Page 30 of The Hottest Daddy
“I swear to God. Christ, I’m going to miss you.” He tangled her hair up in his fist and studied her. “Don’t go falling for anyone else.”
“Ha.” She nuzzled her nose against his. “Don’t let her get to you.”
River smiled. “I won’t.”
Sunday hated leaving him alone, knowing his abuser would show up there soon. She had packed a few of Ludo’s diaries into a bag and planned to spend the next few days working. But, as she dumped her bag in her cold apartment, she felt the need to go out and distract herself from what was happening at the Castle.
She went over to Daisy’s coffeehouse to see her friend. She was surprised to see her chatting to Tony, the young snowboarder, and Sunday quickly realized that her friend and the newcomer were casually dating.
Good. It saved any awkward flirting. “How are you doing? I’m sorry I haven’t been around for a few days.”
Daisy grinned at her. “Dude, it’s all right. I know you and River are pretty loved up.”
“You do?”
“Nothing stays secret here for long. I think it’s wonderful and listen, even Aria doesn’t seem too pissy about it.”
Sunday rolled her eyes. “I’m glad. I could do without another enemy.” Too late, she realized what she had said. “I mean, a jealous ex.”
She smiled at Tony. “So, you two getting to know each other?”
“She’s great, although I have trouble with the accent sometimes. She put in a good word with her dad for me up at the ski place, got me a job.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” She sipped her coffee then wondered why Tony was staring at her. “Something wrong?”
“Nah … it’s just, you really remind me of someone.”
Sunday’s stomach gave a lurch of unease. “Oh?”
“You ever been on television?”
She forced a smile. “Nope.”
“Huh.”
Change the subject. “So what job have they got you doing up at the ski place?”
She didn’t really listen to what he was saying, jolted by his possible recognition of her. It made her feel sick to her stomach, and she realized how much River was giving up to protect her. The least she could do was stay out of sight.
She finished her coffee and made her excuses but as she made her way to the door, it opened and Sunday’s breath froze in her chest.
Angelina had arrived.
Angelina looked straight at her, but in her eyes, there was no recognition. Behind Angelina, a tall, handsome man with piercing blue eyes stood. “Excuse me, please,” Sunday muttered as she moved past them and out of the door. “thank you,” she said to the man, who smiled down at her.
“My pleasure.”
She escaped across the street and locked her apartment door behind her. She hadn’t realized that seeing a part of her past life would upset her so much, even without the obvious horror that Angelina had wreaked on River’s life. Sunday felt anger, resentment, fear, and distress all at once and now she was glad she was alone so that she could cry and rant and get all of the pent-up pain out.
She cried herself out, then took a shower, a headache pounding around her temples. She decided she would not work today, but took a long nap, waking just to eat some quick pasta, then fell asleep again.
She woke, fuzzyheaded, when her cell phone buzzed. She smiled when she saw who was calling. “Hey, baby.”
“Hey, pretty girl.” River sounded calm. “I miss you.”
“Me too, my darling.” She hesitated. “Have you seen her?”
River sighed. “Yes … and I don’t quite know what to make of her visit.”
