His Daughter's Best Friend
Description
Ava has spent five years hiding her most shameful secret: she's hopelessly attracted to her best friend's father, her boyfriend's dad, and the man whose political career inspired her own ambitions. Now twenty-one and interning under his supervision, she's convinced that burying her feelings is the only path forward. But everything unravels the night of her birthday, when she discovers her boyfriend's betrayal-and confesses years of forbidden desire to the one man who should never know. One reckless night and sincere confession changes everything. Now Tobias is launching his gubernatorial campaign with his manipulative ex-wife circling like a shark, her vengeful ex refuses to let go, and Ava is carrying a secret that could destroy them all. He's twenty-three years older. He's her mentor. He's her best friend's father. And he's the only man who's ever made her feel truly wanted. As scandal threatens and enemies close in, Ava faces an impossible choice: protect the man she loves by walking away, or fight for a future the world would condemn her for wanting. Some loves are forbidden for a reason. Others are worth the fall.
Chapter 1
Feb 5, 2026
[POV Ava]
I'm fucked.
And not in a fun way—though God knows it's been months since that happened.
No, I'm fucked in the ‘sitting across from my best friend's dad pretending I'm not mentally undressing him’ way. Which is approximately seven thousand times worse.
The cursor on my laptop screen blinks at me like an accusation as I pretend to review the final paragraph of my youth program proposal. Across the conference table, Tobias adjusts his reading glasses and marks something on a budget report.
I almost hate myself for noticing the exact way afternoon light catches the silver threading through his dark hair at the temples.
"The grant committee's going to love this."
He taps my proposal with his expensive pen, and I track the movement like a cat watching a laser pointer. His sleeves are rolled up, exposing forearms that have absolutely no business looking that good on a forty-four-year-old city councilman.
"Especially this section on youth mentorship."
"Thanks, Mr. Murphy." I force my eyes back to my laptop screen where the cursor blinks at me judgmentally.
My voice comes out steady, professional. I've gotten good at that.
"Tobias," he corrects automatically, then grins and glances up. "Come on, Ava. You're twenty-one now. You can't keep calling me Mr. Murphy like you're still that nervous seventeen-year-old who used to blush every time I asked about your classes."
I still blush, you unfairly beautiful silver fox. I've just gotten better at hiding it.
"Old habits," I manage, proud when my voice doesn't crack.
"Speaking of twenty-one..." He sets down his pen, giving me his full attention. "Chloe's driving me insane with party prep. Apparently my music taste has been deemed 'aggressively millennial' and I'm banned from the playlist."
"After last year's Bon Jovi marathon?" I find myself relaxing into our usual banter, the safe zone where I can pretend this is normal. "Can't imagine why."
His laugh fills the conference room, easy and genuine, and warm hazel eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiles.
"That was a classic rock education!" he protests, leaning back in his chair. "But fine, I'll stick to my designated role as grill master and leave the playlist to you kids."
"We're not kids anymore."
The words hang between us like a challenge I didn't mean to issue. Something flickers across his face—there and gone so fast I might have imagined it.
"No," he agrees quietly. "You're not."
The moment stretches between us, heavy with something I refuse to name, until Jordan from accounting ruins everything by poking his head in. "Sorry, but the mayor's office needs—"
"On my way." Tobias stands, gathering his papers with practiced efficiency, then pauses beside my chair.
His hand lands on my shoulder, a brief, friendly squeeze that shouldn't make my skin burn through my blouse.
"You should head out too, Ava." His voice drops just enough to make me squeeze my thighs together under the table. "You deserve time to get ready for tonight. Twenty-one only happens once."
He winks, a small, casual gesture that absolutely shouldn't make my heart race. And then he's gone, leaving me staring at my laptop screen.
The drive home is fifteen minutes of pure masochism. I keep replaying that moment—we're not kids anymore—and the way his eyes went dark. Just for a second.
I clearly need to stop romanticizing my best friend's dad.
But that's the thing about inappropriate crushes—they don't respond to logic. Trust me, I've tried.
Five years of this ridiculous, shameful attraction that started when I was barely seventeen, standing in the Murphy kitchen while his daughter Chloe searched for snacks.
Tobias had come home from a late city council meeting, looking tired and disheveled and stupidly attractive. He'd asked about my college plans with genuine interest, and I'd forgotten how to breathe properly for the entire conversation.
Dating Chloe’s twin brother Tyler was supposed to fix this.
