He shook his head. “Fortunately, that’s not the issue.” He convincingly placed a hand on her shoulder. “She thinks I’m stupid for divorcing Liv. She liked her. Money is all about saving face and Liv was an attribute to the family more than you know.”
She nodded. It didn’t matter what the reason was. She was about to enter a family that didn’t welcome her. She felt as if she were breaking and entering without permission.
“Don’t worry about it,” he smiled encouragingly. “I love you and that’s all that matters. I’m sure my parents will come to love you too. Everything was just dumped on them. They didn’t even know about my sickness and lung transplant. I don’t like to tell them things for this reason.”
Amber’s heart softened as she looked at the man before her. No matter how strong and commanding he seemed on the outside, he had his weaknesses to bear. Her childhood was not a walk in the park but something told her that his hadn’t been either.
“Tell me about it,” she encouraged, wanting to be the woman in his life who cared about even the little things. “I want to know.”
He looked at her with such tenderness, truly touched by how much she cared. “It isn’t really that interesting, to be honest,” he hesitated.
“Tell me,” she begged. She walked up to him and put her arms around his thick muscular waist. “Let me love everything about you,” she said. “Share with me.”
Giving in, he kissed her forehead softly, towering over her. “Let’s see, where to start.” His eyes wandered upward and to the left as he shuffled through endless memories. “I was one of two children. Me being the oldest, I was born two years before my sister. We are relatively close in age. She however has been the pride and joy of my parents. She was spoiled rotten, as was I, but for some reason I wasn’t quite catered to in the same way. My parents expected more of me, as you can see. My mom always had her own ideas on how I should live my life.”
Amber leaned in to show interest.
“My parents put me through private schools. They believed in prestige, and apparently thought my education would be better that way. But I hated it,” he shuddered mid-sentence. “The kids at every school I attended were all pretentious little rich snobs. But it wasn’t the students that bothered me. My parents were extremely strict on how I should act and what I should do. I couldn’t date anyone that wasn’t wealthy. They owned me because everything was provided. I hated feeling like that so I joined the military. The day I broke the news to mom, she flipped. My father was angry also, but not as much. So I packed my bags and left. I didn’t speak to them for years. I figured I could make it on my own without their help.”
“Go on,” she encouraged, knowing he was debating whether or not to bore her further.
Playfully, he kissed the tip of her nose, causing her to squeak. “Fine,” he sighed. “I did make it on my own. I moved up in the ranks, joined the medical branch of the military, and met my ex-wife while at base in France. We dated for quite a while. Then I received a letter in the mail stating my uncle had died. For some reason, he left me everything. Don’t ask why. My parents were surprised when we all met up at the reading of his will. It was a good reunion , to be honest. My mother and Liv got along rather well, and of course, Mother liked the fact that she was drop dead gorgeous.”
He stared into space. “It’s sad how it takes the death of a family member to mend broken ties. Mother cried that day. She cried because of her brother’s death and because she realized how wrong she had been. And after seeing the man I had become, she told me how proud she was, and how sorry she was for everything she had put me through. It didn’t make up for it all but we came to an understanding. I was going to be my own person.”
“My sister Jane went off to Harvard University and became a doctor. She married a rich man in her field, got pregnant, and now has the dream family. But she isn’t happy. There is nothing about her that is. All she cares about is what everyone else thinks about her.”
Amber seemed a bit confused. “Why is your mom giving you a hard time about me if she apologized for all that before?”
He shrugged. “She can’t stop being who she is. She thinks I am making a huge mistake with my life. She doesn’t believe in divorce which is why Janie is still in her unhappy marriage. She wouldn’t dream of doing something against Mom and Dad. But she will get over it,” he assured her. “She always does. She will love you, I promise. She just has to get over herself first.”