by Alice Ward
I thought we would spend the day with Paisley, talking and getting to know each other. We would have fun. We would enjoy ourselves. But, we definitely would not have sex.
I was wrong. I had never been more wrong.
I didn’t want to regret my night with Sean. As I sat in my car in his driveway, a huge part of me was begging to go back inside. All I wanted was to curl up against Sean’s chest and drift off to sleep. I could still feel his arms around me, his lips on mine.
My body shivered, and I banged my hands on my steering wheel in anger. What had I done? What had I let myself do? What on earth was I thinking?!
I leaned my head back against my seat and tried not to think. It was no use. I could still feel the after effects of my orgasm. There was no denying Sean and I were amazing together. I’d never had a night like that before. With anyone.
Still, I regretted it. I hated myself for feeling that way, but I did. My job was my entire life. I spent years working toward my career, and now, I wasn’t sure I would even have a career after this.
Sean was the backbone of our rebranding scheme. He was the face of Yates’ Motorcycles. Without him, we had nothing. It was too late to change things. It was too late to hire someone new. Sean was it. He was the only option. And after what happened between us, I had no idea what to do.
I imagined Ray and Zach finding out about us, and my heart stopped. I felt a fear unlike any other work its way into my mind. Even if they didn’t find out, I thought, Sean and I still couldn’t be together. Not really. What would happen if we were?
Would we date behind everyone’s back? Would we keep it a secret? And if so, for how long? Plus, what would happen if we broke up? Surely, Sean wouldn’t stay on at the company and if he did, I would be the one who would have to leave.
The thought made my stomach hurt. Tears threatened to pour from my eyes. I put my car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway as fast I could. I sped all the way to my house.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Sean
Breakfast on Monday morning was a happy occasion. When I woke up, I went to check the mail to find my first check from Yates’ Motorcycles waiting for me. I tore it open quickly and gaped at the high dollar amount. I had been expecting the money, but now that it was real, I felt like I was dreaming. I’d never had so much money in my entire life.
“Good morning!” I said as Paisley came into the kitchen. “You hungry?”
“Sure.” Paisley shrugged. “What are you making?”
“Anything you want,” I said with a smile. “Today is a celebration.”
“It is?” Paisley asked.
“It is,” I said with conviction.
“Can we have waffles?” Paisley asked. Her voice was hesitant, and she looked at her feet while she spoke. I smiled at her embarrassment and walked over to her.
I put my hand under her chin and lifted her head. She blinked up at me as if she were afraid she might be in trouble. I smiled kindly.
“Waffles,” I said. “Sounds great. That is a fantastic idea! I can’t remember the last time I had waffles.”
Paisley smiled weakly and bounced over to her seat at the kitchen table. I went to work making the waffles, humming to myself as I did. I poured the batter into the waffle iron, and my mind drifted once again to that check. I couldn’t wait to cash it. My mind spun with everything I wanted to spend it on.
First thing, I wanted to take Paisley shopping. She would need new clothes for the next school year, and I was sure she would want a few new bathing suits. I might even be able to talk her into buying some decorations for her room.
“So,” I said, running with the idea. “What do you think about making your room more your own?”
“What do you mean?” Paisley asked.
“Well,” I said. “We could buy you a new comforter and pillow cases. Maybe a bookshelf? And a lamp or some curtains? It could be whatever you want.”
“Okay.” Paisley nodded. “Sure.”
I grinned and continued making breakfast. I finished up the waffles and fried a few pieces of bacon. Rummaging in the fridge, I found some fruit that I cut up and put in a bowl. I was flying high when I finally put the food out on the table. I put a plate and a fork in front of Paisley. She grabbed two waffles and drenched them in syrup before I was able to sit down.
I laughed and watched as she shoveled the waffles into her mouth. I was happy to see her appetite had returned in full force. She no longer turned her nose up at food. It was slow progress, but she seemed to be settling into her new life pretty well.
“What am I going to do today?” Paisley asked after she finished her waffles.
“Well,” I said. I cleared my throat. “I thought maybe you could come to work with me.”
“With you?” she asked.
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “It won’t be very fun, but it might be kind of cool to see the place. There’s a showroom with a ton of motorcycles and—”
“Can I ride one?” Paisley asked quickly.
“Not a chance,” I said with a chuckle. “But you can probably sit on a few.”
“Cool,” Paisley said.
“It could be fun,” I said. “Why don’t you go get dressed and we’ll go, okay?”
“Okay,” Paisley said.
She jumped up from the table and ran into her room. I heard her door slam shut. There were muffled noises as she got dressed quickly. I hadn’t expected her to be excited about going to work with me, but it was the best I could do. She didn’t have camp anymore and I didn’t exactly have anyone lined up to babysit. Short of leaving her alone, this was my only option.
Plus, Tara suggested it.
I wasn’t sure if her offer was serious, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. Paisley was the most important part of my life. She was the reason I agreed to work for my father in the first place. It only felt right for her to see the place. I also hated the idea of leaving her. She’d only been back in my life for a few weeks, but already, I felt a strong connection to her.
