Chapter 10 Jade #2
And I must have completely lost my mind, because I just blurt everything out.
“My dad has Parkinson’s, and he had an accident this morning.
That was his neighbor calling to tell me he took a fall and is in some pain.
He can’t stay with him, and I can’t get there for another few hours unless I disappoint a lot of people, and I—”
“I’ll go sit with him,” he offers, like it’s a normal thing to watch after someone you don’t know.
“No that—I wasn’t fishing to get you to offer… No, that’s kind of you, but I’ll figure something out.” I start searching the internet for someone who can get there and take care of him.
“Jade.” His tone is so firm, my attention snaps up to find a serious look tightening his face. He pulls the phone out of my hand, clearing the tab with last minute health attendants. “Let me help.”
“I can’t derail your Saturday. You probably have plans.” I wave my hands around in the air. “Pubs to visit, women to make swoon or something stupid,” I mutter.
“Jealous, boss?” I can hear the smile in his tone without looking.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I say, tone resolute.
“Where does he live, Jade?”
I look up into his eyes and find nothing but a genuine desire to help laying there. “Blackheath.”
He smiles. “That’s perfect. That’s where my parents live, and I was already heading out that way to visit them today.”
“I can’t ask you to do this, and it’s not appropriate.” I shake my head, second guessing the fact that I’m actually considering this. I’ve well and truly lost my mind.
“I’d wager we’ve done far more inappropriate things. I don’t think me checking in on your father ranks.” His words are humorous but there's an undercurrent of something seductive—honest, in his tone.
My entire body flushes with heat at his words, trying to shove the memories of that night into the back of my mind where they belong.
My head wages a war against itself, one side saying letting him help isn’t a big deal and I don’t have much of a choice, the other saying that it would open up a can of worms that is best left closed.
In the end, my desire to take care of Dad wins out. “Fine.”
Tieran smiles wide, that damn dimple popping brilliantly against his straight, white teeth.
“Text me the address, and I’ll head over now, spend some time with him. I’ll let you know how he’s doing, so you don’t worry.”
“Are you sure?”
It dawns on me that outside of Aanya, Tieran is the person I know best in this entire city. If I have to impulsively trust someone with my dad’s care, I suppose he isn’t the worst I could do.
“Stop trying to talk yourself out of it. Parents love me.”
He had no idea how much my dad already loves him, which is its own problem that I can’t entertain right now. He needs to go, and I need to get ready for my event.
I unlock my phone, handing it over to him so he can put in his number, and then text him Dad’s address when he hands it back.
“Thank you,” I say genuinely.
He leans in close, too close, and my heart starts hammering for an entirely different reason. “My pleasure, boss,” he murmurs and walks away, hands in his pockets. It feels like no coincidence when the sun peeks out for the first time all day, shining down on him and locking me in a trance.
Stop staring at his ass.
Not a minute later, a text comes through, and I choke on spit when I see the name Tieran saved himself as.
God of Sex
Stop staring at my arse.
As someone’s coming out of the coffee shop, I hear, “Jade! Your Dolly is ready.” It snaps me out of my shock enough to go grab my drink. As I head home to get ready, I can’t help but think I just opened a door I’ll never be able to close.
True to his word, Tieran texted me within an hour of getting to my dad’s in the small village outside Central London.
What I was expecting was a brief text with an update on his condition. What I got was a selfie of Tieran with his arm looped around my dad’s neck, both of them grinning from ear to ear. It’s disgusting how much it charmed me.
Unknown Number
I told you, parents love me.
Deleting the name he saved himself as might have been petty, but I did it in the name of self-preservation.
Me
How is he?
Unknown Number
He’s moving slow, but he’s alright, in good spirits.
Thank you. If he seems okay, you can head out. I don’t want to disrupt more of your day.
Lines that needed to remain in high resolution focus are blurring, but I can’t help my gratitude.
Regret will come later, I’m almost positive, but for now, I’m thankful I don’t have to cancel my event and disappoint hundreds of people.
Dad being chuffed as chips because he gets to meet a rugby player he admired is just a bonus.
A few hours after Tieran left me outside of the coffee shop, an Uber drops me off on Dad’s doorstep in Blackheath, but nothing could have prepared me for what I’d find inside.
