âWill you have dinner with me tonight?â
She tipped her head to the side, pretending to think it over.
âI guess so.â
âYou guess so?â
âYou said it yourself. Iâm used to classy.â She didnât want to make this too easy for him. With that pretty face and muscled body, she doubted he ever had to work hard to get a date.
âOh, Iâll give you classy, Ferrin,â he said. âYou just wait and see. Iâll be back at six.â
âIâll be ready at six thirty,â she said.
He threw his head back and laughed. âYouâre a minx.â Doubtful. But she was tired of the same-old, same-old, and Hunter promised something different.
âSix thirty, then.â
She led him down the hall and opened the front door, leaning back as he brushed past her. But he stopped and put his hand on her chin.
Dinner suddenly seemed like more than just a break in the routine. She suspected he might want something from her but that was okay. She wanted something from him too. A chance to remember she was young and single. Maybe make a memory in California that wasnât laced with guilt and disappointment.
* * *
His Seduction Game Plan is part of the Sons of Privilege series by USA TODAY bestselling author Katherine Garbera
I know I mention them often in my dedication, but this one is for my parents, David and Charlotte Smith, who raised me to believe I could do anything. They have always been incredibly supportive of my writing even though no one in our family had ever done anything in the creative arts and they had no idea if I could earn a living from it. I wouldnât have been able to write if they hadnât been there for me. I love you both very much.
Special thanks to my agent Amanda Leuck for always having my back.
One
âHello, sunshine.â
Ferrin Gainer forced a smile at the man who most days barely recognized her. Sheâd never been close to her father. Heâd lived for football and for the trophies he displayed proudly in their formal living room. Having a daughter had been a huge disappointment to him. Having one who flinched every time a football came flying through the air at her had been an embarrassment.
Sheâd barely seen him after her parents divorced when she was ten. She was vaguely aware that two of his playersâhis honorary sonsâhad been accused of murder some ten years ago when sheâd been fifteen. But even that hadnât made him want to bond with her. In fact, it had only been two heart attacks and a severe stroke that had made him reach out to her.
She was twenty-five and had hoped sheâd be past the need for a bond with her father, but letâs face it, she wasnât. She knew not all of her friends had good relationships with their families, but that was what she wanted for herself.
She and her mom were close. They talked to each other every day. Her mom hadnât been a huge fan of Ferrin taking a sabbatical from her teaching job at the University of Texas and coming to California to take care of her father, but had understood it.
As a professor of psychology, Ferrin had put herself under the microscope a few times and what she saw...well, it made her mad. She should be able to move on but somehow she couldnât. She didnât want to accept the fact that this relationship was horribly broken.
She would fix it.
Dammit.
âHey, Coach. How are ya feeling today?â she asked. When she was little sheâd tried calling him Dad a time or two but he always insisted she call him Coach. Even before her parents divorced.
âIâm okay,â he said, slurring his words. The last stroke had seemed to sap his will. There was something inside him that seemed to be keeping him from recovering. She wondered if not being able to work out and stay physically fit for the first time in his life was affecting him.
She had no idea. He barely talked to her. She was tempted to leave him in the care of the two in-home nurses, but she didnât want to be that kind of daughter.
And she felt guilty.
She knew if her mom were in the bed, well, Ferrin would be here no matter what. She owed at least as much to the man whoâd given her half her DNA.
âThatâs good to hear. Itâs a beautiful day today so after breakfast, weâre going out to sit in the garden.â
âNo.â
She ignored him and went to the windows to open the drapes. Coach liked to keep the room dark; sheâd thought at first maybe he had some light sensitivity from the stroke but his doctors informed her he didnât. The only thing keeping him in the dark was his desire to hide. It was as if there was something emotional inside that was causing him to retreat from the world.