Baby for my Dad's Best Friend (Seaport Billionaires #2)

34. Austin

34

AUSTIN

“ C ome on,” she says, trying to get off my lap, but my arms tighten around her, holding her in place.

“Where?”

“We’re going to fix this. Come on.” She tries again to stand, but my arms keep her in place.

“You just said that we need to give him time. I doubt twenty-four hours is enough.”

“I know, and we will give him time, but it’s going to be after we sit down like adults and talk it out. He and Mom fighting over this is insane. They have been married forever. Our relationship cannot come between them. We’re going to sit them down and explain everything. Make them see that you aren’t some perverted old man who lured their little girl into his bed with the promise of a lollypop. This is insane, and the longer you hold me here, the more pissed I’m getting.”

I see flames dancing in her eyes, so I release her.

“Let’s go.” She’s up and rushing through the house.

She grabs her purse and keys from beside the door, then goes into the kitchen and grabs the sonogram pictures from the drawer.

“You’re driving because I might run someone over if they get in my way,” she says, marching past me as she throws open the front door.

I catch it before it can crash against the wall, and I’m quick to rush through it, pulling it gently closed behind me.

By the time I get to the truck, she’s already inside and buckled up.

I pull open the door and climb in behind the wheel. I push the button, and the truck roars to life.

As I pull on my seatbelt, I look over at her. “Are you sure about this?”

She glares at me.

“Okay.” I nod and shift into reverse.

At first, I drive to her parents’ place nice and slow, hoping it gives her time to cool off, but then I realize that making the drive longer only gives her more time to stew, and in the end, she only gets hotter.

I pull into the drive, and she jumps out of the truck before I can put it in park.

“Kaylee!” I tell, trying to get out of my seatbelt. “Wait! Don’t go in there like this,” I call out, quietly so her parents don’t hear us.

She doesn’t even slow down. By the time I’m out of the truck, she’s pulled open the door and is rushing inside.

“Damnit,” I curse, chasing after her. “Leave it to me to get the hotheaded one who takes after the father she’s about to butt heads with,” I mutter, stepping inside and closing the door behind me. “Hello?” I call out, looking around the entryway.

“You’re not going to come into my house throwing your weight around,” I hear Dave say.

I push toward the sound of their voices.

“Why not? That’s what you did in my house yesterday,” Kay replies.

“That’s only your house because my mother gave it to you,” he says.

“Exactly. My grandmother gave it to me. Not you. So you had no right to let yourself into it, waiting to trap me.”

“You did what?” Beth screeches.

I walk into the kitchen, and she looks up. “Hey, Austin.”

I offer a tight smile, moving my eyes from her to Kay and Dave, who are standing in the middle of the kitchen, chests nearly touching and both stewing.

“They always like this?” I ask her.

She rolls her eyes. “They’re just alike and neither of them will admit it.”

“We are not,” Kay says, still glaring at her father.

I clear my throat, but neither of them twitch. “Can we all maybe just sit down and talk about things like adults?”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Beth says. She grabs Dave’s shirt and yanks him back a few steps.

The four of us sit around the table, staring at one another.

The air between us is thick. My blood pressure spikes, and I’m sweating even though the air conditioning is on.

Kay reaches over and takes my hand.

I see Dave’s eyes narrow on our clasped hands. I’m not trying to push the man into a heart attack, so I briefly consider pulling my hand away, but don’t.

It doesn’t matter if she’s right or wrong; she’s always right in my eyes, and I’ll have her back.

Kay takes a deep breath. “I know you’re pissed, Dad.”

“Pissed? That doesn’t even begin to cover it,” he says, cutting her off.

“I’m pissed at my daughter, who knew I wouldn’t like something, yet went behind my back to do it anyway, and then lied and covered it up.” He looks at me. “And I’m pissed at someone who was my friend, someone I thought I could trust. This isn’t about whether you being together is right or wrong. This is about how two very important people in my life didn’t even care enough about me to be open and honest.”

