“Are you sure you’re not more than seeing him, Marigold?”
“I plead the fifth.” I might be crap at lying, but I’m good at pleading the fifth.
“She is to be my wife.” Avery wraps his arm around me, pulling me snugly into his side.
“Marigold?” My father keeps his attention on me. I don’t blame him.
“What?”
He pinches the bridge of his nose the same way he always does when he’s irritated with me. So needless to say, he spends a ton of time with his hand on his nose. Because ever since I was old enough to talk, I was irritating him.
“Is there something you need, Eric?” Avery asks, using my father’s first name. Well, then. I guess Avery did some digging of his own.
“I have some questions that I need to speak to her about.”
“Regarding?”
“The Hoover household.” Still my father keeps his eyes on me.
“What of it?” Avery fires right back.
“That’s between my daughter and me–”
“I heard on the news that Mr. Hoover died. I’d think it would be a conflict of interest for you to interrogate your own daughter.”
“Question,” my father snaps back. That anger he keeps bottled up is slipping out some. Finally, he jerks his attention up to Avery. “I can speak to my own damn daughter whenever I want to.”
“Stop!” I shout when I sense Avery’s mood start to change. I don’t know how he does that or how I can feel it, but I do. Maybe we are connected on some deep level I don’t understand yet but somehow Avery does. “I plead–”
“If you have any questions for my soon-to-be wife then I’ll need to call my lawyer.”
“Who is your lawyer, Avery Hardin? There isn’t a whole lot I could find on you.”
“I guess you’ll find out if you get a court order to speak to my wife. For now, I suggest you leave.”
“You know what–”
“That wasn’t actually a suggestion. I was being polite for Goldie’s sake. Get the fuck off my property or you’ll learn all kinds of things about me rather quickly.”
“Are you threatening an officer of the law?” My father stiffens. He has no idea what he’s gotten himself into.
“Not a threat.”
Damn, my husband really is a badass. Maybe he can teach me some of that too.