Page 131 of The Paid Wife: A Lesbian Romance

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mean the world would end or that there were strings that

couldn’t be undone or that something terrible would happen?

Her instincts told her yes, but there was another part of her that

she didn’t know existed that told her no.

That Emily was safe.

That Emily wouldn’t hurt her.

That Emily would understand.

Dani knew she should fight it. She should do what she’d

always done and keep herself safe because she really only

herself to depend on. She couldn’t let her guard down. She

couldn’t let herself weaken. That wasn’t how survival worked.

But she found that her eyes were heavy, and Emily was

warm and the shelter of her arms felt good and right and safe

and so maybe, maybe just this once, she could let the tides of

sleep win out.

Chapter 15

Dani

Dani got the surprise of her life when she opened the

apartment door, stepped into the kitchen, and found her table

set with two place settings. An empty pickle jar of flowers in

the middle of the table, and two sputtering, nearly burned

down waxy stubs of candles had been lit.

“Surprise!” Emily danced into the kitchen, her hands

clasped in front of her waist. She looked delighted with

herself. “I made dinner.”

“Oh. Wow. This is, uh…”

“I just used the stuff that was left in the fridge. And it’s

funny, I was driving home from class and this girl and her

mom had a stand set up and they were

selling the flowers. I

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