Daddy Secrets

by Mia Carson

  Harold cupped her cheek with one hand as the other wrapped around her waist. “You should have been with me,” he whispered as his lips closed over hers. Anna kissed him back, unable to resist, and he lifted her easily onto his lap. The kiss was languid as their mouths moved as if they’d never left each other. She remembered his taste and parted her lips when his tongue flicked along her lower lip. She nipped his in return and his hands fisted in her sweatshirt as his arousal swelled between her legs. Anna was ready to let her guard down and be with him, but as suddenly as the kiss started, he drew back and she removed herself from his lap, scratched nervously at her head, and tugged her sweatshirt down.

  “Right, then,” she said, sharper than she meant to, not meeting his gaze. “I guess we should get back to the case.”

  “Yes, the case,” he repeated, regret shining in his eyes. He wiped a hand over his face and whispered loud enough for her to hear, “I’m going to grab another bottle of wine, and anything else for you?”

  Yeah, you finally giving in to your damn emotions and taking me to bed, she thought, frustrated, but shook her head. “No thanks, I’m good.”

  He picked up the empty wine bottle and her shot glass to carry them into the kitchen. Anna picked up the file she’d removed from her safe and laid it on the table in front of his seat. One of these days, she would find a way to break down that damn wall of his and figure out what the hell he was so scared of. When he returned to the living room, she sat in the chair across from the couch, her legs pulled up and staring at the folder to avoid his gaze.

  “This is the contract?” he asked, strictly business.

  “Yes, drawn up by Johnny’s Uncle Terry and signed by him, Johnny, myself, and my dad,” she explained. "It states the amount of money we all agreed would need to be saved up and paid in order for my dad to take over ownership of the lower level of the building. It’s all legal.”

  “Let me guess, the only way for this contract to be seen as null and void is if something happens to both people from each party?” he asked, examining the contract. “This is some very thorough work.”

  “It should be. It was drawn up by your dad.”

  His glaze flickered to her briefly. “He never told me he knew your dad.”

  “Why would he? He was a biker who owned a bar.” She rubbed her forehead and stood. “Look, it’s been a long day and I’m beat. I’m going to shower and turn in. Can you save your hundreds of questions for tomorrow?”

  “If that’s what you need, then please,” he said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  She picked up her heavy boots from the floor and raced upstairs and out of his watchful gaze. Inside the guest room, she shut the door and pressed her back into it. That kiss had ignited the dimming fire within her. She hated and loved him for it, wanting to drag him back to her by his shirt and demand to know what his problem was. She settled for stripping out of her clothes and diving into a steaming hot shower. The water soothed her body but did little to ease the wandering of her mind to what would happen over the next few days. Not just with Harold, but with Johnny. If he was willing to go this far to get her out of the picture, where did that leave her with her bar? She couldn’t very well move back into her apartment, not with the man who held the other key to her place.

  She rested her hands against the back of the shower, the water running over her head as her hair hung down. Moving in with Harold was out of the question unless she pushed him hard enough that he finally talked to her and let that wall come down.

  Do you even want to keep trying? You have enough shit to deal with, you know.

  By the time Anna finished her shower and tucked herself into bed, her mind was tangled worse than before. She buried her head under the pillow and waited impatiently for sleep to come and take her away.

  Harold rubbed his eyes after reading through the contract for the fourth time. He had to hand it to his father; he was always thorough when he wrote up contracts of this magnitude. There was no way for Johnny or Terry to get out of it. If Johnny was pushing this hard to get Anna out of the picture, he had a feeling his uncle was dead. He would have Walter start tracking the man down in the morning so he could get more details about this contract and what it fully entailed and if there was any animosity from when the deal was first made. The only person standing in Johnny’s way of keeping ownership of the whole building, and taking control of the bar, was Anna. Too bad Johnny didn’t know her as well as Harold did. She wouldn’t give up that bar unless it was over her dead body.

  He sat on the couch for a long while. Earlier, he hadn’t meant to kiss her, but the second their lips met, his life fell back into focus so sharply and so clearly it startled him. She was doing to him exactly what she had the first time. Harold hadn’t been such a free-spirited person in years, and this woman managed to drag it out of him with a laugh, a smile.

  A kiss.

  His fingertips brushed over his lips, and he was halfway upstairs when he realized he had no plan of action. He reached the guest room and lifted his hand to knock, but the door was open a crack. He peered inside the dark room and smiled warmly.

  Anna was curled up on her side, hugging one of the pillows close to her chest. Her violet hair spread out around her and her eyes were closed in sleep. He leaned in the doorway, mesmerized by her restful beauty, peaceful for once. She had fallen asleep several times at his home, and he would carry her up to this room and kiss her forehead. A few times, she curled against his chest, and he slept beside her, unwilling to move in case he disturbed her. Carefully, he stepped into the room and stopped by her bedside. His lips brushed her forehead, and he rested his lightly against hers.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered on a breath. “For everything.”

  His face screwed up at the pain he’d caused her without even realizing it, he backed out of the room and closed the door behind him. His palm flattened against the wooden surface as that pain bloomed into a full-on ache starting in his chest and spreading outwards. His body shook and he slid down the door until his back rested against it.

