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“So, what? You’re okay with just giving all that other stuff up?”
“What am I giving up? Vince, I’mchoosingyou! I’m not losing anything! I’m gaining! When are you going to get over this thought that you’ve got nothing to offer? Your age means nothing! It’s just a number! I don’t give a fuck if you’re sixty! I love you! I love your heart, your mind, your obnoxious, overbearing ways!” I shake my head, but she won’t let me get a word in. “You have no idea how it felt knowing you were in control that night. I knew you were coming for me. Iknewit. There was no way you weren’t going to show up and be my knight riding in to save me. It’s the only thing that kept me from completely losing it. Because I was close. And then seeing Cash get hurt?” She slows her words and looks down. “Vince, you are the ultimate man to have in my corner. Everyone should be as lucky as I am.”
Her words sink in. For being young, she’s light years ahead of me. And it’s what I need. What I’ve been missing. I’m completely in love with Daisy and I couldn’t leave her if I tried.
“I’m not going anywhere unless you tell me to, Daisy. I want what you want. I want what’s best for you. I’m by far the worst for you, but if you deem me good enough, I’ll never tell you no. I’ll never turn away from you.”
She lunges for me, lips hitting lips, and I know I’ll never leave her. I don’t want to be morbid, but you’d have to rip my dead body from her right now.
“Take me inside, Vince. I need to be with you. I need to feel loved and safe.”
“I’ll give that to you every single day for the rest of my life, Daisy.”
ChapterThirty
DAISY
Three weeks later
Today is the first day I’ve returned to my house since the shooting. I grabbed a few of my must-have items and my clothes and jewelry. But the rest? It means nothing. I absolutely refused to even drive into Lakeshore the past couple weeks. My last vision of the first house I owned is one of destruction. I’d like to burn it down, and everything that’s been tainted inside it can burn, too.
We found out some of the gang members had been watching me for weeks. All the little things that were happening, the light bulbs missing, the windows being shaved down, the garbage cans being tipped over, it was them. The two gangs warring with each other for certain areas of the surrounding towns, were trying to establish separate residences to consume more turf. There was no rhyme or reason for why they chose my home, except that it was at the end of a quiet block they thought they could take over. They were hoping to scare me away from it, so they could seize it for their use.
I refuse to be a victim and live in fear, but it doesn’t mean I have to face something again to overcome it. Nothing about this house makes me feel good anymore and I don’t care what a psychologist says. Confronting painful memories again will not do me any good.
Yes, I loved it here. I loved knowing I achieved something on my own. But a house is not a home without the right people in it. Home felt best when I was with Vincent. And it didn’t matter what room we were in, home was just being with him. I felt at home at the station. I felt at home at the Casanova’s house. My home isn’t a building.
It’s Vince.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been living with Vince and the feeling that this is where I belong has gotten stronger every day. Neither one of us has spoken a word about it. The night we left Cash in the hospital, we came here and I knew I’d never leave again. I have a feeling Vince is keeping quiet, afraid to bring up the subject for fear I’ll want to leave.
We’re sitting together having Chinese food, watching television. A sappy instalove Christmas movie is on and Vince is not so quietly putting up with watching it with me. He’s complaining at every mushy line but I know he secretly loves it.
“I don’t want to leave tonight.”
He continues to shovel food into his mouth. “You’re not leaving. That house is still a crime scene, Red. You can’t go back yet.”
“No. I don’t want to go back at all. Like, ever.”
He freezes mid chew and looks at me out of the corner of his eye. He swallows his food and places his plate on the table in front of us. Then he reaches over and takes my plate from me, placing it next to his, and turns to face me.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that house means nothing if I don’t have you.” He pulls me into his lap. “Let’s call Bobby in the morning. I’m sure no one will want it after what happened in it, but I want out. Deed it back to the bank or burn it down at this point. I don’t care. A home is where you belong and I belong here, with you.”
He cradles my face in his hands. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hear those words from you.”
I raise a brow. “And you didn’t even have to beat them out of me. Tonight anyway.” I smirk and he laughs, then kisses me.
“I’ll do anything you want, Daisy. We’ll sell it, burn it, give it away. And you can do whatever you want here. If you want to paint, knock down walls, do it. I want you to be happy. If renovating this house to make it what you’ve always dreamed of will keep you in it with me, we’ll start tonight.”
I pull back, and feign a look of shock and laugh. “You went from controlling it all to giving me complete command? We’re really flipping the script here, Vince.”
He thinks for a moment. “Okay, maybe not total control. Can we negotiate? I give, you give.” His face softens, and he pulls me closer, taking special care not to jumble my arm. Right here is where I want to be for always.
“Thank you for listening to me, even when you didn’t want to. I know I pushed your buttons. I know my stubborn streak of doing it on my own almost had a catastrophic result.”
“No. What happened was not on you. That gang was going to make a move, no matter what.” He growls out the words and strokes my forearm over the bandage. “The minute that guy spotted you at the station, I knew he’d be back. And when he had his hands on you? It’s something I won’t ever unsee.”
