When you finally arrived at your apartment, Clint walked you upstairs.

"I need to make sure we bought enough furniture," he explained as you unlocked the door.

You shook your head. "You won't be able to tell that until stuff is delivered."

He just shrugged and followed you into the apartment. You tossed your keys in the bowl on the table by the door and turned to face him. He placed his hands on your elbows and pulled you closer to him. "I had a nice time today."

You smiled up at him. "I did, too. I'm glad you went with me."

He hummed in agreement before pressing his lips to yours. After a moment, he stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. You frowned at the suddenly closed off behavior. When he gave you that crooked smile, you brushed aside your concern. It was just Clint.

"Before I forget, we have an event to attend Friday night. A charity dinner. I'll have something appropriate delivered for you to wear," he said.

"Okay."

"And..." he trailed off as he pulled out his wallet. He thumbed through it before pulling out several bills and passing them to you. "I have a credit card coming for you but until that gets here, you're going to need to get your books and supplies."

"Thank you." You tucked the money into your pocket without counting it. Knowing Clint, you were sure he'd given you far more than you needed.

He slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned forward to kiss your temple. "I'll see you later, gorgeous."

You stepped back and opened the door for him. Your eyes trailed him as he disappeared down the hall. Only when you could no longer see him did you shut and lock the door. Sometime between the car and him walking into your apartment, Clint's demeanor with you had changed. You'd pay dearly to know why.

***

Clint sat in the back of the car and stared out the window as Scott drove him home. Despite how beautiful he thought the city was at night, he wasn't seeing any of it. His mind was elsewhere. Stuck on you, truth be told. He rubbed a hand across his mouth as he remembered what the two of you had been doing in this car not that long ago.

Maybe this was a mistake. Not the making out. God, that was phenomenal. But thinking he could share any sort of intimacy with you and not get attached. Hell, he was already attached. Had been for a while. He sighed and leaned his head against the seat behind him as he tried to pinpoint what exactly was bothering him.

After all, the very reason he had asked you to begin with was this attraction he felt for you. And he knew you wouldn't accept his help otherwise. He fully intended to use the opportunity to thoroughly ravish you and get this longing out of his system. What he hadn't expected was for you to feel the same way.

Yes, he'd hoped you'd find him attractive and desirable but this heat between the two of you was crazy. He raised his head at the realization of what was bothering him. You had made the first move in the car. You might have been picking up his desire, but you were the one that came on to him. And he hadn't been able to resist in the least.

He wasn't used to anyone having that sort of power over him. Not for a long time anyway, and he wasn't certain he liked it. What he did know was now that you two had crossed that line, there was no going back. Why the hell would he want to?

His phone buzzed and he pulled it out to see a text from you. Hey handsome. Thanks again for today. I'm meeting Wanda for coffee in the morning. I don't want her to hear it from anyone else. Just warning you.

Clint took a deep breath. He should brace himself for the conversation he was undoubtedly going to have with his daughter about all this, but instead he just felt relief that he didn't have to be the one to tell her.

***

You sat across from Wanda at a corner table of a little coffee shop near campus. She was already suspicious because you didn't want to meet at the Red Eye and your conversation had been strained.

Her petite hands were wrapped around her cup as she tilted her head and studied you. "Just tell me. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."

You sucked in a breath and licked your lips. "Clint and I are dating."

"Clint? As in my father Clint?"

You nodded.

She simply stared at you with no emotion showing on her face. "Since when?"

"A couple of days ago."

After a moment longer, she nodded and leaned back in her seat. "That makes sense. He'd want to help and you wouldn't take it. I can't say I'm particularly thrilled about you taking him up on his offer. I don't like you being one of his kept women."

"Wait a minute. You know about his girlfriends?" You made finger quotes when you said the word girlfriend.

Wanda nodded. "Of course, I do. I'm not stupid."

"He's convinced that you have no idea."

She rolled her eyes. "He never brings them home. If he were really in a relationship with these women I would meet them. And most of them aren't even his type. They're shallow or stupid or both. It wasn't hard to figure out."

"How long has this been going on exactly?" Maybe Wanda could tell you some of the things you've been dying to know but didn't want to ask Clint.

"Since Laura," she said with a sigh. "It got worse after Peter. He had at least been going on the occasional real date before then."

"Laura?" The name didn't sound at all familiar.

Wanda's eyes went wide. "I've never told you about Laura?"

You shook your head. "Never heard of her."

"Laura. God, I haven't talked about her in years. Do you remember the woman that tried to sit with us at Peter's funeral?" she asked.

"I don't remember much about her. I remember Clint telling her to fuck off and someone in the row behind us getting up to escort her out."

Wanda nodded. "That was her. They dated for a couple of years. He proposed twice and she turned him down, telling him his focus should be me and Peter. He hadn't adopted us long before they met. She got pregnant and Clint proposed again. This time she said yes." She shrugged. "He wanted her to sign a prenup because of Peter and me. He wanted to make sure that we wouldn't suffer should something happen to him. She went ballistic. Told him we weren't even his real kids because we're adopted and his priority should be her and the baby."

"Well, she sounds lovely."

"That's just it. She was until this. Perfect girlfriend. Clint asked her to leave. Told her he'd talk to her later. Nat came over and convinced him it was baby brain. He left to talk to her." Wanda sighed again. "When he got to her apartment, she didn't answer. He let himself in to wait until she got home. He found her riding a man she'd introduced to him as her cousin. He hired a private investigator to dig into them. He intended to fight for custody of the baby."

"It wasn't his, was it?" You don't know why you asked. The answer was obvious. If the child was Clint's you would have heard about it long before now.

"It was a lie just like everything else. Her and this guy had been together the whole time. They were married in fact. All of it had just been for his money. They were going to get divorced so she could marry dad then take him to the cleaners."

You covered your mouth with your hand. What a bitch. Poor Clint.

Wanda glanced down before looking back at you. "He really loved her. I think he decided right then that he couldn't trust his heart ever again and as far as I know, he never has."

"He must have been devastated." You couldn't even imagine someone being able to do that to him. He was so caring and sweet. And it sounded like he'd been devoted to her. You had a sudden desire to hold him and tell him everything would be all right. That would go over well you were sure.

"I don't know what would have happened if he didn't have me and Peter. He was in pretty bad shape." She tilted her head and ran her gaze over your face. "Can I ask you something and get an honest answer?"

Your brow furrowed. "Of course, you can. I'm always honest with you."

"Why did you say yes?"

"What?"

"I understand why he made the offer. He wanted to take care of you and knew it was the only way you would let him do it. But why did you say yes? This isn't you."

Why did you say you would answer her question again? Your face heated and you looked down at your hands that were tangled together in your lap. Deciding there was no getting around it, you gave a little shrug. "Because I like him. I have for ages."

"I knew it," she exclaimed.

You jerked your head up to find her grinning at you in triumph.

"I knew you liked him. You should have told me. We could have started working on him years ago."

You blinked several times as you processed what she'd just said. "Wait. You're not mad that I like your dad?"

She waved a hand through the air as if that was the silliest thing she'd ever heard. "I love you. You are one of the best people in the world. I just want you happy. And if being with my dad will give you that, go for it." Her smile fell and she leaned forward. "But you can't let on that you care for him like that. If he even suspects that you love him, he will run in the opposite direction."

"This is stupid, Wanda. How am I supposed to be happy when you tell me he'll flee if he suspects it's him that made me that way?" You cringed at the needy tone in your voice.

"Easy," she responded with a grin. "Just don't let him know. Be happy, be you and by the time he realizes you're in love with him, he'll have already fallen for you."