AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lilah looks at me with those fiery eyes. “As I’ll ever be.”
Chapter 29
Fox
I shouldn’t be as nervous as I am right now.
I’m a war veteran. I’ve befriended Russian mobsters. I’ve stood up to — and exposed — the deadliest criminal organization on the planet.
But all of that somehow pales in comparison to telling a man that you’re going to ask his daughter to marry you.
Especially when that man is your stepfather and his daughter is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
Maybe Boxcar was right all along. This is weird.
I step out of my car onto the driveway. It’s been at least a month since I’ve set foot here, mostly because Bennett told me to never come back. Dani included.
We would have stayed in Iowa forever, but a few contractual obligations brought us back to Los Angeles. We couldn’t be sure for how long and Dani no longer felt safe in her condo after what happened there, so we sold it and got a place together in the Hills. Something a bit fancy for my tastes but easily secured and fortified just in case we needed it.
And, as it turns out, we did.
Bennett wasn’t too happy about our new arrangement, obviously, but Dani finally found it in herself to cut off contact with him and take control of her life.
We haven’t heard from him since. I’ve kept in touch with my mother, of course. That’s another reason why I was happy to return home. She thought I was dead for two years. I wasn’t about to leave her again.
I knock on the door as the butterflies twist my stomach. With everything I’ve done, everything I’ve been put through to get here… and I can’t handle this?
The door opens and Bennett glares at me, looking worse than I thought he would. Shaving has obviously become a low priority. Laundry, too. He’d be almost unrecognizable without Dani’s eyes staring back at me.
“Hey, Bennett,” I greet.
“What do you want?” he asks.
Charming as ever.
“Can I come in?” I ask.
“No. What do you want?” he repeats.
I glance over my shoulder at the front gate down the driveway. There are usually a few cameras lingering on the street or a tour bus slowly rolling by full of tourists just hoping to catch a glimpse of Roxie Roberts. Luckily, they’ve moved on to the next hot thing and haven’t managed to figure out her new address yet.
“We need to talk about Dani,” I say.
A flash of concern passes over his face, but it doesn’t stick around. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine.”
“Then, piss off.”
I reach out to stop the door from slamming in my face. “Bennett.”
He sighs loudly and steps back. “Fine. You got five minutes.”
I follow him inside and close the door behind me. He marches across the front hall toward his study. I move slowly, scanning the shelves and end tables as I pass them by. A thin layer of dust coats everything. He must have fired the cleaning staff. Or they quit.
Bennett’s study looks about the same as it always did. Stuffed full of his own particular brand of organized clutter. He falls into his desk chair. I stay standing, ignoring the subtle hint to claim the couch beneath the window.
I take a deep breath, staring down at his tired face. He appears so weak to me now but that doesn’t make me feel any better about this.
