“Four months.”
“Humph.” His smile was dry and humorless. He thought I was an idiot, and the total look of disappointment that followed was what I’d been trying to avoid.
“Where are you planning to stay? You have to move out of your apartment next week because I refuse to pay for this foolishness. I’m not renewing your lease for some pipe dream and misguided love.”
“I’ve been staying with Devlin for months.” I gazed down at my hands as the words left my mouth because I didn’t want to witness his reaction.
“That’s it!” He rose from his seat and leaned over the table, getting into my face. “You’re going to tell me who the fuck this man is.” His words spoken in an angry whisper were more intimidating than his shout. “If you think I’m going to leave my only daughter halfway across the country with some man I know nothing about, you are out of your fucking mind. Tell me his full name, Juliana, or I will hire a private investigator to follow you around and tell me every last detail of who and what this man is.”
His breaths were heavy. The other patrons were pretending to not look our way, but I felt their eyes on us. One thing I knew about my father was he didn’t make empty threats, and Devlin wouldn’t take well to being followed and investigated.
“Devlin Ward,” I finally admitted as the heat and tension in my neck threatened to suffocate me.
He froze, eyes slightly widened, and growled. My dad actually growled. I’d never seen him this angry, and today was the day I totally devastated him. This was never my intention. I loved my dad, and I wanted to keep what little of a relationship I had with him, but I also needed control of my own life.
He dropped back into his seat, elbows on the table, head resting in his palms. “As in Ward Enterprises?”
“I know what you’re thinking, Dad, but he’s not like everyone says.”
“The man’s a megalomaniac! He has no business ethics. He was probably raised in violence and exhibits it in his life now. Perpetrating like a gentleman when everyone knows his past is sordid.”
“It’s hearsay, Dad. You’re assuming these things about him.”
“Hearsay from men I’ve known and done business with for years. This is over the top, Juliana. I understand things got a little rocky with Nicholas, but you can’t trade in a good man who made a mistake for an evil man who lives for mistakes.”
“I wish everyone would stop judging him. Sure, he’s had a rough life and he’s a product of that, but he’s a good man, and I won’t let you sit here and judge him when you’ve never even met him.”
I picked up my phone and sent Devlin a text to pick me up. I threw my graduation gown over my arm, picked up my purse, and got up from the table. When I leaned over to kiss him, he leaned away. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I love you.”
I waited outside for fifteen minutes before Devlin’s car pulled up to the curb. I’d taken my heels off, the rough surface of the asphalt digging into my soles as I hurried to the car.
As soon as the door shut, Devlin turned to me and asked, “How’d it go?”
I leaned my head back against the headrest and let out a puff of air that did nothing to relieve the stress that was still building. One of the reasons I didn’t want my relationship with Devlin to come to light was because I didn’t want to feel torn. And that’s where I was now. Even though I knew I’d chosen freedom, my dad would think I’d chosen Devlin over him, and that didn’t sit right with me.
“Horribly,” I grumbled, my eyes still shut.
“Hey…” His hand cupped my face as heturned me toward him. I opened my eyes and immediately got lost in his shimmering blue gaze. What I saw when I really looked at him—into him—assured me I’d made the right decision. I wanted my freedom, and that look in Devlin’s eyes set me free every single time.
He leaned in and kissed me. It was soft and comforting at first, but like any other time, it quickly grew hot and steamy.
A hard rapping against the window broke through the thick fog of lust that had already begun filling the small car. A glance over Devlin’s shoulder proved the graduation day from hell wasn’t ending anytime soon. My dad lifted an eyebrow, signaling for us to roll down the window.
“You don’t have to open it. We can just pull off.”
Devlin gave me an incredulous look. “Do I look like the kind of man who backs down?”
That was the problem. They were both stubborn alpha male types, and those were the kind of people who clashed the hardest.
Devlin pressed the button, and as the window slid down, I held my breath.