“Don’t bother. I can see myself home.” She spins on her toes, walking back upstairs in a huff.
I turn to Kane. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting—”
“It’s fine.” His lips press into a hard line, but try to curve as he looks at me as if trying to reassure me that everything’s fine, even though this is the most awkward I’ve been since getting caught with my foster brother.
I stand dripping in the middle of his kitchen. My Converse toeing a broken tile on the floor as I stare intently at the quarry style flooring. Anything but look him in the eye. Following the cracks in the floor, his bare feet come into view. My gaze wanders over the tight black jeans and back to the serpent. He’s intense. Scrutinising my every move.
The dog circles me, licking at the wet drips on the floor.
“Belle. Basket.” He snaps his fingers with commanding authority, then leans back against the worktop. “Do you want a drink? Something to eat?”
I nod. “Water, please.”
He fills a glass from the tap and rifles through the cupboards. “Packet of crisps?”
I take the water and the salt and vinegar he’s offering, then sit at the table, wiping my clammy palms against my denim clad thighs.
2
KANE
Violet unzips her hoodie, revealing a tight off-white vest that looks far too small for her bust spilling over the top. Her ample stomach hangs over the button on her tight jeans and damn, she looks just like her mother—delicious. A perfect midnight snack. I swallow before my mouth waters at the ghost in my kitchen and shake the thoughts from my head before my cock gets any ideas.
Alison, her mother, would rip my balls off if she saw me looking at her daughter this way. She’s not here, but Violet is, and damn, she reminds me so much of her. My heart roars like the old Jaguar in my garage has been given a new engine.
Lillian appears back in the kitchen. I’d forgotten she was here. She gives Violet a slanted glare.
Seeing Lilly’s jealous streak makes me huff out a laugh. “It’s not what you think, Lil.”
She flicks her gaze to me, her long black glossy hair swishes over her shoulder.
“She’s my ex’s kid.” I pull a set of keys from the cupboard.
Violet pulls her eyebrows together, tilting her head.
I hold the keys out to Lilly. “You wanna take the truck? I’ll pick it up tomorrow.”
“Shane’s picking me up.” Her heels click against the tiles as she makes her way to the door, throwing her purse over her shoulder.
I turn my attention back to Violet. Blue and purple streaks flow through her long hair, but there’s no denying she’s her mother’s daughter. I can’t get over the resemblance. Peering into her hazel irises takes me back twenty years.
A car drives up the gravel path, headlights shining through the kitchen window, then the door shuts. Lillian leaves without a goodbye. She’s used to my moods. She’ll understand. Shane will make sure she’s safe.
“I’m sorry I ruined your date.” A hint of a smile highlights a cheeky dimple. She’s not sorry at all.
“I told you it’s fine.” I reach for the whiskey and grab a glass from the sink. “Want one?”
She nods. I grab another glass and pause, trying to do the math, wondering how old she is. She drove here, so she has to be at least seventeen. Sitting next to her, I slide the gold liquid across the table, wondering if she needs this as much as I do.
“Thanks, Dad?”
My spine bristles. It was a question more than anything else. I sit up in my chair; the sentiment making me queasy. “Let’s get one thing straight, kid. I’m nobody’s father.” I knock back the drink, needing the burn at the back of my throat just to make sure I’m not dreaming.
The bridge between her eyebrows wrinkles just like her mother’s would when she was mad. “I have my birth certificate.” She pulls a folded cream piece of paper from her back pocket. “Are you not Kane Henry Harding?”
She points to my name on the sheet next to that of her mother. Alison Carter. Pain stabs me in the chest like being hit by a truck at a hundred miles an hour. If only I’d been there that night.
“She put my name on the birth certificate because…” I pause, the memories flooding back, threatening to drown me once more. “Because we were dating, but I’m not your father, kid.” I pour another drink.
