Milah tested the cupcakes to see if they were cold enough to have the frosting. They weren’t, but the cookies were ready to take out of the oven.
She slowly placed them on a cooling rack, being sure not to break them.
The scent of chocolate made her mouth water. This was what she’d been craving.
“What do you think your dad would think about our … situation?”
“He’d probably slap me silly.”
This made Milah pause, and she quickly turned toward him. “He would?”
“Yeah, I knock a girl up, and she doesn’t even have a ring on her finger.”
“Damon, I’m not going to marry you.”
“You will, when you’re ready and you see that we are good for each other.”
“Sex doesn’t work in a relationship. If it did, most men would marry their mistress.”
“Some men do, and let’s be fair, you’re not really my mistress.”
Milah frowned. “I have sex with you and we’re not married.”
“I’m not married. I’m not seeing you behind my wife’s back. Also, we both know I didn’t marry you to piss your father off. It was a power play.”
“Wow, you’re admitting that now.”
“I’ve got nothing to lose. It doesn’t mean that my end game wasn’t to marry you, Milah. I will. One day.”
“And you’re totally sure of yourself?”
“I know what I want, and I know who I want it with.”
“Oh, yeah, and what is that?”
“I want it all with you. Every single thing. I want to have this baby with you, grow old.”
“Damon, stop it. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s not going to work.”
“Take away the De Luca and Russo name. What do we have?” he asked.
“We have nothing. There is nothing between us.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I know when there is no one to get in our way, we have each other. We have passion. If you actually gave us a chance, I think we’d succeed.”
She nibbled on her lip, a little shocked. “Is that what you want? For us to succeed?”
“I lived in a home where my parents loved each other. There was no one else for either of them. I saw the way they both were with each other, and I want that. One day. I miss them both and I know they would be disappointed if I didn’t give it a proper shot with the woman carrying my child. You’re not a Russo to me, Milah. You’re the mother of my child, and if you would give me a chance, a real one, opening your heart to me, I think we could make this work.”
As far as honesty went, Damon shocked her.
Did he really feel this way? Should she trust him? Her child was growing inside her, getting bigger every single day.
She’d lived in a home where there was no love. No laughter. Her mother hating when her husband would get home. Milah didn’t want to live like that.
Would it be so bad to give Damon a shot?
****
Damon chuckled as he watched Milah walking across the edge of the waves. When he got back home, he was going to give Raoul a fucking bonus. He’s asked his friend what he would recommend to win over a woman determined not to want him.
A honeymoon without the wedding.
He could marry Milah in a heartbeat. He hadn’t lied about that. There were men willing to do whatever he asked for the right price. What he wanted was to make Milah fall in love with him. To marry him on her own terms.
The flowers hadn’t worked.
Neither had the jewelry.
Or the chocolates.
The late-night baking she enjoyed doing had seemed to work. He didn’t understand how.
When he’d talked with Raoul, his friend had suggested going away where it was just the two of them. Minimum guards.
Seeing as he had several villas around the world, it wasn’t a hardship to bring her to Italy, to his private villa that had a personal access to the beach. They were far enough away from anyone else, and he was free to just be with her.
There were no pressures of the city.
He had expected Milah to ask for Glory to come with them, but she hadn’t put in the request.
Glory told him everything about Milah. All the finer details he didn’t get to enjoy.
Milah’s love of literature and pop music. How she enjoyed dancing when she thought no one was watching.
He wanted Milah to break down those walls and finally open up to him, but with each step forward they seemed to take, another step was taken backward.
Watching as the sun started to set, he saw Milah put her hand on her stomach. She seemed to be doing this more often of late.
Did she love their child? Was she protective of him or her?