Tim held up a hand. “Uhm, Mr. Taggart, sir, I would like to point out that I was not around when Dr. Huisman called and I’m working on figuring out how he got the number since Ben has a phone I personally programmed. I’ll talk to Lou and see if we can figure it out.”
“No, you weren’t.” Taggart’s tone was flat and icy. “You were holed up with two underaged girls.”
Tim’s eyes went wide. “They aren’t. I mean…they told me they’re twenty-three. That’s not underaged. Shit. Is that underaged in Europe? Is it like the opposite of beer? Here you can drink legally at eighteen. But maybe they don’t like sex.” Tim went beet red. “Not that we had sex. We have not. We were playing Uno and eating pizza. I know the room is for sex and stuff, but I was just having friendship.”
“Did you wear a condom?” Big Tag asked, every word frosty.
Tim’s head shook. “No. I mean yes. I mean I didn’t need to because I wasn’t having a three way. I was getting my ass handed to me, and I think they cheat. But the point is I didn’t need a condom. Ineed an antacid because they over-sauced those pies. They are not sitting well.”
“You may go,” Taggart commanded.
Tim frowned. “Uh, I thought this was an important meeting.”
“It is. I’m going to talk to your friend. Do you want me to lump you in with him?” Taggart’s words were a grumbly threat.
“No.”
But an effective one. Did he want Tim to watch these men tell him he wasn’t good enough for their princess? “You should go.”
Tim hesitated.
Ben turned his way. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”
Tim stood up. “I seriously doubt that. Are you sure? They look mad.”
He’d hurt Kenzie. He hadn’t meant to. Not physically. Hell, he hadn’t meant to hurt her heart. He hadn’t meant for any of this to happen, but he was the dumbass who fell for everything. Who thought just once he might find a family that wouldn’t leave him. “I’ll be fine, but we might need another place to stay for the night.”
“No one’s kicking you out,” Taggart said.
But he might want to leave. He watched as Tim walked away. When the door closed, he sat up straighter, all those judgmental eyes on him. “Mr. Taggart, I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with your daughter. I owe her an apology.”
“For what?”
Shit. He’d hoped the man already knew. “I gripped her wrist too hard.”
“That sometimes happens when you play. I assure you Kenzie isn’t going to blame you for that.”
“We weren’t playing. We were arguing, and I did not mean to hurt her,” he admitted.
Taggart sat back, his gaze glacial. Those blue eyes could go cold so fast. “Let me see if I can get the timing right. You fucked my daughter. She says something that disturbs you. Then while she’s scrambling to try to make you feel better about rejecting her, your boyfriend calls.”
So he did know and this was torture. “That’s insulting, Ian. You know what he’s done to me.”
“Which is why you probably shouldn’t take his fucking calls.” Taggart took a long breath and seemed to calm down. “I’m sorry. Ipromised Kenz I wouldn’t rip you up, but it’s hard. She’s my daughter.”
“Which is probably why you shouldn’t send her out to spy and potentially get killed.” Ben couldn’t help it.
Taggart’s eyes rolled. “Come back when you have a stubborn, brave daughter and we’ll talk.”
He wouldn’t have a daughter. Not one who would someday dye her hair pink like her mom had. Not a daughter or a son. “We both know that’s not happening for me.”
Cooper’s blank expression softened slightly. “Why would you say that? Unless you don’t want kids.”
“Which is a perfectly reasonable thing to do,” Ollie said and then put up a hand as though defending himself. “Not me, of course. I have a family name to uphold. I shall marry someday and have at least one of those little nippers.”
“I don’t think Ben doesn’t want kids.” TJ was studying him carefully. He was the calmest of them all, the one most likely to say “hey guys, we probably shouldn’t kill him.” “I think Ben doesn’t think he’ll live long enough to have them.”
“Yeah, he’s got a death wish,” Taggart said with a long-suffering sigh. “Can any of my daughters find a man without a fucking shit ton of trauma?” He then seemed to remember Cooper was sitting right there. “Sorry, buddy. You really are the dream.”
