Not only did the bedroom door not have a lock, when Laurel was younger, she used to sneak into bed with him and her mother in the middle of the night. Of course, it had been years, but no way would he risk getting caught jerking off.
He closed his eyes again, slowed his breathing, cleared his perverted thoughts, and willed himself to sleep. When that didn’t work, he jackknifed straight up, shoved off the covers, rolled to his feet, and yanked on a pair of cotton shorts he kept within reach.
Cracking open the bedroom door, he peered out to see the glow of Laurel’s cell phone lighting up her face.
Of course.Probably watching TikTok or texting her friends.
He opened the door wider and quietly padded out to the pull-out bed to sit on the edge.
The second his ass met the mattress, the phone went dark and so did the room.Shit.
“Hey, Dad, what’s up? Is something wrong?”
“No, I need to talk to you about something, but we need a little bit of light first.” Trying to read his daughter’s emotions in the dark would be impossible. He reached over and switched on the small lamp on the side table, giving the room a soft glow.
“Is this something about Nolan?”
“Sort of. Yes.” He squeezed her blanket-covered knee. “I want to be completely honest with you about our situation.”
Her brow furrowed. “Situation?”
“With Hope.”
“Okay?”
He thought she was catching on earlier at the lodge, but maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe he should’ve let this whole thing lie. “I figured you suspected something.”
“Well, I mean, she walked right into your cabin without knocking. I guess friends do that, but honestly, the way she looked at you, Dad, made me wonder why Nolan went home with her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Her camaraderie with you seems to be completely natural. She was faking nothing. Not the warm look in her eyes and certainly not the way she smiled at you. I also noticed how much she touched both you and Nolan. And all three of you were comfortable with it. The only thing I found odd was how, when she touched one of you, the other showed no signs of jealousy. That made me believe you were all just close friends.”
“How are you so smart?”
“Your blood fills my veins. And Mom’s, too, of course. She’s pretty freaking smart.”
“That it does. And yes she is.”
“Dad, you were also a great cop and taught me to be observant.”
“That I did.”Jesus, he was proud of her earlier, now that pride was shining like a light beam shooting straight out of his chest.
“Are you about to tell me that you’re more than friends?”
“That I am.”
She blinked, then worried on her bottom lip. “Like friends with benefits or somethingmore?”
“Right now, I’d say friends with benefits fits the bill, but she’s not seeing anyone else.”
“Except Nolan. Why else would he go over to her house and still be out at”—she unlocked her phone and glanced at the time—“midnight?”
“Movies and ice cream?” he teased.
She pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes. “Dad, please. You just called me smart. What you’re saying is Hope is sharing those friendly benefits with both you and Nolan?”
“Well,”—he scraped a hand down his bearded cheek—“yes.” He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation with his daughter.
