Davenport Harbor (Six Degrees Book 3) (40 page)

He
’
d come home every night, and every night he
’
d shown me how much he cared and wanted me. His body joined with mine and took us both to spectacular heights. But every morning, I woke up alone, and when I called him, Birdie told me he was in meetings or out of the office, and if I did catch him, he seemed distracted.

Waking up alone two days before the wedding only made my anxiety level move up a notch. Tons of people were running around downstairs, the sound of glass clattering as the caterers brought in dishes, glasses, and silverware. I stood at the window in our room. A beautiful white tent was set up and below it, a wooden floor was installed for just the night so that all our guests could dance the night away. John had insisted that Sabrina not skimp, telling her not to worry about the cost.

Just the thought of what everything was going to cost and how John was paying for it all without blinking, made my nerves turn into waves in the pit of my stomach. I glanced down at my ring. It was beautiful and exactly what I would have chosen for myself. But it was too much and I was worrying. Taking a deep breath, I changed and headed to grab Zoey to start our day.

Exiting Zoey
’
s room, Mrs. Bradley walked hand in hand with my beautiful girl in front of me as they headed down to the kitchen. I heard John
’
s deep voice in his office. The door was slightly open, so I could see Belle Garibaldi sitting across from him.

“
It
’
s going to be a lovely day Saturday.
”

“
It is,
”
his voice was deep and gruff sounding.

“
Forget what I said. I
’
m an idiot sometimes.
”

“
Hmm,
”
he grunted and she tilted her head at him.

“
Love can be a weakness if the other person doesn
’
t love you back. But John, she loves you back.
”

“
Belle
…”

“
And you
’
ve fallen for her.
”

“
Belle,
”
his deep voice warned.

“
Please. A blind person can see you love her.
”

“
I...Shit, Belle she
’
s..."

“
She's what?
”

“
Perfect,
”
he answered without hesitation and Belle laughed.

“
Honey, nobody's perfect.
”

“
Anne is. For me. She
’
s my one.
”

“
Have you told her that you love her?
”

“
No.
”

“
Why?
”
I wanted to move away and not listen, but it was like watching a car accident, I couldn't step away.

“
Why are you here?
”
He asked, completely irritated, trying to change the subject.

“
You forgot this last night after the meeting.
”

“
Thanks,
”
he told her and as he grabbed his wallet from her, my stomach flipped.
He
’
d gone to Shine last night? Had a meeting? Was that code for an escort?

“
Anne?
”
His voice snapped me out of my panic attack, and by the look on Belle
’
s face she knew I
’
d been listening.

“
Anne! You look beautiful! Well, I better get going. Give Zoey a cuddle,
”
she said, quickly standing and walking over to me and hugging me, then slipping out the door, closing it behind her with a wave to John.

John didn’t come over to me like he usually did when I walked into his office. He was still at his desk, staring at me, his expression unreadable.

“
You were at Shine last night?
”

“
Anne
…”
he started, but I shook my head. I turned around, because at that moment, there was too much in my head, wondering what his being there could mean.

“
Why?
”
I asked, straightening my back.

“
I wasn
’
t.
”
I turned to look at him, the expression on his face sincere.

“
But you were with Belle?
”

“
Anne
…”

“
Answer me.
”

“
Yes. I was at a meeting and she sat in on it. It was a late meeting. Off the books.
”
I turned to look at him as he stood up and watched me, and I asked him what I
’
d been wondering since he
’
d started to come home later.

“
Are you having cold feet?
”
I couldn’t help but blurt out.

“
What?
”
His lips twitched, but his eyes showed the surprise to my question.

“
You heard me.
”
Anger was starting to filter through me.

“
Jesus Christ.
”
He ran his hands through his hair.

“
You
’
re not answering me!
”
I accidentally yelled and his eyes finally met mine.

“
No, Kitten, I
’
m not having cold feet.
”
His dark eyes were warm and honest, but the uncertainty I
’
d been feeling these last couple of days was creating havoc in my mind.

“
Are you messing around?
”
I blurted out and watched his jaw twitch slightly.

“
Come here, Anne.
”
He asked softly. My heart was hammering in my chest.

“
No.
”

“
I
’
m not going to hurt you,
”
he told me unnecessarily.

“
I know! I know that!
”
My heart raced and my body was slightly shaky. "You'd never lay a hand on me, but you could still hurt me, so answer me."

“
Never.
”
His deep voice was sincere, his eyes trying to read what the hell was going on with me.
“
I
’
d never mess around on you and I will never hurt you.
”
His voice was soft.
“
This is ironic, coming from you.
”

“
What?
”

“
You want to talk about being able to hurt one another? Huh? You…" he pointed at me, and fear and a wave of loss fell over me.
What were we doing? Were we fighting?

