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“Not nearly as much as I love you, woman.”
“What does your father have to say about all this?”
I released a long exhale.
“My father was disappointed about the divorce initially, but not even a couple of weeks after I disclosed it to him, he supported me. He told me that while he loved that I made certain sacrifices to honor him, he respected more that I chose to be my own man and pursue my happiness.
“And your mom?”
“She stood by my side from the beginning.”
“That’s beautiful. I love that for you.”
“Well, they want to meet you.”
She laughed. “My family wants to meet you, as well. Oh, and definitely my friends.”
“You finally told them?”
She rolled her eyes. “I might have mentioned you a time or two to my parents and my sister. My best friends? Those girls are like two bloodhounds sniffing out the truth.”
“We’ll plan something. But in the meantime, I want you to come home, Giselle. I want you all to myself for a few days. I have lots of time to make up for.”
“That’syourhome, Casimir.”
“My home is wherever you are, sweetheart.”
Her smile was soft and bright and gave me hope for a better future.
Giselle
Two Months Later
“Baby, pullleez,” I whined and stretched my fingers out. When they gripped nothing but air, I snatched the pillow from his side of the bed and placed it over my head.
“Come on, Elle.” Casimir grunted and smacked me on the ass.
When my butt stung from his hit, I tossed the pillow off my head, sat up in bed, and glared at him. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“You promised, Giselle.”
“That was before you kept me up all night binge-watching all five of the Jason Bourne movies,” I whined.
He grinned at me and crawled onto the bed. I allowed the weight of his body to push me onto my back as he wrapped his arms around me.
“Aww, baby, you know you loved those movies as much as I did,” he whispered as he kissed me along my neck and face.
“I did, but I’m sleepy now.”
“I know, and we promised brunch for everyone, and they’ll be here by eleven.”
“What time is it now?” I groaned.
“Eight.”
“That’s three hours from now.”
“And we still have to run by the Farmer’s Market to pick up the fresh salmon,” he reminded me as his hands lifted my nightshirt.