Page 130 of The Obsession
“And what happens if something comes up while you’re working?” It’s a shitty thing to say. She never actually agreed to be Lil’ Peach’s babysitter. I pushed that onto her.
“Lucia said she can cover for me when I can’t. Arabella offered too, if it comes to that.”
Right. She’s thought it through. “Is this about money?” I ask, my grip tightening on the steering wheel.
“I need money, Dominic.”
I clear my throat. “Is mine not enough?”
“I don’t want your money. I’ve told you that.”
“I pay you for looking after Peach.”
“And every time you throw those hundreds at me, I try to give them back,” she says. “I love that little girl. You don’t need to pay me to spend time with her. It’s an honour.”
She loves Lil’ Peach. I don’t know why that lands so hard, but it does. I always thought I’d be all she ever had. Turns out I was wrong.
Does she love me too?
Somewhere along the way, I decided I was defective. Unlovable even.
When you grow up being passed from one home to the next, constantly being let down and overlooked, it leaves a mark.
“I can’t keep living off you. It makes me feel like a freeloader. You gave me a place to live. You bought me new furniture. You won’t even let me contribute.”
“You cook and clean for us, Emily. That counts for something. More than fucking room and board, if you ask me.”
“I do those things because I want to, Dom,” she says, turning in her seat and reaching out to place her hand on my thigh. “Not for anything else. I don’t need to be paid for doing something I love … for looking after people I care about.”
She said ‘people’, not ‘someone’, so I too must fit into this equation.
I scrub my hand down my face again, then place it on top of hers. This whole situation is giving me a fucking headache. “Ugh,” I grumble.
“I want to forge my own way, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do it with you and Peach by my side. Does that make sense?”
I lift one shoulder. “I guess.”
“I feel like I’ve wasted most of my adult life making one poor choice after another.” Her pretty blue eyes flicker to me. “Present company excluded, of course,” she adds, making me smile. She slumps into her seat with a sigh. “I had such big dreams when I was a teenager. I wanted to be somebody, but I haven’t quite made it yet.”
As soon as those words are out of her mouth, I veer over to the side of the road, coming to a screeching stop and placing the car into park. “Look,” I start as I remove my seatbelt and turn to face her.
She looks quietly terrified. “What?” She squeaks, clutching her chest.
“You want to be somebody when you get older? Are you fucking kidding me, Emily?” I reach across the centre console and grasp hold of her shoulders. “You are somebody,mia tortina. Are you hearing me?” My grip softens, but I don’t let go. “You’re everything, don’t ever doubt that.Capisci(Understand)?” When tears rise to her eyes, and she nods, I lean forward, pulling her into my chest. “You are everything, Emily Ashford.” I place my lips on her golden locks. “Every-fucking-thing. The best thing to ever happen to me and Lil’ Peach.”
Chapter 42
Emily
Two weeks have passed since Dominic carried me out of the Crimson Lounge like a caveman and proceeded to give me the best and most thorough fucking of my life.
I’ve been in his bed every night since, and nothing has changed. This man is an animal between the sheets.
I haven’t gone as far as moving my things into his room, but every day that passes feels like a dream. Like we’re forging a future together, and not just at night. During the day, he’s equally affectionate, the PG version when impressionable little eyes are around.
I throw back the covers, climb out of bed, and tug his discarded T-shirt over my head the moment Dominic disappears into the en suite.
Exiting his bedroom, I bypass the kitchen and hastily pad down the hallway towards Peach’s room. I have a feeling I know what I’m going to find when I open her bedroom door. If I’m right, I need to sort it out before Dominic is out of the shower.
