Horse Play (Horse Play #1) (33 page)

Glancing between us—which wasn’t a far trek considering I was still hovering so closely over Jensen that I was practically in his lap—Dad smirked. I straightened up when his eyebrow arched.
Here it comes … 

“So, I trust you two had a good weekend?” he inquired. 

Jensen stood from the chair, continuing to smile. “Everything went fine, sir.” The way he called Dad “sir” had me in a near-fit of giggles. He was definitely trying to suck up in an effort to stay on his good side. 

Dad grinned. He seemed incredibly happy and not at all put-out by what I thought I knew he knew—that made sense, right? Oh, hell, this entire situation was confusing; I wasn’t sure what the hell I knew anymore. All I knew was Dad looked at us with this smile on his face that no longer made me
quite
as nervous. 

“Good to hear. Listen, I’m about ready to turn in—long weekend and all. Jensen, would you mind giving Madi and me a minute?” he asked. 

Oh no, oh no, oh no.
The nerves were back full force, causing my stomach to drop and my hands to shake as the adrenaline that pumped through my body overpowered me completely. 

“Of course. I’ll head back to the house and start dinner.” Without looking at me, Jensen moved around me to leave the office. “I’ll see you in a few, Madi.” 

I couldn’t move. Paralyzing fear took hold as the front door opened and closed behind Jensen, leaving Dad and me alone. Alone after finding out he installed cameras. Cameras that caught Jensen and I making out—no, not just making out; there was boob-grabbage and ass-groping. Both things that a father should never see. Ever. 

“Daddy …” I started nervously, finally feeling the need to confess everything I had been keeping from him—well, not
everything
. “I need to—” 

“You look good, kiddo,” he said, interrupting me. “Happy. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you smile like you have been lately.” There was a beat of silence between us before his smile widened even more. “He’s a good guy, Madison.” 

“W—what?” I stammered quietly, dropping my face to the floor before he could see the deep blush that filled my cheeks, absolutely giving away my truth.   

“Jensen,” he clarified. My head snapped up, my wide eyes meeting his as he stepped farther into the room and pulled me into a warm embrace. “You didn’t need to keep it from me,” he whispered into the top of my head. “Despite what he’s been through—and I’m assuming he’s told you about his recent troubles—he’s a good guy who just made a bad choice. Even if it was to avenge his sister.”

“Dad, we’re not together,” I told him with conviction.

“But you like him?”

I thought about that a minute. Jensen and I were supposed to be keeping things casual, but yeah. I thought he was a great guy, and if the timing was right, I could see myself wanting to be with him.

“Sure,” I replied. “He’s a nice guy.”

“That’s all?”

“Dad, I just got out of a relationship, and Jensen is just getting on his feet. Neither of us is ready for an actual relationship.”

Dad seemed skeptical. “Whatever you say, Madi. Just know, you’ll have my support whatever you decide. I just want you to be happy.”

Melting into him, I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Thanks, Dad.” I mumbled. “We’ve discussed where we’re at, and the truth is we only just met a few weeks ago. It’s too soon to—” 

“I knew your mother for less than a day before I knew she was the one, kiddo. Sometimes, you just know. My advice is to just go with it,” Dad said nostalgically. “If you think he can make you happy, why does it matter how long you’ve been single or he’s been back on his feet?”

The man had a point.

“What made you think I liked him?” I asked carefully. 

Dad laughed loudly, unwrapping me from his arms and holding my biceps to keep me at arm’s length as he met my gaze. “It wasn’t until you fell off the second time on his first day that I thought maybe you had a little crush on him,” he confessed with a sly smirk. 

“In fact,” He turned from me and headed out of the office. “When I first heard from Henry that Jensen was in town and having trouble finding work, I thought that maybe the two of you would be good for each other—having both been through so much and all. Has he told you about his ex?” He suddenly seemed nervous that he had told me something he maybe shouldn’t have, so I assured him with a nod. 

