Daddy Issues (Aspen Ridge Holiday Novellas #3)

1. Graham

CHAPTER 1

graham

“For fuck’s sake, man, what are you looking at?”

Despite his words, my eyes don’t leave the photo of the tight, half-naked body of the woman on my phone. She’s wearing a baby blue bra, the lace so thin you can just barely make out the blush pink of the delicate skin hiding behind it.

“She swiped right on you? You sure she didn’t fat finger it, you old fuck?”

“Shut your mouth, I’m not old, and you know it.” Even if my forty-two feels more like mid-fifties some days. This single dad, workaholic thing is aging me faster than I’m ready for.

“Well, you deserve to get your needs met. Lord knows you won’t date. You gonna swipe back?”

My thumb hesitates over her photo. She’s easily the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen, and this is only a photo. But her face isn’t in it. The shot is just of a body, nearly naked except for a bra and matching string panties that just barely cover the pussy that’s making me salivate. I want to see the face behind such a sexy body. A body that looks way too young for me.

Is hiding her face in the pose to keep some mystery? To keep her safe? Or am I being catfished? That’d be just my luck. This app shit wasn’t around when I was dating in my twenties, and using one now makes me feel even fuckin’ older. Closing out of the app, I pocket my phone to catch my coworker, Liam, rolling his eyes in disapproval.

“Not everyone falls in love with their best friend and can ride into the sunset together. I’m fine.”

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say, old man,” the smug little shit says in return.

I grumble and get back to work, focusing on the aroma of the whiskey we’re tasting, closing my eyes and taking a sip, looking for any potential issues at this stage in the distilling process. This current recipe is a single barrel whiskey that’s been aging for the last two years.

I’m one of two master distillers at Aspen Ridge Distillery—the other, the dipshit next to me, Liam, whose family owns the entire company. I’ve been working here since I was a teenager. I started out at the bottom, cleaning the place and doing odd jobs. Eventually, I got a position as a bottling line operator. Then, one day, when I was barely twenty-one, I got a meeting with the owner after finding an error—based on smell alone—in a small batch we were filling. I landed an internship with him, and after twenty-something years, I know this distillery and whiskey better than the back of my hand.

“What are your thoughts?”

“Go with your gut, Liam, you know this as well as I do. It’s in your blood.”

He takes another small sip before speaking. “It’s on track.”

“Agree.”

We finish up with our tasks, my phone a heavy weight in my pocket reminding me of the pretty little thing that wants to meet up with me. It’s been a long time since I’ve hooked up with anyone, and for good reason.

Ten years ago, child protective services called me in the middle of the night, letting me know they were outside my house with a ten-week-old baby girl that I was the proud father of—that I didn’t know existed in the first place. Her mom died in a car accident after leaving a bar wasted—thank fuck Mila wasn’t with her. Instead, she was left with an elderly couple that lived in an apartment next door. I only vaguely remember the weekend we spent together hooking up while I was in town with some friends on a trip. CPS only found me because my daughter’s mom had told people who her father was. Made me out to be some asshole who bailed on his responsibilities, but I had never been contacted. Not a single attempt on her part.

My daughter, Mila, has run my life ever since, and between juggling being a single dad and a master distiller at a large distillery, I haven’t had much time to date.

Liam slaps the back of my shoulder, pulling my attention to him as we step into the Washington spring air.

“Let Mila come hang out with Hannah, Charlie, and I. We’ll do pizza and a sleepover. Go get your needs met. Just let me know when and we’ll make it happen.”

Appreciating his words, I nod my head in agreement and pack up my things to head home for the day, ready to see my daughter. The drive out of the distillery property is a short one, then it’s open back roads until I reach the private entrance to my house. A long dirt road winds around a tight bend before opening up to the property I bought for us five years ago. Up until then, we were apartment living in downtown Aspen Ridge, and while I loved being close to everything, I wanted to raise my daughter in a home that she could always come back to.

Growing up, I had no intention of ever settling down. While all my friends slowly started to pair off with their significant others, I continued to play the field, taking solo road trips whenever I could afford it, hiking around Washington and Oregon nearly every weekend, and hooking up when I felt the mood strike. I enjoyed the bachelor life and lived it up. Never had any intention or desire to change it.

The moment I held Mila in my arms—a tiny, red-faced baby screaming her head off—everything changed. Being a father is the greatest gift ever given to me, and I fuckin’ thrive in it. Thank the beings at play for thrusting fatherhood onto me because I wouldn’t have gone willingly. If I could go back, I would be chasing it. Nothing tops being her dad.

