10. Gabriella
Gabriella
E very single argument Dani had against hiring bodyguards, I agreed with. That said, I kept my word to Damien and argued his side of the debate. By the time we landed in Indianapolis, the discussion was over. After tomorrow’s board meeting, Dani and I would join Damien in the afternoon to contribute our opinions toward the hiring of our bodyguards.
“Join us for dinner?” Damien said to his sister as we waited for the cabin to open on the tarmac.
She shook her head. “I want to get home. Besides, you two are newlyweds. You don’t need a third wheel.”
Third.
I scoffed. “After tomorrow, it seems we’ll have five—wheels.”
Dani reached for my arm. “Your mission is to convince this overprotective oaf that the bodyguard thing is overreach.” She winked. “My money is on you, Ella.”
Looking up, I met Damien’s resolute stare and shook my head. “I think we should accept the inevitable and enjoy tonight as our last night of freedom.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Damien said as there was an audible pop from the opening door, and fresh warm air drifted into the cabin. “I’m not putting the two of you in prison.”
Dani smiled. “We could riot.”
The creases near Damien’s eyes and the tight muscles in his cheeks told me more than his words. I reached for his hand. “First, we should concentrate on tomorrow’s board meeting.”
He nodded. “I’d say our marriage is our ace in the hole, but it’s not. Darius and Amber know about it. I’m sure Gloria does too.”
We continued our conversation as we descended the steps and walked toward the two waiting cars. With the sun still high in the evening sky, the heat of the day radiated in waves over the blacktop tarmac. Yet as I lifted my chin to the summer breeze, the lack of humidity from Florida was refreshing.
“What do you think Darius and Amber have?” Dani asked. “To bring to the board.”
Damien’s jaw clenched. “I don’t know. I’ve been racking my brain. If their only play is Darius and Amber’s marriage, we already have them trumped. They know that. Why call an emergency meeting?”
“Because of Derek?” I offered.
“That doesn’t require a meeting,” Dani said. “An email of his status is sufficient.”
Damien inhaled. “I think we have to be prepared for anything.”
“I’m glad we have it narrowed down,” Dani said. “Try to get some sleep. I’ll see you both at the meeting.”
“I can’t attend,” I said. “I’m not a member of the executive board.”
“Of course you can,” Damien said. “You’re my wife and now a shareholder. You’re also our liaison with Beta Kappa Phi. You can explain the advantages of the campaign and how we anticipate that relationship increasing our consumer revenue.”
“Wait, you want me to talk and give a presentation? Tomorrow at nine in the morning?”
“I think you should be prepared.”
I shook my head. “Thanks for the advance warning.”
The driver opened the door to the back seat of the SUV.
“You’re welcome,” Damien self-contentedly replied as he helped me into the automobile.
I waited until the door was closed before turning to my husband. “Seriously, you could have said something earlier. I would have spent my time on the plane going over my notes from this past weekend.”
“I didn’t think of it until just now.”
“You are impossible to work for. This is why I thought being the campaign manager on this project was a bad idea.”
Instead of responding, Damien’s smile grew.
“What are you so smug about?” I asked.
His answer didn’t come in words as he reached for the back of my neck. Pulling me toward him, his lips took mine. Possessive and strong, he continued his advance. Our faces turned as we gasped for air. It was as the car began to move that I pushed against his hard chest. “That wasn’t an answer,” I managed to say, my lips still tingling from our encounter.
“It was.”
“A kiss is inappropriate during discussions of work.”
He shook his head and lowered his voice. “Nothing is inappropriate, Mrs. Sinclair. You’re now officially mine. I reserve the right to kiss you anytime I want.” His hand came to my knee and slid beneath the skirt of the sundress.
Using both hands, I stopped his progress. “Damien.”
His smile quirked. “What are you thinking about?”
“You,” I said in exasperation. “How could I be thinking of anything else?”
“Name the companies in the coalition.”
I shook my head. “What is this, a quiz?”
“Name the companies.”
Fine. I rattled off the list, “Sinclair, Wade, Broche, Moon, Perry, Holston, and McCree.”
“What is the goal of the campaign?”
“To increase awareness of said companies among medical facilities in exchange for the coalition’s support of Beta Kappa Phi.”
Damien sat back with a sigh. “Ella, you’re naturally amazing. I hadn’t thought about you addressing the executive board before, but even if I didn’t mention it until the meeting, you could still pull a presentation out of your sexy ass.”
Turning toward the windows, I reflected on what he’d just done. Admittedly, I felt better about the board meeting than I had a few minutes ago. I turned back. “Speaking of asses, you can be a real pain in it sometimes.”
“Be careful, Mrs. Sinclair. I’m once again imagining my handprint on yours.”
I shouldn’t let his sex-laden comments get to me. I shouldn’t be as easily distracted by the twinkle in his navy orbs, the possessiveness of his kiss, or the thoughts of the pleasure from the sting of his hand.
A sane woman would put a stop to his ways.
It was official: my sanity disappeared the moment I announced our engagement.
Our driver continued his silence as he navigated traffic, taking the familiar intrastate toward Carmel.
