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talie

Damian:

Stuck in traffic. I shouldn’t be too much longer.

I slipped my phone back into my purse after reading his text. Him being late did nothing to bring down my mood. Not when I was at my favorite restaurant, and this time I could enjoy it since our families weren’t here.

“Welcome to La Casa .” The hostess smiled at me, grabbing a menu. “Do you have a reservation?”

“I’m sure my husband made one,” I answered. “Damian Valentin.”

“Mrs. Valentin, it’s so lovely to see you again. Your husband wanted to make sure you had the best table while waiting for him.” The owner, Lorenzo, stepped beside the hostess, taking the menu from her, giving me the same kind smile I remembered from last time. “Please, follow me.”

“Thank you.” I glanced around the cozy restaurant, taking in everything I’d missed last time.

“Here you are.” He set a menu down on the small table right near the window. “Don’t hesitate to ask for anything you need.”

I smiled at him as he pulled out my chair. “I appreciate that, thank you. I’m just excited to eat this delicious food again.”

“I’ll send over some appetizers while you wait.”

I watched him disappear around a corner as I hung my purse on the back of my chair. The restaurant was busy, everyone enjoying the food and atmosphere.

A warmth spread through me, making my heart skip, and I shifted in my chair, blowing out a long breath. It was far too easy to forget about the rest of my life when I was enjoying my time with Damian. Which I had been ever since we talked.

I’d gone to his club a couple times, and while I hadn’t gone on stage, I helped in the back.

Watching Damian in his element during the rehearsals, creating new dances, was one of my favorite things.

There was no doubt he loved his club. I’d even helped with new music, and Damian had loved all my choices.

The more time I spent there, the more I realized how important the club was to him. He was happy when he was there, and he worked his ass off, especially when he had to balance being in business with his father.

My phone dinged, and I looked at the new text, a frown forming at the unknown number. I opened the conversation.

Unknown:

Hello, Natalia. Your husband gave me your number. This is Georgia, and I’ve been wanting to meet again since the amazing seafood dinner you hosted. I would love to have dinner to talk more about your overseas adventures. Please let me know what day works for you, and I’ll fit it in my schedule.

It took me a moment to put her name to a face, but then I smiled.

She was the woman who was supposed to go into business with my father to invest in Charleston Tower.

I quickly texted her back, giving her a few days when I could meet with her.

In all the years of meeting people in my father’s life, she was the only person I enjoyed talking with.

After putting my phone away, I lazily looked around, only to freeze when I spotted a familiar face a couple of tables away. Jack was sitting by himself, and panic set in, wondering if my father-in-law was here since Jack was always with him. If that were the case, this night was about to be ruined.

He glanced up, meeting my gaze for a moment before giving me a small nod. After throwing some bills on the table, he got up, striding toward the exit. He only had a glass of water on the table. I frowned, watching him leave.

“Here you are.”

I raised my eyes to see Lorenzo approaching the table. The bottle of wine in his hand had me going still. He set the two long-stemmed glasses on the table. My heart tugged painfully as memories swarmed me.

“Is red okay?” Lorenzo asked, studying my reaction. “Damian orders it every time he comes in.”

I stared at the wine label. “He does?”

“He’s told me it’s his favorite.” He set the glasses down and began pouring one for me, giving me a kind smile. “It reminds him of his wife.”

My eyes snapped to his, shock coursing through my veins. “Damian said that?”

“What did I say?” Damian appeared behind Lorenzo before making his way toward me and brushing a kiss on my cheek. “Sorry I’m late.”

Straightening up, he froze at the sight of the wine bottle. It didn’t take long to curb his surprise, and he greeted Lorenzo warmly. “Thank you for saving the table for us.”

“Of course.” Lorenzo finished pouring the second glass before setting the bottle on the table. “You two enjoy.”

Damian unbuttoned his suit jacket before taking the seat across from me. My pulse was still beating wildly as I wrapped my fingers around the wine glass to take a sip.

“This is your favorite wine?” I questioned. “Since when?”

He chuckled. “When do you think, Talie? I think that night is one of my favorite memories.”

My stomach fluttered. It had been a month before my eighteenth birthday when we took wine from his father’s collection.

That night it had been only us two, and not our usual group of friends.

We’d spent hours dancing and making different mixes of music.

If I was being honest, it was one of my favorite memories too.

I swallowed thickly before saying what had been nagging me for years. “You didn’t kiss me that night.”

A muscle in his jaw clenched. “No, I didn’t.”

“Why?”

He sighed, leaning back while drumming his fingers on the table. Indecision was sprawled on his face, giving me a rare look at the emotions he usually hid. His reaction was causing my pulse to race.

“Why?” I repeated. “And why do you look scared to answer?”

He hesitated. “Did your father ever talk to you about…your marriage choices?”

Ice slid through my veins. “What?”

“Before you and I decided to get married, your dad already had a suitable match chosen for you.” Anger laced his tone, his eyes turning stormy. “I found out about it the night before we drank the wine.”

“Who was it?” I nearly whispered, unsure if I wanted to know.

“Charles Monroe.”

Bile rose up my throat. “Monroe? As in the CEO of the luxury hotel chain?”

“Yes,” he grumbled before taking a large sip of wine.

“He’s like twenty years older than me.” I bit my lip, hating how my chest tightened painfully. I wasn’t only shocked but hurt . My father would have married me off to that man? Damian was watching me carefully, and I shook my head. “I’ve met him. He treats women like my father does.”

