The Billionaire Playboy's Regret (Lark and Max) novel Chapter 38

Lark was exiting her bedroom at her parent’s home early Friday morning carrying a suitcase and her father met her in the hall pulling his own along.

“I don’t want to go,” she whispered nervously. “Doug has ruined Houston for me.”

“I know honey but the sooner we get this done, the better. I need to meet with my investigators and get set up before Monday’s meeting.”

“I don’t want to see Doug.” She admitted as they made their way out of the house in the quiet of the dawn. She let her dad take her suitcase and put it in the trunk of the car.

“Is it because you’re afraid of what he will do when he realizes you are already with someone else?” her father asked her curiously as he rounded the car to the driver’s side. “Last night was the first night you slept home all week. It’s a little late to hide it from me now.”

She got into the passenger side and clipped her seatbelt, “actually Dad, I’m not going to deny it. Max set up his spare room for me and we’ve been really getting to know one another and catch up on the things we’ve missed over the last twelve years. He even stocked a closet for me. I mean, I’m sharing it with Johan’s clothes, but he has really great taste. He has been very respectful.”

“Are you being respectful?” his father teased her as he backed the car down the driveway.

“Dad!”

“Are you?”

“Yes. I am.” Indignancy coated her words.

“Good.”

“Mom still mad at you?” Lark shot him a sideways glance.

“She’s not mad, Lark. She is very protective of you and me and she was not appreciative of me asking her to stay home for this trip. She wants to be there to make sure we’re both safe but her mama bear tendencies where you are concerned might make things worse. Right now, Doug hasn’t mentioned the kick she took to his ribs when we all came outside. I don’t want her named in this s**t. It’s enough with you and Max in it.”

Lark snickered, “I knew you would veto her going when she said she wanted to beat him in the head with a chair.”

“I swear Lark,” Grady eyed his daughter, “there are times I listen to the way she and Bobbie talk, and it scares the hell out of me. They were talking about the case for Mori on the weekend and your mother asked if Gael’s criminal friends could simply make her disappear. Said it would save a bunch of money and time and they could go to the beach and relax instead of deal with all this s**t. Ollie and I were reviewing my retirement plan funds and I told him I’m probably not going to need it anyway because my wife was going to get us killed by the mob or thrown in prison long before I reach sixty-five.

”

She giggled and patted his leg, “Dad, you act like you wouldn’t have wanted the exact same thing to happen to Doug.” “That’s different. You are my baby girl, and nobody f***s with my daughter and gets away with it.”

“Right. You and mom are so,” she stretched the word out, “different.”

He squeezed her knee and made eyes, “we are!”

She laughed as he tickled her and looked out the window. “How come Bobbie wasn’t traveling to the airport with us this morning?”

“She had a therapy session with all her kids this morning. Olivier is frustrated as hell. He said he’d rather punch himself in the balls than sit in a room with his six kids and his wife paying money for a stranger to tell them the reason his kids are assholes is his fault.”

She laughed, “Dad!”