Page 83 of Intimately Faithful

She felt a sob start in the back of her throat. Stinging relief and endless love.

He wasn’t angry at her for omitting the most crucial part of everything.

She wasn’t Misha’s mum, but she loved her like she was. She’d taken care of the baby since she was three days old and through sleepless nights and walks in the park and bath times, Aoife fell in love with the tiny baby.

“I wished you’d told me, but I understand why you didn’t. I didn’t respond how you needed me to respond, sweetheart. And that is on me, I’m so sorry. I let my jealousy react before I should have spoken. You know I love Misha, right? Even before this, when I thought she was yours.”

“I didn’t know what to do, Danny. I just grabbed her and ran. I watched her mother being viciously killed because Mr. Kuznetsov discovered his mistress had a baby with one of his men. He killed that guy too and took great joy in telling Yelena he’d murdered the boy she loved.”

“Why was she with a man like that if she loved another?”

Aoife looked up and blinked through her tears. “She was trapped. She said he wasn’t always the way he is now. She fell for the older, sophisticated man who showed her the world and then he changed into something ugly and hurtful. She hadn’t seen him in over a year since he came to the states, but then suddenly sent for her. She was already pregnant by that time. She was a good person, Danny. We were friends almost the instant I started working as Misha’s nanny. She didn’t deserve to lose her life.”

Danny cuddled her in, and she took great comfort in his strong arms, nuzzling the tip of her nose to his stubbled chin. “No, sweetheart, she didn’t. But we still have this giant problem of what we do next.”

We. She loved hearing that.

“I can’t give her back. Not to people like that. I don’t care if I have to run for the rest of my life, she’s an innocent child with no mother because of evil people.”

“We can leave and go back home.”

Surprise blinked through her vision.

“You’d do that?” She gasped. Then added. “You can’t, Danny. Your life is here. Your church people would come after me with torches if I took away their pastor.”

He smiled and kissed her lips. “We can leave, sweetheart. I can be a pastor anywhere, but I only have one of you.”

Oh, her heart pinched, and she started crying again. “I thought I’d die missing you, Danny.”

“Do you feel my hands?” He brushed his mouth against her ear and whispered.

Aoife shuddered against the close assault of his warm breath and his sheer closeness. He’d always affected her that way and she hoped to God he always would.

Leaning into Danny, she hummed and nodded.

The hands in question touched her all over before one rested on her waist, squeezing just enough to let her know he was there. And the other curved around the back of her neck, holding. “These hands will never hurt you, sweetheart. They’re yours when you need comfort, when you crave pleasure. When you need your Irish boy to hold you close and give you every drop of love I have to give you. These hands will always protect my sweet, sometimes sour, ginger rascal girl, because I love you and I’ve always loved you and I’ll die loving only you, Aoife.”

Cue the waterworks.

It was a known fact she was not a pretty crier, so when she buried her sobbing face in Danny’s chest, he fingered through her hair, stroking her scalp as he chuckled and soothed her with soft endearment words by her ear.

“These hands will take every inch of pain you suffer, my sweetheart. Because we were always meant to be Danny and Aoife. This life and the next and the trillion after that. I will always find you.” The last part he whispered against her ear and Aoife’s sobs increased.

Love was present when he used the hem of his T-shirt to blot the wetness from her face and kissed the tip of her very red nose.

“It’s scary we’re here again, Danny. What if I get it wrong again? You know more than most how prone to trouble I am.”

“We’re exactly where we’re supposed to be, my sweetheart. Two old souls reunited and we’re going nowhere ever again. I fell in love with you when I was just six years old.”

“I was five. I win, Danny.” She grinned really big and watched how his beautiful face was transformed into something so sexy, it stole her breath when he smiled back. “I always let you win.”

She guffawed and batted his shoulder before squeezing in with him again.

She had a plan. Of sorts.

He wouldn’t be pleased with her.At all.

And she’d only just got herself back in his good books.

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