Chapter 15
Shane opened the passenger door and helped Alisyn out. "I had the time of my life tonight."
She smiled at him, and the look in her eyes made his heart skip a beat. "So did I. Thank you for inviting me."
"It was my pleasure." He pulled her close and kissed her for the final time of the evening. He let it linger a few moments longer before pulling away and holding her gaze. If it were up to him, he'd let the moment last for a lifetime, but his dad's Mercedes pulled into the driveway.
Shane closed his car door, set the alarm, and pulled Alisyn to the house before they had to talk to his dad and Carrie.
Inside, the house was quiet aside from the sounds of the television from the family room.
Alisyn kissed Shane's cheek. "I should go tell Natalie we're home."
He cupped her face and pressed a kiss on her soft, sweet mouth. "Thank you again for the perfect night."
Keys jiggled in the door behind them.
"Goodnight." She let her gaze linger on his.
"Sweet dreams." He stepped into Dad's office—Shane's "room"—hating to part from her, but not wanting to talk to his dad. He threw his tie onto the bed and unbuttoned the first few buttons on his shirt before throwing himself on the hide-a-bed. He put his hands behind his head and relived every wonderful moment of the night. Aside from the party celebrating Dad and Carrie's anniversary, it had truly been the perfect date.
He'd never had a better time. Not even when his old band had won a major competition and their popularity had exploded overnight in Seattle. That had been his best moment until Alisyn. He sighed and closed his eyes.
Knock, knock.
Shane opened his eyes. Grogginess gripped him, trying to pull his eyes closed again. He must've fallen asleep.
Knock, knock.
"Come in." His voice croaked. The door opened, and in walked his dad. Shane held back a groan. "What do you want?"
He folded his arms. "You sleeping in that?"
Shane's defenses shot up. "What's it to you if I am?"
"You better leave my nanny alone. I don't know what you're trying to pull, but it needs to stop."
"Didn't we already have this discussion?"
"Clearly you missed the point of our last talk."
"Meaning what, exactly?"
"Be a player if you insist, but leave her alone."
"A player?" Shane exclaimed. "Are you kidding?"
"No. Leave her alone."
"Or what?" Shane sat up and narrowed his eyes. "You'll leave me when I need you most? Oh, wait. You already did that."
"It's been over fifteen years—"
"I know. We celebrated your abandonment of your first family all night long."
Dad cleared his throat. "It's been over fifteen years, so you need to move on. The past is in the past."
"If you want me to move on, then get out of my love life. I'll stop bringing up your abandonment if you get off my case about Alisyn."
"Love life?" Dad scoffed. "Like I said, I don't want her leaving here when things don't work out between you two."
"And again, your faith in me astounds me to no end. Does ruining my life bring you life's greatest joy?"
Dad stepped closer, folding his arms and furrowing his brows. "If I so much as see you looking at Alisyn, I will fire her. Do you understand? I will not stand for this breach of business and pleasure. Make your choice." He spun around, stormed out, and slammed the door behind him.
Blind fury raged through Shane, pulsating from head to toe. If his dad thought he could control Shane, he was delusional. There was no way Shane was going to allow his absent, cheating father to get in between him and Alisyn.
He didn't want Shane looking at Alisyn? Shane would show him. He got up and threw all of his belongings into his luggage and carted them out to his car. Then he stormed upstairs to the guest bedroom, where he found Shayna sprawled on the bed, texting.
She glanced up and set her phone aside. "Uh-oh. What's wrong?"
"I'm getting out of here. You with me?"
Her eyes widened. "Right now?"
"Yes. I need to get out of here to think straight. If I stay here another minute, I'm going to punch that man so hard his nose will break off."
She cringed. "I'm not even going to ask what happened. Just give me a minute to pack."
"I'm going to say goodbye to Alisyn. I need to tell her why I'm taking off, and that it has nothing to do with her."
"You can't."
"What?" Shane exclaimed.
"She's asleep already. I found her crashed on Piper's bed an hour ago and I helped her into her room."
Shane groaned. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Call her in the morning."
He frowned. "That's not good enough. Meet me at my car."
"Sure you can't wait for the morning? Sleep on whatever's bothering you? I hate to leave without saying bye to the kids."
"We can call them in the morning, too."
"Okay." The sadness in her eyes was like a kick in the gut, but there was no way he was staying in Dad's house a moment longer than he had to.
While Shayna packed, he tip-toed into Alisyn's room after knocking lightly. She slept like an angel.
"Alisyn," he whispered.
She didn't stir.
"Alisyn."
Nothing.
He kissed her forehead, scribbled a quick note on the back of one of Carrie's many lists, and tucked it underneath her phone.