Page 85 of His Wild Seduction

“Um, how did you two meet? I’m dying to know,” Destiny asked, her tone hushed so as not to disturb little Lucy.

“Oh, well, we met years ago. My stepfather hired him as a bodyguard when I was a senior in high school.”

“Wow! I know you don’t know us yet, but I promise you can trust me and Destiny to keep your secrets, Mer.”

“Mare? Like a horse?” I asked, confused.

“No, she means, Mer, like your name. M-E-R. Don’t mind her. Sof is all about the nicknames,” Destiny replied with a teasing eye roll.

“What are you talking about? This is kismet! I’m Sof. You’re Des. And she is Mer! It works,” Sofia replied with a pout.

“It’s fine, I mean, at least it’s my name. Josef just calls me Little Red for obvious reasons,” I confessed, and waved my hand towards my hair.

“Oooh, I sense a forbidden romance,” Sofia said, her eyes bright with humor.

“It’s funny cause a few weeks ago thinking about Josef and our past would have made me sad and angry, but you’re right. I guess it was a forbidden romance.”

“You don’t have to, but if you want to share, we are all ears,” Des said quietly.

“And I promise not to use anything you say as book fodder,” Sof added.

I laughed. For some reason, I felt comfortable with these women. It had been such a long time since I had a real friend, if I ever did.

So, I told them everything.

All of it.

My tumultuous past with Josef. Everything that had happened with my stepfather. Running away to Europe. Coming back to the states. Working for the shelter.

And the more I told them, the better I felt.

Less alone. Supported. Comforted.

I should’ve probably realized from my experience and all the time I spent counseling women and children who’d left abusive situations that I could benefit from a little therapy myself. I mean, I tried counseling years ago, and I thought it worked.

But I never considered maybe it was something I should have continued.

“I know it might seem like what he did was cruel, like the way he backed you into a corner. But I think maybe Josef needed you and didn’t know how to deal with that. His ultimatum solved that problem,” Destiny whispered.

Lucy was asleep, so I understood why she was being quiet.

But it felt like maybe this conversation was too precarious for loud words.

I thought about what she said for a moment and felt hope rising inside me like an unstoppable tide.

Could it be true? Did Josef maybe care about me like I cared about him?

The sound of voices outside the nursing suite brought our attention to the door. A soft knocking sounded, and Sofia stood to answer it.

“Yes? Oh! Sure, she’s here. I’ll tell her,” Sofia whispered, coming back with a wide grin on her face.

“What is it?” I asked, curious.

“Your husband is outside waiting for you, and he looks fit to be tied,” Sofia remarked, highly amused if her expression was anything to go by.

I frowned and stood up, turning back towards both women.

“Oh, um. Thank you for letting me talk and for welcoming me.”

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