“Felicity doesn’t know he’s her father?”
Emma shakes her head, her body relaxing against me. I hold her, absorbing everything she’s told me, wanting to fix all of her problems big or small. I had already determined she was fierce, and loyal, but hearing what she did for her father makes me want to make her life easier. She has already gone through so much. She deserves to be happy. I’m going to be the one to do that for her.
I look down at the top of her blonde head, pressing a kiss to it. Emma tenses against me, giving me the hint it’s time to go. She needs time to get used to leaning on me for help. It won’t happen overnight, but this is a start.
“If you ever need anything, I’m right next door.”
“My superhero, right?”
I laugh a little. “Yeah, you’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you or Felicity.” Can I tell you how good it makes me feel to have her view me as a protector? It makes my chest puff out with pride.
Emma glances up, her face strained with what appears like worry. “You don’t need to protect us.”
“I know, but I want to.”
She opens her mouth, but I kiss her lightly, stopping her words. With the strength of a real superhero I pull her up off the couch with me. “Go get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
It’s almost as if she’s in a daze as she walks me to the door. I can tell she wants to say something, but I can spot the exact moment she must decide against it. I don’t push her for anything.
“Call me if you need anything. I mean it.” With that, I turn the lock on the door, ensuring it will be locked when I close it and walk out the door. I’ll definitely be her superhero any day of the week.
10
Emma
I bite my lip as I stare at the closed door. I’m conflicted. Part of me wants to yank the door open, run after him and demand he finish the kiss we started. The other part of me wants to call my realtor and beg her to put my house up for sale to get as far away from him as possible.
I’ve never told anyone about Felicity’s dad. Even my mother only knows bits and pieces of the story. Why I decided to confide in Axel I’ll probably never understand, but I did, and now I don’t know what to do. He was so upset when I confessed who Felicity’s dad really is. I’m a tiny bit afraid he’ll show up at every club in town trying to find the one I used to work at.
And it wouldn’t be hard to do.
Exotic dancers all run in the same circles. I’m sure Axel could find him easily.
I shrug, it’s too late to take anything back. Axel knows about my past. I can’t bring myself to completely hate that fact. It was nice being able to unload my burdens on someone, although I’ll never admit it.
After my dad found out he was sick, my mom was a wreck. When she came into my room to tell me what was happening, I could see it in her face. She wasn’t going to be able to handle what needed to be done. It wasn’t her fault. My father was the love of her life, and she had just found out he was dying. I never thought twice about the choices I made to ensure my family stayed together while my dad received the treatment he so desperately needed.
I like that Axel didn’t appear disgusted at what I did. In fact, he complimented me on doing what I had to do. A smile tugs at my lip. I fight the push of my body as it begs me to head over to his house, demanding his lips.
The sound of someone coming down the hallway stops me from running over to climbing on top of my neighbor. My mother, wrapped in her ratty pink robe my dad bought her one Christmas, wanders into the kitchen. We’ve all tried in vain to buy her a new robe so she could replace her current holey one, but she refused to wear anything else. Now with Dad gone I wonder if she would request to be buried in it.
She grabs two mugs from the counter and I follow her into the kitchen. She makes two cups of tea before sitting down on the barstool. I take my mug and hug it to my chest. Even though it’s hot as hell outside, the warmth of the cup is soothing.
“You seemed to have had an interesting night.” Her eyebrow comes up like she knows everything that’s been going on.
“It had its moments.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”