“You wouldn’t know your arse from your elbow, boy. That was offside!” My dad is arguing with someone as I walk through the front door, and my heart stops at the voice that answers him.
“I’m literally a rugby player, and you’re arguing with me?” Tieran says.
Why is he still here? I told him he could leave hours ago.
“Don’t get smart, lad. I’ve been watching rugby longer than you’ve been wiping your own arse.” Dad aggressively stabs his finger towards the telly from his chair.
“And when was the last time you hobbled to the optometrist to have your eyes checked, you old geezer?”
I’m standing just outside the sitting room, holding my breath, waiting to see how Dad will respond to such a brazen insult.
Dad pauses before throwing his head back laughing, until that laugh turns into a cough, and he tells Tieran to go make him a fresh cup of tea. Tieran, to his credit, hops off the two seater couch to head into the kitchen, doing as he’s told.
But he can’t get to the kitchen without passing me, and in my scramble to act like I wasn’t listening in on them, we end up colliding in the tiny foyer of my dad’s home.
Tieran reaches out, steadying himself with his hands on my waist, fingers twitching and involuntarily tightening where they lay.
Shivers dance up my spine from the touch.
I immediately pull out of his hold, stepping a healthy distance away from him before I start toward the kitchen, indicating for him to follow.
When we reach the linoleum-lined floors of the kitchen, he moves past me and starts filling the kettle with fresh water, setting it to boil before pulling a mug out of the cabinet and grabbing a sachet of PJ Tips from Dad’s teabag jar on the counter.
“You certainly seem to know your way around my dad’s kitchen.” Seeing him in my father’s home was making me distinctly uncomfortable. It was far too familiar, felt too natural.
“This isn’t the first cup I’ve made him,” he chuckles, dropping the teabag in the mug. As he waits for the water to boil, he moves to the fridge and grabs the milk in preparation.
“Why are you still here?”
“Why not?”
“Don’t be cute.” I roll my eyes.
“But then I wouldn’t get to see the delightful little furrow happening here,” he reaches forward and presses his thumb to my skin, “right between your striking eyes.”
I swat his hand away. “Stop. Why haven’t you left?”
He shrugs, leaning against the counter. “I like Archie. We’re having a good time, and I had nowhere else to be.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I thought you were going to your parents’?” He hesitates, turning to grab the kettle when it signals it’s done, pouring the scalding water into the cup on the counter. “Tieran,” I say sternly.
“Gotta go, boss. Your old man gets cranky if he has to wait too long for his tea.” He skirts past me, making his way back into the sitting room, where he hands Dad the cup and claps him on the shoulder, the way one would a friend.
His eyes light up, making my chest squeeze painfully.
“Thanks for keeping me company today, Arch, but I better get going,” Tieran says, and I watch Dad’s face fall slightly.
“Already? But the match isn’t even over yet.”
“I know, it’s sacrilege, and I should be strung up by my boot laces. But my dog’s been up too long, and I didn’t ask her walker to come by today. It’s in my best interest to get her out before she retaliates by using my couch as a toilet.”
I can’t help but think he’s making light of it all because he can see the disappointment in Dad’s face and wants to make him feel better. I hate him a little for making it so hard to remember why I need to push him away.
“Well, next time, bring the pup with you.” His hands shake as he brings the cup to his mouth and takes a small sip, testing if it’s too hot before taking a longer pull. “Fine cup of tea.”
“Will do, mate.” He turns to me, giving me a magnanimous nod before he leaves, his hulking frame dipping out the small front door.
His departure allows me to breathe again for the first time since arriving, but the room around me feels colder—duller, somehow, now that he’s gone.
“He’s a good lad,” Dad says. “You ought to be looking for a man like that, not like those prissy twats you dated back in Los Angeles.”
“You never met any of the guys I dated in L.A.,” I point out.
“Didn’t need to. If they were good enough for you, you would’ve introduced us. You’ve only been in England for a few weeks, and I’ve already met this one.”
“Tieran and I aren’t—it’s not like that, Dad. He happened to be there and wanted to help.” I’m trying to keep my blush at bay, desperate for him to not read into the situation.
“Like I said,” there’s a glint to his eye, “good lad.” Dad sips on his tea, settling further into his chair as the match comes back on, and for the rest of the evening, I feel uneasy.