It's Complicated (Awkward Love 1)

I pace the small room back and forth, texting Kayla to come down when she wakes up. She's at my door minutes later.

“Hey, it's okay,” she says, wrapping her arms around me when I tell her what’s happened. “It might be a good that it's all out in the open now, right?”

“No, he’s never going to get this,” I say.

“He's angry, but he'll be okay. You're an adult, remember? You’re not a kid. You can do and see who you like.”

I take a deep breath and nod. She's right. I am an adult. Nothing about what we are doing is wrong. I sit down on the bed, focusing on my breathing and determined not to cry anymore.

“So, what do I do?” I ask with a frown. “Just own this?”

“Exactly,” Kayla nods. “You go out there and talk to your dad. You answer some hard questions, like when did this start, and do you love him. Be honest and just take it and move on. Things will settle down.”

I give her another hug and ask her to leave so I can get dressed. Once I’m dressed, I summon up the courage to walk upstairs to the kitchen. Everyone is there having breakfast, except, thank God, for Milly and Max. I sit down next to Nick. It's quiet and awkward, the opposite of how it usually is at breakfast.

“Where are the kids?” I whisper.

“Upstairs,” Nick mutters back. “I wasn’t sure how this was going to go, so I wanted to keep them as far away from it as I could.”

Under the safety of the table, he puts his hand on my thigh. I smile down at my plate and stroke his fingers. Dad mutters something under his breath as he glares at me.

“I can't fucking deal with this bullshit. You sit there like this is a goddammed joke when you should at least have the decency to wipe that fucking smirk off your face.” He shakes his head, while I sit there, horrified that he’s reacting like this. All I did was smile because Nick touched my hand. “I raised you better than this, Anna.” He tosses his napkin on his plate and stalks off. We all watch, shocked as he disappears upstairs and out of sight.

After a moment, Nick pushes his chair back, the noise making me jump. I glance at him, surprised to see him standing.

“I’m going to talk to him,” Nick mutters.

“No,” I beg him. “Just leave it. Let him cool off, and this will all blow over. He’s angry now. He needs space.”

“No, what he needs is to hear our side of this,” Nick growls. “He can't just talk to you like that, Anna. I get that he's angry, and that’s fine, but I won’t let him say shit like that to you.”

He kisses me on the lips in front of everyone and then storms out. Kayla turns to me, wide-eyed. I shake my head helplessly because I have no idea what to do.

Fuck, this is not good.Chapter Fourteen

NickI find Dan out the back of the boat, leaning against the railing, looking like he wants to jump—or more likely, thinking about throwing me overboard. I stand there for a moment before I approach him. When I do, I immediately regret it. He turns around and glares at me, the anger radiating from him enough to scare me from moving any closer.

“What the hell do you want, Nick?” he growls. “You’ve got nerve, coming out here after what you’ve done. I encouraged you to get back out there, but not with my fucking daughter.”

“I didn't mean for this to happen,” I say quietly.

“You didn’t mean for it to happen?” he repeats. He shakes his head and laughs. “Well, that’s okay, then.” He glares at me. “You think it makes a difference whether you meant it or not? Are you planning on stopping it now that I know?”

I frown, not answering his question. He’s angry, but my own anger is starting to take control. She’s his daughter. I get it. But she’s a fucking adult, and it’s about time he treated her like one.

“I didn’t think so,” he mutters, nearly spitting the words at me. “So, how the hell did this all start, then? Are you going to tell me that?” he asks.

I stare at him, annoyed that he’s asking me questions that he knows is only going to inflate his anger.

“Nick? I asked you a fucking question,” he yells at me. “Was this when I sent her over to help you or were you already fucking her by then?”

“Please stop saying that,” I frown. There’s an edge to my voice that is growing sharper by the second. “She’s still your daughter, Dan. No matter how angry you are—”

“You were supposed to be my friend. Do you have any idea how this makes me feel?” he asks, taking a step towards me.