Some Like It Charming - By Megan Bryce Page 0,53
anybody and know what they want, what they’ll give for it. How much they’ll give for it.”
Ethan said softly, “What did you give up to be loved by him?”
She felt him behind her, his heat warming her back, and she looked at him over her shoulder. His jaw was clenched, a look of pure disgust on his face.
She shook her head. “Not that.”
She turned toward him, taking his hand, looking down at his long fingers. Running her finger along the trimmed nails, the golden hair on his knuckles.
She said, “I wanted to be loved by him. I wanted to be his daughter.”
The first time she’d seen Luke Holden, she’d known he was her father. Honey-golden hair, tawny eyes, and a radiant glow about him. As if he knew something you didn’t. And it was good.
She forced herself to look up and meet Ethan’s eyes. “And Luke Holden wanted to see if he could turn me into him. He wanted a little mini-me.” She smiled wryly. “I looked just like him, there wasn’t any doubt I was his. He’d taken one look at me and then just smiled. Like I’d been the gift he’d been waiting for.”
Ethan blinked, a dawning realization covering his face. “He’s why you’re such a good salesman.”
She laughed humorlessly. “I learned at his feet. Trained at his compound every year to see who wanted what we were selling, how much they wanted it. I used everything I had to wring every last penny from them.”
He raised one eyebrow. “Forgive me, but I’ve seen you close a deal. You don’t use anything but the facts. And their greed. You don’t give them anything, sometimes not even a smile.”
He made her laugh and she leaned against him, the knot in her stomach loosening a little.
“I got tired of selling myself. Of giving anything they wanted to get them to fork over a check.” She shook her head. “They don’t get me. They don’t even get to see who I am. I’m not part of the deal.”
“I am constantly surprised that works. All of my other top sellers are quite personable.” He ran a finger along her mouth, tracing the small frown that still lurked there. “You shouldn’t be successful at sales.”
Mackenzie rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You try taking money for a theoretical promise of heaven. Selling a tangible investment that they can moan or celebrate over every day? Cake.”
He laughed and squeezed her. He murmured, “You said you didn’t still love him.”
She pulled back and looked out the window again. “I don’t.”
“He’s your father.”
“It took a long time for me to realize that he’s not. He’s a sperm donor. Nothing more than that.”
Being a father implied some sort of emotion, some sort of care for his child above his own needs. There was none of that with Luke Holden.
Ethan grunted. “We don’t get to choose who our parents are. We can only choose who we want to be. And I can safely say you’ve learned to use your power for good.”
She turned back to him and let him put his arms around her, let him pull her close. She said, “I can see what you want.”
She could. She could see everything that he wanted.
Ethan said, “Because that’s hard to figure out with me pressed up against you?”
She shook her head. “Not that.” She whispered, “Take me shopping.”
He pulled back and looked at her suspiciously. “You’re just trying to distract me.”
“Maybe. And maybe I need new clothes.”
He looked down at her pajamas, then cursed. “I feel like I can’t miss this opportunity.”
One corner of her mouth kicked up.
He narrowed his eyes. “What about pajama day?”
“We’ll just spend it having sex.”
He nodded. “I was starting to see the point of it.”
Ethan followed her to her bedroom, sitting on her bed and watching her get dressed. “You can distract me for a little while, but we’re not finished discussing your father.”
“Yes, we are. The end. Daddy-daughter issues? So boring. And when we get home from shopping, you can peel all the new clothes off me and forget everything I told you in a blaze of passion.”
“It does sound promising.”
“Yeah, it does.”
He smiled. “There will be short skirts and high heels.”
“I didn’t have to read your mind to figure that out.” She walked over to him, grabbing his shirt and leaning into his face. “There is one thing that I want you to know before we go.”
She waited until his eyes widened, until he looked sufficiently nervous, then said, “If you call