Page 47 of Rekindling Desire

“Let me get this straight. You and Amber applied for a marriage license. Did you actually marry?”

Shaking my head, I said, “No. The license is…was good for sixty days. No officiant. We didn’t marry.”

“And you left her—like broke up?”

I nodded. “That about sums it up.” I tilted my head. “Give it to me straight. Am I an asshole?”

“Well, yeah, but that’s not news.” A smile curled her lips. “If you wanted to marry her, I’d support you because even being an asshole, I love you. Am I happy you changed your mind? In a word, yes.” She lifted another shot in the air.

Filling my glass, I lifted mine to hers. “Cheers.” The liquid must have completely numbed my throat because as I swallowed, the initial burn was gone. “At this rate, Mom and Dad are never getting grandchildren.”

“Speak for yourself. I’m five years younger than you.”

Placing the glass on the table, I spoke slowly. “Mom and Dad. I kept thinking about them.”

“They’ll support whatever you decide.”

“It’s kind of crazy that having happily married parents is infuriating.”

Dani laughed. “I get that. I date a guy and think, will I ever be like Mom and Dad?”

“Amber isn’t the woman I want to spend my forever with.”

“Then it’s good you realized now.” Dani grinned. “Have you met that woman? I’m not sure I’ve met the man.”

“I think about someone, a lot. Maybe there is someone else.”

Dani raised another shot. “To our someone else.”

Gabriella

Present

As Damien drove us north of the city, I took in his profile. While the last week and a half had been a whirlwind or more accurately, a tornado, there was a sense of contentment in where we landed. We’d fallen from the cyclone into one another’s arms.

The stress I continued to see etched into the lines on his face drew me to him. The man I’d more than once named the devil was fighting his own demons. I reached across the console and squeezed Damien’s thigh. “Have you heard from Marsha?”

His navy gaze came my direction as if my speaking had pulled him from somewhere deep in his thoughts. “She texted earlier. Dad is awake and talking.” He scoffed. “Mom said he’s irritated—even more than usual.”

“That’s good…that he’s awake.”

Damien nodded.

“Did you tell Dani about the bodyguard schedule?”

“Yeah. It may not—”

“You’ve changed your mind?” I asked.

Damien laid on the horn and spewed a few vulgarities as another car pulled in front of us in a roundabout. Running his hand through his hair, he turned my way. “Fuck, sorry. I’m on edge.”

“You have every right to be. This entire mess with the executive board is ridiculous. I’m meeting with Millie in the morning. I’ll know more about Beta Kappa Phi’s stance on the campaign. Did you talk to Julia?”

“Fuck. No. I can call later.”

Once again, I reached across the console. “You’re not alone. I’m here. I believe in you. You’ve never lied to me. You want your dad to be better. You want what’s best for Sinclair. We’ll get through this together.”

As he turned the car onto my street, Damien laid his hand over mine. “I never meant to lie.”

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