Forbidden Temptation My Mafia Fiance's Alpha Father (Brooklyn and Aden) novel Chapter 45

Chapter 45
Brooklyn

Aden was smart to butter me up with a new horse.

Because now, as I sit in the back seat of the black car, all by myself, I look up at the stone mansion in front of me and grimace.

I am not looking forward to this. Dinner with my father, the man I barely knew existed.

The man I’m not sure I like very much at all, and who isn’t sure he trusts me in return.

I know that there should probably be some curiosity in me, some desire to know more about my family and my heritage.

But honestly? Lennox Remington doesn’t feel anything like my father. That, to me, will always be Stephen.

Aden sent two guards along with me and instructed them to stay by me at all times.

For protection, presumably. But also—I think—to be Aden’s eyes and ears at the meeting.

Remington is his ally, but even the term “ally” in this underworld has some tenuous distrust built into it.

I begged Hudson to come with me, but Aden denied that, too.

Remington, apparently, wanted me all to himself.

Great. I was already feeling uncomfortable enough about this whole situation. But now, to go into it alone?

This was definitely going to be a disaster.

The guards get out of the front of the car after they park and come around to open my door.

I step out and sigh, wishing I was anywhere else. The stables, preferably, getting to know Heathcliff.

The three of us troupe up the front steps to the house and ring the bell.

I twist my mouth at the irony here. If he’s my dad, if this is my house, shouldn’t I be able to walk right in?

A maid opens the door, giving us a kind smile before pulling the door all the way open in welcome.

As we step in, I stop dead in my tracks. The guards almost bump into me.

“Are you okay?” one asks. Joshua, I think. One of the friendlier guards in Aden’s employ.

“Yes,” I murmur in response, staring around the room.

But in reality? I’m totally not okay.

Walking into this house is like walking into a dream. I’ve been here before, I suddenly realize. I know things about this space…

What’s around some of the corners, what things will feel like, what it smells like.

Even the rugs are familiar. A soft burnt orange, thick and plush underneath my feet. The arch that leads into the dining room… Yes, I know that. And if I look just beyond it I’ll find…

Yes, there. A hutch, filled with blue and white china.

“Oh my god,” I whisper, looking around as I slowly walk through the dining room.