without me clouding your judgment. Neither one of us wants to hurt your father.”

She opened her eyes and looked up at me sadly, tears spilling down her cheeks, smearing her mascara. I wished desperately that things had been different. We’d already crossed a line few people would ever understand or accept.

I leaned forward and kissed the top of her head one last time before pulling away, fighting against the temptation to never let go. With a heavy heart, I stepped away from Clover, knowing I’d never touch her again except from afar in memories of what might have been.

* * *

Clover

My sobbing wracked the ostentatiously papered walls of the Victorian-style room that had once been a solace but now felt stifling and tacky.

“What happened?” Faith asked, wrapping her arms around me and holding me close as I wept.

I tried to answer, but the words caught in my throat, so instead, I clung tightly to her hand while I sobbed. Then I thought of doing the same with Duke the entire way to The Sea Ranch and cried harder.

Our father banged his fist on the door. “Girls? What’s wrong?”

Faith and I froze in a limbo, where all decisions and actions were impossible. He burst into the room, his face a mask of worry as he saw my face, which was no doubt splotchy and red from crying. He pulled us both into a hug, yet he was still tense, radiating the agitation that was simmering beneath the surface.

His face was a mix of worry and anger, and he asked. “What is it? What happened? Somebody, say something.”

I knew I was still alive because I was in so much pain. It felt like I hurt all the way to the core of my being, and there was something strange about the effect. I wasn’t thinking about my dad and how hard it would be for him to accept the fact that I loved Duke. I wasn’t thinking about my family and how they needed me. It hurt to realize I wasn’t as important to Duke as I thought I was, and I was tired of being everybody’s good girl.

Pleading, I looked at my dad in desperation and frustration. I knew he was hoping for a storybook romance for me, but that was far from what the crappy café of life had served up. All it had handed me were the broken pieces of an ill-fated love and a heart now too leaden to mend. I wasn’t ready to handle this pain just yet.

“Look, Dad, I know you wanted the fairy tale for me, but that’s not what I got. Instead, I was dumped by somebody on the sidewalk of this small town, and it really stings.”

The fierce determination in his eyes told me this wasn’t a fight he was going to surrender easily. His gaze, so hard and unrelenting, silently warned me I had to face what was coming my way. And his next statement proved it.

My heart stopped when he asked, “What’s the name of this man you’ve been keeping a secret from us?”

I knew if he ever found out it was Duke, his own best friend, it would unleash a whole new level of chaos. But my father didn’t know the identity of the man who’d ditched me on my way home from work, and it was best things stayed that way.

“It’s not important,” I said, my chest feeling as though it would burst.

My father held me for a while and murmured, “Things always get better with time, sweet Clover.”

He kissed my forehead once again before standing up, and I knew it wasn’t over when he said, “You’re my princess, not somebody’s conquest.” I was so sad. I could hardly care what he meant by it. He followed Faith out the door, leaving me alone with only my thoughts and my shattered spirit.

16

DUKE & CLOVER

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