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I sip the coffee and moan at how good it is, thanking him at least five times when I see a huge chocolate croissant in the bag, too. I wish I could kiss him, but with the way he’s driving with utter determination to get me to class on time, I don’t want to distract him.
When we stop, I jump out, clutching my goodies in my hands, and rush round to his side. He rolls the window down, and I’m about to sneak a kiss in thanks before I run to the classroom when someone shouts my name.
“Juliet! There you are!” Laura calls.
The sound of my best friend’s voice makes me jump, nearly spilling my coffee, and I take a huge step back from the car. Shit. She nearly caught me kissing her dad.
Laura walks over to us and frowns when she sees who’s just dropped me off. My heart races in my chest, and I try to hide the guilt that sweeps through me. I don’t regret anything that’s happening between Jared and me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad about the fact I’m screwing my best friend’s father.
“Dad? Wait, Juliet, why were you in my dad’s car?” Laura asks, no accusation in her tone at all, just confusion.
I scramble for an explanation that’s something, anything, other than the truth. “Oh, uh, I missed my alarms,” I stutter out, taking a swig of coffee to try and compose myself. “I was running like a lunatic when Jared spotted me. He recognized me from the showcase, so he offered me a lift. Lifesaver!”
I’m too enthusiastic with the explanation, but I hope the smile I give Laura is enough to endear her to my story. I’ve never lied to her before, and I hate doing it now but the truth is absolutely not an option. Not yet, anyway. Not until I’ve spoken to Jared about how the hell we’re going to deal with this.
To my utter relief, Laura returns my grin and rolls her eyes at her dad. “That’s Dad,” she says with a laugh. “Always taking care of people. Thanks for helping her out.”
The blush that hits my face is nothing short of burning. Laura’s words remind me of Jared’s last night when he praised me for letting him take care of me. My thighs squeeze together at the memory, and when I risk glancing at Jared, I know by the way his gaze darkens that he’s recalling it, too.
Laura grabs my arm to drag me into the building. Jared drives off, and I sigh in relief. I survived that interaction. Now I just need to survive the rest of the day without bursting into flames.
I yawn as we shove into the changing rooms, and I thank my past self for always keeping a spare change of clothes in my locker for emergencies.
“Tired?” Laura teases, wiggling her eyebrows at me. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with that hickey on your neck, would it?”
Crap. My hand flies to my neck where Laura’s gaze is locked onto me, as though I can hide the mark in retrospect. There’s no hiding the way I’m blushing bright red, though, and my best friend is oblivious to my internal moral battle when she tips her head back and laughs.
“So…who was it?” she presses while we quickly change into our dance clothes. The aching in my muscles from working out all night tells me that working out in class today is gonna suck.
“Oh, uh, no one you know,” I babble in response, turning away to shove my stuff back in my locker so Laura can’t see the grimace on my face. “Just some random.”
It feels so wrong to call Jared ‘some random’ because he’s so much more than that. He’s…well, he’s quickly becoming everything.
“Well, don’t hold out on me, girl! Tell me the details! Was it good?” Laura continues, nudging my shoulder with hers as we start to head out of the changing room to the studio.
Oh dear God, how am I supposed to tell her that it was amazing and incredible and I can barely walk straight today and oh also, it was your dad? Nope. Not happening.
Thankfully, I’m saved from answering that when we get to the rehearsal space at the exact same time as our teacher. Immediately, we’re thrown into a brutal warm-up that leaves no room for doing anything other than panting and trying to breathe.
Not being able to talk doesn’t stop my mind spinning, though. Even as my hips scream in a split stretch, my thoughts are utterly focused on Jared. It’s silly but I miss him already. I don’t want to go home alone, not when I know how good it feels to sleep wrapped in his arms now.
I glance to the right, where Laura is stretched out like all the other dancers around us. My heart thuds. I don’t want to lose her, but I don’t want to lose him either.
Whatever it takes, I have to figure out how to make this work.
5
JARED
In the last two weeks, Juliet hasn’t slept alone once. I’ve made damn sure of it. Thank fuck for all the holiday time I’ve accumulated because there’s no way in hell I’m leaving my little fairy. In truth, I don’t plan on going back to the office at all, not until my transfer is complete and I can work from here.
I close the real estate website on my phone and set the device down on the cushion next to me, my attention stolen by Juliet sauntering towards me. She’s wearing some sort of soft, short night dress that instantly has my cock hardening. The hem of it skims her thighs, reminding me of just how soft her skin is there, and the neckline dips to show off her cleavage. Juliet reduces me to a drooling, demanding caveman, contrary to the charming, put-together man I try to show the world. Only my girl gets this side of me. Only she has ever made me feel like this.
Juliet is mine. My girl, my little fairy, my love.
It’s been two weeks, but I want forever with her. We’ll get it, once we figure out how to tell my daughter we’re together at all. There’s been more than one near-miss where Juliet and I have almost gotten caught, and I can tell it’s straining Juliet, too. I avoided Laura’s questions if I was seeing anyone when I took her and her boyfriend out for dinner, and Juliet told me that Laura quizzed her on the marks I kept leaving on her skin.
It’s not like I like lying to my daughter. I fucking hate it, actually. But as her father, I want to protect her from anything that could hurt her. Except right now, it’s me that might hurt her—me and her best friend.
