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“Yeah, I do, Sunflower. Liam will get over it, just like you got over him with your best friend. He didn’t ask your permission there, I assume.” She shakes her head, turning red. “My dad only wants you happy, and he knows I would never hurt you. And Jagger… Jagger knows how I feel.”
“H-how?” Her eyes are the size of dinner plates at that scrap of information. I chuckle and shake my head.
“Later. Right now, I have to get to the office, and you need to get ready for class. Will is in the garage waiting to drive you.”
“Graham, that’s not necessary. I can catch a cab.”
“Just do this for me, Casey. It will make me feel better. I’ll explain more later, okay?”
She nods as I peck her lips, then force myself to step back. I smooth my tie, taking another second to appreciate the sight before me, then head for the door. Before I exit the apartment, I indulge in one final peek. “See you tonight, Sunflower.” I wink and walk out the door.
Casey
The damn cat is a traitor. Like I wasn’t the one taking care of her fleabag ass for months, and what thanks do I get? She took a shit on my pillow.”
My hand flies up, covering my mouth as I choke on the bite of strawberry and granola parfait Dad had waiting for me when I got to his office this morning. He’s been on about Lily’s cat for fifteen minutes, and I haven’t stopped laughing. It feels good to laugh.
“It sounds like she’s pretty loyal to me, Dad.” I shovel another bite into my mouth to hide my grin. “Lily is the one who claimed her.”
He lifts a finger, pointing at me with narrowed eyes, though his mouth twitches. “You are a traitor, too.”
And that’s all it takes to kill my mood because he’s right. I am a traitor. It’s been a week, and sneaking around with Graham is eating a hole in my stomach.
I promised my dad a long time ago that I would avoid Graham, but Dad didn’t know the truth, only the lie I twisted.
But as much as I hate the idea of disappointing my dad, Graham is all I’ve ever wanted. The fairy tale I always dreamed of, however twisted and taboo.
Which leads me to my other dilemma. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to handle the looks and the gossip being with him willcause. At sixteen, I didn’t consider it, but I’m not that girl now, and the fear it causes grips me.
Technically, I’m a nobody. But I’m a nobody who’s linked to well-known people. There’s no getting around being talked about. And I know how superficial it makes me sound, but I swear it’s not like that. I don’t want to care what people say or think. I’m not trying to win a popularity contest. In fact, I want to stay under the radar. All the attention people crave—the accolades and praise they seek—I don’t want it. I’ve only ever wanted to be seen by one person, and now that I am, I’m drowning in fear that being seen by him will cause everyone else to look too.
“Where’d you go, Case?” Dad’s voice breaks me out of the spiraling thoughts.
The massive decorative clock hanging behind him—no doubt Lily’s attempt to make the office look less clinical—ticks. The second hand creates a lulling rhythm as I collect my thoughts. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him the truth.
Of course, I chicken out, but not completely. Instead, as I swirl my spoon in the crunchy pink mixture, I tuck my legs into the chair, making myself as small as possible, I decide on something else. “Dad, can I ask you a hypothetical question?”
“You can ask me anything, Case.”
“But will you answer?”
His lips roll between his teeth, hiding his grin. The grind of his rolling desk chair as he shoves himself away sounds through the space. Long legs eat the space separating us as he walks around his large desk and leans in front of it. If not for the adequate distance between us, I’d break my neck looking up at his six-and-a-half-foot tall frame.
In case you’re wondering where my height came from, blamehim. I do.
He drags a hand over his scruffy face, then crosses his arms over his chest, turning those eyes a few shades lighter than mine on me. “Spit it out, Case. You’ll never know if you don’t ask.”
I take a breath, tucking my feet under me a little tighter, then pull my shoulders back like he expects. “If…” I exhale hard, trying to figure out how to ask without sounding like a brat or making him suspicious. “I know you and Lily were a thing before we met. I get that now.” I don’t add that he should’ve told me anyway, considering I’m now in his shoes. “But if you’d met her when I did, would you have asked me if I was okay with it?” He drags his hand through his hair, giving me a pleading look, and it’s all the answer I need. “Got it,” I say, trying to keep the anger out of my voice because it’s hypocritical to be upset.
He sighs, sinking further into his stance. “Casey, let’s play this out. If I’d met her when you did, I wouldn’t have said anything for the same reason I never told you about any of the women I dated before Lily. There’s no point in mentioning everyone before you know where it’s going, even if that person is your friend. Especially if it’s your friend. Once I knew, and considering everything I now know, I’d like to think I would’ve told you, but if I had and you told me not to see her, what would’ve happened?” My shoulder lifts, but otherwise, I stay quiet. Dad smiles at me, his posture relaxing a bit. “Either we would’ve been miserable by denying what we felt for your sake, we would’ve snuck around to protect you, or we would’ve told you we didn’t care what you thought. None of those are great places to be in. This with Lily and I was going to be complicated no matter what.”
Complicated. That I understand. I just wish any of that helped me know what to do. Because it feels like Graham and I bypassed complicated the moment he took my virginity. “I would neverwant you miserable.”
“Right back at ya, kiddo.” He winks.
“How did you do it? Keep it a secret for so long?” I swallow hard, immediately regretting the question that passed my lips, but knowing it’s too late to take it back.
His eyes narrow, and the muscles in his jaw clench. “What’s with the questions, Case?” My eyes dart away, finding the partition wall dividing his desk from a sitting area by the window suddenly fascinating.
