What my daddoesn’tknow is the only thing protecting Michael Cummings, my godfather, and Loch Waring, my boyfriend, from death by dismemberment.
Is my dad completely unreasonable about my adult sex life? Yes. Does he care? Like the devil does for the souls he claims.
“Yeah, for a couple of days,” I answer easily. “What are you doing here?”
He glances up at the menu board. “Just got out of court. I’m picking up sandwiches for my office. You?”
Michael Cummings is a top lawyer in Charleston, but tell that to his style. Killer tailored suits. Dark cryptic ink. He has lions tattooed on his right thigh.What is it with men and lions?His dark, styled hair and beard make his blue-eyed glare glacial.
But he’s always warm toward me.
All my dad’s friends are.
Pastor Sire Rutledge: My dad met him in juvie. Nick Barinov, the famous NFL player: My dad does his taxes. Even Jace and Grant, the brothers who work at Delta’s: My dad met them at his gym. And Michael: Dad said they met at the local college.
I gotta admit, they’re the hottest group of men I’ve ever seen, and they treat me like a princess. Worse, like I’m kryptonite.
If they weren’t friends with my beastly father, they’d be dateable. But none have ever raised an interested eyebrow at me.
It’s been kind of sweet and an ego punch. I used to think it was me. That I was too nerdy or curvy. That I wasn’t pretty enough for a man. Not even Michael, my godfather.
He wasn’t attracted to me. He took pity on me but hid it so well.
But nowadays, I’m finally loving myself. Iamhot. Ilovemy curves. I feel so beautiful when Loch grabs my hips; he can’t keep his hands off me.
“I’m in love.” Why I feel like I should tell Michael, I don’t know, but I smile, confiding, “You’ll approve of him; I promise.”
Coolly, he asks, “Who is he?”
“A sweet guy at work,” I assure, but he narrows his eyes so protectively, I keep going. “Don’t tell my dad. My boyfriend is telling him. That whole man-to-man thing, so promise me you won’t say anything.”
Michael drags in two furious breaths while I watch it dawn over his stunning blue eyes.Huh. Eyes that suddenly remind me of Loch’s.Guess they’re not such a rare trait.
Michael’s realizing he and my boyfriend share something in common: my dad’s wrath for them touching me.
Okay, fucking me.
And though I dread Dad’s reaction to Loch. It chills me to the bone what my dad will do if he ever finds out about me and his best friend.
“Alena, I won’t tell him.” Michael’s face softens. “You deserve love, and I’ll make sure your dad doesn’t kill your boyfriend. Just be prepared if he ever finds out about me and you and?—”
“I know.” I want to touch Michael’s arm, like a friend assuring him, but I crossed that line once and never again. “I promise. Besides, it’s been years, and now I’m in love, and you’ll find love too. Deep down, you’re a softie, you just gotta let a woman see it.”
Shortly after my night with Michael, he met his first wife. A blonde Russian bombshell who seemed perfect for him. They had a whirlwind romance, a lavish wedding—I was there and happy for him—but then, there was a sudden, shocking divorce. She left him. Overnight. Clueless. And angry at everyone.
Except me.
Michael’s always kind to me.
“Don’t worry; I’m fine.” He tries to smile, but it doesn’t come easily. Logical. Lawful. Lethal. That’s my godfather’s default. “Just promise me this man treats you like a fucking queen, or I’ll kill him myself.”
“Like a queen?” I laugh. “One who gets dirt under her nails, raccoon eyes from her mascara, and ticks in her hair? Yeah. I’m a royal mess alright.”
“Alena, you’re beautiful,” he whispers, again with echoes of Loch that almost unnerve me. “You’re strong, smart, kind, and a fucking badass.That’sa queen. I heard what you did, rescuing that woman. Your dad’s proud, and so am I.”
But Michael was never like my father.
He’s never felt like my soulmate either.
