Page 76 of Throne of Sin

Instantly, my pulse quickens, my chest vibrates from the sudden thumping of my uncontrolled heartbeats.

“We said in a few months.”

“I changed my mind. I have a shed out back you can sleep in if you want to stay close.”

I squeeze my eyes shut. I knew this day would come, but I’m struggling with being away from her.

“Do you want to tell her the good news or shall I?” I can hear his smile on the other end. If I smash the phone, he won’t be able to contact us, and maybe I could prevent him taking my daughter.

I hang up instead. It’s a coward move, when I already know I won’t refuse the request.

“Demi, you can’t avoid this.” Dante’s voice echoes in my house.

What the fuck?

“How am I hearing you?” I ask, turning in a circle searching in the small room.

He laughs! Asshole.

“Oakleigh wanted an Alexa, so I bought her four. She placed them all over the house. Now I can talk to her just by saying a simple command.”

I spot the small black circular AI machine. “How long have these been in our house?”

“Focus, Demi. Are you telling her or am I?”

I grumble, but part of me loves how much effort he’s gone to, to keep her happy. “I’ll tell her, but you better not disappoint her.”

“The only person I enjoy disappointing is my mother.”

With that, I walk out of the house, needing a walk to calm my nerves. In the end, I know it’s my fears controlling my views. This is a good thing, and will make Oakleigh happy.

Dante

“Dante, you’re a half hour early. Oakleigh is in the shower.” Demi’s hand stays holding the front door open.

I stand in my usual suit, and notice the moment my regular cologne wafts past her. Her lips lift into a smirk and I bet she has no idea of her reaction. “I wanted to talk to you first,” I say.

My head tilts up, motioning that I’d like to talk inside. It takes everything in me not to walk right in. I’m not used to rules when it comes to Demi, but I’m trying here.

Instead, she steps out and closes the door behind her. “What type of conversation?” she asks. “If we go inside, Oakleigh might hear.” She sounds nervous. I watch as she crosses her arms and leans against the door before changing her position to her hands by her side. Her hand touches her hair, before placing it on the door knob.

“We need to start bridging this gap between us,” I state matter of factly. It comes out forced and direct, the opposite of how I practiced this conversation going.

I watch as surprise flickers across her face.

“I couldn’t agree more. I’ll be honest with you. I appreciate everything you have done for Oakleigh, even though it’s been hard to accept. I would love for it to go back to how we were, but you need to decide if you forgive me for not telling you about Oakleigh. I can see the pain I’ve caused you, but we’ll never get there unless you can get over it.”

She sounds like Savio. He almost said the exact thing.

I flex my jaw up and down, and her lips twist. “I’m working on it.” My stomach flutters as I try to find the right words. I’ve never been edgy around Demi before, but this conversation has my nerves wanting to jump out of my skin. “How would you feel about coming out for dinner with us before Oakleigh sleeps over tonight?” I clear my throat, cringing at how my voice sounded.

Oakleigh has been sleeping over one night each week for the last month. Each time I pick up Oakleigh, I can see Demi relaxing a bit more.

“Yeah, I would like that. Thank you.” Her posture relaxes and I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I want to tell Demi that I’ve forgiven her, but for some reason I can’t force the words out of my mouth yet.

My cheeks strain from the smile that refuses to leave my face, and we stand outside awkwardly like we both want to say more but don’t know what to say at the same time.

“Okay then.” I nod my head. “Should I wait for you in the car until you girls are ready?” I take a step back, my heart racing.

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