AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m here now.”
“So I see. And where were you when I needed you? You have another Jamie in another city you went to play games with?”
I clench my jaw, drawing a deep breath through my nose. I’m tempted to simply grab her, sling her over my shoulder, spank her ass for being bratty and march her out of here. “You see my face?” I say, trying to stay calm, but there’s only so much I can take. “You think I flew off to Brazil for a little rejuvenation and hung out for a year drinking fucking pina coladas?”
She folds her arms over her chest, but not before I notice the twin points poking through her white shirt. “So, what happened?”
“Come with me. It’s a long story.”
“I have to stay until closing.” She glares.
And I’m done.
“Everybody out,” I grunt. And when only a few people start moving I raise my voice. “Rightfucking now. We’re closed.”
“You can’t do that.” Hannah crinkles her nose, shaking her head.
“I can do what the fuck I want, even if I have to buy this place. You need me to do that, or are we going to go back to yours?”
She taps her foot on the sticky laminate floor as I give every person in the room a look, sending them toward the door.
When the place is empty, I grab her around the waist and sling her over my shoulder, walking us out and she finally concedes. “Fine. I’ll drive, you follow.”
* * *
Hannah
Dietrich doesn’t seem to notice the bassinet in the corner and the rack of drying bottles on the counter by the sink. I’m relieved.
I’m lost in a whirlwind of emotion and confusion as I look at the man sitting in front of me at the table.
His face is a twisted mess of scars and pain but his eyes… Oh, God, they are my Daddy’s eyes, there’s no denying that.
“We need to be quiet.” I nod toward the front of the house where the stairs lead to the bedroom. “The baby is sleeping with Brigid.”
“I guess I missed a lot while I was away.”
“I concur.” I leave it at that as the tingle in my nipples tells me I’m still in love with this man.
“Where’s your father?” he asks, looking around at the boxes in various stages of packing.
“Doing two to five. I don’t want to talk about that.”
Dietrich slides his hand behind my neck, resting his forehead on mine and releases an uneven breath, but I’m still hurting.
“I needed you and you weren’t here.”
“That will never happen again.” He raises his head, his eyes full of sorrow. “I didn’t wake up for three months. Then it was another eight before I remembered anything. I left to keep you safe. To secure a future forus. For you. I had to go and I was going to come right back.”
“Things are different now.”
“Nothing’s fucking different. Not with us.” His lips are on my neck and my resolve is weakening. “Daddy would never leave you. Not by choice.”
“You mean that?”
“You’re my special girl.” His blue eyes rove over me as I run my palm upward, trying to cover the black and blue mark before he sees.
Those words send a jolt of heat over my skin as my throat tightens and Dietrich pulls something out of his front pocket, turning up his hand to reveal the most incredible ruby ring I’ve ever seen. My mouth hangs open as my legs start to shake.
