Page 61 of Nothing to Tell

“There’s a new Porsche in the driveway,” her father, Davis, said.

No hello or hug, just an abrupt question.Though it did sound more like a statement.

“We told him it was yours,” Adara said.“He doesn’t believe us.”

“Maybe she stole it,” Charissa said though no one responded.

The poor woman spent a lot of time talking to herself.Adara cared more for her friend than Damon did his girlfriend.She knew it; she’d been there.Damon could charm a woman and be attentive when it suited him.Soon as he had the commitment, he’d go cold in a heartbeat.

“Or it’s payment for services,” Damon grumbled.

Trust him to come out with a hackle-raising comment.

“It isn’t mine,” Harper said to her father.“A friend let me borrow it.I’ll be returning it.”

Maybe she was supposed to have returned it already.Bastian wasn’t so clear on that.

“Which friend?”her father demanded.

“Her boyfriend,” Adara said with a roll of her eyes.“We told you, Daddy.”

Their family wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy, but this had to be a record.Her parents hadn’t even taken their jackets off and already the whole gang were picking her life apart.

“Boyfriend?”Davis asked his eldest daughter then switched to his younger one: her.“Hunt… you were serious about that?”

The question wasn’t really meant for her, even though she was standing right there.She knew how their father worked as well as Adara, which was why her sister was the one to address his incredulity.

“He was at our engagement party,” Adara said.“He didn’t stay long, but we told you he was there.”

“You’re in a relationship with Bastian Hunt?”Davis said, cutting through the melee of people around him to get to her at the bottom of the stairs.

Had she ever been singled out by her father?No.Hmm.She didn’t like it.The weird look in his eye made her uneasy.It was almost like this information pushed her up in his estimations.Why?One guess was good as another.

She wasn’t completely haggard and hadn’t quite reached spinsterhood yet.In her opinion anyway.Had her father feared he’d be left with her in his house forever?Was Bastian that much of a reprieve?Great vote of confidence from the patriarch.

What was she missing?Why was every face… something?

“He’s a friend,” Harper said.Everyone was watching her.Adara’s smile was the widest.Carnell looked happy too, though that could just be because he was next to the fiancée he adored.Both Damon and Charissa were frowning, and her mother looked like she was ready to cry.“It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal,” her father said.“I’m so proud of you.”

When he pulled her down the last stair and into his arms, she almost blacked out.Her father wasn’t a hugger.She couldn’t remember him ever even touching her let alone hugging her.How did she…?She was an awkward hugger at the best of times.It might help if she knew the root of this happiness.

“Proud?”Damon said.“She said they were using each other for sex!”

“She was kidding,” Adara said, hitting Damon’s arm.

Had her father heard Damon?No idea.He pushed her away from his embrace and turned his back to consult with Damon.

“If he could push his business our way…”

“That’s a lot of business, Davis,” Damon said.“Could we handle it?”

“For that amount of money?I say we’d damn well find a way.”

What was she watching unfold?The men were in some kind of zone.

“He might have internal—”