Daddy's Best Friend Secret (Daddies and Babies Book 2) Read online

  How long have I known Nina now? Going on five years, just about. I had known her just about as long as I had known Antonio. She’d always been his housekeeper, and she always did an amazing job. She was fun, and I enjoyed being with her. And she was one of the only women that I didn’t have to worry about attempting to make me fall in love with her.

  She was happily married with two children.

  Antonio was really one of the only friends that I had, but I would definitely make Nina a close second. She was a people person, and she had no issues when it came to speaking her mind. And I had found out that she was the best person at giving advice because she didn’t hold back. If she thought that I was doing something stupid then she was going to make sure that I knew that.

  And she was constantly telling me.

  Maybe I did consider her one of my friends in a weird, twisted way. I would have to make sure that I told her that.

  “I’m starving, Nina, please, just one strip of bacon.” I pouted at her. “Who is it going to hurt?”

  Unsurprisingly, Nina didn’t fall for my bullshit. “Absolutely not.”

  “Just one,” I pleaded. I pulled my shirt up to reveal my six-pack abs. “I’m wasting away, right in front of you. Aren’t you going to help me?”

  “That seems like a personal problem.” Nina waved the wooden spoon at me as if I were some kind of kid. “And if you put your hand over here and try to steal one then I’ll crush your hand. You have to wait just like everyone else.”

  I wasn’t surprised to hear her words. She threatened me all of the time, so I was used to it by that point. But I wasn’t about to give in. I really was hungry, and I knew that she was kidding around. She wouldn’t actually be upset.

  The second that her back was turned, I slipped a piece of bacon off of the plate and stuffed it into my mouth, moaning at how good it tasted, going into my stomach. Man, had bacon always tasted that good?

  Nina turned around, with a hand on her hip. “Don’t get anything else until everyone else is here. Do you hear me?” The wooden spoon was pointed at me.

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  Nina began to hum to herself while she finished cooking. For a second, I debated whether I should just go ahead and take a power nap before coming back in half an hour for breakfast. But I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to spend a little bit of one-on-one time with Clara. I knew she wasn’t in the best of moods, but maybe I could put her in a better one.

  She was sitting at the bar in front of Nina. I slid in the open chair, beside her, and I noticed her shoulders tensing. The scowl on her face made me think that she didn’t want me anywhere near her. Was that because she was in a bad mood or just because she didn’t like me?

  That couldn’t be it though, right? What reason could she possibly have to not like me? I hadn’t done anything to her to make her dislike me. Or, if I had then I certainly didn’t remember it.

  I had to stop myself from continuously staring at her like I was some kind of creep. But it was hard. Clara was like her entire own brand of gorgeous, and it was hard not to get wrapped in her enticing web.

  Who could have known that Antonio had the genes to make the sexiest woman that I’d ever met? I was sure that even he was surprised when she popped out looking the way that she did. He’d done the world a favor.

  Now, I had to stop myself from seducing that favor right into my bed… although the way that things were going now, I didn’t think resisting was necessarily going to be a hard feat. She didn’t seem to want anything to do with me anyways.

  Again, I found myself wishing that she could have been a complete stranger that I’d just picked up somewhere. Kind of like Megan, although without the switcheroo act that she’d managed to pull on me.

  I wanted a chance with her, but there was no way that would be happening as long as her father’s name was Antonio, even if I really wanted for it to. And there wasn’t much that I could do about that. Even if I really wanted to.

  It was pointless to have such hopes though, and I would have better luck just pushing the thoughts from my head.

  “Clara,” I said her name, loving the way that it rolled out of my mouth. “How has your trip been this far? I’m sure you’ve enjoyed the beaches and the scenery, right?”

  For a moment, she didn’t say anything to me. She continued to focus on her phone. I cleared my throat, wondering if she hadn’t heard me, which was unlikely because I’d talked clearly. I was about to repeat myself before she slammed her phone down on the counter and turned her gaze to me.

  “Let me make this clear,” she snapped. “I don’t like you. We’re not friends, we don’t talk. You just got home from fucking some girl, and I can still smell her cheap perfume on you. So, how about you do me a favor and go take a shower and then stay out of my sight. Okay?” She smiled, but it lacked any authenticity.

  Her words completely caught me off guard. “Excuse me?” I asked her. I hadn’t done anything to her. She must be in a grumpy mood.

  “I’m sorry, did I stutter?” She asked, cocking her head to the side. “Or, do you maybe just need to clean the gunk out of your ears? I’m sure you’re focused on so many other things these days, right?”

  What was her problem? My eyebrows were scrunched into a frown. “What’s your problem?”

  “Had I not made it obvious?” she asked. “You’re my problem.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because you like to think that everything revolves around you, and that you’re in this little world where you’re the only person that matters. Well, I hate to crush your dreams and burst your little bubble, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m sorry if I’m the first person in your life to tell you that.”

  Nina cleared her throat. “All of the food is ready, so I’m just going to…” She trailed off and was quick to take off her apron before speed-walking out of the kitchen, seemingly wanting to avoid whatever fight we were about to get involved in. It was clear that she didn’t want to be a part of it, probably because she didn’t have the energy to start trying to pick sides.

