“Where’s my beautiful little girl?” he boomed in his Kentucky drawl.
Lila beamed and flung her arms around his neck. He chuckled, kissing her cheek.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“Starving,” she replied. “Where are we going for dinner?”
“I thought we’d get a double order of spicy-sweet barbecue ribs at the Old Spruce Pub. With a side of those mozzarella sticks you love.”
Lila snuggled under his arm with a contented noise.
“Oh, that sounds delicious. I can’t remember the last time we had a Daddy-daughter date together without the boys butting in.”
“I heard that,” I said.
She turned and stuck her tongue out at me.
Hillbilly had made so many sacrifices for the club, for us. And I appreciated everything he did for me over the years—putting a roof over my head, saving my sorry ass from a life in prison, training me into the man—and the biker—that I am today.
But a faint pang still twisted in my chest to see Lila so close to him. I wish I could have been that close with my own father.
“Don’t burn the place down while I’m gone, gentlemen,” Hillbilly said.
“Those expectations might be a little high, Dad,” Lila teased.
“We’ll be on our best behavior, Prez,” I said.
Lila snorted with doubt and turned away. My gaze strayed to her ass, mesmerized by the sway of her hips until she disappeared from sight out the door.
Hades cleared his throat loudly.
“It’s never gonna happen.”
“I didn’t say anything,” I protested.
He scoffed.
“You were fucking drooling.”
I couldn’t argue with that, so I changed tactics, diverting Hades’s attention to another topic.
“You’re right,” I said. “Maybe I’d have a better chance with your ex-wife instead.”
Hades’s grip tightened on his pool cue until his knuckles turned deathly white. By some miracle, he didn’t snap it in half. He was so still and so silent that I could have sworn the temperature in the room dropped to arctic levels.
“Kidding,” I amended quickly. “I’m kidding. It’s a joke.”
“It’s not funny,” Hades growled.
“Are you going to beat me senseless with that pool cue? Or can we get this game started?”
“That depends,” Hades said through his teeth. “Will you keep talking about my Jenny?”
“Nope,” I said. “No, sir. Her name won’t even pass my lips again.”
“Good,” he grunted.
I blew out a breath of relief, grateful to dodge that bullet.