Bonus Christmas Chapter #2
You hurt her, I’ll hurt you
Understand she’s my princess, not your conquest
If you lie to me, I’ll find out
I own a gun
I don’t mind going to jail
Whatever you do to her, I’ll do to you
“I fucking love it,” I say as I fist-pump him.
I instantly remove the T-shirt I’m wearing, replacing it with the new improved version.
Candice is going to kill me when she sees it.
She already chewed me out this morning when she saw I was wearing my ripped jeans.
They’re my bad-arse jeans, and that’s the exact impression I want to give this punk who’s trying to make a move on my little girl.
It takes a few trips to unload all their things from the trailer. There’s so much stuff, you’d swear they were moving in, not just staying for one night.
The base of the Christmas tree in the living room is now overflowing with presents.
I love that our kids get to open all their gifts together on Christmas morning.
They may not be blood-related cousins, but they’re cousins nevertheless.
Our families are closely intertwined and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I smile when I enter the kitchen and find the kids laughing around the dining table, and Indi helping Candice prepare all the food for today.
We don’t do the traditional Christmas lunch when we’re with them.
We’re not the traditional kind. Sophia will make sure we have lunch with all the trimmings tomorrow.
We opt for a simple barbeque, with salads and plenty of seafood.
We have a big entertainment area out back, overlooking the pool.
It’s the perfect place to sit and enjoy time with family, and watch the kids swimming and having fun.
Well, it’s usually perfect. This year will be different with our unwelcomed guest.
My anxiety kicks in when the doorbell chimes again. “I’ll get it,” Maddie squeals, practically jumping out of her chair. Her excitement isn’t infectious. It’s downright depressing.
Everyone goes back to doing what they were doing, but not me.
I stuff my slightly trembling hands into my pockets, as my gaze fixes on the doorway they’ll soon enter.
My heart sinks a few minutes later. My eyes move from Maddie’s beaming face to their hands joined between them.
Is it wrong that I want to separate them?
Because I have to fight the urge to do just that.
“He’s wearing a fucking bowtie,” Carter snickers from beside me. I hadn’t noticed. I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from their conjoined hands. “Your daughter’s dating a geek. Beauty and the geek … fucking classic.”
When my angry eyes finally lock with Johnathon , I see the colour drain away from his face as he quickly drops Maddie’s hand. Wise move kid.
“Dad, this is Jordan,” Maddie says as they cross the room, heading towards me. My gaze quickly darts to her, before begrudgingly moving back to him. There’s a small part of me that wants to flee so I don’t have to meet him. Meeting him makes this all too real.
I’ll admit, I kind of feel bad when I see the terrified look on his face, but I’m not about to let my conscience get in the way. I have a mission today, and that’s to end this before it goes any further. My baby girl is way too young to have a boyfriend.
“Mr … Mr Albright,” he stutters nervously as he hesitantly extends his hand to me. He doesn’t look like the type of kid that would take advantage of my princess, but it’s probably all a ruse to try and fool me. Well, I ain’t no fool. I can see straight through this Steve Urkle wannabe.
I’d planned on ignoring his extended hand, but when I see the pleading look on Maddie’s face, I cave straight away. As much as I hate this situation, I’d do anything to make my little girl happy.
His face turns a light shade of red when I grip his hand extremely hard. “ Joshua ,” I mumble, making Carter chuckle.
“It’s, Jordan, Daddy,” Maddie says, correcting me.
Whatever .
“We need to get this barbecue started,” Carter whines, passing me a beer. “I’m fucking starving.” I highly doubt that, he hasn’t stopped eating since he got here.
“Hold on a sec,” I say, removing the bottle cap and taking a large gulp.
I need more alcohol. I’ve had to sit here and watch this punk for the past two hours, make googly eyes at my daughter, get fussed over by my wife, and take my son for a swim in the pool, which to my displeasure, CJ seemed to enjoy.
Even our dog, Snoopy, is now curled up on his lap, sleeping comfortably.
It’s like he has my whole damn family bewitched.
Placing my beer on the table, I stand. “Get the barbeque fired up,” I instruct Carter. “I’ll go grab the meat.”
“Let me give you a hand, Mr Albright.” I watch as Jeremy places Snoopy down and stands to follow me. This kid’s got balls, I’ll give him that, but it’ll take a lot more than good manners to win me over. Especially where my daughter is concerned.
