Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 45

"A...beach party?" I say, cocking my head to the side as I study the note.

"It's about an hour away," Kent says, watching me closely as I read. "Friends and family, apparently."

I look up at Kent my eyebrow raised. "Did you...read my mail?"

He stares at me impassively, not needing to confirm. I study the envelope, wondering how the hell he re-sealed it, and then why he bothered to reseal it...

"Fay," Kent says sharply and I look up to see that he's frustrated with me. As usual. "Are you going to go?"

I look back at the invitation and see, in particular, that it's made out to me. No mention of Kent or Daniel. Apparently, it's a private party.

"Am I...allowed to go?" I ask, looking back up at him.

Kent shrugs. "I'll send you with my guards, of course. But there's no real reason to refuse. Unless, of course, you don't want to. You're not a caged pet, after all."

Kent says the final words ruefully, but my lips crook into a smile, recognizing my lanugage from this morning. He was listening, I realize. He's trying.

"Okay," I say, moving towards Kent and then past him, walking down the hallway to where a man is waiting by the front door. "Are you the messenger my father sent?" I ask cheerfully.

The messenger just bows a little, which I assume is a confirmation. "Okay." I say, smiling innocently. "Please tell my father that I'm happy to accept."

The messenger nods, reaching for the handle of the door so he can go deliver the reply.

"Oh," I say, and he stops, turning back to me. "Would you please tell my father that we might be a few hours late? I apologize - I just got the invitation now, and it will take us some time to get ready." The messenger hesitates, and then ventures a word. "We?"

I smile broadly at him. "Yes," I say, turning for the stairs. "My fiancé will accompany me to the party."

As I head up the stairs, I see Kent out of the corner of my eye, smirking. Apparently, he approves.

Daniel mopes in the car. "I can't believe you agreed to this for me," he murmurs. "I hate this kind of stuff, Fay."

"Oh, come on," I say, nudging him with my elbow. "How can you hate a barbeque. At the beach."

Daniel just scowls at me and I laugh at him, smoothing out the wrinkles in my blue-and-white striped skirt, which I've paired with a little white crop-top.

Or, which I should say, Kent has paired with a little white crop-top. Because this adorable outfit just magically appeared in my room after my shower, complete with a wide-brimmed straw hat. Now that Fiona is gone, Kent has no plausible deniability anymore. We both know he selects my clothes for me.

Luckily, he has immaculate taste.

"You really do look pretty," Daniel says, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

"Thank you," I say, preening a little bit. I could tell that Kent approved, too, when I had come downstairs ready to go. He hadn't said anything, but the look in his eye had been enough.

I had hesitated, before we left, seeing that Kent was sending us with two guards each to keep an eye on us.

"Is it..." I had asked, looking at the guns strapped to their hips, a little scared. "Is there any reason to think it will be like last time?" I ask, worried. "With...the guns?"

Kent had looked down at me reassuringly. "No, Fay," he had said. "Whoever was responsible for that won't pull that move again. Besides, this is a much smaller party. And with just the two of you going," he looked at Daniel as well then, "there isn't as much of a sweet target. One bird with one stone, this time. Instead of two."

I nodded, thinking about Kent's math there, and realized that to him I'm not even a bird in the equation. I frowned a bit, but Kent had put a hand on my shoulder, moving on. "Just have fun. You'll be safe," he had said, glaring at our guards. "My guys will make sure of

it." They had nodded their confirmation and then we had left.

Now, we're forty-five minutes out of the city, heading away from the stables and towards the beach. I can already smell the salt on the air. I love the beach - I always have, despite my lily-white skin and my tendency to burn as red as a lobster. There's just something about the beach that just calls to me.

We pull up to the indicated spot and Daniel puts a hand on my arm when I eagerly reach for the door, indicating that I should wait a moment before getting out of the car. I pause, then, watching the guards climb out of the front seat and the car behind us, sweeping the area in order to make sure that we're secure.

When we get the nod from them, Daniel and I climb out and I look around, studying the scene.

I had expected, really, to be taken to a beach house - my father, I've heard, owns several. But, instead, we're at a private beach far away from any buildings. It's just us and the sea, and it's really very, very beautiful.

There are plenty of people milling around - some I recognize as family members whom I had met at the party. Others, though, are completely foreign to me.

One man in particular catches my eye. He's young - perhaps my age, or just a little older than me. He has tanned skin and bleach-blonde hair, but what is really eye-catching about him is that he's covered in tattoos - almost from head to foot. They're all black and white, matching his casual, sporty attire, and I can tell - even from a distance - that each tattoo was carefully considered and finely done.

As I stare at him, he turns and looks directly at me. He doesn't flinch at all, but instead looks almost...unsurprised. That I might stare at him. As I continue to look, he smirks a little and raises his beer to me.

Which, of course, makes me realize that I am just standing here staring at this guy.

Which, of course, makes me blush.

I turn to Daniel, then, trying to cover up my discomfort by remembering the security of him at my side. "Ready?" I ask.

Daniel shrugs and sighs. "Into the lion's den we go," he says, and we walk forward onto the beach.

"Fay!" My father says, coming forward. He's dressed in swim trunks and a Hawaiian-print shirt, which surprises and startles me, just a little. This is a big, Italian man - I haven't seen him in anything less than an Armani suit yet, so such an abrupt change is...well, it's abrupt.

He comes forward and gives me a kiss, shaking Daniel's hand without a word about the uninvited guest. "Welcome," he says, "have a drink! Make yourself at home!"

A waiter comes forward, then, offering a tray of soft and hard drinks. I select a can of spiked lemonade while Daniel takes a coke.

Alden opens his mouth to say more when Romulus runs up to us. "Hi Fay!" he says, waving to me, apparently genuinely excited to see me. I lean down to greet him, excited as well.

"Hey, Rom," I say, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Are you having fun?"

"Yes!" he says, excited, but then he turns his attention to Daniel. "But we're one short for volleyball, do you know how to play?"

Daniel hesitates, looking at me. But I shrug, encouraging him. Daniel's a bookish guy, but I do know for a fact that volleyball is one of his favorites.

"Sure, kid," he says, smiling at Romulus and handing me his drink. "Lead the way."

I watch them head off down the stretch of sand and my father puts his arm around me. "Good, good," he says, "it will be good for the boys to get to know one another, since they will soon be family." He smiles at me and I smile back. "Now," he says, giving me a little tug and pulling me over to where some chairs are arranged around a fire. "You come with me. I have some people I want you to meet."