Page 13 of Betrayed

She froze for a moment. Act natural. “Morning, Dad. What chores do you need me to do today?” Deflect, that was the best solution, right?

“Just the normal ones. Are you going out this evening?”

“Yeah, Will is having a movie night at his house.” She opened the fridge and stared. She needed to eat something, but the door stood as a shield, blocking her dad’s scrutiny.

“Fine. Back by ten.”

“Of course.”

“AJ.” Her dad waited until she looked at him. He looked sad. “I love you.”

“I know, Daddy.” She closed the fridge and went to him. “I love you too.”

He encompassed her with his arms. “I want what’s best for you.”

“Of course. Me too. Do you hate Logan?” You will if you find out what we did last night.

“No. He’s been your friend forever. He’s a good guy. But he’s a young man, and I know what that’s like. You need to protect each other.”

“Yes, Daddy.” Too late. She should have stopped them. But she hadn’t wanted to.