While she was at camp, I missed her. When she spent the evenings locked away in her room, I missed her. Despite her sassy attitude and her lack of conversation skills, I still preferred to be around her. I thought it was the best way to convince her I was sticking around. She had to learn to trust me, to believe that I was really going to be her dad. Forever.
I cleaned the kitchen quickly while Paisley got ready. She came out into the living room and pulled her shoes on her feet just as I loaded the last plate into the dishwasher.
“You ready?” I asked as I walked over to her.
“Yeah,” she said. She stood up and frowned.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Should I bring anything?” she asked. “A book or something?”
“If you want to.” I nodded. “It might be pretty boring up there. You’ll want something to do.”
“Okay,” she said. She hurried back to her room and returned with a sketchbook in her hand. She tucked a pencil in her pocket and walked toward the front door. She didn’t notice me watching her until she was already on the front porch.
“I’m coming,” I said, shaking myself. She looked at me slightly confused, but she just shrugged and made her way over to the car.
I followed her, smiling to myself. I didn’t know a lot about Paisley yet, but I was learning more and more. She hadn’t taken her sketch book out of her room since she moved in with me. It meant something that she was finally comfortable enough to bring it out.
***
When we pulled into the parking lot at Yates’ Motorcycles, Paisley gasped loudly. I looked over to see her staring wide-eyed at the building in front of us. I followed her gaze and smiled. If you weren’t used it, the building did look spectacular. The bottom floor was almost entirely made up of windows. You could see all the bikes lined up inside.
Paisley’s eyes trailed up the side of the building. She tilted her head against the window, looking all the way to the top fl
oor.
“You really work here?” Paisley asked breathlessly. “It’s so big. And pretty.”
“I really work here,” I said. “Unfortunately.”
“You don’t like it?” Paisley asked.
“It’s fine.” I shrugged. “It just wouldn’t be my first choice.”
“What would be your first choice?” Paisley asked in her kid voice.
“Well, before I worked here, I worked at a repair shop,” I said. “I used to fix motorcycles. I really enjoyed that.”
“Why’d you stop then?” she asked as we climbed out of the car.
“It was just time to move on,” I said with another shrug.
“You got fired,” Paisley accused. I laughed and looked over at her. She just stared back at me as we walked through the front doors.
“No,” I said. “I didn’t get fired.”
“Sure,” Paisley said. She rolled her eyes.
“I really didn’t,” I argued.
“I believe you,” Paisley said. It was obvious that she didn’t. I wanted to argue more, but I told myself to let it go. She was eight, and she enjoyed pushing my buttons. It wasn’t worth the fight.
We walked through the showroom slowly. Paisley’s eyes roamed wildly around, taking in everything around her. She looked at all the bikes one at a time. I stayed silent while she looked, waiting for her to ask questions.
She didn’t. She just followed me over to the elevators with wide, curious eyes. When we stepped on the elevator, her excitement faded slightly. I knew offices wouldn’t be as exciting to her as motorcycles.
We reached the conference room quickly. Tara was already there waiting for us. She stood up when we walked in and smiled down at Paisley.
“You brought Paisley,” she said to me. “I’m glad.”
“Tara!” Paisley squealed. She ran over and hugged Tara quickly. Tara hugged her back, her smile growing wider by the second.
“It’s okay, right?” I asked. “You said I could bring her with me.”
“Of course!” Tara said. Her eyes met mine, and I couldn’t look away. We hadn’t spoken since Saturday night. I didn’t know how to act. I thought about saying something, but I didn’t know how to with Paisley standing right beside us.
Tara’s face was impassive. I had no idea what she was thinking. We looked at each other for a long time before she finally looked away. I still wanted to talk about what happened between us, but Tara was clearly determined not to make a big deal about it. I decided to follow her lead.
“Come on,” I said to Paisley. “Let’s sit down.”
“Okay,” Paisley said. She bounced over to a chair. She sat down and placed her sketchbook on the table in front of her.
“What’s that?” Tara asked
“My sketch book,” Paisley explained. “I like to draw sometimes.”
“Really?” Tara asked. “Me too. What do you like to draw?”
Paisley shrugged and said, “I don’t know. All kinds of things.”
“Like what?” Tara asked. She had eyes only for Paisley in that moment. Paisley looked up at her with a frown. Her expression was thoughtful as she considered whether to show Tara her drawings.
Finally, Paisley seemed to decide. She cleared her throat and pushed the book toward Tara. Tara took it gently in her hands and glanced at Paisley to make sure it was okay.
“Go ahead,” Paisley said. “You can look.”
Tara opened the book and began flipping through the pages. She moved slowly, taking in every detail of each picture. I stood to the side and watched them. Paisley leaned over to show Tara which ones were her favorites. They talked about why Paisley like to draw and which ones she had trouble with. Paisley talked more in that moment than I’d ever heard her talk before.
Tara listened intently. She smiled and nodded. She told Paisley all about her own drawings, and she praised Paisley’s talent. It killed me not to see the drawings, but I knew better than to sneak a peek. Paisley wanted to show Tara, and I wasn’t going to ruin their moment.
