Finding Joy (The Joy Series) (Volume 2) (6 page)

“Come in, he says, as if this is not my daughter’s house,” my dad said.

“It’s his house, too, Dad,” I said quietly.

“So he’s living with you now?” my dad said, pointing a long, accusing finger at Adam.

“I am,” Adam said simply.

My dad moved past us, walking all the way into the living room. I shut the door and followed behind him.

Adam was on the move, too. He had gone into some sort of protective mode that I’d never before had the privilege of witnessing. The emotions in the room were overwhelming. It was almost as if they were alive. Anger rolled off my dad. As Adam stepped in front of me in an effort to shield me from the harsh words that were sure to follow, the move tugged at my heart. Chivalry wasn’t dead. Not in the Hill-Harper house.

 “This is unacceptable,” my dad roared. “He’s moving out.”

Adam barked out a laugh. “I’m not going anywhere, Garrett, unless she asks. And she’s not going to ask.”

“Stop calling me ‘Garrett,’” my dad said. “I have always been Mr. Harper to you, and I always will be.”

“What do you mean, ‘always’?” I interjected. Adam was still standing in front of me so that I couldn’t really see his face, but his entire body stiffened at my dad’s words.

“Obviously, you know about each other … I mean, how could you not? But have you met before?” I directed my the question at my father because I knew that if they had met it was his doing. Adam would never seek him out. His hatred ran too deep.

“Just twice, Allie,” Adam answered for him.

“Twice?” I asked. “Why?”

My dad answered first, and venom dripped off every word. “Because he had no business snooping around you, that’s why. I took precautions to keep him away from you. I paid a lot of money to his family so that they could never hurt you.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “Dad, you didn’t pay them to stay away from me. You compensated them for their loss. The loss that I caused.”

My dad’s eyes bulged, and it occurred to me that he’d told the lie so many times that he almost believed it himself. “He’s helping me face the truth, Dad. It’s okay. I’m okay. I want him here. I love him.”

There. I’d put it out there.

My dad shook his head and stared at his feet for a few seconds. When he looked up again, his expression had softened. “Allie, you only think you love him. You may even think he loves you. But he has an agenda. I’ve been dealing with his family for years. You’ve known him … for what? Six months?”

Adam visibly bristled. “Leave my family out of this. They’ve done nothing to deserve any of this.”

“The fact remains that the settlement stipulates that your family stays away from Allie and that includes you. If you don’t, I can take it all back.” He looked Adam up down like he was yesterday’s trash. “What’s left of it anyway.”

“Think about it, Adam. The apartment. All the money. What’s your mom been living on for the past 10 years? How many times have
I
sent her to rehab?”

“Get out,” Adam shouted in his face. He stepped around me and was back at the door, swinging it wide open.

“Allie …,” my dad said, looking at me as if this was a defining moment … as if this moment defined my future.

He was right. This moment
did
define my future. “Just go,” I said.

My father’s words had slapped me in the face. They stung as if he’d spoken them to me instead of Adam. I was just seconds from my emotions getting the better of me. The tears were coming. It was inevitable, but I wanted him gone before they got here.

He continued to just stare at me. “Go,” I said in a cold, dead voice that was unrecognizable even to me.

He walked past me. I didn’t turn to watch him go, but I heard his parting words. “This is not over, Adam. I will give you two days to come to your senses and clear out of here. I don’t want to see you with my daughter ever again.”

“There is no chance of me moving out,
Garrett
,” Adam said, goading him.

“We’ll see,” he responded. “Allie, I’ll see you at the office tomorrow.” I was reasonably sure that a virus was going around and that I would catch it before tomorrow.

Adam’s arms wrapped around me almost instantly. “Well that went well, don’t you think,” he said, laughing.

“You’re laughing?” I asked in disbelief. “What’s funny about this, Adam?”

“The audacity of that man, that’s what’s funny. I mean, who the fuck does he think he is? Waltzing into your apartment and telling you who you can and can’t be with…telling me to move out. You’re 27 years old. It’s laughable. What a jackass.” He shook his head in disbelief.

He was laughing on the outside, but I could tell he was really wound up. “Adam,” I said quietly. “When have you talked to him?”

Adam’s arms tightened around me. He was silent for a moment, but only a moment. Honesty. That had been our promise to each other.

