3. Gabriella
Gabriella
A laugh bubbled from my throat as I looked around the small bathroom, my body still quaking from my orgasm. “This isn’t exactly how I imagined my wedding day or its consummation.”
“I meant what I said. In five months, I’ll give you the wedding you deserve.”
A million thoughts cascaded through my mind, settling on the most important. I’d married Damien. Two weeks ago, I would have called him the devil. Now, we share a last name.
Swallowing, I felt the return of the heaviness in my chest. “I feel bad about the people who didn’t share our day. Your dad…” I shook my head. “My parents, Charlotte, Hunter, and Kensie.” My sister Charlotte. Her husband, Hunter, and their daughter, Kensie. “Niles and Jeremy.” More names came to mind.
Damien reached for my cheek. “In December, we will invite everyone you want.”
A legal ceremony.
That’s what we’d done.
A real ceremony in the future.
My mom would be upset, but then again, she always liked Damien.
Inclining my cheek toward his touch, I sighed, looking into the calming waters of his eyes. “I want Derek in attendance.”
Damien’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Me too.”
“Maybe we could keep our marriage to ourselves.”
“The board will need to know, to see proof.”
“We can swear them to secrecy—have them sign an NDA. That could give us five months.” I sighed. “If this doesn’t work, I don’t want the world to know I’m divorced.”
“You won’t be,” he said with steely determination.
“We could give my mom the illusion of planning my wedding.”
“To a man she probably hates.”
I shook my head. “I told my family the truth. I left you.” That made me think of Damien’s parents. “Oh God. Do Marsha and Derek hate me?”
“No. Like I said before, they always liked you, and fuck, you heard Dani. I think they’d take you over me.”
“What about Amber?” The question left a sour taste in my mouth.
His countenance immediately turned. “Amber is a conniving bitch. My parents know that…if you didn’t catch Mom’s venomous stares out there.”
“I was preoccupied with the absurdity that she and Darius married.”
“So are we.” Damien said.
“Can we keep it quiet?”
Damien nodded. “We can try.”
Lifting myself to my tiptoes, I kissed his cheek. “I’m not sorry.” I scanned Damien from his hair to his loafers. Despite his messy dark-golden mane, he looked as handsome and put-together as always. Me on the other hand…
Turning on the water, I covered my palms with soap and washed my hands. The bathroom didn’t appear dirty, but it was a hospital. As I dried them, I looked into the mirror, ran my fingers through my hair, and scanned over my clothes. “Do I look freshly fucked?”
Behind me, Damien grinned.
“Do I?” I asked again.
“You look radiant.” Damien leaned back, his gaze going over my butt. “Nice ass. No wet spot.”
I shook my head. “There is. I feel it.”
I felt more than the moisture. My core was reeling from the ferocity of Damien’s thrusts, and I was pretty sure my hips would be black-and-blue from the pounding against the sink. That didn’t mean I wasn’t also satisfied. I was—thoroughly. The anxiousness I felt as we arrived, the shock at Darius and Amber’s announcement, and my qualms about our ceremony were literally fucked out of me.
He smiled. “Good.”
Spinning toward him, I bathed in the glow of his smile. It was much better than the vibes he radiated on the plane and during our arrival. Lifting my hand to his cheek, I said, “You’re obnoxiously confident.”
Taking a few steps, Damien backed me up until my shoulders collided with the tile wall. “I’m confident that knowing my come is inside you makes me hard.” His menacing smile grew. “I like the idea of it there—on you, your thighs…and the other night, all over your stomach and tits.”
After the orgasm I’d just had, it seemed impossible for Damien to take me from satiated to horny in a matter of seconds, but if I was honest with myself, his cocky response was turning the dial, twisting my insides, and reminding me how great it felt to be at his side. Swallowing, I feigned being unaffected. “If you’re trying to get me pregnant, it won’t work.” I ran my hand over my left shoulder. “I still have the implant.”
