Divine in Lingerie (Lingerie 9)

One

Vanessa

When the truck pulled up to the house, I looked out the window to see Bones behind the wheel. He turned off the engine but kept his gaze forward, looking across the golden fields to the small hills beyond. His expansive shoulders looked too big for the truck, and he rubbed his fingers along his bottom lip as he thought to himself.

I watched him, expecting him to express his happiness in a more overt way.

A minute passed before he finally got out of the truck and headed to the front door.

I got there first and opened the door before his hand reached the handle. I looked into his face, seeing his bright blue eyes and fair complexion. Hair sprinkled his jaw because he skipped a shave that morning. Just as he looked on the night I first met him, he seemed broken. There wasn’t anger in his eyes—just defeat.

I continued to stare into his face, trying to make sense of his response. My father had finally accepted the man I loved into our family, so there was no reason to be so moody. Bones was a naturally melancholy man, but this occasion deserved a smile. “What is it?”

Without taking his eyes off me, he shut the door behind him. The door clicked into place, and then the silence of the house surrounded us everywhere. Only our breaths could be heard—along with our frantically beating hearts. Bones stared at me with the same brooding expression, like he didn’t have an answer.

None of this was making sense. “What happened?”

He released a quiet sigh, his nostrils flaring in the process. He finally walked past me, making sure not to touch me as he went. He moved to the couch in the living room then lowered himself, his arms resting on his knees.

I didn’t even get a kiss. “Okay, you’re scaring me.”

He brought his palms together and slightly rubbed them back and forth. He watched his movements, more interested in his subtle fidgeting than me.

I sat beside him, feeling his heat the second I was this close to him. “My father said he would accept you. But it seems like you’ve walked in here with completely different news.”

He finally spoke. “Because I have.”

I was already afraid when I watched him sit in the truck for an extra minute. I was afraid when he didn’t kiss me when he came home. But now I was scared for a whole new reason. “Griffin?”

He turned his face my way, his bright eyes landing on mine. “He changed his mind, baby.”

My eyes widened a little farther, and my chest expanded to full capacity with the breath I took. My father and I had had a long talk before he came to his decision. I told him I loved this man so much that I wasn’t going to wait for his approval anymore. The conversation went well, and my family had finally moved in a new direction. “Why? How? What did you say to him?” All he had to do was be quiet and listen to my father. What did he do to provoke my father so strongly?

“The truth.” He faced forward again. “He said he would give me his approval, but I had to answer one more question…”

“And what question was that?”

He sighed like he didn’t want to give an answer. “He wanted to know how we fell in love. He says you’re stubborn and aggressive, and there’s no way you would have agreed to date me under those conditions. So he wanted me to explain how that happened. He asked the question when he already knew the answer. But he wanted to hear me say it to make sure.”

I would normally be mortified that my father knew something so personal about my romantic life, but now I was too upset about his decision to really focus on that. “And you told him…?”

He nodded. “I considered lying. But I’d only gotten this far with your father because of my honesty. My integrity is the only thing he’s ever respected me for. I wasn’t going to throw all that away.”

My palms pressed against my face, shutting out the room and the man beside me. Just when I’d thought I was getting everything I wanted, I lost it all.

“I told him I would spare your family if you gave yourself to me.”

I shut my eyes even though my face was already covered. “Jesus…”

“That set him off. He pulled a gun on me, pressed the barrel right into my skull, and told me to disappear. If he ever sees me again, he will shoot me. And I believe him. The only reason he didn’t kill me in his office was because of you.”

“This can’t be happening.” I slowly pulled my palms away from my face and looked at the living room. My heart was beating so fast, but I felt somber at the same time. I felt empty inside, like there was nothing left of me to give.