Page 118 of The Daddy’s Girl

“Then tell me no.”

Ronan Kade is one of the most understanding and gracious people I have ever met. It’s almost infuriating how accommodating he can be. Never pushing or pressuring. Never hard or cruel or judgmental.

He’s not telling me to take the club. He won’t even point out what we both know is true—that I’m bored. That I miss working. That I wasn’t ready for retirement.

Instead, he’s going to offer me exactly what he knows I want, leaving me to make the decision on my own.

What an asshole.

He doesn’t know why this decision is so hard for me. He can never know why I can’t answer him so easily. That my heart is here. It has left my chest entirely, living and beating in another person that I simply could not survive without now.

And it gets worse as Ronan pulls the photos of the club up on his computer and shows me. The building is beautiful, the area of downtown lively, the layout perfect.

“Ronan…I appreciate it, but I can’t.”

There’s a flinch of disappointment in his eyes, and if I’m honest with myself, I feel the disappointment too. I don’t want to tell him no. But I can’t tell him yes.

My mind is a fog of indecision.

“Okay then. I’ll ask someone else.”

“I can’t leave my mother,” I say, although it’s only partly true.

“You don’t owe me an explanation, Matis.”

“I know I don’t, but you are my friend. And as my friend, you have to listen to me complain about how bored I am here now. How much I miss it. So now you also have to listen to me complain that until my mother leaves this world without me, I must take care of her.”

“You’re a good man for that, Matis. But you know…she would be taken care of.”

I walked into this. I opened the door for his argument, and now I have to deal with it.

“I know, and I appreciate it. I really do, Ronan.”

“Then think about it,” he says. Leaning forward until his elbows are on the surface, he looks into my eyes.

Suddenly, I imagine a world in which I could tell Ronan the real reason I can’t leave. Because the woman I love lives here.

Unless…

An idea enters my mind, embedding itself in my brain like a virus. And once an idea starts, there’s no way to stop it.

Amelia could come to London. There, we could be free. We could be together without hiding or judgment. There’d be no rush to come out as a couple.

I could have everything I want. It’s right in my grasp.

“I’ll think about it,” I say, my eyes growing unfocused as I stare at the wood grain on the desk.

“Good,” he says proudly. Then, after a moment of silence, he leans back again. “So what else is new with you? You’ve been quiet lately. I take it you…met someone?”

There’s a quizzical lift to his brow that makes my stomach turn. But really…why would I lie any more than I already have?

“Actually…yes,” I say, downing the rest of the liquor in my glass.

Without looking up, I see Ronan smile widely. “Amelia, I assume.”

My head snaps up. “What?”

“This was her doing, right? She’s persistent.” He laughs. “The minute she said she was going to help find you a date on that app, I knew she wouldn’t quit until she did.”