One night stand with my daddy's best friend
103

Dane

How much time was enough time to give someone space? Bridget left Los Angeles three months ago and while I'd made moves to fly up to Northern California to see her several times over the past few months, each and every time I stopped myself.

It wasn't that I didn't want to see her because I did. It was true what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder. I might have thought that with space and time, my feelings for her might fade. After all, we hadn't been a real couple. But the truth was, the longer we were apart, the more difficult it was to be away from her. She haunted me in my dreams and even during the day when I was working.

Ethan and his team launched her marketing strategies, and the results were even better than we anticipated. Each time we looked over the data and saw how well her ideas were working, I wanted to go to her and tell her she was brilliant and follow that with how much I missed her and tell her all the things I regretted not telling her before, like I'd fallen for her.

Now that I wasn't her boss, one of the issues that made me hesitate to be with her was gone. But the other two were still there. The age gap, which to be honest now felt worse knowing that Troy, who was my age, was her father. But I might've been able to overcome that if not for Troy. He was the one thing that stood in the way of happiness, assuming Bridget felt something for me as well.

The fact that she left without saying goodbye and hadn't once been in

touch with me suggested that her feelings weren't anywhere near what mine were for her. And why should they be? She was twenty-one years old. She'd probably have several boyfriends before she settled down.

If only such reasoning convinced my heart to stop pining for her. What was it Archer had said to me? The heart wants what the heart wants.

In the three months since she left, I continued to focus on work keeping Bran under control and the company running. I had thought by now my father might be well enough to return, but his recovery was going much slower than all of us anticipated.

In fact, when my father wasn't around, my mother would occasionally make a comment that suggested he might retire. I suspected that was more what she wanted than what he wanted, but it was possible he might not have a choice. I had to do some serious self-reflection to determine if I was willing to stay and continue to run the company.

When I first came home, my intention was to be here temporarily. I had never pictured myself being the CEO of my father's company but three months into it, I had finally settled in. Now that Bran's deal was moving forward, things ran smoother at the office.

We had left Bridget's position open for a little while, hoping she might return. But after a month when none of us, including Lane had heard from Bridget, we decided that she was likely gone for good. We'd hired a young man to fill the position, and while he was doing okay, he didn't bring the same creativity and energy that Bridget had.

Up until now I managed everything that my father had created. But now with the idea that I might be sticking around, I thought I would create my own project. I'd found an old rundown apartment complex a block away from the ocean in Long Beach. Running the numbers, I determined that if we invested money into fixing it up, we could increase rents or sell them as condos.

Initially, my conscience worried about displacing people who lived there since they wouldn't likely be able to afford the higher rent cost, but then I discovered that the occupancy of the building was very low. With the assistance of one of our agents, Selene Belfast, and her network, I was able to help the few residents that lived there find affordable housing elsewhere. Some were reluctant to move because their new homes were further away from the beach but with the financial incentive that we gave them which

included paying their first and last month's rent plus another ten grand for whatever they wanted, they'd all taken the deal.

Tonight, I was meeting with Troy at the site to walk through all the changes that I wanted made. Troy mostly did new construction projects, but I was hoping that he would take on a restoration.

I liked the idea of doing a project with my friend, but I couldn't deny that, deep down, I was probably hoping to find a way to connect with Bridget without him feeling betrayed or like I was a pervert.

"This doesn't look like the usual kind of MacLeod investment property," Troy said as he met me in the parking lot of the old apartment building.

"Maybe not at the moment, but that's why I've invited you here."

Troy studied the building and then looked at me. "What do you have in mind? A full demo and start all over?"

"I was thinking that the structure is sound and that we would just renovate the entire thing. But of course, you're the expert. And if it needs to be razed and rebuilt, I could look at that as well." "So, this is a business deal?"

I nodded. "If you'd be willing. I would like to show you around and let you know my ideas."

Troy extended his arm towards the building. "I'll follow you." Then he grinned. "It will be fun to do a project with you, Dane."

The complex wasn't large compared to many of the apartment complexes in the Long Beach area. Still, it was three stories with thirty units in a U shape with a pool in the middle, and space for the building manager to live.

