Daddy's Best Friend (Forbidden Temptations)

by Sofia T Summers

  “First of all, I quit.”

  I frowned at her and folded my arms. “Are you serious? Izzi, you’ve worked hard for this position and we only just set up a whole new marketing team.”

  “Well, if you hired Andrew back on, he could help you while you look for a replacement for me. We’ve taken care of the product launch, so you don’t have to worry about any new big marketing projects until the next quarter anyway. That gives you time.” Izzi smiled at me triumphantly. “But there we go. Now there’s no worry about an employee and a boss dating, or even two coworkers dating. No HR issues.”

  “Are you sure?” I refused to let her give up on a dream for me, or for any man. That shouldn’t be how this worked, she shouldn’t have to choose between a spouse and a career if she wanted both.

  Izzi nodded. “I’m sure. I successfully ran the marketing department at a high-level tech company and headed the release of an advertising campaign for a lucrative new product launch, all within the first few months of my working here. With that sort of résumé and a recommendation from Andrew and my father, I’ll be able to write my own ticket. This isn’t putting my career or my livelihood in any jeopardy.”

  Well, that was fair. I couldn’t argue with that. “That still doesn’t—”

  Izzi put a finger to my lips and I glared at her, even as a shudder of heat ran through me. She smelled good, she looked amazing, and here I was snapping at her like an idiot. Was this woman ever going to stop throwing me for a loop?

  I ignored the desire to take her wrist and draw that teasing, admonishing finger into my mouth and suck on it, kiss her wrist, pull her in and show her what happened when she got uppity with me. I wasn’t going to let my desire for her distract us from this conversation, because we obviously had to have it, even if we didn’t want to.

  “Now, the next issue is obviously my father.” Izzi smiled at me and removed her finger from my lips, using it instead to press on the intercom and call my secretary. “So sorry to bother you, I don’t suppose you could spare a moment and ask my father to come to John’s office, please? Tell him it’s urgent.”

  “Are you sure about this?” I asked her. Having Garrett come in here sounded like the perfect way to begin World War III in this office.

  Izzi nodded. “Yes. I’m positive.” She looked me dead in the eye. “I have no intention of raising my child without their father and I have no intention of letting the man I love slip through my fingers. I’ll do whatever it takes to help fix this, and part of that is dealing with my father. And it’s better to get this over with sooner rather than later, right? Like ripping off a band-aid.”

  “You have a point, but I want you to be prepared. Your father’s a stubborn man.”

  “Well, he also raised a stubborn daughter.” Izzi lifted her chin, undeterred.

  The door opened and Garrett stepped inside. Immediately, he tensed as he saw Izzi.

  “Dad.” Izzi smiled reassuringly. “I’m glad that you came. I think it’s best we talk this out now instead of letting anything fester.”

  Garrett closed the door behind him, eyeing the both of us warily. “I’m not sure there’s anything to talk about. I think this is a horrible idea.”

  “I know,” Izzi said simply. “But I’m in love with John, and I’m going to have his baby.”

  Garrett went pale, and then flushed. “You’re pregnant?” he hissed.

  “Yes. It was an accident. Both of us should have been more careful about planning for that, but we got swept up in the moment. I know this is earlier than I planned to be a mother, but I want this baby and I’m keeping them. And you should be ecstatic, honestly.”

  “Ecstatic!?” Garrett yelled. “Why the hell should I be anything except upset over this?”

  “I’ll tell you why.” Izzi planted her hips. “Because you’re going to get a grandchild. And you’re going to know that child’s father is one of the best fathers you know. And you’re going to know that the husband of your daughter is an amazing one, one that your daughter is lucky to have, and you know that you can trust him to be an upright, loyal, supportive man because he’s your best friend and you’ve known him for about three decades now.”

  Garrett gaped at her like a fish. Izzi seemed to sense that she had him off-balance, possibly against the ropes, and she pushed forward.

