Page 42 of Taken By the Fake Fiancé

"Is that why you'd chosen to join the Navy?"I ask, curious to know more about Declan.

"It's part of the reason I wanted to. I did want to be different. I didn't want to grow up and be trained to take over the real estate firm. I did want to be different and not hide in his shadow."

"You are different,"I tell him.

"Yes," he answers. "I did make sure of that. But I still ended up on the path I thought I didn't want."

"You mean your position in the company?"

"Yes. While in the Navy, I enjoyed every second of their training and missions. I felt truly alive. But after I'd retired, I realized that there was nothing I wanted more than to join the family estate business."

"And you did, and you excelled at it."

"Do you think I would have been a better father and husband if I had chosen early enough to do this and not go overseas?"

There is a note of pain in Declan's voice that causes me to turn around and go in. He's still on his back, since my eyes have quite adjusted to the darkness, I can make out the hardness of his jaw and how he turns very slowly until those attractive brown eyes, filled with painful regret, lock on mine.

I hold my breath at the emotions I can read in those depths and find myself wanting to comfort him. But how?

Without looking away from him, I say, "I don't really know."

I wish I had something clever to tell him or something comforting to ease the pain in his eyes.

"I don't know which I hate most; the fact that I don't regret those years in the Navy or that I'd lost my family as a result of that."

"You don't have to hate or regret a thing. You’d chosen the best way to live your life at the time. You thought of yourself first and lived selfishly, but now, you want to make things right with your son. I think that you should think less about the past and more about the present."

"You're right," Declan says, his eyes filled with an emotion I cannot explain."But sometimes, I think I could have done better. It would have been more wonderful to be less selfish, to have loved Amelia more and created more time for her. I think I am a little bit like your father in that regard."

"You're nothing like my father."

"I didn't have time for my family. I am selfish. You have pointed that out as his trait well."

"My father was home the entire time, but it felt like he wasn't there. He was there, only that he was not present. He made no impact."I say, realizing at the last minute that I am nearly yelling. Nonetheless,filled with the memories of the past, I say to him. "We should sleep and hope to God that the storm stops soon."

"You're right," Declan says, and I feel him turn to the other side.

I shut my eyes and struggle not to think about my painful past. I have done a lot of healing from the pain that my father caused me, and I refuse to allow myself to be dragged back there. Of course, the times are different now. I am no longer the young girl I was, who'd begged for the slightest attention.

I take calming breaths until I slip into oblivion.

Chapter Eleven

Declan

Warmth.That'sallIfeel as I flutter my eyes open, trying to get my bearings.

I can feel that the bed I’m in is considerably smaller than mine, as I take in the beige-colored walls and trophies on our side of the room, the events of the day before flooding my brain, at the same time as the pleasurable weight on my chest registers.

I look down at the mop of brown curly hair, some of which is splayed over my chest. Felicity is half on my body, hand fisted against my left peck as she continues to breathe in and out.

I remain in this position, not even daring to breathe or move for fear of waking her up.

I had not expected to wake up to this, to Felicity's warm, soft body wrapping in my arms, but I have, I am not going to complain one second about it.

I continue to watch her sleep, more than tempted to slide my hands through her hair and feel its texture. I wonder whether her hair is as soft as it looks. But I don't have to wonder for long because, a second later, she begins to stir.

I don't move, or so much as breathe as I watch her try to make sense of her surroundings and what the hell she's doing on someone's strange bed. However, when her hand that had been against my chest flattens and begins a slow caress, I tense up and try not to groan from how incredibly warm her palm feels.

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