Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 85

Twenty minutes later, Fay slips out of her room, dragging a little powder-blue wheeled suitcase behind her, dressed in a casual white tennis skirt and an oversized varsity sweater that Kent picked out for her before he left her room. At the bottom of the stairs, both Ivan and Kent watch her descend. They've been there the whole time, waiting. They didn't say a word to each other.

"Bout time, gorgeous," Ivan says with a smile, coming forward and reaching out a hand to help Fay down the last few steps. She beams at him. "Oh, come on," she replies, wrinkling her nose playfully. "I'm worth the wait."

Kent feels fury build in him as he forces himself to watch the exchange. He wants nothing more than to step forward and punch that satisfied smirk right off of Ivan's face as he looks Fay over from head to foot. But Kent does nothing, doesn't move at all, burying the desire deep inside. It's not worth it.

There's the creak of a door, then, and Ivan, Kent, and Fay all turn towards the kitchen as Daniel comes into the hall, taking a big bite of the sandwich in his hand, his mind clearly elsewhere. Daniel stops in his tracks when he sees them all staring at him and slowly swallows his bite. "What's...going on?" he asks, wary.

"Hey Daniel," Ivan calls, raising his chin to him, not letting go of Fay's hand. "Nice to see you again."

"Daniel, come here," Kent commands, not giving Daniel a chance to respond. "Come say goodbye to your fiancé. She's off for a little...trip."

Both Daniel and Fay raise their eyebrows at Kent's use of that word, Ivan looking between them, but Kent ignores them all. He has his own reasons. Daniel crosses to the unlikely group, his eyes on Fay.

"Where you going?" Daniel asks with a confused frown.

"Away for the night," she replies, attempting a little smile. "It's a...surprise?"

"With Ivan?" Daniel pushes, starting to get mad and moving to stand next to his father. Fay shrugs and nods a little. Daniel glares at them all. "Why!?" Daniel demands, his voice angry.

Kent expertly changes the direction of the conversation, though, snapping his fingers towards the open doors of his office. Two men come out, backpacks slung over their own shoulders. "These men are Fay's body guards," Kent explains, his words directed at Ivan. "I'm sure you can accommodate them."

"Sure," Ivan says, unphased. "We've got plenty of room. Hey guys." He lifts his chin towards each of them in a friendly greeting. Kent notes the little smile that forms on Fay's face as she watches Ivan, pleased, apparently, at his ability to meet Kent's demands with a cool head.

Kent nudges Daniel hard in the arm. "Say goodbye to your girl, Daniel. I'm sure she'll miss not having you so close by tonight."

Daniel glares at his dad a little and then, sandwich still in hand, goes to wrap Fay in an awkward hug, his sandwich getting dangerously close to her hair. "Have fun, Fay," he says blandly, clearly not meaning it and giving Ivan a bitter little glare over her shoulder. "See ya, Daniel!" Fay says cheerfully, giving him a squeeze and then letting him go. Ivan smirks at both of them, not missing that there was no good-bye kiss. Kent grits his teeth at his son's inability to read the room. As Ivan moves to open the front door, Kent moves to Fay's side, partially wanting to cover for Daniel's mistake and partially wanting...well.

"Have a nice time, Fay," he half murmurs, half growls, placing a hand on her waist to pull her to his side. Then, he places a fatherly kiss on her forehead.

As Kent pulls away, Fay looks into his eyes, disbelief and irony written all over her face. She shakes her head at him while Ivan's back turned. "Sure thing, daddy," she whispers, taking the opportunity to fist a hand in his shirt and pull him hard against her. "Don't miss me too much."

She gives him a look, then, that twists Kent stomach and sends all his blood rushing for his c**k. But before he can respond, she's let him go and is moving through the door, not even looking over her shoulder as she leaves, the guards following after her. When Fay takes Ivan's hand and smiles up at him as they walk down the front steps, Kent grits his teeth and slams the door behind her.

He takes a moment to collect himself, breathing hard, and then turns towards his office to see...

Daniel, standing there, his expression a little scandalized. "You okay, dad?" Daniel asks slowly.

Kent says nothing, just turns and storms into his office, slamming that door as well.

"So, where are we off to?" I ask, eagerly smiling as I buckle my seatbelt in the front of his car. But while I was expecting words, Ivan's response is to place a gentle hand on my cheek, turning my face to him. "Hey, are you okay?" he asks, searching my face. "That was...intense in there. Weird."

I melt a little, looking into his pretty grey eyes, and nod my head. "It's...always weird in there. Casa Lippert is a strange place."

"I'm starting to get that impression," Ivan mutters, still staring at me. "It's really good to see you Fay," he continues quietly, sincerity all over his face.

I take a deep breath, suddenly relaxed, more relaxed maybe than I've been all day, which is weird considering...well. I push that thought from my mind and give Ivan a real smile. Not the fake ones I've been pasting onto my face since he came into Kent's house. "It's good to see you too," I sigh, taking his hand. "Really good."

"Good," he says, grinning at the redundancy in our conversation. Then, he turns his attention to the road. "You want to go eat some seafood?"

"Always!" I reply, suddenly eager. "Are we going to the beach?"

"Mountains, actually," he says as he pulls out of the driveway, Kent's guards following behind us in a black SUV.

"Seafood in the mountains?" I ask, wrinkling at my nose. "When we live so close to the shore?"

Ivan just gives me a little wink. "Trust me," he says. "You won't regret it."

Two hours later, we pull up to the most gorgeous mountain house I've ever seen. I'm gaping as I step out, taking in the amazing vista behind the house as well as the fantastic architecture of the home itself, which looks like it has about a dozen decks and balconies. "Oh my god," I whisper, staring up at it. "Is this...is this your place?" I ask, glancing at Ivan as he comes to stand next to me. "Yours, actually," he relies, slipping his hands into his pockets and staring at the house.

I frown at him. "What?"

"This is your dad's place," Ivan explains, turning to me with a smile. "He loaned it to me for the night. Told me to take you up here, enjoy ourselves."

"Oh," I say, shrinking away from him a little, surprised. "I thought that you..."

Ivan turns his head a little, waiting for me to continue.

"Well..." I hesitate, "my dad and I, the last time we met, we didn't...end things on very good terms. And he was mad that I was seeing you. And I kind of thought that you brought me up here because you wanted to see me..."

"Fay," Ivan says gently, taking my hand. "Nothing's changed. I'm still on your side. Your dad loaned me the house because I flipped out on him - I heard what he said to you -"

My mouth drops open, wanting to ask how, but he just smirks at me and puts a hand up, asking me to let him finish.

"I have my sources, Fay," he continues, "and I went to your dad's house, demanding that he apologize to you. This," Ivan says, shrugging and looking towards the house again, "is his apology. As well as his blessing, I guess. For us to see each other." He turns to look me in the eye then. "Though none of that matters to me, though. I'd have come for you tonight whether he'd loaned me this house or not."

"Oh really?" I ask, finding myself drawing closer to him unconsciously. "And without this house, where would you have taken me?"

"Cheap motel on the boardwalk," he says, shrugging with a smirk. "I would have treated you to the finest fries that a five dollar bill could buy - taken you fishing on the pier with nothing but a piece of corn as bait-"

I find myself laughing, suddenly, charmed by him again. He wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me close, and I let him. "Seriously, Fay," he says. "Forget your dad - he's a jerk. I brought you here because I thought you'd want to know that he was sorry. But if you don't like it - we can go right now."

"No," I murmur, smiling at him, our faces close. "Let's stay. I want to check out my property, after all."

Ivan nudges my nose with his, sending a little flutter through my stomach, and then pulls me towards the house.