Chapter 28
Light
Damon has not been around, but with his only stipulation surrounding the wedding being that we get married by the end of the month, which leaves me four weeks to plan, I don’t have much time to ponder his activities.
I know whatever he is doing involves the loose end messing with our happy ending—the person sending those texts.
But he assured me it would soon be over, so I left it to him.
He is still home every night, his arms drawing me close before he makes love to me like there's no tomorrow.
Or fucks me senselessly. We have been working through the sex positions I highlighted in my book, the one we attempted and succeeded at this morning, leaving my hamstrings screaming in protest even now as I walk down the passage to his office.
One I have commandeered as wedding planning HQ.
Dee will be over here soon, with the two kids helping me.
It was a big step for Damon, letting other people, besides me, into his space. But when he said, “Anything for you, rainbow,” and I could see the honesty in his gorgeous chocolate eyes, I knew he meant it. Any walls, when it involved me, were broken down.
I'm almost at his office when the buzzer for our penthouse rings.
I groan as I turn around, heading towards the door. Every step is painful but still not enough to make me regret the activities that caused it. The orgasm I had was beyond mind-blowing. It was like having an out-of-body experience. But then, every sexual experience with Damon was like that.
“I’m sorry, I’m early,” Dee says, smiling and not looking apologetic in the least bit. I look behind her, the suspiciously quiet atmosphere around her unusual. The only baggage she has on the small overnight bag slung over her shoulder.
“They’re not here,” she says excitedly as I move out of the doorway so she can enter.
“You are kidding me. My brother is going to handle the terrorists on his own?” I say, laughing when she raises her shoulders and her hands.
“That’s what I thought, but when Damon phoned us and suggested we have a girls’ night tonight, with him being out of town and all, Liam practically shooed me out the door. I barely had time to pack.”
Wait, Damon is out of town?
As if he is watching me, my phone rings, the caller ID of the devil himself popping up on the screen.
“You answer it, I’ll find the booze. It’s time to plan a wedding and have the first girls' night I have had in five years,” Dee beams, spinning around and heading to the kitchen.
“I wanted to tell you this morning, but you distracted me with that sweet cunt of yours, and I forgot.” Geezus Christ, I’ve accidentally hit answer and the speaker button simultaneously, Damon's sexy-as-hell voice booming through the quiet space like a loudspeaker.
I can hear Dee snorting from the kitchen as I blush a shade of red that could rival the red light in room one before hitting the speaker button.
“Well, at least Dee knows you are being serviced,” he jokes.
“That mouth of yours,” I scold, already getting wet just thinking of the dirty things he says.
“So, you’re going out of town?” I ask, changing the subject as I walk towards the kitchen, where I hear Dee humming, accompanied by the clink of glasses.
“Yes.” He doesn’t elaborate, and the way he says it is loaded.
“To tie up the loose end.”
“Yes.” His one-word answers say more than any full sentences would.
“When will you be back?”
“Tomorrow afternoon, latest, rainbow.” That means he wasn’t going far.
“You will come back to me. Promise.” It’s an order, the quiver in my voice telling him the alternative is unacceptable.
“Promise.” His voice is firm—no question of a doubt.
“Okay,” I say, shaking off any negative feelings. Damon always honors his promises. Especially to me.
“A surprise will be arriving in a few minutes. A little treat I arranged for your ladies' night. I know both of you haven’t had one in a while. And I want you to relax, Sienna. Have fun, let loose, and don’t think of anything but being in the moment.
When I’m back tomorrow, I will tell you everything. Deal?”
It sounded fair enough to me. There was no use in worrying about things I had no control over. It was a lesson he had taught me.
“Deal.”
“I love you, Damon.”
“I love you, rainbow.”
And then the line is dead .
The penthouse buzzer goes off again before I can head to the kitchen.
When I open the door, the team of smiling female faces, all dressed in pink uniforms and with the logo ‘Genevives Spa’ is not what I expect. They have equipment bags either in their hands or on the floor.
My confused expression prompts the woman in front to speak.
“Mr. Deangelo sent us. We're here for your pamper session, which includes a massage, facial, wax, anything and everything.
Once we're done, our stylists will take over to prepare for your evening out.” She hands me two tickets to a musical at The Barcelona, followed by a meal in their four-star Michelin restaurant.
Damon is replacing the memory of my ruined evening there, the one Julia tainted, with a new, better one.
“Wait. What?” Dee asks, taking the tickets from me.
“Tickets to this are like ten grand each. And a meal at The Barcelona. Oh my god, Si.”
We stand aside as the team pours into the penthouse, moving into the large sitting area to set up.
A half-hour later, Dee and I are face down on massage beds while an absolute angel kneads all the knots and tension out of my body.
