Virgin Bride(54)

I pause and hold her at arm’s length. “Why?” I ask.

“I doubt you want me here. But I have nowhere else to go right now.”

I gape at her, shocked, and then I pull her close against me. I kiss her full and deep, because I need her to know that nothing matters to me but her.

She kisses me back, tentatively at first, but slowly she melts into my embrace. We break off eventually, but I can feel my blood flowing through my body as she looks up at me with wide eyes.

“You’re not mad at me?” she asks.

“Mad?” I shake my head. “I was never mad, not really.”

“But you thought I was playing you again.”

“No,” I say. “I mean, you have to understand why I might think that. I really just want to talk about this.”

She sighs. “I know. I understand. I totally get why this is suspicious.” She slides away from me and walks into the kitchen. She sits down at the counter and puts her elbows on the counter. “What do you want to know?” she asks.

“Just the truth.” I lean up against the cabinets. “Do you have anything to do with this?”

“No,” she says simply.

“Okay. I trust you.”

A small smile cracks her stoic face. “Are you sure?”

“We’ve come this far. I’m sure.”

“Good.” She nods once, like she’s reassuring herself. “But this is a good thing, you know.”

“Why’s that?”

“You have leverage now.”

I raise an eyebrow. “I do?”

“I own thirty percent of his company, you know. I could just sell you my stake. Hell, I could give it to you. Or threaten to.”

I nod my head slowly, a smile crossing my lips. “Well, well, well. That’s very diabolical of you.”

She grins at me. “I was thinking about it while walking around. I even went to see a movie, which is why my phone’s been off.” She shrugs a little bit. “I want revenge as much as you do, and now we can get it.”

“I guess that marriage thing is really working out.” I smirk at her and step toward her.

“I guess so.” She leans back in her chair and crosses her arms. “What do we do now, though? Should I give you my stake?”

“No,” I say. “That’s yours. When this deal goes through, you’re going to make some serious money.”

“I don’t care about that,” she says quickly.

“I care. You deserve money, and this can seriously help you get started now that you’re out from under your parents.”

“Yeah,” she says softly. “I guess so.”

“But we can threaten him with this,” I say, pushing forward. I couldn’t help but notice her disappointment for some reason. “He probably doesn’t think we even noticed this weird little discrepancy.”

“Oh, I’m sure he knows we know,” she says. “He’s too thorough for that.”

“True. Has he contacted you?”

She shakes her head. “Not yet. But I suspect it’s because he’s too afraid.”

I grin at her. “You’re one scary girl, you know that?”

“Of course I am.” She grins right back.

I have to admit, she’s absolutely marvelous. I walk over to her and kiss her again softly, not able to help myself.

“We’re still doing this?” she asks, gently pulling away.

“We are, if it’s what you still want.”

She nods slowly, eyes locked on mine. “I still want it.”

“Good. I do too.” I kiss her again, deeper this time, lingering on her lips.

I believe her. This was all that I needed. Her initial reaction was a little fishy, but I think in retrospect it’s because she was just so shocked by it all. Her father has never given her anything substantial, and to find out that he put a portion of his own company in her name is a big deal. It probably freaked her out.

But now that she’s calmer, I can see that she’s not lying. I don’t know how, but I can see it clear as day. I believe that she’s not hiding anything from me, and that she’s totally genuine about everything she’s saying to me.

I’m happy to have her back. And I’m happy that we now have a real weapon to use against her asshole father. I won’t do anything she’s not comfortable with, but together I’m confident we can destroy him.

Together, we’re going to make this happen, and I’m so happy she’s here in my arms.





26





Erin





I’m still reeling from yesterday. Lacey is fussy this morning for whatever reason, and Griffin had to go into work early, so he didn’t have time to hang around. I don’t know what to think about everything, but I’ve finally decided just to go with the flow.