Parking my car next to the silver beater blocking the garage door, I hop out of my SUV, shaking my head at the rust bucket that probably isn’t road-legal anymore. Jogging up the stairs, my heart starts to flutter, ready to get eyes on my little girl, who’s always waiting for me. My sister, Penelope, watched her when she was little, and she would stand by the windows at the front of our place repeating “I waiting” until I finally got home. Some things don’t change, and while I’m under no delusion that they will someday—probably sooner than I’m ready—I’m soaking up each day while I have it.

“Where’s my girl?” I shout as I walk into the house, knowing she and her nanny, Hailey, are probably in the kitchen together. I hired her after she returned to Aspen Ridge from college, knowing full well it’ll only last until school starts in September if she gets the teaching position she wants at the local elementary school.

Hailey’s the daughter of my friend, Jay, and has been a lifesaver since moving in with us. Makes me question how I’ll function if she leaves. As Mila transitions from my little girl into a preteen, it’s becoming more clear that she needs a woman’s touch in her life, or at least someone she can confide in about the things she says are too “cringe” to talk to her dad about.

Mila comes barreling through the house as I’m kicking off my boots.

“Hey, Dad!” she wails as she wraps her arms around my waist. I bend to her, resting my cheek on top of her head. She’s getting so tall.

“Wait until I tell you about all the drama at school today. Ashley keeps trying to talk to me but I’m not even giving her my attention. She’s not a good friend. Friends don’t treat you how Ashley treated me. She makes everything about her. It’s the fifth grade, it’s not the Ashley Show. She thinks she’s the main character and it’s not cool. And at lunch, she got so mad because Maya wanted to sit with me and Elspeth and not her. Oh! I made it to the last round in the spelling bee today!”

“Heck yes! Proud of you!”

Did I mention that my daughter is always going a mile a minute? She wants me to know all the ins and outs of the fifth grade, and I soak it up every time. I’ve got major beef with Ashley’s parents and the little narcissist they’re raising. Mila keeps filling me in as we walk through the house together.

“Jesus, what is that mouthwatering smell?” I ask as we get closer to the kitchen.

“Hailey is making dinner! We’re having lasagna and fresh bread from Bean Haven.”

“That sounds delicious. Is your homework done?”

“Yep! Hailey helped me with it. She’s so good at math, Dad. She taught me a trick and it’s like the fractions just clicked. I’m so ready for my test!”

My smile beams as I look at my kid. She’s so damn smart and I know she didn’t get it from me. Mila and I walk through the house, chasing the smell of Italian food and the tunes coming from our kitchen speaker—a band I actually recognize. Mila bolts up the stairs, probably toward her bedroom, as I round the corner into our open kitchen and dining room area.

The sight in front of me stops me in my tracks. Hailey is bent over, pulling a casserole dish out of the oven, and my eyes automatically flick to her ass. She’s wearing a pair of black leggings that leave little to the imagination, hugging her body so close they had to have been painted on. My dick perks up behind my jeans as my eyes travel over her tight body. When I catch myself, I immediately feel guilty for being turned on by that ass of hers. Her dad is my best friend for fuck’s sake.

When Hailey stands, the bare skin of her midriff is on display due to the crop top she has on. Just a flash of silky smooth skin to taunt me. If that wasn’t bad enough, the moment she drops the lasagna onto the waiting trivets, she starts to sway her hips back and forth to the beat of “No Diggity” by Blackstreet.

Jesus Christ.

Her blonde hair rests above her shoulders in a bob, whipping around her face as she turns toward me. Her eyes light up, her lips curving into a smile as if she’s genuinely happy to see me. I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t feel good to come home to someone delighted to see you.

“Hey, Graham! Welcome home. How was work?” her sweet, cheery voice reminds me of exactly how young and completely off-limits she is.

Goddamn, I’m going to hell. Was I seriously just watching Hailey Haven like she isn’t completely off-limits? I take a step forward into the kitchen space, the feeling of my phone a reminder that I could swipe and have a hookup this weekend. Maybe releasing some pent-up frustration would ensure I don’t eye fuck my nanny again.

“Hey, Hails. It was good, got a lot done, how was your day?”

She moves around my kitchen comfortably, like she belongs here, pulling out three plates and silverware.

“It was great, I enjoyed the little sunshine we had today and ran errands downtown. It was amazing to feel the warmth on my skin. Then just normal day-to-day things. Mila wants to watch a movie tonight but there’s no pressure for me to stay, I can go to my bedroom and let you two have some time together.”

