“Can’t we get one of the married guys on this?” her dad asked. “You know how these things go. I swear the MT guys view their clients the way most people use dating apps. How many of those guys end up slipping into bed with clients?”
“Dad!” Her father still had the power to completely embarrass her.
Lisa shook her head and patted her round belly. “Nah, honey, he’s right. How do you think I found Remy? And my sister Laurel ended up with Big Tag’s lawyer when she worked for him, so it’s not just the security guys. It’s pretty much anyone in Big Tag’s orbit. They get pulled into the whole love and marriage thing.”
Her dad pointed Lisa’s way. “Uh, uh. That’s only some of the guys. What about all the women they went through first? Did Remy come into your marriage pure?”
Lisa snorted.
“I did not sleep with a bunch of clients,” Remy argued.
“Just every Hooter’s girl in Dallas,” Lisa said under her breath.
Her stepmom frowned her dad’s way. “Are you trying to say Noelle would be nothing more than a notch on this guy’s bedpost?”
Noelle held up a hand. “I was planning on not sleeping with the guy who checks my computer for viruses and spies.”
She would maybe though sleep with someone from her training class. Lisa had told her sex was common and that she’d had an amazing time with her training Dom. If they set out firm boundaries and she liked the man, it would be a safe way to indulge since the guy would be highly vetted by a bunch of paranoid security experts.
But she wasn’t mentioning that to her dad because…he was her dad.
“I bet Lisa wasn’t planning on sleeping with Remy when he was her bodyguard,” her dad said with an extra frowny frown.
“Oh, I planned to sleep with him. He played hard to get for years and all because he thought I looked too sweet for a guy like him,” Lisa added. “So you’re safe. If Hutch is anything like Remy, he’ll stay far away because he’ll think he’s not good enough for her. Noelle, if he gives you trouble, show him your boobs. It worked for me.”
Her stepmom choked on her iced tea, but her dad went pale.
“I’m not showing anyone my boobs.” Well, not anyone she worked with. And certainly not some guy named Hutch. Who was named Hutch? He sounded like a refugee from a bad old TV show.
Lisa snorted, likely because she knew Noelle would be showing her boobs at Sanctum soon.
They were nice boobs. They weren’t the largest, but they were perky. She would have to show her legs, too, and all her scars, but she’d decided to be okay with them. Anyone who didn’t like them didn’t have to look. She hadn’t wanted those scars, but they were hers, and whoever she ended up with would have to tolerate them.
Her father sighed. “Just be careful. Like I said a lot of those men end up in bed with their clients. I’ve heard this Hutch fellow gets around.”
“Well, maybe he did before and he’ll walk in and take one look at how beautiful and smart and funny my daughter is and she’ll be the one he marries.” Her stepmom had stood, staring her dad’s way. “Don’t you forget you and I worked together, too. She is a lovely twenty-five-year-old woman, and any man would be lucky to catch her.”
“What did I… I thought I was saying the guy’s going to try to sleep with her.” Her father scratched his head as though trying to figure out what he’d done wrong. “I didn’t say she wasn’t beautiful. She is. That’s what I’m worried about. And it wasn’t the same with us. I knew I wanted to marry you right away.”
Lila nodded as though he’d made her point. “But Noelle isn’t worthy of that from a man?”
“Of course she is but…” Her dad shook his head. “I’m going to get a beer.”
Remy stood up, narrowly missing the Frisbee. “I’ll go with you. It’s going to be fine. Hutch is a good guy. He’s even had a couple of girlfriends over the years. Well, one. Maybe two. Mostly he’s a crazy hookup guy. Definitely not Noelle’s type. I think you’re safe.”
Lila leaned over the table. “You’re welcome. I’ve found the way to stop your dad’s overly protective lectures is to challenge him in a stern voice. He usually backs down. Now he’ll stop the ‘no one should touch my precious baby girl’ talk.” She stood up. “Which is a good thing because we all know that’s not true. You be careful at that club.” She pointed her sister’s way. “Laurel is still there, you know. So is our brother. He’s on the board that approves new applicants. Did you honestly think he wouldn’t call me?”
Lisa sat up. “Well, given that it’s supposed to be a secret process, yes.”
Lila’s eyes rolled. “Like anything is really secret at Sanctum. They like to say they’re all covert and mysterious, but when it comes to family…well, Will views Noelle like a niece and he wants to avoid her at all costs. Be nice to your uncle and don’t do anything pervy around him. His club night is Friday. Maybe you could go on Saturdays.”
She knew? Noelle felt her cheeks flame, but she straightened her shoulders anyway. This was her life. “I’m an adult…”
Lila put a hand on her head, smoothing her hair back. “Nope. No need to fight that fight with me. I meant what I said. You are smart and funny and beautiful, and you deserve everything you’re brave enough to go after. I don’t understand the whole submissive thing. I’m not wired that way, but if you are then there is no place I would trust more than Sanctum. After all, it’s where my sisters and my brother found their loves. But do not tell your father. Not now. Maybe in ten years or so.”
Maybe never. “Sorry I didn’t talk to you about it.”
Lila shook her head. “You talked to the best person you possibly could have, and when you get there, don’t hesitate to talk to Laurel, too. I love you. I know we don’t share blood and that you still miss your mom, but you’re my daughter, too. I want the world for you. You are strong and smart. If this Hutch guy is hot and seems like he’d be good for you, go for it. Even if it’s only for a little while. Sex is good for you if you make smart choices about it. Never tell your father I said that.”
She got to her feet and hugged her stepmom. Her mother had died so many years ago, but this woman had eased the blow. Lila had been everything she could have wanted in a mom, and she was grateful to be part of her family. “Thank you.”
“Be safe out there.” Her stepmom hugged her tight and then let go as something whizzed by her head. “I’m never going to survive those boys.”
Noelle leaned over and grabbed the Frisbee. “I’ll handle my brothers for a while if you want to have a glass of wine. That cake has to come out of the oven in about twenty minutes, but I can watch the boys until then.”
“Cake. I’m up for cake,” Lisa said with a grin.
Lila sighed and stepped back. “I’m going to miss you, Noelle. Remember we’re always here for you.”
Her stepmom walked back in the house, and despite the fact that she had some stress at work, she was hopeful for the future.
“That went better than I thought it would,” Lisa said. “I’ll be honest. I figured she would know sooner or later. Lila knows everything. Should Kevin be climbing the shed? God, please be a girl.”