  Anna broke him with every look, every touch, and it terrified him. All those late nights they spent talking into the early hours of the morning scared him shitless. That fear was the reason he kept her at a distance. What man was scared of his emotions like that? Or scared of what would happen if he broke tradition and went against the grain of what everyone expected of him? He was a man of nearly thirty and this fear kept him from so much he wanted in his life. Anna had been willing to give him everything and then some when they were together before. Now was the time for him to do the same and prove to her he could be the man she saw buried beneath the arrogance and ego his family and friends had encouraged to grow into something monstrous.

  Tomorrow was a new day, and he swore to himself it would be the start of the real him.

  Chapter 6

  Harold woke early despite his lack of sleep and brewed a pot of coffee to go with breakfast. At this time on normal mornings, he would be on his way to the office, but he wanted to see Anna first. He heard her door open and her steps on the stairs.

  “Hmm, coffee,” she murmured sleepily.

  “And breakfast. Did you sleep all right?” he asked as he flipped pancakes from the griddle onto a plate and slid them her way.

  “Well enough, I guess, considering everything that’s happened.”

  He heard the annoyance in her words, but he expected nothing else. “I’m going to take the morning off and hang around the house for a few hours.”

  “Don’t change on my account.”

  Ouch, that hurt. He turned off the griddle and carried his plate of pancakes to the table along with a mug of coffee. “I don’t have much going on today. I’m not speaking with the detective on your case until this afternoon, and I’ll call on our friend Johnny.”

  “You’re going to talk to him?” Her fork clattered to her plate.

  “I need to gauge his responses and see what else he might be trying to hide
from us.”

  “So you’re turning into a detective?”

  “No, but since this contract is technically property of my firm, I’m allowed to question him about it and see where the conversation goes. Do you not want me to talk to him?” he asked, confused. “The faster we catch him messing up, the faster we can end this situation and get you back to your apartment and your bar.”

  She picked at her food but didn’t actually eat anything. “Yeah, I guess that would be best.”

  “Do you not want to have your life back?” he asked quietly.

  She slammed her fork down on her plate and pushed back. “Sorry, I’m not hungry after all.”

  “Anna, wait,” he said and caught her by her wrist.

  “Why should I? Why are you acting like you care and the next moment, you’re ready to kick me right back out of your life?” She tried to pull her wrist free, but he held it fast. “Harry, come on.”

  “No, we need to talk about this.”

  “So now you want to talk? That’s rich,” she snapped and tugged harder.

  This time, he let her go but hurried around to block her from leaving the kitchen. He choked on the words he so desperately needed to tell her, but they refused to come out and his shoulders sagged under the weight of her disappointed gaze.

  “Every time,” she whispered, hurt again by his actions. “Just do whatever you have to do to get me out of this mess and then you don’t have to see me again.”

  “That’s not what I want. Damn it, will you hold on a second?”

  The front door slamming open cut her reply off, and they both turned to see who was walking into his house this early. Jenny skidded to a stop in the doorway and Anna’s face instantly softened as they ran to hug each other.

  “Why didn’t you tell me she was staying with you?” Jenny said as she broke away from Anna.

  “She wasn’t going to at first,” he explained.

  “What’s going on—what happened? Anna, are you all right?”

  Harold’s body ached to go to her and comfort her as tears shimmered in her eyes, but Jenny took Anna’s hand, draping her arm over her shoulder. “I’ll leave you two to catch up. If you need anything, I’ll be at the office,” he said weakly and excused himself from the kitchen. Their voices carried behind him, but he walked on, not wanting them to catch him eavesdropping in the hallway.

  He dressed without giving much thought to what he threw on. He left off his typical vest and tie, settling for his shirt, slacks, and jacket instead and barely messed with his hair. On his way out of the house, he gathered up his papers and shoved them haphazardly into his briefcase. The drive to work went by too fast and Harold hardly remembered how he got to the office in one piece.

  “Morning, sir,” Walter said, greeting him with his cup of coffee and the morning paper. “Are you feeling all right this morning?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure, sir? In all the years of me working for you, you’ve never been late and you’ve never forgotten your tie. Or to fix your hair.”

  Self-consciously, Harold smoothed down his messy black hair and took the coffee and paper into his office. “Everything’s fine. Can you call Johnny Tory and tell him I would like to schedule a meeting sometime this week? The sooner the better.”

  “And what is it regarding?”

  “A contract he signed with a Mr. Terry Tory and Winston Crawley,” he told Walter. “Tell him there are some technicalities in it that I need to speak with him about as soon as he is available.”

  “Crawley? Isn’t that the father of Anna, the woman you’re representing?”

  “It is, but this is an entirely different matter…sort of. Also, I need you to try and track down a Terrance Tory as well. He’s the uncle of Johnny Tory, and I could use some information from him ASAP.” He stepped into his office and closed the door. Walter was a smart man. If he wanted to figure out what Harold was up to, he would easily enough.

