Fall For My Ex's Mafia Father novel Chapter 143

Jerome and I come back a few hours later after an afternoon of light chat. We kept it easy, neither of us wanting to address the elephant between us. Instead, we talk mostly about horses. When we enter the house we’re too busy laughing, the dregs of our milkshakes still in our hands, to notice Kent standing in the hallway staring at us.

Jerome notices first, stopping in his tracks and clearing his throat, the smile dropping from his face. Kent says nothing, just slowly puts his hands in his pockets and shifts his weight to his back foot, giving us both a long stare.

Something about it – I don’t know what, maybe the arrogance in his stance, or the way that he stopped us both in our tracks just by standing there – makes me roll my eyes. Despite everything – all of the trauma of the afternoon, and the crazy intimidation I felt on the third floor last night – Kent’s macho bullshit still makes me want to push back.

“My dad wasn’t in the mood to feed me,” I report calmly, “so Jerome took me to get cheeseburgers and milkshakes. You want some?” Innocently, I hold my milkshake out to him, straw first.

Kent’s eyes flick to the milkshake and then back up to my face. “No, Fay,” he responds, his voice low. Then he nods to Jerome, dismissing him. Jerome is gone before I can even see him move.

“Your father called me,” Kent says, prowling close enough to touch. I refuse to move an inch. “He says you were…disrespectful.” Slowly, he raises a hand to my face, his thumb brushing over the red mark that lingered after my father slapped me. I flinch. Kent drops his hand.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re giving me the PG version of what he actually said?” I reply, my voice low.

“Because,” Kent replies, still standing close to me. “I didn’t think you’d like it very much if I told you that he called you a conceited, spoiled, ungrateful whore.”

I can’t help the smile that tugs at my lips as I look up into Kent’s face. But I am surprised to see Kent give me one in return. My stomach turns over at the sight of this, at the discovery that I’ve…pleased him. And that I quite liked doing it.