“I think you mean we’re good.” I dropped a kiss to her head. “Together.”
“Insatiable.”
“I need to make up for lost time. I figure in another five years, I should be good. By then, we can go at it once or twice a day, and I’ll be satisfied.”
She laughed, kissing my chest and lifting her head. “You’re the most amazing lover I’ve ever had, Reid.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m the last lover you’ll ever have, Becca.”
“Okay,” she whispered. “I’m good with that.”
I cupped her cheek. “I mean it. No matter what. Promise me we’ll find our way back to each other.”
“Always.” She drew in a deep breath. “I’ll always choose you, Reid.”
I brought her mouth to mine. “I know, BB. I know.”
Becca was finishing in the shower when my phone rang with an unknown number. Wary, I answered. “Reid Matthews.”
“Reid, it’s, ah, it’s Gerald. Gerald Holden.” He hesitated. “Rebecca’s father.”
“I know who you are, Gerald,” I replied dryly. “How did you get my number?”
“Richard gave it to me.”
I reminded myself to kick Richard’s ass the next time I saw him—which would be tomorrow.
“What do you want?”
“So much for the niceties, I suppose,” he muttered. “Are you still here? In Victoria?”
“Yes.”
“I need to ask a favor of you.”
Becca walked into the room, a towel wrapped around her body. Water glistened on her skin, her hair a dark mass of waves draped over her shoulders. She walked toward the closet to get some clothes as I listened, my eyes following her movements. She was pretty and graceful. I loved watching her move.
I realized he was waiting for a response. “Well, this should be good. What can I do for you, Gerald?”
At her father’s name, Becca’s head snapped up. Frowning, she held out her hand as she stomped across the room. I tried not to laugh at her anger, shaking my head and holding up my finger to stop her.
“I would like you to bring my daughter and come see me today.” He cleared his throat. “If that isn’t asking too much.”
“Wouldn’t it save us all a lot of time and grief if you just berated me over the phone? Listed my faults and the reasons for your intense dislike while I shaved or something?” I stood and paced the room, frustrated. “That way, you get what you want, and I can feel as though I’ve accomplished something while being told what a loser I am and how I will never be good enough for your daughter.” I barked out a laugh. “The added bonus is I can spare Becca listening to your venom. So, why don’t we do that, Gerald? You can start anywhere you want. Maybe alphabetically would be good. A is always a good place to start. I’ll even help you. Ass. I’m an ass for speaking to my girl’s father this way, but hey, it’s exactly what you expect of a bastard like me, right? Look—I already gave you B. You can carry on with C now. I imagine coward will be at the top of your list. Or maybe you have a better word. Go ahead. Hit me.”
I sucked in some much-needed oxygen after my diatribe. Becca gaped at me from across the room. There was complete silence on the other end of the phone.
Then he started to laugh. Big, loud guffaws. I pulled the phone from my ear, wondering what the hell was going on. Finally, his laughter died and he spoke.
“Reid, I’m asking. I’ll beg if you want. Give me fifteen minutes.”
I looked across to Becca. Her brow was furrowed, her eyes fixed on the bundle of clothing in her hands. She wasn’t going to ask me to do anything I didn’t want to do, even though she was torn. I could see that from her body language.
“Fine. You get your fifteen minutes. Unless I get fed up and walk out.”
“Thank you.”
“And I’ll be taking Becca with me this time.”
“Understood.”
I hung up and tossed my phone on the bed. “We’re going to see your dad before we go sight-seeing.”
Becca’s eyes glowed in the room. “I love you, Reid Matthews. You’re a good man.”
I stomped across the room. “Whatever. I want breakfast first. I prefer to have my character torn apart on a full stomach.”
I stopped at the door, turning.
“And that includes pancakes. A huge stack of them.”
She nodded, a soft smile lighting her face. “Okay.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. The pancakes, bacon, and eggs I had wolfed down were weighing heavily on me, and I wondered if perhaps we should have held off eating until after her father spoke his mind. Again.
Beside me, Becca sighed. The grip she had on my hand tightened. She leaned forward. “You asked us here, Dad. What did you want to say to Reid?”
If it were possible, Gerald Holden looked more uncomfortable than I did. His shoulders were stooped, and he looked older than yesterday. Not so intimidating.
Or maybe he looked that way because I no longer gave a shit.
He cleared his throat. “I owe you an apology, Reid.”
“You owe your daughter one as well.”
He frowned but nodded. “I was out of line yesterday.”
“Which part?” I snorted. “There were so many insults; I don’t know which was worse.”
Becca squeezed my hand, and I scrubbed my face with my free hand. “Sorry. I guess I’m angrier than I thought I was.”
Gerald leaned back. “You have every right to be. I apologize for all of it. The insults and innuendos, even the outright hostility.”
“Why?”
“I beg your pardon?” he asked.
“Why are you apologizing? Do you mean it, or is it simply to get back into Becca’s good books?”
Our eyes locked; mine challenging and defiant, his wary and sad. He shook his head. “I mean it. I’m an old man, Reid. Stuck in his ways, as Rebecca has pointed out. Cantankerous and pigheaded, as Richard stated.” He passed a hand over his head. “I have always been overprotective of Rebecca. I know that. Yesterday, I was—” he paused as if searching for the right word “—wrong. I was wrong to judge you. Becca says I’m too black and white, and she’s right. I was that way on the job. I had to be. I’ve seen so many things, witnessed so much bad stuff—”
I held up my hand, my eyes narrowing in anger. “And I haven’t? I was stuck in prison for four years. I saw plenty of things that still haunt my dreams. I’ve had to handle the rejection my past mistakes cause me time and again. I can’t escape it, and I probably never will. Don’t use your job as an excuse. You simply decided not to like me.” When he didn’t deny it, I kept talking. “I will tell you something, though—I was questioned, handcuffed, and put in jail, and those cops still showed me more respect than you did yesterday.” I jabbed my finger into my thigh in vexation. “I would never do anything to hurt Becca the way you did. She comes first. She has from the moment I met her.”
“He treats me so well, Dad,” Becca interjected. “I’ve never been happier.”