Just One Kiss, Please Daddy

Chapter 2

Livia’s POV

Nadine and I have been best friends since freshman year.

And only now do I find out that this is her dad.

I sit in the corner, pressing myself against the door in a pathetic attempt to make myself smaller. Guilt is eating away at me, more intense than the weird emotions I’ve been feeling since I saw this car pull up. The journey is smooth, even though my mind is anything but. Nadine is messing with the radio buttons, and her dad is laughing.

“Quit that,” he tells her, then his eyes fine me through the rear-view mirror. “So you’re the famous Livia Perry. Nadine has told me so much about you.”

I can only let out a strange, strangled laugh that even Nadine clocks as weird.

“Are you alright?” She feels the back of my shirt. “Oh, Livia, you’re soaked! Dad, hurry up so I can give her something to change into—”

“No,” I say quickly. “You can drop me off at my house.”

But even as I say that, my stomach caves in on itself.

The last thing I want is to be home. If I can even call it that.

I can almost picture my stepbrother Tyler yelling at me for coming home soaked in the rain. He would tell my stepfather David, and together they would terrorize me for fun.

My body tightens with fear.

I don’t want to be a burden to Nadine, but at the same time, I don’t want to be hurt at home either.

“Nonsense.” Nadine waves me off. “Our house is a lot closer. And you would know that if you just agreed to have a sleepover once in all the years we’ve been friends.”

“We’ll be there in a moment, Livia,” Ford reassures me. “But if you’re too cold, my jacket is right there. Wear it for now, alright?”

“No, it’s fine.” I swallow hard. How can I tell him that I’m hot from head to toe right now? “I’m still good. I’ll just wait to get to your house.”

“Now there’s a good girl,” Ford says, grinning at me through the mirror.

My hands tighten on the hem of my shirt.

The rest of the journey is a blur. All I can recall are the hopeful glances I keep casting at the rear-view mirror. Eventually, we pull up into a driveway, and once again, I’m in awe.

Nadine’s house… is not a house. It’s closer to a mansion, with its big lawn filled with flowers and trees. It’s sitting atop a hill, its floor-to-ceiling windows gleaming with every flash of lightning.

The inside is even prettier.

They have an actual foyer and a sunken sitting room with plush couches and snacks ready on the table. From the window, I can see a swimming pool.

“Sit down,” Nadine says, pulling me to one of the couches. I sit gingerly, knowing that my jeans are damp, but she rolls her eyes. “Come on, just relax. The couch can be dried.”

“I’ll get you some towels,” Ford says, disappearing into one room and reappearing with two towels. “Come here, little pup.”

Gently, he places one on Nadine’s head and starts to dry her hair. She laughs, and he playfully messes up her hair as he squeezes water out of it.

A smile appears on my face as I watch them, but it’s quickly followed by a tug in my chest, along with a rush of warmth.

Is this jealousy? Maybe longing?

I’ve never actually spent time with my dad. Mom said that he left and disappeared when I was only two, and she’s been with David ever since. I never had this kind of bond. Not with my mom. Not with my stepfather. I’ve been… isolated.

The only real warmth I’ve ever experienced is with Nadine.

So maybe that’s why I’m feeling a swirl of emotions seeing her with Ford like this.

Not for any other reason. Surely.

“Dad, stop, this is embarrassing!” Nadine complains and pushes him off. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, Livia.”

“It’s all good,” I say with a smile. “It’s cute.”

“See? Livia gets it.” Ford starts to walk towards me with the other towel. “Come here, little pup friend of Nadine.”

Before I can react, Ford stands behind me and starts to dry my hair.

Nadine laughs, but I start to tune out.

Ford’s hands are big. Warm.

Even with the fabric of the towel between us, I feel his fingertips. Pressing on my scalp. Grazing the sides of my face. Skimming the spot where my jaw meets my neck….

Goosebumps dance on my skin.

The heat that was just in my chest begins to spread.

Going down.

Going everywhere.

I raise my hands to the towel, but my palms land on top of Ford’s hands. Flinching as though I’ve been struck, I let go.

“Thank you, Mr. Callahan,” I say in a low, almost thin voice. “But I can do it myself.”

“Okay,” he says nicely. “But you don’t need to address me so formally. You can call me Ford.”

“Ford,” I repeat, but the name sounds foreign from my lips. “I… I’d like to get changed.”

“Of course,” he says, motioning to the small room at the side. “I prepared some clothes for you to change in.”

Nodding, I quickly head to the room. But Ford follows me. To my surprise, he stops me from closing the door once I’m in.

“Just to warn you,” he starts, and I freeze, “those aren’t Nadine’s clothes. Nearly all her clothes are in the washer.”

I look at the sweater on top of the table and hold it up. A minty, musky scent fills the air—his scent.

There’s a lump in my throat. “Thank you… Ford.”

He smiles softly. “It’s going to be really big on you, but it should keep you warm. After you get changed, come down to the kitchen, okay?”

“Okay.” I look down at my shoes. “Thanks again.”

Ford starts to swing the door close, but at the last minute, he reaches for me and puts a hand on my shoulder.

“It’s really nice to meet you, Livia,” he says gratefully. “I hope you come over more often for Nadine.”

With that, he smiles once more, then closes the door.

And I stand there, not knowing how to keep my heart from exploding.