{Wattys Shortlist 2022}
A one night stand is turned inside out when two strangers discover their shared past.
After a skydiving excursion that ends in a whirlwind one night stand, Camilla writes off ever seeing her handsome instructor again. That...
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"A lady?" I scoffed.
Admiral Tenney thought he could train me to become a lady?
The concept was absurd. I might not be perfect, but this man was the furthest thing from a gentleman I'd ever seen.
"Your son is handcuffed and beaten for what, I don't even know, and still you have the audacity to comment on my place as a lady?" I jabbed a finger at Les, and realized my arm was shaking. "What about your place as a father? Just look what you've done to your son. Is this how you were trained to behave?"
The admiral's lips pulled back from his teeth. "My father did what he had to do to keep this family on top. Which is exactly what I'm doing. Southron understands the way to make steel stronger is by striking it. Women don't understand the way of war."
South remained silent, but the glare he fixed on his father was deadly.
I realized I wasn't done. I had so much more to say to this man. Anger was radiating off me in visible waves.
"I might not know much about war, but the only person fighting is you. We didn't ask for any of this. All we wanted to do was move to Virginia." My gaze found South's. "Together."
"She's right, dad," South asserted, "that's all we wanted."
The room went quiet before Les excused his remaining bodyguards, who were hovering near the back. They slipped out with little more than a whispered word between them.
I wondered how much they were getting paid.
Les marched back and forth across the carpet. South tracked his movements with a disgusted look pressed onto his face. I was trying to ignore the ache in my hand and the sick feeling in my gut.
In the silence that followed, an odd sensation settled over me. I remembered having the same feeling while inside Red's cramped kitchen office. There had been a shift in energy then, and I could feel the same shift now.
"Tell me, Miss Isley," Les began, pulling a small silver key from his jacket pocket, "do you wish to continue your romantic relationship with my son?"
My lips popped open in surprise. That hadn't been what I expected him to say. South and I turned our attention away from his father and towards each other.
I thought about all the little moments I'd spent with South over the last two weeks. We'd fallen for each other as quickly as summer rain. The skies had opened up the moment we jumped out of the plane, pelting the earth until both of us were soaking wet. Just like my mom and dad. Caught in a whirlwind of lust and uncomfortable truths while learning to trust each other.
