by Michele Hauf
“Your son is right,” his father said.
Ted, Kennedy’s father, pushed his chair back. “I better get my lovely bride out of here before curiosity gets the better of her.”
“Dad, you just put that in her head,” Kennedy said.
“We both know he’s talking about the same things your mother wants anyway,” Ted said. “Marriage and babies. But since you two decided to keep this a secret, we have no idea where the two of you stand on that. Hell, we barely know how long you’ve been in a loving relationship.” Ted stood behind Marylin. “You do love my daughter, right? I mean, why else go through all the trouble of first keeping this super-secret and then going public on such a national level.”
“Daddy. Really. Stop. Now you’re being worse than Mom.” Kennedy’s cheeks turned bright red.
“No. It’s okay, and it’s a fair question.” There had been a fair amount of tension during the entire meal. Part of it had been between him and Kennedy regarding their discussion after they’d had sex.
The other part had to do with their parents and their expectations of whatever this relationship might mean for both families.
Or what it might not mean.
And what father isn’t overprotective of their little girls. While Hawk wasn’t a father, and he’d probably never be one, if he did have a kid, he’d certainly behave the same way as Ted in this situation. Hawk would absolutely want to know what some young man’s intentions were with his daughter who had the nerve to keep things a secret from her family.
“I care very deeply for your daughter,” Hawk said.
“That’s not the word I was looking for, son.” Ted rested his hands on his wife’s shoulders, keeping eye contact with Hawk.
“Dad. Now you really are putting pressure on us.”
“I’m sorry. I honestly don’t mean to. But I had to hear about one of my girls being in a romantic relationship with her boss on some entertainment rag and then some stupid morning show that I don’t even like.”
“No one likes that Cindy woman,” Marylin said. “She’s always stirring up trouble.”
“We can all agree on that point.” Hawk topped off his wine glass along with Kennedy’s. He gave her a weak smile and patted her leg under the table. “Kennedy and I are being forced to do things on a timetable that isn’t ours.”
“Not to be rude in your home, but Marylin and I are insulted that neither of you thought enough of this to tell us,” Ted said. “But that you did tell your parents.”
“That was my decision.” Kennedy downed her wine and then reached across the table for the bottle and filled her glass to the rim.
“Care to explain why, young lady?” her father asked.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. Things with Hawk and I didn’t happen like a typical relationship, and by the time we realized we were in a relationship, telling you seemed weird. We needed time to figure out where we wanted to take this, and I mean no disrespect, but in this family, nothing is private, and I was enjoying having a little bit of that.”
“And to be honest, we aren’t sure about where all this is headed,” Hawk added. “I’m in new territory with Kennedy. I care about her more than I’ve ever cared about any other woman.”
“You don’t have a great track record,” Ted said.
“Dad, that’s rude.” Kennedy narrowed her eyes.
“It’s the truth,” Hawk’s mother said. “Until he told us he started dating this lovely young lady, we thought he needed to get his head examined for his taste in women.”
“We’re getting off topic.” Hawk took a sip of courage. “I plan on being in this relationship for the long haul.” Oddly, Hawk didn’t choke on the words. If anything, they flowed naturally off his lips and warmed his heart, as if he actually meant them.
Maybe he did.
In a friendship sort of way.
Shit.
Whatever he felt for her, it wasn’t friendship, and he had no intention of letting her go anytime soon.
If ever.
“I just hadn’t expected to have to tell her how I felt in front of you for the first time,” he said, staring into Kennedy’s shocked eyes.
“What are you saying, exactly?” his father asked.
“Yeah, what are you saying?” Kennedy repeated her father’s words with the same stunned tone.
Hawk arched a brow. He couldn’t actually say those three little words, even if his heart told him that this woman was turning his world upside down and inside out. It didn’t matter that he knew he could fall in love with her. “Yesterday, Kennedy and I were enjoying just being together and wondering how we were going to break it to you that we were in a committed relationship.” He took Kennedy’s hand and brought it to his lips.
“Well, it’s not fair that we’ve known for a while,” his mother said. “But we didn’t know it was serious, and by the way the two of you look at each other, I’d say this is life-changing.”
“You have no idea,” Kennedy said. “But we still need time to figure it all out.”
“I honestly don’t understand what there is to figure out,” Marylin said. “You either want to be together or you don’t.”
Hawk held Kennedy’s gaze for a long moment. He knew how he wanted to handle that question, but he had no idea if she’d be okay with his response or not. He searched her expression but got no answers. If she wasn’t going to say anything, he’d have to take a leap of faith and just say something.
Anything.
“I don’t have the best track record when it comes to relationships,” he admitted. “However, I haven’t gone into this lightly, and that is in part why I didn’t want to go public. Because I care so much, I want to protect Kennedy.”
“And because I’m the one who has had to deal with the fallout of his past relationships,” Kennedy said. “I wanted to take things slow. I also thought it would be a fling. When it turned into something more, it was a few months in, and I wanted to just enjoy what we had without the world making it ugly or something it wasn’t, like they are doing now.”