“He is also one of the richest men in the city with connections that would have boosted your father’s many businesses and investments.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing we got married,” I muttered, a chill running down my spine at what my life could have been like. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Once we were married, it didn’t matter anymore.” His eyes met mine. “It only would have hurt you.”

“What does that have to do with you not kissing me?”

He shook his head, scrubbing a hand over his jaw. “Because of my selfishness.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means if I would have kissed you that night, it would have changed everything,” he stated, speaking slowly. “I wouldn’t have wanted to let you go.”

I sipped my wine, taking in his words. My heart was pattering away from airing out the past. Since we were on the topic, I needed to ask him one more question.

“The night you…” I trailed off, my heel bouncing under the table. “The night we got married, and you emailed the art school, declining my scholarship—I want to know why you did it without fighting back. Like you promised you would.”

“Fuck,” he breathed, a frown on his face. “I didn’t want to do it, Talie.”

“I’m figuring that out now. I still want to know why.”

“Charles fucking Monroe was why,” he grated out.

“The night before our wedding, my father sat me down, telling me exactly what would happen if we didn’t go through with it, or if we got our marriage annulled.

Your father would have married you off to him.

If I didn’t do what my dad asked me, then he would have realized I’d choose you first . ”

My heart hammered wildly. His words made his actions of that night obvious.

If my father—or his—believed Damian wouldn’t listen to them, then our marriage would be a burden, not the amazing business transaction they wanted.

They needed control, especially of Damian, since he was raised to follow in Christian’s footsteps.

God forbid if his son wanted his own life.

“He didn’t want me to have a wife I cared about,” Damian said quietly.

“He wanted me to marry a woman like my mother. I have a feeling he knew how I felt about you, which was why he made me do it. To prove his needs came before yours. Once the contracts were done, he couldn’t say no to us getting married.

His greed wouldn’t let him. Look at how well their companies are doing since they’ve begun working together. ”

My heart ached for both of us. The only reason we had a semblance of a normal childhood was because of our group of friends.

Our parents were never around unless it benefitted them for appearances, and it hadn’t changed as adults.

At least not for me. It was different for Damian since he worked with them, but if I had to guess, that was probably worse.

“I need to know if you’re going to forgive me for what I did.” His words had my eyes cutting back to his. “Trying to make this a real marriage won’t work if you never let that go.”

I straightened up. “Why didn’t you explain?”

“You left that night, Natalia.”

“You had my email. You could have told me.”

“Would you have come back?”

My heart lurched, and I opened my mouth, only to close it again, thinking about an honest answer.

“I don’t know,” I finally admitted. “I was happy to marry you, Damian. But for the first time ever, I had freedom to do anything?—”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you,” he interrupted, his gaze softening. “You were happy, Talie. I knew you weren’t at college, but whatever you were doing, it was something you enjoyed more than being here.”

Well, fuck me . I stared at him, my stomach fluttering in a way that had only happened a few times in my lifetime—and all those times had been from Damian.

Did I regret leaving five years ago? No.

It was the time I needed to find myself.

I started with nothing and became a well-known DJ, playing in the best clubs around Asia and Europe.

Maybe it wasn’t anything compared to my family’s money or business, but I loved it.

But now?

Part of me wanted to make this marriage work more every day I was home. It had been easy to push Damian out of my head when I was overseas, but spending all this time with him made that impossible. I didn’t want to do it anymore.

“Kiss me.” My demand flew from my mouth before I thought about it.

Damian was out of his seat, rounding the small table in a heartbeat, a smile tipping his lips. I turned toward him, and he gently grabbed my cheeks, tilting my head up.

“Last chance,” he murmured, leaning down until his eyes were level with mine. “Because doing this means you’re mine, Talie. No more running away from me.”

“Run away?” I couldn’t help but tease. “You mean I still have a chance to leave now?”

“No. I was trying to be a gentleman.”

His lips crashed onto mine, and I opened my mouth, letting him take control of the kiss.

His tongue danced with mine; a soft moan escaping me.

His subtle, fresh cologne surrounded me, and I deepened the kiss, tasting the red wine he drank on his lips.

Our previous kisses were nothing like this, even on our wedding day.

Every single one we shared in the past was for the public—this one was just for us.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt, but your food is here.”

Damian slowly pulled away, and I peeked around him to see the waitress holding a tray with plates of food on it.

“Thank you,” I said as she set it on the table.

“Can we please get boxes? We need to take it to go.” Damian pulled out his wallet, handing her his card. “And two bottles of this wine.”

“We have to go?” I asked, staring at him. “Where?”

“Home.” His eyes raked over my body. “I’m not done kissing you.”

I giggled. “Our food will get cold if you eat dessert first.”

“Then I’ll order more.”

The waitress came back with two boxes, and Damian reached for my plate. My phone vibrated, reminding me of the text I got earlier.

“You gave Georgia my phone number. Why?”

He looked up from the food. “She asked.”

“Isn’t she in business with my dad?”

“No.” His lips quirked up. “I don’t think she is a huge fan of our parents. But she liked you.”

“I liked meeting her too.”

He studied me for a second. “She was asking if you were looking for a job.”

“A job?” I repeated in surprise.

He nodded, continuing to put our food in the containers. “She got the feeling you didn’t have the option of working in the family business.”

“She assumed correctly,” I grumbled. “What does she do?”

“Marketing and promotion for businesses, mostly. She’s one of the best in the city.”

I leaned back, thinking about it. “I would rather work at your club. But I still want to see her again. Dinner would be fun.”

“Good. I want you at my club too.” He grinned as he stood, carrying the bag of our food. “Let’s go home, wife. I’m starving and want my dessert.”