  “John is a good man. How could you throw away nearly thirty years of friendship and distrust his behavior with me? Has John ever been with any other woman besides Laura since her death?”

  “No,” Garrett admitted, grudgingly.

  “Has he ever been disloyal, dishonest, or thoughtless?”

  “No.”

  “Well then, why wouldn’t you want him to be with me? He’s already passed every test you could think of to prove that he’s a good man for me. You already have proof that he’s a good father, look how he is with Angelica.” Izzi folded her arms. “This isn’t some fling, Dad, and I’m angry that you think I would be so easily lured into something like that. I want a proper relationship with John, and he wants a proper relationship with me, and that’s how it’s going to be. Now you can keep fighting us on this and make everyone miserable, or you can learn to live with it, because you love John, you love me, and I know you’ll love your grandchild.”

  I figured it was probably time that I said something. I didn’t want Izzi to advocate alone, even though I appreciated everything she said. The faith that she had in me, even after how I had behaved, was uplifting and reassuring.

  She really did love me, I realized. Here she was, standing up to her father and fighting for me, risking losing Garrett’s approval, to make sure that she and I could be together. I felt like I didn’t deserve her praise, but I did know that I would do everything I could to try and be worthy of it.

  I stepped forward. “Garrett, I’ll do everything I can to make both Izzi and our child happy. I understand if you need some time to adjust to this. I never meant to hurt you, and honestly… I almost gave Izzi up because of you. Because the last thing I want to do is ruin our friendship. You mean the world to me in your own way, just as Angelica does, just as Izzi now does.

  “And I’ll be a good father and provider to your grandchild. I know that you know that. So, take your time, if you need it, but please, know that I will do everything to make Izzi happy.”

  Garrett grumbled something unintelligible.

  “You need to let Izzi make her own choices,” I pointed out. “And she’s chosen me. I’ll admit, I didn’t quite get it at first. I tried to shove her away. But she stood her ground, and she’s won me over. I love her, and she loves me. I have to respect that I’m her choice, I can’t make that choice for her. And you need to respect that too.”

  Garrett glared at me, but I knew that look of defeat in his eyes. We’d argued over choices about the company enough over the years that I recognized what the look on his face meant. He was giving in.

  32

  Izzi

  My mouth dropped open in shock as John stepped forward to speak on my behalf, telling Dad that he had to let me make my own choices as an adult. That was what I’d hoped for, that Dad would come to see I had to be allowed to choose for myself who I wanted and what I wanted to do with my life, but I hadn’t expected John to say anything. I’d thought I would have to do all the heavy lifting myself, here.

  After all, John had still seemed unsure about our relationship. That was why I was here. I would remove every obstacle from our relationship, and he would see that the only thing that was truly keeping us apart was his fear.

  Once I showed him that his concerns about our age difference, my father, and our relationship as boss and employee were all dealt with, then there would be no other excuse he could hide behind, and we could talk honestly about his fear and his trauma from Laura’s death.

  Instead, however, John seemed to be ready to support me right away. I had to work to stop looking so, well, shocked. As far as Dad knew, John and I were presenting a united front and it would pro
bably be best if we kept it that way. Dad needed to know that this was a serious relationship, and that both John and I were acting with love and respect.

  “I get that there are girls out there who have a thing for older men, even when those men are unhealthy for them and taking advantage of them,” John said. “And I understand the fear that this is what Izzi’s doing. But I think you need to give her more credit than that. I know I haven’t seen her since she went off the college, but you never had anything but praise for her. Has she ever given you a reason to doubt her maturity? Her sense of responsibility?”

  “No,” Dad admitted begrudgingly.

  “I’d appreciate it if you had a little more respect for me,” John admitted. “We’ve been friends for most of our lives, Garrett. It hurts to think that you would be ready to believe the worst of me. But I’m more upset on Izzi’s behalf. She wanted to work at your company and help you out, she looks up to you, she wants to be a part of this world you’ve built. And you’re treating her like she’s an idiot and that’s not fair to her. It’s not fair at all.”