“I think I’m in heaven,” Dee mumbles, her thoughts echoing mine.
By the time they are finished, my hamstrings feel so much better, and my body feels like mush, with the bones having disintegrated under the expert hands of my masseuse.
Dee is beaming as we turn over and start the next session of pampering, a facial followed by a mani and a pedi and then some landscaping.
By the time they are finished, we are perfection, from top to bottom. There is not a single hair out of place.
“This must be what celebrities feel like all the time,” Dee says, holding her hands up as she examines her nails, now painted in a stunning pastel pink.
When the buzzer sounds again, and a team of stylists enters, rolling in clothes racks filled with gorgeous dresses, shoes, and accessories, I feel like royalty.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this, Si,” Dee whispers, the smile on her relaxed face nearly splitting it in two.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love your brother and the kids, but this evening will stick with me forever.
” It would stick with me, too, not just because of my photographic memory.
I was having actual fun with another human being other than Damon for the first time in years, since James.
And now that I was having it, it made me think I should do things like this more often.
I had been pushing people away for so long that it took a stalker turned fiancé to make me see that. It was called healing. It had been happening gradually, and even with The Reaping in between, I was slowly finding myself again. And it felt great.
“Okay, well, I’ve decided on this one,” Dee says to the lady who is giving her suggestions on what best suits her body shape, skin tone, and hair color.
It is a beautiful maroon dress. I can tell it will look gorgeous on her.
I settle on a green dress, one that compliments my eyes and hair, according to the stylist allocated to me.
Once we have found the right pair of shoes and accessories to match, the entourage leaves, eyeing us skeptically when we tell them we will be fine getting dressed on our own.
I think they are worried that we will ruin our hair and makeup.
Dee squeals in delight, jumping around like a child at Christmas time before she undresses and slips on the dress with a price tag that induces nausea. Both our dresses do. This whole night does. But I push those feelings aside, determined to live in the moment like Damon said I should.
Half an hour later, we are in a limo, our driver none other than Bob who, was also in a tuxedo.
Meaning he would be accompanying us tonight.
Something that relieved me. While we were not exactly on full-on speaking terms, his permanent placement on Damon's team meant he was now at least greeting me.
I occasionally got what he might consider a smile, though it looked more like a grimace. Baby steps.
When we arrive at The Barcelona, the porte-cochère is again packed, and Bob has to park the limo a little further than he had hoped, his under breath muttering attesting to his discomfort with that. His eyes scan the area before he opens the door.
It doesn’t even make me nervous anymore. He was always like this. Careful. Meticulous. Jordan and Kai have already scoped out the place and are probably watching us now. Damon would make sure of that.
Dee squeals when she exits the vehicle and loops her arm through mine.
“This is amazing. We are going to have so much fun. I can’t wait to tell all my friends about this.”
“Oh Bob, here, take a photo of us.” She holds her phone out, Bob's expression so sour it makes me laugh. But he obliges, even counting to three in his gruff voice before taking it.
“Buckle up, Bob, that won't be the last one you take of us,” Dee jokes, elbowing him as we head toward the fancy entrance of the hotel.
We follow the other guests towards a large hall at the back of The Barcelona, where a concierge ushers us to a private booth on the top balcony. A private waiter attends to us, pouring champagne and offering a selection of entrees.
“This is amazing, Si. Honestly, I feel like I am in a dream.” She pinches herself and then laughs, and soon, I am joining her. She is the perfect companion for tonight. She is so happy and positive, and every new thing is experienced with wonder and awe.
The musical is phenomenal, and we are both crying by the time it ends. It was one of those star-struck lovers’ stories with a happy ending. I wonder if Damon purposefully chose it because of that.
After a quick trip to the powder room to repair the damage we have done to our makeup, we head off to eat the most fantastic meal I have ever had.
Dee and I catch up on everything I have missed over the last two years, and when she expresses how difficult her last pregnancy was, I feel bad.
I was so overwhelmed with James that I missed all of these things.
“Don’t do that. Don’t beat yourself up. Your plate was as full as mine. Speaking of plates, let's have dessert. Imagine the treat we are in for if the main was that amazing.” And just like that, she lightens the mood.
We are stuffed, tipsy, and giggling by the time we leave. It is one of the best nights of my life, aside from all the ones with Damon.
Damon. My mind shifts to him, and even though tonight has been a great distraction, which is what I think he intended, I can’t help but think about what is happening right now.
“He will be fine. Don’t worry. That man loves you so much that he wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Not if it meant leaving your side.” Dee grabs my hand and squeezes it reassuringly.
That better be true. I had lost one husband, one man I loved. I couldn’t lose another.
Later that night, when we finally climb into bed, that is the one thought that follows me to my dreams.