Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
It felt right, like we should’ve been doing this years ago. Like I never should have married Liam, like I should’ve been with Damien this whole time. It was a feeling I couldn’t describe, a closeness I’d never had with my ex-husband, not even on our wedding day. I didn’t believe in fate or soul mates, but I started to wonder if Damien was meant for me.
I sat on the couch and watched TV alone while I waited for him to come home. Sometimes he had to work late, and even though I hated it, I never complained. I trusted him, so whatever he was doing out there wouldn’t hurt me. He left me because he didn’t want to put me in danger. If I ever expressed concern about his criminal enterprise, he might leave me again.
I would never ask him to sacrifice his livelihood for me.
We never discussed it, and I assumed we never would.
The bedroom door opened, and Damien walked inside. He was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt, because he’d left the bank long ago and headed to his other commitments. He sauntered inside with a pizza box tucked under his arm.
“Ooh…is that for me?”
“Definitely not for me.” He walked to the sitting area and placed the box on the table in front of the couches. “I don’t want to deal with Patricia’s look of death for any reason, so I always tell her it’s for you.” He slipped off his shoes then sat next to me on the couch.
“I thought she liked having the night off.”
“She does. But seeing a greasy-ass pizza walk into this house is borderline insulting, especially when all her cooking is homemade and fresh.”
“Well, if she tried it, I’m sure she’d change her mind.” Who didn’t like layers of cheese on a crispy crust with fresh marinara sauce? It would change her life.
“She’s just old-school. You know, family should always eat at home together. They should be talking loudly in the kitchen, spilling wine everywhere, and devouring fresh bread, with recipes that have been in their family for generations.” He looked at the TV to see what I was watching before he turned his gaze back to me. His arm moved over the back of the couch so he could wrap his fingers around the back of my neck. Now he was staring at me as if that was what he wanted to do all night.
“Traditions change.”
“Our family can make new traditions.” His fingers moved to my jawline and into the space at the bottom of my cheek. He touched my soft skin as if he were memorizing it. His eyes dropped down to my lips, and he stared for a while before he lifted his gaze and looked in my eyes again.
My hand moved to his chest, resting on top of the fabric of his black shirt. I could feel the hardness of his pectoral muscles, feel the heat of his body constantly radiating every second of the day. “Our family?” I couldn’t make children with Liam, and that had always made us feel incomplete. When Liam betrayed me, I felt so alone. I’d lost everything and everyone.
Damien’s hand cupped my cheek as his thumb traced my bottom lip. “Yes.”
I felt like I belonged with him, like the perfect size glove for his hand. His home felt like my home. His friends felt like my friends. He already shared everything with me, and I wasn’t even his wife. I felt his loyalty, respect, honesty. It was a family I wanted to be a part of, a family I was proud to represent. “Damien…I know this is a bit presumptuous, but we’ve never really talked about it. I’m not sure if I can have children…” I’d always pictured my future with kids, two or three. So, if I couldn’t have them naturally, I would adopt or do anything possible to make my family grow.
Damien stared at me with no visible reaction. He didn’t cower at the mention of the future, of babies and marriage. He didn’t run like most men would. He continued to adore me with his eyes, as if his feelings for me hadn’t faltered, as if he believed I was still the most desirable woman on the planet. “Whether you can or can’t doesn’t matter. I want to be with you, regardless.”
It was hard to look at him without needing to cry. When Liam and I had tried to have a baby and failed, I felt responsible for the loss. He never blamed me verbally, but I could feel his accusation every single day. And when he went out and screwed somebody else, I knew he felt entitled to it…because I’d lost his son. It made me feel like less of a woman, like a waste of life. I’d let him down, and I never forgave myself for it. But now that Damien treated me this way, like it made absolutely no difference, it made me realize this was really love. True love. “You’ve never told me if you want to have children or not.”