Daddy's Girl Ch. 03

"So, how come you're here by yourself?" He asked the one question that had been bothering him ever since he had met her.

Hesitantly Lucy started to explain about Jason and how they had broken up when she had caught him in bed with one of her friends. Going on to explain her subsequent moving to a new flat and her ensuing reluctance to start socialising again.

"Put you off men I guess?" Danny surmised when she had finished.

"Absolutely. I'm off men and relationships for the foreseeable." She frowned, "The holiday is just for me to have some fun."

Even as she said it, Lucy realised she had said the wrong thing. If Danny had any feelings for her, he would hardly tell her now, not after what she had just said to him.

"Probably the best way to be." He tried to sound nonchalant as he replied, not wanting to reveal his disappointment.

"What about you? What are you going to do now?" Changing the subject Lucy pressed him on his own plans.

Danny shrugged, "To be honest Jessica is my priority. She's been through a lot and I don't want to confuse her any more. That's why I have to make a decision about whether to go back or not."

"And what do you think you'll decide to do?" she probed.

"Now who knows. I have some work lined up but in the long term if I leave the military then we would need to get our own place and...." He shrugged.

"What will happen if you stay in?"

"Then I'll be heading back to Afghanistan."

"Back? Surely, they won't send you there again?" she felt a sense of panic inside her as she tentatively asked.

"I've done two tours. It's not unusual to get a third."

"What about relationships?" Lucy stared at the floor still trying to find out if he had a girlfriend at home.

"I have to think of Jess. I can't have girls meeting her and then disappearing out of her life a few weeks or months later. That wouldn't be right. She's had enough trauma."

"But what if it's the right one?"

"Oh, come on." Danny laughed, "Be serious, who would want to take on someone like me? A soldier with a three-year-old and no future."

'I would.' She thought as she gazed at him but didn't answer.

Lapsing into silence the pair sat immersed in their own thoughts for a moment or two.

"I'd better go." Lucy finished her drink and stood to take her leave.

"Will we see you tomorrow." He blurted out almost without thinking, "I mean Jess will want to...."

"Breakfast?"

Danny grinned stupidly at her, "That would be great."

'You fucking stupid sod, she's only looking for a holiday fling and you've bloody fallen for her.'

Standing up, the thought went through his head as he watched her walk away back to her own apartment, before heading to his own bed.

Meeting for breakfast the next morning they spent the rest of the day together around the pool. Lucy and Danny happily spending their time playing with Jessica and avoiding any reference to their conversation of the previous evening.

"I need to put her down for a nap." It was past 3 o'clock when Danny decided to take Jess back to the apartment.

"Oh right, sure." Lucy answered a little hesitantly her mind on the date she had later that evening.

Gathering up their things he turned to her as they made to go, "Dinner later?"

"Err... I ... I can't. I have... a date." She felt utterly wretched as she told him.

"Not that neanderthal that was pestering you the other night?"

"Lucy laughed, "No most definitely not. This guy's a.... a local."

She knew she shouldn't have said it as soon as the words left her lips.

"Oh right. Ok... We'll see you another time then."

Lucy could sense from the tone in his voice as he answered her that he wasn't thrilled about it.

"Danny I..."

"Bye, I hope you have fun."

Scooping up his protesting daughter Danny walked brusquely away without looking back, leaving a disconsolate Lucy staring miserably after him.

Chapter 8 - Two steps back

Walking unhappily back to her room Lucy already regretted accepting a dinner date with Yanni. When she had said yes, she hadn't really known Danny or realised that her feelings for him went deeper than she could ever have imagined.

Flopping onto her bed she closed her eyes and wondered how she had got into the mess she found herself in.

Annabelle had told her to have fun. Have a holiday fling and get herself laid and maybe that's what had been in her mind when she had agreed to go out with the Greek. Her only problem was that now the only guy she was interested in was Danny and she wanted more than just a holiday romance with him.

Without meaning to she fell asleep pondering her problem and a couple of hours passed before she woke up.

Running late Lucy hurried to take a shower so she could get herself ready, forgetting her concerns of earlier in her haste.

