Page 106 of The Daddy’s Girl

“You are making me fall in love with you, Matis. You ask about children, and God help me, but I imagine it. I see a version of us that will never exist. Then you make comments about only wanting them with someone you care about and toy with my emotions, making me think it could be me. But it’s not just sex to me, Matis. It’s my life. My heart.”

My voice shakes as I clutch my fists to my chest, begging him to see and truly feel what I’m trying to convey.

His hands fall to his sides and his brows relax.

“I am falling in love with you,” I sob. “I thought I was in love with you before, but that was nothing compared to how I feel now. And I have no clue if you feel the same or if this is just a game to you. I heard you tell Julian that you love me, but do you love me? Am I still too young for you? Will you ever change your mind about being together? And I know…”

Tears fall from my cheeks, and I wipe them away in embarrassment.

“I know you said you’d break my heart. You did try to warn me, but⁠—”

He cuts my words off. Closing the distance between us, he takes my face in both hands and pulls me so close my lips brush his. There is vehemence in his eyes as he holds me and halts my words.

“I love you. Of course I love you. I have no excuse for my behavior other than I am terrified by these feelings. If I’ve ever let you believe this was a game to me, I am worse than I thought. Amelia, I have never ever been with a person who had me envisioning my future with them. Not like you. We haven’t even had sex yet, and I’m already imagining this…”

A gasp flies from my lips when I feel his hand press against my belly. The feeling is like heaven, and the vision it produces in my mind brings tears to my eyes.

Suddenly, he pulls away as if my body burns him. He turns, clutching his hair in his hands. “God, what am I doing?”

Then, as quickly as he jolted away, he’s back, pulling me into his arms and kissing me with ferocity.

And nothing could be a better illustration of what this is like for both of us. It is terrifying, the intensity of our emotions, the quickness with which we’re building this relationship, the forbidden barriers still in place reminding us that it won’t be that easy.

Rule #30: Only a fool would walk across town and climb up two stories for the woman he loves.

Matis

Iwalked her home. Because I had to.

I watched her walk through the front door, leaving me on the other side. Because I had to.

Now I’m lying alone in my bed, thinking of her, wishing I could both touch her and forget her at the same time. Because I have to.

Tossing and turning in my bed, I try and fail to make plans in my head. I try to envision Ronan’s reaction to the news if—no, when I tell him. Playing out the entire conversation, I imagine him in various scenarios: furious, understanding, betrayed, forgiving, disgusted.

I’ve known the man over thirty years, and I still have no saintly idea how he will react to this news. That I am in love with his daughter.

If only Amelia wasn’t his daughter, he’d be the most understanding friend on earth. He was fifty-six and Daisy twenty-one when they fell in love. If anyone would see things as I do, it’s him.

But Amelia is his daughter, and that changes everything.

Then I remember what it felt like to touch her stomach, envisioning something I have never in my entire fucking life bothered to envision. Getting a woman pregnant has always been more of a nightmare than a dream.

And now…picturing Amelia with a baby on her hip. My baby.

I’m losing my mind. It’s not enough that I’m falling for Ronan’s daughter. Now I’m actually thinking about getting her pregnant.

My cock throbs as if it’s listening in to this mental conversation I’m having with myself.

The hands of the clock tick by as I toss and turn with no rest in sight. Finally, around two in the morning, I decide I can’t take another second. My head is truly a prison of chaos and torture, and there’s an ache in my bones I know can only be relieved by one thing. And it’s not my fucking hand.

I need to see her.

Somewhere in the past week, I’ve gotten addicted to Amelia.

I need to smell her skin. Feel her breath. Touch her hair.

I need her weight in my arms like I need air to breathe.