We sat together at the dining table, eating the fresh salads and sandwiches Patricia had prepared. We shared a bottle of wine and enjoyed the freshly baked bread from a recipe that had been in Patricia’s family for generations. The sun came through the window and made the room hot, but I knew Annabella loved the sunshine so I didn’t close the curtains.
Her hair was such a mess, it looked like it had gotten stuck in the spinning blades of a fan, and her baggy shirt had sweat stains because she was still warm from all the fucking we did. Her face was free of makeup, but she’d never looked more beautiful. She sipped her wine and smeared jam across her French bread before she took a loud bite, the crunch audible.
A part of me felt guilty for ditching Hades, but when I explained later why I’d bailed, he would understand. I never took a vacation or sick day, but after Annabella wanted to be with me, I didn’t want to go back to the real world until I was fully satisfied. I wanted to be in bed with her all the time, to catch up on all the time we’d lost.
I finished the last few bites of my food and spent my time staring at her, the beautiful brunette who fell in love with me for reasons I’d never understand. The gypsy said only one woman would love me for me, my soul and not my money. There was no doubt in my mind Annabella was the woman in that prophecy. And I somehow got her…despite that foreboding warning the gypsy had given to me.
I considered myself lucky to end up with her. I’d never imagined I’d fall in love at all, let alone with a woman who had already been married—twice. But it felt right. It felt true. And now all I had to do was be happy.
Well, I had to take care of a few things before that could really happen. It was easy to forget sometimes.
When I looked into her beautiful face, I forgot all about her ex-husband who wanted to kill me. I forgot Heath could be his ally. I forgot I had a target on my back and Liam would pull the trigger at the first opportunity.
But I didn’t want to think about that right now. I just wanted to look at her instead.
She smiled when she realized I was staring. She took another bite of her food, a subtle blush to her cheeks. “Yes?”
I couldn’t hide my own smile. “What?”
“Is there something I can help you with?”
“I can’t stare at you?” I grabbed my glass and took a drink. It was early in the day for wine, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t like I was drinking scotch. “You’re my woman. I can stare at you whenever I want.”
She finished her bite and couldn’t contain her playful smile. “That’s a two-way street.”
“I doubt you would ever want to stare at me as much as I want to stare at you, but I hope so.” I was a handsome man, fit and strong, not to mention rich, but I was nowhere near her stratosphere. She was perfect. I was flawed.
“So, you aren’t going to work today?”
I shook my head.
“What about tomorrow?”
“Why? Trying to get rid of me?”
“No.” She chuckled like my question was ridiculous. “I just want to know how long this is going to last.”
Forever, I hoped. “I’ll be home a few days. I never take time off, so I thought now would be a good time.”
Her plate was empty because she enjoyed Patricia’s cooking so much, and she continued to pour the wine like alcohol had no effect on her. She smiled between drinks, visibly pleased that I was there with her. “That makes me happy. I want to see you more…” She seemed to want to say more but kept it back. She was probably tired of being confined to the bedroom for weeks on end. She wanted to get out of the house, go out to dinner with me, travel with me. But she didn’t say that out loud because she didn’t want to ruin this moment. Like me, she wanted to continue to pretend that Liam wasn’t a problem, that we didn’t still need to find a solution so we could be together safely.
I wasn’t ready to deal with it either, so I put it to the back of my mind and decided to enjoy her instead.
I open a new bottle of scotch and poured myself a glass. My back was to the couches and the fire, while Annabella watched the movie on TV. We’d spent the whole day in bed, but now we both needed a rest. I capped the bottle then took a drink before I turned around.