Daddy’s Best Friend Secret by Lauren Wood
Klaus
Iwas happy that I had managed to get away from Megan, the woman that I had slept with the night before. As bad as it sounded, and as bad as it made me out to be, she wasn’t anything like how I thought she would be. She’d made herself out to be this nonchalant, uncaring woman with big balls who could take care of herself.
Was it possible for a woman to catfish with her personality? Because that woman had definitely managed to fool me. A part of me had actually liked her because of how laid back she was, but I should have known that she was just like every other woman? Why had I even thought about trusting her?
That was a mistake, on my part, that I was never going to make again.
I glanced down at the piece of paper that I had in my hand and had to stop myself from shivering while I tore it to pieces. There was no way that I was going to be using it. It had all of her personal information on it, and it made me wonder when she had even gotten the chance to write it all down.
Her full name, including the middle. Her nickname, in case I couldn’t find her. Her address, and the address of the beach house. Where she went to school, where she got her nails done, because apparently she was there constantly, so often that it was necessary for me to have it.
She was crazy, plain and simple.
Last night could have been the biggest mistake that I’d ever made, and I could only be happy that I made sure to use a condom over and over again. I made it a habit to avoid women who I thought would be clingy or overly affectionate and annoying. When I was with a woman, there was an agreement between the two of us.
This was for one night only.
It seemed like Megan had understood that, even wanted it that way by the way that she came up to me. She, even, assured me that I had nothing to worry about. Then, she went and did a complete one-eighty, which almost made me think that she was an entirely different person. How did women do that?
I’d made the rare, and fatal, decision to sleep over at her place, despite the little part of my brain telling me not to. I’d done it because it was already late, and she had offered me dinner. Afterwards, she’d led me back to her bedroom, and we’d gone at it all over again. That was good.
Things didn’t get bad until this morning when I woke up, and she was wrapped around me like some kind of cat. I’d tried to leave, and she insisted that I had to stay, telling me all about her daddy issues. Why he wasn’t there, and why she thought the two of us would be a good fit. She showed me her true colors, and I’d been desperate to get away from her.
It took me a long time to figure out where Antonio’s beach house was, but I finally made it. The instructions that he gave me were complete crap, and I would have to make sure to tell him that, in the case that he tried to give the same ones to anyone else. I didn’t understand why he’d even bothered instead of just sending his location through a text message.
This man could get lost going to the grocery store in a city that he’d lived in for over three years. I should have known that I wasn’t going to be able to follow his directions. But hey, at least he tried.
My plan was to go inside and go to bed. Megan was a terrible person to sleep with, besides being nuts. She moved the entire time, and when she wasn’t moving around, she was complaining and talking in her sleep, like a crazy person. Or kicking me. And then there was the time that she kept stealing the covers.
Maybe, I should have taken a hint and left that night. But I hadn’t.
I tried to remember the bedroom that Antonio had said was mine, but I had no clue. So much of what he said went in one ear and out the other. I found that he could be like a chatty girlfriend if I let him. He never stopped talking, but I hardly found it annoying. It was funny if anything.
I stopped caring. As long as I went into a room that nobody else was in then I deemed that it was good enough. But before I could head into one of the rooms, I was distracted by the sweet smell of blueberry muffins, right into the kitchen. I was tired, but I was just now realizing that I was hungry more.
And breakfast sounded spectacular, especially since whatever Megan had made last night hadn’t been good. She said that it was lasagna, but it looked, and tasted, more like play dough to me… although I hadn’t said that. I wasn’t going to make a woman cry and then be forced to comfort her because of that.
Seeing Clara wasn’t a part of my plan, but it definitely wasn’t unwanted. She was gorgeous. I had thought so the first time that I saw her, and my opinion hadn’t changed. In fact, it had probably become more predominant. She was an alluring girl, and I had to keep reminding myself that I couldn’t have her because she was Antonio’s daughter.
She didn’t look happy to see me. In fact, she didn’t even look up when I entered the room, and Clara looked annoyed. It couldn’t be at me, right? What could I have possibly done when we’d only met once before?
Maybe she was having a rough day, and she was just letting out her frustrations, on the people around her. I had to resist the urge to let her take out her frustrations on me, sexually.
Either way, I didn’t think too much about it. What had I expected her to say? We weren’t friends, and she didn’t know me. Hell, I didn’t know her. The only two facts I knew about her were that I wanted to rail her into the ground and she was my best friend’s daughter. So for me, it was like she was wearing a giant ‘off limits’ sign around her neck.
My attention turned to Nina. “Can I have a strip of bacon?” I asked her. She narrowed her eyes at me, but I didn’t let it dishearten me. “Please?”
How long have I known Nina now? Going on five years, just about. I had known her just about as long as I had known Antonio. She’d always been his housekeeper, and she always did an amazing job. She was fun, and I enjoyed being with her. And she was one of the only women that I didn’t have to worry about attempting to make me fall in love with her.
She was happily married with two children.
Antonio was really one of the only friends that I had, but I would definitely make Nina a close second. She was a people person, and she had no issues when it came to speaking her mind. And I had found out that she was the best person at giving advice because she didn’t hold back. If she thought that I was doing something stupid then she was going to make sure that I knew that.
And she was constantly telling me.
Maybe I did consider her one of my friends in a weird, twisted way. I would have to make sure that I told her that.
