“What am I supposed to do?” she asks desperately, not wanting to hurt my feelings or her dad’s. Or her own for that matter, despite the situation.
“We tell him the truth,” I inform her. Not even flinching when I see her face drop, her body starting to shiver with what looks like fear.
“You’re mine now Lucy. We belong to each other. Not your dad,” I add with another half-smile, trying to resurrect the feelings I know we have for one another over her situation.
Her whole body sags with resignation as she sighs in agreement, moving over to me and letting me take her in my arms.
“It’s just so like him. To just turn up, I mean,” she murmurs.
Sounds like something I’d do. Who wouldn’t for a girl like Lucy?
“I’m all for telling him, Nathan, I really am,” she pleads, looking up. “Just…”
“Just not right now?” I echo back to her, mirroring what she’s thinking.
“Okay, so I can go and we can play a stupid game or-” I start to say, hearing myself getting mildly annoyed until we both hear her dad again, calling out for her.
The shower is still running, but he’s out of the bathroom, calling for something.
Lucy makes a face and holds her finger up to quiet me, spinning on her heel to leave again, returning moments later once she’s found her dad some towels and shampoo.
“I love you, Nathan,” she tells me once she leans back against the door closing it.
“Just do this for me? Just do whatever we have to and let me get him out of here and I’ll do anything.”
“You don’t have to ask me anything, baby. Just tell me you love me and know I’m already here,” I tell her, kissing her quickly but tenderly.
Both of us avoiding getting too close right now because we know it’s hopeless.
I need her dad gone and so does Lucy.
“Okay. Okay,” I concede. “Ideas?”
Her face dropping and I don’t like it.
“You could get another room, or maybe I could at another hotel?” she suggests, making me frown. My head shaking before I even form an answer.
This is reaching the limit. I’ve had enough of this already.
“Maybe I could just-” I start, feeling my hands balling into fists and about to lose my cool when we both hear the faucets shut off again and she leans in and standing on tippy toes to beg me this time.
“Please, Nathan? Just go along with whatever happens. I’ll think of something. Just give me some more time,” she begs again.
How can I refuse?
I can see how much all this means to her.
She wants me and her dad.
Wants to keep us both happy and obviously needs the right moment to choose when to spell it all out for her dad, who has no idea his only daughter has already been bedded and bred by the star attraction of the book convention he never wanted her to go to alone in the first place.
“I’ll get my bag. I’ll go back to the convention and you can call me when you know what’s what,” I tell her.
“Honey?” Her dad’s voice chimes, he’s pushing against the door to get in.
“Honey? I just...” he starts to say until he sees me, his voice trailing off.
“Who the fuck are you?”
Chapter Nineteen
Lucy
If things could go from bad to worse, they just have.
My dad turning up unannounced and then coming into Nathan’s room which I’m pretending is mine and having him find us alone together.
Bad.
Worse than bad.
But Nathan takes over, owning the room like he does every time I see him.
My dad is none too pleased to see another man in here and promptly asks him who the hell he is.
“I’m Nathan Cartwright,” he says firmly, his huge hand bolting out and gripping my dad’s before he can protest.
A winning smile to go with his firm pump that looks like it’s lifting my dad off the ground with each stroke.
My dad’s no lightweight, but even next to Nathan he looks almost childlike in his grip.
“There was a mix-up at the convention hotel, and well… Lucy here was good enough to put up with me sharing the suite for a night, the only place either of us could get at such short notice,” Nathan says loudly, shooting me a look and sharing his smile with me as well as my dad.
“Uh… I’m Lucy’s dad. Paul. Paul Scarborough, and I know who you are,” my dad says gruffly, reddening some and almost fighting to reclaim his hand from Nathan’s.
“Paul? Nice to finally meet you, Lucy here was telling me-” Nathan starts to say, but my dad’s not having any much of this introduction.
“Lucy was just telling me that this was her room and that she was alone in the suite. Our suite, or so I thought,” my dad huffs, trying to swell himself up but not having to exaggerate his anger or hurt for our benefit.