Stuck-Up Suit(70)

This was going to hurt like hell. I couldn’t do it alone. There was only one person I knew who wouldn’t try to talk me out of it.

I picked up my phone and sent a text to Tig.

I need your help.





CHAPTER 27


GRAHAM



THIS PARENTING THING wasn’t for sissies.

Even though Chloe didn’t know I was really her father, I treated her no differently than if she did. I made sure she got to see me almost every day and made her a top priority.

Last night was particularly rough because I’d never dealt with a sick child before. Genevieve thought it would be a good idea if I took the lead in caring for Chloe. If my daughter was going to be spending time at my place eventually, I needed to know how to take care of her in sickness and in health.

Chloe mainly just wanted me to hold her and read to her. The poor thing had pus coming out of her ears and was burning up. I felt helpless because there was nothing I could do to really make her feel better aside from just being there. She was growing more attached to me every day. It proved that despite the distance between us over the years, there was such a thing as an innate connection between a father and child.

Thank God Soraya was being so understanding about all of it. I missed her like crazy. I was starting to have serious withdrawals. As much as I loved spending time with my daughter, I needed to see my girlfriend tonight. I needed to feel her * wrapped around my cock. I needed to fist a handful of that sexy raven hair. I needed to hear that sound she made when she came with me inside of her. Shit…I needed to tell her once and for all how much I loved her.

Luck was on my side because Chloe was feeling a bit better. The antibiotics were starting to kick in. After having an early dinner with her, I headed straight to Soraya’s. I was going to have the car pick her up and take her to my place, but she said she preferred I come to her. I’d joked that I’d be happy to come anywhere she wanted tonight.

When she opened the door, I immediately buried my face in her neck, breathing in her vanilla perfume. That smell practically got me high.

“Fuck. I’ve missed you,” I said against her skin. “How did you get even more gorgeous?”

It was a relief to see that the tips of her hair were still blue. A tight, matching royal blue dress hugged her heaving chest. As much as I wanted to rip that dress down and suck on her nipples hard, I’d equally just really missed her smile, her laugh, her snarky attitude. Even though we hadn’t been apart for very long, being immersed in fatherhood felt like I’d been a world away from the other important part of my life. I loved my daughter, but my home was with Soraya.

Lowering my hand down her back, I asked, “You hungry?”

“No. You mentioned you had dinner with Chloe, so I just grazed on stuff.”

It seemed like something was bothering her. “Something on your mind?”

She hesitated. “No.”

“What did you want to do tonight? We could go get a drink, see a movie, whatever you want.”

“Can we just stay here?”

“You know I’ll never complain about getting you all to myself.”

“How’s Chloe doing tonight?”

“She’s much better. The doctor put her on penicillin, and the ear pain’s gone down significantly.”

“I’m so glad to hear that.”

My eyes wandered over to the sink. I noticed that there were two dirty wine glasses. A rush of adrenaline hit me.

Two glasses? Who the f*ck was here?

“Did you have company?”

Her face turned flush. “Um…actually, my father came by.”

While relieved for the explanation, it bothered me that she hadn’t told me. “Really…”

“Yeah. He showed up here unannounced last night.”

My heart sank, because I knew under normal circumstances, she would have come to me about this. Seeing him couldn’t have been easy for her. Even though I knew the answer, I asked her anyway. “Why didn’t you say anything to me about this?”

“You were with Chloe. I didn’t want to bother you. Anyway, it was fine. We just talked. It wasn’t as bad as I imagined it might be to see him after the way I left his house that day.”

“What did he say to you?”

“You know what? I don’t want to waste this night rehashing all of that. My father and I…we’re actually fine. It was an okay visit.”

“You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“I’m positive.”

“Okay.” I pulled her into me and planted my forehead on hers. “You know what I was thinking? Maybe we should go to Italy for our vacation. I want to kiss the ground of the land that brought me you. I’ve never been there. We could visit the Amalfi Coast. What do you think?”

“I’m sure Italy is beautiful.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” I pulled back to examine her face. “You don’t seem as excited as I thought you’d be. We don’t have to go there. We can go somewhere else.”

She placed both of her hands around my face and said, “You’re amazing. I’d be lucky to go anywhere with you.” Yet she wasn’t smiling when she said it.

What the f*ck?

“Are you alright? You seem down. Are you sure your father didn’t upset you?”