Chapter Twenty-Seven
When I finally wake up, the bedroom was bathed in pitch-black shadow. Outside the window, the city lights flicker in the dark.?
Mitchell had undeniably done a absolute number on me.
I slowly push myself up off the mattress, my muscles trembling like jelly and my knees feeling completely shot. Shuffling my feet, I made my way out into the warm glow of the living room. Bear was sitting casually on the couch, watching me walk in. The second his emerald eyes catch sight of me, a dark, wickedly satisfied smirk spread across his handsome face.
He reaches out, grabbing my wrist and pulling my soft frame straight down into his lap.
The exact second I settle against him, I feel the unmistakable, solid press of his length hard against my thighs.
“No more,” I pant out weakly, leaning back against his broad chest. “I physically cannot.”
“Not today, Daniella,” he murmurs, his deep voice vibrating right against my spine. “I just genuinely can’t help the reaction when you walk around completely naked.”
I let out a soft chuckle, relaxing into his heat and laying my head flat against his broad shoulder. “Sorry.”
“Don’t ever be sorry,” he whispers, his large hand resting gently on my hip. “Are you sore?”
I look up at him, narrowing my eyes into a dry, unamused glare. “Just a little bit, Mitchell.”
Bear threw his head back, letting out a loud, genuine laugh that made my heart swell. “Sorry,” he offers, not looking even remotely remorseful.
“You are so not sorry,” I scoff, playfully crossing my arms over my chest.
“No, I’m really not,” he admits smoothly, his smirk deepening as he leans down to brush his lips against my temple. “You just taste completely divine.”
“Stop,” I whine quietly, feeling a sudden, warm blush creeping right up my neck and into my cheeks.
“There is absolutely no need to be embarrassed,” he teases softly, his fingers lightly tracing patterns over my hip. “I’m sure I taste pretty damn good too.”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t even know,” I retort playfully, glancing up at him. “You never actually let me swallow.”
Bear threw his head back and roared with laughter—a deep, booming, uninhibited sound that completely filled the quiet apartment. It was easily the best sound in the entire world.
He calms down, looking into my eyes with an intensity that completely took my breath away. “I love you so much, Daniella.”
“I love you too, Mitchell,” I whisper back. I lean up, pressing a sweet, lingering kiss to his smiling mouth.
----
The very next morning, Mitchell and I dress up in our best Monday casual outfits for a double-date brunch with my dad and his new girlfriend.
Jasmin was the stunning bridesmaid from my Aunt Lydia’s wedding, and honestly, I was over the moon for my dad. Aunt Lydia and Jasmin worked together at the same firm—they were both high-powered corporate lawyers—and had become incredibly close friends through work before my dad ever entered the picture.
Hand in hand, Bear and I push open the heavy glass doors of the upscale downtown café. It didn’t take long to spot my dad and Jasmin already comfortably seated at a sunlit corner booth waiting for us.
The second we walk over, Jasmin stands up with a warm smile, pulling me into a sweet, genuine hug, while my dad and Mitchell exchange a firm, respectable handshake.
“It is so wonderful to see you again, Danny,” Jasmin says warmly, pulling back with a playful glint in her eyes. “Though I have to admit, I’m deeply hoping I don’t have to watch you violently punch your ex-boyfriend in the face this time around.”
“Hey, no promises,” I tease back with a smirk.
We both giggle, turning back toward the table where the two men were already deeply engrossed in an intense conversation about truck engines and horsepower. Of fucking course, they were.
We all take our seats around the table, and I hide a small smile as I watch my dad smoothly wrap his arm around Jasmin’s shoulders, pulling her just a little bit closer to his side. Sly old man.
“So, how have you two been holding up since the wedding chaos?” Dad asks, perusing his breakfast menu.
“We’ve been really good,” I answer smoothly, taking a sip of my iced coffee. “Bear might be getting another niece or nephew in the near future.”
My dad paused, looking up with raised eyebrows. “Wait, Jay?”
I giggled, shaking my head. “No, Mac again.”
“Ah, very nice! Good for them,” Dad nods approvingly. “How are things going with school, kiddo?”
“I officially passed all my classes for the semester,” I say proudly. “I get a tiny two-week break before classes kick off again.”
“That’s fantastic, Danny,” Dad beams. He leans back in his chair, clearing his throat with a subtle puff of his chest. “Well... on my end, I actually just submitted my formal application for the city commissioner position.”