It was supposed to redirect these inappropriate feelings toward someone acceptable, someone my own age. Yet, it just gave me more excuses to be around his father, more opportunities to torture myself with proximity to something I could never have.
I stood in front of my closet in my underwear, holding up dress options when my phone buzzed on the bed. Tyler's name flashes on the screen.
Tyler: Hey babe, about tonight…
My stomach sinks as I read the start of his text.
Me: Don't tell me you're canceling.
Tyler: Not canceling! Just might be a little late. Work emergency in Riverside.
Me: Tyler, it's my birthday party. You promised you'd help set it up.
Tyler: I know, baby, I know. I'll try to wrap things up and make it by evening. You understand, right? New job, I have to make a good impression.
I understand. I always understand. That's what I do—make excuses, smooth things over, pretend disappointment doesn't taste bitter.
Me: Sure. Just try to make it.
I'm staring at my phone like it holds the secrets of the universe when my door starts vibrating from aggressive knocking.
"Open up, birthday girl!" Chloe's voice carries through the wood. "We have a party to get to!"
I throw on my robe and let her in. When she takes one look at my phone, her face darkens and Chloe breezes past me carrying a bottle of wine.
"Please tell me my worthless brother isn't bailing."
"He's not bailing. Just running late. Work stuff."
"Work stuff," Chloe repeats flatly, already opening the wine, not bothering with glasses, just taking a swig and passing it to me. "Right. Like the 'work stuff' that made him miss your internship celebration? Or the 'work stuff' during your mom's birthday dinner?"
"Chloe…"
"No, seriously, Ava. I don't get it. I don't get what you see in him." She flops onto my bed, sending throw pillows tumbling. "He takes you for granted, shows up when it's convenient for him, and you just... accept it."
I take a long pull from the wine bottle. "It's fine."
"Ava, sweetheart, love of my life, it's not fine. God, I hate that I introduced you two. I thought, stupidly, that dating you might make him less of a dickhead. That you'd be good for him. Instead, he's just... wasting you."
"Relationships require compromise," I say weakly, turning back to my closet.
"Compromise implies both people are trying. When was the last time Tyler compromised for you?" She doesn't wait for an answer we both know I don't have. "You're too good for him, Ava. You always have been."
"Can we not do this tonight?" I pull out a sundress. "Is this too casual?"
"You're deflecting, but fine."
Chloe sits up, studying me with those sharp hazel eyes she inherited from her father.
"You know what you need? To forget my idiot brother exists for one night and actually have fun. Dance until your feet hurt. Drink too much champagne. Flirt with someone who actually appreciates you."
"Chloe!"
"Dad's already setting everything up," she continues, and something in my chest tightens. "He asked specifically what kind of cake you wanted. Red velvet with cream cheese frosting, right? He made sure the bakery got it perfect. Called them twice."
The image of Tobias calling a bakery about my cake preference shouldn't make me feel warm and weightless, but it does. God, I'm pathetic.
"That was thoughtful of him…" I manage.
"That's Dad. He actually pays attention when people talk." Chloe's pulling dresses from my closet. "Wear the blue one. It makes your eyes look amazing."
So I did and an hour later, Chloe navigated her car through the familiar streets leading to the Murphy estate. The house comes into view—stone and glass and sprawling green lawn, everything my cramped childhood apartment wasn't.
This place has always felt like something from a magazine, all gracious spaces and generational stability.
"Home sweet home," Chloe announces, pulling into the curved driveway.
I spot him immediately. Tobias stands on the deck, stringing fairy lights along the pergola, laughing at something the neighbor Mr. Chen is saying.
His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, his usually perfect hair slightly mussed from the work, and he looks relaxed in a way he rarely does during campaign season. The late afternoon sun catches him at just the right angle, and I have to look away.
He glances up as we get out of the car, and his whole face transforms. The professional mask he wears at the office disappears, replaced by something warm and genuine that makes my chest ache.
"There's the birthday girl!" He sets down the lights and jogs over, arms already opening.
The hug is friendly, appropriate, exactly the kind of embrace you'd give your daughter's best friend.
But his hand lingers just a moment at my waist, and I swear he inhales near my hair before stepping back. The scent of his cologne, something manly and expensive, clings to me even after he lets go.
I tell myself I'm imagining it. I tell myself I'm projecting.
But I keep repeating this moment in my head anyways.
His Daughter's Best Friend
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