Page 68 of Dex

I could have sat there and talked to her all night.I had so many questions I wanted to ask.So much more I wanted to know about her.

But just now, as I drove her to her hotel, I acted like a douchebag.So cold and aloof.Pushing her away.That’s what I do in these situations.

Daniela spells trouble for me, if I’m not careful, I’ll do something I might regret.Because that kiss?That kiss awakened something in me.Something that’s left me feeling rudderless.

If she’d invited me up what would I have said?Worse, what would I havedone?I reverted to who I am when I need my barriers in place.I turned into an ass to maintain some distance.Now I feel bad because I can’t forget the look in Daniela’s eyes as she walked away.

Screw this alliance.

I’m already starting to regret it because I’m afraid.Afraid of this woman who sees deep into my soul.

She mesmerizes me.Intrigues me.Holds me captive.

This woman wasn’t even supposed to be a blip on my radar, but she’s the whole damn map.Ocean, land, sky.Every coordinate I never meant to chart.

She is everything.This date, that kiss, it leaves me feeling uneasy.

Chapter 16

DANI

I leave early in the morning.Raquel texts me to wish me a safe journey and to tell me she’ll see me soon.

My heart sinks.Lying to her is excruciating.Hours later, my parents pick me up from the airport, accompanied by a bodyguard.I fall into their arms the second I see them, so thankful to be back in the warmth and familiarity of my home and the people I love.

The Knights are so different.Cold, and uncommunicative with each other.I’m not sure I ever want to fit into their world.But I’m helping my father, and that’s the only thing that truly matters.My decision to marry Dexter is further cemented when I see Papai again.

He looks better.His face is a little fuller, his posture stronger.My mother’s eyes shine as she clasps her hands together, her expression tender and full of love.

“Ah, minha bela…” Her voice is full of emotion.She dreams of a happy ever after.There were moments yesterday when Dexter and I were getting to know one another, when I had a glimpse of how things could be, if we allowed ourselves to be more.

I hug my parents and we hold onto each other for longer than usual before getting into the car to go home.

Then it starts, the conversation shifts quickly to my fiancée to be and the wedding.

“How is he?What’s he like?”My parents want to know everything about Dexter.I tell them what they want to hear, and I embellish the truth, cover Paul Knight’s coldness with a warmth he doesn’t have.

I don’t want my parents to worry and they will, if they know what type of family I’ll be joining.My mother can’t stop talking about the wedding, and at the same time lamenting that Paul Knight has restrained her from going full-blown on the wedding.

My father takes her hand, caresses it in his, reassures her that this is temporary, and that one day, when the real suitor comes, they’ll have a big lavish wedding.It’s their dream.My mother catches me watching, “Only if Daniela wants it,” she says quickly.

Over a home-cooked meal, I tell them more, and gloss over the truth.But the part about my date with Dexter, that part, I don’t have to fake.

Because I did feel something.

I felt like he opened up to me, and that we connected.I think I reached a part of him that he tries to keep hidden from everyone, even himself.

But as I replay that evening in my mind, I wonder if he felt a connection to me.Maybe that’s why he could talk and share in a way I never expected him to.As my mother steps away to get dessert, my father shifts closer to me and takes my hand, his grip gentle and warm.He thanks me for my sacrifice, but I shake my head.“No, Papai.It’s not a sacrifice.”

His eyes fill with sadness.“It is, filha.I shouldn’t have to ask this of you …” His voice wavers as he looks away.

“Papai, this is just an alliance.”I try to soothe his fears away.“A marriage on paper.Two strong dynasties coming together.Nothing more, and it’s only for a year.Raquel is close by, and I can go visit her.I can also come home every other month, hopefully.You will see, a year will go by so fast.”

“He’s a good man?”My father seems desperate for me to say yes.

I hesitate.“He seems nice, Papai.”After last night, it doesn’t seem so impossible.“Better than Oscar Ramos,” I add.

His lips press together, and relief floods his eyes.

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