Irresistible Nights by Kaylee Monroe

Chapter Thirteen

Marcie

“Daddy,” I said in a rush of breath, already trying to diffuse what could be a potentially explosive situation. “Don’t freak out.”

His eyes flicked over to me as he stepped across the threshold and into my apartment, then he looked back over at Denton, his gaze narrowing. Shirtless, barefoot Denton, wearing only gym shorts, with sex-and-sleep-mussed hair. My father’s jaw tensed and I tightened the collar of my robe around my throat and wished the floor would swallow me whole. This wasn’t the way I wanted my father to find out about the two of us.

Much too calmly, Dad walked over to my couch and stiffly sank into the cushions, his ice-cold glare still fixed on his business partner.

“Both of you get dressed,” he said, his voice flat, almost monotone. “I’ll wait here.”

With Denton on my heels, I hurried back into my bedroom and grabbed some underwear, pajama pants and a sweatshirt—baggy, enveloping garments, anything to make me feel less exposed. Denton rifled through his duffel bag and pulled out a t-shirt and flannel pants, yanking them on before he ran nervous fingers through his wild dark hair. He looked stricken, his ice-chip blue eyes wide and anxious.

I finished pulling my hair into a ponytail and stepped closer to Denton, reaching up to frame his handsome face in my hands. His gaze traced over the lines of my face like he was trying to memorize the details, and my heart lurched in my chest to see him so shaken up. I rose up on tiptoes to wind my arms around his neck and press my lips against his in a long, loving kiss.

“It’s not an ideal situation, and this isn’t the way I wanted him to find out about us,” I whispered as he pulled away. “But no matter what, I’m not going anywhere.”

He took a deep breath, then leaned down to kiss me one more time.

“I love you,” I said, needing to say the words that mattered the most right now. “Remember, no matter what.”

His arms crept around me as he tugged me into his broad chest. “That’s what I needed to hear,” he replied, his voice infused with relief. “I love you too.”

He buried his face in my neck and held me for a few seconds longer before we reluctantly released each other.

“Time to face the music.” Linking my fingers through his to show a united front, we walked back to the living room, where my father—Denton’s best friend and business partner—waited.

Dad’s face was cold and blank, and his eyes flicked immediately to our joined hands. I gave Denton a gentle squeeze and sank down onto the couch opposite where my father sat, pulling him down next to me.

“Explain,” Dad said, the one word spoken in a tight, clipped tone.

I looked at Denton, then back at my dad, who was glaring at the man sitting by my side. “Denton and I—ran into each other at a bar before your last visit, before I even knew he was your business partner. We really connected and we…we’re together.”

Dad turned his gaze back to me, and the icy exterior cracked enough that I saw the stormy emotions underneath. “You’re together?” he asked incredulously. “And this has been going on for a few weeks now?”

Denton nodded, his unshaven jaw tensing. “Yes.”

I placed a hand on his flannel-covered thigh and rubbed it soothingly. Dad’s eyes flicked immediately to where my hand rested on his leg, and I cursed myself for making such an obvious intimate gesture. But before I could remove my hand, Denton’s landed on top, holding it in place, solid and comforting.

“Clive,” Denton said as he squeezed my hand. “I love your daughter. I know that all this is probably a surprise, but—"

“Yeah, it’s a little bit of a surprise,” Dad said angrily, cutting Denton off. “You’ve only been out here for a few weeks, so you’ve been sneaking around with her about as long as you’ve been here, I assume. Is that true?”

I sucked in a deep, wounded breath at the words sneaking around, and a hot tear trickled down my cheek. Denton abandoned my hand and wrapped a warm, heavy arm around me.

“I’ll admit, it was fast and unexpected,” Denton started, not backing down from my father’s animosity, which was directed mostly at him. “But we weren’t sneaking around. We wanted to keep our relationship private for a while, and I wish you hadn’t found out like this. We were going to tell you soon.”

Dad huffed a furious breath. “Don’t bullshit me, Denton.”

Then his eyes landed on me, and I wilted under the weight of his disapproving gaze.

“You’ve really hurt me, Marcie,” he said quietly. “It’s not like you to keep things from me, especially something that affects me this much.”

My stomach churned and my face felt hot. Anger, humiliation, fear—I wasn’t entirely sure what to call the painful emotions that swirled inside of me, but the way my dad dismissed my feelings—dismissed my relationship with Denton—cut me deep.

What the two of us had shared wasn’t illicit or dirty. It was real and life-changing, and I wanted my dad to understand that. Before I could say anything, though, he stood up abruptly.

“I need some time and space to process all this shit,” he said, and glanced over at Denton, his eyes narrowed. “From you especially, Denton.”

Denton nodded, but I didn’t miss the flash of pain in his eyes. “Understood.”

Dad’s booted feet thumped against the hardwood floors as he turned and stormed toward the door.

“Daddy,” I said helplessly, standing up and resisting the urge to run to him, to hug him and beg him to understand and accept my feelings for Denton. But knowing he wasn’t in the frame of mind to listen to reason, I said instead, “I love you.”

He stopped and stared at me, eyes blazing with hurt. “I know you do. But I can’t be here right now or I might do or say something I might regret later.”

