One night stand with my daddy's best friend
107

Dane

I vacillated on whether or not to go back for Bridget. I shouldn't have left her there to face her father. At the time, I felt like I had to leave to diffuse the situation. But I'd left her there to deal with it alone. What sort of a man did that? At the same time, Bridget was no pushover. She'd defend herself. I also knew that Troy loved her, so while he might be shocked and angry, he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Hell, he'd probably blame me. An old man seducing an innocent

woman.

When I arrived home, I was exhausted and went to bed. Instead of sleeping, my mind kept replaying the discussion with Bridget before Troy walked in. While it was clear I'd blown up my friendship with Troy, I thought Bridget and I had made some gains. God, if I'd known she'd thought I was engaged to Anne, I would have put her straight. To think she quit her job and moved to San Francisco because of a rumor tore me up. Especially since she ended up having a relationship with another man.

This was all Bran's fault, that fucker. If he hadn't been hassling me about my mom's intention to have me marry Anne, Bridget wouldn't have left, and she wouldn't be pregnant with someone else's child.

Now that the issue about Troy was out, where did I go from here?

Seeing her tonight only intensified my need to have her in my life. I knew I could be good to her and to her child. Would she be willing to have me considering what it would mean for her and Troy? I couldn't ask her to choose me over him. My heart ached at this situation. How could I make Troy understand my love for her? To support it? I fell asleep without any answers.

The next day at the office, I reviewed the Long Beach apartment plans and determined that if they were to move forward, I'd likely need to hire another construction firm. I doubted Troy would want to continue the project considering he caught me nearly fucking his daughter.

Just like last night, I ruminated on the problem, pacing my office searching for an answer that would let me have Bridget without hurting Troy. The fact that there was no easy answer was making me crazy. Would I really have to give up my one shot at true happiness just to appease my friend?

A knock on the door interrupted my ruminations. "Come in." For a moment I wondered if it was Bridget.

Ethan walked in. "Hey boss."

I put on my work face. "What's up?"

"I wondered if you got the estimates from Manion Construction?" "I did, but the deal is off at the moment."

Ethan studied me in a way that felt intrusive. "Is there something else?" I asked.

He shrugged. "You seem more off today. Is something up?" "Just a lot on my mind." I went to sit behind my desk.

"Does it have to do with Bridget?" He sat in a chair like he planned to stay for a while.

"Why would you ask that?"

"You've been off since she left, and I heard a rumor she was back in town. I just thought..."

I leaned forward, frowning. "You thought what?"

He shifted in unease. "It's no secret that you and Bridget..." What the fuck? "Me and Bridget what?"

"Like each other. Lane noticed it first. We figured something went wrong, so Bridget left. Maybe it was about the thing between you and Anne Francis."

I shot up. "Fuck. Why does everyone think I'm marrying Anne?" Of course, I knew why. My mother didn't hesitate to tell anyone and everyone. She ran in the same group as Ethan's family, so it made sense he'd hear it. "You're not?"

"No. Anne and I have never, ever been anything beyond friends. And

even that is shaky since she..." "She what?"

I sank down in my chair. "She wants what my mother wants."

"She's nice and smart and beautiful." He waited for a beat. "But she's not Bridget."

"No. She's not." Only after I said the words did I realize that I confirmed his suspicion. I liked Ethan and hoped he wouldn't use the information against me. I hadn't wanted to be CEO, but now that I found my footing and was starting my own projects, I wanted to stay. I wanted this position even more now so I could build something with Bridget.

Ethan's smile was sympathetic. "It can't be easy to be in a situation like this."

"You don't know the half of it." "Oh?"

Hoping I wasn't misplacing my trust in Ethan, I said, "She's Troy Manion's daughter."

"Oh yeah. The construction guy who owns part of Williams Manion Shipping Port."

"Yes, that's him. I went to school with him. He's been a long-time good friend."

It took a moment, but then Ethan's expression blanched. "Oh shit. You've fallen for your friend's daughter."

I nodded. I let out a frustrated growl and stood to pace again. "I didn't know that at first. He calls her Jet and of course, she hasn't been going by Manion. When I found out, Christ, I nearly had a heart attack. There was no choice to end it, but when it ended, I realized just how deep I was in it with her."

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"So, it wasn't Anne that had her leaving?"

"Actually, it was. She thought I'd been using her and cheating on Anne.

So, she left. Started a new life. Even a new relationship." "She couldn't have loved you back then."

"We were hopeless. Bridget is someone who will make a goal and pursue it doggedly even if her heart isn't in it. She made the goal of moving on, so it would make sense that she'd date as a part of that. The thing is, she's pregnant." Ethan frowned. "So, you're grieving because she's with someone else?

That doesn't make sense. You broke off with her."

"The man left her. Last night, I saw her-"

"When you went to Troy's last night for the estimate on the Long Beach project? That was risky unless he knows?"

I nodded. "He didn't know. I was able to talk to her." I'd leave out the part where I finger fucked her. "We cleared the air and I thought maybe, just maybe...but then Troy found us."

Ethan arched a brow. "Found you how?"

I sank back into my chair. "Let's just say it was clear that I was more than her father's friend."

He winced.

"He went ballistic."

"So now what happens?"

That was the million dollar question.

"I don't know. I know what I want. I want Bridget and her baby. I want Troy's friendship. But I can't figure out how to have both. How can I convince Troy that my intentions are sincere? That I'm in love with his daughter?" "You don't."

"What?"

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Ethan laughed. "If Bridget heard you talking like this, she'd be pissed. It makes sense for Troy to be protective, he's her father. But she doesn't like to be treated like a child. She also doesn't need a man to take care of her. She's extremely independent. She likes to earn things on her own and owns her mistakes when things don't turn out. She doesn't need you to fix things with her dad for her."

He had a point.

He continued. "My suggestion is that if you love her and want to be with her, tell her. Don't worry about what her dad thinks." "What about her relationship with her father?"

"She can make her own choice about that. She'll accuse you of treating her like a child if you worry about him too much or try to fix things for her. She can decide for herself if she wants you too or not, and whether or not she's willing to deal with the fallout with her father. That's on her, Dane, not you. I'm telling you exactly what she'd tell you."

I nodded. "You're right. I need to plead my case and not worry about Troy. But God, I'd hate to come between them."

"Again, that's not just on you. Both of them have choices on whether or

not your relationship with her is going to put a wedge between them."

"It would be selfish to go after what I want without concern on how it impacts others."

He shook his head. "You can have concern; you just can't make their decisions for them. Ask for what you want, acknowledge what it means for her, and then let her make her choice. And if she chooses you, then Troy has a choice of his own." "How did you get to be so smart about love?" I'd known Ethan for a while and had never seen him with a woman, except that one night with Bridget, nor had he ever talked about a woman.

He gave me a sheepish smile. "I don't know much about love at all. I work too much. But I know people and human behavior."

"Thank you, Ethan."

"Sure thing." He stood. "I hope it works out for you. Maybe you can bring Bridget back. I miss having her energy in the office." "She's started her own business."

Ethan's eyes lit up. "Good for her. Maybe we can hire her as a consultant."

"Maybe." But first I had to ask her if she'd take a chance on me. If she'd let me be the father of her baby.

When Ethan left, I searched adoption information on the Internet wondering if I could adopt the child even before it was born. The answer appeared to be no.

I laughed at my giddy enthusiasm. I hadn't won the girl yet. Trying to adopt her child was getting ahead of myself.

Instead, I called Selene to make an appointment about a house. Bridget didn't need me to take care of her, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to try to give her the world. The question was, would she want it from me?