Page 3 of Come Take Me Now

“Your dad wanted a big family, like he had.” She pauses in thought. “You should go visit Johnny this weekend. Meet your nephew.”

“Maybe.” I sigh. “I really thought he was going to be a niece,” I add.

She laughs under her breath. “I’m not surprised I only have grandsons.” I’m the proud uncle of four nephews, but my cousins, like Robby, have daughters now. Honestly, he needed a daughter because he radiates girl-dad energy. He’s soft, light, funny, gentle... I’m too damn complicated; despite that, I always got along with Robby the best.

I pick at the salad Mom brought me, eating just a few bites. My days were always hectic—meetings, calls, paperwork, and property management—that I never had time to eat once I left my house. Today was no different. Every month I tell myself month-end paperwork won’t knock me on my ass, but then it still does, making me run on caffeine until it’s done.

I finally step outside my office to pace while on the phone with a vendor. The June afternoon heat hits my skin after being in the air conditioning all day, defrosting me. I used to work outside doing whatever needed to be done, and I still need a daily dose of vitamin D with an office job. Being between the four walls of my office was a long-time dream, but it’s become a cage now.

I tap the red button on the touchscreen to end the call and slide my phone into the back pocket of my jeans. I glance toward Rob’s place, and Appa’s red SUV is gone. I curse to myself that I’ve missed her, but she came by nearly every day during the week.

As I turn toward the office building, my ears pick up the sound of tires on gravel. I turn my head toward the noise. The gates are still open from a delivery, and an old champagne-gold sedan makes its way down the path. The brakes screech to a halt. I don’t recognize the car, but time slows as the tall glass of water from behind the wheel climbs out.

Did I get run over and go to heaven?

Or manifest the perfect woman?

The gentle Napa breeze catches her long brown hair like she’s in a fucking commercial, and it flows down to her waist, resting at her sides. The sun picks up on the natural golden highlights in her dark hair, giving her a warm aura.

My gaze drops before I can help it. In tight shorts that barely go past her bottom, her thick, muscular thighs make me want to bury my face between them right now. Her legs seem to go on forever, and she must be almost six feet tall. I have no business thinking about how she must look killer in a bikini. Or naked. In my bed.

I want to ask if she’s real, but she speaks first.

“Hi, I’m lost,” her sweet, youthful voice says.

Her lips form an unintentional pout as she tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear. Her big doe eyes look up into mine, and the sunlight catches the hazel-green in them. The color is unreal, and it knocks my breath out of my lungs.

Abso-fucking-lutely stunning.

She can’t be over twenty-two. A bit too young for my taste, but something deep in my gut says she’s the one I’ve been waiting for.

You better be single, baby.

Because I’ll get homicidal to make sure you are.

Chapter Two

Tilly

I’m fucked—and not in the delicious dick between my legs kind of way.

If only.

I missed a turn.

And my phone is dead because I forgot to charge it last night. Thanks to my twenty-year-old car, I can’t charge it.

Ugh, Mom was right about printing directions.

I shouldn’t have been so bitchy about that, but a printed map wouldn’t help now because I don’t know where I am or which direction is north to save myself. I don’t even know my dad’s address off the top of my head.

Oh, my God, what the fuck am I going to do?

Instead of a simple one-hour drive to Dad’s house, I’m on the outskirts of Napa, driving windy roads I’ve never taken. Dad has lived here for the past four years since I graduated from high school, but I’ve only been to Napa once before, shortly after graduation, for a weekend. Which means I haven’t seen my dad since I was seventeen. An insane fact, given I grew up and went to college in Sacramento—just an hour away.

And now, I’m cursing my mom for encouraging me to spend a summer with him. She said he’s calmed down a lot over the years, but I’ll never forget the man I partially grew up with. Or his impatience when I was an undiagnosed, busy little girl.

I grip the worn leather steering wheel until my knuckles turn white. I should turn around and go back to Sac. I could find my way back there easier than I’d possibly find my dad’s house at this point. Mom would understand. I know I’m just trying to find excuses to avoid my dad entirely, but I know he’s still a shark. Always was in business and in parenting.