Paying Off Her Dad's Best Friend (Her Dad's Best Friend 2)

“She doesn’t want to share our daughter,” I sigh. “Ariana isn’t the most stable parent. Or person.”

“Killing her ex-husband seems extreme, though. You guys have been divorced since right after the baby was born. She’s had almost a year to get over it.”

“It’s not.” Her face shows complete confusion. It’s like she can’t imagine why Ariana would kill me.

“It’s a power play as well as a grab for our daughter. She wants to take over everything that we control, both families.”

“Oh,” Kelly says. “So it’s not about your baby?”

“It’s not really about my daughter. Ariana has a few addictions and doesn’t really care about Lucia. Ariana isn’t an attentive parent, but she cried in court and the judge gave her primary custody.”

“How much time do you get?”

“Every other weekend. My lawyer was an asshole.” I clear my throat. “But enough about me. Do you think you’re okay?”

“Someone just tried to kill you. You’re asking if I’m okay?”

“It’s not the first time. And I just killed someone in front of you.”

Kelly looks down into her glass, one finger playing with a drop of condensation.

“I think I’ll be okay,” she says finally.

Chapter Twelve

Unfulfilled

Kelly

My mind is still trying to process everything that just happened. I stopped an assassin. Then I watched Iacopo murder him.

I hadn’t known details about the baby. Lucia looks a lot like her dad. They have the same hair. The same eyes. Her mouth is her mom’s though, and her little tiny nose will grow into something bigger.

I keep playing with the condensation on my glass of orange juice. Uncle Iacopo was a benevolent Santa Claus. He didn’t have problems.

This version of Iacopo is way more open about everything that has gone wrong for him lately. I didn’t pay attention to Ariana. She didn’t spend much time with Iacopo. I don’t know if she ever came over to our house. I only saw her once in a while.

“I should go back to bed,” I say. The pain on Iacopo’s face is hurting me.

I act on impulse and move forward to hug him. His body is stiff.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re sad,” I whisper against his ear. “And it’s not fair.”

His body turns towards me. Then he’s lifting me onto the countertop and pushing his body between my legs. I can’t deny that feeling his hard body there feels good, but his head is resting right on my shoulder and boobs.

“Life isn’t about fairness.” He doesn’t say it in an angry way. He’s not correcting me. He’s just stating a fact. I can feel my chest get warm as he gently rubs his face against me. All I wanted to do is hug him, but I’m getting really turned on. My core is heating up right now. I’m so embarrassed.

“Life isn’t always fair,” I say, agreeing. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t reach for what you deserve.”

His head comes up. He’s staring me right in my eyes. His pupils are huge, dilated, the black eating up everything.

His mouth touches mine. I’d think that he’d be hungry right now, but it’s soft. He’s worshiping my mouth. His hands are on my back, pulling me close, stroking the curve of my hip to my waist and then back again.

“You’re sweet,” he sighs. And he kisses me again, like my lips are made of candy that he shouldn’t be eating.

I shouldn’t be kissing him back, but I am. My own hands are on his shoulders, pulling him close as he kisses me and makes my mind go fuzzy.