“I think we can all understand that,” Ted said. “And on that note, your mother and I will be going.” He helped his wife out of her chair. “I take it the car service is still here?”
“Yes, sir,” Hawk said. “And I want to say for the record that I only want to make your daughter happy. She makes my world a better place, and I want to make hers shine.”
“I’m going to remember you said that, son,” Ted said with an outstretched hand.
“I’ll walk you to the door.” Kennedy took her mother by the hand and headed toward the front of the house.
Hawk let out a long sigh of relief. That hadn’t been horrible. Although, he had no idea what he really thought would have gone down when all four parents had been in the same space, but he didn’t expect that Kennedy’s father would ask him about his feelings for his daughter.
Nor would he think that his emotions would get the better of him, mostly because he didn’t have strong emotions when it came to women.
However, Kennedy wasn’t just any female.
“I’ve never seen you this taken with a girl since college,” his father said. “I’m not sure what to do with the information, much less how to act.” He took the bottle of wine and refilled all the glasses. “But I have to say I feel like I’m missing some pieces to the puzzle now that I’m seeing the two of you together.”
“You and me both,” his mother added.
“It’s all very complicated now that it’s gone public.” Hawk had always struggled lying to his parents, so he decided to go as close to the truth as he could without giving it up completely. “Kennedy has been my assistant for a long time, and she’s been the one dealing with the fallout of my bad girlfriend choices for years. Women like Heather and Lorna don’t make it easy for Kennedy.”
“Does she not trust you?” his mother asked.
“It’s not that.” Hawk leaned back in his chair. “I might have picked crappy girls, but she knows I’m not that kin
d of man. But we both have some commitment issues.”
“What’s her problem with it?” His father had always been a blunt man, and for the most part, Hawk appreciated that trait.
“She had her heart broken before she and I got together. She’s a little gun-shy, but I’m doing my best to show her how much I care and want her in my life.” Holy fuck. That was not a lie. His nose was not going to grow.
He absolutely wanted to be with Kennedy and for longer than five minutes.
His mother fanned herself. “I’ve been waiting nearly forty years to hear you say something like that. Is it possible you might even change your mind about having a family?”
Hawk laughed. “Let’s not get that far ahead of ourselves.”
“Where’s the whiskey,” his father asked. “I need a stiff one because you didn’t say over my dead body, which is your standard response.”
Nope. He hadn’t said that, and the idea of having a baby didn’t seem so foreign all of a sudden.
“You two make for a cute couple,” Kennedy’s mother said. “I just wish you had told us.”
“I know. I wish I had too.” Kennedy kissed her mother’s cheek. “We got lucky that Rusty called us before he ran with the story and that he didn’t run it like Cindy wanted to.” The entire evening had gone incredibly well; only a fair amount of tension bubbled to the surface between her and Hawk. She doubted anyone could really tell, but it was there, and it bothered her because she couldn’t tell if it was because they’d had sex and liked it.
Or if he had decided he no longer wanted a repeat performance.
Whatever caused her to feel slightly uncomfortable, she needed to address, after she figured out why she felt so weirded out by everything.
“I know he’s a good man, and I like him, but are you sure about this?” her father asked.
Kennedy let out a long breath. “Honestly, Dad. No. I’m not. That’s why I didn’t want to make it public. He’s not a regular man in the sense he can go out and have a dinner without people staring and pointing. I didn’t want to be that superficial girl on his arm that everyone wanted the dirt on. I get to see him so differently than most people because we work so closely together, and I wanted to keep things private because the moment we stepped onto that set this morning, our relationship changed, and it’s already put a strain on us.”
So, maybe it was the sex and then having to have dinner with their parents right after. Her cheeks heated. It had been the best damn sex she’d ever had. He’d been so attentive and passionate and not once, even after, did she feel awkward.
That was until her parents showed up, and he had to greet them alone while she freshened up in the master suite.
No. That was uncomfortable, but not the cause of her concerns.
“What kind of strain, dear?” her mother asked.
“He’s used to battling this shit all the time. I’m not,” Kennedy said.
Her father laughed. “You sure handled yourself like a pro on The Morning Dose,” her father said.
“You put that Cindy woman in her place,” her mother added.
Kennedy smiled with a bit of pride.
Her father tipped her chin. “I can see you care about Hawk, and he cares about you too. The insanity of his past girlfriends and all that drama will die down as time goes on. Just do your thing, and don’t give those idiots out there anything to talk about it.”
“I love you, Daddy.” She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his strong shoulder.
“I love you too, kiddo.” He kissed her forehead. “Oh, and did he really buy you a Range Rover?”
She took a step back and nodded. “You can’t argue with him when he’s made up his mind about spending his money, and it’s an early birthday present.”
“Tell him your mother’s birthday is coming up, and she wants a new Audi SUV.”
“Dad, don’t joke about that in front of Hawk. He’s a very generous person, and he’d probably do it. That’s how I ended up with a new car.”
“Seriously?”
She nodded. “He once bought everyone in the office new computers, iPhones, and Apple watches for Christmas just because one person made a comment about theirs being slow.”
