Until May (Until Her/Him #11)(48)

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing,” I murmur, and his hand comes up so his finger can slide down between my brows.

“One day, you’ll tell me all your secrets.” He rolls to his back, taking me with him.

“Your ego is already big enough. You don’t need me to stroke it.” I kiss his chest that I’m sprawled across, then close my eyes and listen to the sound of his heart beating against my ear. My eyes get heavy, and just as I start to doze off, the doorbell rings, causing both dogs to bark once each.

“Expecting anyone?” he asks, sounding sleepy, and I sit up, looking at my bedroom door like I have the ability to see through it and the house and know who’s here.

“No,” I mumble as the bell rings again. “Coming!” I shout at the impatient person at my door when they begin to knock. Climbing off the bed, my nose scrunches at the feel of wetness still between my legs, so I run to the bathroom and clean up quickly before going into my closet to grab something to wear. When I step back into the bedroom, Aiden is dressed in a pair of sweats along with a long-sleeved thermal, waiting for me. We both leave the room at the same time and head down the hall, and as soon as I see the tall figure through the stained glass, standing on my front porch, my heart begins to race.

“Babe.” Aiden turns to look at me when I grab his wrist to stop him.

“It’s my dad,” I hiss.

“So let’s let him in.”

“May?” Dad shouts, sounding pissed. “I can see you. Open the door.”

“Shit.” I bite my lip and look up at Aiden. “My mom probably told him about everything that’s been going on.”

“May!” he yells again, and I curse before moving in front of Aiden and swinging the door open.

“Hey, Dad.” I smile at him, and he looks over my shoulder and narrows his eyes.

“I spoke with Herbert.” Oh no. “He told me about last night.”

“Umm,” I mumble, and he moves me out of the way so that he can step into the house heading toward Aiden. “Dad—”

“You, be quiet.” He points at me, then moves his finger to Aiden. “You wanna explain to me why you let your family disrespect my daughter?”

“Dad,” I start, but my mouth slams shut when he looks at me like he used to when I was a kid and I messed up.

“Don’t,” he growls, shoving his hand up, palm out toward me. Then the next thing I know, Aiden is standing between us, and his hand is behind his back, keeping me where I am.

“Since you’re May’s dad, I’m going to show some respect. But next time you put your hand in her face, we’re going to have a problem.”

“We’ve already got a problem,” Dad tells him, and I peek around Aiden’s side and watch my dad cross his arms over his chest. “I know who you are.”

“That’s doubtful,” Aiden mumbles.

“You’re Brice’s kid.”

“I am.”

I watch Aiden’s head move, and I try to step to his side, but instead of letting me, he backs me up so that I’m almost pressed into the hallway wall behind him.

“You think I’d touch her?” Dad asks, sounding both amused and offended.

“I don’t know you.”

“He wouldn’t,” I tell Aiden, rolling my eyes at his back before I somehow manage to get free with a huff. “I haven’t had coffee, and I need it to deal with this situation.” I glare at the two of them, then leave both men standing in the hall while I go to the kitchen. A moment later, Aiden joins me where I’m standing, filling a filter with coffee grounds, while my dad stands on the opposite side of the island.

“So explain to me what happened last night and why Herbert was the one to tell me that you’re dating Brice’s son.”

“First—” I plunk the coffee carafe down in the sink before I flip on the water. “—who Aiden’s father is isn’t an important piece of information so there’s no reason I’d think to share that. And next, I’ve only been up for about twenty minutes, so I haven’t had time to tell anyone anything.” Not that I would have told him what happened anyway, but he doesn’t need to know that.

“I don’t like this,” Dad says, and I drag in a breath, then let it out while holding his gaze.

“Why not?”

“Because I know the kind of people the Benders are.”

“You don’t know Aiden,” I tell him, looking over at the man standing just a few inches away from me like he’s waiting for something to happen that he doesn’t like, so he can get between my father and me again. “And if you got to know him, you would like him.”

“His family auctioned him off while he was there with you.”

“You’re right. That happened. But he didn’t know they were going to do that, and he was as angry as you are right now when they did.” I take the water to the coffee machine and dump it in the back before turning on the pot, then I look at my dad. “We’re not doing the whole Romeo and Juliet thing here. Whatever issues you have with Aiden’s father and his company have not one thing to do with my boyfriend,” I tell him, wondering why the word boyfriend doesn’t feel right.