Page 102 of Sweetest Sin
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Peyton
“Disney World?”I smile at Dominick when we drive up to the main entrance.
When he got home from sparring with Matteo, he told me to pack a bag, that we were going away in the morning and not to ask where because it was a surprise.
“Mickey Mouse!” Damien shouts from the back seat, pointing to the big mouse overhead. “I go on all the rides?”
“All of them,” Dominick tells him, glancing in the rearview mirror and smiling at our son. “I considered taking you to the DR,” he says, “since that’s where we spent that first night together.” He waggles his brows, and I feel myself heating at the memory. “But I wanted it to be a family trip, and I remembered Damien mentioning he’s never been here.”
I recall that conversation. Damien and Dominick were watching cartoons, andMickey Mouse Clubhousecame on. Dominick asked if he’d ever been to Disney World, and Damien looked at him like he was crazy. Because he didn’t know itexisted. We couldn’t afford it before, and he’s not old enough to talk to his friends about their vacations.
Of course, Dominick pulled the videos up on his phone, and by the fifth video, Damien was begging to go. I was surprised Dominick had been since his parents didn’t seem like the type to go to theme parks, but when he said he had gone there on a school trip, that made sense.
When his mom came by last night to visit, Damien told her about the trip, and she asked if she could go, saying her fiancé was out of town on business. Even though she had no idea where we were going, she said she would love to spend time with her grandson, which led to Brielle wanting to join. Matteo said he’d hold the fort down and he’d see us when we got back. Now that I know the destination, I’d bet Matteo had already known, and that was why he didn’t want to go.
“Auntie Bri, you go on all the rides with me?” Damien asks.
“Of course,” Brielle says.
“Babu,” Damien says, butcheringBabushka, like he always does. “You go on all the rides with me?”
Larisa grins down at Damien. “As long as you hold my hand. I’m a little scared of that big mouse.”
Damien giggles. “I’ll hold your hand,Babu.”
Once we get inside, we rent a stroller because I already know Damien will never last walking all day, and then we take off to the first ride.
The day is filled with fun and laughter. We go from ride to ride, and even though it’s about Damien, everyone has a good time. I get to know Larisa more, having a chance to talk to her while we wait in the long lines, and see a softer side of Brielle as she plays with Damien. My heart hurts for her—because she was forced to give up her unborn baby—and I hope that, one day, she meets a man who deserves her, and she has the chance to become a mom.
Of course, Dominick insists on buying Damien a souvenir from every ride, and by the time night falls and we’re heading back to the car to go to our hotel, Damien is passed out in Dominick’s arms while Brielle, Larisa, and I carry the millions of toys and stuffed animals.
“Did you have a good day?”Dominick asks as we look out over our terrace at the lit-up theme park and hotels in the distance.
We’re staying in a suite at a beautiful resort on Disney property. Larisa and Brielle offered to get their own room, but I wasn’t having it. This is a family trip, and they’re family.
“It was like a fairy tale. Thank you.” I lean over and give him a kiss. “Today was truly magical.”
A loud pop sounds in the distance, and I jump, glancing out and seeing it’s the beginning of the fireworks.
“Oh my God,” I breathe. “We can see them from here?”
When Dominick doesn’t answer, I turn around and find him down on one knee, a ring box in his hand.
“Dominick!” I gasp. “What …”
The fireworks continue to go off in the background, but my only focus is on the man in front of me.
“My world isn’t a fairy tale,” he says, looking up at me. “And nothing about it is magical. Most days, it’s dark and dangerous and filled with corruption.
“I thought I had my future mapped out. I accepted my life for what it was. But then you fell into my lap”—he chuckles, and I do, too, remembering how we met—“and everything I’d thought I knew felt like a lie. I was drawn to your goodness, to the light you emanate, but out of every fucked-up thing I’d done in my life, keeping you for myself felt like the biggest sin, so I let yougo.” He shakes his head and sighs. “But fate intervened, and you came back into my life, bringing along the greatest gift I could have ever asked for, and I knew there was no way I could let you go again.”
He stands and opens the black box, and I choke on a sob. Not because the ring is beautiful, but because his words are.
“If getting to love you and keep you for the rest of my life is a sin, I’ll gladly go to hell.” He takes the ring out of the box. “Peyton Wright, will you make me the happiest man on earth and become my wife?”
“Yes!” I breathe out as he slides the ring onto my finger. “I would love nothing more than to be your wife.”
