“No Daimon control? Or fancy restaurants? Or having you dress me up?” My tone was serious, not believing him.
“No, not unless you want me to,” he said gruffly.
“Why should I?”
“Because, Addie, if you didn’t want me, if you hated me, you would have already sent the divorce papers,” he said dryly. I had spent a month away from him and not once did I think of divorcing him. Not once! I wanted to, but I could never bring myself to actually do it. A normal girl would want to run the hell away from him, but I wasn’t a normal girl, I was Daimon’s Addie. His.
“You didn’t take the money away like you said you would,” I fired back.
“No and I won’t. The money I make is for the woman I love, for my family. Whether you like it or not, that’s what you are to me, my only family.” Once he said those words, my eyes drifted up to meet his. His stunning sky blue eyes were a bright vivid color, blinding me to my anger, melting away my resolve.
“So what do you want to eat?” he asked as he drove. I leaned away from him, feeling his pull. Being around Daimon made me stupid and blind, and I hated it. I hated that part of me he ruled and owned, like I was always his to have and do with as he pleased. “Addie?”
“Coffee,” I murmured.
“You want to eat coffee?” he smiled, wary of our lines now. This was a first. Never in the history of our relationship did Daimon not know how to talk to me.
“I think coffee is the best choice right now,” I noted quietly.
“Okay, coffee it is.”
We drove with an uncomfortable, heavy silence. The silence followed us into the coffee shop as we sat across from each other not knowing how to start. I started to giggle from my nerves. His presence was strong and would always be dominating.
“You’re laughing, why?” he asked in a serious tone.
“I think this is the first time we don't know how to talk to each other. It’s funny, don’t you think?” I smiled and picked up my coffee.
“Is dating always this awkward?” he asked.
“Pretty much. Unless you have chemistry.” I shrugged.
“We have that.”
“We had that,” I corrected.
“It’s not over,” he said gruffly.
“It’s funny how our relationship ended when it didn’t really start yet.” I looked out the window to the stop the tears that were appearing.
“Addie, I didn’t ask you out to make you cry or to talk about how we’re done. To me, we still have a future and I want to fight for it. I know I fucked up. I know I lied and manipulated you. I was wrong, so just let me try to rebuild what I broke. Let me try to rebuild us,” he implored, his voice cracking just once, enough to tug at my heart.
“Hi, I'm Daimon Evans.” Daimon held out his hand and smiled. He nudged his head and raised an eyebrow, urging me to take his hand.
“I’m Addie.” I nervously took his hand and shook it. I held onto it just a little while longer, missing his warmth.
“It’s nice to meet you, Addie. Couldn’t help it, but I was over by the coffee station and saw you. It’s not often you see a gorgeous woman like yourself sitting here all by herself. So I had to try my luck to see if I can get to know you.” He smiled sexily.
“Does that line actually work?” I asked as I wiped away the last of my tears.
“Don’t know. Never tried. Girls just happen to be there when I wanted them.” He shrugged.
“Ah, the true player,” I noted.
“Used to be. Now, I'm a one woman man. She’s a beautiful and strong-willed woman who I could never really ever own, even though I wanted to. She never saw it in herself, but she was able to take on the world. I fucked it up with her,” he said ruefully.
“You did?” My throat burned as emotions danced around inside me.
“When I first walked into her little restaurant and saw her, my body grew cold and angry. I was pissed at her for fucking up her life. She was supposed to be great and better than me. I was going to grovel if I had to in order to have her, but no, there she was surrounded by crap, from unforeseen circumstances, forcing her to be less than what she was supposed to be. So I used what I knew well. I used my power and money to try to buy her. It was the only thing I thought I was good for until she came into my life and showed me I was worth more than just money and my position. I was worth more to her. I hated what I did, but I don’t regret it because it brought her in my life. It brought me something I never knew could exist. My Addie.” His low voice echoed deep inside my heart and soul as he laid himself bare.
“Your Addie. What about my Addie?” I replied softly. “I’m your Addie. I was my dad’s Addie. I was Sofia’s Addie. What about me? What about my Addie?” I asked.