“I’m sorry for making you wait up so late.”
He throws an arm around my shoulders. “You don’t owe me any excuses. That’s what brothers are for.”
He leads me up the steps and opens the door to let me inside. We enter a small entrance with a lounge on the left. It’s cozy. The furniture is ethnic with orange, green, and red scatter cushions. Woven rugs cover the wooden floors. He goes ahead of me down a short hallway to a spacious kitchen overlooking the water. It smells of chocolate cookies.
He dumps my bag on the floor and pulls a chair out by the table. “Sit.”
I take the seat while he fills a kettle with water and prepares two mugs of Rooibos tea. Putting one down in front of me, he says, “You don’t have to tell me anything now. We can talk in the morning if you’re tired.”
My laugh is strained. “I doubt I’ll be able to sleep.” Plus, the sooner he knows everything, the better.
His gaze is piercing but his tone gentle. “Is someone after you, Zee?”
“Yes,” I admit with a gush of air that tumbles from my chest. Just as I open my mouth to tell him the truth, a boy of about three years with curly hair and blue eyes walks into the kitchen.
“Daddy?” he says in a sleep-thick voice, rubbing his eyes with his small fists.
Damian opens his arms. “Hey, Josh. What’s up, buddy?” When Josh walks into his embrace, he picks him up and settles him on his knee. “We have a visitor. This is my sister, Zee.”
Dumbfounded, I stare at the child. I’m an aunt? Damian has a child? When? While he was in prison? How’s that even possible?
“There you are, Josh,” a sweet, musical voice says from the door.
I turn my head toward the sound. A stunning woman with the same startling blue eyes as the boy and golden hair that cascades in waves over her shoulders stands barefoot in the door. She’s wearing a short silk robe. My gaze drops to where her hand rests over her big belly. The diamond on her ring finger catches my eye.
Oh, my God.
The change in Damian when he looks at the petite woman is incredible. His features soften. The hardness in his eyes I attribute to our difficult childhood melts to dopey puddles. A gentle smile curves his lips. He looks at her as if nothing else matters, as if she’s the focal point of his existence. Wow. My brother is a conquered man. He’s a worshipper.
Balancing Josh in one arm, Damian gets to his feet and walks to the woman. He places a hand over hers on her stomach. Concern laces his voice. “Everything all right?”
The woman reaches for Josh. “I heard him getting up and didn’t want him to bother you.” She glances at me with a shy smile, exposing a dimple. “I’m sure you have plenty to talk about.”
“He’s too heavy for you,” Damian says, lowering Josh to his feet and folding a big hand around the boy’s smaller one. “You know what the doctor said about lifting heavy objects.”
Josh sticks the finger of his free hand in his mouth while studying me through his lashes.
“I’m Lina,” the woman says, making her way over to me.
Coming out of my haze, I push to my feet. Do I shake her hand or kiss her cheeks? How does she feel about housing a fugitive? Because that’s what I must seem to be. Before I can decide what to do, she pulls me into a hug.
“I’m so happy to finally meet you,” she says, her voice warm.
“Thank you for putting me up.”
“Are you kidding?” She holds me at arm’s length. “You’re family.”
I can’t help but notice the scars on her arms. What happened to her?
“You’re welcome here as long as you like,” she continues. “Our home is yours.”
“Thank you.” I smile for her benefit while anxiety quickens my pulse.
This changes everything. Damian has a wife—a pregnant wife—and a child. There’s no way I can tell him the truth now. I can’t put his family in danger. I remember Maxime’s promise only too vividly. He vowed he’d use anyone and anything against my brother to get his way. As long as Damian honors their deal, Maxime won’t have a reason to go after the family my brother so clearly loves. I better make sure Damian honors that deal.
“We’ll catch up in the morning,” she says, taking Josh’s hand from Damian’s. “Come on, baby, back to bed with you.” With a last smile in my direction, she leaves Damian and I alone.
He stares after them as they walk down the hallway.
“You have a wife? A son?” I ask, still bowled over.
Pride warms his eyes. “Josh is from Lina’s first marriage. I adopted him.”
“She’s pregnant,” I say stupidly, still unable to process the information.
“Yes.” His chest swells. “Six months.”
“Wow, Damian. Congratulations.” Emotions clog up my throat. “I’m so happy for you. She’s beautiful. She seems really nice.”
“Lina is…” Crossing his arms, he leans a shoulder against the wall. “I don’t have words to describe her. Amazing doesn’t do her justice.”
I never thought I’d see the day. My brother really is a lost case. It makes my smile broad and my heart warm. “You deserve happiness. How did you meet?”
He rubs a hand over his face. There’s a short hesitation before he speaks. “She’s Dalton’s daughter.”
“The man who put you in jail?” I exclaim. “The man who stole your discovery?”
His regard becomes closed-off. “It’s a long story.”
“How long have you been married?”
“Little over a year.”
I do a quick calculation. “When did you get out?”
Understanding the line of my questioning, he says, “I married Lina a week after I’d gotten out.”
“A week?” I exclaim, sensing more behind the story.
“It’s complicated. Why don’t you tell me why you need a false identity instead?”
I think fast. “I had to get away.”
“I’ve gathered.” He scrutinizes me. “Why?”
“I wrote to you, you know,” I say, clutching my hands behind my back.
“The last letter I got was three years ago.”
“I know.” I lower my gaze.
It was the letter Maxime forced me to write in Venice on the luxury hotel stationary. It said I met a foreigner, fell in love, and left the country with him. That I was so happy I was never coming back. The bitter betrayal of finding out Maxime never mailed any letter I wrote to Damian after that is still a pain I’m battling to process.
Since I can’t explain why it seems like I abandoned him, I can only say, “I’m sorry.”
“I understand.” His lips quirk. “Love can be all-consuming.”
“It’s not that,” I say quickly. “Maxime…” Shit, just saying his name is like wringing my heart in my chest. “He’s very possessive.”
Questions dance in his eyes as he narrows them a fraction. “I see.”
“Things didn’t work out between us, Damian.” It’s not difficult to act. The hurt must be written on my face.
“What happened, Zee?”