Page 160 of The Twisted Beats

“I just saw Brendan and the gorgeous woman he’s…seeing.”

Greg stops what he’s doing and leans back in his chair. “He’s not dating anyone.”

“Then maybe she’s just a friend he’s into.”

“There was a woman here for Brendan?”

“Yeah, I’d say she was in her mid-twenties.”

“He didn’t tell me a woman was coming over.” Greg peers toward the side of the house. “What did she look like?”

I release a trapped puff of desire from my lungs. “She was absolutely breathtaking, with the most amazing…beautiful eyes.”

“That’s not much to go on.” Greg’s gaze narrows. “What else?”

Oh, we must be breaking the ice with this conversation.

I expand into some relaxed guy talk. Not that I know much about that.

I picture her so I can better describe her. “She had a smoking body. A nice hourglass shape. She was short and wildly sexy. Like a hot chick on a poster, kind of attractive.”

Greg’s jaw tightens and his face grows red. “Did thiswomanhappen to have blue hair?”

I get a sinking feeling in my gut. “Yeah. Why?”

“That was my sixteen-year-old daughter.” He glares across the table like he’s about to rip me apart. “Watch yourself, Jaxon.”

My stomach free-falls and the lawn tilts.

“Whoa, Greg. That can’t be. The woman I saw was about my age. There’s no way that was your sixteen-year-old daughter. I’m not into girls. The woman Brendan was with was at least twenty-five.”

Greg takes a deep breath and purposely relaxes his tense muscles. “Sorry, Jaxon, but I hate to break it to you. That was indeed Livianna. You described her to a tee.”

My chest caves in as my cheeks burn. “No fucking way was that your daughter. I would stake my life on it.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He squeezes his eyes shut and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Sorry I snapped at you, but it’s been a long, difficult summer with her.”

“No, I apologize for speaking like that about your daughter.” I almost gag knowing I was attracted to a sixteen-year-old girl. My stomach roils. “I had no idea.”

“Don’t worry. Everyone thinks she’s older than she is.” He groans. “Even she does. She thinks she’s an adult and acts like one. I can only imagine what she did to taunt you.”

“She only winked and…” My insides twist. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. I know better now.”

“Yeah, for a minute there, I was about to murder you. Then I remembered who I’m dealing with.” Something behind me catches his gaze. “Speak of the little devil herself.”

I twist in my seat to see Livianna swaying in our direction with an innocent smile spread across her face. Her sunglasses are off and her eyes shine with mischief.

“Hi, Daddy.” She dips her head at me. “Mr. Crowne, nice to see you again.”

I clear my throat, face Greg, and ignore her. He can’t think I’m checking out his underage daughter.

She pulls out a chair between us, sits, and rests her chin in her hands as she gazes lovingly into her dad’s eyes. “Daddy, Bren and I are going shopping and I remembered my credit card doesn’t have enough room left on it. Can I get yours?”

“Why don’t you have enough, Livianna? What do you need that would cost more than you’re allotted to spend?” He studies her.

“A jacket for the winter, shoes, clothes, and makeup. I need to stock up on all the new fall items. I cleaned my closet out after I”—she adjusts her top, purposely jiggling her breasts—“grew out of everything.”

I have to look away. Her dad doesn’t say anything, so I return to face them. He’s staring at her like he’s scolding her, but she just holds steady with a grin beaming his way.