“Where are we going?” I asked, knowing I wanted to go to my house.
“First stop is our place.”
I scoffed. “Not narrowing it down.”
“My place. It’s pretty much as you remember it. I’m going to pack a few days’ worth of clothes and grab a few things from my office.” He lowered his volume. “And then the next stop is our place, formerly yours, where I’ll get to see my two favorite pussies.”
Shaking my head, I grinned. “Duchess will be happy to see you.”
“What about my other favorite pussy?”
“Oh, you know…trying to keep up with your insatiable hunger.”
He lifted my hand, entwining our fingers. “It is, after all, our honeymoon.”
Once we pulled up into the driveway of Damien’s house, I was struck with the realization we were married. A little late, I was aware. It was seeing his massive home that made the marriage real.
Stepping out to the pavers, I stared up at the beautiful house located in a prestigious small subdivision. I remembered when he bought the house. With four bedrooms and six bathrooms, it seemed huge—too much house for one man.
The driver helped Damien with our luggage, getting it inside the three-car garage before bidding us goodbye. We’d discussed earlier how Damien would drive us to my place.
“I’m surprised you’ve kept this big house,” I said as he opened the door leading into the massive kitchen. “I don’t think of you as someone who enjoys lawn care.”
“They’re called gardeners, and I pay them.”
“It’s still a lot of house.”
His gaze met mine. “Maybe I never gave up on why I bought it in the first place.”
I looked around at the pristine white cabinets, quartz countertops, and custom light fixtures. “I always loved this kitchen. Cooking in here was like cooking on one of those TV shows.” As I ran my fingertips over the cool countertop, I thought about his answer. “What did you never give up on?”
Damien took my hand and led me through the kitchen out into the two-story living room, complete with a stunning fireplace that went all the way up to the ceiling. Without a word, he continued up the stairs with the wrought-iron banister to the landing that looked down into the living room. It wasn’t until we were in the primary bedroom suite that he finally spoke.
Lifting his hand, he said, “Stay right where you are.”
I stood with my sandals on the plush carpet, swaying the skirt of my sundress as he walked to a tall chest of drawers and opened the top drawer.
It was as he removed a small box that my heart began to beat in double time.
As he turned my way, there was a turbulent new sea of emotions in his orbs with a spark of sunshine breaking through the clouds.
“Ella,” he said, his deep baritone voice reverberating through the cavernous room. “Nothing regarding our wedding was right or what you deserved. I wish with everything in me I would have offered this to you that starry night in Aruba.”
Tears filled my eyes.
This was silly. We were already married.
Maybe my emotions were too discombobulated to concentrate on our mixed-up timeline.
“Damien,” I said, my voice cracking.
Falling to one knee, Damien opened the small box, revealing a gorgeous round diamond solitaire on a white gold or platinum band. Simple and stunning. “I never gave up on us, Ella. If you remember, I bought this house a few months before our trip to Aruba. I had it all planned out.”
“You never let on.”
“Maybe we needed time apart to realize that we belong together.”
Swallowing my emotions, I nodded. “The ring is beautiful.”
“I bought it for you. After you left, I refused to think about it. I couldn’t bring myself to take it back. I also couldn’t imagine it being on anyone else’s finger. Ella, this ring is yours. I’m yours. You’re mine. Even though we’ve said our vows, you deserve to be asked the question: will you marry me?”
“I already did.”
Standing, Damien kissed me. A sweet and gentle sign of affection. It didn’t hold the same power as the kiss earlier in the car. Then again, he wasn’t trying to distract me. The kiss was a prelude to him sliding the diamond down my fourth finger, resting on top of his grandmother’s band.
“They don’t match,” he said. “We’ll get you a new band.”
I shook my head, staring down at the rings. “They’re beautiful together. I don’t want another band. This one is special. It was your nana’s, and Marsha wanted me to have it.”
“It’s your choice.”
“They’re perfect.”
Damien looked around the bedroom. “I’ll pack a few things to take to your condo.”
“I guess the good news is that we can drive to the office together.”
“Walk around and refresh your memory with the house. We can decide which place we should call home.”
There wasn’t really a choice. My condo was less than 2000 square feet. If I remembered correctly, this house was nearly 6000 square feet. As Damien packed his things, I made my way around the other bedrooms and all the way down to the lower level, the one below the first floor. A smile spread across my face as I recalled Damien’s excitement about this large room. With a wet bar that could be advertised as a second kitchen, a large screen television, exercise equipment, and a pool table, this man cave was all he said he wanted in a home.
I glanced down at my left hand.
He wanted more than that.
He wanted me.
“Ella,” Damien called from the main floor.
“I’m down here.” We met on the staircase. “What is it?” I asked, seeing the concern in his expression.
“Van just called. He’d called earlier, but with Dad…I hadn’t returned his call.”
My mind swirled with possibilities. “Is everything all right with Julia and the kids?”
“They’re fine. It’s something he learned about Dwain Welsh.”
“From Moon Medical?”
“I think we’ve discovered Darius and Amber’s plan.”