  Harold was reading the paper to give his mind a chance to catch up with itself and stop wondering what Anna and Jenny might be talking about at the house. Walter’s voice carried through to his office, and he ignored it until he heard a woman’s voice. Through the door, it was too muffled to make out for certain, but his heart leapt, thinking Anna was here to see him. The door opened and Bailey appeared in her dark red heels and matching dress that hugged her body like a second skin. Her cleavage greeted him before her smile did, and his lips thinned. If she worked for him, that wouldn’t be appropriate attire. That dress was too short for the office, in his opinion, but she did it for her male clients and the male lawyers she went up against in court. Bailey was a smart woman, but she didn’t always rely on her brain. She let her body sway the minds of those around her.

  Too bad Harold’s mind was completely on Anna. He shook out the paper and acknowledged her with a subtle bob of his head. He caught her grinding her teeth, annoyed, and he lifted the paper higher to hide his smirk. All those times he’d checked her out, he wondered if she’d seen him. Too bad he was officially pulling himself off the market, at least until he knew with one hundred percent certainty there was no chance in hell for him and Anna to make a relationship work.

  “I hear you’re not feeling quite yourself this morning,” Bailey purred, strutting around his office. Harold, keeping the paper up to cover his face, made a few noncommittal noises. “Walter said you were out of sorts. No vest, no tie, and running late. Very unlike you. Perhaps it has something to do with that Crawley woman clawing her way back into your life?”

  Harold snapped the paper and laid it on his desk. “If you have something you wish to say to me, then say it. You know how much I hate people beating around the bush.” He’d assumed she’d let off all her steam yesterday about the Anna situation. Apparently, he was wrong. “Well?”

  “Why is she staying at your house, Harold?” Bailey asked, her voice shaking with pent-up anger.

  “Her place was broken into and vandalized,” he explained easily. “She needed a place to stay, and since I’m working on her case—which has now grown into something more than simple assault—I saw no reason why she shouldn’t stay with me until all of this is sorted out.”

  “You’re making a mistake, letting her into your home.”

  “And why is that? Please, tell me everything you know about the woman I was with for six months.” He glowered as he rested his fists on his desk and stood. “Enlighten me how you know oh so much about a woman you despise on principle without even trying to get to know who she is.”

  Bailey scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Everyone knows all about Anna.”

  “Everyone? You mean they know how she lost her parents and took over her dad’s bar—a bar that is essentially a legacy in this small city of ours?” he growled, marching around the front of his desk to face her down. “Or how she lets local charities use the space four times a year, for free, to help them raise money for the vets in our city, or the orphans, or the homeless shelters? How she is probably one of the most selfless people I know and donates as much of the bar’s profits as she can, giving it back to those in need in our home town? All she has is that damn bar, and look what she does with it. She tries her best to make this world a better place.”

  “So she does some good deeds,” Bailey muttered, rolling her eyes mockingly. “That doesn’t excuse her attitude or the way she treats us.”

  “People like us,” he informed her stiffly, “treat anyone we feel is beneath us with contempt they don’t deserve.” Blinking furiously, he smiled bitterly. “She was right,” he whispered to himself, shocked. “She was right about all of it. About me…about you.”

  “What are you mumbling about?”

  “Nothing that concerns you. Get out of my office unless you’re here on business.”

  “I’m here because I’m worried about my friend,” she argued. “Isn’t that good enough? You see what she does to you? She twists you up inside and messes with your mind. She tries to
turn you against us!”

  Harold laughed. It started quiet and turned into a boisterous sound, filling his office. “You see, that right there has always been my family’s problem, and yours, and every other high-class person in this state. There’s no them or us! And maybe I’m sick of playing the role of the arrogant rich man.” He stormed to his door and held it open for her. “Out, now.”

  Bailey backed up a few steps, shaking her head. “No, I am not leaving here until you realize what’s happening. Your mother—”

  “My mother? What does my mother have to do with this?”

  “I called her yesterday and told her about the situation, about you and that woman,” Bailey informed him, lifting her chin in the air. “Did you really think I wouldn’t try and put a stop to this nonsense before you were dragged into another mess?”

  Harold’s hand squeezed the doorknob until his palm ached. “You have no right digging into my life.”

  “But I do. I’m your friend, one of your oldest friends, in fact, and I’m looking out for you.”

  “No,” he said, leering as he walked closer and her smug smile fell. “No, you’re looking out for yourself. Why, after all these years, is the most eligible bachelorette of Concord still single? Why do you never date anyone, Bailey? Why are you always hanging around me, or Christian, or Rodric?”

  Her body shifted and she stepped backwards as he grew closer. “Perhaps I haven’t found the right man, or maybe I’ve had no offers.”

  “That’s a lie and we both know it. Men hit on you all the time, yet you stay single.”

  “I’m allowed to be single,” she said tartly.

  “You are, but I doubt that’s why you’re doing it. All this time, you hoped I would fall into your arms and admit my feelings for you,” he mused, the laughter bubbling up again. She clenched her jaw and he had her. “That’s why you’re so against me being with Anna. You’re jealous.”

  She whipped around, showing him her back as she straightened her shoulders. “I am no such thing. Don’t be ridiculous. I know what’s best for you, nothing more.”