Page 60 of His for the Holiday

For a second, I considered letting it go, but then I decided that enough was enough. “I understand that you’re just trying to protect your daughter, but I want to be with Sutton and I know I don’t deserve her or Winnie, but I’m willing to try and so is she.”

His jaw hardened, his gaze turning to ice. He lifted his chin, literally looking down his nose at me. “The only thing right about what you just said is that you don’t deserve them. Don’t do this, Hawk. Especially not now that Calen is in town. Is that it? Are you jealous that the prick is here?”

“Nope. I’m worried, but I’m not jealous.”

Also not entirely true, but okay.

The fact was that he was asking if I suddenly wanted to be with her because Calen was here, and the answer to that was an unequivocal no, but I was definitely jealous that Winnie was his and that he and Sutton had had her together. I was jealous that he’d had almost a decade with her as his wife while I’d been chasing skirts all over, trying to find the exact woman whose heart he’d so carelessly shattered.

I exhaled a slightly shaky breath, looking straight into David’s eyes. I decided to get this out of the way once and for all. I just had to be careful since I didn’t know if he’d ever found out that we’d been more than friends back in the day, and the last thing I wanted to do was drive a wedge between Sutton and her dad if she hadn’t told him yet.

“I’m sorry about what I did before. I’m sorry that I hurt her, and just so you know, I’m deeply sorry that I haven’t been there for my dad and Emery. I’m working it out with them, and I need you to know that I realize how badly I failed them and that I’m trying to make up for it. The same goes for Sutton.”

“Yeah, well, keep trying,” he said. “That’s all I’m hearing from you, Hawk. ‘I’m trying’ with this and ‘I’m trying’ with that. You and Sutton are both adults. I can’t stop you from being together, but know that I won’t be okay with it until you stop trying and start doing. She deserves a hell of a lot better than the hand she’s been dealt.”

“Agreed,” I said.

The bell above the door jingled and Sutton walked in, looking shellshocked but holding it together for Winnie’s sake. For her part, the little girl was grinning widely, letting go of Sutton’s hand to rush over to me.

“Daddy came so he can see my play,” she exclaimed happily, smacking into me to give me a massive hug. “Isn’t that great, Hawk? He’s here for Thanksgiving.”

“Yeah, that’s great, Win,” I said, dropping to my haunches and hugging her back, but my gaze never left Sutton.

Her cheeks were snow white. Her hands were trembling slightly as she fidgeted with her fingers. Every single part of me was itching to gather her up in my arms and take off with her, to protect her against the villain and to be Prince Charming in her story.

But I knew it was already too late for that. First, the villain wasn’t even here right now, and second, I’d been a villain too, which was why the other villain was in the damn story at all. The only thing I could do now was to support her as best as I could.

Winnie released me and rushed over to David. He watched as Sutton’s wide, wild eyes slid to mine. As he hugged his granddaughter, he smiled and offered her his hand. “How about I take you to get some ice cream and we’ll leave Mommy and Hawk to talk for a minute?”

“I love ice cream,” Winnie said and waved at us as she followed David out of the store. He didn’t spare me another glance, but I knew it meant something that he was taking Winnie and leaving me to handle Sutton.

As he walked past her, he reached for her hand and squeezed it, and I saw the tears that jumped to her eyes in the aftermath. My heart flipped over and I strode to her, opening my arms and finally gathering her in them.

“Let me walk you home, baby,” I murmured against her hair. “You can tell me all about it if you want to once we get there.”

“Do you remember you promised to buy me a bottle of Lagavulin after we ditched my drink when Hailey pounced in the wine bar that night?” she asked, her voice muffled by my chest before she lifted her head to look into my eyes.

I nodded, a slight smile creeping onto my lips as I took her hand. “Let’s stop and buy it on the way home. Sound good?”

“Like you took the words right out my mouth,” she said quietly, leaning into me. We left the bookstore.

David and Winnie were buying ice cream right across the street, which meant he was still watching the store, and as Sutton and I left, his gaze met mine and held it for a beat. His chin tilted up slightly and I gave him a quick nod.

It was time to stop trying and start doing. I got it, man. You’ll see. I am going to deserve them and not even you are going to stop me.