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“So, when were you going to tell him about your wedding?”

CHAPTER 19

STEPHANIE

I resist the urge to bite my nails as Daddy Rex looks over at me with a calm, steady gaze. He doesn’t seem angry, but why isn’t he? He should be furious with me.

“It didn’t seem like the right time,” I hedge, trying to sort through my feelings.

It’s not as if I crave Daddy Rex any less now that I know Brody isn’t married. In fact, the way he just brushed me off shows me just how much he really doesn’t care about me or my feelings. I was petrified when my texts were blocked, and he didn’t even think about unblocking me until I said something.

“Come here, Stephanie.”

He uses that tone that makes my stomach flip with both dread and need. As I inch my way over, I study his face, waiting for the anger to become unleashed. But it never does.

Why isn’t he angry?

I slip into his open arms and allow him to sit me on his lap. It makes me feel so small and little… His little girl, I guess. It shouldn’t make my heart race to feel so helpless surrounded by the implacable strength of his arms.

“Talk to me, Steph. What’s the real reason?”

“I wish I can tell you. I don’t even know myself. It just felt wrong. All of this is still wrong. I was dating Brody, set to marry him. But I married you?”

“Do you regret that?”

“Well no. Not really. It just confuses the issue.”

“What issue is that, exactly?”

My brain tries its best to work, but his scent, the feel of his arms, all of it makes me want to just rip his clothes off and fuck him right there in the office. Damn the consequences. Damn if anyone can see me or walk in on us.

“It just doesn’t make any sense. I was so sure I was going to marry him. But…”

“But?” he prods, as if he wants me to get to some conclusion my brain refuses to make.

“But it was you. I still don’t know how. It’s as if you two swapped places.” Closing my eyes, I cudgel my brain into working.

The thong, the bracelet, and the ring. So perfectly made for me. It doesn’t take a lot of digging to find out why I chose a ring with green in it, but how did he pick one out that’s my exact eye shade without knowing who was going to be coming down the aisle.

“You knew. Didn’t you?”

With a heavy sigh, he holds me even tighter. “You’re going to know everything the moment I claim you, so I might as well come clean. Yes. I did know.”

“But how? No one knows. They could lose their jobs!”

“Let’s just say money goes a long way.”

“And Brody?”

“He was, in fact, set to marry you. I convinced the custodian that we were a far better match.”

My stomach churns as his words permeate the fog in my brain. “But you don’t know that.” Hysteria laces my voice andslithers down my spine like a poisonous snake ready to bite. “We weren’t a match! Brody and I were. You took that from me!”

“You want to know exactly what I took from you?” he growls, turning the chair so we face the large screen. “Look at the timestamp of this video.”

I squint as I look at the screen, recognizing Brody’s guesthouse. “This was yesterday. Just before he texted me.”

My eyes stay glued to the screen as I watch him fiddle about with his phone before setting it on the counter. Unease slips down into my gut, making it churn. It’s like a horror film. I want to look away, but I can’t.