He comes toward me and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Welcome to the family, Luna.”
He raises his other hand and waves for Cole to come out.
Cole comes straight to me, worried. “You okay?”
Robert curses under his breath. “What the fuck is wrong with you, boy? Of course she’s okay. You said she was going to be your wife. Hell, you told me it didn’t matter what I said, it was happening. I just wanted to make sure she was ready to be a Kingston.”
I nod my head and let all the tension roll from my shoulders. “I’m ready.” I look at Cole. “I want to be your wife.”
Cole hugs me to him, and I’m not sure he’s going to let me go until Robert asks, “Luna, can you give me a few minutes with my son?”
I smile up at Cole, and he kisses me briefly on the lips. I turn to Robert. “Sure.”
Cole points inside. “Go ahead. And if you need the ladies’ room, it’s down the hall.”
I walk inside, leaving the two men to talk. As soon as I’m inside the house, I take in the marble floors, tall ceilings, and big grand furniture, and I swear it smells of polish and money. I walk down the hallway and stop at a huge picture in a frame. It’s a man with a crown on his head. I shake my head, wondering if this could all be real and what I am getting myself into.
I walk to the bathroom and freshen up, and by the time I get back to the living area, Robert and Cole are sitting on the couches. Cole stands up. “Ready to go?”
Something happened, that much is obvious.
I nod. “It was nice to meet you, Robert.”
After a quick goodbye, Cole and are I back in his car with Stone driving us away from the Kingston mansion.
I turn in my seat. “He didn’t like me.”
Cole grabs my hand and holds it. “He liked you. He said you’re too good for me.”
I roll my eyes as if he’s joking, but he shakes his head. “I’m serious. He said you have a good heart and a rough past. He thinks that being a part of this family will hurt you in the long run.”
My chest hurts. This shouldn’t bother me as much as it does. “And what did you say?”
He blows out a breath. “I didn’t say anything. I know he’s right. You are too good for me.”
My mouth drops. “Cole, that’s not true. You know that, right?”
He cups my face in his hand. “You are too good for me. I’ve done things. Things that if you knew about them, would make you look at me differently than you do right now.”
I lift my chin. “You’re a good man, Cole. I don’t know how I know it, but I do, and if you’ve done bad things, you’ve had a reason.”
He huffs. “I promise, that I’m going to protect you from all that. I’m?—”
I shake my head. “I don’t need you to protect me or hide things from me. My life hasn’t been easy, and you’d be surprised by the things I’ve witnessed or things that I’ve been through.”
“Tell me,” he demands.
I search his face and I know if I tell him, he’ll seek out the people that hurt me and kill them, without any questions asked.
I lift my shoulders in a shrug. “It’s in the past, and it doesn’t matter anymore. But I need you to know that I want this, Cole. I want to be your wife.”
He sighs in relief and then nods. “Good, because I can’t let you go, Luna. You’re mine now.”
I lean my head against his chest because if I keep looking at him, he’s going to see how I feel about him, and love hasn’t been mentioned once. I know he wants me. I know he cares about me, but I don’t dare get my hopes up for love.
CHAPTER 11
COLE
