“If you want what’s best for her, then you will agree to this and stay out of her life,” I say softly. “She’s a good girl, Alexei. She’s smart, and she’s fiercely loyal. She feels bad for betraying you, in a situation that you never should’ve put her in, in the first place. Do you have any idea the damage you’ve caused her?” I walk past him, not waiting for him to answer. “Please, let me try to undo some of that damage,” I say. “You owe her that much.”
He nods and stands up, looking at me gravely.
“If this is what she wants, then I’ll agree,” he says, holding my gaze. “But on one condition.”
“And what’s that?” I ask.
“That she sees me. If this is truly what she wants, then I want to hear it from her.”
Twenty
Nina
“What?” I squeak.
I shake my head so violently that I’m afraid I’m going to cause myself some serious damage. “Uh-huh. No way. I can’t. I can’t go back there and see him, Adam. I told you that.” I’m breathing so fast that I’m nearly hyperventilating. How can he even suggest this? He takes me by the shoulders and forces me to look at him. “You said you’d deal with it, Adam.”
“Nina, you need to do this,” he urges me. “Not for him. Not for me, but for you. You need to do it for yourself. It’s the only way you’re ever going to get past this.”
“There has to be another way…” I mutter, but even as I say it, I know he’s right.
“You’ll be forever thinking and wondering, unless you do this. The what if’s will haunt you, Nina. Trust me, you know they will.”
“I can’t,” I whisper, wishing like hell I felt strong enough to do this.
“Yes, you can. You’re so much stronger than you think.” He growls. “I wish, just for a moment, you could see how wonderful and strong you are.”
I sit down on the bed, my hands wedged between my thighs as I stare at the floor.
“What if he changes my mind?” It’s what scares me the most. That I’ll get there and he’ll convince me that my place is back at home. I’m terrified of the control he has over me.
“I’ll be right there with you, Nina. He can’t change your mind unless that’s what you want. Is that what you want? Do you want to go back to your family?” he asks. I shake my head firmly. I don’t even need to think about that.
“No. I want you. You’re my family now.”
“Then that’s all you have to tell him.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I mumble. I can barely breathe. Just as I feel like I’m about to faint, Adam takes my hand to steady me. I glance at him, the strength in his eyes spurring me on.
“You’ll be fine,” he assures me. “I’m right here, okay? Stay strong and keep your mind focused on what you want.” I nod, close my eyes, and take a deep breath.
“Okay. Do it. Knock on the door,” I tell him.
He knocks on the heavy door that I’ve walked through so many times while I stand next to him, running over in my head what I’m going to say. The door swings open and my father stands there, staring at me. I want to laugh, because I can’t remember the last time he’s answered the door himself. He must be really annoyed at me. I stare at him, unsure if he’s angry, upset, or happy to see me.
“Nina,” he mutters. “Is this really what you want?”
“Yes,” I whisper.
He leads us inside, to the living room, where he sits down and shakes his head. I glance around, everything exactly as I remember it, yet nothing quite the same.
“Why?” he asks, his expression perplexed.
“What do you mean, why?” I say, shocked that he doesn’t understand why I’m doing this. “My whole life was about you, Dad. Either I was being sheltered from whatever it is that you do, or feeling like I was responsible for cleaning up your mess.”
“I never wanted you to feel that way—”
“But I did. Isn’t that the point? Whether or not you meant it, that’s the life you created for me.” Tears sting my eyes as I look at him. “How did you expect me to feel when you forced me into marrying someone I didn’t want to marry?”
“It was the only way,” he says, his voice desperate.
“No, it was your only way,” I say quietly.
All the anger and resentment I’ve been feeling toward my father is surfacing, but I feel surprisingly calm. Adam was right. I needed to do this. I needed to confront him, because I need him to understand how he’s led me to this.
“Surely we can work through this, Nina? I love you. You’re my daughter. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” he asks.
“It means everything. I have to do this so I don’t end up hating you,” I whisper. My eyes fall on the folder sitting on the coffee table beside his chair. He glances at it, and I see something pass through his eyes that I’ve never seen before. Shame.
“Did you read it?” he asks, his voice gruff.
I shake my head. “For that very reason, I didn’t. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to give myself a reason to hate you.”
“Any more than you do already, you mean,” he says. I don’t reply, and he sighs. “What do you want from me?” he asks finally. “I leave you alone, and that’s it?”
“I just want you to let me go. I love you, Dad, but I need to live my life, and I need to do it on my own, away from here, without having to look over my shoulder every five minutes.” I pause and glance at Adam. “I can’t drag the people I love into this world and risk them getting hurt. I’d rather shut myself off from them than risk doing that.”
He turns to Adam and frowns. “You say you love my daughter? But do you think you’re capable of giving her everything she needs?”
“I’m capable of giving her the things she needs most,” Adam replies evenly. “Love. Stability. Trust.”
After a long silence, my father nods.
“Fine, Nina. If this is what you want, I’ll back off. Though I hope one day you’ll understand that all I ever wanted for you was what was best for you.”
“I know you wanted what was best,” I whisper. “I’m just not sure that you really knew what that was.”
