Page 82 of Bought

We’d talked so often about her, about what she’d look like and what our future would be. We’d envisioned a family together, out of the city, away from her family’s controlling grasp. A beautiful little house. A swing set in the yard. A dog maybe. A baby brother for her. She would grow up safe and loved and have so many friends. She’d go to college and fall in love and get married.

Except all of that was not to be. And she’d fallen in love with the worst man possible, my oldest friend. Who’d loved and protected her and been there for her in a way I never had.

She loved him. He made her happy. How could I resent that? How could I stand in the way of my child’s happiness when that was all Juliana and I had ever wanted for her?

“You deserve to be happy,” I said abruptly into the silence. “Your mother would have wanted that for you and…so do I.” I turned then, and looked at her, strong and beautiful. Confident. Decisive. I was so proud of her.

She deserved the world, and I would give it to her if I could.

“Where are you going?” She asked as I headed abruptly toward the door.

But I didn’t answer. I was going to find Caleb and give him the kick in the ass he so richly deserved for daring to make my daughter so unhappy.

31

Zara

I didn’t want to think too deeply about that night with Fox, or about my feelings for him. I didn’t want to think about love or why it had hit me so suddenly and for a man who was wrong for me in every way there was. I didn’t want to think about how he was going to let me go eventually and it was going to hurt like hell when he did.

I didn’t even want to think about Santorini. All I wanted was to laze around his house, secure and safe, excited for his return at the end of the day, so that’s what I did.

Isabel had texted me a couple more times and I’d replied as vaguely as possible, since I had no idea what to say. I didn’t know how long I’d be with Fox and then there was the fact that I’d lied to her about working at Cross and being her friend. She deserved a face-to-face conversation but given how difficult Fox was being about her relationship with Caleb, I decided she probably didn’t need me adding to the mix.

I’d been waiting for Fox to text me, since he’d told me that morning he’d be issuing me with instructions for his return, but I hadn’t heard from him, and I was just starting to get worried when I heard the front door slam.

I quit lounging on the sofa, dumped the tech magazine I’d been flicking through, and was halfway to the doorway, when Fox appeared. His black hair was disheveled as if he’d run his hands through it one too many times, and there was a weariness in his face that hadn’t been there this morning.

My heart contracted and instantly I went to him. “Shall I take care of your tie, Sir?”

I waited for his nod then lifted my hands to the knot. “You look tired,” I added. “What happened today?”

He let out a weary-sounding breath. “Isabel came to see me and gave me a lecture on how she was an independent woman who can make her own choices.”

I bit back a smile as I got the silk at his throat undone. Of course, Isabel wouldn’t accept her father’s nonsense about her and Caleb, nor should she. But still, Fox was clearly unhappy about it.

“I’ve been a terrible father to her,” he went on, his deep voice full of a regret that made my chest ache. “I’ve held her at a distance yet suffocated her. I was far too overprotective, yet I never let her get too close to me.” He paused and closed his eyes a moment. “She thought I hated her because she looks like Juliana.”

The self-recrimination in his voice made me hurt for him and all I wanted to do was make him feel better. “You’re not a terrible father,” I said. “And believe me, I know what a terrible father looks like. You love her and yes, you made some mistakes, but you want what’s best for her and that’s the most important thing.”

He didn’t answer immediately as I pulled the tie free, coiling it up in my hands and laying it on the arm of the couch. Then I started to undo the buttons at his throat. “She loves Cal,” he said eventually, opening his eyes again. “All she wants is to be happy but…he refused her because he thinks he’s not good enough for her. So, naturally, I had to go and give him a lecture.”

The button slipped free of the buttonhole, his skin warm against my fingertips. I went up on tiptoes and pressed a kiss in the hollow of his throat, which technically was against the rules, but I didn’t think he’d mind. Instantly, his hands came up, cupping my head as I came back down on my feet, tipping my head back to look at him.

“She didn’t want me to lose my friendship with Cal because of her,” he said, looking down at me. “He and I are…brothers. And he deserves happiness as much as she does. So, I told him that, and I gave him my blessing. But…did I do the right thing, Zara?”

For a second, I couldn’t quite process the fact that he wanted my opinion, and not as a Dom, but as a man. A father. It made my chest ache even more that my thoughts mattered to him, that he cared enough to even ask. And perhaps most of all, that he trusted me enough to share his doubts with me.

After a moment, I said, “Yes. You did the right thing. Isabel’s old enough to make her own mistakes and you can’t save her from them. But for the record…I don’t think this is a mistake. I think she’s going to end up giving Caleb hell for the rest of their lives.”

The stark look in Fox’s eyes faded, the tension around his mouth fading along with it, and almost I got a smile. They were rare, Fox’s smiles, but when they appeared they stopped my heart.

“Yes, she probably will,” he said. “I don’t envy him one bit.”

I put my hands on his chest, leaning against him. He hadn’t said anything about rules yet, so I was taking advantage shamelessly. “There, you see? You’re a great father. You put your daughter’s happiness ahead of your own. Isn’t that what a good parent does?”

His hands came to my hips, and he studied me for the longest time, the expression on his face unreadable. “How did you get to be so wise, little sub?” he asked eventually. “You’re not very old.”

“It’s a gift. Also, I’ve got an old soul.”