“Same.”
I smile up at him loving his dark gaze, intense, always so intense and slightly unhinged. Unpredictable, raw power and protection wrapped in a decadent package.
We head to a restaurant that sits among the stars. Exclusive, modern and difficult to book.
Our table is by the window overlooking earth it seems and the atmosphere is intimate, the gentle murmur of our fellow guests just background noise to my heart racing every time I look at my husband.
“This is nice.”
I smile my appreciation because the intimacy, the location and the company is more than I might wish for.
“It is.”
“Why are we here?”
He leans across and laces his fingers with mine, staring into my eyes, commanding my attention.
“Because it struck me that we have never had a date. Not one you deserve, anyway. We know so much about one another, but I wanted to create happy memories to sit beside the unhappy ones. To balance them, cancel them out so we can focus on the good things in life rather than the bad.”
“Joseph.”
My eyes light with happiness as he kisses the back of my hand and his smile is almost hypnotic as he whispers, “I don’t want any secrets between us, angel. I want us to be a team forever. If I ever cause you to want to leave, I would have failed at life. Your mom’s marriage to your father was full of regrets,except for you. My parent’s marriage is a genuine one full of love, and you deserve that. I’m not my father, though. Loyalty is important to me, so there will be no other women in our marriage and definitely no other men.”
“Not even Su Yin.”
I’m not afraid to bring her into the conversation. She’s a part of my life I have yet to meet and his eyes darken and his jaw tenses and I wonder if he is ready to let go of her yet.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day, angel. I can’t make that promise, not yet anyway. Su Yin is an important part of my recovery, but when she next visits, I want you to be there too.”
“In the room?”
I’m stunned, and he nods, gripping my hand tightly. “No secrets, remember. I have a long way to go and with your help as well as hers, I believe it’s possible to accept the past and move on.”
This time I kiss his hand and smile against the flickering candle between us.
“This may be inappropriate, Joseph and definitely against my better judgment, but excuse me for saying, I could well be falling in love with you.”
The sudden spark in his eyes is mesmerizing as he kisses my hand and tightens his grip. His thumb rolling against the diamond ring on my finger, his attention all-encompassing as he whispers huskily, “I am afraid to love. To open my heart to the pain if it dies, if it is taken away, or if it chooses to leave.”
My heart crashes and burns, more out of sadness for him and he says fiercely, “I loved Zac with my entire heart and I never told him. Why would I? I love my parents, but love isn’t spoken of and as for my brothers, I kind of love them in an annoying way, but none of that compares to the way I could love you, Tiffany.”
“Could?”
I catch my breath and he nods. “I am holding myself from falling and clinging onto the ledge because if I fall it will be a hard landing. My love is fierce, possessive and destructive and you do not deserve that.”
“Then I will wait patiently for you to figure it out.”
I shrug. “I only said I could be, anyway. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
It’s important to lighten the atmosphere because Joseph is a complicated man who has many demons to slay before he can relax. I’m aware of that, but if the possibility of him falling in love with me is all I have, I’m good with that.
Our food arrives and we spend the rest of the meal in pleasant conversation. We talk about the food, the surroundings, his life in London and mine in Switzerland. We don’t talk about love, about murder, or retribution. Tonight is ours. Just a normal couple enjoying each other’s company. The perfect evening. The perfect life.
CHAPTER 44
JOSEPH
Ihad a good evening. We ate, danced and walked and it was so easy I almost forgot about the guards trailing us. It was just me and Tiffany, getting to know one another as a man and woman, a married couple, with none of the baggage of our situation to weigh us down.