“Yeah. Kaylie. He told me everything.” I suspected Dad likely only knew what Henry knew about Kaylie, and that was just that they had ended things. So I honored Jensen’s secret and just left my reply at that … until something he said struck me suddenly. “Wait. Did you set this up?” 

While the idea of my own father meddling in my love life kind of weirded me out, it was also kind of sweet. Dad always had my best interests at heart and was sure to stand behind me in any and all decisions. When Dane and I started dating, he had his doubts, but he kept quiet because I was happy—or at least
appeared
happy.

“When you got hurt, and Jensen offered to take care of you? It was then that I knew the two of you had an instant connection,” Dad told me. “Sure, you both seemed to dislike each other initially, but I think given your pasts, it was inevitable you’d both be a little stand-offish. I knew that by forcing you together one of two things would happen. You’d find out that you both have a lot more in common than you realized. Or …”

“Or we’d kill each other?” I dead-panned. 

Dad laughed. “I was going to say, or Jensen would have quit, leaving us without the help we needed. But I suppose you could be right.” With his hand on the doorknob, Dad paused. “Listen, kiddo. I know what Dane did to you broke your heart.”

I inhaled and held the breath, because Dad still didn’t know about Dane showing up the night before. How could I tell him? Should I even? Ultimately, I decided against it.

“You deserve to be happy. And from what I’ve seen, Jensen makes you happy.” 

Seen? What he’s seen?
Suddenly my heart started pounding again. The security camera. I wondered if his words held some kind of hidden meaning. Searching his eyes for some answers, I came up empty; I would think that if he had seen what went on in the wash stall that he’d have been slightly more uncomfortable. Right? 

“Madison, you seem nervous about something?” 

He wasn’t kidding. However, there was no way to ask about the cameras without admitting to him that Jensen and I had been recorded. So, I forced a smile and lied through my teeth, hoping he wouldn’t call me on it. “Nope, just relieved that you would be okay with my moving on—whenever that happens.” 

After quickly putting my boots back on, I moved to walk past him and through the door when he stopped me. “Oh, before you go. I’m sure you saw the monitors in the office when you were doing invoicing.” I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stay quiet—even if I wanted to cry a little. “I just wanted to let you know that I installed security cameras throughout the premises. The insurance company assured me we would get a discount if we took more precautions. I meant to tell you Friday, I just forgot.” 

“Oh,” I responded, trying my best to act surprised. “That’s great.” The look in his eyes told me that he likely had no idea about the wash stall with Jensen, and I found myself breathing a huge sigh of relief. “Well, I should get back and help with dinner. Thanks for the talk, Dad.” 

“Anytime, baby girl. Have a good night.”

“You too. I’ll see you in the morning.” 

The entire way back to the house, I basked in the relief that Dad hadn’t seen the video. Even more was that he’d be okay if I ever decided I was ready for a relationship.

When I walked into the house, I saw Jensen in fresh, dry clothes, pacing in the entry nervously. I shook my head and smiled. “Jensen?” I asked, closing and locking the front door behind me before taking my still-muddy boots off. “What’s wrong?” I realized it was a stupid question; I knew exactly what was bothering him. 

Lifting his frantic eyes to mine, he rushed across the small room and pulled me into the house. “What did he say?” 

“It was nothing bad,” I assured him. “He noticed I’ve been acting different—happier—since Dane left.” Smiling, I placed my hands on Jensen’s chest and closed my fists around his shirt, pulling him closer. “He figures it’s because of you, and he doesn’t seem upset about it.”

“Really?”

I nodded. “Really. Now come on. I’m starving. What’s for dinner?”

Jensen shook his head, still looking a little out of sorts. “Oh, I don’t know. I realize I said I was going to come home and cook, but when Wayne asked me to leave so he could talk to you, I got a little frazzled.” 

“Okay, come with me,” I suggested, pulling him to the living room and pushing him onto the couch. “Have a seat, watch TV, and
I’ll
go find something to eat.” I had just turned to leave the room when Jensen grabbed my wrist. 

“You’re happier?” he inquired, focusing on what I told him in the foyer. 

