“So now you don’t want Him to?”
“I already have one father who doesn’t listen to me or care about what I want. I don’t need another one.”
“Your father cares about you,” I said softly. And I was confident God did too.
“I didn’t say he doesn’t care about me. I know he does. He loves me. And somehow that makes it worse that he doesn’t care about my likes and desires. He loves me ashis son but doesn’t seem to give two shits about who I am as a person.”
“Have you tried telling him how you feel?”
Hayden snorted. “There’s no explaining things to Robert Blake. He’s always right, and his way is always what’s best. His great advice when I found out Jacqueline had cheated on me and that the baby wasn’t mine was to not get depressed. His exact words were ‘Don’t go there,’ like saying that would magically keep me from spiraling. Every time I’ve told him I have no interest in becoming CEO, he brushes me off and keeps talking like it’s a given. And the one time I tried to tell him I felt like he didn’t listen to me, he said he was entitled to his opinion about the situation.”
Frustration and something a lot deeper and more painful wound through Hayden’s aura as he spoke. I had no doubt his father only meant well and wanted the best for his son, but he’d missed how much his approach hurt Hayden.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured.
“It’s notyourfault.”
“I can still be sorry that you feel that way about your father. I can’t pretend to have been through the same thing, but I do understand what it’s like to feel you’re not quite fitting in with your family.”
“Oh?” Hayden’s hands slipped around my waist. “What did your family do?”
“My brothers have never done anything wrong per se, but sometimes—a lot of the time—I feel like a failure in comparison to them. Logically, I know we’re just differentand have different strengths, but that doesn’t change how it feels.”
“If it’s any consolation, I like you much better than your brothers.” He pressed his lips to my forehead for the second time that morning. “You never answered my original question. Does it bother you to miss church?”
“If I say yes, will you come with me?”
“That depends. What do I get in return for accompanying you?”
“What do you want?”
“For you to be mine,” he said simply.
“I thought you wanted me to wait before giving you an answer.”
“I don’t want you to reject me without giving me a chance. If you’re ready to say you’ll be mine now, I’m all for that.” His lips curved into a smirk that was part charming, part arrogant.
I shook my head at him, but I couldn’t fight the smile that tugged at my lips.
Before I could say anything, my phone buzzed.
“Hold that thought.” I held up a finger as I fished out my phone. It could just be Miles or the group chat with the girls, but I always checked in case it was an emergency or someone was hurt.
The message on the screen made all the blood drain from my face.
Z
I have a job for you. Be at the address below asap. See you soon, little angel.
Beelzebub hadn’t given me an actual job since I’d healed Hayden two years ago.
“Danielle?” Hayden’s voice broke me out of my state of shock. “Is everything okay?”
“Um, I have to go. There’s an emergency at work.”
He frowned. “I didn’t know you were on call.”
“I’m not usually. It’s a special case. Family matter.”
