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“You want to face the battle of a teenage girl hell bent on ripping someone’s balls off? Feel free. If you need to wave the white flag, I’ll be down after I shower to take over,” I answer grumpily, not liking her comment about this not being more than what it is. I am used to barflies falling all over themselves to have a piece of me. Then the first woman who manages to chip though some of this barrier I have thrown up since Erin died is practically running after my daughter to assure her we would never have sex. That is enough to do a man’s ego in.
Before she leaves, she smiles at me—really, truly smiles. It is something I haven’t seen from her before, and it is abso-fucking-lutely exquisite. She is a masterpiece of natural beauty, both inside and out.
Damn, I may be in over my head with more than just my daughter.
Morgan
Making my way nervously down to the kitchen, I find Brooke pouring milk into a bowl of cereal. There is an awkward silence between us while she obviously fights herself to not look at me.
Approaching cautiously, I say, “I promise you I didn’t have sex with your dad.”
Her head comes up, and her eyes meet my gaze. “I woke up and expected to find you downstairs. Finding you in his bed… I don’t know. You’re both adults, so it’s not like my business, or whatever,” she stammers in frustration.
“Anything with your dad is your business. You need to learn a better way to communicate with him, though. I enjoy talking to you, and I wouldn’t do anything with your dad behind your back. Honestly, your dad and I are complete opposites, sweetie. I don’t even make his radar.” I have never had to explain myself like this before. I hope I am doing it considerately enough because I would never want to come between Brooke and her father.
“I’ve heard him and the guys talk about his revolving door of barflies. And I even walked in on him like twice with one of them. I don’t want that for you, Morgan,” she whispers.
The mention of Ice’s reputation hurts. Waking up in the man’s arms was very surreal yet very nice, too. For that minute, when I was somewhere in between asleep and awake, I felt safe and protected. Not quite loved, though maybe something close. I know it was only my overactive imagination, but damn, it felt nice to have that for a little while. Maybe it is for the best that I received this little reality check before my mind has a chance to get ahead of itself.
“I’m so far from being like that with your dad. Heck, I don’t even know that we’re friends, truth be told. He’s just helping me find Mady. Last night, I was tired, and I guess I ended up in his bed, though I have no idea how. I haven’t been sleeping well, I crashed. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but”—I facetiously gasp and move my hand dramatically to my chest—“I think he was trying to be nice to me. Can you believe that?” Leaning in to conspiratorially whisper, I ask, “Should we call the news and tell them the world is ending?”
We both fall into a fit of giggles, and for a moment, I don’t feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. For just a moment, I get lost in being an over-the-top, silly woman.
Brooke’s giggles die slowly. Then she looks me over and bites her bottom lip, as if she is unsure she should say what she is thinking. “He is a good guy. He doesn’t allow himself to get into a serious relationship with anyone, though. He’s only let me know the name of one woman, in the thirteen years since my mom died.”
I let her words sink in for a moment. “Brooke, you know you mean everything to him, right?”
“Sure,” she replies with a sarcastic smirk.
“Here me out. The man has made sure to have a system in place so that, at all times, he knows you are safe and taken care of. You are his first and last priority. I get that you think he’s a playboy or whatnot, and that may be the case, but he obviously tries to shelter you from that if you don’t know their names. Men have needs; he can’t hide that. He sets the bar high for the women he allows to be around you; obviously, since you have only officially met one of them.”
“Truth,” Ice’s voice calls from behind me. “Brooke, nothing happened with Morgan. Don’t question it further, and don’t ever throw your attitude around like that again, or I’ll ground your ass until graduation.”
“Dad,” she whines.
“Brooke, show some respect. You may not agree with what your dad says or does, but he takes care of you, and he loves you. The two of you have to find a balance, and no more yelling on either side,” I say with a sharp stare back over to Ice.