With a bright smile on my face, I relaxed onto the couch next to him, my clothes still soaked through and uncomfortable. My knees touched his outer thighs as I kneeled on the cushion with my legs tucked under me. “How can I not be?” I combed my fingers through his hair, trailing my fingers over his scalp and down to the nape of his neck where I teased the hairs there. “He’s gone. I’m free to be who I want to be, and date who I want to date … in the future when I decide I’m ready,” I clarified when I saw the panic in his eyes. I knew he wasn’t looking for a relationship, yet I kept scaring the crap out of him when I spoke like that.

As my fingers tickled and teased the short hair, his posture finally relaxed. “I’m happy too, Madi. After what happened with Kaylie, I didn’t think I would ever feel this way again.” 

My fingers stopped moving. We’d agreed no feelings, yet here he was, telling me he’d done what we’d set out to avoid.

“Jensen …” My voice was barely above a whisper as I spoke. I was at a loss. Was I supposed to tell him it was too soon for that? That we should end things now before they get too complicated? And, if I did, why did I get the feeling it would crush me?

Everything had changed in a matter of seconds.

The silence must have been too much for him, because he broke our intense stare and leaned forward nervously, resting his forearms on his knees and clasping his hands together. “I’m sorry. I just meant that I haven’t been as stressed as I was with her. You’re so easy to be around. It’s nice to know that things won’t get complicated between us.”

I felt like I was being kicked from every angle by a herd of horses. But I forced a smile through it all. “Right. Good.”

“So,” he said in an effort to change the subject. “What’s for dinner?” 

Trying to mask my sudden doom-and-gloom attitude, I shrugged before standing. “Not sure. I’ll go find something easy and then maybe we can watch TV before bed?” There was no need to be upset about the unspoken words between us. We were happy before, so there was no reason we shouldn’t be able to move past it and keep doing what we were doing. Right? 

Reaching for the remote, Jensen nodded, and I took that as my cue to go change and then start dinner. After putting together a couple of sandwiches, I went back to the living room to see Jensen with his feet up on the coffee table, watching TV. “I forgot to ask, did you delete the recording?” 

Jensen looked at me sheepishly. “Um, actually, no, not exactly.” My mouth dropped as I handed him his dinner and plopped down next to him. “I may have emailed it to myself before deleting the last forty-eight hours on all of the security cameras—you know, so Wayne didn’t ask any questions on why there was only one camera with missing footage.” 

“Good thinking,” I said, nodding before my brain belatedly registered him saying he emailed the footage to himself.

Chapter 23. Oops . . . I Did it Again

I
was shocked to hear he hadn’t deleted it, but I was even
more
surprised to find out he still had a copy. “Wait … You … 
Why?
” 

Shrugging, he smirked crookedly and it made me want to toss my plate on the table and kiss him hard. “I don’t know. I guess I wanted a little souvenir of it. From what we saw, I thought it was pretty hot.”

“Typical,” I muttered teasingly as I took a bite of my dinner. 

Chuckling, Jensen nudged my arm with his. “Don’t tell me you didn’t.” 

“I cannot confirm nor deny such allegations,” I replied seductively. 

Jensen and I sat back on the couch, our bodies huddled against one another as we ate and watched a rerun of
The Office
. Since I cooked, Jensen offered to clean up. It was nice how we always shared the household responsibilities that way. It was something Dane never cared to do.

He returned from the kitchen and joined me on the couch. I sidled up to him when he draped his arm around my shoulder, and exhaled when he stroked my hair soothingly. 

“I love how that feels,” I sighed against his chest as the ticklish sensations rippled through my scalp and down my neck before spreading across my body. “It’s so calming.” I raised my face to his, and he leaned down to place a feather-light kiss on my lips. As they lingered delicately against mine, I felt that familiar spark shoot through me, exploding deep within my belly. With a breathless whimper against his mouth, I straddled his thighs and wrapped my arms around his neck. I shivered when his hands moved up my thighs before they came to rest on the curve of my ass.