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“That’s a manifestation of her anger. She’ll come around.”
“You also said she’s the forgiving type, but that personality trait apparently doesn’t apply to this.” Her voice lowers. “I feel like she’s slipping through my fingers after I’ve finally got her. What if she remains disappointed in me?”
“She’s wanted a mother ever since she was a toddler, so the chances of that desire waning is somewhere below zero. Gwen is infuriatingly determined and doesn’t give up unless she gets what she wants.”
Her face lights up like it does anytime I talk about Gwen and then she wraps an arm around her stomach. “You know, she kicked a lot when she was inside me, sometimes hauling me out of sleep in the middle of the night. I thought she was sick or something and I couldn’t do anything about it or I could have triggered my aunt and uncle’s abuse.”
My jaw clenches and I stop massaging her head to keep from squeezing it or something worse.
Like me, Aspen doesn’t like to talk about her past. This is one of the few times she’s willingly offered a glimpse.
“Are your aunt and uncle still alive?”
“Thankfully, no. They died in a horrible crash soon after I ran away. My aunt’s head was found a mile away from her body.”
“Good riddance.”
She shudders. “I thought I would feel glad, too, but their death didn’t give me back the daughter I lost. Back then, they hit me any chance they got, tried to poison me, too, and locked me up until I thought I was going to die.”
“But you didn’t. You’re here.”
“Yeah. I set traps all over the house and made their lives hell. I tried everything under the sun to protect the baby that was growing inside me. I was young but not really a kid, you know, and for the first time in my life, I felt responsible for someone else. I fell in love with her the second I found out about her and I used to read to her a lot, have her listen to all types of music, and tell her happy stories that I was too pragmatic to feel joy from. I…wanted her to be loved and cared for and to have a story different from mine. So when they put that dead baby in my arms, I lost all my purpose and merely survived. Until…well, now. I want to give her everything I have and don’t have, despite the fact that she’s not a kid and is married. Is that weird?”
“No, it just means you’re a parent. And if it’s any consolation, I also wanted her to have a story different from mine. Which is probably why I spoiled and sheltered her too much.”
She faces me, forcing me to let her go. “You’re a great father, Kingsley. The best father I know.”
“Either you don’t know many fathers, or that was meant to be a compliment.”
A blush explodes on her neck and she whispers, “Shut up.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep your emotions a secret, sweetheart. Not even our daughter will find out about it.”
She pauses, her lips falling open. “You…just… Did you just call her our daughter?”
“Well, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, but you’ve never said that before.”
“You called her our daughter first the other day. So I’m just keeping up with the trend.”
She flashes me a smile. “Thank you.”
“Did the world just end or did you thank me?”
“Just go with it and stop being a smartass.”
I pull her against me. “Am I?”
“The worst of all.” She sighs, nuzzling her nose against my chest. “But hey, your smell definitely chases away the withdrawal headache.”
“I charge with a fuck for every hug.”
Her shoulders shake with laughter. “Sex addict.”
I stroke her fiery hair. “I plead guilty, Your Honor.”
We remain like that for a while, her arms wrapped around my waist, face buried in my chest, and my fingers playing with her hair.
