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“Well, that’s the last of it.” Dad wipes the sweat from his brow with the back of his wrist, then stretches his shoulders with a hearty groan. “Thank goodness you didn’t have much to move.”
My belongings consist of nothing more than a few boxes of clothes and other personal items. My keyboard is safe in the studio at Record Revival for now, but I labeled my box of recordings, journals of songs I’ve written, and sheets of music as overalls, in case Rowan got a wild hair to snoop.
From beside me, he frowns at my dad. “You should’ve let me pay someone to do this for you.”
I slip my hands into my back pockets. “You’ll learn pretty quickly that Dan Hart doesn’t let people do things for him.”
Dad’s proud when he winks at me. “That’s right, and I hate to say it, but you’re just like your old man.”
I tsk up at Rowan as if to say, Can you believe this guy?
A hint of amusement flicks across his face. “I’ve become quite familiar with your daughter’s independence. I practically had to beg her to go out with me when we met.”
Dad snickers, and my heart thunders when Rowan pulls me into his side, squeezing me harder when he notices I’ve tensed.
I’m given a panty-soaking grin when I shoot him a subtle glare.
“Never thought I’d find love in a mini-mart,” I say, and because two can play his game, I grab the front of his shirt, raise up on my tiptoes, and plant a kiss right on his cheek.
Ha! Who’s uncomfortable now?
I should know I’m outmatched when it comes to challenging him, and he’s all too happy to prove it when his hand snakes lower to grab a palm full of my ass.
“Oh!” I strive for a flirtatious laugh, except it’s garbled and high-pitched, deepening Rowan’s amusement.
Dad bats a hand at us. “All right, all right. I get it. You’re in love. Just keep all the touchy stuff behind closed doors, will ya?”
“Of course,” Rowan murmurs, but my head swims when he doesn’t take his eyes off me.
That wasn’t part of the plan.
He’s just trying to sell it, I remind myself, but does he have to be so convincing?
I tuck my hair behind my ear and take a timid step away from him. We need to establish those rules as soon as possible. Because this man’s touch promises to burn, and I won’t be the one coming out of this agreement scathed.
“I’ll be back later this week to start working on this place for you,” Dad says. “And Molly, I’ve already let Nadine and Ruby know that they’ll be covering more shifts at the shop.”
I freeze, completely caught off guard. “What? No, no. That’s not necessary.”
He can’t do that. I’m the damn boss.
“You’ve got a wedding to plan, sweetheart, and I imagine the two of you will be pretty busy over the next few months. So, this is partly a gift, and partly me being your dad and putting my foot down.”
“You can’t keep me away from it.” I hate the defensiveness that creeps into my tone, but what does he expect?
We’ve already shortened the hours and days we keep the shop open, and I’m not going to sit around here like some princess in a castle while Prince Charming dictates my every move.
On second thought, Rowan’s more like the Beast.
“If you insist on having the girls pick up more days, that’s fine, but I’m still going to check in. It’s not like I’m a prisoner here.”
Besides, I’m the one in charge of restocking, and I can’t risk any of them finding out about my secret meetings with Raul.
Dad glances at Rowan, then back at me with softening eyes. I know what he sees when he looks at me; he’s told me plenty of times how much I remind him of her, especially our stubborn streaks. “All right, sweetheart. I love you.”
Relief envelops me. “I love you, too.”
I wait until his truck reaches the end of the drive before twisting back to Rowan. “How dare you?”