  “Oh, great, look.” Clara gestured after Nina. “You made Nina leave.”

  “I think your toxicity did that just fine.”

  “Who do you think you are?” She snapped at me.

  “What, you can dish it but you can’t take it?” I asked her. “Typical.”

  “You’re a jerk.”

  “And you’re a bitch,” I stated. “You can’t just decide not to like someone because of something you might have heard about them.”

  “Actually, I think I can,” she corrected me. “Besides, that’s not why I don’t like you.”

  “Then, why don’t you?”

  “Do you know how long we waited on you last night?”

  I frowned. “What?”

  “For dinner. My dad tried to reach you for hours, but you never answered. Our food got cold waiting on you because my father refused to let the rest of us eat before you did. People care so much about you, and you couldn’t give a rat’s ass about them. You’re an inconsiderate, conceited jackass that I want nothing to do with.”

  Nobody had ever talked to me like that before. It was a surprise and annoying. Just who did she think she was to speak to me like that? I wanted to snap at her, but it wasn’t worth it. Instead, I stood up. “Then, I’ll make sure not to make you wait any longer.”

  5

  Clara

  Nothing was worse than a parent saying that they were disappointed in you. My dad could be as mad or as upset with me as he wanted, but when he said ‘disappointed’, it hurt because it made me feel like I’d let him down majorly, in some way.

  My father was a dramatic man, but even he knew not to use the word unless he absolutely meant it. But this time I wasn’t working to fix it because it wasn’t my problem to fix in the first place. In fact, it didn’t really have much to do with me at all.

  “Why would you say that kind of stuff to him?” My dad asked. He’d been s
colding me for the last ten minutes and was beginning to repeat himself. It was annoying, and there were so many better things that I could be doing.

  “Because he deserved to hear them, Dad. In case you don’t know, the world doesn’t revolve around him.”

  “And you felt the need to make that obvious?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why? Because I made you eat cold food? How about you take your frustrations out on the right person, Clara.”

  “I did!” I exclaimed.

  “Do I need to remind you what this man has done to help me?”

  “Yes, he invested in your business. You like to mention that all the time. How could I forget?”

  “Because you owe your lifestyle to him, Clara!”

  “I didn’t ask for this, Dad,” I snapped. “You did.”

  “So you’d rather live in poverty then?” He asked me. “You want to go back to barely making it day to day? Because, that wasn’t a pleasant way of living, Clara, and you deserve more than that. I deserve more than that, and you need to be grateful and count the good deeds of what we’ve experienced. Don’t turn into a spoiled rotten brat, because that’s not the daughter that I raised.”

  “Don’t turn this around on me, dad,” I growled. “I didn’t sign up to like him.”

  “And you don’t have to like him,” my dad countered. “But he’s still my friend, and I expect you to respect him.”

  I wasn’t a troublemaker. In fact, I was far from it. I didn’t like to cause drama where it wasn’t necessary, but I couldn’t help but to feel like this wasn’t fair. I was getting blamed for something that wasn’t uncalled for. My dad should know me enough to realize that I wouldn’t have said what I had if I didn’t think that I was in the right. But it was clear that he was finished listening to me.

  My father, although an angel to me, wasn’t exactly the nicest man. He did deal in business after all, and to survive in that world, he had to be tough. I’d seen him handle business before, and he wasn’t a guy with much patience. That’s why I was so surprised at the fact that he was letting Klaus walk all over him, like he was just a carpet.

  If anyone else had stood my father up, I didn’t have a doubt that he would have been furious, quite frankly. But wherever Klaus was involved, my dad bowed down like he was some kind of king. Just because he’d invested in his business once upon a time ago? It was absolutely ridiculous, and I wasn’t going to let anyone treat my dad badly because that wasn’t fair to him. He needed to stand up for himself.

  Klaus wasn’t any more special than any other man, and it was about time that my father realized that.

  “If I agree, can we end this conversation now?” I asked him. I didn’t mean to be rude to my father, at all, but I was too old to be scolded and besides that point, he needed to understand that I had been the one, in the right.

  My father didn’t have anything else to say to me. He shook his head and left. I watched after him, knowing that he was still upset with me. I sighed. I was going to have to amend things between us, later. I would make sure that he cooled down before I said anything else on the matter, and then we could put the whole thing behind us.

  Everyone was on the beach, and I decided to join them. Just like the day before, I didn’t have any plans of swimming or catching a tan. I enjoyed cuddling up with a good book, and today wasn’t going to be any different.

  I slipped on a black bikini and then grabbed a towel before picking up the latest romance book that I’d started reading. I was obsessed with erotica novellas because I felt like they had the fire and passion that I felt like I was missing out on in life.

  I took the ponytail holder off of my hair and freed my mane. I ran my hands through it and shook it to make it looser. I would leave it down for the time being because it would be easiest to deal with, in the case that Shae decided I would be going into the pool, with, or without, my consent. I always had to be prepared with her.

