Cyrus whistles. “That’s impressive, and I’m glad things are going well, son. Do you need financing? You know I know my way around banks.”
I roll my eyes because actually my dad’s business is in the entertainment sector with bars and clubs and the like, but I guess Cyrus knows the right guys. My boyfriend shakes his head though.
“No, thanks. We’re doing well, but you’ll be my first call if anything changes.”
“Good,” Cyrus nods with approval. I yawn again, and his head swivels towards me. “You seem tired, Alyssa, and it’s already almost one. Are you okay? What did you two kids get up to last night?”
I jolt forwards, fully awake now.
“What? I’m not tired. It’s just been a long weekend, that’s all. But yeah, we went to a party last night.”
I stammer as I speak, trying to sound innocent. Will Cyrus somehow guess that I did something naughty? My father squints, those blue eyes discerning.
“All I’m saying is that it’s past noon,” Cyrus says gently. “The sun’s high in the sky and most people have been up for hours. I just want to know why you’re so fatigued.”
Thankfully, the food is delivered to our table at that exact moment and I’m saved from having to explain myself. I scarf down my meal in record time, practically gobbling down my eggs and washing it down with huge gulps of orange juice. I’m always a fast eater, but today, I make sure my mouth is never empty so my dad can’t ask me any more questions.
Fortunately, the rest of brunch passes without a hitch, and my dad pays the bill. Then I lean in to kiss my father on the cheek as Liam shakes Cyrus’s hand.
“Thanks Mr. North,” he growls.
Cyrus fixes him with a look again. “Please, call me Cyrus, my boy.”
I tug Liam away before he can speak.
“Thanks Daddy!” I say brightly while waving. “We’ll see you next month, okay? Give my love to Josie and the baby!” Then I rush my boyfriend away without looking back. OMG, my cheeks are on fire.
“Is something wrong?” Liam asks, tugging at my hand. “I swear, slow down woman! You’re going to be the death of me.”
We grind to a halt on the sidewalk and I look up at him.
“I was just terrified that Cyrus would know.”
My boyfriend’s black brows knit together.
“Know what?” he asks. “I’m confused, honey. Please explain what’s in your beautiful brain to me.”
I swat him lightly on the bicep.
“You know, what we did last night! It was so naughty.”
Liam merely growls and pulls me close so that I lean against his broad chest.
“Sweetheart, even we haven’t talked about what happened last night, so how would Cyrus have any inkling?”
I pull away, frowning a bit.
“You’d be surprised. My dad has a sixth sense when it comes to this kind of thing and it’s utterly creepy. I swear, when I was seven he knew when I was thinking about sneaking cookies or candy. He knew it before I even knew it!”
But my boyfriend merely laughs while tucking my head beneath his chin and resting his chin on my curls.
“You’re paranoid, sweetheart,” he growls. “Seriously, there’s no way your dad would know anything unless he was at the party and in the bedroom himself with us. And I promise that he wasn’t. But you’re right, we should talk about what happened. But can we not do it here, on a busy NYC sidewalk? Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get home and then we can relax.”
With that, he pulls me away and my shoulders drop with relief somewhat. But an uncertain feeling still niggles my mind because what we did last night was utterly taboo, and I have a feeling it’s going to come back and bite us when we least expect it.
5
Liam
It’s funny watching Alyssa squirm. She’s been on edge since we woke up, clearly terrified I’d spill the beans about our threesome to her dad. But that’s insane because Cyrus and I aren’t exactly close. I respect the older man, but I’m not going to talk his ear off about my sex life banging his daughter.
More worrisome, Alyssa seems to have this feeling that her dad can intuit anything and everything about her. It stems back to the fact that he was a single parent who basically raised her alone, but I reassure her that Cyrus doesn’t have mind-reading powers, as much as she’d like to believe.
“He’s not psychic,” I say when we finally get settled on the couch at home. “Trust me, he may be a fantastic businessman and as rich as Midas, but that doesn’t mean he can read minds.”
My girlfriend still doesn’t look convinced though.
“You don’t know Cyrus,” she says darkly. “He always comes up with something you’d never expect.”
I laugh and shake my head.
“Maybe, but it’s not going to be about our menage. I promise you that.”