Page 54 of Nolan (The Doherty Mafia)
I shook my head, rubbing my face with the back of my hand.
“No! That is not what I want. I don’t want Aldo alive. I’m glad he’s dead. He deserves to be dead. Reese told me everything. I know what he did to my mother, what he did to her and to your family, to other people in this town. I now know who my father is and I don’t mourn for him.” My voice was shrill and shaky as I spoke.
I was still crying, so it was difficult to get all the words out clearly.
“Then why are you crying? Tell me what I can do to make you stop crying, Amelia,” he said, pulling me to his chest again.
I buried my face in the only place I ever wanted to be—on his body. His shoulder was damp from my tears now but he didn’t seem to notice.
“I’m crying because I’m relieved, and I’m crying because I’m happy. I thought you were done with me. I thought you’d kick me out and you’d never trust me. But you said you love me…”
He hooked a finger under my chin to tilt my face up towards him.
He was so handsome I thought my knees would buckle again. I probably would’ve sunk to the floor if it wasn’t for Nolan’s strong arms holding me up.
“I do love you, Amelia. It sounds crazy to me too, but I can’t deny it anymore. I want to be with you and it’s not a mistake.”
Then he leaned in to kiss me and I parted my lips so his tongue could slip in. We kissed hard and we kissed long.
“I’m in love with you too,” I pulled away to say.
Nolan cradled my face gently while he stared into my eyes. I didn’t know he was capable of being this gentle, but then again, I also knew there was still so much left for me to discover about him. I hadn’t even scratched the surface on him yet.
“I’m sorry you hesitated in shooting Aldo because of me,” I said.
Nolan kissed my forehead and I was filled with his warmth.
“I know how much it meant to you.”
“It’s not your fault. You didn’t choose to have him as your father. Nobody in this world would choose him as their father…and if I didn’t give a shit about you, I would’ve pulled the trigger in a split-second.”
“I just want you to know that I’m happy with the outcome. Now that I know the truth about him and how he manipulated me, I don’t feel any sadness that he’s dead. We never had a relationship because he never came for me. It’s highly likely that he’d always known where I was all these years, but he didn’t need me back then.”
“You would’ve been nothing more than a liability.”
I nodded. Things had become so clear to me now. My whole life started to make sense.
“He used me. He never wanted to be a father. He didn’t want a daughter. He just wanted a pawn. So, I’m happy he’s dead.”
“We couldn’t have found him without you.”
“If you hadn’t followed me to the house, you mean?”
Nolan smiled and we kissed again.
“I’m glad you followed me today. He could have killed me. I don’t think he would’ve blinked once if he had to make that decision, and maybe that was his plan all along.”
“It’s a good thing you didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him. That you didn’t get to personally get to know him well.”
Nolan was right about that too. I didn’t feel an actual connection with him. Not the kind I felt with Reese from the moment we met.
“I think I’ll be okay without him,” I said with a smirk.
I weaved my fingers with Nolan’s.
“Do you think this could actually work? Do you think you’ll be able to trust me the way you should trust the girl in your life?”
Nolan held my gaze strong, not flinching or looking away. He wanted me to see and know that he meant every word of what he’d said.
“I trust you with my life, Amelia. I trust you with everything. I was pissed off. I’m sorry I tied you up. I didn’t know the full story, but now I know it all. I love you, I trust you. I want to have a life with you.”
Those happy tears stung the back of my eyelids again, but this time I pushed them back and broke into a loud happy giggle instead.
Twenty-Eight
Nolan
The last time I met my whole family together—I fought with them. In fact, it felt like I’d fought with them pretty often lately. But my dad called me personally and said that I needed to show up at the family home and that I was supposed to bring Amelia with me.
It was the morning after the shootout. Amelia and I hadn’t spent enough time together. Most importantly, I hadn’t prepared her for what was potentially headed our way. I didn’t know how the family would take all the latest developments in the story. Reese would’ve told Killian everything by now and he would’ve informed the family.
