Your Dad Will Do (A Touch of Taboo 1)

“So you fucked my dad.”

I give a vicious little smile. “You’re not the only one who calls him Daddy now.”

“Jesus, Lily.” He shakes his head, looking like he can’t decide whether to laugh or start screaming at me. He finally straightens. “You know what? I deserved that.”

“Yes, you did.”

“I’m sorry.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “I am sorry. I didn’t want things to go like this. I don’t know where we got so twisted.”

This isn’t a conversation to have in Shane’s kitchen, but I also want it over. This is the clean break that was denied me for four agonizing days while I waited for Max to call and he never did. Better to have it now and move on with our lives. I lift my chin. “We weren’t working. We never should have gotten engaged.”

“I know,” he says softly, still not quite looking at me. “It just seemed like it was the next logical step. I don’t even know if I realized something was missing until I met Jessica and—” He flinches. “It doesn’t make what I did right.”

“No,” I agree. “It doesn’t.”

His gaze tracks to the ceiling where we can hear Shane’s footsteps. “I can’t believe you fucked my dad.”

I can’t believe I want to do more than fuck him. I don’t say it. It’s barely something I’m allowing myself to comprehend. It’s sure as hell not something for Max to know one way or another. “I’ll box up your stuff and you can pick it up on Friday.” I walk to where my purse sits on the counter and dig out the ring. It’s a pretty piece of jewelry, but looking at it now, it’s just another red flag. I never would have picked out a princess cut on a plain band for myself. “Here.”

He stares at it a long time and finally takes it. “You’re being remarkably chill right now.”

“Max.” I wait for him to look at me. “You just found me fucking your father. I think I can afford to be a little chill.” It won’t last. No matter how clean the break, how necessary, it still hurts. A lot.

He grimaces. “Yeah, well, I’m just not going to think about that too hard.” Max hesitates. “Is it just this weekend, or—”

“That’s really none of your business.”

He opens his mouth, seems to reconsider, and finally nods. “I guess it isn’t my business any more, is it?”

“Bring my stuff with you when you come to get your box of shit.”

“Sure.” He lifts his hands like he wants to hug me and stops. “Fuck, this is weird. I’m sorry. I can’t say it enough.”

Not sorry enough to have broken up with me like a normal person who’s finished with a relationship. Not sorry enough to talk to me about how unhappy he obviously was. Not sorry enough stop himself from fucking another woman while he was still engaged to me.

I draw myself up. “I think you should leave now.”

“Yeah. Right. Okay.” He drags his gaze over me one last time. “See you around, Lily.”

“No, Max. You won’t.” I hold perfectly still as I listen to him walk down the hall and out the front door. I wait a few more moments before I slump against the counter. “Fuck.”

Somehow, I keep moving. I walk into the living room and pick up my phone. It’s still recording, which answers the question I hadn’t quite been able to bring myself to ask. Shane didn’t orchestrate this. It was sheer dumb luck that brought Max here on a morning that started out with us pretending he’d catch us. I give a broken little laugh. “God, I’m so fucked up.”

“Lily.”

I look up to find that Shane’s completely dressed again. He looks down the hallway, and I answer his unspoken question. “He left. I gave him the ring back.”

He crosses to me slowly, as if I’m a deer in danger of being spooked. “Are you okay?”

“I got what I wanted, I guess.” My chest feels too tight. “Revenge. Except he didn’t really care, after his first shock, so it’s pretty shitty revenge. He’s still going back to her. We’re still over. He’s not going to be crying over me while he’s with his new girlfriend.” I hold up a hand before he gets too close. “I know I’m deep in the self-pity stage. Let me have it.”

“I didn’t say anything.” But he has a strange look on his face. “Lily… What if we didn’t stop?”

Chapter 16

I shake my head slowly, sure I’ve heard Shane wrong. “What?”

“Tell me this weekend wasn’t the best sex of your life.” He takes a step toward me. “Tell me that you didn’t enjoy every single second you spent with me.” Another step. “Tell me you were lying when you said you loved me.”

“Please don’t ruin this,” I whisper. “We still have one day left.”