Page 91 of Damiano De Luca (The Five Syndicates)
“I want you to realize how much I love you.”
“I do.”
How the hell could I not when I loved him so much, I knew that words would never adequately explain how I felt. I refused to believe he didn’t feel the same way. He was the right guy with the wrong timing, and I knew deep down that he deserved a second chance, and a third, and a fourth, and more, until we worked. But I, fearless Renata Vitali, was too chicken to take the leap.
“I don’t think you do, Princess.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me up until we stood face to face, my body between his legs, and his arm wrapped around my back. “I love you. Every good memory I have is with you. Every breath I take is for you. Every dream I have is featuring you. It’s. All. You. From the second I caught you on my bed and you stole my fucking phone, I was yours. I can’t let ten more years go by, Renata. The last ten years nearly destroyed me. I searched for you. Spent millions searching. Took time off to question anyone and everyone I could. Nearly started territorial wars trying to find you. And every night, I’d go to bed wondering if I was searching hard enough. My favorite part of the day was when I went to bed and dreamed of you. I’d lay on my empty sheets, wondering how ten years have changed you. Were you taller? Did you still dye your hair god awful jaundiced corpse yellow? Did you still live in sweats twenty-four seven? Did you still stay up late reading classics you’ve already read a million times before? My dreams always filled in the missing pieces, but they were never enough. When I woke up, you were never there, and I had to wait till nighttime to see you in my dreams again. I know you’re it for me because every time I do something that should make me happy, I’m not fucking happy, because there’s no greater happiness than being with you.”
The first tear slipped past as he put into words everything I’d felt over the past ten years. Everything I tried to bury inside me. He didn’t give me time to fully process his words before he handed me something.
A photograph.
I took it from him and stared, unsure what I was looking at. A close up to a pile of ruins. Chunks of dark wood. Some cracked marble. Was this a junkyard?
I glanced back up at him. “What is this?” My eyes returned to the photograph as I stared, oddly transfixed by the destruction.
“My dad’s house.”
My head shot back up, and I swallowed. “What?”
Our library.
He’d destroyed our library.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
“I moved into the lake house in Oklahoma.”
“That’s great.” I cleared my throat, my heart withering
at the thought of all those memories destroyed.
You still fucking care, Renata.
I tried again, hoping I was at least half convincing in my false happiness. “I’m happy for you.” I tried to be. I really tried.
“I moved it.”
“What?”
“I moved the library into the lake house.”
I shook my head. “What? How?”
“I had the entire thing cut out and shipped to Oklahoma, where I built it into the house as an add on, right next to the library you renovated. The old with the new. I’m ready to move on, Princess. I destroyed Dad’s place, and the only things I’ve taken with me are the good memories. Our library is sitting there, in my house, waiting for you to make more memories. Make more memories with me, Ren. Let me be the Day to your Knight again. Let me prove to you that we’re fate.”
Holy hell, this was him fighting for me.
I just had to leap.
I opened my mouth to speak. Fear gripped my muscles. My eyes met his, took in his expression, and I knew I was making the right decision.
Deception isn’t black and white. Sometimes, there’s more to the story. Sometimes, it’s the only step to overcome before your happily ever after.
Parker S. Huntington
One Year Later
I remind myself that I pretty much live with a ninja as I tiptoe down the stairs and into the library. Flicking on the light, I scour the shelves for the paperback I want and head for the divan from Devils Ridge.
