“You live at home, too,” I say.
He nods. “Yeah, but it’s different for me.”
He’s right. It is. Dad never questions where he’s going, unlike how he does with me.
My dad walks into the office, and my body tenses, as does Duke’s. He’s an intimidating man, not so much by his size but by his reputation. He once fired a guy who “looked at him wrong.” When he comes in each morning, I never know which version I’m getting—happy Dad or angry Dad.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he leans in and kisses my forehead.
I relax a little. Happy Dad. “Hello. Thank you for the week off.”
My brother cocks his head, then points at his neck to warn me. But it’s too late.
“Is that a hickey?” my dad asks.
My hand instinctively goes to my neck. “No, it’s a bug bite.”
“Let me see.” My dad removes my hand and stares at the mark. “Delaney, who did this to you?”
I roll my eyes. “Dad, I’m twenty-one. If I want to make out with a guy, I will.”
His grip on my wrist tightens. “No. You are a Manzia. You do not have that sort of freedom. Letting the wrong people in can get you killed. I’ve taught you this.”
Yes, he has. He’s warned me time and again that people out there want our money. His warnings that someone will kill me for it are a bit extreme, but he’s a paranoid man, so I just nod when he goes on like that.
But I knew my sailor would be safe and not after me for money. He had no idea who my family was. “It’s no one you need to worry about. It was just a guy here on leave.”
My dad releases my wrist. “Leave? He’s military?” He glances at Duke, who is staring at the floor.
“Yes.”
“Will you see him again?”
I shrug. My dad stares at me, trying to determine if I’m lying.
“If you do, I want to meet him. Understand?”
“Yes.” I fully understand.
Meeting my dad is always the death of any relationship I hope to have. After Camden, I tried to date a few boys, but my dad has taken each one I’ve brought home into his office. I don’t know what he says, but they never call me again. One of the joys of being Rocky Manzia’s daughter.
But maybe Logan wouldn’t be so easily intimidated. Being in the military means he has likely faced harsher men.
“Duke, be ready to leave in a couple of minutes,” Dad says as he walks into his office.
Duke nods, then once my dad is out of earshot, he leans down. “Are you lovestruck?”
I blink a few times. “What are you going on about?”
He points at my face. “That goofy grin you got.”
I glare at him.
“Let’s go get some breakfast, Duke. Delaney has a lot of work to catch up on.”
Once they leave, I get busy. Dad closed the office this past week while he was gone, but that doesn’t mean his workers weren’t out finishing projects. The stack of receipts on my desk this morning proves it.
Midday, I finally stop to take a break. I grab my phone and see a missed text from Logan.