“When is it due to be replaced?”
Squinting my eyes, I tried to remember. “End of this year.”
The blue of his eyes twinkled. “Coincidental timing.”
“One step at a time.”
Taking a step back, Damien removed his phone from his jean pocket and typed out a text. His navy stare met mine. “I’m texting Dani. If nothing has happened with Dad, I say we go to the cafeteria and by the time we return, the hickey I left on your neck won’t be as red.”
“What?” I said loudly, spinning toward the mirror and lifting my hair. My eyes searched my reflection.
“I’m kidding.”
His phone buzzed.
He shook his head. “Nothing new. Let’s go get a cup of coffee.”
As I turned to unlock the door, a rush of heat washed through me. “What if someone sees us coming from this bathroom together?”
“They’ll obviously know we fucked.”
“Wait. What? There could be other reasons that the two of us…” No, he was right. They would know. “Okay, stay in here. I’m going out first.”
Damien reached for my hand. “We’re walking out of here together with our heads held high. You, my dear, have the unique ability to calm me. You did that because before we came in here, I was ready to punch my brother. Your method of calming me is no one else’s business.” He left a kiss on the top of my head.
My chest warmed with his assessment.
I’d calmed him.
A romp in a public bathroom was a small price, especially with the orgasm I had, when it came to seeing his sexy smirk.
“Here goes,” I said, turning the bolt and opening the door.
After I peered out right and then left, the empty hallways filled me with a sigh of relief.
Damien led me toward the elevators. With his hand in the small of my back, we waited for an elevator.
“There you are. You both disappeared.”
The two of us turned to Damien’s sister.
“I just texted you. Has anything changed?” Damien asked.
“Nothing about Dad. I checked on Mom. She’s obviously stressed. Could I talk to you two?” She looked around. “Privately?”
Damien took a step back and nodded. “We were going to the cafeteria. Join us.”
As Dani nodded, the happiness she’d displayed in the chapel was replaced by the stress and worry of the last week. Her hair was piled on her head in a haphazard bun. She wasn’t wearing makeup, and her clothes were soft and comfortable. It was the dark circles beneath her bloodshot eyes that were the most telling.
None of us said a word as we descended to the ground floor. As we walked toward the cafeteria—both Damien and Dani seemed to know the way—we made small talk.
The Florida humidity.
Our dislike of hospital coffee.
A distrust of Darius and Amber.
Entering the cafeteria, Dani looked around at the tables. Given the late—or early—hour, most of the tables were empty. “Good,” she said. “I was afraid Darius and his new bride would be here.”
“They’re not with Mom?” Damien asked.
“No, I haven’t seen them since your ceremony.”
“I’d say that it’s shitty to get married while this is going on,” Damien said with a glance to me.
I shrugged before reaching for Dani’s hand. “That makes us shitty too.”
“No,” Dani said definitively.
Damien stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his blue jeans. Uncertainty showed in his expression as he changed the subject. “My mind is a mess. Days are blending together. How long has Dad been in surgery?”
“Going on six hours.” She looked from me to Damien and back to me. “Thank you for keeping him sane.”
“Wait a minute,” I replied. “I didn’t sign up for safeguarding his sanity. That would definitely require a renegotiation of terms and compensation.”
Dani smiled. “You two work out the details. I’m just saying you obviously have a positive effect.”
We stepped into the food area. The grill station was dark and empty. Only prepackaged food in an open refrigerator was available. Scanning the choices, I remembered the delicious meal at the Shermans’ home.
It seemed as if it had occurred weeks ago, not hours.
Forgoing food, we made our way to a row of coffee pots, each of us filling a cup. I added cream to mine. Dani skipped the cream and added sweetener. Damien drank his black.
“You might add sweetener,” Dani recommended. “It’s really bad.”
“I remember from last week,” Damien replied.
