Colby kept quiet.


    You can''t really hide the way your eyes light up when you like someone. But since Fiona was his daughter, he wasn''t going to make things easy for Alec. If Alec was serious about winning her over, he''d have to go through Colby first.


    Fast forward half an hour.


    Fiona tagged along with James into the Burke estate. The ce hadn''t changed much since she was little. The maids had already spruced up the rooms. But instead of heading straight to her room, she made a beeline for James''s study.


    Spotting James on the couch, popping an aspirin, Fiona got straight to the point: "Godfather, I wanted to ask..."


    "About your dad''s legendary tales, right?" James cut in.


    Fiona nodded eagerly, like a little chick pecking at feed. James massaged his temples, feeling the effects of a bit too much booze from earlier. He pointed at a nearby bookshelf, saying, "Third shelf, left side, third book. That''s your dad''s file. Go ahead, take a look."


    With that, James downed a ss of water and added, "I''ve got a meeting tomorrow, so remember to put it back when you''re done."


    He let Fiona dig through the files as he headed back to his room. Alec was lingering at the door.


    James cast a nce at Alec as he left, his eyes carrying that ssic elder''s scrutiny.


    "Alec! Hurry up! Get in here, quick!" Fiona called out, bursting with excitement as she opened a dusty old file folder. It looked like it was from decades ago, the paper yellowed with age.


    Fiona quickly flipped to the first page. You could tell James had gone through it many times; the pages were all crinkled. It had all of Colby''s info, plus some details about his past adventures abroad.


    Alec leaned in closer. Fiona hadn''t been involved in thepany, so the business lingo was a bit over her head. She tugged on Alec''s arm, asking, "What does this bit mean?"


    "Life experiences. You really can''t figure that out?" he teased.


    "And this part, what''s it say?" she pressed on, pointing to a


    bat some degree of other de


    or


    Gontent belongs to swnovel


    "That''s in French. It says your dad got a Ph.D. in psychology."


    "What?" Fiona asked, puzzled. "Why would my dad study psychology?"


    "You''re asking me? He''s your dad!" Alec shot back.


    The two of them bickered away in the study.


    Meanwhile, over at the Aldridge


    Estate, Sophie, a bit tipsy, leaned t


    into Colby''s chest. "What do you thinkFiona will find out about her dad today?" she mused.  swnovel


    Everyone at their table had sharp ears, catching Fiona and Alec''s whispers over dinner.


    Colby, holding Sophie close, replied, "She might learn her dad was once a real viin."


    "But you''re so distant with Fiona. No


    Onder she thinks you''re just a


    swhovel.n


    regr middle-aged guy." belongs to swnovel


    Colby frowned at that, not too happy with thebel. "Regr middle-aged guy?"


    "You seriously missed that at dinner?"


    "I guess I did."


    Sophie chuckled, "Colby, you''re making it seem like Fiona''s James''s daughter, not yours."


    Sometimes, James seemed to be more of a dad to Fiona than Colby did.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!