  When I went outside, it wasn’t hard to spot my group with the sun beating down. The beach wasn’t nearly as populated as it had been the day before, but I liked it better with less people. It gave me the opportunity to lounge around and do what I wanted without having guys catcall me, or, better yet, having to look away when Shae catcalled them.

  I grabbed the empty seat by Shae and made sure to set up my umbrella to lower the risk of me getting a tan. She was laying on her back, fully embracing the sunshine. I guess she did stop talking about boys every once in a while. Then, I heard her little snores and realized that she was asleep. I laughed but wasn’t surprised.

  My eyes darted over to where my father and Klaus sat, a little distance away from Shae and me. They seemed like they were deep in conversation about something. Me, maybe. If this was still about me apologizing to that jerk, then my dad had another think coming. I was not apologizing when I wasn’t wrong.

  Almost as if sensing someone was looking at him, Klaus looked up, and our eyes met. He sent me a look, not a mad one but… something else that I couldn’t explain. I frowned at him and turned my attention back down to the book in my hand.

  I didn’t realize how tired I was still before my eyes were opened with the book I was reading sprawled across my face. I frowned. I didn’t remember going to sleep, but I wasn’t surprised that I had. I was exhausted from last night and this morning’s emotional conversations. Considering that this was supposed to be a vacation, it was not very relaxing. In fact, I was pretty sure that it was stressing me out more and causing grey hairs.

  I moved the book off of my face and pushed it aside, letting out a rather big yawn. The nap had felt nice, but my body was aching from the way that I’d slept in the chair. I would have to add that to my list of things never to do again.

  “I guess we both took a nap,” I commented, my eyes turning to find that Shae wasn’t in her chair anymore. I started looking around, trying to find her before I saw the culprit. A tall and handsome brunet. Shae was talking to him with a huge grin on her face. It was apparent that she’d found someone to spend her time with, not that I was shocked. This was Shae after all.

  If I went over them and attempted conversation with the stranger, I knew that Shae would be upset with me. She, constantly, loved to remind me of how much she didn’t need a sidekick or a wingman. It wasn’t that I wanted to help her, either. I just wanted to join in on the conversation, but with her, who knew what the hell they could be talking about.

  My guess was something sexual.

  So, I’d make things easy and just stay by myself.

  The chair was making me extremely uncomfortable, so I decided to lay on a towel instead and stretch out my legs. “Ah, that hits the spot,” I sighed, happily, as I laid on my stomach. I reached onto the chair and yanked my book down, so I could read it, ignoring everything else that was going on around me.

  I’d always been a reader since I was a kid. In middle school, I was obsessed with fantasy and mythology and the little romances that were weaved throughout them. Then, in middle school, I couldn’t help but to love thrilling romances like Divergent or The Hunger Games. And Twilight had been pretty high up on my list.

  But the more I grew up and felt like something was missing in my relationship with Brendan, the more that my tastes changed to something else. At first I just read romance books, whatever genre they might be, but then I started reading books with some steamy scenes because it felt like that was what I wanted.

  And I still wanted it, to experience what those women felt. But there was no point telling Brendan. He wouldn’t care.

  “Excuse me.” A strange voice that I didn’t know interrupted me. I turned around, and there was a guy standing beside my feet. He was offering me this lazy smile that I was sure usually made the girls drop to their knees and do anything that he asked them to. But unfortunately, for him, I wasn’t like those other girls.

  He would be considered cute, I guessed. If he’d been talking to Shae, she would have been drooling all over him. He had ginger hair and fac
ial hair that made his pale skin stand out a bit more. His eyes were brown, and he had an array of freckles. His shirt was off, and he had an impressive physique that made all of the girls swoon, I was sure.

  If that was what he was looking for, he’d have better luck somewhere else.

  I sighed, and my eyes went back to my book. “Is there something that I can help you with?”

  “Do you mind if I sit down?”

  “Do I own all of the chairs at the beach?”

  Usually my snark was enough to drive off unwanted attention, but this guy wasn’t getting the hint.

  “My name’s Paul.”

  “That’s great, Paul, but I don’t know what you want me to do with that information.”

  “What’s your name?” He was insistent.

  “Clara.”

  “Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”

  “Then I’m happy my father chose it.”

  “Can I be honest with you, Clara?”

  I didn’t like the way that he said my name. It made me uncomfortable and uneasy. I sighed and made sure he noticed that he was bothering me while I put my book down. “Sure, Paul,” I said sarcastically, blasting him with fake happiness.

  He didn’t catch on to that, either, or he was choosing to ignore it. “I don’t usually do this, but you’re probably the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t ask you out and try to get to know you.” He sent me a dazzling smile that was more annoying than anything else.

  Paul would have much better luck trying his chances with a girl who actually wanted to be with him.

  “As sweet as that is, I’m going to pass.”

  Paul’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

  This boy had obviously never been rejected before. “I’m sorry, let me make it a little bit clearer for you.” I sat up and looked him dead, in the eye. “I don’t want to go on a date with you. Did you hear me a little bit better that time around?”

  “Why not?” He asked me. “I’m a lot more fun than I look, and most ladies think that I’m sexy. Don’t you agree with them?”