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Then there is the way he looks at me. It is so direct, so sure. And in those pools of chocolate, I see what his words have vocalizednow and last night. He looks at me like a condemned man who has come to terms with the situation—revels in it even. I am his world.

Is he mine? If I plucked him out of my life now, how would I feel? Relieved? Happy? Content?

No. The thought brings me anguish and almost terror. Like the moment when James died. That feeling of knowing I would never hear his voice again. That I would never feel his warm touch against my skin. The sense of utter loss. That is what thinking of Damon not being in my life feels like. My heart even physically aches, and I palm the area as if it will soothe it.

No. I want this man with me. No matter what.

The absolute truth of the realization and the relief at having made a decision overwhelm me, consume me, and drown me.

I choose Damon.

Like the lifeline he is, I reach for him, my arms wrapping around his torso as my heart beats out of my chest.

Will I go to prison? Will I be locked up? Does this make me bad? Potentially, yes to all of these, but so what? If I chose him, I chose the possibility of things out of my control and on the opposite scale of normal—extreme, scary, and different.

Damon's arms wrap around me comfortingly, and his words allay all my unvoiced fears.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, Sienna.”

I breathe him in, letting his scent soothe my fears.

When I eventually pull back, his eyes roam my face, looking for affirmation that I believe him. That everything will be okay. He needs reassurance as much as I do.

“I know, Damon.”

Our moment is broken as Liam and Dee reappear, baby-free.

“Okay, break it up, you two. It’s not often we get to conversewith adults without the little devils running around. Another beer, Damon?” Liam asks, opening the fridge and hauling out two cold ones while Dee pours us another glass of wine.

“Sure.” Damon releases me, but his hand remains on my lower back as he takes the beer Liam offers. I worried they wouldn’t get along, especially if he formed an opinion from Brad, who clearly didn’t like Damon. But surprisingly, they got on like a house on fire.

As the evening progresses, and with my newfound acceptance of Damon and all that he is, the tension present at the start of the day fades—so much so that I almost delude myself into some semblance of normality. That is until Damon receives a mysterious call.

After excusing himself to take it, he returns wearing the tension I wish I didn’t already know well. I have seen it far too often, and when he announces that we unfortunately have to leave, I am not all that surprised.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay over? You have had a couple of drinks and shouldn’t be driving,” Dee says as we approach the front door.

“I have a driver here to fetch Sienna. I unfortunately have some work at the warehouse to attend to.” His eyes meet mine, and I immediately know that the work at the warehouse is probably not anything I wanted to be involved in.

“Thank you for a wonderful time. We will do this again soon. And I will see you at the club next week?” he says to Liam, who nods and smiles.

“What are you doing at the club?” I ask, a little worried as Liam would no doubt pick up on the fact that it wasn’t a regular club with regular activities.

“Don’t be so nosy, sis. Boy’s stuff,” he says, mimicking Dee's voice from earlier when he interrupted us in the kitchen.

I roll my eyes and then hug him.

“You look happy, sis. I’m glad. I want you to be happy.” His whispered words pull at my heartstrings, drawing tears to the surface. I hate that he worries about me, and I hate what I put him through after James died.

“I love you,” I say to him as we pull apart.

“I love you, sis.”

Dee hugs me, then rolls her eyes and smiles when George's crying reaches us. The sound fades as the door shuts behind us, returning me to reality.

“Is everything okay?” Damon guides me to one of the two cars waiting outside my brother's house.

Bob stands outside of one, the back door open and ready for me.