Page 28 of The Bargain (Dalton Family #2)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Sofia

M y nipples tingle to the point that it’s with much struggle that I manage to agree with Ethan.

My father first, us later. “Yes,” I murmur, returning to a reality without his hands on my body.

As uncomfortable as my future confession to my father will be, it’s also necessary.

I snatch my phone from the coffee table and punch in my father’s number.

“Honey,” my dad answers. “That was fast. Do we have fashion news?”

“Not yet, Dad, but it’s coming. I was just sitting here wondering about your investor. I’m anxious to hear.”

I can almost feel the dip of his brow; I know him so well. “Why are you worried about me? I told you, we got a new contract.”

“It costs money to make and distribute the product,” I counter. “You know I’ve lived that with my store. It’s why this Moore’s deal is exciting. It allows my brand to grow without my own personal investment.”

“Well, that’s true on all points,” he concedes. “Distribution costs can put a company under. And to that point, I’m not a huge fan of this guy, but he offered me the cash flow I need.”

“Who is it?”

“Ed Walters.”

“Who is Ed Walters?” I ask and eye Ethan, seeking his reaction.

His lips press together, and he shakes his head, letting me know Ed is a bad move for my father.

“He’s a part of a big equity group,” my father explains.

“They’re cash heavy, but the problem with them is that they take a chunk of the business in exchange for fast funding.

I’m time-strapped to perform for this new contract, but I’m trying to be smart, too.

I’m going to get legal advice tomorrow, see if we can carve out some of the business to avoid a full buy-in. ”

“That does sound like a sound idea. Don’t say yes until you get advice.”

“I made some mistakes when I was grieving your mother, which made me miss out on better options, but I’m recovering. I just don’t want to settle over those mistakes.”

My stomach is one big twisted knot. “Have you explained that to anyone?”

“No. I don’t want them thinking I’m some sort of emotional time bomb.”

“I don’t think anyone would think that, Dad. I think it’s a logical explanation.”

He’s silent a beat, then, “Thank you, Daughter, for your worry. I promise I got this.”

“Do you have other options?”

“Let’s talk tomorrow at dinner.”

I hesitate, wanting to push, but the phone is not my best method of influence; that is clear. “Okay,” I concede. “I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, honey.” And when I think we might hang up, he adds, “Why are you up in arms about this? And don’t tell me you’re not. I know you.”

“I’m negotiating for my own rights and business right now. I know how easily that can go one way versus another.”

“You’re not getting screwed, right?” he asks, worry seeping into his voice.

“No,” I assure him. “I have some good people in my corner. That’s why I told you I really want you to talk to the attorney I’m dealing with. I’m going to connect you with her by email, okay?”

“Yeah. Sure. If you are that sold on her. You sure that’s all that’s going on?”

“It’s just a lot for us both right now. There’s change in the air.”

“In a good way. I’m looking forward to dinner.”

“Me too. See you then.”

We say our goodbyes, and I turn to Ethan. “How bad?”

“He’ll be fucked. And I read the conversation well enough to know he doesn’t have other options. You need to decide now. Do I call him and offer him a deal, or do you go confess about us to him and then set-up a lunch meeting for tomorrow?”

I push to my feet and start pacing. If I don’t tell my father about Ethan, his business will be saved, but at what cost?

When he finds out about me and Ethan, they will be in business together, and it could become hostile, not to mention the personal negatives of that tension between them.

But if I tell my father now, he might be stubborn and pissed, which would mean all hell breaks loose.

The best of both worlds is that I tell him, and he is frazzled but accepts Ethan’s offer plus gets to know him in a positive light, which translates to him accepting me and Ethan as a couple.

A couple. My God, am I a couple with Ethan Dalton? I think I am.

“Sofia?”

At Ethan’s prod, I rotate to face him. “We’re… together ?”

He pushes to his feet and closes the space between us, but he doesn’t touch me.

He smells fresh, like rain on a hot summer day, and he’s so close I want to touch him, but I hang on the silence, desperate for his answer.

I need to know if I really understand what this is, what we are, and what this journey we’re traveling is, beyond land and ocean and airplanes.

His hands capture my upper arms, and he pulls me close, and just that easily, I tingle all over, warmth in my belly that spreads through my limbs. I’ve never known anyone who could affect me so fully, so easily.

“I do not want anyone else,” he declares, “if that’s what you’re asking. And I damn sure do not want you to be with anyone else. Yes. We are together. If that’s what you want.”

My heart sings with a joy I cannot fully understand.

He does things to me, speaks to me in ways that reach beyond words.

My grip twisting around the soft cotton material of his T-shirt.

“I do. I want .” But when he leans in to kiss me, I press my fingers to his lips. “If you do that, I won’t leave.”

He catches my hand in his and pulls them between us. “You’re going to go see your father and confess?”

“Yes. I need to go.”

He runs a tender hand down my hair. “Then I’ll be here waiting. Paul will take you. I’ll have him here in ten. If you need me to come over tonight, I can.”

“Thank you, Ethan. Thank you so much.”

“I want his business to be part of my business. So as far as I’m concerned, go broker a deal, and I’m the one who’ll be thanking you.”

I study him a moment and decide he means this.

He really was impressed with my father, and he’s able to see beyond his first impression to admit he’d made a mistake.

And with that, he’s officially proven to me, he’s capable of being more than the cold hard businessman I once believed him to be.

He’s human. He’s real. He’s everything I could want in a man and more, it seems, and it’s as terrifying as it is exciting.

But I’m back to anything too good to be true is too good to be true.

We might have been destined to meet, but this thing between him and my father might be more than the defining part of our beginning.

It could be the drama and turmoil that leads to the end.