Page 19 of The Dom

“Finley should be here soon. Take your time. I’m going to get some drinks ready in the library. Join me when you’re ready.”

I was almost at the door when she spoke. “Thank you.”

My heart twisted in a new, unfamiliar way. “You never have to thank me for taking care of you.”

I left before I could change my mind about Finley coming over. Not that I honestly considered telling him that I didn’t want to share Ashlee’s attention. Tonight was about giving Ashlee the support she needed to tell Finley who she was. And if she decided she wanted to wait, that was okay too. I would do whatever she needed of me.

I’d just finished setting out the glasses and my best bottle of Bowmore Scotch Whisky – Finley’s favorite – when the doorbell rang. Ashlee was still in the bathroom, so I went to let my friend in. We exchanged pleasantries as we walked to the library, and I poured us both two fingers of the dark amber liquid.

Before he took a drink, Finley looked at the bottle and chuckled. “You do realize that bottle is older than your girlfriend, right?”

I nearly choked on my scotch. He was right. It was two years older than Ashlee. For the first time, I realized just how far apart we were in age.

“Don’t feel bad,” Finley said with a grin. “Between her being mature for her age and your immaturity, you probably even out at about the same age.”

I glared at him. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“I feel like I missed something,” Ashlee said as she came into the library. She crossed to me, automatically reaching for my hand.

“Finley’s just giving me a hard time,” I said.

A thought hit me. If Finley was already getting on me about Ashlee and my relationship, how bad was it going to be when he found out she was his daughter?

Shit.

“Here.” I handed her the glass I’d poured for her. Only a finger because she was a lightweight when it came to anything harder than wine or beer. She wanted to be relaxed, not drunk.

She thanked me and took a sip.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to check on dinner.” I kissed her temple and squeezed her hand to let her know that I was here for as much of this conversation as she wanted. She nodded at me, and I left, wondering exactly how my friend was going to handle this news. I could only hope I knew him as well as I thought I did, because if he was anything but sweet to Ashlee, our friendship was going to come to an ugly end.

Twelve

Ashlee

I almost told Nate not to go, but I didn’t want dinner to be ruined because I was a big old scaredy-cat. It wasn’t even like I hadn’t talked to Finley before, or had this conversation in my head a hundred thousand times since I’d learned his name.

Nate was doing so much to make this easy on me too. He’d sit with me when he came back if that was what I wanted. Or if I decided I needed more time, I had no doubt he’d support that too.

But I wasn’t going to wait past tonight. I’d put it off too long to begin with. Now, Mom knew, and I had her blessing. Nate knew, and I had his backing. This was the right time.

Still, I stalled.

I kept my drink in hand as I roamed the library, feigning interest in what books Nate owned. I’d already looked at them in the past, and at the moment, my brain didn’t take in a single title. I sipped at the scotch, appreciating the fact that Nate hadn’t given me a lot. I was anxious enough that I would’ve drunk whatever was in my glass, no matter how unwise it would’ve been. Because he’d only given me a little, I’d be able to take the edge off but not risk getting drunk.

“It surprises people when they find out how much Nate likes to read,” Finley broke the silence. “And by what he reads too.”

“He doesn’t really seem like the type to be a big fantasy reader,” I agreed.

“I’m enjoying Desi’s Dream Harem.”

I froze. What. The. Hell.

Finley chuckled, like he’d intentionally dropped that comment the way he had just to see what I’d do. “Don’t you remember telling me that you were reading it?”

Fuck me. Now I remembered. What had I been thinking? Even if he hadn’t been my father, he was my boss – sort of, anyway – and telling him I’d been reading a reverse harem book was not the best thing to do. Heat flooded my face, and I wondered if it’d be too much to ask the floor to open up and swallow me.

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