“Wow,” her father said.
“You should see his charitable contributions.” Kennedy had always been proud to work for Hawk. He did great things for the community, and he didn’t just make donations. No. Hawk often got his hands dirty by going to disaster sites or even building homes with Habitat for Humanity or serving up chili at the homeless shelter. The odd part was that Hawk tried to keep his generosity from the public eye. He didn’t care if people wrote smear campaigns about his love life, but he didn’t want his acts of kindness on the front page.
“He’s welcome to family dinners, and we are doing a big backyard birthday thing for you in two weeks.” Her father pulled open the car door. “See you soon, kiddo.”
She hugged her stomach and watched the vehicle ease through the gate and down the street. The sound of a camera clicking tickled her ears. She scanned the area but couldn’t see the asshole. She had half a mind to flip them the bird, but instead she tucked her hair behind her ears and headed back inside.
“Where’d your parents go?” she asked, taking the glass of wine Hawk handed her.
“They turned in for the night.” He held his phone in his hand and stared at the screen with a furrowed brow.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, for starters, we found out who sent Cindy that picture of you passed out,” he said.
She sipped her wine, knowing she should stop since she was already a little tipsy, but the evening called for it. “Are you going to fill me in?”
“Someone who lives in your building, but that’s not the problem. They didn’t know they had anything of value until someone started banging on doors asking for dirt on you.”
“What? How do you know that?”
“Rusty found out that one of the investigators they use to vet stories has been working on the side for Cindy and—” He snapped his head up, holding her gaze. “You’re not going to fucking believe who Cindy’s been working with.”
“What do you mean? Working with?”
“I mean. Cindy and Heather have hired someone to dig up dirt on both of us and have been doing it for a month, and Rusty said Cindy’s got something up her sleeve for tomorrow’s show, but he doesn’t know quite what it is. Only that it won’t make you look good.”
“How can he not know what it is?” She rubbed her temple.
“They have a follow-up piece about your life and your mom being an ex-model. I think they are running a couple of her old interviews before she married your father, but Rusty is preparing himself for battle and asked if we knew anything that she might dig up that might be bad.”
“Fuck,” she mumbled. “I don’t know. I did some vindictive things the first month after John and I broke up.”
“Yes. The carpet incident and I recall some tire slashing?”
She shook her head. “I’m not proud of those moments.”
He patted her shoulder. “Well, you didn’t go boiling pet rabbits, so that’s something. We just have to be prepared that Cindy and Heather are going to do whatever they can to make us look bad and that reminds me. About three months ago, I did go over to Heather’s. She called me saying she was going to kill herself.”
“I know. Those pictures already surfaced. That’s why the story about you being the father is still sticking and why we had more than one lab do the paternity test. I don’t trust Heather as far as I can spit,” Kennedy said, letting out a long breath. “I’m sure Cindy will bring that up, but what both of those women fail to understand is that when it’s proven you’re not the father, they will lose all credibility.” She raised her glass but paused before it hit her lips. “You didn’t sleep with Heather that night, did you?”
“God, no. I might pick crazy women, but I never do the same crazy twice. I just wanted t
o make sure she wasn’t really going to swallow a bottle of pills, and it was only a ploy to get me back, which it was and it didn’t work.”
“Who do you think the father is?” Kennedy asked.
“I have no idea. Could be the pool guy, the UPS driver, or even her current agent. Your guess is as good as mine.” He snagged another glass and a bottle. “Let’s take this to the patio off the master and enjoy the ocean. It’s a beautiful night.”
“I’m down with that.”
Stepping outside, she closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh salty sea air, letting it fill her lungs. She let out it slowly as she opened her eyes. “If I lived here, I’d want to start every day with a cup of coffee right here and end it just like this.” She clanked her glass against his.
He sat on a large chaise lounge chair and patted the cushion. “Join me.”
She settled in next to him, crossing her ankles and leaning against the big, soft pillows. The lights from the pool flickered in the water. The roar of the ocean filled her ears like sweet sounds of a saxophone playing in a smoky bar. “I think tonight went well,” she said.
“My parents enjoyed themselves. I hope I didn’t come on too strong with yours.”
“They think we make for a cute couple.”
“I have to agree.” He took her wine and set it on the ground. “We never got to finish our conversation from earlier.”
She bit down on the inside of her mouth. “Look. The sex was spectacular. No doubt. But we’ve got to figure out how we’re going to end this. We can’t keep doing this to our parents. Once that paternity test comes back and the Heather story dies down, we can begin slowly detaching from each other.”
“I don’t want to detach from you. I want to take you to dinner. Spend a romantic weekend on a cruise.” He ran his fingers up and down her arm, giving her goosebumps. “While I put on a bit of show tonight, I meant what I said to our folks. I care about you, and I think you care about me too.”
“Caring is a loose term,” she said, slipping down in the chair so she was lying flat on her back and staring at the stars and the moon shining bright in the night sky. “You cared about me a year ago. We have a work relationship. Nothing has changed.”