“No,” I ground out, pressing my forehead to hers. “It’s never too late.” I heaved in a breath, my nerves on edge. I wasn’t sure what else to say to her, what else I could say. So, I blurted out, “One chance.” Her stare met mine. ”Give me one chance to make it all right. One chance at a real shot.”
My breaths turned heavier as if I’d just run a marathon. “Take a leap of faith,” I begged her. “Take it with me.”
Her silence was deafening, her face not giving anything away for such a long time that I was sure I’d lost her. I’d lost her before I even had the chance to find her.
“Okay,” she said, the one word barely audible. “One shot.” She held her finger in the air. “That’s all you get.”
I closed my eyes, a relief I’d never felt before washing over me. I wasn’t sure what was happening between us, but I needed to find out.
“Stay with me tonight?” I asked, my stomach dipping with nerves. I’d never been nervous, but it was different with her.
Aida glanced back over at Vida, who lay cocooned in the sheets. “I…” She bit down on her bottom lip, a move that had me nudging my face closer to hers. I pressed my thumb on her chin, pulling her lip from between her teeth. “Just sleeping,” I told her. “Nothing else.” I paused as she turned back to me. “Nothing else once I’ve done this.” I pressed my lips against hers, unable to hold back any longer. She tensed, her body unsure, but she soon softened, her hand reaching out to rest on my chest.
It was soft, gentle, cautious, but I knew it was what she needed at that moment. She needed to know this wasn’t about sex. No. This was about me realizing she was becoming so much more than my wife in name alone. This was about me listening to my gut, just like I’d told her to do when I asked her to marry me.
I was taking my own advice. I just hoped she was too.
CHAPTER 13
AIDA
Warmth covered my entire back, a hand on my stomach, and for the briefest of moments, I forgot where I was. I forgot who I was lying next to. Forgot what had happened last night. But as I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the gray walls, it all came flooding back.
Lorenzo eating pizza with me and Vida on the sofa, ordering her the latest Disney movie to watch and then settling in with us. He’d made himself a fixture in our evening, and however much I wanted to deny it, I liked it. I liked that he made an effort with her. I liked that he didn’t blink twice at watching a princess movie.
But none of that compared to him apologizing. Out of everything that had happened last night, that was the most shocking. Even more so was the fact that I believed him. Every word he said had so much conviction behind it that it couldn’t be anything but the truth.
He groaned from behind me, his hand tensing on my stomach for a second before he pulled me closer to him. My back met his front, my body fusing with his, and it took me right back to that night—the night I’d given him a piece of me, and he’d taken it without a second thought.
What had changed between then and now? What had made him apologize?
“You said I was a mistake,” I whispered, feeling all the hope in me tumble to the ground. Had I been a fool to come into his room with him last night? Had I let the way he’d treated Vida impact my decision-making?
“When did I say that?” his deep, groggy voice asked.
I jumped, not expecting him to be awake. “I…” I pulled in a breath, regretting saying anything when I’d only just opened my eyes. But I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t keep everything locked up inside, not now I was here. Not when he was this close to me.
“The day we were in here,” I started, staring at a picture on the wall and using it to center me. “You said you’d made a mistake.”
He stilled, and I started to regret saying anything. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. “Wait…” He gripped me harder, then rolled me so that I was facing him. “That’s not what I said.”
My stare met his. “You did. You said you didn’t wear a condom and that what we did was a mistake.”
“No.” He frowned down at me. “I said I’d made a mistake by not wearing a condom.” He glanced away, his throat bobbing as he stared behind me. “I always use protection. Always.” He looked back down at me. “But with you…I forgot.” He pressed closer, his bare chest meeting my front and his legs intertwining with mine. “You made me forget. You make me forget a lot of things.”
I pulled in a breath, my hand making its way to his arm and gripping it. “But…”
“But what?”
“The other woman?”
“Is done with. I don’t make promises, Aida. I never commit to something I know I won’t see through, so the second you agreed to give me a chance, I was all in.” He blinked. “All in with you.”
I bit down on my bottom lip, trying to process everything he was saying. In some ways, it sounded too good to be true. Only time would tell, but I knew I couldn’t go forward, not until I’d said, “Change your desk.” His brow rose at my words, but it only took him a second to register what I was saying.
“Done.” His gaze drifted behind me again. “The sofa too.”
“The sofa?” I asked, turning so I could see it on the wall beside the door. “Why the sofa?”
“That’s where I fucked all the women I brought in here.” I turned back to face him, realizing that if we were going to give this a real chance, we needed to be brutally honest with each other. And it looked like Lorenzo was on the same wavelength. “Never in my bed, though.” He pulled me so close our lips were only a hairsbreadth away from each other. “Only you in my bed.”
“Only me.”
“Only you.”
I smiled, the first real smile I’d ever given him, and dipped forward, placing my lips against his, sealing our deal with a kiss. He yanked me closer, his half-naked body covering mine as he slipped his tongue inside my mouth.
I got lost in the moment, lost in him, until a small knock sounded at his door.
“Auntie Aida? Are you in there?” My eyes widened, and I pushed at Lorenzo’s chest with such force he groaned.
“I’m coming, V!” I leaped out of bed, cursing myself. She was in a new house, and I’d left her in the bed all alone, not even thinking about what she would think when she opened her little eyes and saw that I wasn’t there with her.
I pulled open the door, spotting her standing there still half asleep in her purple Dora the Explorer pj’s. “I woke up, and you were gone,” she said, dipping her head back to look up at me.
“I’m sorry.” I scooped her up and held her to my chest. “I was just checking on Uncle Lorenzo.” I spun us around so she could see him.
“Morning, Uncle Lorenzo,” she said softly, resting her head on my shoulder.
“Morning, princess.” He sat up and pulled the covers over his lap. “Did you come for morning cuddles from Auntie Aida?”
“Mmm-hmm,” she whispered, and I had no doubt she was falling back to sleep on me.
“Come on, then.” Lorenzo pulled the covers back, and I didn’t hesitate to get back into bed with him. I placed Vida between us and hugged her just like I used to back home, but within minutes she was back asleep, snoring her little head off. “She’s all pooped out,” Lorenzo said, staring down at her. He grasped my hand and brought it to his lips. “I’ve got to get to a meeting.” His gaze locked with mine. “Stay in here with her. Go back to sleep.” He pulled up a little and planted a second kiss on my lips. “I’ll see you at dinner.”