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I knew I should, but there was this pull holding me there, keeping my feet from moving.
One foot at a time, I eased myself toward the hall. I was like fighting gravity. Like the universe knew something I didn’t.
Maybe one day, I’d find out what.
But not that day.
Chapter Four
BISHOP
In just a few days, I’d be saying goodbye to Calli again, the week having moved much quicker than I anticipated.
Watching her leave for college had almost fucking killed me, but she’d only just come home, and now I was going to have to sit back as she went on her next adventure, even if it was just for a few months.
I don’t think I’d ever stop worrying about Calli. She was my everything. My world. And the only thing I had left of her mom.
The thing was, though, I’d also raised Calli. I taught her how to protect herself and fight. She was strong as hell, so I needed to have faith in that.
In her.
“We’re heading out,” Calli announced loudly from across the bar.
Backroad was the club’s sports bar. It had only just opened for the night, so it was still reasonably quiet, hence why I was sitting at a booth in the far corner, attempting to go through a pile of supply orders.
Calli practically danced across the floor toward me, but my eyes were drawn directly to Shay, who reluctantly followed her. My gaze lingered a little too long on the skintight, emerald green dress she was wearing, and it didn’t go unnoticed.
“Not a word,” Shay warned, eyes narrowed as she pulled at the hem.
I couldn’t help the smirk that curled at the corner of my mouth, knowing that Calli had forced this on her, probably with some sweet talk and fluttering lashes. I taught my daughter to be strong-willed, but I didn’t plan for how she would use that strong will against me and my brothers as she got older. “It’s different,” I said with a shrug.
Calli threw her hands in the air, cursing under her breath.
“That’s it, I’m changing out of this. I’ll wear jeans or something,” Shay insisted, turning on her heel, ready to make a speedy escape, but Calli was too quick, wrapping her arm around Shay’s waist and smoothly directing her back to the table.
“You’re not changing because you look fucking sexy,” Calli enunciated very slowly and sternly before hitting me with a hard glare. “Right?”
Gritting my teeth, I once again took Shay in, admiring how the dress hugged her curves. It was so smooth, sleek, and rounded in the right areas. And the color complemented her rich, auburn hair.
Jesus Christ.
“Different doesn’t mean bad,” I explained with a casual nod. “It looks real good on you.”
Calli was satisfied with my answer and turned to Shay with a wide smile. “See? You look hot. Okay? I’m just gonna run to Dad’s office and grab my coat.”
Shay watched Calli walk away before she finally let out a heavy sigh. “We all know I tend to aim for comfort, like my scrubs or an old pair of jeans. This just makes me feel so strange and awkward,” Shay explained, once again tugging at different parts of the dress. “Thanks for humoring her and saying I looked good.”
She did look good.
She looked so fucking good that I was actually considering being a total asshole and feeding into her insecurity in the hopes she would go and change. That way, I didn’t have to think about the bastards who were surely going to be trying to get that dress off her later in the night and wonder why the idea of one of them touching her made me so damn irritable.
But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bring Shay down just because my self-control when it came to the damn woman was almost nonexistent.
“I wasn’t humoring anyone,” I answered, folding my arms across my chest and leaning back into the seat. “Believe it or not, I don’t spend my time lying to keep people’s precious feelings from being hurt. If I said it, I meant it.”
A blush raced across her cheeks, and she swallowed hard, drawing my attention to her throat. “Than—”
“Ready?” Calli called, waving her toward the exit. Shay backed away, pressing her lips together for a moment as if she wanted to say something. “Shay, come on!”