With a quick jerk of his wrist, he flung the door open and walked out, slamming it closed behind him. His heavy footsteps echoed in the hall, fading as he strode away from my apartment. Pain lanced at my heart and I crumpled into Denton’s arms with a sob as the sounds disappeared.

“He’s so mad,” I said against Denton’s sturdy shoulder. “I’ve never seen him this upset before. Not with me, anyway.”

A fresh sob shook my shoulders, and Denton pulled me closer and ran gentle fingers through my messy ponytail. I looked up at him and saw his own eyes were wracked with pain. But when he spoke, his tone was calm and reassuring.

“Your dad loves you,” he said. “He’ll come around.”

I sniffled. “Are you sure?”

“What choice does he have?” Denton said with a shrug and a slight smile. “I don’t want to break up, do you?”

I huffed out a sad little laugh. “No, not at all. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he said, caressing a hand down my back. “Will you come stay with me?”

I cocked my head and reached up to trace my fingers along his scruffy jaw, shaded with patches of gray. “I already stay with you all the time.”

He sighed and pressed his forehead to mine. “Maybe for a little longer than a night. Bring some clothes with you, stay for a couple of weeks if you want. This is…hard for me.” He swallowed. “I don’t really want to be alone. Do you?”

“No.” The pain welled up in my chest, fresh and hot, and I choked back another sob. “I don’t.”

Denton tugged me close again, surrounding me with his strong, warm arms as I cried against his chest and let my raw feelings pour out until I was spent.

Something had fractured between my father and I, but in my quiet apartment with Denton, as the early morning light filtered through the window shades, I knew that I wasn’t alone.

Neither of us were.

* * *

“Earth to Marcie.” Kresley snapped her fingers in front of my face, startling me back to attention.

“Sorry.” I sighed and clicked save on the file in front of me. I was just finishing up the final bits and pieces for my proposal to Keisha Blackwell. I wanted to feel great about the package I had put together, but instead I was just tired and stressed. Whenever my phone buzzed with a text or a call, I hoped it was my dad.

It never was.

We usually spoke a few times a week by phone, but we hadn’t exchanged so much as a quick text since he stormed out of my apartment a week ago.

She took a step forward and cocked her head as she studied me carefully. “You okay?”

I shrugged and waved a dismissive hand. “Just feeling kind of low. I’ll snap out of it.” Eventually. Hopefully.

Kresley dropped into the chair next to me and laid a gentle hand on my arm. “Just know that I’m here for you, okay? If you need anything at all.”

“Me too,” Frankie said from my office door. She stepped closer and grabbed my hand. “Always.”

Warm gratitude pooled inside my heart as I smiled at my two best friends. “Thanks. Both of you. It’ll be okay. Things are just a little hard with my dad.”

“Have you talked to him at all since he showed up at your place with Denton there?” Frankie asked.

I shook my head. “No. I call him every night, but he doesn’t pick up, so I just leave a voicemail telling him that I love him, which is about all I can do until he’s ready to talk to me again. I only know that he’s in Minneapolis again because Denton talks to his assistant.”

Frankie leaned a hip against the desk and studied me as she chewed a thumbnail. “It was a crappy thing for your dad to do,” she said with a frown. “Do you think he’ll come around?”

“Eventually, yeah, but…” I trailed off as I struggled to find the right words. “It just feels bad now. I wish I could show him this proposal for Keisha Blackwell, but he’s totally iced me out. And it hurts.”

A tear welled up in my eye and I brushed it away. “It hurts a lot.”

Four arms wound around me as my best friends buried me in a lingering group hug.

“I’m sorry your dad is being an asshole,” Kresley said. “But you still have us and Denton.”

“I know,” I replied. “He’s not an asshole, though.”

“No, he isn’t,” Frankie said softly, an indecipherable look in her eyes. “It must have been a big shock, and he’s just not handling it well.”

“Denton is great, though.” I smiled when I thought about waking up every morning next to the man I loved.

“Well, yeah,” Kresley said, dropping her arms and sitting back in her chair again. “He worships the ground you walk on.”

“At least somebody is regularly getting laid,” Frankie grumbled.

Kresley snorted and I rolled my eyes.

Frankie leaned forward and looked at my laptop, where the Keisha Blackwell presentation was plainly visible.

“Is this just about done, then?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, at this point I’m just tinkering with it because I’m nervous that I’m missing something. But I can’t find anything, and it’s just making me more anxious. I’m used to my dad looking at stuff like this with me, and he’s…well, not interested.”

Kresley looked over at me. “What if nothing is wrong? What if you’re just nervous about taking the next step on your own?”

“Maybe,” I murmured, but her words stuck with me the rest of the day, as I pushed through my work, closed the store, headed to Denton’s condo—which I had begun to think of as home—and spent a quiet evening in his arms.

Maybe Kresley was right, I thought as I lay awake next to my sleeping boyfriend.

Maybe the next step was up to me—and I just had to find the courage to take it on my own.

The next morning, I headed into the store a little bit early, when I knew that Frankie and Kresley wouldn’t be in yet.

I typed up a quick e-mail to Keisha.

I attached the files.

And I hit send.