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Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I looked at my father.
“Daddy?” I wasn’t even sure why I called out to my father like I did. Questioning him, as if he could read the questions in my mind.
Giving me a slight grin, he looked around. “Take a deep breath, baby girl, everything is okay. Shall we go get that pizza before it gets too late?”
My mother reached for my hand and gave it a light squeeze. Pulling my eyes from my father, I attempted to smile. “Um . . . sure. Antonio’s?”
Ellie flashed me a sweet smile as she walked by and over to Colt. Slipping her arm around his, she began to talk. “So, I want to hear all about how school is going this semester. Will you drive with your father and I over to the pizza place?”
I took a step back as my mother walked toward the front door behind Ellie. “Lauren, you can drive with your father and I. I hardly got to see you at all the last three days.
Oh God. They were separating us. Why? Shaking my head, I pulled my hand from hers. “What’s going on? Why did you take Colt outside, Daddy? Why is everyone acting so strange?”
My father looked at me and smiled. “Everything is fine, Lauren. Colt’s parents’ just want to spend time with him like we want to spend time with you, darling. Everything is okay.”
My blue eyes found Colt’s. He quickly made his way over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. The warmth of his touch calmed me instantly and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He moved his lips to my ears. “I promise you, sweetheart. Everything is fine. I love you, Lauren.”
Pulling his head back just enough to look at me, I whispered, “Okay. I love you too, Colt.”
Kissing me softly on the cheek, Colt made his way out the door, followed by his parents and my mother. Giving my father a fake smile, I walked toward the kitchen. “I better get my purse so I—”
Taking my hand, my father stopped me. “Lauren Ashley, stop for one second and look at me.”
For some reason, I was afraid to turn around and look at my own father. I wasn’t sure why. It was so quiet I could hear my heart beating in my ears. Slowly turning around, I looked up into my father’s eyes. He gazed back upon me with nothing but love. “I simply asked him to take care of you.” My father’s voice cracked and he quickly cleared it before he continued talking. “Protect you, because you are the most important thing in the world to me. My heart belonged to you the moment I first looked into your eyes. You are my life, Lauren. It’s hard for me to just give that to someone else, even if that someone else is like a son to me.”
My lower lip trembled as I listened to my father talk. His mouth rose in a half smile as he looked at me. “Seeing the two of you on the dance floor earlier this morning, I saw something change. The way Colt looked at you is the way I see Gunner look at Ellie.” Glancing to the floor, he barely spoke above a whisper. “I hope it’s the way people see me look at your mother.”
My heart hammered in my chest. To hear my father say that Colt looked at me like he looked at my mother brought tears to my eyes. “Daddy,” I whispered as I threw myself into his arms. He held me tight as I cried. “Daddy, I’m so scared.”
“Why, baby girl? Please tell me why.”
“Is it possible to realize in one day how powerful your love is for someone? Daddy, my heart aches for him to just hold me in his arms. His touch calmed me down almost in an instant just now.”
I wasn’t sure this was what my father wanted to hear from my lips, but it was true. Colt’s touch had calmed my nerves and that scared me.
Pulling back, I had to catch my breath. I’d never seen my father cry. One lone tear slowly moved down his cheek. “Oh, Lauren, I wish I had answers for you. Love is such a crazy thing. Do I think it’s bad that Colt makes you feel safe? No, absolutely not. The person you are in love with should make you feel safe. Being in their arms should be the safest place in the world, Lauren.”
“Was it like that with you and Mom? Was she your everything, Daddy?”
Placing his hand on the side of my face, he slowly nodded his head. “She still is, Lauren.”
Grinning until my cheeks hurt, I took a step back. “I’m glad you didn’t kill him, Daddy. Because I really love him.”
Laughing, my father rubbed his hand on the top of my head. “Don’t think the thought didn’t cross my mind.”
Draping his arm around my shoulder, my father led me to the front door. “Come on. I’ll treat for dinner.”
Walking outside with my father, I’d never felt so happy in my life. For once everything seemed to be perfect.
THE ENTIRE TIME we sat at the restaurant and ate pizza, I couldn’t push the image of Lauren wrapped around my body out of my mind. I could see the lust in her eyes, and I was dying to know what she was going to say to me before the onslaught of parents showed up at our door.
Glancing across the table, I watched as Lauren talked her father’s ear off about an idea she had for his breeding business. I knew how much she loved her family’s business, and I was glad she shared her fears with me and the reasons why she had been pushing me away.
Scott caught my stare and I smiled politely. When he walked up and took my arm back at the house and said he needed to speak to me outside, I thought for sure I was dead. I felt better when my dad followed behind me.
“So, Colt, tell me all about what’s going on in your world. I feel like I hardly get to talk to you anymore.”
Turning to my mother, I couldn’t help but smile bigger. My mother was breathtaking. An older version of my sister, Alex. Her blue eyes seemed to have a sparkle to them always. My father loved my mother with his whole heart. I can remember Alex and I sitting at the top of the stairs many a time, watching my father swoon my mother with something as simple as a dance in the living room. The way she would look at him is what I longed for with Lauren. I saw it today when we made love for the first time. I’d do whatever I could to see that look as much as possible.