“No!” I say a little too quickly. Clearing my throat to pull my head out of my ass, my voice comes out a little calmer. “No, Hails, that’s not necessary. You should join us. It’ll be fun.”

Fuck. What the hell is wrong with me? Hailey is beautiful, there’s no question about it. She wears a confidence that is so goddamn sexy, always saying exactly what’s on her mind, and is completely at ease in her own skin. It’s hot as hell. Which is exactly where I’m headed for checking out my friend’s twenty-two year old daughter.

I make it through Hailey’s delicious dinner, my dick throbbing painfully behind my jeans the entire time. It’s like a light switch flicked on and I’m suddenly hyperaware of every movement Hailey makes. The way her delicate fingers push her hair behind her ears when it falls into her pretty face. The way her plush pink lips slowly curve and close over the tines of the fork, sliding off her bite of food. Fuck. My attention is torn between listening to Mila update us on the latest episode of Real Fifth Graders of Aspen Ridge and everything about Hailey.

I force Hailey out of the kitchen so I can clean up from dinner—needing a reprieve from her more than anything. I do my best to adjust my aching cock behind my jeans and dive into scrubbing the kitchen, trying to think of anything other than the way too young, extremely off-limits, gorgeous, firecracker of a woman currently lounging on my couch with Mila as they scroll Netflix.

After I’ve over-cleaned my kitchen and procrastinated the inevitable long enough, I join the girls on the couch, Mila taking up one side and Hailey the other—putting me squashed center. Hailey has her legs pulled up to the side, her bare, red-painted toes nearly resting on my thigh.

My focus remains on the woman next to me instead of the movie. I couldn’t even tell you what movie was put on, my body is completely in tune with her every breath, every shift in her seat, the way she bites her plump bottom lip. Fuck. I’m such a piece of shit for lusting after her. I’m way too old for her and she’s way too innocent and inexperienced. That shouldn’t be so hot to me.

As soon as the end credits roll, I say good night to Mila and Hailey and nearly jog off to my bathroom to wash away the guilt and lust eating me alive. Reaching my hand into the shower, I flick on the water as hot as it will go, the bathroom filling with steam as I rid myself of my clothes.

Stepping under the spray, I welcome the burn, hoping like hell it’ll wash away the thoughts of Hailey currently filling my head. My dick lays painfully heavy, rock hard and throbbing like a sonofabitch. Maybe if I can rub one out and get my head straight, I’ll be able to face Hailey in the morning and not picture her naked.

Grabbing my aching cock with my palm, I give it a tight squeeze from root to tip, the sensation nearly making my knees buckle at the contact. Fuck, what has gotten into me? I’m a forty-two-year-old man and my dick is acting like it’s never been turned on or come before.

My hand slaps the tile wall, bracing myself as I begin to stroke my hard length in a brutal grip. I let my mind wander to a random woman, on her knees with her mouth working me over instead of my hand. Her warm mouth so slick as I press in, tongue swirling around the thick head of my cock as she moans around it. My hands delve into the silky blonde strands of her hair, pushing them out of the way so I can watch my cock disappear past her lips.

Beautiful amber eyes that I would recognize from anywhere look up at me. Eyes that I’ve seen so many times before, the pair I was just looking at downstairs as we had dinner together.

Hailey.

I groan as I tighten my fist, trying to picture someone else, anyone else, but my mind keeps conjuring up her beautiful young body, her gorgeous whiskey eyes, the pink plush of her lips.

Fuck it.

I grind into my hand, letting my other fall down to cup my balls. Her sweet little mouth suctions around the head of my cock, sucking me hard, and humming. I stroke it roughly, my hand twisting and squeezing my swollen head on every upstroke. I don’t last long. The pleasure starts at the base of my spine as my balls draw up.

“Hailey!” I moan her name as I explode, hot ribbons of cum pulsing from my cock onto the shower floor. My chest heaves as the pleasure rushes through me, my knees going weak from the power of it.

Jesus fucking Christ.

The force of the orgasm was stronger than any other I’ve had in a long time, and it was to the image of my fucking nanny’s lips around my cock—my nanny who’s half my age, my best friend’s daughter.

Washing up and stepping out of the shower, I snatch my phone off the bathroom counter and pull up the dating app, quickly navigating to where I matched with the sexy little thing earlier. I look over the soft curves of her body, the flat, toned stomach, my finger rubbing aimlessly over the tiny blue fabric hiding her pussy from the shot. I’ve clearly got to get my head on straight. I don’t even need to feel guilty about having Hailey watch Mila while I go out for a hookup, Liam already said he’d take her for a sleepover. Fuck it.

I swipe right.