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I yelp when Owen snatches the phone from my hand. “Hello, Mr. Larsen?” he says in a smooth, officious voice. “This is Owen Dalton. Yes,theDaltons. You must have heard of my father, Jet.”
My eyes feel like they’re going to fall out of my skull. I shake my head urgently, making grabbing motions at the phone as dread swills nastily in my stomach.
Owen shakes his head at me, his eyes narrowing, but there’s a bemused light gleaming in those concrete depths. “No, there’s no study group. I’m not sure why Evie would lie to you, I can only think it’s to protect my reputation.”
My mouth twists into a confused snarl.Hisreputation?
Owen smiles at me as he listens to whatever my father says. “Yes, you’re correct. No, not long now. About a week, I’d say? Nothing is quite official yet.”
Blood drains from my face. My father is going tokillme. This is what I get for daring to defy Owen by answering the phone. I collapse on the bed, burrowing my face in my hands.
“Yes, I’m sure my parents would love to meet with you.”
I shoot Owen a scowl that he accepts with another curl of his lips. “This week is a bit tight, but I’m sure we could arrange something for next weekend.” Owen slides his hand between my legs again. “Of course, it all depends on when Evie is ready.”
Fuck this guy. How is it humanly possible to be so angry, and yet so damn… in love with someone?
I stopped kidding myself about that last night. When everything had finally sunk in, I’d had an epiphany. I can’t even imagine what lengths Owen went to when he set up Brent’s humiliating exhibition show with the Falcon. From the sounds of things, evenattendingone of her events was reserved for VVVIP quests only.
And then he stopped the whole thing with a wave of his hand, because I felt wrong about it?
Yeah, he made me pay for that when we came back to the Walsh House. But still… I’ve never had someone fight this hard to be with me.
And now he wants our parents to meet? It feels like my life is moving at light speed, and I can’t understand why I’m not terrified.
If anything, I’m exhilarated.
Now that I’ve stopped resisting my own urges, being with Owen feels natural. It feelsright.Like he fills in the missing pieces of my soul.
“Would you like to speak with Evie?” Owen asks.
I snap out of my thoughts and grab the phone from him, then I leap out of bed before he can lay another finger on me. It’s bad enough being naked and wearing a fucking collar while I’m speaking to my father. I’m not about to let Owen put his hands between my legs too.
“Dad?”
My father exhales a long breath in my ear.
Oh, God, this is bad.
I know I’m technically an adult, and I can do whatever the hell I want, but I don’t want to disappoint my father any more than I wanted to have our family fall apart. I love my parents, despite our differences, despiteeverything.
“Dad?” My voice is softer now. I glance over to Owen, and his face is set like stone.
It’s almost like he already regrets speaking to my father.
“He sounds like a nice young man,” my father says after a heart-clenchingly long pause. “But I’d have to meet him to be sure. You won’t make me wait too long, will you?”
Relief floods through me, making my knees sag. I perch on the edge of the bed, flashing Owen a smile that he immediately returns with one of his own.
“No, of course not. Maybe… maybe even next weekend, if his parents are available.”
Owen’s eyes light up, and he gives me the kind of nod that makes me think that he’ll make sure they can see us.
“Good. Now, Evie, Imustsee you immediately. Your roommate mentioned a cafeteria. Meet me there in twenty minutes.”
He puts the phone down before I can reply, but that’s always been his way. He gets to the point, niceties be damned.
Twenty minutes? Shit!
