Page 2 of Rekindling Desire

Dani, Damien’s sister, was the first person I recognized as we approached a private small surgical waiting room. She rushed from her chair and wrapped Damien in a hug.

“No word,” she said, her words muffled against his shirt.

With his lips pressed into a straight line, Damien embraced his sister. The muscles in his jaw tightened as he nodded.

When Dani backed away, she turned to me. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you.”

The two of us embraced. Truth be told, she and I had always gotten along. We’d even met a few times for lunch over the last two years. It was nice to see her out in the open.

I retook Damien’s hand. “I’m glad I’m able to be.”

Next stop was Marsha Sinclair, Damien’s mother. When her bloodshot eyes focused on Damien, she too stood and wrapped him in a hug. “Thank God you’re here.” She turned to me. “Gabriella.”

“Marsha, I’m so sorry about Derek.”

“Are you two…?”

Before we could respond, the sound of voices caused us to turn.

“Damien,” Darius said, calling from the doorway. A tall woman with blond hair was at his side. “We need to talk.”

Damien’s hand stiffened in my grasp. “I’m glad you’re here for Dad. Nothing else matters right now.” He stood taller and addressed the woman, “Amber.”

Amber.

I tried not to react.

Darius was a little taller than Damien. While they were similar in appearance, Darius’s hair was peppered with gray. He held tight to Amber’s hand. “I have news to ease Dad’s stress.”

Damien inhaled.

Amber stared at Damien’s hand holding mine and then shifted her focus up to our eyes. “You two are back together?”

She obviously had greater knowledge of me than I had of her.

Before either of us could answer, Amber lifted her left hand. A diamond-encrusted band glistened under the lights. “Congratulate us. Darius and I are married.”

Damien and I turned toward Marsha who nodded.

“Do you know what that means, brother?” Darius asked.

“It means you took the blackmail,” Damien replied. “I’m still CEO. That’s not changing. Dad will be okay.”

“The addendum,” Amber said.

I took a step forward and offered Amber my hand. “We haven’t formally met. I’m Gabriella, Damien’s fiancée.”

Gabriella

The halls of the hospital were quiet in the middle of the night—more accurately, in the early morning hours of Sunday. Within the small chapel, that eerie silence was but another element increasing my apprehension.

I’d made a proclamation upon our arrival to the hospital. The circumstances hadn’t changed. Derek Sinclair was still in surgery. What was changing felt like an out-of-control locomotive.

Within my ears, I heard the buzzing of the warning signal.

Caution.

Caution.

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