Applying a small amount of make-up; mascara, eyeshadow and lip gloss, she switched her attention to what she should wear. Eventually, after some thought, she settled on a rather short white flared skirt and a lemon-coloured sleeveless blouse.

Slipping on her white sandals and picking up her bag she nervously made her way across to the poolside bar where Yanni was already sitting, waiting for her.

"Hello." Standing up he greeted her with a kiss on the cheek, "Can I get you a drink?"

Already regretting her decision to spend the evening with him Lucy politely accepted, asking for a gin and tonic as she slid onto a bar stool tugging down her skirt as she sat.

"I have reserved us a table at my favourite restaurant." Yanni informed her, "I hope you will enjoy."

Lucy thanked him, already imagining what his intentions might be for later in the evening. Her thoughts were so preoccupied that she missed Danny standing across the other side of the pool. Holding Jessica, he stood and stared downheartedly at the pair sitting at the bar, waiting for several seconds before turning away.

For the next half an hour Yanni chatted away casually asking her about her life in England and what she thought of Crete, while Lucy struggled to respond in kind.

"Shall we go?" He eventually suggested finishing his beer.

"Sure." Her reply was reluctant as he helped her down off her stool.

She purposefully avoided taking his arm as they walked to the village, determined not to give him any possible hint that she might be interested in him. Strolling along you she couldn't help but look in the various bars and tavernas they went past, her heart aching when she saw Danny sitting with Jess in the one they had eaten at on the night he rescued her.

Arriving at the place Yanni had chosen she could see it was obviously an expensive restaurant. Certainly not one of the simple tavernas she had enjoyed eating at with Danny and Jess, and as soon as they walked in, Lucy knew he would be expecting something more than a kiss goodnight.

The wine was excellent and the food even better, although the uneasiness she felt slightly marred her enjoyment of it.

Annabelle's suggestion was to have a holiday fling and to 'get back on the bike' and, if she hadn't met Danny, she might well have been tempted by the suave charm of the older man but over the last two days everything had changed.

"So, who is the man with the little girl?" Yanni interrupted her thoughts, "A boyfriend perhaps?"

'I wish.' Went through her mind.

She shook her head, her brown hair flicking around her shoulders, "No, just a friend."

Her answer seemed to satisfy him and he didn't pursue the matter any further as they lapsed into silence when he went back to eating his meal.

When the waiter brought the check, she offered to pay half of the bill but the Greek insisted on picking up the tab, something else that made her nervous as they got up to stroll back.

"Did you enjoy dinner?" Yanni asked offering her his arm.

Lucy ignored his gesture, "It was very nice. Thank you."

Finishing the walk in silence, he escorted her all the way back to her apartment door and Lucy could feel herself starting to panic as they got closer.

"Well, here we are." She mumbled, not daring to look up at him, "Thank you for dinner."

Yanni didn't answer. Instead, he pulled her against him and, despite her intention not to, she turned her face upwards allowing him to kiss her.

His lips pressed against hers, his tongue probing forcefully between them searching for hers as her hands went to his arms. She didn't respond or resist, just stood there her eyes closed and her heart thumping faster as he kissed her ardently.

If she had just looked across to Danny's apartment, she would have seen him, standing in the shadows on his patio watching her.

When Yanni's hand slid between them to cup her breast, feeling her up through her top, she didn't protest and moaned softly into his mouth as her nipple rapidly hardened.

Taking her groans as acceptance he slid his hand down her body and up under her skirt to cup her mound, his finger stroking her slit through her panties. She shivered, her body responding automatically to the stimulation, as she became aware of the fact that she was getting wet.

It had been a while since she had last had sex and, even though Jason had not been a particularly good lover and had never made her come during intercourse, she still missed it.

Hooking her thong aside Yanni's digit pressed between her labia and slid up into her as she clung to him, her eyes closed tightly, the unwanted sensations beginning to overwhelm her. Her mind filled with an image of Danny and for a few brief seconds she felt her body begin to react, her legs parting slightly while her hips jerked against his hand.

"Perhaps we should go into your room."

His deep voice brought her back to the present and reality, she opened her eyes and shoved him forcefully away as she came to her senses.

