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“He should have seen me during those three months,” I jabbed.
She picked at her food and took a few more bites.
I did the same, trying to dismiss the tense conversation.
“Griffin, my husband is the best man I know. I know you’re angry, but I hope you can see that eventually.”
Sometimes Crow said things that changed my opinion about him, like stepping up in his son’s place—twice. He loved his kids more than himself. He showed a level of selflessness I couldn’t match. “He has a lot of great qualities. I see the way he talks to Vanessa, the way his eyes soften uniquely for her. He doesn’t show that look with you. I listen to his tone change, addressing her in a way he doesn’t with anyone else. I saw the way he stepped into combat, knowing he would be shot down just for the slim possibility of saving his son. I see the special way he looks at you, the way he constantly places himself in front of you whenever he feels threatened. You’re right. He’s a selfless man who always puts his family before himself. And anytime his family is threatened…he turns into a different person. He viewed me as a threat to his daughter, and the second that happened, his entire life became dedicated to her protection. I understand.”
“Then could you let this go?” she asked quietly. “Leave it in the past?”
It wasn’t that long ago I was in mortal agony. It was just a couple months ago when I was drinking myself into a stupor. I’d never known that kind of depression, not even when I was living on the streets as a young boy. “She almost ended up with someone else. If he was just some guy she was fucking to stop thinking about me, I wouldn’t have cared.” I didn’t care about censoring myself. When I first introduced myself to the Barsettis, I was transparent about who I was. I was myself—completely. “But she had a connection with that guy. They shared artwork. They bought each other’s paintings. That guy was the biggest threat I’d ever come across. That wouldn’t have happened if Crow hadn’t taken Vanessa away from me.” I stared at my food and kept eating.
She set her fork down. “I understand that, Griffin. But even if she got together with him, it wouldn’t have changed her feelings for you. You could have walked back into her life at any moment, and she would have left him for you.”
“Or even worse, I never could have walked back into her life. If Conway hadn’t pissed off the Skull Kings, none of this would have happened. I wouldn’t have taken that bullet in my shoulder, and we wouldn’t be sitting here right now. If the opportunity to prove myself hadn’t arisen, none of this would be possible.”
Pearl said nothing, knowing there was nothing she could add.
“I came to the winery every day, I gave your husband a loaded shotgun with my hands cuffed to a chair, and I put up with his bullshit for months trying to prove myself to him. But we both know he never really gave me a chance. It didn’t matter what I did, Crow was going to have the same answer. Only when I was willing to die for the Barsettis did he think that was good enough. It forced his hand. And trust me, I don’t believe in soul mates or any of that bullshit. But I know Vanessa is the only woman I could ever love. She’s it.” I placed my hand over my heart. “How easy could it have been for me to lose her for good? That’s why I don’t forgive him. That’s why I don’t like him.”
Pearl watched me, her blue eyes showing her sadness. She didn’t challenge me or try to change my mind. After the speech I’d just made, there was little she could do to turn it around. “If that’s the case, why have you forgiven me? I was blinded by my hatred as much as he was.”
Crow was the operator of the family, the man who made all the final decisions. He had a lot more power, control over everything. But if she really wanted to, she could have changed his mind before things got so bad. She didn’t insult me the way Crow did, but she didn’t defend me either. I was gentler on her for a reason. “Because you remind me of my mother.”
The second I stepped through the door, Vanessa was all over me.
She jumped into my arms without giving me any notice, completely naked and ready for me. Her arms wrapped around my neck, and her ankles locked together around my waist as she sealed her mouth over mine.
Fuck, this was nice.
My arms scooped under her thighs and ass, and I held her in the doorway, taking her sexy tongue and giving her my own. “Jesus Christ, you missed me.”
