Marriage with my daughter's father: Darling please be gentle - Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: He was in trouble
“You didn’t call me the entire day. What does that mean?” Sean asked, his voice low and pointed, as they sat inside his car, parked outside an ice cream shop.

Gina had assumed he’d brought her here to indulge in some dessert, but when he didn’t make a move to get out and instead hit her with that question, she froze. It dawned on her—she really had forgotten him today.

“Were you… waiting for my call?” She asked cautiously, watching as his expression shifted into a full-blown glare.

She hadn’t known Sean could sulk. He always struck her as composed, reserved—perhaps even cold. But apparently, being ignored for a day flipped a switch in him.

She hadn’t meant to. First, there was the photoshoot. Then Niko’s silence had taken up her mental space. By the time Niko finally responded, she glanced at the clock and knew it was too late to call Sean. Mr. Punctual would be asleep by then, and she didn’t want to disturb him.

Now, seeing him sitting there, arms crossed and jaw tight, Gina couldn’t help but smile.

“So you were actually waiting for me?” She teased, leaning back in her seat, her lips tugged up into a playful grin as she studied him.

Sean looked away, jaw clenching.

God, he was sulking.

The realization made her grin widen. Like a little boy left out in the cold, waiting for someone to remember him.

Sean didn’t want to admit it, but being around Gina did something to him. She was chaotic and wild, while he was grounded and structured. She flirted when he tried to keep things serious. She laughed when he was brooding. And somehow, in all her teasing, she made him feel alive.

From the moment she’d confessed her feelings, he thought he wanted something solid with her—something serious. That’s why he’d come up with the whole plan to keep her close, to make her stay, to ensure she didn’t just see him as another fling.

But the longer he played this game, the clearer it became.

He wasn’t the one in control.

Gina was.

And the worst part? He didn’t mind it one bit.

Sean didn’t answer her. Instead, he opened the door and stepped out of the car, leaving her with her teasing smile as he headed into the ice cream shop.

Gina continued to grin while watching him go. This side of Sean—sulking over being ignored, getting visibly jealous over Niko—was unexpected. Intriguing, even. It made her realize something she hadn’t let herself believe before.

She was getting to him.

And it felt good.

By the time Sean returned, two cones in hand, her mind was already dancing with ideas—ways to coax more out of this man who claimed to be all stone and restraint.

He passed her the cone without a word, taking the driver’s seat again and diving into his own ice cream like the conversation never happened.

Gina, however, didn’t take a bite. Instead, her eyes stayed locked on him, watching with amusement as he pretended to be unbothered.

It wasn’t long before he noticed her stare. He paused, turning to meet her gaze with a quiet frown.

“What?” He asked, nodding toward the untouched cone in her hand. “Aren’t you going to eat it?”

Gina tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing playfully. “I never told you my favorite flavor.”

Sean froze.

“I mean, not even once,” she continued, voice low and lilting. “And yet… here it is. The exact one I’d pick. So tell me, Sean… what should I think about that?”

His grip on the steering wheel loosened, his jaw tightening just a bit.

Before he could form a response, she leaned in, closing the space between them, her breath soft against his cheek.

“Are you keeping an eye on me, Sean?” She whispered, mischief gleaming in her eyes.

He turned slowly to face her, but he couldn’t find any words. There was no way Gina could possibly know how closely he’d been watching her life—long before they’d ever officially met.

But now… now her gaze pinned him in place, and her smile—damn that smile—made it impossible to hide anything.

His eyes dropped to her lips, the way they curved with just enough challenge to make his heart skip a beat. The air inside the car suddenly felt heavier, tighter.

“You’re imagining things,” he murmured, his voice low and strained.

She chuckled, brushing the tip of her tongue across her bottom lip before finally taking a slow, deliberate lick of her ice cream.

“Hmm. Am I?”

Sean looked away.

But Gina knew.

She didn’t need confirmation. The way his eyes lingered, the way he’d shown up with the exact flavor she loved—chocolate hazelnut, of course—told her everything.

He might be quiet and might pretend not to care.

But Sean was watching her.

And she was finally starting to enjoy it.

“But now I don’t want this flavor,” Gina said suddenly, her voice low and teasing, catching Sean off guard.

He turned to her, eyebrows raised. “What?”