  Dad finally began to look chastised, like he was realizing how much he was insulting me by his behavior. Silence fell, and it was deafening, ringing in my ears, suffocating me. I had no idea how Dad was going to respond. Would he be supportive? Or would he dig his heels in?

  At last, Dad’s shoulders slumped a little. He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “I’m. I can’t say I’m happy with this. I need—time, all right?”

  He fixed me with a stern look. “I need time to adjust to this.”

  I nodded. I didn’t trust myself to speak, afraid that if I did, I’d say the wrong thing and we’d end up fighting again.

  “You know I’ll love you no matter what,” Dad told me. “I mean that. Even though I’m still a bit angry, I love you and I always will. And I’ll love your child. I want to be a grandparent someday, you know that, I just thought it would be—later. In a few years. This is… unexpected.”

  “I know,” I replied. “I know, Dad, I know, and I’m sorry that things are panning out like this. I never intended for that to happen. But sometimes the unexpected is even better.”

  Dad sighed again, then looked at John. “You are my best friend, and you’ve always stood by me and supported me. That’s why I’m trusting you with this. With my daughter. She’s the most precious thing in my life, and I know that you know that, but I’m going to fucking remind you about it because if you hurt her in any way, you’re going to be dealing with me, all right?”

  John nodded seriously.

  “I’ll… talk to you both later, after I take some time to think about this.” Dad paused. “Tell your mom,” he reminded me.

  “Of course.” I nodded. Poor Mom, she had no idea about any of this, she was going to get the shock of her life later today.

  Dad left the room and John sat heavily down on the edge of his desk, letting out a slow breath. “I wasn’t sure that he was going to agree.”

  “I knew that he would.” I smiled. “I’m his daughter, I’ve spent my entire life convincing him to let me do things.”

  John gave a wry smile. “Now I’m paranoid what things Angelica will try and get away with when she’s older.”

  I laughed lightly. “Well, we’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

  John didn’t protest my use of ‘we’ which gave me hope.

  “So. Now I’ve gotten rid of two problems. I can’t age myself up, or make you younger, the time machine isn’t quite ready yet. But I hope that this afternoon I’ve proven to you that I’m mature and ready to tackle any issues we run into.”

  John shook his head. “You already proved you were mature enough for me. I’m the one who’s been acting like an asshole. I fired a man over you and that was wrong of me, I yelled at you, accused you of behavior I knew wasn’t true… I’m acting like the kid barely out of college with no handle on himself. You’ve been amazing through all of this.”

  My breath caught in my throat. That was more than I could’ve hoped for from him. I’d been expecting even more of a fight. “Then… what else are you going to throw at me? Because whatever it is, I’m ready for it.”

  I expected him to bring up the possibility of my death again, but instead John said, “Just that I love you.”

  My knees turned to jelly.

  “I tried to fight it,” John admitted. “But I can’t. You’re so good with Angelica, you’re a natural with her. I relax around you. I feel—I haven’t wanted any woman the way I want you.”

  My heart felt like it had leapt into my throat, and I could hardly breathe as John pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

  We kissed again and again, like we would never stop, like the world would end if we stopped, like nothing could keep us from each other anymore.

  And—that last part was true, now, wasn’t it? Nothing could keep us apart. Not our jobs, not my father, not Penny, not anything. Not even my pregnancy. We were going to be together and we were going to face whatever came next as a couple.

  I threw myself against John, holding onto him for all I was worth, and John responded, holding onto me just as tightly, his fingers digging into my shoulders and my ass as he kept me pressed up against him.

  Relief flooded through me and made me giddy as I peppered kisses all over his face and throat. He was mine at last. After years of waiting, and all of my hard work, after these months of heartbreak—he was finally mine, and I was his, and there couldn’t be anything more separating us.