"I'm sorry... I don't.... I don't want to." She gasped dragging his hand away from between her legs.

"I thought.... after dinner...we would..." The Greek began to object to her refusal.

"No... No, I can't... I don't want to... I'm sorry." Breathing heavily, she stepped further back away from his reach.

Yanni nodded, his expression less than friendly, "Maybe this man with the little girl... he is more important than you say. Yes?"

"Yes, yes, he is... I'm... I'm sorry."

For a moment she thought he was going to get angry but then he just grinned and shrugged, "It is not a problem. I hope you see him tomorrow."

Bidding her goodnight, he turned and walked away leaving Lucy shaking but relieved. Taking a deep breath, she looked around and was pleased to see that there was no one about who would have seen her or what had happened.

Slipping into her room she locked the door and quickly undressed before climbing into bed, although she knew she wouldn't sleep.

Dinner had been excellent and Yanni's company pleasant but it had felt wrong, as if she had been cheating on Danny.

Staring at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to come, she finally had to admit to herself that she was in love with him and his daughter, before eventually drifting off sometime in the early hours.

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"Is Lucy coming with us?" Jess asked as Danny dressed her.

He did his best to smile, "Not tonight sweetheart, she wants to have dinner with another friend."

"Doesn't she like me anymore?"

"Of course she does poppet, it's just she's...."

His daughter pulled a sullen face, "But I want her to come with us."

"Another time maybe." He scooped her up, "Shall we go to the taverna with the fish tank."

"The one we went to with Lucy?" she asked innocently.

"Yeah, the one we went to with Lucy." He responded miserably.

Stepping out of the door he had taken a couple of steps towards the bar when he suddenly stopped, his stomach twisting into knots.

She was sitting right in front of him talking to her date.

He stood, feeling sick, and stared at her for several seconds before turning away. She obviously hadn't seen him and Jessica, she was that engrossed with the man she was going to dinner with.

"Come on sweetheart, let's go." He picked his daughter up and started to move away from the bar to go and eat.

"But I want Lucy to come."

"Not tonight. She's got other things to do."

Danny tried to be cheerful for Jess, choosing the taverna that had the large fish tank, he hoped to distract his daughter and himself, from the fact that Lucy wasn't with them.

Talking to her and joining in to do her colouring with her he tried to make her smile but it wasn't the same as the two previous dinner's that they had enjoyed.

"I miss her." Jessica said in between mouthfuls of food, expressing exactly what her father was thinking.

"Me too sweetheart, I miss her too."

"Doesn't she like us anymore?" the childish interpretation of the situation couldn't help but make him smile despite of the unhappiness he felt.

"She just had something else to do. She can't spend all of her holiday with us."

He tried to put a positive slant on things for his daughter's sake.

Finishing their meal Danny carried a tired Jessica back towards the complex desperately hoping that he wouldn't see Lucy, with her date, on the way.

Fortunately, he didn't.

After tucking his daughter up in bed, he made himself a coffee and stepped out onto the small patio trying to come to terms with his feelings. He was in love with Lucy, he had known it for a while but hadn't admitted it to himself until tonight and now he was cursing himself for being an idiot.

She was on holiday to have a good time and to have fun not find herself a boyfriend, she had clearly told him that when she had said she was off men and relationships. Along with his daughter he had obviously been a pleasant distraction for a couple of days.

Hearing voices he stepped back into the shadows, watching as she walked by with the older man. They were a little too far away for him to clearly hear what they were saying but he could see them well enough as they reached her apartment.

That was when he kissed her.

Danny's stomach clenched and he suddenly felt like he was going to vomit. Staring at them he couldn't tear his eyes away as the Greek slid a hand up to cup Lucy's breast his fingers lightly squeezing her soft flesh through her top.

She didn't stop him and his hand slid up under her skirt.

'She had told him she was just here to have fun.'

'Was she going to sleep with him?'

He turned away, sickened, and stumbled back into his own room rushing to the bathroom to throw up.

It was a few minutes later when, after washing his face with cold water, he wandered back outside to find they had vanished. He automatically assumed they had gone into her room as he sat down heavily on one of the patio chairs.

