Page 19 of Keeping the Single Dad
“You didn’t miss out, believe me.” She glanced over her shoulder and lowered her voice. “It’s different with Reece. He’s very…attentive in the bedroom.”
“Attentive, huh? No wonder you’re marrying him.”
She chuckled and covered her pink cheeks with her palms. “That’s not the only reason I’m marrying him.”
I raised a sardonic eyebrow. “No. Right. Of course. There’s always gardening.”
Her eyes sparkled with amusement. Warmth filled my chest. Good, that she was happy with Reece. “I’m sorry about me and Sean. It was such a mistake. I regret it.”?
She waved a dismissive hand. “We've been through all this. It’s water under the bridge. We’re good.” She held her arms open. “Come here.”
I sank into my friend’s embrace, and a wicked thought drifted into my consciousness.
Sean Wallace. The perfect scapegoat.
If I could give Karen dirt on Sean Wallace, then it would keep her off my back. Nothing too bad; just enough to protect Dad. I didn't even need to tell her about the drugs stuff. There was enough shit with his fooling around. I had loyalty to Calverdale, but to Sean Wallace? No. I didn’t have a scrap of loyalty to that bastard. He’d treated me like trash.
I knew things hadn’t been great with him and Skylar, but I hadn’t realized how deeply he’d hurt her. Sean Wallace could be an unlikely answer to my prayers. The man was made of Teflon, anyway. Whatever the scandal, he’d shake it off.?
I pulled away from Skylar and gave her a smile. “I wouldn’t worry about someone like Sean Wallace. One day, he’ll get run over by the karma bus and it won’t be pretty.”
“Maybe.” Skylar slipped down from the stool and pulled on her coat. “Come on. You need an early night.” She quirked a wry brow. “Word might get back to Claire that we’ve been enjoying ourselves and you know how much she hates that.”
Chapter 10
Lana
Thenextmorning,Iarrived at the training ground early and swung past Claire’s office so she could see me. I’d fit in a work-out before practice and then this afternoon, I’d call Karen Delaney and throw Sean Wallace under the bus. Unpalatable as it may be, this had to be done. It was Sean or Dad.
In the gym, sweat dripped down my neck, and my feet pounded the treadmill. The men’s team filtered in through the side door by the weights area. I slowed my sprint to a jog. If the men were training, then I needed to get out of here. I grabbed my water bottle. My gaze fell on the imposing, dark-haired man stretching his long sturdy legs on the mat. Alexander. Heat stroked the back of my neck. I knew I’d have to see him again, but so soon?
His gaze locked with mine, but instead of doing the decent thing and ignoring me he strode straight toward the treadmills. What the fuck? My heart pounded. Why the hell was he coming over? Hadn’t it been awkward enough with Melissa? I had half a mind to run away, but screw that. It wasn’t me trying to make it awkward. I was happy to ignore him and pretend it had never happened.
He planted himself in front of me. His enormous solid presence eclipsed everything around him, forcing me into his orbit. A gray t-shirt clung to his muscular frame. I tried to keep my guilty gaze from drinking in his tall, sculpted, masculine body.
He glanced around the gym, and his voice dropped low. “Can we talk?”
How about no? We’d agreed to fun and done. Of course I didn’t want to talk to him. I’d let loose in that hotel room precisely because I didn’t think I’d have to look this man in the eye again. I’d had a lot of hook-ups, but this man had driven me wild.
I kept my voice low, thankful that everyone was in the weights area. “We have nothing to talk about. Fun and done, remember?”
?“That was before I knew we’d be in the same building. Can we at least clear the air so it’s not weird?”
“It’s only weird if you want to make it weird.”
I stepped down from the treadmill and moved to the mats to stretch.
Alexander fell in step alongside me. “You fed me a pack of lies. Why?”
“I don’t want to do this now.”??
“I would never have laid a finger on you if I’d known how young you are.”
“Why? The age gap bothers you?”
“Of course it bothers me. I’m old enough to be your dad.”
So? The least disturbing thing about this situation was the age gap. His dusting of gray at the temples and the lines above his mouth and eyes muted his youth with wisdom and strength. Regardless of his age, he was still hot-as-holy-hell and he fucked like a piston so what did it matter?
