a short timeline until our wedding, we wouldn’t have to have the two so close together. Not to mention that Amelia has been nothing but gracious about fast-tracking her only daughter’s wedding, and an engagement party isn’t going to break me.
“I don’t want you to become overwhelmed.” I lean forward and tuck a wet strand of hair that’s stuck to her cheek behind her ear.
“Garrin, I promised my dad that I’d continue to live and be happy after he was gone. I swore. And you make me happy. He’d be so mad at me if we postponed the wedding.”
I exhale and stare at her for a moment. “As long as you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.” She leans in and kisses me. “This isn’t you getting cold feet, right?”
“Not in a million years. I wake up every day afraid you’re going to come to your senses.” I slide along the tub to get closer, my hands skimming under the surface to grab her ass and bring it over mine.
Her legs wrap around my waist. Unfortunately, my asshole of a dick decides to get hard having Isla’s pussy so close.
“I was thinking about the fact that I returned to Cherry Creek for my dad and how if he’d never gotten sick, we wouldn’t have had a chance to reconnect. In a weird sort of way, he’s what brought us together.”
“I wish the outcome were different, but I’ll be forever grateful that he did.” I grip the back of her head and bring my lips to hers.
“Me too,” she says when we end the kiss.
She reaches under her, gripping the base of my cock, rises up and then slides down on top of me with a moan.
Yep, I owe Hector Flores for life.
But I swear I’ll do whatever it takes to make his daughter happy.
As soon as we enter the large event space at the country club, everyone cheers and applauds as if us walking through a doorway is a momentous event.
Isla and myself are holding hands, and though I wouldn’t say she’s excited about the evening ahead, she seems resigned if not cautiously optimistic about having an enjoyable night. It’s obvious she’s doing her best to honor her father’s wishes that she keep living, but underneath it’s clear that she’s struggling.
I nod at the crowd and lift our joined hands, kissing Isla’s knuckles. She gives me a small smile back.
Amelia is the first one to approach us, with tears in her eyes. “You both look great.” She brings Isla in for a hug and then me. “Thank you for giving me something to look forward to,” she says to us both and then looks over at me. “Knowing my daughter has found her person eases some of the pain.”
I hug her again. No one would describe me as an empathetic person, but now that I’ve found Isla, I understand how much her mother must be hurting. I’d lose myself if Isla disappeared from my life.
“Were you able to find out who sent Isla the photograph?” I ask Lincoln. I called and filled him in about it and passed along the envelope to him. I didn’t tell him what the photo was, in keeping with our agreement to leave the others out of the loop.
He shakes his head. “No way to trace it. I even hacked into the courier company’s computer and security tapes to see if I could get a visual on who took it there, but they don’t keep their tapes that long. Whoever it is knew who they were using. The bill of lading showed that they took it there a week before with instructions about which day to deliver it.”
“Damn it.” With everything going on, I haven’t had a chance to confront my father, though I plan to tonight.
Still, it doesn’t make sense that it would be him. I have no doubt he’d love to fuck with me, but it defeats his ultimate goal. Plus, here we are at my engagement party.
“Sorry, man. I’m still looking into that lead about your dad, but it’s proving difficult. I need a little more time to trace a few things.” Lincoln shakes his head, beating himself up.
I clamp my hand on his shoulder. “I appreciate it. Let me know when you come up with something.”
“Will do.” He looks over my shoulder and scowls.
I turn to see what he’s looking at and spot Everly talking with Amelia.
“You not a fan of Everly Brookes?” I ask, raising a brow.
I wasn’t even really aware that he knew