“Because I knew you’d act this way,” Kay says. “Believe me, we talked about telling you many times, but every time, we came back to this, and how you’re acting right now. You always told me to be open and honest, and that so long as I told the truth, you wouldn’t be mad. I’m doing that. We’re here trying to talk to you about this, and you’re mad. You’re using it to push us away because you want us to hurt the way you’re hurting. I’m sorry we hurt you; I really am. I want my dad in my life. I want my dad in my child’s life, and I know that Austin wants his friend back. Nothing has changed.”

He scoffs.

She opens her purse and puts the sonogram pictures in the center of the table.

Her mom gasps, picking them up. As Beth flips through them, she holds them so Dave can see them, too.

“If you want to turn your back on your friend and your daughter, fine. But do you want to turn your back on your first grandchild? We might have hurt you, but this baby didn’t.”

She stands and exits the kitchen. I look at the doorway, waiting to see if she comes back, but instead, I just hear the front door close quietly.

I look at Beth, whose eyes are filled with tears.

Then, I look over at Dave.

He’s still angry, but I can tell it’s simmering down more each time she flips to another picture.

I push my chair back and stand. “Before I leave, I just want to say that I’m sorry for how you found out. I wish we would have told you sooner, so you could’ve heard it from us. Not that your reaction would’ve been any better, but still. And I know you think I’m some pervert who victimized your daughter, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth. This was never about anything physical. From the moment my eyes met hers, I knew she was the woman I was meant to spend my life with. The second I met her, everything made sense. I understand why I never found anyone sooner, why I never thought to seek a wife or start a family. I knew every decision in my life had led me to her. I know you don’t like it, Dave, but I love her just as much as you love your wife. Nobody could have stopped you from marrying her, and nobody is going to stop me from making Kay mine. Even if you can’t get on board with us being together, you have to at least respect our decision. I just hope that whatever you decide doesn’t cause you to lose the people you love the most.”

I turn and walk out after Kay.

I find her in the truck and when I climb behind the wheel, I turn to look at her. She is at peace. “Are you okay?”

She looks at me with a smile. “I’m fine.”

I’m not sure what to say. She was so angry before. Nothing was resolved, so how can she be fine now?

“We got through to him.”

I look at her skeptically. “I’m not so sure about that.”

She nods. “I am. I saw it. He’ll come to us soon. You’ll see.”

I don’t tell her I think she’s wrong, I just pray she’s right.

Starting the truck, I back out of the drive, but instead of going home,

I drive to a restaurant so we can have dinner in public together.

Now that her family knows about us, there’s no reason to stay locked in the house.

She looks over at me. “What are we doing here?”

I shrug. “I just realized that we can go out to eat now. We’re not hiding anymore.”

I can’t contain my smile. I feel like a man who’s just been released from prison.

I can go anywhere, and do anything, and I don’t have to lie or hide.

She throws her head back and lets out a loud laugh that makes my heart race because she’s beautiful when she laughs like this.

“I love that you’re excited to take me out to dinner, but look at me.” She motions at herself in my baggy gray sweatpants and a white crop top. Her blonde hair is a mess on her head. She looks cute, comfortable, and sexy. “Let’s go home and plan this dinner out.”

I frown, looking between her and the seafood restaurant. “But… I’m hungry.”

She grins. “I’ll make sure you eat at home. And I might even warm you up an appetizer while it cooks.”

I wonder what dirty thing she’s planning. “Alright,” I agree.

We’re back home in minutes, and I follow her to the kitchen, where busies herself cooking dinner. I go upstairs and shower, and when I come down, I let her boss me around to help finish things up. “Where’s the appetizer?”

“In the oven,” she says, loading the dishwasher.

“Oh.” I feel my face fall.

She laughs. “What?”

I shrug. “I thought you had some dirty fun planned for before dinner.”

“What?” she asks, lips turning up into a smile.

I shrug, moving over to her. “I guess I had something else in mind to eat for an appetizer.”

She wraps her arms around my neck. “Such as?”

“You.” I lean in, smashing my mouth to hers. I kiss her hard and fast, and then I fall to my knees. I pull her sweats down and bury my face between her legs. She threads her fingers into my hair and gasps.

This is way better than going out to eat.