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Fuck, she was adorable. I wanted to drag her onto my lap and kiss her senseless. She wrapped her plump lips around a forkful of food, and I shifted uncomfortably, readjusting my hard-as-fuck dick in my jeans.
I cleared my throat and changed the subject to something that was guaranteed to eradicate my enormous boner. “Has Robert tried to make contact with you?”
Belle shook her head, her brow creased with a frown. “No. According to Molly, the house is up for sale, but nobody has seen him in weeks. Hopefully, he’s crawled into a hole somewhere. He can stay there and rot, as far as I’m concerned.”
“From what Travis told me today, most of the town is baying for Robert’s blood after hearing about how he treated you and your mom. If the man’s got any sense, he’ll keep a low profile and move to the other side of the country.”
“I hope so,” Belle sighed.
I paused, chewing on another mouthful of lasagna. “Why didn’t you reach out for help? You know Cora or I would’ve been there in a flash if we’d known the full extent of the situation.”
Belle shrugged, placing her fork down next to her unfinished meal. “Believe me, I wish I had. But Mom begged me not to. She told me that he was getting help and that things would get better. There are a lot of things I would do differently now,” she whispered, her blue eyes full of pain.
I reached across the table to clasp her hand in mine. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just…I guess part of me feels guilty.”
Her eyes lifted to mine in surprise. “Guilty? Why?”
It was my turn to shrug. “Because I wasn’t there for you.”
“It wasn’t your job to be there for me, Adam,” she said, shaking her head. “You were here for Grams. That was enough.”
“Was it?”
“What could you have done?” she asked softly.
“Torn him a new asshole. Made sure he never laid a finger on you or your mom again,” I said, my voice thick with anger. “Brought you both back here. Where you belong.”
Belle looked just as surprised as I felt. “I-I didn’t know you felt that way.”
Neither had I until the words were out of my mouth.
Our eyes connected, and I felt the intensity of her gaze all the way down to my aching balls. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re Cora’s granddaughter.”
Her mouth tightened, and the light left her eyes. “Right. How could I forget?”
“Belle—”
“Guess I’m not as hungry as I thought,” she said with forced brightness, standing up and carrying her plate to the sink. “I think I’ll have an early night. Leave all this,” she said, waving a hand airily at the mess. “I’ll clean it up in the morning.”
With that, she was gone, leaving me alone in the kitchen with my troubled thoughts.
