Page 95 of Free to Live

His face twists. “Was I completely wrong? Do you not feel the same way, sweetheart?”

Not feel the same way? “Tell me,” I plead.

Stepping close, he brushes the hair clinging to my face free. “The first moment you walked into the conference room, it was a kick to my heart. When I saw you, I fought against myself; I was so drawn to you. Then I heard you laugh. Unknowingly, you began to crack a wall I didn’t realize I had built around myself. But it wasn’t until you became my friend that I saw your soul. How could I not fall in love with that?” Brushing his lips across mine, he leans forward until our foreheads are touching. “I’m just the lucky bastard who managed to get you to fall in love right back.”

Tears are silently running down my face. His thumbs swipe them away. “I’d do it all again. Every moment of my life. Every ounce of pain just to have this single perfect moment.”

Joe inhales sharply. His eyes close under the force of his emotions.

“I love you, Joseph Bianco. And you should also know I’ve fallen in love with your daughter.” At his blinding smile, I reach up and cup his cheek. “It didn’t happen right away, but somewhere between that first family dinner and feeling your hand in a bucket of popcorn, you managed to chip away years’ worth of not believing I was worthy of love and instead gave me the greatest gift I’ve ever received.”

“What’s that, my love?” Just hearing those words from his lips makes me curl my body a little closer.

“Hope. Love gives you hope. Whether or not you ever were able to love me back, you gave me the hope that I was able to be loved.”

He growls. “If it takes the rest of my life, I will make you understand this is more than right. You are burned in my heart and my soul, Holly.”

Beseechingly, I tip my head back, pleading without words for him to kiss me.

He obliges.

For long moments, we’re wrapped in each other’s arms expressing our love with just our lips. It isn’t long before that’s not enough. Slowly, we stumble back toward the sofa. Piece by piece, we peel each other out of our clothes until there’s nothing between us but air.

When Joe enters me, I gasp. Hitching one leg around his hip, I wrap the other around his back to take the full measure of his thrusts. “Look at me, sweetheart,” he pants.

When my head tips down, I find his face a tender twist of love and need.

The way he’s always looked at me when he’s made love to me.

Tears spring to my eyes.

“Now you see it, don’t you?” he murmurs, sliding his hand beneath my knee. His hips can push in deeper at this angle.

“Yes,” I pant back. Sliding my hands into the hair at the nape of his neck, I ask, “Can you?”

He nods, too overcome to speak. Dropping his head down to my nipple, he suckles briefly before laying a kiss over my heart. His hips are still driving deeply into mine.

“God, Joe, I’m so…” And I barely get that out before I tighten around him. I moan my release softly in his ear.

I feel Joe lengthen a little inside me before he begins spurting hotly, his climax seconds behind my own. When he comes down from experiencing his own pleasure, his arms tremble before he relaxes some of his weight down on me.

We begin kissing again as soon as our mouths get close.

“I love you,” I whisper, overjoyed at being able to say it.

“I love you, Hols. No matter what.”

52

Joseph

Two weeks later, I stride into The Coffee Shop with Mary’s journal clutched in my hand. I was surprised when I received the call last night from Seth asking to meet me so he could read it. He offered to come to the house, but I stopped that idea. Holly agreed to take Grace to the park with Ali, Cassidy, and their kids, but just in case they came back early, I didn’t want Grace to walk into ugly vibes.

If I have my way, Grace will never believe my relationship with her mother was anything other than a fairy tale.

Seth readily agreed when I explained why I wanted to keep this out of the house, frankly surprising the hell out of me.

Holly’s been nothing but supportive. It’s been incredible having her know everything, being able to lay out all my reasons for preserving Mary’s memory for Grace. I’ve been able to talk through the conflict of loving her and my anger at finding out she was so insecure over our relationship, she felt the needed to hold on to me by getting pregnant.