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He’s right. I failed to mention how incredibly sexy and beautiful she is. The half-naked welcome home greeting didn’t help my case. So I shrug. “I never claimed to be noble.”
I knock and then open the door again, closing it behind me. “Tuesday?” I walk into the living room and then down to the bedroom. “I’m alone.” When I enter the bedroom, I notice the closet door open. Before I start for the bathroom, I check the closet. “Hey there.”
She’s draped over the long bench with her arm across her forehead, and says, “I didn’t know you’d have company.”
“Neither did I, if that matters.”
Lifting onto her elbows, she looks at me through a lens of distress that’s pinching the features of her pretty face. “What do you mean?”
“That’s my dad. He showed up at the office unannounced. He’s never done that before.”
“You couldn’t send a warning text?”
“I can’t text in meetings, and he was practically looking over my shoulder the rest of the time. I thought telling him the truth about you would settle it. Except . . .”
“Except you didn’t count on me greeting you like this.” Pointing at herself, she says, “Oh my God.” She drops her head into her hands as she sits up. “I will never be able to look at him without knowing that he knows what I was doing to his son.”
“What were you doing to his son?”
She shoots me a look that pins me to the spot. “You know what I was doing.” She sighs and leans her head back. “I’m never going to live this down.” I kneel in front of her, resting my hands on her thighs. “I’m so humiliated, Loch.”
Cupping her face, I lift enough to give her a quick kiss. “I want to tell you not to be because we’ve all done things that we find embarrassing after the fact, but I know you won’t listen to me. So tell me how I can make things better instead.”
“Well, for one, it’s not after the fact embarrassment. I was mortified in the moment as well, hence the surprise and scream. I’m going to die of humiliation.”
I stand, taking her by the hands and pulling her onto her feet. “Okay, that’s fair. What’s number two?”
“The thought of going out there and meeting your dad after that disaster.” She drops her forehead against my chest, toying with a button on my shirt.
“Listen, Tuesday,” I start, lifting her chin until our eyes meet again. “Does it help to know that his only concern was how you were doing?”
She nods gently, but her hands fist my shirt until it’s wrinkled. “Kind of.” I start to smile, and hers follows suit. “That’s very thoughtful, like his son.”
“So I know this is a lot to ask, but I’m going to ask anyway. Will you come out of the closet and meet my dad?”
Her laughter is sweet relief to my ears. “Should I get dressed first?”
“Probably best.” She turns, but I catch her arm and bring her back to me. “Not so fast.” Tilting my head, I kiss her neck, then her cheek, and finally that soft spot behind her ear that covers her skin in goose bumps. Her eyes dip closed, and I press my lips to the shell of her ear, and just barely whisper, “You look so fucking sexy in my shirt that I have one more request.”
“What’s that?”
“You wear it, exactly like that, again for me tonight.”
I feel her shiver under my hands. With her head tilted back, our eyes meet again. Wordlessly, she nods. I give her a kiss, then whisper once more, “Such a good girl. I’ll make sure to reward you later.”
It’s hard to walk away, but I do it, giving her time to change into something that makes her more comfortable—physically and emotionally. And because my dad is still standing in the hallway, I open the door.
He asks, “All clear?”
I check behind me again just in case. “Come on in.”
Taking each step with caution, he stops just inside the door. “How is she?”
“She’ll be fine.”
He sets his briefcase down and walks into the living room at the same time as Tuesday arrives dressed in black pants with the same shirt still on. “Well, this is embarrassing,” he says. He’s great about taking the spotlight off others when they don’t want it.
She smiles, reaching out her hand. “You’re telling me,” she replies with a laugh as they greet each other.
“The Westcott Law logo is a nice touch.” I grew up going to court and watching him interrogate the prosecutors’ witnesses and his opponents on the stand. He reads people well. It’s a skill I inherited from him. He knows how to read a room as well. Nothing he does goes without careful consideration, so seeing him being lighthearted and approachable with her reminds me again how lucky I am to have him as my dad.
