The way his daughter was dressed for their night out, Roman caught more people looking at her than ever before. He was proud and yet also annoyed. And when the hostess finally brought them to a table, Angel quickly stepped ahead of her father and walked between the tables with the same, exaggerated hip-sway she had on the way out of the house. If it surprised him when she did it at home, it surprised him even more to see her do it in public.

Roman felt strangely possessive of her as he followed the girl through the noisy crowd. He did possess her in a way, being her father,...