Daddy's Girl: A Daddy Issues Novel by Rebel Wild (books to read for 13 year olds .TXT) 📕

the steps of my front porch. She glances at me now, sensing my discomfort. Damn her, she seems not to be affected.

You are the goddamn Dom, Tristan. You don’t get affected.

Just when I couldn’t take it a moment longer the gods take pity on me and Joe pulls up in his SUV. I take her hand and yank her down the stairs and push her into the back seat. She sits quietly, looking out of the window at the darkening surroundings, wondering where we’re going. I can tell the moment she feels my eyes on her as she sits a little straighter and breathes a little faster. I smile at the way I affect her too.

“Hidden Hills,” I tell her, and she finally looks at me. “It’s where my mother lives.”

“Of course,” she says.

“You have nothing to worry about. Everyone will adore you,” I tell her, knowing that my mother already does.

It’s not every day she invites people to the family house for dinner. Bree’s still waiting for her invitation, but hell will have to freeze over first. In Mom’s mind, two ex-drug addicts aren’t right for each other.

I catch Joe looking at us in the rearview, and I want to give him the finger when he smirks at me. I ripped him a new ass for not giving me a heads-up about Mom. I can’t believe she showed up today of all days. Realistically, it was bound to happen. She has full access to my house and she doesn’t have to call first. I suppose it could have been worse. She could have walked in on me fucking her.

“Uh, how many people am I meeting tonight?”

“My mother, ex-model/actress, Beverly Garrett, her sister, fashion designer, Rosemary Moreland, and her son, Tyler.”

“What does Tyler do?”

“He annoys me.”

We pull up to the drive and I spot Tyler coming out the front door, grinning like an idiot waiting for us to get out of the car. I know he’s just itching to get a look at Sydney. If I know Mom, she ran right back here and started running her big mouth to her sister. I get out first and give him a look of warning before I help her out. I take her hand and lead her up the walk.

“What’s happening, cousin?” He says to Joe and me the moment we’re in earshot.

“My ass,” Joe says, walking past him into the house.

Tyler pays him no mind. He’s still grinning like a damn fool at Sydney.

“Well, damn, Triscuit,” he says and I have to stop myself from popping him in the mouth for calling me that in front of Sydney. I can barely stand when Joe does it and I like him. “I can’t believe she’s real. I swore Aunt Bev had gotten hold of Joe’s meth when she told us. You must be Sydney. I’m Tyler, Triscuit’s older and more handsome cousin.”

“Hi,” Sydney says much too fucking enamored by him and I pull her to me possessively.

Of course, Tyler notices. He purposely eye-fucks Sydney to get me pissed and it works.

I’m just about to tell him to go fuck himself when his girlfriend comes slithering out of the door like the snake that she is. The girl is like a cheese grater on a chalkboard. It makes sense that Tyler would go for her. Sydney and I have to watch while she rams her forked tongue down his throat.

“I’ll see you later tonight,” she tells him and he nods. “Hello, Tristan. Nice to meet you Sydney, I’m Tyler’s girlfriend, Tiffany.”

She holds out her manicured hand for Sydney to shake and I almost snatch her away. Who the hell knows where she’s been? And thank fuck, she’s not staying.

“See you later, alligator,” Tyler says, watching her go.

The instant those words are out of his mouth, Sydney looks at me, biting her lip as she giggles and I shake my head in amusement at her. My cousin’s catchphrases haven’t changed since preschool.

I lead Sydney into the foyer.

“Breathe,” I tell her. I can feel her nervousness from here.

“She’s here,” Tyler yells as he comes in behind us. All I hear are the sounds of people moving as they come in from all corners of the house.

Mom approaches her first with her arms out ready to hug her. She introduces her to Aunt Rosemary, who slides her bifocals down her nose to get a good look at her. Her approving smile says it all.

“Tyler,” Mom says, “why don’t you offer Sydney a drink while I talk to Tristan.”

“Sure thing, Aunt Bev,” Tyler says, pulling Sydney away from me before I can object. “What do you have a taste for?” He asks her. “We have everything here. The old ladies love the sauce.”

“Oh, um,” Sydney says, looking at me wide-eyed over her shoulder.

“I better go with them,” Aunt Rosemary says, looking in the direction of her son.

“I think you’d better,” Mom tells her before guiding me into her study. I take a seat in the chair in front of her desk while she closes the door. “Sydney seems very nice,” she tells me.

“She is and if you’re trying to make this into a thing, don’t.”

“It clearly is a thing,” she says, sitting down. “I saw the collar, so don’t tell me this isn’t a thing. Is she your sex slave?”

“Mom, come on. I’m not going to discuss my sex life with you.”

“I’ve been through this with your father. I had to put up with his sexual… eccentricities. I don’t want history to repeat itself with you.”

“It won’t.”

“I should have protected you and your brother. I should have shielded you from what your father was doing to all those girls. You’ll never have healthy relationships because of me.” She shakes her head, tilting it back to keep the tears that are welling in her eyes from falling.

“No one is blaming you for what Dad did.”

I get the box of tissues from her bookcase and offer her one. She takes it and dabs at the corners of