Troy and I walked the exterior on each floor and then I took him into each of the different types of units from the one-bedroom to the two-bedroom to the three-bedroom. I explained to him the goal of increasing the value by putting in upgrades along with all the cleaning and fix-ups the building and the units needed. When I was done with the tour, we sat out by the pool to discuss the terms.

"I'd like to get some more of my men in here to take a closer look and then I can draw up an estimate of price and timeframe," Troy said.

"Sounds good."

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Troy tilted his head as he studied me. "Your taking on a project like this makes it seem like you might be sticking around. I thought the CEO gig was a short-term thing."

"I did too. But it's unclear whether my dad will return, and despite my

initial resistance, things are going pretty well there. We've had some good success with the campaign that Bridget initially put together." It was my turn to study Troy to see his reaction to my mentioning Bridget.

He grinned like a proud father. "That's my girl. In fact, if she's as good as you think she is, maybe you should contract with her. She's starting her own digital marketing agency."

I frowned. "Up in San Francisco? I thought she had gotten a bigwig job up there."

"She did, but apparently it was a miserable place to work. Between that and her pregnancy, we convinced her to move back home, at least for the short term. In fact, one of the three bedroom apartments here might work for her." My brain stumbled over itself, first at hearing that she was home, but second to hear she was pregnant. The world tilted sideways as I tried to make sense of it.

"So, is she getting married?"

Troy scowled. "No. Apparently the father is an asshole and isn't in the picture. So now she's living in the studio that I built for Lizzie. We fixed it up to be like a guesthouse and she's starting her own business from there. I know you guys have your own marketing department but if you happen to know anybody who's looking for a brilliant digital marketing specialist, I hope you'll refer them to her."

I nodded and hoped I was smiling, but it was possible that it was a grimace because I could not believe Bridget was pregnant.

Here I was falling for her, pining for her, while she left without a goodbye and met another man. And now she was having his baby.

I was right. I'd felt more for her than she had for me. Which made sense. We had agreed to a fling. And of course, I was so much older than her. It was stupid of me to think that maybe she and I could have something, especially since we had to get past Troy.

"I'll definitely keep that in mind."

"You know, I heard a rumor running around about you and Anne Francis. You never mention her, so I guess I'm just going to have to come out and ask. Are you engaged?"

I shook my head. "No. It's a fantasy that my mother is carrying around." "So are you seeing anyone? Dating? Hookups?"

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I arched a brow. "Are you asking me about my sex life?" The minute it

left my mouth I regretted it. The only sex life I'd had since returning home was with his daughter. And now that I knew that she had moved on, I wasn't going to see if there was a way I might earn Troy's blessing.

He grinned. "Isn't there something about a sailor having a woman in every port?"

"I'm currently docked in safe harbors."

Troy laughed. "I don't know what that means. It could mean you have a steady gal or that you are now a monk."

I shrugged, remaining noncommittal.

"Well, Lizzie, and I would like to have you over for dinner and you can come by yourself as a monk, or if you happen to have a significant other or just a plus one, you can bring her along as well."

I hesitated because now that Bridget was home, I wasn't sure that I could see her and not give away the fact that I was still wanting her. It had been awkward the last time I was over there for dinner, but of course part of that came from the shock of discovering the woman I was falling for was my friend's daughter.

"Come on, Dane. What else do you have to do?"

I scanned my brain for something else I had in my schedule, but of course I had nothing. For the most part, I remained a hermit to avoid my parents and Anne.

"When you come over, we'll be able to talk about this project a little bit more. If you can let my guys in here over the next couple of days, I'll have something put together for you by the end of the week."

Not having a good reason not to show up, especially since he was going to have information about this project, I couldn't very well not agree. And then there was Bridget. It was perverse and dangerous, but deep down I wanted to see her. "All right, I'll be there."

We both stood and he gave me a hug and a pat on the back. "It's really great to have you home, Dane."

"Thanks." But I couldn't say it was good to be home. As much as I liked reconnecting with Troy, my life since returning home...no, since Bridget left, felt so bland and empty. Since I couldn't have her, I feared my life would remain without color or laughter. Even as I thought about it, I felt pathetic. Dane, the Navy SEAL, defeated by heartbreak.