KING: A Daddy's Best Friend Romance by Jess Bentley

Author:Jess Bentley [Bentley, Jess]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-01-17T16:00:00+00:00

The lawyer ruffles his papers.

“Well as you may know, you’ve been invited here today for the reading of the will,” he says, looking at each of the four of us pointedly. “Mrs. and Mrs. Rawlings, as Kelsey’s parents, Ryan as Kelsey’s brother, and you, Jordan, you are here because you have also been specifically mentioned by name in the document.” He clears his throat.

I wonder how many times has he had to deliver bad news, unexpected news. Is there part of him that enjoys seeing the surprise on people’s faces, the shock when he delivers the final blow? I try to sneak a peek at Kelsey’s family. They’ve never been that fond of me, and I don’t really know why.

But I need to remember—now’s not really about me. As her ‘will and testament,’ this is Kelsey’s last statement in the world.

Mrs. Rawlings looks as tight as a drum. Tighter than I’ve ever seen her. She’s a tough woman at the best of times, but not flexible. She always seems like she’s stretched as far as she can go, and right now she looks about ready to break. Mr. Rawlings, however, is a different story. A businessman, a CEO. He probably has a lot of practice hiding his emotions, and he looks calm, despite having lost his child.

Not that they ever seemed close. Kelsey sometimes said that he was so good at hiding his emotions that she wondered if there was even anything there to hide. Still, she often played the part of obedient daughter, apple of his eye, even if he didn’t react too much.

I remember her climbing on his lap, after she was a bit too old to be doing such a thing. “Daddy, please, please,” she mewled, affecting a pout. “You said I could have anything I want!” Her face was a mimicry of childhood, perpetual surprise curling her eyebrows, mouth pursed.

He would always fall for it too, despite his lack of outward affection—handing her some crisp hundred-dollar bills from his roll. “Don’t spend that all in one place, Kelsey. Make it last this time.”

They both knew that that was ridiculous. She would spend it in one place. Getting us into some bar with our fake IDs. Buying a bottle, her childhood disguise forgotten, the childish pout turned sexy moue which she would fix on a man by the bar, her hands roaming over his body, making him want her.

I would always stand in the background, sipping my drink. Now I had to wonder if it was all for show. Was she ever friends with me? Or was I just security for her on these nights? Was she the real psychopath, the real expert at hiding her emotions?

The lawyer is droning on. I force myself to pay attention to him. I lean forward on my chair and rub the tops of my legs. I’ve been spending too much time in the bar myself. It’s been a few days since I got back from the Paris trip. I did

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