Page 130 of Dex

I discover New York through Dexter.He takes me to museums and art galleries—the places his mother used to take them, he mentions casually one day.Places that matter to him, that hold memories he cherishes, and I love that he’s sharing these places with me.

We stroll around the city, holding hands, laughing rich and deep, talking soft and secretly.Sharing our innermost desires and fears, recall poignant moments from our childhood and teenage years.

We skirt around the deeper things.About his mother, and the weight of the guilt he carries.About this marriage, and what it is and isn’t.There will come a time when we’ll talk about those things, but not yet.

We make love all over his apartment.The couch, the shower, up against the refrigerator.On the floor.

We can’t get enough of one another.he makes me feel complete.Happy in ways I never thought were possible.

I never thought this would happen, that I’d fall in love with my husband, and he’d fall in love with me.

But it has, and this city suddenly feels like home.

Chapter 32

DEX

Weeks pass.I lose count.

I love this woman in a way I have never loved anyone.She makes me whole.She takes away my pain, my guilt, my wound.She makes me happy.More than I have been in decades.

I wasn’t supposed to want her.

I wasn’t supposed to need her.

We weren’t supposed to get involved.

But now, I don’t know how I’ll ever live without her.

The only thing that matters is that Daniela wakes up in my arms every morning, and I go to sleep with her every night.With her working from home, I’m not rushing to the office the way I used to.Unless there’s a meeting or a scheduled call, I take my sweet time in the morning.Mornings spent making love with my beautiful wife.

She’s glowing.Laughing more.She told me that her mother said she sounds different.Happier and lighter, like something’s shifted.

She’s right.Everything’s shifted.

We talk more.We laugh.We lie in bed, sharing secrets, tangled together like we’ve done this forever.

One night, we lie in bed, panting and sated, holding hands and discussing an email the old man has sent me, asking if perhaps we, the Knight family, should have a celebration, something not like the Knight family dinner, something in an expensive restaurant, with a private chef, to welcome Daniela into the family.

“We’ve been married almost a month and a half, andnowhe wants to have a family celebration?”Daniela laughs.“And besides,” I squeeze her hand, before turning to my side and lifting up the sheet.Watching her naked body, my cock starting to stiffen as the muscle memory reminds me of the things we do when naked.“I’ve already welcomed you, in my own special way.”

“And what a way to be welcomed.”She waggles her eyebrows, prompting me to lean over and kiss her, long, and deeply.Then we settle back down again.Me on my back, her snuggled with her head on my shoulder, her arm across my chest, as if we were melded together like this.I never want another woman in my arms again.

“Welcome you to the family,” I scoff, imagining another uptight family dinner.“The location doesn’t matter, whether it’s the old man’s penthouse or a fancy restaurant.He will preside over us like a king, and our family dynamics will be strained, because he’s there.”

She kisses my chest, her fingers tracing around the dark dusting of my hairs.

“It would be different if mom were here.”

Her fingers still on my chest.I can tell she’s all ears.Waiting for me.Being patient and kind.

“I miss her.I miss her very much.”I stare up at the ceiling, my body tightening as sadness engulfs me.I picture mom.

Mom would be happy for me,if she saw me and Daniela.Another light kiss lands on my chest.A kiss that says,tell me, in your own time.

“It was the shocking news of his affair, of him having a secret family that tipped her over the edge.”

The room is silent, and all I hear is our breathing.

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