He blinked hard, finally tossing the envelope onto the couch like it didn’t exist.“You still want this?”he asked, searching my face, confusion pulling his mouth into a grimace.“After everything?You still want to sign these papers?”
How could he sound so baffled?Did he mean it?
“You don’t?”I asked.
He hesitated a beat before shaking his head.“I meant it when I said I love you.You don’t hear me saying it every night when you wake up from your dreams?You’re safe.I love you.No signature on a piece of paper will stop that, but why go through with it when there’s so much between us?”
His brow lowered.“Unless you didn’t mean it when you said you love me.”
“I did mean it, which is why I have to get out of your life.You don’t need me.You don’t need any of this.”I could barely speak, could hardly force the words out when my heart wasn’t in them.Not when I wanted to throw myself into his arms and beg him to love me, to keep me with him, to never leave me alone.
“I think I’m the best judge of what I do and don’t need, Oxford,” he added with a smirk because that was his way—trying to defuse the situation with humor.I saw him so clearly now.And I loved him, I really did.
Which was why I had to do this.
“So you need a PR person to come in and paint a shiny veneer over the shit I’ve gotten you into?”I asked.“You know, after I got you shot?Let’s not forget that part.”
His face fell.“Nova…”
“On top of all the money you paid the guards.One of them is dead now,” I added, my voice catching.Poor Max.“I am bad news.No good.Please, do yourself a favor and cut me off before I completely destroy you.”
“None of that was your fault,” he shouted.“None of it.You just described actions taken by other people.You didn’t shoot me.You didn’t make it necessary for your life to be protected.Besides, I walked into all of this with my eyes open,” he continued, taking one slow step after another toward me, holding my gaze the whole way.“I chose to protect you.I chose to go after you.I chose to spend that money, and I knew walking into that house that night that I could very well be risking my life.And you know what?”
Coming to a stop in front of me, his eyes searched my face.“I did it anyway.Eyes wide open.Because you’re worth it.I love you.You drive me fucking crazy, but I love you.And I’m not signing those annulment papers,” he confirmed with a small shrug.“So suck on that, Oxford.”
It was the worst possible time for a laugh to burst from me, but it did, and with it came all of the pain and strain.The fear I went through, the trauma, the memories that were still so sharp and clear I might as well have been living through them in real-time.It poured out of me like a flood through a broken dam, and by the time it all subsided, there were tears rolling down my cheeks.
“Come here.”He didn’t wait for me to fall into his arms, wrapping them around me instead and holding me close to where his heart thudded away.“Nova Mancini, I’m not letting you go.Fight all you want, but I won’t lose you now or ever.What?You think I go around getting shot for just anyone?”
I took a deep breath, releasing it slowly.Deliberately.Was this it?Could it be?
Slowly, realization dawned, sinking into my brain.
This could be it if we wanted it to be.
If we worked for it.
And I wanted to more than anything.
“Okay,” I whispered, holding him tight.My life preserver.My savior.“Okay.Let’s burn those papers and give us a chance.”
* * *
“I would like to propose a toast.”Standing at the end of the table in his award-winning restaurant, Sebastian held up a glass of wine from his impressive cellar.“To Vaughn Eastman, now the owner of two successful casinos.Congratulations.”
With his lips twitching, he added, “And I wouldn’t mind if you let me open a restaurant in one of them.”
The entire table burst out laughing—Vaughn, me, his friends, and mine.He had invited us all to have dinner in celebration of the deal going through and what was once my family’s casino now coming under his ownership.One of the conditions of Dad’s agreement with the Feds was surrendering all assets.I couldn’t stand the idea of the casino falling into anybody else’s hands.I had given my full blessing to my husband to make the purchase.
My husband.It still didn’t feel real, maybe because we hadn’t treated our marriage as a real thing for the first several weeks.It took a near-death experience to wake us up, open our hearts, and give us the courage to admit how we loved each other.
Three months later, we were on the verge of a new beginning.Finally, I would get to flex my muscles and use all of my knowledge to streamline operations at both locations.I could hardly wait to dig in now that the deal was over and we could move forward.
The table practically overflowed with food, most of the recipes originating from Sebastian’s grandmother, all of which had made him wildly successful.Still, he’d been dealing with some stressors leading up to the opening of a new restaurant on the other end of the Strip.
“Don’t worry,” Vaughn reminded him at one point during the meal while we passed platters of succulent braciole, sausage, pasta, and fish.“Sienna Black is a genius.She’s exactly who you need to help get your image back on track.”
“Sienna is awesome,” I agreed.I was almost sad she wouldn’t have an excuse to visit anymore for brainstorming sessions with Vaughn and his Board of Directors.It was nice to have a woman around with so much testosterone clogging the air.
