Page 134 of The Donor’s Dilemma

“Good evening,” the man said. “May I speak with my daughter, please?”

Theo’s eyes went wide. He opened his mouth. Closed it. Stared at the man who was waiting for him to go and fetch his daughter, the daughter who was currently naked in his bed.

“Mr Harper,” he managed, unable to remember his first name. “How lovely to meet you. I’m... why don’t you come through?”

He waved a hand towards the lounge, knowing that if he went to collect Verity right now, he would have to walk into his bedroom, and from the angle of the door Mr Harper would see the bed, maybe even a foot sticking out beneath the covers.

“I’m fine here, thank you,” her father said.

“No, please, I insist.” Theo smiled, trying to sound casual, and stepped back to let him in.

After a moment’s hesitation he followed, letting Theo lead him into the lounge where Jesse sprawled on the sofa, texting.

“Get up,” Theo said through gritted teeth and a forced smile.

“Brian!” Jesse said, beaming, sitting up and extending a hand. “So lovely to meet you.”

Of course, Jesse knew his name. Of course, he’d known who was on the other side of that door and sent him to open it, unprepared. Theo was going to kill him.

“Mr Harper, Brian, this is my brother Jesse,” Theo said, watching Jesse shake the man’s hand with entirely too much enthusiasm. “Please, sit down. Can I get you anything?”

Brian Harper stood in the middle of the lounge with his arms folded, giving them a look that could strip paint.

Theo excused himself and slipped back to the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

“Verity,” he hissed. “Verity!”

She rolled over and smiled at him, clearly unaware that her father was on the other side of the wall.

Sweeping her hair over one shoulder, she presented her neck with slow blinks and a seductive smile. “Is that Jesse? I was hoping we might have a little…”

“Your dad’s here.”

The smile fell from her face.

“My dad?” she said.

He nodded.

“My dad is here?”

He nodded again.

“My dad is here,” she repeated, as if testing whether the words made sense.

“He doesn’t look very happy,” Theo offered.

“Does he know?”

Theo shrugged, though it seemed fairly obvious that he knew something, or he wouldn’t be standing in the lounge.

“Oh gods!” Verity rolled out of bed and lunged for a dress. “Oh gods.” She pulled it on, raked her fingers through her hair, checked her reflection, and clocked the bite mark at her neck. She tugged her hair over her shoulder to cover it, though at this point it felt somewhat futile. With a broad, deeply unconvincing smile, she rested her hand on the door handle, took a deep breath, and opened it.

“Dad!”

“Don’t you ‘Dad’ me,” her father said.

“I...”