House Rules(72)

“I was going to say on your knees, but your way works just as well.”

I smacked him on the shoulder. “Really?”

He shrugged. “What can I say? You already know I’m an asshole. No point in pretending otherwise, right?”

I decided to reward him on my knees anyway.





CHAPTER 23





Miller


“I can’t believe you dragged me here,” I said, wondering what the hell I was doing in a grocery store.

“Where did you expect us to get everything we need to make dinner. You wanted to cook at home, but you have no food in the house.” She pushed the cart in my direction. “Now push while I find what we need.”

What the hell happened to my life?

I glanced over at the sexy brunette by my side, a slight smile curving her lips. That was what happened to my life. I’d give anything to see that smile, even if it meant pushing a shopping cart through the store. But I wouldn’t let her know that.

“Fine, but I better get dinner and a good fuck tonight.”

We turned the corner and our cart ran into another.

“Miller?” I looked up to see my mom and dad standing there staring at us.

“Mom? Dad? Umm . . . what are you guys doing here?” I still hadn’t told them about Tess. A part of me was still worried Dad would think I couldn’t do the job when I was juggling a relationship too.

Dad glanced back and forth between me and Tess. His brows pinched together. Shit, he would definitely have something to say about this. He wrapped his arm around my mom’s waist, pulling her tight to him, almost as if he was protecting her from something. Except, there was no danger. “I was about to ask you the same thing?”

I cleared my throat, hoping that this whole meeting didn’t go to shit. “Grabbing a few things for dinner.” I took Tess’s hand and pulled her to stand next to me. “Mom, Dad, this is Tess. Tess these are my parents—”

“Mr. and Mrs. Hawes.”

Fuck.

Mom looked over at Dad for a second, but he kept his head forward and extended his hand to Tess. This was not the reaction I was hoping for. Dad’s reaction to Elena was more heartfelt and genuine; this felt stiff and forced. Not telling my dad about Tess was going to bite me in the ass.

Tess took Dad’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” She fidgeted from foot to foot. It was rare that Tess was unsure, but she could obviously sense the same odd vibes coming from my father that I did.

He didn’t respond, giving her a simple nod and returned his attention to me. “Miller, we’ll talk later.”

Unsure what to say at the moment without pissing him off and unwilling to cause a scene, I said, “Yeah.”

He used the arm around Mom’s waist to turn her in the other direction. Tess watched them frozen to her spot. Her eyes were wide, moisture pooling in them.

“He hates me.”

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into an embrace. This was my fault. I should have told him. Dad usually wasn’t cold to women, but there was something simmering just below the surface, and I had a feeling I would find out just what when I talked to him.

“No he doesn’t. He’s probably got a lot on his mind right now with handing the dealership over to me.”

Her head moved back and forth against my chest. “No, he was smiling until he saw me next to you.”

I leaned back and tilted her chin up with my finger. “You’re absolutely amazing, how could anyone hate you.” The words were out of my mouth before I thought about them.

Her eyes held an emptiness I saw every time she talked about her parents. “Trust me, it’s more than possible.”

“No, your parents are fucked up assholes. I’ll call him when we get back to the house and prove it to you.”

She sighed and wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. It hurt to see her like that. Tess usually portrayed such strength, it was easy to forget how badly her family had hurt her.

“Okay. Let’s get the last few things and get out of here.”

We collected everything and paid at the counter. Once we got home, I left Tess alone in the kitchen to start dinner and went upstairs to my office. I needed to hear what Dad had to say so I could explain and make him see reason. Although that wasn’t always something easily accomplished. He picked up on the third ring.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Me?” I snarled. “You’re the one who was rude as fuck to Tess.” I wanted to shout, but I didn’t want to take the chance that she’d hear the conversation.

“And what the hell does that matter? She’s just another piece of pussy you’ll keep around for a few days before you throw her away.” I opened my mouth to protest, but Dad kept speaking. “I’ve had it with this bullshit. You want to fuck half the city that’s up to you, but I’m sick and tired of you introducing these women to your mother and getting her hopes up. Keep that shit at the club or in your house. Plus, you letting an easy piece of ass screw with my business is not what I expect of you. Get it together, Miller. We can’t have this shit if you’re going to run things.”