AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I decided to keep his secret. “Yeah. He just stopped by to get something for Liam.”
She stared at me like she knew I was full of shit, but she let it go. “Alright…”
Days passed, and Damien didn’t bother me again.
Maybe he finally got the hint.
I wanted nothing to do with him.
I let my guard down and stopped thinking about him. That kiss on the balcony was the best thing that could have happened to me, because it really made me forget about him, made me break the spell he cast over me. I saw him for what he really was.
A player.
He wanted me to keep wanting him, but he would never want me back.
I tightened my coat around my body and stepped into the parking lot. The days were short in winter, so it was almost dark when I left the office every day. I stepped into the parking lot and made my way to my car.
And Damien came out of nowhere.
He stepped into my path, wearing a leather jacket and dark jeans. His breath escaped as vapor, and he stared at me like he’d marked me as his next target. He blocked my path with his size.
I halted in my tracks, stunned because I hadn’t been aware of my surroundings. I was too busy thinking about what to make for dinner and the mound of paperwork I had to take care of in the morning.
He didn’t come close to me. “Annabella, I just want to—”
I slapped him. I didn’t realize how much I wanted to do it, how much anger was packed deep inside me, until my hand moved on its own. It wasn’t a premeditated attack, just an expression of all the pain he caused me.
He turned his head slightly with the hit, but the rest of his body was solid as a mountain. His cheek instantly turned red, and the imprint of my fingers was noticeable almost immediately. He closed his eyes for a second, bottling his rage before he looked at me again.
I moved around him and walked to my car. I didn’t apologize or warn him to stay away from me.
Because I’d just made that pretty damn clear.
6
Damien
I finally got my father into my house.
We packed all of his belongings that he couldn’t live without and tossed everything else. Most of his furniture was old, dusty, and seriously lacking in structural integrity. We couldn’t even donate it, so it was tossed.
His bedroom had a private living room where he could watch TV, and he had his own bathroom with a walk-in shower so he didn’t have to worry about tripping. With a maid to do his laundry and wash his sheets, he would be able to ditch that old-man smell in no time.
“It’s nice.” Catalina looked around the bedroom, seeing the integration of the old and the new. There were picture frames on one of the end tables in the living room, showing photos of Mom and us as kids. “I like it.”
My father nodded, but he didn’t seem impressed. He still had cold feet about the whole thing.
I clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m really glad you’re here, Father.” My dad used to be the strong provider of our family, the person who never needed anyone for anything. Time had passed quicker than he anticipated, and he struggled to accept his age, his lack of strength and youth.
He turned to me, and his eyes slowly narrowed. “Why is your cheek so red?”
I’d headed home right after I’d confronted Annabella in the parking lot…and it didn’t go the way I expected. I patted him on the back. “I’m happy we’re going to spend more time together.”
Catalina grinned. “He got slapped.”
I shot her a glare.
“Hard.” She fell onto the couch and put up her feet. “I like her. A lot.”
My phone started to ring, so I walked off to answer it. It was Hades. “What’s up?”
“Want to come over for dinner?”
Our relationship wasn’t exactly how it used to be, because most of our friendship had been spent in mutual bachelorhood. But now that he was married, we stopped going to the whorehouses and the strip clubs and did tamer activities…like having dinner with his family. But I loved every invitation because now I had two friends instead of one. “What’s on the menu?”
“Like it matters,” he said with a chuckle.
“Will there be booze?”
“Always.”
“Then I’ll be there.” I hung up and returned to my family.
Catalina hugged my father goodbye. “I have to get going. I have a late rehearsal tonight.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I’m so happy you’re here. Damien and I are both so happy.” She squeezed both of his hands.
He perked up a bit. “Thank you, sweetheart.” He kissed her forehead before he let her go. Anytime he was with my sister, his eyes lit up with happiness. She was the favorite child. He didn’t bother hiding it.