I slowly walk forward until I’m standing in front of him. He wraps his arms around me, where we stay for what feels like minutes. Eventually, I pull away, because I know if I don’t walk out that door now, I probably never will. When I reach the door, I turn back and smile at him, because in spite of all his faults, he’s still my father.
“Goodbye, Dad.”
I sit on the porch and watch the waves as they roll into shore, crashing against the sand. I glance over at Adam, where he’s sprawled out on the sun lounge. He gives me a lazy smile that instantly melts my insides. God, I love him so much.
“Can I just say that I’m kind of looking forward to my father taking the kids for the weekend?” he murmurs, reaching out to touch my hand. I giggle, my heart skipping a beat.
“I bet I’m looking forward to it more,” I tease.
The doorbell rings as he is about to respond. I watch as he narrows his eyes at me and smiles, before trekking through the house to answer it. I watch through the window as he talks to his father, my heart filling with warmness.
The conversation between them comes so easily now, something I get the feeling hasn’t happened in a long time. He said to me just yesterday that it finally feels like he’s making some ground in repairing his relationship with Wilson, and I know how much that means to him.
“Good afternoon, Nina,” Wilson says as he walks out onto the porch. I smile at him over my sunglasses as the warm breeze hits my bare legs.
“I bet you’re looking forward to your weekend with the kids?” I ask. He laughs a deep belly laugh that makes me smile.
“Probably not as much as you two are,” he says with a wink. I blush while Adam chuckles. If there’s one thing Wilson is not shy about, it’s making fun of us when it comes to our alone time together—or lack of it.
Adam calls out to the kid
s that their grandfather is here. Sadie comes barreling through the room first, carrying her overnight bag, quickly followed by Mason. Both kids look as happy and relaxed as I’ve seen them.
In a rush, they say goodbye to their father and me, before clambering out to the car with Wilson. Just before he gets in the car, Wilson turns back and gives Adam a wink.
“Now, don’t go doing anything I wouldn’t do,” he says with a chuckle. “And for the love of God, don’t mess this up.”
I’m about to ask Adam what he meant by that when he holds his finger to my lips to silence me. I let it go, distracted by waving the kids off as they back out of the driveway. We watch until the car disappears from our view, and Adam wraps his arms around my waist. I smile, my skin tingling with excitement at the feel of his touch. Finally alone. As much as I adore the kids, I’m looking forward to a weekend of just us, and I plan on making the most of it.
I sigh as he kisses along the length of my neck. He takes my hand and leads me over to the couch, laying me down and positioning himself on top of me. I groan as his fingers explore my body.
“Nothing like having the house to ourselves,” he mutters. I gasp as he roughly tugs at my panties, rolling them down from under my skirt and down my thighs. He lifts up my shirt and frees my breasts from the restraints of my bra, sucking and licking my nipples until they’re as hard as he is. I groan as he shifts his position, his erection rubbing against me.
I fumble with his zipper, lowering it so I can reach inside his pants. I curl my fingers around his girth, my grip firm. He grunts, groaning as he springs free. He moves my thighs further apart and places his tip at my entrance.
“Every second I spend looking at you, I remember how good it feels to be inside you,” he mutters.
I gasp as he slides himself inside me, his lips finding my neck. I wrap my legs around his waist, loving the feel of having him so close to me. My hands grip his face as I guide his mouth to mine, my lips exploring his.
“You’re so wet,” he whispers, thrusting his dick deep inside me. I bounce gently against his rhythm, my toes curling as that familiar sensation builds inside me.
“I’m going to come,” I whisper.
“Good,” he growls.
He slides his hand around my back and sits up, lifting me into his lap. Still inside me, he thrusts harder and deeper, while I ride him. I wrap my arms around him, burying his face in my breasts as I come. Ecstasy soars through me as I clench my thighs tightly, wanting nothing more than to keep him inside me forever. He growls, his grip on me tightening as he releases inside me, his hips jolting against mine as he kisses me passionately.
I smile and roll off him with a sigh, snuggling next to him on the couch, barely able to catch my breath. Running my hands through my tangled hair, I’m unable to wipe the smile off my face as he watches me, amused. He chuckles.
“You look pretty happy with yourself,” he murmurs. He sides off the couch and kneels in front of me, taking hold of my hand. “How about I give you something to smile about?”
“I thought that’s what you just did,” I say with a giggle.
He laughs and reaches over for his jeans that lay in a heap on the floor, and he reaches into the pocket. He breathes out, suddenly looking nervous. Anticipation builds up inside me. He couldn’t possibly be about to do what I think he is, could he?
“I’ve gone over this so many times in my head, but now the moment is here, I’ve gone blank,” he begins.
“Adam…” I whisper, my heart racing. This is what Wilson meant when he said don’t stuff it up.
He shakes his head. “No, I need to do this.”
He clears his throat.
“I had all these reasons as to why you should say yes to marrying me written down, but really none of that matters,” he continues. “The only thing I care about is you, and how much I love you. You’re an amazing woman, Nina. You’re wonderful with the kids, you’re so caring and gentle.” He parts his hands to reveal a small velvet box, and I can barely breathe, I’m so nervous. I can’t believe he’s doing this.
