It didn’t matter how many assholes I interrogated or how much blood I spilled, my princess was always there, in the back of my head. Reminding me I could do better. Be a better man.
I’d barely slept in weeks. It was as if my body refused to relax unless she was there, curled up in my arms.
My princess stayed silent as I drove us up the coast. I’d expected a barrage of questions, but she kept her own counsel.Knowing she’d spent the afternoon drinking with two men I didn’t know from Adam made me want to kill someone, but I decided that would be a bad idea. I’d find out who they were later and have them dealt with. And as for my fucking cousin, well, she and I were having words once we had a minute alone.
The shit-stirring little minx knew damned well we were arriving today, so it was no accident Verity was out of the house when we showed up at the mansion.
She made a good point about diamonds, though. Our girl deserved the very best shit money could buy, which was why I had a gift for her tucked away in my jacket pocket. But first, I needed to apologize.
We pulled up outside a small cliff-top restaurant. Only a handful of scruffy looking pickup trucks remained in the parking lot.
“Why are we here?” Verity’s forehead furrowed in confusion. “It looks closed, which is weird.”
“It’s open for us, princess.”
Her jaw slackened. “You mean you booked the whole place?”
I smirked. “Yeah. I wanted to talk to you, make sure you ate good food, and not deal with other people in my business.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” she muttered. “The entitlement is strong with this one.”
A small smile curved my lips upward as my dick twitched. He and I both liked this sassy version of her.
“Money talks, sweetheart.”
“Of course it fucking does,” she sniped while rolling her eyes. But she didn’t protest when I lifted her down and led her inside the restaurant.
The owner greeted us with a broad smile, which was hardly a surprise given how much cash I’d dropped to secure some privacy.
“Your table is ready, sir.” He threw me a sly wink before leading us through the deserted restaurant and out onto the terrace. Fairy lights twinkled and citronella candles dotted every surface, adding a tangy lemon fragrance to the salty ocean breeze drifting up from the beach.
My muscles relaxed as I pulled out a chair for Verity. She wasn’t fighting me, which meant on some level she forgave me for pushing her away. I could work with that.
“Can I get you some wine?” the man asked once we were both seated.
Verity shook her head. “No wine. Water, please.”
“A glass of your best white for me, please.” I needed a fucking drink. Something to take the edge off my nerves. I honestly couldn’t recall a time when I’d been this nervous in the company of a woman. Not even my first date with Colleen Kennedy, when we were 13.
The moment the guy stepped away, Verity fired the first shot across my bows, apparently unwilling to wait any longer.
“So, what did you want to say that required a stunning backdrop and good food?”
I swallowed hard, fighting my instinctive desire to avoid expressing my emotions.
“I wanted to say sorry. Sorry for acting like an asshole. Sorry for pushing you away.”
She sat facing me, her face blank. Fuck, had I blown it completely?
“I wanted you -stillwant you - but I had a hard time reconciling that fact.” This was hard. Sticking bamboo shoots under my fingernails would have been less painful, but if I wanted to win her back, then I had no choice but to bare my soul.
“You’re so much younger than me, Verity, and I have so much blood on my hands. Our life is dangerous. Chaotic. I didn’t want to drag you into it.”
Still she said nothing, her dark eyes flaying me open, exposing every one of my sins.
“I regret that now,” I admitted, “but after coming so close to losing you at your father’s hand, it seemed like the right decision. Only I hadn’t factored in how much I’d miss you.” I reached out and took her hand in mine, gratified to see she didn’t snatch it away. “I’m a selfish bastard, princess. Letting you go might be therightthing to do, but I can’t do it. So this is me saying that you’re mine.”
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