Page 72 of Dominate
As the tears begin to fall, I’m wrapped up in warm, strong arms. Gareth’s scent falls over me as he turns me to face his chest and shushes me while dropping soft kisses in my hair.
“What happened?” he asks, his tone ominous.
“Callum cancelled on Sophia again,” I croak, my voice muffled against his chest. “This is going to crush her. I could kill him.”
“Not if I get to him first,” Gareth retorts, his arms tensing around me.
I pull back and swipe furiously at my tears. “He just makes me crazy because, if this is how our future is going to be with him, I’d rather he disappear forever than disappoint her every other weekend. At least when Callum and I were together, it was easier to conceal these disappointments from her.”
Gareth’s face tightens at my last remark, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watches me. “Do you want help telling her?”
I jerk my head from side-to-side. “No, she’s my daughter. I will tell her.”
With a heavy sigh, I move past him to walk out of my closet and go find Sophia. Gareth wraps his hand around my wrist to stop me. His eyes are pleading on mine when I look back and he states, “Sloan, I can help.”
My posture straightens. “It’s okay. I can handle it. Why don’t you go downstairs while I deal with this?”
Sophia sobs in my arms for twenty minutes straight. In those twenty minutes, I think of forty-seven different ways I can murder Callum and hide the body so no one finds out. After she calms down, she asks for some privacy. I decide to take a hot shower, hoping like hell a solution to this mess will come to mind while I do.
When I come out of my bedroom to check on Sophia, I overhear her mumbling, “I hate my dad.”
My heart aches for the pain in her voice, but I slow my steps when I hear Gareth’s deep chuckle carry down the hallway in response to her comment.
“Hate is a strong word, Little Minnow.”
“I know, but he promised last time he cancelled that we’d go see Rex at Grandmama’s lake. I miss Rexy. He must wonder where I’ve gone.”
I tiptoe closer so I can hear Gareth’s reply.
“Well, hopefully your mum can take you out there sometime soon. I think there are still some grown-up things of your grandmother’s that need to be sorted first.”
Sophia harrumphs. “I still hate him.”
I peek around the doorway and nearly die when I see the two of them face-to-face, stretched out on their bellies as Sophia paints Gareth’s nails. Gareth’s big hand is splayed out on a towel as Sophia sticks her tongue out while trying to keep the polish brush straight.
He watches her for a moment before saying, “You know, my dad used to let me down a lot when I was your age.”
Sophia lifts her wide eyes. “Really?”
Gareth nods. “I used to get so mad at him, I broke my own toys just to let off some steam.”
She nods thoughtfully and looks back down as she dips the polish brush back into the bottle. “I’d rather paint your nails than break my toys.”
Gareth chuckles. “I really do like this colour.”
“Me too!” she exclaims as she dabs more on his pinkie finger.
“It’s the same red as my team’s colour. Perhaps I’ll leave the polish on for my game tomorrow.”
Sophia giggles and shakes her head in disbelief. “You wouldn’t do that.”
Gareth narrows his eyes at her. “You’re right. But I will leave one painted if it cheers you up.”
“It will, it will!” she peals with a giggle that makes my heart soar with joy. She continues painting for a moment before asking, “Do you like your dad better now? He seemed nice at the hospital.”
Gareth smiles. “You know what? I do like him better now. I think some men just need a bit more time to grow up than others.”
Sophia’s brow furrows as she thinks that through. “I’m glad you’re all grown-up already, Gareth.”
