Page 120 of Unexpected Ventures

Her eyes fill with tears. “You should have told me. I would have come to you and helped. I would have visited as much as possible.”

I look down. “I know. But me having a girlfriend would have also worked against me in the case. You don’t understand how it is down there. The laws are different. They track your cell phones, your emails, everything. I turned it all off. That’s why I didn’t attempt to work remotely for Daulton. I’d be putting them at risk too.”

She whispers, “I would have waited for you.”

I set our glasses on the ledge, pull her into my arms, and kiss her head. “I know, mi amor, but I couldn’t do that to you. What if it took three years? What if I lost and had to stay down there just to see my kids? It wouldn’t have been fair to ask you to put everything on hold and wait for me. I set you free so you could live your life. I did it the way I did so you could move on. I thought I was doing what was best for you.”

She lets out a sob into my chest and I kiss her head again over and over.

She lifts her head and looks at me with those shining blue eyes. “Butyoudidn’t move on?”

I shake my head. “No. I knew I’d come back for you one day. I prayed you’d still be available and would want me, but I had to let you go at the time. I believed it was the right thing for you, albeit painful for me.”

She opens her mouth to speak, but then closes it, laying her head back on my chest.

We’re silent for a few minutes until she asks, “How did you win? How did you get them back in only a year?”

“Gabriela realized she and I were never going to happen, and she was miserable living in Cuba under her father’s thumb again. He told her she would be cut off if she left. I basically offered her full financial support. It’s just money. I don’t care. I have plenty. We reached a deal. I bought her a new house near mine so the kids can stay at the school, she has a more than generous monthly stipend, and I have all the passports in my possession.”

She sighs. “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through.”

“I’m sorry too. For what you and Luke both went through with us leaving. Can I see him?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t think so. I swore I’d never let him meet another man I’m dating.”

I wince. That stings. Am I just a random man she’s dating?

She holds my face in her hands and looks me in the eyes. “I think we did it wrong the first time around.”

“What do you mean?”

“We involved our kids so early on. Too early. You’re not supposed to do that until you know each other. Until you’re all in and sure about where things are headed. It’s not fair to them otherwise. We played one big, happy blended family, when we should have been getting to know one another in private, away from the kids. We had this immediate physical connection. Don’t get me wrong, I loved our sex life, but did we really get to know each other? Did we really talk? You don’t know about my life growing up. I know little about yours. I know you loved someone once, but I don’t know what happened. I know you planned to play professional baseball, but I don’t know why you didn’t.”

I nod. She’s not wrong.

“Honestly, Dominic, I was so worried about keeping you sexually satisfied, that I lost a little of myself. That’s on me, not you. I think I’ve done it in all my relationships, not just with you. I did a lot of soul searching this past year. I realized that I’ve always been a pushover in my personal life, valuing others’ needs above my own. I don’t want to do that anymore.”

I smile. “I like this new you. You should always have what you want. Your needs should be met. I liked what I saw downstairs with your ex.”

“Good, because that’s the new me.”

“It turned me on.”

“I noticed.”

“And you more than sexually satisfy me, princesa. Don’t ever doubt that.”

“You require a lot of sex, Dominic Mazzello.” She smiles. “You’re an addict.”

I nibble at her lips. “Maybe I’m just addicted to you.”

She bites her lip and then sighs. “I wish there was something we could share that you’ve never shared with anyone else.”

I apply a little pressure to her back entrance.

She giggles. “Not somethingIhaven’t done, somethingyouhaven’t done.”

“How about truly falling in love? I haven’t done that with anyone else. I do love you, princesa. I hope you know that.”

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