Silver Fox Read online

  “I don’t know what you expect me to do here that you don’t consider trouble,” she muttered, but then put on her best smile for her father before giving him a hug. “Good to see you, Daddy.”

  “No, she stays here,” Landon said.

  I was about to rip into him about thinking he could override my decision, but I couldn’t remember the last time he’d made a parenting decision. This was what I wanted.

  Fiona stopped dead in her tracks. She always did what we asked her to, until she found the loophole.

  Landon looked satisfied, but he’d learn that lesson the hard way. “Until we get someone to escort her back to the room.”

  I scoffed. “Better call in the national guard.” A bunch of attractive young men—no, wait, that was a terrible idea.

  Fiona sat on the couch, gazing up at her father. Landon’s anger radiated from him like I’d actually set him on fire. So far, this plan was a complete disaster. But at least now he knew exactly what I was dealing with.

  It wouldn’t do me any good if production sent our asses back to California after our first night here. So I’d deal with Tessa first. “Sorry we ruined the auction.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Are you kidding? I couldn’t have scripted anything that good.”

  “Wait a minute? You filmed that? All of it?” Now I prayed production sent our asses somewhere where no one had any idea what a Real Werewife could possibly be.

  “You can’t use that,” Landon growled. “She’s underage. We didn’t agree—”

  “Actually, the contract Jenna signed allows us to film Fiona. She’s not the only potential Werewife who brought her kid along, and we have guidelines in place. You both knew we staged the auction for the purpose of the show. And when someone we’d never seen before bid on a Bloodhound, you better believe the viewers will want to see that.” Tessa held her hand out to me, and I reluctantly took it. “Glad to finally meet you in person, Jenna, even if it is under these circumstances. This is why we call it reality TV. That being said, I will ask your permission to continue filming. Sounds like the two of you have more to talk about than any of us anticipated.”

  Landon’s eyebrows shot up as he turned to Tessa. “You knew they were coming, and you didn’t tell me? You set me up.”

  Something radiated between the two of them that seemed an awful lot like a past. I couldn’t let myself be envious. I’d had my own life in the last eighteen years and I didn’t wish unhappiness on Landon. But I also didn’t want to make a fool out of myself, any more than was needed to prove my point.

  “Jenna said that the two of you had a past. She didn’t tell me that her daughter was also your daughter.” Tessa ran her hand over her face. “And you chose the bid, Fox. You could’ve picked anyone.”

  Scratch the envy. I liked that she gave him shit. Or maybe I just liked the realization he’d picked me. It had been a long time since anyone had wanted what I had to offer. My marriage to Charlie was over long before it ended, and I buried myself in work to dull the pain. Landon and I were a lot alike—I expressed myself with food like he did with football. Stepping away from that security blanket was painful.

  “You chose Mom,” Fiona said from the couch. She’d curled her legs up under her on the cushion and stifled a yawn. “It’s actually kind of cute.”

  “That dinner sounded incredible,” Landon said. He ran his hand over his beard again. His mannerisms hadn’t changed since I left him last. He used to run his hand through his hair when he was nervous. I used to think it was adorable. After all this time, my opinion hadn’t changed.

  But the rest of him was so much harder, and it had been a long time since I’d bothered to put on the charm. I didn’t know if food would be enough to woo him this time around.

  His gaze turned to me. Ice blue, it still did the same thing to my insides as it did when I was so much younger. Everything disappeared—my wild daughter, the producer who probably considered me the worst mother on earth—and in that moment, I was that girl again. The one who wanted to conquer Landon Fox for the personal satisfaction of being able to say I did it. No future, no responsibilities. I wanted to make him want me.

  “I was wondering how someone knew all my favorite things,” he said as he dropped his hand from his face and looked unsure of what to do next. Like he didn’t know if he should reach out and touch me or keep his hands to himself. “And it would be nice to be someone with who cared about things like that.”

