I cough away my tears, pawing at my cheeks, angry with myself for letting all of this out.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to depress you.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” he growls. “I’m glad you told me. I’m glad we feel the same. Loyalty, Snapshot.”
“Loyalty,” I whisper.
“Forever,” he growls. “Which means we have to tell Angela.”
A tremor moves through me, as though an invisible drill is twisting through my body. “What?”
“There’s no alternative,” he says. “What else are we supposed to do? I want you. You want me. We want to have children together. A life together.”
Maybe this would sound crazy if I hadn’t crushed on him since I was a kid. If I hadn’t dreamed of this moment for years.
The only truly crazy part – for me – is that he feels the same.
“Yes,” I say passionately. “But what if she doesn’t accept it? What if she—”
I cut off when Taylor Swift fills the air, signaling that Angie is calling Trent.
He frowns tightly as if to say, it’s like she knows we’re talking about her.
“Do you mind?” he says.
I laugh drily.
Do I mind if he talks to his daughter, to my best friend?
“Of course not. Just please don’t say anything, about, you know…”
“I’d never do it over the phone,” he says. “This conversation needs to happen in person.”
“I agree,” I say, relieved.
He takes his phone from his pocket and brings it to his ear.
CHAPTER TEN
Trent
“Dad, this is all happening so fast,” Angela gushes down the phone.
Happiness twists through me at the joy in my daughter’s voice, but it’s tinged with guilt and anxiety as I look over at Tessa, at my woman, her cheeks flushed and redness spreading down her neck. I force myself to look away, just in case steamy thoughts spiral into my mind.
Just in case? a voice roars. That’s a goddamn guarantee.
“Dad? Are you there?”
“Sorry, Angela. What’s happened?”
“I’m flying to New York for the advertisement.”
“What? When?”
“Like right now,” she laughs. “They want to film four TV spots and the studio’s in New York. How crazy is that? They’re even putting me up in a hotel. I’ll be gone for a couple of days.”
“I want the address of the hotel and I want you to call me the second you land,” I say firmly.
“Dad…”
“I mean it,” I growl.
“It’s a huge production company. I’ll send you their Wikipedia page.”
“I know who they are,” I say. “I’ve already checked them out. I know it’s all aboveboard and that you’re safe. But please, for me, regular phone calls or even texts, okay?”
“Okay,” she says. “I’m going to have to cancel dinner with Tessa. Do you think she’ll mind?”
“This is your big break,” I tell her. “Focus on that. She wants you to succeed. She loves you.”
My voice almost cracks on the last sentence, emotion trying to twist my voice.
Goddamn, my virgin princess is changing me already.
“Anyway, I have to go,” she says. “I can’t believe this.”
“I can,” I say. “You’re incredibly talented. This is just the beginning. And remember…”
“I know, I know. Call and text.”
“Make sure you do,” I say. “And text me the details of your hotel the second this call ends.”
“You’re so paranoid,” she laughs.
“I’m a SEAL,” I counter. “I’ve seen parts of the world you couldn’t imagine.”
“Okay. I love you. Bye-bye.”
“Bye, Angela. I love you.”
I hang up, shaking my head.
“The universe really is fucking with us now,” I chuckle grimly. “Angela’s heading to New York for a couple of days to shoot those TV commercials.”
“Whoah.” Tessa’s face lights up, her smile stretching from ear to ear. “That’s crazy. Oh my God, do you think this could be her big break? This is so amazing. She’s worked so hard.”
My chest tightens at her emotion, flooding with her contagious happiness.
Despite all the messiness, I’m so damn relieved that my daughter has such a supportive friend.
“I need to charge my phone so I can call her,” she says. “I bet she’s been calling me like crazy.”
Her happy expression falters, a frown touching her lips.
“But this means we can’t tell her about us,” she says. “Not yet, at least.”
“I thought you’d be relieved?” I ask.
“Well, I don’t want to tell her. It’s going to hurt. It’s going to be awful. But you’re right. What’s the alternative?”
“We can’t tell her over the phone,” I say. “Especially not when she needs to focus on her work.”
A bitter voice inside roars at me that I’m making excuses, that this has nothing to do with my daughter and everything to do with my selfish need to be with my woman.
“Maybe the best thing would be for us to cool things off until she’s back,” Tessa murmurs, as though she’s reading my thoughts.
“Maybe.” I nod. “But I don’t know if I can.”
She makes an intoxicating whimpering noise, the sound driving deep inside of me, causing my stomach to twist and roar out in carnal need. I almost reach out and touch her, the same way I’ve been almost reaching out and touching her ever since we pulled up outside her house.
“No,” she says softly. “Neither do I. God, this is so messy.”
“On the upside,” I say, with a smirk to try and lighten the mood, “it looks like you’re free for dinner. Let me take you somewhere.”
She laughs, her eyes glistening with the suggestion of tears. But she’s not crying. It’s more like she could cry if she let herself cross that line, but she’s bravely holding herself back.
“In Youngstone? I think Mrs. Pennyworth would have a fit if she saw us on a date.”
“Who said it was a date?” I
