Page 82 of All for her Forgiveness

"I never stopped wanting to, but finding out that you were some kind of 'granddaughter' to Vina made me back off."

"Why?"

"Besides the fact that you were too young for me, just one year older than Pam, I wasn't a good choice as a boyfriend."

"What does that mean?"

"I didn't stick to relationships."

"Didn’t stick? Are you talking about the past . . . Oh my God! You have someone now, and?—”

"I don't have anyone. I didn't know I had taken you at my grandfather's library, yet I dreamt about it every night. I attributed my anger to the fact that I didn't desire any other woman and that as soon as you were convicted, I would return to my normal life of a lone wolf and erase you from my mind, but until that happened . . .”

"You're telling me that you weren’t . . .”

"No, I wasn’t with anyone else."

"I don't believe you."

"That seems fair, since I didn't believe you either, and yet it's the absolute truth. I have no reason to lie. You couldn't think worse of me than you already do."

"Don't count on that," I say, but deep down, I'm shaken by his intensity.

Even though he hates me, Hades has never forgotten me or touched another woman. That's no small thing, considering how handsome, rich, and sexy he is. When we entered the restaurant, female heads turned to watch him.

"You're not going to convince me that you wanted me in your life, that I was your 'happily ever after.' I looked you up. Like your brothers, you were a player when it came to women. You changed them as often as your socks."

"Past tense. All my brothers are married now."

"They are?"

"Yes. And except for Ares, they're already parents."

I look at him, but my mind is no longer at dinner—it's on how much I missed in those two years in a coma.

Since I was released from prison, my focus has been entirely on King, but I need to catch up on what happened in the world while I was locked away.

"What are you thinking, Kennedy?"

"I lost two years of my life while I was in a coma."

"I lost three years of my life that I could have spent with you."

"With me? Are you telling me that if it weren't for Pam's schemes, what you wanted with me when you said at the club that you would take me from Vina's house was a serious commitment?"

He doesn't say anything, and the silence is self-explanatory.

"You wanted me. Period. You didn't make plans for the future. You just didn't want to deal with the inconvenience of your precious Pam getting upset when she found out about us because you knew she would go crazy with jealousy."

"I was sure of that, but it wasn't Pam I was worried about, it was you. I won't lie, Kennedy. I never lie, no matter how much it turns the game against me. I desired you and wanted you in my bed. I thought that after a while, I would leave you like I had all the others, but that's where my mistake began. I was thinking of buying an apartment to set you up in. In my head, I was making plans to spend a few days a week with you there. You may not understand, but for me, it was a big step. I'm not programmed for love or trust."

"What does that mean?"

"Until a couple of years ago, I thought my father had killed himself because he found out that my mother had run away with their best friend."

"My God!"

"I'm not revealing this to try to get your sympathy or understanding, just being honest. Being with someone long-term was never part of my plan. So, yes, I wanted you for myself and also to get you out of that house because Pam was going to make your life a living hell, but primarily I wanted you, and I didn't know how to classify you in my world."

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