  “I’ve always said food is love.” I swallowed hard. I didn’t know what to do either. Starting over sucked. Didn’t matter how old I was or how well I’d known Landon a lifetime ago. Now we were strangers standing before each other, brought together by a wildflower. “And the best way to get to know someone was by learning what they love to eat.”

  I startled when Fiona wrapped her arms around me in an awkward, hanging hug. “How about I promise to go back to the room and watch TV and you guys can” –she wrinkled her nose— “do whatever parents do on a date?”

  A date.

  I glanced back at Landon. It was possible he’d become better looking since Fiona had interrupted that last exchange. No, not better looking. More tempting. No, that wasn’t it, either. He was where I should’ve been all along. I just didn’t know it until now. “We could give her a chance to do the right thing.”

  His gaze slid to Fiona, stern at first, but he was a sucker for her, like everyone else on earth with a heartbeat. “We’ll give you a chance. But sweetheart?”

  She batted her eyelashes. “Yes, Daddy?”

  “You go near any of my teammates and I’ll keep their balls in a pickle jar in my locker. Do you understand me?”

  “I sure do.” Her grin widened, and I was much more familiar with what was coming next than Landon was. “I’ll be eighteen in a week.”

  She practically skipped as she lifted the curtain and disappeared.

  If it made me a bad person to laugh at the look of utter shock and disgust on Landon’s face, bring it on. It was such a relief not to be dealing with this by myself anymore.

  “Seven days before all hell breaks loose,” I said, suppressing my chuckle. “When would you like me to make you dinner?”

  Chapter Four

  LANDON

  My head was fucking spinning and it wasn’t only because Fiona threatened to bat my world around like a cat toy. Jenna stood before me in her sparkly dress, her wavy copper hair falling over her shoulders and glowing like fire in the low backstage light. I’d done nothing but fight with this woman since she’d given birth—we never saw eye to eye with our clothes on. But tonight, she was evoking a completely different emotion in me. So much more than hunger.

  “You handled Fiona well,” she said, the corner of her red lips curling up in a smile. “You have to celebrate the little victories.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  No hiding that grin anymore. “You better get a pickle jar for your locker, that’s all I’m saying. Probably more than one.”

  My animal groaned. You should’ve never been out of her life this long. I knew that, but had no way to swoop back in and not look like an asshole. I loved my daughter and wanted to be a part of her life. But it was hard when her life was so much different than mine. Excuses. You could’ve found a way to make it work. Foxes didn’t have destined mates, but my fox always had a soft spot for Jenna. He appreciated her fire.

  Here was my chance to change things. “What the hell are you doing here?” Moron. “Let me rephrase that. What about your husband?”

  It was possible this was all a stunt to get my attention. It worked.

  “My ex,” she said as she shifted her gaze away from me. “Charlie left. Took the restaurant with him.”

  “I’m sorry.” Jenna loved her restaurant as much as I loved playing football.

  “Don’t be. I’m trying to convince myself it was for the best.” She pushed her shoulders back. “The marriage was dead long before we officially killed it.”

 
I wanted to ask her why she stayed, or why she didn’t fight to make it work. But I knew the answer—not because I’d been in that situation, but because I’d avoided it. Making a relationship work took give and take—sometimes from the very same places. I’d been selfish, too. I couldn’t point fingers.

  Jenna took a deep breath, not waiting for me give her some bullshit platitude. “So, when Fiona came home at five in the morning, freshly inked, I started thinking about where I went wrong. If maybe I’d been with someone who’d given a shit about her, things would be different. After a little soul searching, I found out I do have what it takes to be a Real Werewife.”

  We were close enough, the sequins on her dress scratched my forearms. I’d pushed up my sleeves when I was on stage, giving a hint of a striptease, something to follow Tyler’s ridiculous performance. Hell, I was competing with a kid with no experience whatsoever who’d been canoodling with my daughter.

