Page 128 of Vow to Hate You

“What?” he asked.

“You’re giving me everything I want.”

“Why do you sound troubled?” He stepped back, pulling out of my hold before grasping my chin, tipping my face up.

I blew out a small laugh. “I’m not upset. Just wondering how life would have been different if I never ran away.”

“It wouldn’t be like this.”

“What does that mean?”

“We needed time. Time to mature—to find ourselves.” He brushed his thumb over my lips. “This strong-willed, beautiful woman standing in front of me wouldn’t exist if you stayed. Your father and mine? They would have done everything in their power to force us both to do what they wanted. It would have ruined you. Ruined our marriage. The wait was worth it.”

I raised on my tiptoes, kissing him. “I love you.”

“I’ve always loved you, Talie.”

“Always?” A note of teasing entered my voice. “Even when I made you eat seafood?”

He chuckled. “Even then. I’ll give you whatever you want as long as you’re happy.”

“You’ll never deny me?”

A wicked gleam hit his eyes. “Oh, I’ll deny you. But only in the ways you like.”

“Is that a promise, husband?”

“Yes. And I’ll always keep my promises to you, wife.”

talie

EPILOGUE

ONE YEAR LATER

I walked down the sidewalk, the light breeze barely doing anything to help the sweltering heat. California summers were brutal in the desert. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jean shorts before reaching in my back pocket to pull out my phone. My heart jumped when I saw a new email.

I blew out a laugh, hitting reply. Damian had flown back to New York for a few days, and it was the first time we’d been apart since we moved to the West Coast. If we weren’t less than a week away from opening day of our new club, I would have gone with him. But he needed to meet with Ash and Rhyett to make sure everything was running smoothly. I stayed back to finish the last few things.

I bit my lip, smiling as I sent it. The days he’d been gone felt like forever. We were practically glued to the hip most of the time. I was loving every second of it. Ember Lake was a wild city full of chaos and people willing to spend money on anything. This city reminded me of where I grew up. The only difference was this was a vacation spot for the elite and rich—it wasn’t where they permanently resided. The upscale clubs and restaurants were expensive, with lines out the doors every weekend.

At first, I was a little worried there would be too much competition for us to do well. But we sold out the first day we opened online reservations for opening night. I was headlining as the DJ, and while I still wore a mask when I worked, I wasn’tworried about people finding out my identity. Not when I had my freedom.

My father still wasn’t speaking to me. I couldn’t deny the small sting of pain, but it wasn’t enough to change anything. I had everything I wanted in life. Char had come to visit multiple times and had her own room at our house. She was finished with school and got a job in the city. She was still deciding whether she wanted to move out here, but until then, we saw each other at least once a month.

My phone vibrated in my hand, and I balanced on the edge of the curb as I walked to avoid a group of people headed in the opposite direction. I hit the email, opening it to read.

I stopped in my tracks to quickly reply without worrying about watching where I was going.

I sent it before changing my mind. Even if he was across the country, my pulse was thudding like it always did when I purposefully got under my husband’s skin. When my phone went off again, my stomach flipped.

I stared at the email in disbelief before whipping my head up to look around. The sidewalk was bustling with people, but I didn’t see him anywhere.

“New lingerie? Going to model it for me, wife?”

I spun around, coming face to face with Damian. With a smoldering smirk, his eyes trailed down my body before he met my eyes. In one step, he erased the space between us, pulling me into a tight hug. His lips brushed my jaw softly as he let out a groan.

“I missed you,” he admitted before kissing me on the lips. “And now we’re not going to get any work done. Because I’m taking you home so I can see your new outfit.”

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