Page 75 of The Temporary Fiancée
“Family dinner. I need to vet her more thoroughly. See her in person—in action.”
I take a deep, quiet breath. When my father is on my nerves this severely, the best thing to do, I’ve found, is to imagine myself somewhere more pleasant. In the past, that’s been a beach in the Antilles with a topless model, or else in the spa somewhere tropical.
Now, the first place my mind goes is Olivia’s bedroom, with her sprawled on the bed before me.
Not the most useful image for this particular moment, but at least it stops me from killing my dad.
“Fine,” I say in a clipped tone. “Sure.”
“Wednesday night,” he says.
“Okay. We’ll be there.” I wave a hand, trying to get him to leave my office.
He stares at me, his eyes cold. “Don’t blow this off, Reed. Remember?—”
“I’m taking this seriously,” I insist, leaning back in my chair. “Besides, what are you going to do—replace her? It’s too late for that.”
“No,” he says, his voice low and threatening. “I won’t replace her. I’ll pull the plug on the entire thing.”
On you.That’s what he means, even though he’s prevaricating, as always. He’ll give up on me. He has another son he can force the mantle onto.
Stiffly, I nod. “We’ll be there.”
“Good.” With that, he turns and leaves.
As soon as he’s gone, I let my shoulders drop and close my eyes for a second. The frustration is still buzzing in my skull. I pull out my phone to text Cole and Declan—they’re not gonna believe this shit.
Well, they are gonna believe this shit, I guess. Neither of them is a stranger to bad parental relationships. But that’s sort of the point of texting them—they’ll know what I’m talking about.
When I unlock my phone, though, the first thing I see is a text from Olivia from around an hour ago.
OLIVIA: I’ve been getting feedback from the engagement thing all day.
OLIVIA: All good things! My phone is blowing up, and it’s all positive.
I smile despite myself, then start to type out a response.
ME: That’s great! Sorry I didn’t see this earlier, I’ve been too busy to check my phone.
ME: Also come to think of it, I probably won’t be able to check again till I come home—have a meeting.
ME: Can you order in so it’s there when I get home?
My phone chimes almost immediately with her response.
OLIVIA: Sure thing!
I tuck my phone in my pocket, then pack up my things to head down the hall to the conference room. A few of the sales guys are already there, but it looks like I’m not late.
As I sit down at the head of the table, my phone vibrates again with another chime. I check it quickly:
OLIVIA: Can’t wait for you to get home.;) I have something for you to eat… lol
I bite my lip and pull my chair closer to the table so that no one will see my sudden, undeniable, aching hard-on.
Inconvenient timing aside, I love that I don’t have to deny my attraction to her anymore. I spend the entire meeting texting her under the table, telling her exactly what I want to do to her, and for how long, and why.
The sales team probably notices that I’m distracted, but if anyone asks, I can play it off like it was something else. I’m finally free to tell her what’s on my mind, and I’ll be damned if I waste that chance.
