Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30316 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 152(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30316 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 152(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Before I knew it, I was waking up on Friday morning to a house that felt like a home—complete with half of the closets in the dressing room packed to the gills with all the new stuff Garret had already bought for me—wrapped up in the arms of my super-sexy husband. It was a position I’d quickly grown used to, since he liked to hold me while we slept.
What I wasn’t accustomed to was waking up when the sun was barely in the sky to the sound of my phone beeping like mad. “That can’t mean anything good,” I groaned as I wiggled loose to grab it off the bedside table.
“No checking your phone until I get my good-morning kiss,” Garret insisted, wrapping his hand around mine and my phone as he captured my lips in a quick but thorough kiss. “There. Now you can see whose ass I have to kick for waking us up so early.”
I laughed as he let go of my hand, and I looked down. “Oh, crap. It’s my dad. He got back into town late last night and already heard about me not coming into the office. He wants to see me this morning, before he heads in. Which basically means right now.”
Without Garret’s help, I wasn’t sure that I wouldn’t have shown up at my dad’s house dressed in pajamas. He kept me calmed down and even insisted on us having a quick breakfast before we headed out, but I was still a nervous wreck about how my dad was going to react to the news of my marriage when we walked into his home office.
“Garret Hansen.” My dad’s eyebrows rose when his gaze dropped down to find our hands linked together. “What a…surprise.”
My dad left out the “nice” part of that phrase, but that wasn’t a shocker, considering the situation. “You two know each other?”
I didn’t know why Garret wouldn’t have mentioned it, since he’d had plenty of opportunity during any of our long talks this week. “We know of each other,” Garret replied.
“Well. Okay. I guess that makes this a little bit easier, if Dad’s already aware of who you are. I mean, because you’re a successful businessman and everything.”
“Have you resorted back to that dreadful chattering again, Keaton? Spit it out, girl.”
Garret stiffened at my side. I squeezed his hand. “Garret and I were married earlier this week, Daddy. We—”
My dad held up one hand to cut me off while he turned red in the face. “Do you realize the mess you’ve managed to land me in, Keaton?” he snarled. “Running off and getting married without telling me first. No engagement announcement in the Post. No engagement party. No wedding. No anything except a surprise announcement that you’re already married. What are people going to think?”
“I know it’s a little bit shocking, but—”
He rolled his eyes upward, as though he thought he’d find some patience falling from the sky. It was something I’d seen him do a million times when talking to me. So I wasn’t at all surprised when his gaze narrowed, then zeroed in on Garret, and he effectively dismissed me. “Leave us to let the men talk, Keaton. We’ll figure out how to handle this mess.”
“But, Dad—”
Garret squeezed my hand. “It’s okay, beautiful. I’m more than happy to speak with your father in private.”
My back stiffened at his tone. It was one thing for my dad to talk to me like that, but I wasn’t about to accept the same kind of treatment from my husband. I glared up at him, and he winked at me. The gesture let me know we were in this together, and the irritation I’d felt at his patronizing tone melted away. If he wanted to handle whatever power play my dad wanted to pull, I was more than willing to let him. That was why I got married, after all.
Chapter Six
GARRET
I hated acting like a chauvinist dick in front of Keaton. Clearly she’d grown up with enough of that, having this condescending jackass as her father. Her face softened when I winked at her, and I breathed a little easier knowing she’d caught on this was a ruse.
Her father’s eyes were shrewdly inspecting me, which would probably make most men shrivel in fear. I didn’t give a fuck and openly ogled my wife’s ass as she left the room.
Norris cleared his throat, but I ignored him. When the door was closed, I finally turned my attention back to him. He had aged well, his face sporting very few lines, and his neatly combed brown hair looked distinguished with streaks of gray at his temples. As usual, he wore a three-piece suit, and he was sitting behind a huge, old-fashioned mahogany desk. It was almost too big for him, and I held in a chuckle at the thought of what he was compensating for. Keaton obviously inherited her small stature from her father, and for someone who loved power, he’d have to create intimidation in other ways.