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I knew that Christian wouldn’t be able to stay with me more than a few days, but hearing him say it out loud, so casually, bothered me. I didn’t want to think about reality, but I had to. “Should I go, uh, strip the bed?”
Christian grinned. “I forgot about that. Let’s see who it is first.”
We both stood up.
Unfortunately, it was not Christian’s brother. It was my father. He saw me as he was stepping out of the car and just shook his head. “What are you doing?” he asked me. “Everyone has been worried sick about you. No one knew where the hell you were!”
Dad looked tired, but mostly annoyed. He was wearing khakis and a golf shirt, his Sunday uniform.
“I sent you a text,” I said, feeling a little defensive. “I told you I was fine. I called Bradley.”
“For the record, Bradley Alexander can go to hell.” Dad slammed the door shut. “That kid is not who I thought he was. I don’t appreciate his behavior yesterday.”
I didn’t even want to know what he had done, but I imagine it had something to do with the boozing and the boob pics he had posted. That was validating. “Right? Daddy, he’s got something wrong with him, seriously. I think he’s a pathological liar or a narcissist or something.”
“Or both.” Dad eyed Christian, who was holding Camp and frowned. “Aren’t you the tent guy?”
That made me want to wince. God, sometimes my father was so unintentionally pretentious. And other times he meant to be pretentious. But this time I don’t think he was going for ironic. He had just convinced himself Christian was someone we had hired.
“No. I am not the tent guy. I’m Christian Jordan. My brother Cain is dating Sophie.”
Dad’s eyebrows shot up. “Sophie isn’t dating anyone. And you’re doing what exactly with Bella?”
My father was intimidating. He hadn’t earned his money by backing down. A lot of men would have looked away or fumbled over their words under that hard stare. But Christian looked perfectly at ease. He never broke eye contact.
“I’m giving her a place to stay for a few days.”
My father actually just nodded. I had expected him to be more inquisitive.
“So, Dad, how did you know I was here?”
“The GPS on your phone. For the record, honey, don’t ever try to fake your own death. You wouldn’t get very far.” He actually looked kind of amused.
“Oh, right, my phone.” That I had thrown into the woods. “I wasn’t trying to disappear. I just needed to be alone. But I’m okay. And I’m sorry about everything. Honestly. I thought I could do it.” Just saying that made my throat constrict. “And then I couldn’t.”
He nodded. “I know. It’s okay. All I want is for you to be happy.”
I wasn’t sure what else to say. This was awkward. My father didn’t seem pissed off at me. I wasn’t sure what he was feeling or thinking. Then I had a thought. “Oh, Daddy, hang on. I have something for you.” I started running down the path to the caboose.
I heard my dad say, “Where the hell is she going?”
“I have no idea,” Christian said.
I dashed into the dim interior and glanced at the rumpled sheets and the sex toys. I would die if my father followed me in here, so I grabbed my engagement ring and left immediately. Slightly breathless, I returned to the driveway and held it out for him. “Here. My ring from Bradley. You can sell it and keep the money. It should help pay for some of the wedding bills.”
He took the ring from me and gave me a long look. “Why don’t I hold on to it for a while? You might decide you want it later.”
“For what?” I asked, astonished.
“The money.”
I shrugged. I didn’t want Bradley’s blood money. “No, thanks. You should keep it. So it’s not a total waste.”
“Just a warning, Bradley went to Boston last night but he’s coming back tomorrow to take care of some business.”
“What business?” Everything related to the wedding had been handled by the wedding planner and my parents. The thought of running into him made me cringe.
“He bought you a house here as a surprise and I think he plans to just put it right back on the market so he doesn’t lose the summer selling season.”
