Page 56 of Stolen Sin

“We’ll see about that. And you should call me Richard, since you’re my son-in-law now.”

“Alright, Richard, thanks for that.”

I open my mouth to tell him that Simon’s not my husband anymore, but he gives me a sharp look, and I snap it shut. Instead, Simon and my dad head back into the kitchen, talking about the shape of the scam and going over all the different shell companies. Simon answers all of Dad’s questions, and the two of them get along like best buds as they sit at the table and eat grilled cheese.

Which is agonizing. I want Simon to get out of here, and I don’t want Dad to like him. If Simon gets along with my father, it’ll be harder to get divorced, and I don’t need more damn complications.

Too bad they seem like best buds. It’s absolutely infuriating.

“For a scammer, you’re not so bad,” Dad says, slapping Simon on the back. “I can see why my daughter married you. You’re a pretty decent guy.”

“Thanks, Richard. You’re okay yourself. I should hire you to help me put together shell corporations since you’re such an expert on it.”

Dad howls with delight. “Happy to consult at a hundred bucks an hour.”

Simon’s eyes sparkle with mischief. “How about two thousand an hour?”

“Hired.” Dad shakes Simon’s hand. “Let me know when I start.” Dad stomps off, mumbling about taking down his crazy wall and needing a nap, leaving me alone with my husband as he scrubs up the remains of lunch.

What the hell just happened?

Dad was supposed to be pissed at us. Instead, he just accepted some definitely fake job at an obscene hourly rate and seems to think that’s totally normal. Simon’s looking smug as he hangs the dish towel up and puts the frying pan away.

“You wanna talk now?” he asks, eyeing me with an absolutely maddening grin.

“I want you to go home. What were you thinking, getting close to my dad?”

He cocks his head like he doesn’t understand what I mean. “He’s my father-in-law. I should’ve done this sooner, don’t you think?”

“Simon.” I lean toward him, both my hands on the island, glaring hard so he knows I’m not joking. “We aren’t staying married.”

He sighs like I’m the unreasonable one here and comes toward me. “Yes, we are.”

“No, we aren’t.” I put my hands up before he can get too close, blocking his path. My fingers brush his perfectly formed chest muscles, which is absolutely unfair, because it makes my core clench down. “Please, can you just stop?”

He takes a long, deep breath, and blows it out. “Emily, listen to me. I fucked up when I didn’t tell you about my father’s offer immediately. I think if I had done that, you might be more willing to hear what I’m saying to you. I am so sorry I put you through this and if I could go back and change one thing in our relationship, it would be that idiotic mistake.” He takes a step closer. I take one step back.

“I decided the moment I left my father’s office that I’m not going to take his offer. And I was going to tell you about it, but you were cooking and you seemed so excited, and I realized how badly I wanted you. I let myself get distracted, and that’s my fault, but it’s because I care about you. What I said upstairs is the truth. I want you as my wife. And maybe you don’t want that anymore, and you want to stick to the five years we planned on, and that’s fine. If you want to leave me in five years, I’ll still honor our agreement. But I’m going to bet you won’t. I’m going to bet you want to stay with me already. And, baby, what we have, it’s worth fighting for.”

I blink back tears. This can’t be happening. He’s not saying all this right now, because it’s making me melt, and I don’t want to soften toward him. I want to be strong. I want to do the right thing. I want to let him go and get his dream.

“I don’t want you to give up the Don position for me,” I whisper.

He shakes his head. “I’m not. This isn’t over, not yet, and even if that’s how things shake out, I won’t be upset. I’d rather have you.”

He comes to me then and I’m done fighting. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me against his chest. I lean into him, biting my lip to stop myself from crying, and when his mouth tips down toward mine, I let myself tumble into the kiss. He’s warm and tastes good, and he’s everything I’ve missed since coming back to my dad’s house, and I don’t know how I was living without him, even if it’s been a really short time.

“I’m not saying this is forever,” I whisper, smiling a little.

He grins back and bites my lower lip. “That’s okay. I’ll have five years to convince you.”

“I’m not sure you can do it. I mean, you scammed my father.”

“Good point, but now I’m going to pay him an exorbitant amount of money to sit around and do nothing. I think he’ll gladly take that deal.”

I get on my toes and kiss him, letting it linger, before taking a deep breath through my nose. “Are you sure about this?”

“Baby, I’m sure. I’m never going to marry that girl. I never seriously considered it. You’re what I want.” His expression gets more serious. “And I have a plan for that other thing.”

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