Page 10 of Miles
“Was itthatbad?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn. I’ve got to work on my obsession, and work on her.”
“Nah, you’re commanding, Son. Let everyone know where you stand. Just make sure she doesn’t get the dark side of you. Save that for the assholes and give your woman the best parts.” That I certainly can handle.
“Thanks.”
“By the way, I think you need to have a talk with Emiliano.” I close my eyes because that’s another tough one.
“Yes. We haven’t had an official conversation yet. I’m sure he’s got questions.”
“He does.” He winks. “Let’s grab a beer and just enjoy some time with family and friends before he grills you about his little girl.” I’d prefer to get it over with, but I’d hate to ruin the party if we couldn’t agree on my future pursuit of Elsa.
“Sounds good.” We walk out and celebrate with everyone. Despite the earlier dramatic nonsense, the party is great. Even Connor doesn’t get on my fucking nerves. I do my best to ignore Elsa, letting the team and her family watch her because I don’t want to start something I’m not ready to finish.
As the party winds down, I take my leave, saying goodbye to my godparents and letting them know that I’ll be taking a different flight back to Vegas in the morning because I have meetings.
“Always working,” my godmother says after she pulls me in for a hug.
“It’s the way it is,” I say, placing a kiss on her cheek. “Today was nice, though.” I give a smirk toward Elsa.
“Yes, because every available female couldn’t take their eyes off you. You look like you came off a photoshoot instead of a barbecue.” Elsa waves her hand up and down toward my body.
“I didn’t realize there was a specific attire requirement. I’m pretty sure there are several people here dressed the same way,” I remind her as I walk away. Not all of us wore jeans and tee shirts with boots and leather cuts. There’s nothing wrong with it. My father has his patch on, and my mother has a cute version that matches her dress, but some of us are wearing slacks, khakis with polos. I like my hair slicked back with neatly trimmed sides. I always keep myself professional, and I don’tcare what others think except for Elsa. So, I’m going to try to let her comments slide off me as just her residual anger.
As I reach the exit, I’m stopped by my father and hers to say goodbye. “Cyber, your son is something else.” Emiliano claps his hand on my shoulder. “He’s done wonders to keep my family safe after my surgery, especially my little girl.” The tone in his voice is obvious, almost mocking in its intent.
“Yes, we all know how it goes. How emotions suddenly switch on,” my father replies, sticking by my side even though I had every intention of handling the situation myself.
“Is that the case, Miles, or am I misjudging?” His brows rise with suspicion.
“Shall we go talk privately?” I ask. They nod, and we walk off to the side of the parked SUVs and climb inside my father’s SUV, which is extremely protected and soundproof.
“Like I just explained to my father, my feelings are new, but are firm. Unwavering. I want to marry Elsa one day, and I’m not going to let someone else take her away from me.” I make a point of adding that last bit. I might love my godfather, but Elsa has become my number one priority. My loyalty now lies with her even if she doesn’t know it yet.
A quiet tension builds in the vehicle. “So, the dinner served a selfish purpose.” The accusation hits like hard slap in the face; however, I understood how easily that could be misconstrued.
My words need to be chosen wisely, so I swallow and then take a calming breath. “At first, no, but then she burst through your office door, and it was like I saw a whole new person. I won’t deny that I noticed she had changed, but I hadn’t realized my feelings until that moment. Elsa was suddenly becoming a woman had to get to know.”
“Have you gotten to know her?” he growls. Fuck. Clearly, I chose my words poorly.
“God, no. Not like you’re thinking. We barely speak without her wanting to stab me. I’d like to fix our relationship, but I wasn’t sure what to do next. The tension is high in Vegas right now, and you were in the middle of recovering. I didn’t want to add to the stress. Besides, she has dreams that she’s trying to make come true that are more important than my own desires.”
“Damn, you have learned a great deal from us.”
I smirk. “I have tried.”
“Still, your wants should be pretty close to hers,” my father adds.
“I hope one day they are, but we both need time. I have too much going on for me to dedicate all my time to her, so I might as well let her focus on school before convincing her to marry me and have a family.”
“You don’t want her to work?” my godfather asks.
“You don’t want her to work, either,” I remind him.
“No, I don’t, but if she does find a career, I wouldn’t stop her.”
