“Sounds amazing. Anyway, we’ll just pretend while we’re here. We can leave in about fifteen minutes.”
“Alright. I can handle that. Your father is a piece of work thinking all shifters need to die.”
“He’s assuming there really are shifters. I don’t think he’s ever seen one.”
Danny glanced toward the door, huffing and puffing. “Shifters exist. Trust me.”
“Is there something you’re not telling me, Danny? I mean you know a lot about shifters, which surprises me. If there’s something you need to say, please do so.”
The hard bam on the bathroom door brought the same ugly reaction from the two of us.
“What?” we yelled at the same time. At least Danny managed to throw open the door, his expression one I’d never forget.
As if he would eat the person alive for the interruption.
“Daddy sent me to find you lovebirds,” Delaney cooed, still flirting with my date while she had hers wrapped around herheavy ring finger. I wonder how she’d feel if the diamond suddenly disappeared?
I wondered for myself how I’d feel if she disappeared.
She even had the nerve to blow him a kiss before scampering off.
I was already reaching for her, sadly unable to get around my date.
“Whoa, bad bunny. You can’t kill your sister.”
“How did you know what I was thinking and why not?”
He grinned as he’d done before, only I detected a hint of evil. “Because you and I are a lot alike and because we already spent time with Barney Fife tonight. I really don’t want to do it again.”
“Barney Fife? How old are you?”
His shrug was adorable. I glared at my reflection in the mirror, making a lewd face before pushing him toward the door. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
While my legs were stiff, it certainly wasn’t from the heat that had registered at a thousand degrees. I was angrier than I’d been in my entire life. Maybe I was really finished with allowing my parents to take advantage of me.
Yay me.
We headed to my father’s study, an expansive room full of bookcases and books. Of which he’d likely read none, but he certainly wanted the few guests allowed inside his inner sanctum to believe he had.
We stood in the back, my anger refusing to subside. As the waiter passed with a huge silver tray, I almost swiped two glasses of the expensive cognac for myself. I held back.
For now.
“I really do appreciate everyone being here with Sheila and me tonight. Not only are we celebrating the upcoming marriage of my lovely daughter Delaney to a man who will be president one day, but also of my… other daughter to what appears to be a fine-looking doctor. Of some type. Anyway, that’s not the only reason we’re here.”
My mother seemed to be beside herself, even clapping her hands.
“This should be big,” I breathed.
“After careful consideration and talking with my lovely wife, tomorrow morning I’m going to announce that I will be running for the governor of this great state. Once I win, and I will, I assure you that my first mandate will be to establish stricter laws affecting shifters of all types.”
When he dared look straight at Danny, I was incensed. I was exhausted from years of my father belittling boys I’d dated, what few there’d been.
“Don’t do it,” Danny whispered again. “If you’re a good bunny, I’ll give you a treat later.”
I couldn’t help myself, throwing him a look, but he was right. My father was doing his best to goad us. We’d wait until his buddies provided the accolades he thought he deserved then we’d leave. And I could finally breathe again.