  But in this moment, I was having a hard time caring about Tyler Jones or whatever trouble was sure to be brewing in Fiona’s universe. Old feelings for a woman with passion and dreams of her own came flooding back as her spicy perfume radiated around me. Familiar feelings. Eighteen years ago, passion and dreams caused us to go our separate ways. We got what we wanted, but not what we needed.

  She was beautiful, even more so now than she was the last time I was this close to her, with her long flowing red hair and the slight crinkle around her eyes when she smiled. And that body. Damn. I was dying to see what she looked like under that dress.

  My animal was going crazy. Foxes weren’t pack animals, but I’d always been more comfortable in one. On a team. But now, for the first time, it was possible I was ready to claim a mate.

  No, I thought. She’s familiar. And Fiona’s freaking us both out.

  Stop running scared, my animal said. She came here for you. Not for the chance to hook up with some random baller. You.

  I wanted to taste her—her lips, her skin, all of her. But I wouldn’t. Not yet. “You didn’t have to come on the show,” I said.

  “I’ve been trying to get your attention for eighteen years, one way or another. All it finally took was a camera crew and an offer of dinner.”

  “You’re ballsy as hell.” I squeezed her hand, not prepared for the electricity that flowed through her veins. “I like that. But what’s happening now, with no cameras, is a luxury. We caught Tessa off-guard and she’s giving us a breather. But now that she knows we have a history, we’re not getting rid of her anytime soon.”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. “Oh please, this just became The Fiona Show. Effective immediately.”

  “We’ve got a week.” And I had a lot of missed opportunities to make up for. “So how about that dinner?”

  “Name the time and place. I’ll ruin you for any other food.”

  She’s going to ruin you for a lot of things, my fox said. “How about tomorrow night?”

  SIX DAYS. THE CLOCK was ticking. Before my ex made me dinner, I had to set a few new ground rules in the locker room. I’d called many team meetings so far this season. These guys were young and they were hungry. That meant mistakes. Not because their hearts weren’t in the right place—that’s what they were playing with—heart. But they didn’t have the experience in battle, hadn’t been knocked on their asses enough to know what to do. When we lost games, they got down on themselves instead of looking for opportunities to improve. And when we won, it was even more dangerous because they thought they had everything right. Never. Every game was a new opportunity for both teams. It was my job to lead them through and make sure they learned from every game. We didn’t sweat, bleed, and sacrifice our bodies for nothing. Every play meant something.

  But never did I think I’d have to gather a group of my teammates and warn them about my daughter.

  Now I was the one in uncharted territory.

  “Hey, Fox.” Tyler came up behind me. His locker was next to mine—Coach thought it was good for us to stick together. It probably was, but Tyler didn’t play the same way I did, and he was exhausting. He hadn’t played long enough to take things seriously yet. But today, he wasn’t telling jokes. He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Sorry about last night. I had no idea Fiona’s your daughter.”

  Maybe I wouldn’t have to make a fool out of myself in front of my entire team and out myself—as a failure of a father. I hadn’t been in this position before and I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t okay, but it wasn’t Tyler’s fault Fiona bid on him, either. “Don’t take her up on her offer.”

  “Nah, I like being in one piece.” There was the grin. “But after her birthday, I wouldn’t mind taking her out. If that’s okay with you.”

  For all the shit I gave Tyler, I had to hand it to him. Not once had I ever asked a man’s permission to date his daughter. “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-one.” His demeanor had completely changed from wise-ass to someone who finally realized I held his future in my hands.

  I didn’t say anything else right away, because I liked watching him fidget with anticipation. We had the attention of a couple of the guys around us. Gossip spread through the locker room like wildfire, and I wasn’t sure how many of my teammates would be angling to take out Fiona in six days. Fuck my life. It wasn’t the risk of injury that would take me out of the game, it was playing with teammates legitimately young enough to date my daughter that would knock me on my ass.

