AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Where the hell have you been?” My father’s voice booms almost as loudly as the rolling thunder outside.
Although I was expecting him to be waiting, I’m still startled. “Jesus, Dad!” I cry, holding my palm over my chest. Then I remember that I’m not decent enough to be in front of him with my shirt wetly clinging to me. Quickly, I cross my arms. “I thought you went out somewhere.”
He’s sitting on the couch in the living room, a beer in his hand. “I did go somewhere. To the store.” He digs his fingers into his eye sockets, and suddenly, he seems so tired. “We were out of milk and I know you like it for your cereal.”
“I could have just eaten something else,” I say, realizing this was his way of apologizing.
“But you love cereal for breakfast.” He lifts his weary gaze to me. “I saw you through the camera. Where did you go?”
For a moment, I consider lying. But I can’t bring myself to do that to him. “Noah came by. We went for a walk.”
“In the rain? Dressed like that?” He lifts his beer and points it at me. “After I forbade you to see him.”
“I really like him.”
His shoulders slump in defeat. “Why? Why him?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.” We stare at each other for a long while.
“Let’s make a deal,” he finally says.
Uh-oh. Deals are always tricky with this man. “What?”
“I’m going to run a background check on him. If he’s clean, I’ll shut my mouth and you can do whatever the hell you want with him. Fall in love. Marry the man. I’ll keep my opinion to myself. But”—he raises a finger when he notices my excitement—“if he’s got something shady, even the slightest ding—a fucking DUI, a parking ticket, I don’t care—you’re done with him.”
Instantly, my mind goes to the background check I tried to perform myself. The one that didn’t produce a single thing. And the cut on his temple, the fight he was in, the fact that I myself can sense there’s more to him than being a consultant.
All I can do is hope that whatever trouble Noah is, it isn’t the really bad kind.
“Okay,” I say to my father.
It doesn’t matter what he finds. I have no intention of giving Noah up.
* * *
At five minutes to seven, I head downstairs. Though I’ve been ready for half an hour, I was hesitant to leave my room.
Dad knows I’m going on a date with Noah. He’s not happy about it, but he’s a man of his word, and until he gets the background check he requested, he’ll keep his opinions to himself.
At least, that’s what he said.
When I come down, however, his opinion is loudly written in his blue gaze. He’s in the foyer, dressed to the nines in a black Armani tux, ready for an art auction in Newark. An event he should have already left for but is obviously waiting for me to go first.
I step up to him and smooth down his lapel. “You’re dashing, Dad. Every woman in the place will have her sights set on you.”
He moves away from me and goes to the mirror that hangs over the table in the foyer to adjust his bowtie. “Where is he taking you?”
“Dinner,” I say, disappointed at his aloofness, but not entirely surprised.
“What time will you be back?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe not until the morning.”
His lips pull tight and he glances at me through the mirror. “I’d like his address then.”
“You’ve never asked for anyone’s address before,” I argue.
“I’ve never been concerned about your safety.”