'That's what happens when you fall for a girl like that.'

He found himself feeling utterly miserable and wondering how he would be able to even look at her the next day knowing she had let her date fuck her.

That was when he saw him, standing over at the bar with a beer in hand, chatting to the barman.

'Had she turned him down and rejected his advances?'

'Was he getting drinks to take back to her?'

He stood in the darkness watching and waiting, wondering if he would be returning to Lucy's apartment. Unable to stand the tension he turned away and went inside while across at the bar Yanni finished his beer and, unknown to Danny, walked away into the darkness.

Danny felt thoroughly depressed as he went to his bed knowing he wouldn't sleep. He was in love with her but she was obviously out to play the field otherwise why else would she be going on dates.

Somehow, he had to put her out of his mind and try to ignore his feelings for her. However, that wasn't going to be easy with the fact that Jessica adored her.

Chapter 9 -- Starting again

Lucy was awake late the following morning and quickly getting herself ready she went down to breakfast, her eyes frantically scanning the room for Danny and his daughter.

Much to her frustration there was no sign of him and, feeling thoroughly miserable, she drank her coffee and ate a solitary breakfast. Then, once she was finished, she went back to her room and collected her things to spend the day by the pool.

Still hoping to catch sight of him she laid out her towel and sat down, although she found it difficult to concentrate on her book as she was again disappointed when it soon became apparent that they weren't there.

It was just after three o'clock that she finally saw him coming in to the complex bringing Jessica back for her afternoon nap.

Hoping he would look across and see her she felt wounded when he purposefully kept his head turned away and went directly to his room.

Her heart sank, he hadn't even bothered to look and see if she was there.

Upset she pulled down her sunglasses to hide the tears that had begun to flow as she picked up her belongings and, disconsolately, went straight to the poolside bar for a drink.

"Hello again Lucy."

Yanni appeared behind her, startling her when he spoke.

"Oh, hi."

"You're friend? He is not here?"

Lucy shook her head, "No, not today."

"Perhaps we could have dinner again tonight?"

His expression made her think of a wolf stalking its prey and for a moment she considered accepting.

'Why not have dinner and sleep with him? Danny didn't want her.'

"No thank you. Not tonight." She shook her head and decided she needed to talk to Danny, to explain the previous night.

'What was she hoping for? She had told him she wasn't looking for a relationship.'

She knew she had to try though, for her own sake. She had to somehow tell him how she felt about him and his daughter.

With that thought in her mind she headed back to her apartment.

Throwing herself onto her bed she sobbed, eventually crying herself to sleep. It was dark when she woke up and, feeling hungry, she changed quickly and headed out to find something to eat.

Walking by one of the restaurants she saw Danny and Jessica sitting by themselves and, for a moment, she was tempted to go in. Then she thought the better of it. If he didn't want anything more to do with her then that was his choice and there was nothing she could do about it regardless of how she felt.

Thoroughly dejected she found an empty taverna and ate alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, after Lucy's date, Danny made sure he was up early and hurried a complaining Jessica over for breakfast before taking her to another beach for the day.

"Is Lucy coming?" she wanted to know as soon as he told her where they were going.

"No sweetheart. Lucy's busy. Just eat your breakfast and we can get going."

It didn't placate the three-year-old though and she was difficult and grumpy all day.

Not that Danny's mood helped matters, he was short tempered with her and it was with a sense of relief that he headed back to the apartments so she could have her regular afternoon nap.

He saw Lucy by the pool when they returned but deliberately kept his eyes averted and took Jess straight back to their room.

Settling her down for a sleep he made a coffee and stepped out onto the patio stopping and staring when he saw Lucy up at the bar talking to the guy she had slept with the previous night.

Choking back his emotions Danny turned and went back into his apartment.

'If that was what she wanted then let her have it.'

'His concern had to be his daughter now.'

Unfortunately for him his thoughts made no different to the way he was feeling.

Jessica was little better when she woke up, immediately asking her father if Lucy was coming to eat with them.

"No sweetheart she's... she's busy."

"But I want her to come!" she declared, "I'm going to ask her."