“I’m starving, Nina, please, just one strip of bacon.” I pouted at her. “Who is it going to hurt?”
Unsurprisingly, Nina didn’t fall for my bullshit. “Absolutely not.”
“Just one,” I pleaded. I pulled my shirt up to reveal my six-pack abs. “I’m wasting away, right in front of you. Aren’t you going to help me?”
“That seems like a personal problem.” Nina waved the wooden spoon at me as if I were some kind of kid. “And if you put your hand over here and try to steal one then I’ll crush your hand. You have to wait just like everyone else.”
I wasn’t surprised to hear her words. She threatened me all of the time, so I was used to it by that point. But I wasn’t about to give in. I really was hungry, and I knew that she was kidding around. She wouldn’t actually be upset.
The second that her back was turned, I slipped a piece of bacon off of the plate and stuffed it into my mouth, moaning at how good it tasted, going into my stomach. Man, had bacon always tasted that good?
Nina turned around, with a hand on her hip. “Don’t get anything else until everyone else is here. Do you hear me?” The wooden spoon was pointed at me.
I nodded. “Yes.”
Nina began to hum to herself while she finished cooking. For a second, I debated whether I should just go ahead and take a power nap before coming back in half an hour for breakfast. But I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to spend a little bit of one-on-one time with Clara. I knew she wasn’t in the best of moods, but maybe I could put her in a better one.
She was sitting at the bar in front of Nina. I slid in the open chair, beside her, and I noticed her shoulders tensing. The scowl on her face made me think that she didn’t want me anywhere near her. Was that because she was in a bad mood or just because she didn’t like me?
That couldn’t be it though, right? What reason could she possibly have to not like me? I hadn’t done anything to her to make her dislike me. Or, if I had then I certainly didn’t remember it.
I had to stop myself from continuously staring at her like I was some kind of creep. But it was hard. Clara was like her entire own brand of gorgeous, and it was hard not to get wrapped in her enticing web.
Who could have known that Antonio had the genes to make the sexiest woman that I’d ever met? I was sure that even he was surprised when she popped out looking the way that she did. He’d done the world a favor.
Now, I had to stop myself from seducing that favor right into my bed… although the way that things were going now, I didn’t think resisting was necessarily going to be a hard feat. She didn’t seem to want anything to do with me anyways.
Again, I found myself wishing that she could have been a complete stranger that I’d just picked up somewhere. Kind of like Megan, although without the switcheroo act that she’d managed to pull on me.
I wanted a chance with her, but there was no way that would be happening as long as her father’s name was Antonio, even if I really wanted for it to. And there wasn’t much that I could do about that. Even if I really wanted to.
It was pointless to have such hopes though, and I would have better luck just pushing the thoughts from my head.
“Clara,” I said her name, loving the way that it rolled out of my mouth. “How has your trip been this far? I’m sure you’ve enjoyed the beaches and the scenery, right?”
For a moment, she didn’t say anything to me. She continued to focus on her phone. I cleared my throat, wondering if she hadn’t heard me, which was unlikely because I’d talked clearly. I was about to repeat myself before she slammed her phone down on the counter and turned her gaze to me.
“Let me make this clear,” she snapped. “I don’t like you. We’re not friends, we don’t talk. You just got home from fucking some girl, and I can still smell her cheap perfume on you. So, how about you do me a favor and go take a shower and then stay out of my sight. Okay?” She smiled, but it lacked any authenticity.
Her words completely caught me off guard. “Excuse me?” I asked her. I hadn’t done anything to her. She must be in a grumpy mood.
“I’m sorry, did I stutter?” She asked, cocking her head to the side. “Or, do you maybe just need to clean the gunk out of your ears? I’m sure you’re focused on so many other things these days, right?”
What was her problem? My eyebrows were scrunched into a frown. “What’s your problem?”
“Had I not made it obvious?” she asked. “You’re my problem.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you like to think that everything revolves around you, and that you’re in this little world where you’re the only person that matters. Well, I hate to crush your dreams and burst your little bubble, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m sorry if I’m the first person in your life to tell you that.”
Nina cleared her throat. “All of the food is ready, so I’m just going to…” She trailed off and was quick to take off her apron before speed-walking out of the kitchen, seemingly wanting to avoid whatever fight we were about to get involved in. It was clear that she didn’t want to be a part of it, probably because she didn’t have the energy to start trying to pick sides.
“Oh, great, look.” Clara gestured after Nina. “You made Nina leave.”
“I think your toxicity did that just fine.”
“Who do you think you are?” She snapped at me.
“What, you can dish it but you can’t take it?” I asked her. “Typical.”
“You’re a jerk.”
“And you’re a bitch,” I stated. “You can’t just decide not to like someone because of something you might have heard about them.”
“Actually, I think I can,” she corrected me. “Besides, that’s not why I don’t like you.”
“Then, why don’t you?”
“Do you know how long we waited on you last night?”
I frowned. “What?”
“For dinner. My dad tried to reach you for hours, but you never answered. Our food got cold waiting on you because my father refused to let the rest of us eat before you did. People care so much about you, and you couldn’t give a rat’s ass about them. You’re an inconsiderate, conceited jackass that I want nothing to do with.”
Nobody had ever talked to me like that before. It was a surprise and annoying. Just who did she think she was to speak to me like that? I wanted to snap at her, but it wasn’t worth it. Instead, I stood up. “Then, I’ll make sure not to make you wait any longer.”
