Page 49 of Come Here and Kiss Me

We turn in a slow circle, and not only is she caught off guard by my words but she’s also blown away by the fact I can dance.

She ignores my question. “You’ve been keeping secrets, Professor Wolf. Who taught you how to dance?”

Without thinking about what I’m confessing, I reply, “My mother.”

“Oh.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

I spin her again, letting my hand linger on the swell of her back.The gentle acoustic music turns a bit more intimate, and I pull her closer, staring down into her doe eyes.

“You think you have me all figured out, don’t you?”she asks, once again not answering my question about this being only about sex between us. Perhaps that’s for the better.

As the number ends, I softly kiss her lips, not for show but because I want to.

Another song plays, and Brook keeps me on the dance floor rather than return to the sea of people. She leans into me, and we dance for a moment without much conversation, just enjoying each other.

“Tell me something,” she says just before I spin her and pull her back in.

“Like what?”

“Is there anyone you find interesting here?”

“You,” I answer instantly.

She huffs a laugh. “What do you find interesting about me?”

“Everything about you interests me. Is that what you needed to hear?”

She challenges, “That, among other things.”

Before I can respond, the song is over, and this time, we return to the task of mingling.

When we’re back to standing with my group of friends, Gerald points out, “Why have you and the dean been staring daggers at each other all night, Ronan?”

“Like you don’t know,” someone says to my right, but I can’t break contact with Gerald, who feigns innocence.

“I mean, Ro’s fucking his daughter. Of course Chambers wants him dead,” James says, and the group laughs.

Gerald laughs slightly, although he looks nervously at me. “Well, maybe give your upcoming father-in-law a warmer greeting than Ronan,” he says in an attempt to break up the tension.

It fails miserably.

I can be professional and civil, but I glance down at Brook, and I have no room in my heart for niceties.

“He locked Brooklyn out of her home with no access to her possessions, and my lawyers are looking into the matters of his previous divorce and the splitting of the assets. So I imagine it’s more about money than him caring for once in his life about being a father.”

Brook stiffens beside me for a second. This is the first time she’s hearing this. I barely have time to process what’s happening when my father suddenly stands beside us.

There’san immediate tension in the air all around us. The group is quiet and rather awkward. There’s no greeting from him. Not that I expected there to be.

Instead, he instantly states in front of everyone, “I’m surprised I’m hearing you're engaged, Ronan.” His hand lands on my shoulder. He doesn’t hide the displeasure in his tone, staring only at me. Brook grabs my hand in a reassuring gesture, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Father,” I greet him as if it’s not a displeasure.

The group dissipates and gives a nod in their departure. My relationship with my father is well-known to … well, to not fucking exist.

“I need to use the powder room.” Brook excuses herself, and I kiss her temple before she can run off.

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