Still, it was hard to watch Paisley grow more comfortable with Tara. I loved how easily they got along, but I was jealous. More than anything, I wanted Paisley to let me in. I wanted her to share her thoughts and feelings with me, her dad. I knew it would take time, and I was glad she had Tara. For the time being, I was just glad Paisley was able to talk to someone, anyone, about anything.
While they talked, I let my mind wander. I thought about that night with Tara. I remembered the way our bodies moved together. As I watched her play with my daughter, my heart swelled with emotion. I didn’t know what was going on between Tara and me, but I knew my feelings for her were very real. She wasn’t a one-night stand to me. Not even close.
The conference room door swung open with a bang, pulling me back to reality. Paisley stopped talking and whirled around. Tara followed her lead and looked over at the door, but I was quicker than them both. My eyes had already fallen on the unexpected visitor.
My brother moved quickly across the room, heading toward us.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Tara
My eyes narrowed as Zach walked across the room. Paisley and I were in the middle of a great conversation when he barged into the conference room. He was almost always the last person I wanted to see, but in that moment, my animosity toward him was stronger than ever. I tried to remain composed when he stopped in front of me, but I knew my face betrayed me.
“Good morning,” Zach said brightly. He looked from me to Sean to Paisley and back again. “Who’s this?”
I glanced at Sean to see if he would answer. His face was like stone as he stared at his brother. I never found out what happened between the brothers, but I knew that wasn’t the moment to ask. I moved closer to Paisley and wrapped my arm protectively around her shoulder.
“This is Paisley,” I said loudly. “Sean’s daughter.”
Paisley moved closer to me while I spoke. She melted into my side, and I could tell she was nervous. I didn’t blame her. I’d known Zach for years and he still made me nervous every time he walked into a room. He had that effect on people.
“Paisley,” I said gently. “This is Zach. Zach Yates.”
I let the introductions stop there. It wasn’t my job to explain to Paisley that Zach was also her uncle. I glanced at Sean. His eyes were glued to his brother’s face. Zach acted as if I hadn’t spoken. He took a step toward his brother with a malicious look on his face.
“This isn’t a daycare,” he said. “It’s a place of business. You can’t just bring your bastard children here whenever you want.”
Sean took a step forward, but I was faster. I moved to stand in front of Zach, putting my face inches away from his. He looked surprised by my sudden movement, but he quickly recovered. He grinned at me in that way I hated.
“You need to leave,” I said simply.
“Excuse me?” Zach asked. He raised his eyebrows.
“Get out,” I said. My voice was low. Dangerous. I’d never stood up to Zach before. It felt good, but that wasn’t the reason I did it.
I glanced around Zach and saw Paisley watching me with wide eyes. She didn’t look scared, but she was confused. She didn’t understand why everyone seemed so angry. I wanted to protect her.
“This isn’t your conference room,” I continued. “We’re working in here, Zach. You need to leave. Now.”
Zach stared at me with mild amusement. His lips spread into a slight grimace that made him look like a movie villain. As we stared each other down, his grimace turned into a sickening grin. I had to fight the urge to slap him across the face. I could almost feel the sting of his skin against my hand.
“Okay,” Zach said slowly. “I’ll go.”
Zach turned to leave, and I exhaled slowly. I watched him walk across the conference room with my fists clenched at my sides. When he was almost to the door, he turned back around and looked between me and Sean. There was something almost too understanding in his eyes. My stomach flipped
nervously.
“You need to work, anyway,” he said. “If the numbers don’t increase within the next month, you’re gone.”
With that, he turned and left the conference room. The door slammed behind him, and I flinched at the sound. My eyes closed for half a second before I remembered I wasn’t alone. I turned to face Paisley with a smile that I hoped didn’t look too fake. Paisley smiled back, but it didn’t reach her eyes. I knew she was upset by what just happened.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Sean said from behind me. I turned to face him. He was standing at the back of the conference room, leaning against the wall. His hands were clenched just like mine, and his face looked pinched with effort. If that encounter had been hard for me, I couldn’t imagine just how difficult it was for Sean.
“I wanted to,” I said truthfully. “I’ve put up with Zach for too long. He’s a prick and someone needed to put him in his place.”
“Yeah,” Paisley said. “He is a prick.”
Sean and I looked at Paisley with surprise. My eyes widened and I had to fight back a laugh. When I turned back to Sean, he was smiling but trying to hide it. I mouthed an apology to him, and he just shrugged and laughed. We looked at each other for a few more seconds while the tension faded from the room.
With Zach gone, I went back to my conversation with Paisley. She showed me a drawing of a treehouse that she did recently. It was beautiful and so well done that it took my breath away. I glanced up at Sean to find him watching us again. I could tell he wanted to be more involved, but I didn’t know how to bridge the gap between him and Paisley.
It wasn’t my job. Not really. Still, I felt guilty knowing how badly Sean wanted to know his daughter. It was easy for me with Paisley. We bonded instantly because there was no pressure to do so. I came into her life out of the blue, and she just connected with me. It was simple, fast, and nice. For Sean, though, I imagined it was a struggle.
