Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“I understand that, and we can be careful, but I’m not going to make myself look weak and avoid going down there like some scared little puppy running back home because the big dogs are walking the street.”
Neal stood staring at me, mouth parted as he tried to digest what it was that I said. “Big dogs walking the street? Out of all of the analogies that you could have used, that’s the one that came to mind.”
Rolling my eyes, I groaned in frustration as I crossed my arms over my chest. “It’s beside the point, Neal. Just go with it. I’m trying to say that we’re going to Miami, and Katrina and her father are not going to stop me from enjoying the holidays with people I care about. Her problems with James are not my problem. Yes, I plan on telling James about the baby. Yes, I plan on making an appearance, to do so in person and without you holding my hand. But at the end of the day, I’m leaving with you.”
My statement seemed to take him back, and after a moment of falling silent, he nodded his head as he pulled me close to him. His hands on my hips as he inhaled the scent of my hair and kissed the top of my head.
“I’m sorry that I’m being overprotective. I just don’t want anything to happen to you or the baby.” Neal said softly. “I can’t lose you.”
Even though Neal and I had grown so much closer and talked about so many things, I knew there was a part of his past that he never went into detail about. I didn’t pry either, because if it was a dark part of his past, he would tell me when he was ready to, and it wasn’t my place to go crying.
Even if I did want to know more than anything what it was that hurt him so much.
“Why don’t you just step up security detail? I’ll take security with me everywhere down there. I’ll try not to venture out too often alone, and we’ll just be safe. We’ll stay with your sister. Everything will be okay.”
No one could actually guarantee if everything was going to be okay, but I was trying to be optimistic when he was being pessimistic. Taking a moment to consider what I said, he nodded in agreement, which I knew he would because when it came to me, he was a slight pushover.
“Promise me that you will not give me any issues about taking your security detail.”
“I promise.” I giggled as I leaned up on my tip, toes pressing my lips against his. “You know you’re sexy when you’re aggressive and demanding.”
A deep chuckle reverberated from his throat, and as it did, he pushed his lips harder against mine. “There are many things that I could do to you that would turn you on.”
As tempting as it was to take Neal up on his offer, I knew that I couldn’t do that. The ache between my thighs groaned in protest as I quickly let out a small breath, ready to turn him down. “As amazing as that sounds, sweetie. I have presents that I need to wrap before we leave on Saturday.”
“Seriously?” He asked, completely stunned, as a smile grew at the corner of his lips. “This is the first, I do have to admit, turning me down on my sexual advances. Well, well, well, the hormones must be kicking in.”
“Excuse me? I will have you know that my sex drive has been higher pregnant than before I was pregnant. I simply have things that I want to get done. Now, if you’re a good boy, perhaps I’ll let you have dinner…..early tonight.”
His eyes gazed from mine, down my chest towards my thighs. He knew exactly what I was talking about, and as he ran his tongue across his lips, I couldn’t help but smirk at how my comment turned him on. “Well, I do love an all you can eat buffet.”
Smacking him playfully, I laughed as the smile grew wider across his face. “Go make your call before you get yourself in trouble. I have things that I need to do, and the driver already has brought the bags into my room, they’re not going to actually wrap themselves.”
“Yeah, okay, okay.” He replied, holding his hands up in defense as if trying to fight me back. “I’ll go make my call, then we can leave early Saturday morning, get down there, spend a couple days, then leave and go see your dad before coming back home.”
It wasn’t exactly how I wanted things to go, but I wasn’t going to argue with him. It was lucky that he would even allow me to fly down there to see everybody and spend time with James after what had happened with Katrine.
I would never openly show Neal I worried about Katrine and her father. He worried so much about me on a regular basis, and the last thing I wanted him to do was worry about making sure that I was okay twenty-four hours of the day.
Getting the extra protection would be a good thing in the end. It meant that I would be able to go places without having to constantly look over my shoulder and honestly…. I wasn’t good to anybody dead, at least not yet.
So I didn’t have to worry about someone just coming across me and shooting me.
