Page 102 of Hoax and Kisses
She smiles, but I’m as tuned into her facial cues as I am to Daphne’s moods by now. She’s putting on a show. It fucking guts me that she can’t be herself around her own father.
“Can I introduce you to Matt Becker?” she asks, that bright expression practically painted in place. “He’s been helping me get the hotel off the ground in Pine Falls.”
Oscar quirks a doubtful brow. “Has he now?”
I hold out my hand. “Your daughter is very good at getting what she wants,” I say, hoping it’ll give Zoey a break.
Eyes narrowed, he hums and shakes my hand. “Weren’t you part of the group that fought against my hotel plans a few years back?”
“I—”
“He’s actually working very hard to get the townsfolk on our side,” Zoey cuts in. “A great business partner.”
Oscar hums again, clearly not convinced.
My stomach sinks. Dammit. Why do I care what this asshole thinks?
“I spoke to Craig and Mark,” he tells Zoey. “They said most of the shareholders are reassured about your ability to lead. You handled yourself well tonight, princess.”
Her face lights up at her dad’s words. I want to punch him for it so badly. She admires him with every fiber of her being, but I know his type. I witnessed him in action in Pine Falls for almost a year when he was trying to seal that resort deal. This interaction? I see it in a matter of seconds. He knows exactly how to keep her under his thumb. He uses praise when it benefits him. When he needs to reel her back in.
It disgusts me.
“Thanks,” she says. “The vote is next week. I’m sure I’ll have good news to share with you then.”
“I don’t doubt it.” He glances over her shoulder. “Enjoy the rest of the evening, you deserve it. I have a couple more people I need to greet before we wrap this up.” He side-eyes me. “It was nice to meet you, Matt. Careful with my daughter, okay?”
Zoey gasps. “Dad.”
Oscar chuckles, but his threat still hangs in the air. “I’m joking, princess.” He pats his daughter’s arm and leans in close, though not close enough to keep his next words from reaching me. “I know you’d never stoop so low.”
I take the punch without flinching.
Straightening, he gives me a dark grin. Then he’s gone. Next to me, Zoey is frozen.
I wrap my hands around hers, massaging them. “Are you okay?”
She lifts her gaze to mine. “I amsosorry.” She covers her face, head lowered. “I—I don’t know why he said that. That was so insulting. I don’t—”
“Hey, hey, Zoé. Listen to me.” I grasp her wrists and bring them down gently so she’s forced to meet my eye.
The surprise flashing on her face when the sound of her name registers swells my heart with pride.
After she told me I was butchering her name, I spent hours on Google Translate, listening and repeating it until I could pronounce it correctly.
“What your dad says, or what he thinks of me—of us—doesn’t meananythingto me, you hear me?” I cup her cheeks, not caring for a second that people might see. That her dad might see. Let the fucker choke on his gasp.
“You are all that matters to me. Nobody else in this room. Do you understand?”
She nods between my hands, eyes brimming with a kind of vulnerability I’ve never seen in her before.
She inhales shakily, her bottom lip trembling. “I understand,” she whispers, her voice breaking slightly. “If anything, I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.”
The words cut so much deeper than the vicious ones her dad slung. I wish I could wipe away all the hurt, all her doubts. Shutdown all the voices that have told her she isn’t good enough and make the assholes who are too stupid to cherish her suffer for it.
“You do deserve me.” I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “More than anyone ever will.” Swallowing, I trace her cheekbone with my thumb. “God, I want to kiss you so bad, Zoé. Let me kiss you. Please. It’s all I’ve been thinking about all night.”
A tiny moan escapes her lips, and it takes all I have not to dive for her mouth right here and now. Her eyes dart around, scanning the crowd.