“The day after your birthday. When I got back from the hotel, he came to my apartment.”

“Why? What did he want?” I asked.

“The same thing he wanted tonight. He told me to stay away from you. He made all the same threats he made tonight. You can see how affected I was.”

I nodded into his Captain America shirt and wiped my tears on it. “And the second time?”

“When you disappeared. Right after you found out about Joy. I sat in the hall outside the door all night hoping to see you. When you never came out, I went to your office to see if you were there. That was the morning I talked to Ethan, and when I was leaving, I ran into your old man on the street.”

“And?” I probed, trying not to get lost again in the image of Adam slumped on the floor in the hall.

“And let’s just say he wasn’t pleased with me. But he wasn’t on the top of my list of favorites either.”

I sighed and closed my eyes, curling into his chest.

“Come on,” he said, scooping me up into his arms and carrying me through our bedroom and into the bathroom. “You’re exhausted. Let’s put you to bed.”

He sat me on the counter and handed me my toothbrush. As soon as I had finished brushing my teeth, he pulled me off my perch and dragged me to bed. “In,” he said, pulling back the covers.

I did as I was told, and Adam slid in behind me. We laid on our sides so that we were facing each other. Even though his mind was still working over time, I could tell he wasn’t in the sharing mood.

After several minutes, I finally spoke. “Well you wanted me to rock the boat. Was that a big enough swell for you?”

His gaze was intense and unwavering. “That was nothing, Allie. He’ll get over it eventually.”

“I hope so,” I said, sliding closer. I slipped one hand into his hair and pulled his face to mine. After a sweet but chaste kiss, he pulled away again.

“They all will.” But this time he didn’t sound so sure.

He ran a finger across my cheek and down my jaw. “Not tonight, baby. We’re both tired. Roll over.”

Again, I did as I was told and tried to ignore the sting of his rejection. He curled up behind me, his body melded to mine. He was a perfect fit.
We
were a perfect fit. Even so, I couldn’t help but wonder if my dad had actually gotten to him.

I had really hoped it would take more. Tonight was nothing. My dad was capable of so much worse, and from the look on his face tonight, I had no doubt that he would live up to the threats he’d made.

 “You’re not moving out?” I asked, sounding as unsure as I felt.

His arms pulled me in a little tighter, and he pressed a kiss into my hair. “Never. I’ll never give you up. Don’t worry. I know he’s not used to losing, but he won’t win this one.”

He was right. I wouldn’t let him win. I wouldn’t let him break us apart.

_________________________

I was knee deep in files the next morning when my phone barked on my desk.

CARLY: Day 3 of no knickers = near epic fail.

ALEXIS: What?

CARLY: I forgot. While getting ready for work, I put on my panties like usual. It was only after I had 3 loaded tables that I realized how oppressive my skivvies were.

ALEXIS: Freedom feels good

CARLY: When I went to the bathroom, I discovered that they were on backwards. So that might have been part of the problem.

ALEXIS: Ha! Did you turn them around?

CARLY: I had on my new Fry boots. I would have had to completely undress so I went to the kitchen and found a pair of scissors and cut them off.

ALEXIS: In the kitchen? As your friendly attorney, I feel obligated to advise you that the health department will close you down if you keep that shit up.

CARLY: I threw them in the rubbish. Pop found them when he took it out after closing.

ALEXIS: I’m sure that didn’t worry him at all.

CARLY: Bloody hell.

ALEXIS: Last time I checked, you’re from Brooklyn. When did you turn British?

CARLY: Fucking book I’m reading. Dominant male. Submissive but spunky female. Can’t. Stop. Reading. Damn Brits. I think I sound better this way.

ALEXIS: Send me a link. I’ve got to get back to work.

CARLY: Wait! Wednesday night. Dawn is hosting wine and waxing at her house. You. Me. Going.

ALEXIS: I think you may be speaking Portuguese now.

CARLY: Lots of wine. Lots of wax. Same girls that were at her birthday party. You’re going to buff that muff.

ALEXIS: And there’s a party for that?

CARLY: Indeed.

ALEXIS: I have to work Thursday.

CARLY: We won’t be too late. You’re going.

ALEXIS: Fine. Working now.