“I mean it, Daddy.” She stared right back, feeling the dread that began to rise inside her. “I won’t have it.”
“Emily Paige, girl, you’re as pretty as a
picture.” The admiral stopped beside her father, giving them both a stern look before he pulled Emily into his arms for a quick hug.
“And you’re as handsome as always, Uncle Sam.” She tried to smile back.
He cut quite a dashing figure for a man who had just celebrated his fifty-fifth birthday. He was trim, his hazel eyes as sharp as ever, though his dark brown hair was now completely gray.
“Of course I’m as handsome as always, unlike your old man here.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at her father. “I’m only getting better with age.”
Emily’s lips twitched before flattening at the look in her father’s eyes.
“Has my dress arrived?” She turned to Fay to ask the question.
“Everything arrived yesterday, Miss Emily,” she answered, her gaze taking in the look on her father’s face as well. “I put everything in your bedroom, and Lieutenant Krieger’s dress blues arrived as well. They’re in the room beside yours.”
Emily nodded sharply. “I need to call Wilma Dunmore and make certain everything is running smoothly. I’ll have to thank her for taking care of this for me.”
“Go ahead and do that, baby,” her father said, his voice tight. “I’ll talk to Krieger about the information we’ve gotten so far.”
She just bet that was what he wanted to talk to him about.
“Don’t cause me to leave, Daddy.” She didn’t bother to disguise the warning in her voice. “I don’t want to let you down this weekend, but I would.”
“Emily.” Kell stepped behind her, his hands settling on her shoulders in a move that she considered highly unwise. And to make matters worse he kissed the top of her head gently.
The commodore’s brows lifted to his hairline as he glanced back at her father.
“For a smart man, you’re starting to make me believe you have very little sense of self-preservation, Kell,” she snapped, stepping away from him. “If you’ll excuse me, I have things to take care of. If you want to be stupid, you can do it all on your own.”
Pulling away from him, she took her overnight bag and purse from the chauffeur before heading to the stairs.
“Daddy.” She paused at the first step and stared back at him intently. “Do you love me?”
A frown darkened his brow. “Don’t pull that on me, Emily. It’s beneath you.”
“Do you love me, Daddy?”
“You know I do.” He glowered back at her.
“Then you won’t make any threats or demands, will you?”
His frown darkened. “I never make threats.”
“No demands or ultimatums, or the next time you try to put a bodyguard in my home, I’ll call the police. Are we clear?”
His jaw flexed in frustration. “We’re clear.”
“Good.” She nodded sharply, praying that the shaking in her knees couldn’t be seen. “I’ll take care of the party then. We’ll talk again before I leave.”
She heard his irritated grunt as she moved unhurriedly up the stairs. Reaching the landing, she stared back down at him for long seconds before walking to her bedroom, entering and closing the door behind her.
There, she breathed out roughly and pressed her hand tightly to her stomach. She was starting to think she might have been better off staying at home after all.
KELL RESTRAINED HIS SMILE AS the senator turned a dark look on him. The admiral’s lips were twitching, if he wasn’t mistaken, and his hazel eyes were alight with mirth.
“Lieutenant Krieger, consider yourself at home in this house.” The admiral nodded to Kell’s “at ease” stance.