“I want the one you’re having,” she added, eyes locked on his, a mischievous glint dancing in them.

But before Sean could respond, Gina leaned in.

Her lips brushed his—just a whisper of a touch, soft and fleeting. Just enough to freeze him in place.

His breath caught in his throat.

Then, with deliberate slowness, her tongue traced the spot where a bit of his ice cream lingered on his lower lip.

Sean’s eyes widened.

“I think,” she whispered, lips barely an inch from his now, “I need to have more… to know how delicious it really tastes.”

His pulse thundered in his ears, his body locked in place between fight and surrender. Everything about her—her voice, her proximity, her boldness—disarmed him completely.

Gina leaned back slightly, studying his stunned face with a satisfied smile.

And Sean?

He didn’t know whether to kiss her breathless or bolt out of the car.

Either way, she had him exactly where she wanted.

Without wasting another second, Gina leaned in and sealed his lips with hers, her tongue teasing along the seam before boldly claiming his mouth.

Sean froze, blinking rapidly, his brain short-circuiting as he tried to process what was happening.

But when her kiss turned demanding—when her mouth moved with heat and purpose—something inside him snapped.

He couldn’t just sit still and let her devour him.

He wanted her, too.

His heart screamed it louder than his thoughts could deny, and all his carefully constructed walls crumbled as he gave in.

Still holding the ice cream cone in one hand, he reached out with the other, fingers sliding into her hair as he pulled her closer, matching her intensity.

What began as a slow, teasing kiss quickly morphed into something deeper—hotter. Their mouths moved in sync, hungry, unrestrained. The world outside the car vanished. The cold cones melted slowly in their forgotten hands as they melted into each other.

Gina had kissed plenty of men before—some too eager, others too practiced—but Sean?

Sean was different.

There was restraint beneath his fire, control beneath the chaos of their kiss, like a man too used to denying himself finally letting go.

And God, did he taste good.

She moaned softly into the kiss, the sound pulling a groan from Sean’s chest as his grip in her hair tightened just slightly, grounding him.

When they finally broke apart, breathless and wide-eyed, Gina’s lips were slightly swollen, and Sean’s chest rose and fell in uneven waves.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Just silence and heat between them.

Then Gina smirked, licking her lips slowly. “Yup,” she said. “Yours definitely tastes better.”

Sean stared at her—completely, utterly undone.

And he knew one thing for certain.

He was in serious trouble.

Because now that he had tasted her,

He wanted more.

The next morning, Winter arrived at Byron’s estate before he could even leave for work. To her surprise, he didn’t look startled in the least.

“Why do I feel like I was already expecting to see you?” Byron said calmly, eyeing his granddaughter as she stood in the foyer, silent and still.

Something about her presence felt… expected. And yet, her silence unsettled him.

Winter didn’t respond right away. She stepped further inside, her eyes sharp and unreadable.

Byron studied her carefully. He knew her well enough to recognize the storm brewing behind her quiet. The longer she said nothing, the more certain he became that whatever brought her here wasn’t minor.

Finally, her voice broke through the silence—measured and low.

“Then you must also know the reason why I’m here.”

Her gaze was steady, probing.

Byron paused, his fingers folding neatly in front of him. Winter only questioned him this way when something weighed heavily on her. And now that he turned her words over in his mind, perhaps he did know what this was about.

Still, he played it calm.

“How would I know,” he said evenly, “unless you tell me?”

Winter’s jaw clenched.

It was that calmness—that unshakable composure of his—that got under her skin the most. She had tossed and turned all night, haunted by thoughts she couldn’t silence, while he stood there acting as if nothing had changed.

And that infuriated her.

“Oh, you very well know, Grandpa. But if you still want to hear it from me—then so be it.”

She stepped closer, her heels clicking softly against the floor, each movement deliberate, her eyes piercing into Byron’s composed exterior like she was searching for a crack.

Byron didn’t flinch, but there was a flicker in his gaze, just enough to confirm what she already suspected.

“How do you know Martin Andreas?” She asked, her voice cold and razor-sharp.

The question hung in the air like a loaded gun.

And this time, she saw it.

A slight twitch in the muscle of Byron’s jaw. Barely noticeable—but there.

Acknowledgment.

That was all she needed.