“
You have all the power here, Anne. You have me by the balls, Kitten.
”
He pointed at me, shaking his head, and I took a step forward, but stopped when he looked at me. His eyes were sad and slightly tortured.
“
Come here,
”
he asked again, and my feet took me to him.

“
I love you,
”
I told him, hoping that he would say the words back.

“
Kitten.
”

“
Loving you makes me strong,
”
I whispered as his arms wrapped me up, cocooning me in his warmth and love even if he couldn’t say it out loud. He pulled us to his big leather chair, me on his lap, and it was like I couldn’t stop talking,
“
You make me stronger. Loving you
…
these last couple of days I thought I was somehow imagining things, making mountains out of mole hills
…”

“
Imagining what?
”
His deep voice asked as his huge beautiful body stiffened, going completely still, as if ready to brace for a hit.

“
Since…" I took a deep breath and touched the tips of my short hair.
“
After everything, you've been distant...
”

“
I asked you to marry me!
”
His voice was now slightly amused.

“
Yeah
…
.
”

“
Twice!
”
He reminded me as if that would somehow clarify things.

“
Exactly,
”
I sighed, burying my head into his shoulder where I couldn’t help but take in a deep breath.
“
We should have been closer these last couple of weeks. You asked me to marry you and you've done this hot and cold game with me...
”

“
I haven't
…”

“
You have!
”
My head popped up so that I could look at him.

“
You
’
ve been getting home later and later, you
’
re never in the office
…”
I held his shirt tightly.
“
You rush me off the phone
…”

“
I
’
ve been busy, Kitten, but I
’
ve been home every night
…”

“
Later and later.
”
His lips curled slightly up as if he was trying to fight to keep from smiling.

“
Are
you
having cold feet, baby?
”

“
No,
”
I immediately answered, and he leaned in to kiss me. His lips were on mine, nibbling and pulling my lower lip. He set me on the top of his desk, my ass at the edge of it, then stood and winked at me.

Silently, I watched him move his powerful body to the door and heard the distinct click of a lock. I watched him walk right back to me, his eyes on mine the entire time. Sitting back in his chair, his hands went to my thighs, spreading them open, so he could go between them. His large hands were holding to the sides of my waist.

“
I
’
ve been working on a couple of things. Things that normally would take a lot of time,
”
he admitted. My hands went to playing with his black tie that had tiny red pin stripes.

“
Like what?
”

“
Like surprises for you.
”
My cheeks warmed.
“
One of them being that I need to know that you two are protected. That
’
s why I have been in and out of the house so much.
”

John

“
What?
”
She asked, her eyes cautious, and I sighed, taking her hand in mine as I stared into her eyes, my eyes roaming lower to those damn lips of hers that drove me crazy.

“
I was going to save this for later, as a wedding gift. But
…”
I rolled my chair back, one hand going to the top drawer on the side of my desk, taking out two files and handing her one of them. I sat back, resting my hands together on my lap as I watched her.

“
I think I need to make clearer to you what I feel. You need this.
”
I tilted my head towards the file in her hand and she looked at it.

“
John
…”

“
Read the file, Kitten.
”

I watched as she opened the file with shaky hands as she unconsciously nibbled on her lower lip. Her beautiful face was frowning as she was flipping the pages. Then I watched the frown soften. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“
I needed this done now, not later. I wanted you to know that the Downeys have no control over you or Zoey. The past is just that.
”

“
How?
”
Her eyes met mine over the file and I smiled.

“
It doesn
’
t matter, it
’
s done.
”

“
John, they signed off on Blake
’
s parental rights?
”

“
With your permission I would like to adopt Zoey,
”
I interrupted her, but it was almost as if she didn
’
t hear me.

“
What did you have to do, for them to agree?
”
She whispered, her face slightly worried as her eyes searched mine.

“
It doesn
’
t matter.
”
I shrugged but she shook her head.

“
It does, John, these people
…”
her voice was slightly higher with worry.

“
Believe it or not, the Governor was pretty easy to talk into.
”

“
Did you blackmail him?
”
She blurted out, and I couldn’t stop the laughter that came out.

“
No. Blackmail a Governor? Anne, you have been watching too much TV.
”
She scowled at me, and I leaned in and kissed her full lips.

“
I don
’
t watch TV. You would tell me the truth?
”

“
He knew it was for the best. He agreed that the best thing for Zoey would be that he nor any Downey family memner wouldn’t contact her,
”
I admitted and then sighed.
“
He just asked us to send pictures of her when we could, and he
’
d like to see her grow up, even if only through pictures,
”
I told her, and she was looking at me as if she didn’t believe me.

“
So you don
’
t have to make a hefty donation to a re-election campaign?
”
She asked suspiciously, and I chuckled at her wild imagination, though I would have if he
’
d asked.