Page 20 of Forbidden Passion

Dominik shrugged. “It was the life I’d been born into. I’m afraid I would have ended up like them if it hadn’t been for Stan. He kept me focused and didn’t let me skirt on schoolwork. He told me I needed to get as smart as I could if I ever wanted to take over his business.”

“Oh, wow. I’m so glad you found him.”

“Me, too. I graduated early and took business college courses while I worked with him full time.”

“God, you were so young to be so driven.”

He shook his head. “No. I was determined to break thecycle of poverty my family had always been in, and I knew this was my only chance.”

“When I was twenty-two, Stan had a heart attack. He survived, but the doctor told him he couldn’t work again if he wanted to live. I took over the whole business. I’d been managing different sites already, but being responsible for everything was terrifying. The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint him.”

“You were so young. How did the older guys deal with that?”

He shot her a grin. “At first, I got a lot of shit, but it helped that I was going to college, and my size helped, too. There were a few times when some guy pushed me or would pick fights, but all it took was me to lay him flat with one blow. The few I wanted to keep, I gave them the opportunity to stay, but if they didn’t give it their all and respect me, they’d be gone.”

He remembered the first year after taking over had been hard. He’d had to outwork everyone and put in twice the hours. He was lucky he still had Stan around to answer questions.

“I’m assuming he’s gone?”

Dominik nodded. “Yeah, I was twenty-four.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

Dominik had been thankful for being with him at the end, so he wasn’t alone. The old guy never married or had kids, so he considered Dominik his son and left everything to him after he passed. He’d been surprised when he realized that not only was the business worth a few million dollars, but the old guy had left him his house, where he lived now, and several million dollars in stocks and IRAs.

Dominik knew he never had to work another day in his life, but he continued like he’d been doing because he’d always felt Stan looking down from Heaven, and he still wanted to make him proud.

“When I was twenty-eight, I changed the name of the business. People were confused that I was the owner and not a Kenova, which Stan was. It made things easier.”

“I bet Stan’s so proud of you.”

Dominik smiled. “I always have him in mind, and I still feel he’s part of my life.”

Stan had always told him if he worked hard enough, he could accomplish and get everything he’d ever dreamed of, and he was right.

Chapter Nine

Tessa couldn’t get the smile off her face as they drove to Dominik’s. She’d had so much fun with him at the grocery store and loved that he had a hand on her most of the time.

They turned down a street she’d never been to, making her sit up and look around. The houses were bigger in this part of town, and each sat on an acre or more of land.

Her eyes widened when he drove to the end of the road and turned into a long driveway. Her eyes darted around as she tried to take in everything. The land was left natural, but when the house came into view, she saw the yard around it was lush grass, and several trees and bushes were scattered about.

The house itself was large, two stories high, and had a wraparound porch. It was made of rock on the bottom and stained wood on the top floor. It fit in perfectly with the natural surroundings.

She hadn’t realized they’d stopped until her door opened. She looked at Dominik. “Your house is amazing.”

Dominik looked around. “Stan left this to me after he passed. I’ve done some renovations, but I wanted to keep it as close as possible to how he had it.”

He unsnapped her and lifted her to the ground. Before she took another step, he had his arms wrapped around her and held her tightly against his chest.

“I’ve imagined you here so many times, Angel. I never thought it would happen.” He tipped her head up. “The feeling is better than I ever imagined.” He bent and pressed his lips to hers.

Tessa wrapped her arms around his waist and gave herself over to him. She had no idea how much time passed before Dominik lifted his head.

“As much as I’d like to lay you down and fuck you blind,we have frozen food we need to take care of.”

She was disappointed but understood. He released her. “Go up to the porch. I’ll grab some of the bags.”

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