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“Rebecca.”
“Father,” I replied tersely. “I came, just like you demanded.”
He sneered at me. “Yes, and you caused trouble the moment you could. Don’t start with me.”
Jaime’s warm presence at my back both comforted me and made me nervous. I didn’t want to draw my father’s attention to him. He didn’t say anything like I expected him to. He just placed his palm on my lower back and reassured me that I wasn’t alone.
“Are you leaving then?”
Confusion swam through my system. He didn’t sound put out about it. It was more conversational and when I nodded, he didn’t argue with me.
“Drive safe. We’ll talk soon.”
He walked away without another word, heading towards the table with my sister. I figured he wouldn’t want to start anything while we were here, not in front of all these people, but I didn’t think he would let me go without putting up at least a little bit of a fight. I wasn’t naive enough to think it was over and he was letting me go so it was strange that he just walked away.
When I glanced at Jaime, he was frowning at my father’s back. He must be thinking the same thing as me.
“That can’t be it.”
He shifted his gaze to me, his brow furrowed. “No. I don’t think that’s it but I think to avoid losing face in front of his guests, he might be willing to wait it out.” A muscle twitched in his face, that wasn’t everything he was thinking and I was almost afraid to ask. Pulling out his phone, he shot out a text before tipping his head towards the dance floor.
“One dance. Then we’ll go. Yeah?”
I’d wanted to run the minute I showed up here but I found myself following Jaime onto the dance floor, letting him sweep me into his arms as the slow song started. I searched his eyes, trying to get a clue as to what he was thinking.
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “What?”
Pursing my lips, I studied him. “I don’t know. You’re the expert here, I guess I’m just waiting for some kind of clue on what’s happening.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Right now? We’re dancing. Don’t worry about it. I just don’t want him to think you talking to him is enough to send you running for the hills. We’re showing him that we’ll only leave on our terms. It’s a power play.”
Something about that bothered me. I understood the premise, not letting my father push me around was the whole point to this, but I didn’t like presenting anything I did with Jaime as an image. He makes me happy, we should be able to dance together without it needing to mean something.
Tugging me closer, he rested his cheek against my temple. “I can see you overthinking, Bex. What aren’t you saying?”
Sighing, I shook my head. “Nothing. I just want this thing to be over. I’d rather be at home with you watching TV.”
He scowled. “I know, we’re missing the new episode of Survivor.”
The statement was completely out of nowhere and I couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re in enemy territory forced to play nice with assholes and you’re thinking about missing out on Survivor?”
He grinned. “Yes. We made a bet that Mark was going to be voted off tonight. You’re about to owe me five bucks.”
Rolling my eyes, I leaned my head against him. “You’re incorrigible.”
He cuddled me closer, keeping his voice low. “You like it.”
I hummed my agreement. I didn’t just like it, I loved it, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. It’d only encourage him and he’s already hard to manage. Instead, I kept my eyes closed and let him rock us slowly until the song ended. He cupped my cheek, stroking it with his thumb, and brushed his lips against mine for just a hint of a second before pulling away.
After a quick glance at his phone, he tipped his head towards the door. “Come on, let’s get out of here. We’ve got better things we could be doing.”
I smirked at the suggestive tone, following him as he pulled me towards the door. We stopped in the bridal suite long enough to grab my stuff before heading outside. The flurries had stopped, thank goodness, and Jaime blasted the heat once we were in the car. I let out a heavy sigh, sinking back in the seat as he headed back towards home.
“Thank you. For coming today. You weren’t obligated and it means a lot.”
The corner of his mouth ticked up and he kissed the back of my hand before releasing me, both hands on the wheel like he knew I preferred.
“I’ll always be there for you, Bex. I promised to protect you.”