After Damien paid the cashier, the three of us found a table near large windows. The scene beyond the panes and palm fronds was a parking lot filled with cars. Tall light posts cast circles of illumination through the darkness and down to the pavement below.
Dani’s eyes narrowed and she straightened her neck. Looking at her brother, she insisted, “I support you, but if you don’t tell Ella about the addendum, I will.”
“Fuck,” Damien growled.
Demanding was definitely a Sinclair family trait.
I lifted my hand. “I know.”
Dani turned her tired eyes to me. “You know?”
“I do. It’s why I said we were engaged.” I shrugged. “Damien had asked earlier today. I hadn’t answered him until then.”
“You know and you went through with the wedding?” Dani asked.
Laying my hand on Damien’s knee below the table, he covered mine with his. “The addendum isn’t the only reason I went through with it,” I admitted.
After a smile, Dani rolled her eyes. “You know that’s why Amber married Darius.”
“We assumed,” Damien answered.
Dani let out a long breath and leaned back. “Apologies, brother. I didn’t trust you to be honest and forthcoming.”
Damien scoffed. “As long as Ella does.”
“I do.” I think . I didn’t say the last part.
Dani lifted her paper cup to her lips. Before taking a drink, she murmured, “Amber is a bitch.”
At least there were a few things these two siblings could agree upon.
“Do you think they’re really married?” Damien asked.
“I haven’t seen a marriage license, but that ring on her finger says they are.”
“Fuck,” Damien cursed under his breath. “I need to speak to Stephen. Amber said Gloria is calling a board meeting.” He stood, scooching his chair over the tile. “Dad doesn’t need to know any of this. I’m still CEO.” He pulled the phone from his jeans pocket. “I’m putting an end to this farce.”
Before Damien walked away, I noticed the return of his stress showing in the way his temples throbbed, his jaw turned rigid, and the tendons in his neck tightened.
“I’ll be back.”
We watched Damien walk toward an empty section of the cafeteria.
Once he turned away, Dani reached for my arm. “I’m sorry I didn’t speak up earlier about the addendum. This night has been a series of clusterfucks. Are you sure you’re okay with marrying him? I don’t want you hurt—again. Explain what’s changed between the two of you?”
Meeting her stare, I sighed. “I’m not sure I would classify my wedding as a clusterfuck, but in hindsight it was the cherry on the top.” I lifted my coffee to my lips. “As far as what’s changed, honestly, I’m not sure.”
She tilted her head.
Inhaling, I stared for a moment into my cup, watching the caramel-colored liquid. By the time I again met Dani’s stare, she was still patiently waiting for my answer. I lowered my voice. “You know I didn’t leave him because I didn’t love him.”
She nodded.
For a moment, I chewed my lower lip. “I wanted to forget him. Forget how much love we shared…and the passion.”
Dani smirked, the gleam in her eye reminding me of her brother’s. “Are you saying my brother is hard to forget?”
“Impossible.” I exhaled, relaxing my shoulders. “I care about him, Dani. I promise.” I lifted my gaze to where he was standing, still talking on his phone. “Right now, he’s about as vulnerable as I’ve ever known him to be. Is it wrong I want to help him?”
She shook her head. “Help him, Ella. Don’t change your expectations, and don’t expect to change him.”
“Maybe I’ve changed,” I surmised, thinking aloud. “Not my expectations, but who I am. I think I have.” I wasn’t the woman he dated years ago. I wasn’t his employee. The parameters had changed. “I know how hard he works. Darius doesn’t deserve to be put in charge of Sinclair Pharmaceuticals. If I can help Damien, I want to.”
“What does that mean?”
“I guess it means we will work to rekindle what we had.”
Dani nodded.
“Everyone’s focus should be Derek,” I said, repeating what Damien had said earlier.
“I support you both,” Dani said. Looking down at her phone, her eyes widened. “Mom said she wants us all upstairs right now.”
Right now.
There was no stopping the onslaught of dread in Marsha’s summons.