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My eyes trained on hers, red and watery and ravaged with all the feelings.

“You’re a sight for my tired eyes first thing in the morning.

” I trailed my thumb across her temple, thankful for her skin against mine.

“It was a long damn night without you in my arms.” Her forced smile fell, eyes dropping to our feet.

“Would you mind if we made a cup of coffee? Help get the kinks out of these old bones before we have a talk about you locking me out all night?” “You don’t want to have coffee with me, trust me.

” She shook her head, backing off. “Like hell I don’t.

” I caught her hand, swirling her back into my chest where she belonged.

“I was just offering you a chance to collect your thoughts before we get into the good stuff.” I clasped her fingers with mine, dragging her into her tiny house alongside me.

“I may not look like the smartest tool in the shed, but after Layla was gone, Mom insisted I get myself into some grief counseling. I hated it at first, but it grew on me.” I paused, cupping her chin with my finger and forcing her gaze to meet mine.

“I learned a few things: that talkin’ is the only way through a problem, and that grief takes many forms.” The soft hollow of her throat moved as she tried to force down her emotions.

“You deserve the best, Arkin, and I’m not it.

Your family deserves better. Mine is a… nightmare .

” “Hey, I’m not interested in your family.

I’m only interested in you and me. There isn’t a thing you could say that could scare me off now.

” My teasing grin ticked to one side. “I slept on your front porch all night. I can’t imagine it gets much worse.

” Her gaze lingered, as if she were debating her next words.

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew.” “Try me.” I guided her to the couch, settling her beside me.

She pressed her lips together, hands twisting in her lap before she looked up, crestfallen expression on her face.

“I…I don’t know how to say this…” She looked like she was in physical pain.

“My family… My father…he was a monster.” I nodded, clasping a reassuring hand on her knee.

“He did a lot of things, bad things, and nobody knew he did them until one night when he was finally caught.” My brows furrowed together, trying to make sense of her words.

“Apparently college campuses were my father’s favorite place to hang out.

One night he assaulted a girl, and she fought back and I guess it made him angry.

When my father got like that, he…he became a monster.

” She was crying again, violent tears washing down her cheeks.

“That night was the eighth of September, exactly ten years ago, and that girl lost her life at my father’s hands.

” My face fell, shock turning my blood cold as I registered the details of her story.

“Th-That’s the night my sister was murdered.

” Daphne nodded, hands trembling. “I knew as soon as I saw her face… Her pretty, smiling face brought everything back to me. My mom tried to keep the newspaper headlines from me. She kept me in the dark mostly, but I remember seeing your sister’s face on the news when she was only a missing person.

” My heart clenched with the memory of the sadness in my mother’s eyes and the terror that burned behind my father’s.

“I’m so sorry, Arkin. My father stole your sister’s life, and you don’t deserve to be reminded of that pain every time you look at my face.

My mom changed our last name after it happened to try to escape it, but there’s no escaping the past. I understand if you never want to see me again.

” She jumped off the couch, running as fast as her feet could carry her in the opposite direction from me and down the hallway.

“Daphne, wait!” I shot off the couch after her, following her into the bathroom, where without thought, she flipped on the shower nozzle and thrust her body into the cold spray.

“I wish I could wash myself clean. I want to be good enough for you, Arkin. Your mom is so sweet and loving, and my family ripped your world apart. I can’t let you take care of me and pretend to love me—how could anyone love the daughter of a murderer?

” I yanked her into my arms, letting the water beat down on my back as I shielded her from the chill.

“Jesus, Daphne, how could I not love you?” I pulled her out of the shower, cutting the water behind us before I wrapped her in a towel.

“Apparently I haven't done my job very well.” I rubbed at her shaking shoulders. “What job?” she asked on a sob. “Of showing you every single moment of every day that you mean more than the world to me.” I caught her face, forcing her to look at me. “You make me a better man, and nothing makes me happier than showing you how much I love you.” I placed a tender kiss on her lips, my own emotion leaking at the corners of my eyes. “You scared the hell out of me—had me sleeping on the damn porch all night in case anything happened. I'm a controlling man and I’m working on that, but damn if I’ll have you suffering and in pain without me by your side doing everything in my power to make it right.” “I don’t deserve your love.

” She tried to squirm away. “You’re just too nice to see it now, but you will.

The resentment will build up—” “The hell it will. Lock me outside on the porch again all night, and then we can talk about resentment. Hell, woman, can’t you see, the flood waters could be nippin’ at our ankles and I’d still rather be by your side, paddling our boat to the nearest safe haven.

” I shook my head, wiping at my own stubborn tears.

“You’re my safe haven, Daphne. And I want to be yours.

” With my heart thundering a million fucking miles a second, I did the thing I’d been planning last night and dropped to one knee—both of us sopping wet and shivering with tears in our eyes.

“You aren’t your family, and you sure as hell aren’t your father.

” I gazed up at her, heart lighting on fire when our eyes caught.

“Our pasts brought us right here, but the past doesn’t have a damn thing to do with our future.

I love you so much it scares me, Daphne.

Nothing else matters but that fact.” I slipped the glittering diamond ring from my pocket, sliding it over the knuckles of her left ring finger, exactly where it belonged.

“Please, please, be my wife.” She was already crying fresh tears, bending to shroud herself in my body, arms trembling wildly around my neck.

“Say yes and promise me from this day forward you’ll never lock me out again.

” She was nodding as one of my hands swirled at her back in soothing movements, the other catching her chin to force her eyes on me.

“Say it.” Her grin split wide, eyes shimmering with radiance.

“Yes, I would love to be your wife, Arkin. I would love to be yours forever.” I clasped her face in my hands, and freezing cold on our knees, we kissed passionately.

“Forever, Peaches. ” F I R S T E P I L O G U E

D aphne – Three Years Later

“I

can’t take another round of this, Arkin,” I said, my voice shaky as I tried to hold my tears at bay.

For the last two years, we’d been trying to conceive a baby without any success.

We’d done two rounds of IVF that had been failures, and now we were waiting for the results of our third and final round.

I had three viable eggs left, and the doctor had planted them all in hopes that one of them would take.

“We can always adopt. There are kids out there who need a loving home, and we have love in spades,” he said, bringing a hand to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on my palm.

I knew that he wanted children more than anything.

The funny thing was that I never wanted any until he came into my life.

Now, with this man by my side, I wanted it all.

“Mr. And Mrs. Broderick, the doctor will see you now,” the nurse said.