  “Wait a minute.” Sebastian Connall, our running back, squinted at me like he’d never seen me before. “You have a daughter? How come I didn’t know that?”

  “I like to keep my personal life private,” I said, turning back to my locker. Some of the guys on the team had wives, kids, families, and they proudly hung pictures of their loved ones in their lockers. Others had shots of their dogs, but on an all-shifter team, they could’ve been their mates. My locker had never looked so empty, especially with Sebastian staring at its blank walls.

  “How old is she?” he asked. He frowned, and I felt like I’d let him down. I liked this kid a lot. He had to overcome a ton of adversity to make the team and, like me, he put football first. He’d been the first Bloodhound to take a Werewife as his mate and I’d be damned if he hadn’t been playing his best ball of the season ever since.

  “Eighteen next week.” I had to get used to it.

  “She hot?” a voice came in from the back, and snickers rose from those who surrounded me.

  “Smokin’,” someone else said.

  “I heard she was at the auction the other night. Tyler bid on her.” Everyone behind me had a lot to say until I turned around. Then they shut up. Too many guys on the team to know everyone by voice.

  All eyes in the room were on me now. Tyler had gone from brown to red as he shoved his hands in his pockets. My animal was clawing at the surface, begging to strike. But word was bound to get out—between the Bloodhounds and the Werewives—that Fiona and Jenna were here. It wasn’t the first time they’d caused me trouble, but this time, I couldn’t walk away from it. I had to face it head on.

  Chapter Five

  JENNA

  “Explain it to me again. Why Dad? He hasn’t exactly made himself available to us over the years.” Fiona sat on the toilet in our suite and watched me put my makeup on for my date. I’d spent my first official full day as a Real Werewife in front of the cameras doing prep work for my date meal with Landon. My nerves were shot on all ends, and I was grateful for the reprieve from the spotlight. Fiona was a minor, and there was only so much the show could have her on camera. Mother daughter time wasn’t exciting enough for them—they were saving their Fiona time for the good stuff.

  Lord help us all.

  I gave her my best mom look—as much as I could with one eye held hostage by an eyelash curler. “Because you obviously have some pretty serious daddy issues and this is my last chance to fix them before I let you loose on the world.”

  She giggled. “Fair enough. But it could also be said that I just like older m
en. They’re more experienced—”

  “Get off the toilet. I’m going to be sick.” Never did I think I’d be in a position that I’d be competing for dates with my daughter. Or with the women in the Werewife compound that looked much more like her than me, with their long legs, perky boobs, and flat tummies. I was so far out of my element. At one point, I was naïve enough to think I’d never have to go on another first date again. They were horrible. All that awkward small talk. The lack of connection and the all-out weirdos. The soul-crushing realization that I could never get that time back.

  But maybe that was why I was hung up on one last chance with Landon. The thought of starting all over again was daunting and I already had two strikes against me. Or maybe it was because he was the only man on earth who I wouldn’t be competing with my daughter for his attention.

  “People my age are boring. Don’t you want me to challenge myself?”

  When she put it like that, it almost sounded like a good idea.

  Giggling, she snatched the brush from my hand. I didn’t give it up right away. “Sit. Let me do it for you.”

  “Okay. Keep it tasteful,” I said, taking her seat on the toilet. For as wild as Fiona was, she kept her makeup pretty natural. She didn’t need any—she was beautiful, the best parts of me and her father, with her cute little nose and bright green eyes, and of course, her completely untamed spirit. I could trust her, with this at least. Since we arrived in Alaska, we’d been together more than we had in years. Both of us were busy in California, always running somewhere. It was easy to love my daughter, but even nicer to be reminded how much I liked her.

  Fiona rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t do you dirty, Mom. And you don’t need much.”

  If she said anything about mature women not wearing makeup, I was out of there. On my way back to California. She tipped my chin up and went to work, dabbing the brushes in powder and sweeping them across my face. I’d forgotten how good it felt to let someone take care of me.