Page 27 of Who’s Your Daddy (Dadcoms #1)

Lola

T he next morning I’m once again annoyed with Callahan Murphy. Shocking, I know.

“What do you mean we’re driving?” That familiar annoyance flares to life in my chest.

Cal leans against the passenger door of the black Jeep. “You hated the helicopter so I rented this for us.”

I take a deep breath and clench my fists to keep from strangling him. “Why aren’t we flying? It takes four and a half hours to get to the city on a good day.”

“Because Sully said Murphy was having a grand time. Insisted we take our time, so we’re having an adventure.” He grins and damn if it doesn’t make my heart skip.

Mentally chastising myself, I school my expression into one of irritation. “No, we’re going home.”

“Eventually, but first we’ll enjoy a day of us.”

Taking a step back, I cross my arms. “There is no us.”

Cal follows, leaning in close and cupping my cheek. “That’s not what you were saying last night.” He waggles his brows, blue eyes dancing. “Or this morning. We can’t forget about this morning, either time. ”

My cheeks flame. Dammit. The man is right. I tried to slip out of bed when the first rays of the sun shone in around the curtains, but Cal didn’t let me leave the bed until I’d had three more orgasms.

What can I say, I’m weak.

It seems this is Cal’s superpower. He is absolutely impossible to resist.

Over the years, more women than I can count have shown up at the office the week after a date with Cal, desperate for a little more of his attention.

None of them ever succeeded, and I refuse to be just another notch in his bedpost.

“ Cal .” I grasp his wrist and yank his hand away from my face. “We work together. And you don’t do more than one night. Just stop.” I stomp my foot. Yes, it’s mortifying, but I just stomped like a toddler throwing a fit.

Cal doesn’t seem to mind my tantrum. In fact, his smirk turns into a grin, like he finds it endearing rather than irritating.

“Cal, I’m serious. When we get back to Jersey, we forget all about last night. This”—I wag a finger between the two of us—“never happened.”

He opens his mouth like he’s gearing up to argue, but after his eyes search mine and he sees how serious I am, he snaps it shut again and sags a little. “Fine. But until we get back to Jersey, it very much did happen, and I’ll revel in it.”

My shoulders finally relax while the tension eases from me.

He yanks the door open and holds out an arm with a flourish. “So get in,Lola. You can control the music.”

With a sigh, I climb in. There is no point in prolonging this.

He jogs around the front of the Jeep and eases into the driver’s seat with far too much swagger.

“So, lunch,” he says as he pulls away from the curb.

I blink at the clock, then at him. “It’s 9:36.”

If we headed straight to Jersey now, we’d be there by two. A late lunch—in the comfort of my apartment and by myself—would be perfectly sufficient.

“Not yet.” He chirps. “But we need a plan. So Newport or Bristol Bay?”

Rhode Island? That’s not even on the way.

I shift in my seat and dig deep for patience. “What do you mean?”

He nods. “You’re right. Newport all the way.”

He taps the screen on the console, and the robotic voice of the GPS announces that we should arrive at our destination at 11:02 a.m. “Don’t worry, Lola.” He reaches over and squeezes my thigh. “This will be fun.”

As much as I want to hate this time with him, when we pull into the parking lot of the restaurant, I’m smiling.

“Illinois,” I shout, pointing at a car already in the lot. “That’s nineteen for me. I win.”

“You cheat,” he accuses with a mock glare. “Twice you put your hand in my lap to distract me.”

I lift a shoulder casually. “All is fair in love and war. And the license plate game.”

“Hmm.” With an arch of a brow, he unbuckles his seat belt. “I’ll remember that.” He slips out of the car and dashes to my door before I can climb out myself. “Since the restaurant doesn’t open until eleven thirty, I thought we could walk the Cliff Walk for a bit.”

With a nod, I turn in that direction. “Sure.”

“So you’ve been here before.” Cal falls into step beside me and laces his fingers with mine.

My feet falter, and for a moment I stare at our joined hands. His is so much bigger and tanner than mine. The warmth, the steady strength of his grip, is oddly settling.

If he wasn’t him, I think I could get used to the entire scenario.

“Until we get back to Jersey,” he reminds me. Though he’s giving me that cocky smirk, there’s a little uncertainty in those blue eyes of his. Like he assumes I’m upset that he’s holding my hand. In reality, I’m furious with myself for enjoying it.

“Right,” I mutter. “Anyway…” I steady my pace. “My parents loved to come here. Or anywhere. They love to travel. Always looking for an adventure.”

He nods. “I can see the fun in that. But sometimes a kid just needs security. Stability.”

I nod. “That was not their forte. They’re chaos with a hint of creative.”

He purses his lips, surveying the tree line ahead. “And yet you turned out so put-together and organized.”

I sigh, weighed down by the disappointment that talking about my parents always brings. “Someone had to be.”

“But it shouldn’t always have to be you. You should be given the opportunity to let loose too.” He squeezes my hand. “Don’t worry Lola, I’ll make sure you remember.”

I let out a sardonic laugh. “Is that what today is?”

He pulls me to a stop. “No, today is about us being an us.”

“Before we go home.”

Though his lips tug down at the corners, he dips his chin in what I take as agreement.

After the Cliff Walk, lunch at the cutest restaurant in Newport, a tour of the Breakers, and an early dinner in Mystic, Connecticut, I can’t help but think the day was more about stalling.

The strangest part of the entire experience? Somewhere along the way I stopped wanting to get home.

As we stand on the curb in front of my building, the sun just dipping behind the buildings, there’s an ache in my chest that almost feels like sadness.

“Want me to walk you up?” Cal asks after handing my suitcase off to Benjamine.

I take a step back, needing to put a little space between us. “No, you need to return the car and get to Murphy. ”

He nods, hands in his pockets. “I told him I’d be home to tuck him in.”

“And now he gets to see that you’ll come back.”

“Always.” That single word is said with a fierceness this laid-back man doesn’t often show.

Somehow, he’s closed the distance between us without my knowledge.

Now, he leans in slowly. Before his lips can make contact with mine, I put a hand on his chest, stopping his movement.

Smooth Cal recovers quickly with an easy smile.

“Can I call you after I put Murphy to bed?”

I shake my head and glance at the door to my building, desperate to make a run for it. “No. No calling, no kissing. None of that relationship stuff.We’re back in Jersey now. The spell has officially been broken.”

He smirks like he knows I’m full of shit. “ Whatever Lola wants .”

As he climbs into the Jeep and drives away, I stand on the sidewalk, rooted to the spot, wondering: What exactly does Lola want?