“A few months ago, I saw you look into the window of the pawn shop across the road from the beach. I went in there and asked Tony what you were doing there. He told me that you’d been in nearly every day, checking on the ring that you sold him. You promised that you’d return one day to buy it back, so it obviously meant a lot to you.”
“You didn’t,” I whisper, the tears flowing freely now.
I can’t believe it. I still remember the moment I walked into that shop and found my mother’s ring was gone. It had been sold. I felt like my world had come crashing down around me. That ring was the only thing I had left of my mother, and it was gone. All because I was too selfish to truly appreciate what I had until I lost it. He opens the box and I gasp as I stare at my mother’s beautiful diamond-encrusted ring
By the time he slides it onto my finger, I’m sobbing so hard, I can barely breathe. He laughs and leans forward, kissing me softly on the lips.
“The ring is yours, whether you say yes to marrying me or not, by the way,” he murmurs. “Just in case you think that’s the only way you can get it back,” he says with a grin. I giggle and wrap my arms around his neck.
“Of course I’m saying yes,” I whisper. His eyes shine as he kisses me, his lips finding mine, over and over again really. “Was there ever any doubt that I’d say yes? You had to have been pretty confident,” I tease.
“I’ve never been so unsure in my life,” he murmurs softly, pushing a strand of hair away from my eyes. “I never know with you, Nina. One of the things I love most about you is that you’re so full of surprises. I never know what’s coming next.”
“Do the kids know?” I ask.
“I told Mason,” he says. “Sadie, no. I couldn’t trust her to keep it quiet.”
I giggle, imagining poor Sadie trying to keep something like this a surprise. “And of course, Dad knows too.”
“I gathered that,” I giggle. “But only now, in hindsight.”
He rolls his eyes. “Did you not see all the winks and looks he was throwing my way? Honestly, I think Sadie would’ve been less transparent.”
I laugh, amazed that he’s been planning this and I had no idea. I stare at my ring again, still not quite able to believe it’s found its way back to me, and like this. Maybe happiness is an option for me. If the last few months has taught me one thing, it’s that life is unpredictable.
I came here to escape my life, with no idea who I really was, and I found myself.
Epilogue
Nina
I scream out as another contraction tears through my body. Adam holds my hand tightly, telling me over and over that I can do this. I shoot him a look that makes him stop midsentence and shut his mouth.
If he says that to me one more time, I’m going to punch him in the goddamn face.
Another wave of pain hits me, and the nurse tells me to push. I scream, my legs shaking as I push. I feel like I’m dying. Maybe I am. Maybe that’s what this is.
We barely made it to the hospital, when the urge to push was so overwhelming that, as they wheeled me into the delivery suite, my daughter’s head was starting to crown. If I’d known labor was going to be this painful, I’d have never let his dick near me in the first place.
“I thought the first baby was supposed to take hours to come,” I groan.
Adam tries to soothe me as he wipes my forehead with a cool towel. I glare at him, and he backs off. The poor guy only wants to help, but unless he can magically rid me of this pain, or get this baby out of me, I don’t care.
“Trust me, honey, it’s much better to pop them out fast,” the nurse chuckles. “Consider yourself lucky it’s not going to drag on for twenty-four hours.”
“I don’t feel lucky,” I say, gasping as the contractions creep closer together. “Please, give me something. An epidural. Drugs. Anything,” I growl. The gas is doing nothing to dull the pain, and I’m not sure how much longer can ha
ndle it.
“I’m sorry, honey, it’s too late for an epidural, and nothing else is going to kick in before you get this baby out. You have to do this, okay? Take a moment and then we’re going to push.”
“I’m not sure I can,” I mumble, tears rolling down my cheeks. She lets out another hearty laugh.
“Well, you should’ve thought about the nine months ago,” she cracks, winking at me. I glare at her because she’s so not helping. She peeks down under the blankets, eyes widening as I feel the urge to push again. “Wow, okay. This is it, darling. One more push, and you’ll be holding your little girl in your arms.”
I hold on to Adam’s hand so tightly that I think I’m cutting off his blood supply. Everything I have been through in the last few months runs through my head as I push.
It’s been such a whirlwind. After Adam proposed to me, all my time went into planning the wedding, with Sadie insisting on being the star of it. Forget shopping for my dress, it was all about what she was going to wear. I loved every minute of it.
Having Sadie and Mason walk me down the aisle toward Adam, was one of the best moments of my life. The look in his eyes when they met mine as he made me sure I was making the right decision. He was my family now.
Part of me wished that my father could’ve been there to see it, but I knew that wasn’t possible. With my mother’s ring firmly on my finger, I vowed to love and honor Adam forever. Things were perfect. I couldn’t possibly imagine how they could get any better.
And then I found out I was pregnant.
We hadn’t intended on adding to the family quite so soon, but when we found out, we were overjoyed. We were nervous about telling the kids, but we needn’t have been, because they couldn’t wait to meet their baby brother or sister.
I scream as pain courses through my body, pushing harder than I ever have before.
“Keep going, you’re almost there,” the nurse urges. “Dad, come see this,” she cries out, nodding at Adam.
Claiming Nina Page 15
