her hair. “So scary,” I deadpan.
She snorts. “Liar. What’s wrong?”
A sigh rushes past my lips. “Your dad emailed me.”
“Oh?” Her entire body tenses. “What did he say?” A pause and then a huff. “Actually, no. Forget it. I don’t want to know.”
“Your evil stepmother came by the office, too.”
She sits up and fire blazes in her brown eyes. “What did she want?”
Cupping her face, I admire her perfect features. “To warn me away from the wicked Winter storm that has invaded my life.”
Her eyes roll so hard they may fall out. I laugh at her antics.
“Beware,” she grumbles. “I’m awful. I already got rejected by one family.”
I grip her hips and pull her across my lap. “Don’t talk like that.”
A tiny tremble of her bottom lip is the only sign of her hurt feelings. Then, she grits her teeth and hardens her features. “It’s true.”
“It’s not and I don’t like when you let them make you feel that way. You’re better than those assholes, babe.”
She leans forward and I hug her to my chest. Her body relaxes against mine. Silent tears soak my shirt. I don’t say the words again. She knows it’s true.
After she’s no longer sniffling, I tug at a strand of her hair. “You done crying yet?”
“I wasn’t crying,” she argues in her usual sassy tone.
“Good, because I don’t like it when my girl cries. Makes me want to go kick some ass. I’m too old to be kicking ass.” I kiss the top of her head. “Come on. Let’s get up and go out. I’m hungry and you can’t cook for shit.”
Winter
“You’re such a dick,” I grumble and shove him when we get near his front door, making him drop his keys.
He laughs as he bends to pick them up. “Good thing you like dick then, huh?”
I swing my purse at him and he dodges. “I’m getting better at cooking.”
“Is that so? Then why are we on day three in a row of having to go out for dinner? Hmm, baby?” He smirks at me. It makes me want to simultaneously smack it off him and kiss it to keep it on. Little asshole.
“We’re slinging out insults now? Is that how it’s gonna be?” I challenge, lifting a brow. “Why don’t we talk about how old men need to rest between—”
His hand covers my mouth as he backs me into his door. “I know you weren’t about to say I couldn’t get it up loud enough for the entire floor of this building to hear.”
“Mmphk.” I try and fail to call him a motherfucker.
“Because,” he growls, his mouth dipping to my ear and his breath tickling me, “I don’t want to have to remind you how I am always ready when it comes to you.” He grinds his impressive, extremely hard erection against my stomach. “Always ready.”
He nips at my earlobe and a shiver runs through me. His hand slips from my mouth and his lips replace it. I slide my palms up his chest over his coat, kissing him frantically. The man is right. Sometimes I’m the one who can’t keep up with him. He wears me out and naps are my friend now. For a girl who usually can’t turn off her mind, he sure knows how to flip the switch.
“When I get you inside,” he murmurs, “I’m going to fuck you on that kitchen table we probably won’t ever use again.”
I can’t help but giggle. He loves to give me shit about my cooking, but the little asshole isn’t any better at it. His smile against my lips melts my heart.
The keys jangle and he drops them again. Before he can release me to pick them up, the door opens from the inside. Both August and I fall into the condo. My ass hits the ground and the breath gets knocked out of me when he lands on me.
“What the—”
“Dad?”
August scrambles to his feet and I whip my head around to gape at my best friend.
“Callie,” I squeak out and take August’s offered hand. He pulls me up, but doesn’t let go even though I try tugging my hand from his grip.
Callie’s eyes drop to where our hands are conjoined and her mouth parts. “Ew, no.” Her gaze darts to her dad’s. “Dad, tell me no. Gross.”
“It’s not gross, honey.”
She turns on her heel and storms off to her room. A second later, all the windows in the condo rattle when she slams the door.
August flinches before scooping up his keys from the