  Our kisses took on a frantic edge, but it wasn’t anything raw or scary. It wasn’t based on fear. It was based on euphoria.

  We stumbled and tugged one another to the large leather couch that John had in his sitting area to help put clients and investors at ease when he had private meetings. I felt like the giddy teenager I’d never really been with a boy, falling onto the couch with John on top of me, moaning into his mouth as his hands roamed all over me. God, he was so sexy, and he was all mine.

  But the best part was what he murmured in between his kisses to my neck and breasts. “I love you. You’re perfection. Fuck. Love you so much.”

  This was all I had ever wanted, and I smiled up in bliss at the ceiling. John loved me. He was mine and I was his. At last, my dream had come true.

  33

  John

  I kissed Izzi all over, drunk on the joy of finally admitting to her how I felt, high on the realization that I could actually have her and be with her and we could face the future together.

  We fumbled with each other’s clothes and I felt like a man half my age as we laughed together, accidentally bumping foreheads and hands as we worked to strip each other down—not too much, since we were still in my office—but just enough for me to slide my cock into her.

  Jesus Christ. I swore into her neck and Izzi laughed. Her hands pet through my hair. I was never going to get enough of her. She was perfection, and she was mine, forever.

  Sliding into her body felt like coming home. It felt like I was joining up with the other half of me, my matching puzzle piece. Izzi sighed contentedly and squirmed underneath me, trying to take even more of me into her, as if that were even possible. She smiled up at me, so fucking happy, and the knowledge that I’d made her that way, that I could keep making her that way, filled me with warmth.

  “Fuck, I love you,” I whispered to the soft, secret skin of her neck as I fucked her. It was true, and I could finally let myself say it. There were no more walls between us.

  “Yes…” Izzi grabbed my face and kissed me passionately as I thrust inside of her. “Yes, I love you, I’ve always loved you, so much—”

  The knowledge that I had always been the only man she’d ever wanted drove me even higher into pleasure and euphoria. I wanted to be buried inside of her and never emerge again.

  Izzi wrapped her arms and legs around me, meeting me thrust for thrust, as the two of us moved together as one. We knew how the other one moved now, what the other one like, we
knew each other’s bodies as well as we knew our own, and moving in harmony like this made me feel like we were some kind of damn symphony together.

  I reached down between us, wanting, as always, to feel her coming around me, and Izzi laughed breathlessly, happily into my mouth as I rubbed at her clit, like she could read my mind and knew exactly what I was thinking.

  Maybe she could, and did.

  I couldn’t wait any longer and the moment I felt her start to come, I came too, my cock jerking with euphoria. There was nothing but passion and romance between us, nothing but trust and love.

  I collapsed against her and pulled her close to me, even if it was a little awkward with the couch. I just wanted to hold her.

  At this point, I didn’t even care if someone walked in on us. I probably should care, but honestly, what more harm could it possibly do? I wanted to go public with our relationship, and there would be no hiding Izzi’s baby bump once it appeared.

  Speaking of which…

  My hand slid down to press lightly on Izzi’s stomach. I couldn’t quite believe that there was going to be a baby soon.

  “Are you okay?” Izzi asked me softly. She must’ve followed the obvious train of my thoughts, with my hand on her stomach like this.

  She reached up and stroked my hair, concern in her eyes. I appreciated that she was worried for me and that she wanted to make this easier for me.

  “I am, yes,” I promised her.

  Izzi arched an eyebrow at me and I chuckled.

  “Of course, I’m worried,” I admitted. “I don’t know how not to be. But I had a good talk with Penny—who wants to apologize to you, by the way—and she pointed out that it would be stupid of me to walk away from a chance to be happy with you. Even if…” I took a deep breath. “Even if the worst does happen, it would be better to have these months with you, happy together, than to push you away and keep you at arm’s length. I know which I’ll regret more.”