Page 56 of The Enemy's Daughter

Chapter Twelve

Alaric didn’t let her down. He wanted her to move in with him, but she wouldn’t do it. Bella was determined to get to know him again. What scared him the most was the fact that she might not even like who he was.

Their first date, and his hands were incredibly clammy. He had a huge bouquet of roses, and his heart was pounding.

I can do this. I can do this.

He kept repeating the words trying to hope that he wouldn’t mess this up.

Bella opened her door, and she looked breathtaking. “Hey,” she said.

“You look beautiful.”

“Thank you, are those for me?”

“Yes.” He handed the roses over. “I know you don’t need flowers or gifts, but I like to buy them for you, and yes, I buy them. I don’t have a helper or anything.”

She chuckled, and took his hand, pulling him into her apartment. “Relax. Stop being nervous. We know a lot about each other.”

He had so much riding on this. Nothing to do with his wealth or his company. This had everything to do with his future. She was his entire world, and never had he felt so fucking nervous. He’d dealt with mergers, big major deals, and challenges, even bankruptcy, yet nothing could even compare to how he was feeling right now. This was the biggest, most important deal of his life. This was his happiness, their happiness. He watched as she placed the roses in a vase, and then she was grabbing a jacket.

“I’m ready.”

Leaving her place, they headed down to his car. He helped her inside, relishing each touch.

“How have you been?” she asked.

“I’ve had a much better time. I missed you. I was hoping to spend time with you over Christmas, before and after.”

“Would you like to come to dinner at New Year? Dad always has fireworks.”

“I’d love that.”

She nodded. “I’ll be doing the cooking.”

“Then you can guarantee that I will be there.”

Arriving at the Italian restaurant, he made sure they were in a secluded booth that offered them privacy. The maître d’ took her jacket, but Alaric moved him out of the way when he went to push her beneath the table. That was his pleasure to do.

Taking the seat opposite her, he smiled.

“This place is beautiful,” she said.

“I heard the food is delicious.” He reached across the table, taking her hand.

“So, as this is our first date, I will go first. I’m Bella Reed, and my father is the very wealthy, successful Jackson Reed. I’m going a little differently here as I never tell anyone about my father, but I can tell I like you. I work in a veterinary practice, and even though I find it difficult at times because of losing patients and stuff, I wouldn’t change it at all. I love cooking and baking. I also love reading. One day I do hope to have a big family as well.”

Alaric smiled, falling more and more in love with her. “I’m Alaric Patterson. I’m known to be quite the asshole, and not very accommodating. I jump to conclusions, as I did over a certain deal, only I can’t completely regret what I did.” He held his hand up. “If I didn’t go looking for some kind of revenge, I would have never found the most beautiful woman in the world on the inside and out. I regret everything else, the lies, and the way I hurt you. I don’t regret finding you.”

“In a weird way, that is actually really romantic.”

He winked. “I’ve got more up my sleeve.”

****

New Year was perfect. Her father accepted Alaric with open arms, while Rebecca made sure he suffered a little bit. Bella was just happy to have him at her home, where there were no more lies. He called her all the time, wanting to make sure she had everything she ever wanted.

She was no longer staying at her father’s, and had returned to her apartment. The pain that she once had slowly began to fade.

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