My jaw drops, my eyes widening. “Oh my god, Dad! That’s incredible!”
“Now, hold your horses, I haven’t actually gotten the job,” Dad states humbly, though a proud smile tugged at his lips. “Not yet anyway.”
“Well, I really, really hope you get it,” I say genuinely.
Jasmin smiles, shifting her gaze across the table to my dark-haired boyfriend. “And what about you, Bear? What line of work are you in?”
“I’m a mechanic,” Mitchell answers simply, his deep voice smooth and respectful.
“Oh, brilliant!” Jasmin chimes in, leaning forward. “Maybe I can convince you to take a look at my car sometime soon. It keeps making this incredibly bizarre clunking sound every time I drive.”
“You mean the sound of you accidentally slamming on the accelerator instead of the brakes?” Dad jokes dryly.
Jasmin whips her head around, nudging his ribs with her elbow. “Oh, very funny, Nick.”
My dad chuckles, taking a sip of his black coffee before his expression shifts into a slightly more cautious tone. “Have you... heard anything at all from your mother lately, Danny?”
“Sadly, no,” I say, letting out a dramatically fake pout. Beside me, Bear let out a low, muffled chuckle into his napkin.
“What about Jason?” Dad presses.
“Not a single word,” I state firmly.
Jasmin looks between us, her brow furrowing slightly. “Wait... Jason is the ex-boyfriend you punched at the reception?”
“The very same,” I say proudly, taking another sip of my coffee.
I suddenly notice my dad glaring intensely at my right hand, his eyes locked onto something with a sudden, sharp focus. “What?” I ask, tensing slightly.
“Is that... a tattoo on your wrist, Daniella?”
Oh, shit.
“Well... yes,” I say awkwardly, lifting my right wrist so he could see the fresh ink. “It’s a bear,” I state, tracing the clean, detailed silhouette walking through the pine forest.
Dad stares at it for a long beat. “For... Bear?”
“Yeah,” I let out a nervous laugh. “His brother Darren did it for me at the studio.”
My dad crosses his arms, his stern police-officer gaze locking onto Mitchell. “And what exactly happens if you two end up breaking up?”
“Well, we won’t,” I state firmly, not wavering for a second.
“And how can you possibly be so sure about that at your age?” Dad challenges gently.
Beside me, Mitchell shifts in his seat. He gently lays his broad hand over mine, looking my father dead in the eye. “I’ll take this one, Nick,” he says softly. He clears his throat, his deep voice steady and entirely unwavering. “Nick, I love your daughter with everything I have. I physically cannot see my life without her in it. She brings a light into my world that I never thought I’d ever get to experience, and I will spend every single day making sure she is protected and taken care of. And... on a purely practical note, I also don’t find her mother remotely attractive.”
I burst into a fit of giggles, and even my dad couldn’t stop the small, appreciative smirk from breaking across his face.
“Well... I suppose that last point is a pretty damn solid argument,” Dad mutters, shaking his head with a laugh.
Mitchell didn’t look away. His grip on my hand tightens just a fraction, his voice dropping into a quiet, profound reverence. “Honestly, sir... I fully intend on marrying her one day.”
The entire table went dead silent. My dad and I both stare at Mitchell in utter, breathless shock.
“You... what?” I whisper, my heart hammering violently against my ribs as I look up into his striking emerald eyes.
“Not right this second, obviously,” he states smoothly, turning his head to look directly at me, his gaze swimming with pure, unadulterated devotion. “You have to finish university first. But Daniella... I see my entire future with you. I see myself marrying you.”
Jasmin let out a soft, starry-eyed aww, placing a hand over her heart.
“I love you so much, Daniella,” Mitchell whispers, leaning in to press a tender, deeply lingering kiss to my lips right there in the middle of the café.
A radiant, unstoppable smile broke across my face against his mouth. “I love you too, Bear.”
Sitting there in the warm sunlight, wrapped securely in the arms of the man who had completely reshaped my entire world, I couldn’t help but marvel at how far I had come. I couldn’t believe that all it had taken to finally find true, unfiltered happiness was losing a toxic ex-boyfriend to my own mother.
I guess the old saying is completely right: you can’t force or desperately seek out true happiness. It has to come out of nowhere and seek you.
And mine had a name.
His name was Bear Roberts.
The End