Branded: A Father's Best Friend Short Story (Best Friends Book 1) by Ryan Michele

Author:Ryan Michele [Michele, Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ryan Michele
Published: 2016-12-09T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Nothing. Not a word is said in the cab of his truck. The air feels heavy and dense like a thick cloud of smog that I can’t see. The only sound is the truck and the tap of my leg that keeps bouncing up and down rapidly.

Pressing my hand on it doesn’t help.

Grady pulls us into his drive, kills the lights then the engine. I reach for the door handle.

“Stop,” he says, and for some bizarre reason, I listen, placing my hand in my lap. Why do I have to feel so damn vulnerable? So, raw. So… dammit.

“Can you just say what you need to say so this can be over with?” My voice has a bit of a hitch to it, and that pisses me off.

“Emma, look at me.” Grady’s calm voice is one anyone could easily get lost in. Drawing up my courage, I tilt my head, our eyes connecting. It feels like a physical blow with the look in his blues, but I can’t read what it is.

He blows out a breath, and I can smell the mint on it, either from gum or actual mints. He didn’t taste of it earlier. One taste and that’s all I’ll ever have, and I’ll cherish it.

“I shouldn’t have kissed you,” he starts as the bile rolls around in my stomach like a hamster on a wheel. I turn away and focus on my breathing and keeping it down. Years, I pined for this man. I crushed on him. Hell, still crush on him, and those are not the words I want to hear from his lips.

“But I’m not sorry I did.” That got my attention, and my pulse picks up. When I turn to face him this time, it’s him who’s looking out his front windshield at his garage. His side profile is just as handsome as the front. His nose is angled down just a touch, but round at the tip. His lips are full and lush.

He’s not sorry he did.

“It’s not every day a man like me can’t have what he wants.” His gaze swings to me, knocking the air from my lungs. “I want you more than my next fucking breath.”

Somehow, I find my voice. “Then why can’t you have me?” I hate that the words are small and broken—hurt, but it’s how I feel, and I can’t hide it.

“So much could go wrong. Hell, Emma, I’m twenty plus years older than you. I could be your damn father. Not only that, I held you when you were a baby, fuckin’ was there for every damn birthday. It’s just not right.”

While I see his point, I don’t much care. It surprises me that he has put this much thought into it. I wonder how long he’s actually felt this way or thought about me.

“And your father would lose his mind.” This is true and why I never told my mother any of my feelings for Grady.

“I get it,” I tell him softly, fighting back the tears as they well and my throat begins to constrict.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.