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“Your family really did a number on you, didn’t they?” he questioned as he stepped back. “There’s nothing that I can say to convince you of my intentions. So, I’ll just have to show you with time.”
I wasn’t sure that I liked the sound of that.
It sounded ominous and threatening. As if he would show me in a way that I might not like.
“Lynn…” I started.
He grinned. “Do you want to work out with me?”
I frowned. “What?”
“Do you want to work out with me?” he repeated.
I shook my head. “No. I’m taking a shower. That means that I’m clean for at least a part of the day. Are you working out?”
He nodded. “I am.”
“Then why did you get in the shower?”
His eyes opened wide as he pinned me with his gaze. “Because you were in here.”
• • •
“You know,” I said as I looked from Laric to Lynn who was across the room, and back. “You look a lot like Lynn. Not the hair or anything, but the facial features. The eyes. The style of your hair. Hell, you even have the same build, though you’re a lot bulkier.”
Laric narrowed his eyes, then looked at where Lynn was busy jumping rope across the room.
His body was a mass of muscles and sinew, making me nearly moan in surprise as his body shifted to accommodate what Lynn was asking of it.
“I guess so,” Laric admitted.
I wondered if either man realized that they looked like each other, or if this was just something only a woman would notice?
I had no clue.
“I…” I paused when my phone rang.
I looked at my phone with disgust, knowing exactly who was calling.
I reached for the phone like it was a rabid skunk.
“Hello?” I answered, not bothering to look at the screen.
“I’ve tried calling you all morning, Ines,” my father growled.
All morning being once. He’d called me once.
And, technically, I hadn’t exactly ignored it. It’d been while I was in the shower with Lynn, but I hadn’t called back because there’d been no voicemail, nor any extra calls if it’d been important.
I gritted my teeth. “I saw one call. But I’ve been working, and you know how I work. I can’t handle disruptions.”
Well, I could. The only problem was that I couldn’t handle my father’s disruptions. My father was an asshole.
“I’m at the hospital,” he said.
I leaned forward in my chair, the man across the room jumping rope all but forgotten for a few short seconds.
“What happened? Why?” I asked, sounding slightly alarmed.
“I’ve possibly broken my leg,” my father said. “I’m in the hospital now, getting X-rays.”
I felt my stomach sink. “How did you break your leg?”
“I was trying to hang something on the back door, the blinds fell down, and I fell off the step-ladder.” He paused. “I need you to bring me something up here. Some clothes. My charger. My computer and a few other things. I’ll text you an exact list. I was at the cabin. I don’t want you to come inside when you bring me my things, though. You’ll probably embarrass me. Just drop it off with my man that’ll be waiting out front.”
I’d embarrass him.
The asshole.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “When do you need it?”
“Now,” he snapped.
I sighed. “Okay. Let me know what the doctor says about your leg.”
He grumbled something under his breath and hung up without saying yes or no.
When I hung up and placed the phone down on the table next to the computer that I hadn’t been working on since Lynn had started jumping rope, the man beside me kicked my chair.
“What was that about?” he asked.
I licked my lips.
“My father fell and possibly broke his leg. He’s unsure right now. We’re waiting to find out. He wants me to bring him something,” I answered.
“Why do you look like you’d rather punch him in the nuts than talk to him?” Laric asked curiously.
I sighed. “Because he’s an asshole. He told me not to come inside because he didn’t want to be embarrassed.”
Laric snorted. “Sounds like a real prize.”
I rolled my eyes. “He definitely isn’t. He’s a very trying person, and I have to admit, I’ve met nicer strangers on the street than him.”
“What’s going on?” Lynn asked, coming up to stand beside me dripping sweat.
“What’s going on is douchebag dad called up to say that he broke his leg, but he doesn’t want her up at the hospital because she’ll embarrass him,” Laric supplied helpfully. “And I was just explaining to your girl that she was better off not bothering with him at all.”
I sighed. “He’s my father. Whether I like his attitude or not, I can’t pick and choose who my family is. I’ll bring him his clothes, and I won’t go in. It’s not like I want to spend time with him anyway.”
Laric grunted. “I don’t blame you. What a dick.”