A multitude of thoughts swirled through my mind as I walked towards my bedroom and closed the door. All of the gift bags sitting on my bed, as well as wrapping paper, tape, and anything else that I could possibly need were waiting.
It was supposed to be a merry time of year.
A time of year where people got excited to spend time together, but instead, I was falling into a ditch that I wasn’t sure I would be able to get out of.
Time seemed to travel fast as I prepared for my journey down to Miami. When Saturday morning came, I was packed; the gifts were wrapped, and everything was ready to go. The only problem was, I wasn’t sure now if I was ready to face him.
Taking my time, I wandered around the apartment, making sure that I had everything that I needed while Neal was downstairs loading the bags into the vehicle. The driver assured him that he’d be able to take care of everything without his help, but Neal knew how important it was that the gifts were placed safely in the car, considering some of them were fragile.
It wasn’t that he didn’t think that his driver could handle it. Neal was just trying to be sweet and knew how hard I had slaved away to make sure that they were wrapped perfectly.
After one last check around the apartment, I grabbed my purse and made my way towards the door. “Are you ready to go?” Neal said with a small smile across his lips as he appeared in the doorway.
“Yeah, I just did one last sweep around the apartment. Everything looks good, and I don’t believe that I forgot anything.”
With a nod of his head, he took my hand in his and locked the door behind us. Then, we made our way down to the elevator to head towards the garage. I was ready for this adventure.
I was ready to see Allegra, and I was ready to see my father. But most of all, I was ready to get this guilt off my chest that I had by hiding the truth of my pregnancy from James.
“Are you sure about this? You can always change your mind,” Neal asked me as soon as we stepped into the elevator, his eyes watching every movement that I made, and with a small nod, I crossed my arms over my chest and smiled.
I wasn’t ready. However, I wasn’t going to tell him that I wasn’t ready, otherwise, he would make the decision for us and keep us here in New York for the rest of the Christmas holidays.
“Of course, I’m sure about this. I’ve been planning for the last few days and those presents look absolutely fabulous. There’s no way that I’m going to back out on going now.”
As soon as the elevator doors opened, we stepped from within them and made our way towards the car that was patiently waiting in front of us. I was full of confliction, but pushing it aside, I slid into the back seat of the car with Neal, the driver closing the door behind us.
As the car lurched out onto the streets of New York, I watched the buildings fly by the window, the cool snowy air falling down around the world outside. My heart ached with every moment that we closed in on the airport.
I was really doing this, and even though Katrine’s warning lingered at the back of my mind, I knew it had to be done.
“As soon as we get onto the plane, go ahead and get yourself settled. I’ll make sure that everything’s taken care of for takeoff, and then within a few hours, we’ll be landing in sunny Miami.”
“Sounds amazing,” I said as I turned my gaze from the window towards him.
I just needed to remain positive and remember that it wasn’t just me I was thinking about any more. It was the child that was inside me. James wasn’t the only one who deserved the truth. Eventually, my child would as well, and I would never expect James to stay away from my child.
The child was just as much his as it was mine.
***
James.
“Dad, did you happen to get the rest of those gifts from the car?” Tally’s voice called out as it traveled through my open office doorway. I had just walked inside to put some things down, and already she was at me, wondering if I had picked everything up out of the car.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, though. Since the moment that Tally became a mother, she had done a complete 180 and became the person I always knew she could be.
“Of course, I did, sweetie. I put everything in the living room. I am just putting some stuff away, and I’ll be out there in a minute to finish helping you unpack!” I called from over my shoulder as I opened the door to my desk and placed the small square box inside.
The box itself was a gift for Becca. It wasn’t a ring or anything like that. It was something simple, but at the same time, it meant a great deal to me.
Regardless of the situation that was going on between her and I. I wanted her to know that I cared about her. That through everything we went through, I still cared.
The time I spent with her meant everything to me, and it still did, even if she didn’t see how I saw things. I knew without a doubt that her happiness needed to come first.
I was the one who had f*cked everything up.
I was someone who took her for granted and drove her away from me.
I wouldn’t presume to believe that I could get her back. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was ever going to be a future for her and I again. Neal was a good man, no matter how much I detested him for taking her away from me.