I enter the kitchen, with him following close behind. He comes to a stop beside the breakfast bar as I unload the meat from the fridge, placing the trays on the counter. When he reaches for one, I extend my hand out to stop him.
“Hold on. I want to talk to you first.”
“You do?”
A grin tugs at my lips when I see him swallow nervously. You’ve got every reason to be scared, Jason .
“So, I noticed you looking at my shirt before.” I haven’t taken my eyes off him since he arrived. I’ve been waiting for him to slip up.
“Umm … yes, sir.”
“I hope you memorised it.” I inwardly smile when I see him swallow again.
“No, Mr Albright, but I … umm will.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket, holding it up in front of him.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking a photo of your list, so I can memorise it.”
I shake my head and chuckle to myself. I think I’d like this kid if he wasn’t dating my daughter.
I hold the shirt away from my body, looking down at the list. “Number seven, and number eight are my favourites.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that.” His voice is almost a squeak now.
“That would be a wise move.” After sliding the phone back into his pocket, he reaches for the tray again. I can tell he’s in a hurry to get out of here. “I’m not finished yet,” I grumble, placing my hand on top of the tray to stop him. “So, tell me, what are your intentions with my daughter?”
“My intentions?”
“Yes. Don’t play coy with me. I was your age once too you know.”
I can tell the moment the meaning behind my question registers because his face turns bright red.
“Oh, God,” he says, tugging on that ridiculous bowtie around his neck.
Seriously, who even wears those things? I thought they went out of fashion in the seventeenth century.
“I can assure you my intentions with your daughter are completely honourable, Mr Albright.”
“Of course, you’d say that. You know I own a gun.”
I don’t even own one, but I’m not about to tell him that.
His eyes slightly widen before he bows his head.
“It’s true. I’ve never even kissed a girl.
” My face screws up in confusion. He’s shitting me, right?
I find that hard to believe. Yes, he wears a bowtie, but it’s not like he’s been hit with an ugly stick or anything.
“Maddie’s the first girl to ever really talk to me …
well except for my mum of course. She talks to me all the time.
She has no choice, it’s just the two of us,” he rambles.
“My dad died when I was four … he umm … got electrocuted on the job … he was an electrician.”
Wow! I have no words for that. Without even thinking, I reach out and place my hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry about your dad.” Now I feel like a prick.
His gaze finally moves up to meet mine, and a small smile forms on his lips. “Thank you. I don’t remember much about him, but it was tough for my mum, you know … bringing me up on her own. But I help her out wherever I can.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Before I get a chance to say another word, Candice enters the kitchen. Her eyes dart between me and Jared before they narrow slightly. Christ. I bet she came in here purposely to check on us.
“Carter’s waiting for the meat,” she says. “Can you take it out to him, Jordan?”
“Of course, Mrs Albright.” I see the pure relief cross his face as he reaches for the tray. “Thank you for the … um … talk, Mr Albright.”
“What talk?” Candice asks as soon as he leaves.
“Just a man-to-man talk,” I reply, reaching for the other tray.
“Jax.” She grabs hold of my arm as I turn to leave. “Don’t ruin this for her, she likes him. And remove that damn shirt this instance.”
“The shirt stays,” I growl.
Leaning forward, I place my lips on hers. Ruining their relationship was exactly what I’d planned, but now I’m not so sure.
“Can you pass me the salt, John-Boy ?” I ask when I finally sit down to eat.
“John-Boy,” Carter snickers from beside me. “This isn’t the fucking Walton’s.”
“It’s Jordan,” Maddie chimes in for the umpteenth time.
“My bad.”
I’m still watching him like a hawk, but since our little discussion, I’m seeing him kind of differently now.
Everybody here seems to like him, except me of course.
But what I’m now noticing, is how my little girl looks at him—with damn cartoon hearts in her eyes—and how she hasn’t stopped smiling.
He seems very sweet with her. He even pulled out her chair, which I like.
That seems to be a dying art with the younger generation these days.
Fuck, I’m talking like I’m a hundred. I’m still young myself.
Well definitely young at heart. That’ll never change.
“So, how did you two lovebirds meet?” Carter asks, James .
I kick him under the table. When he chuckles, I know he added the ‘ lovebirds ’ part just to piss me off.
Maddie answers for him. “We’re in the same maths class.”