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CHAPTER 4
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2021-11-09 08:19:16“Oh, that’s so sweet of you, young lady, but maybe you should wait, since I have one last thing to add...”
When spoken by Theodore Kennedy, those were not the words Regina wanted to hear. Yes, she said Damien she’d marry him, but now she wasn’t so sure about it… Not when Theodore was preparing to throw another bomb.
Regina eyed the door to the suite with longing. Only a few more feet and she’d be free... From the old man and his grandson… For now...
“Just wanted to let you know that a platonic relationship between you two isn’t acceptable. My goal is a legacy. I can’t get that with separate bedrooms or no sex between you.”
Panic bubbled up beneath the surface of her skin until Damien replied with a droll.
“O
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There were flutters of panic in Regina’s chest as she remembered that last face-to-face meeting with a seventeen-year-old Damien. She’d mooned over him from afar every time she came to visit Kennedy Mansion. Sometimes the hope of seeing him had drawn her just as much as Iris’s company, but that day had taught her well how little he felt for her. Whenever she’d come near Damien, he’d demonstrated the same unpleasant endurance as her parents, who also looked at her as a pest that they wished would disappear. He’d called her ‘Invader’ many times over the years she’d hung around, aching for a bit of Iris’s attention. Yes, that was definitely how he’d seen her time here at Kennedy Mansion. After that final rejection, Regina had stayed as
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Damien’s uncharacteristic urge to curse like a sailor was starting to irritate him. As he snatched one of the cookies Junee had left cooling on the kitchen counter, he contemplated the grim facts. His lawyer hadn’t found a way around the legal knots Theodore had tied. There wasn’t evidence to have him declared mentally unstable. He was, but then he’d always been a crazy son of a bitch. If being or acting like a son of a bitch could be considered a mental condition. And any legal proceedings to steal guardianship of his mother would take too long. Damien wasn’t willing to take a chance on his mother’s health and well-being. He owed her too much. She had suffered too much. So, his bad mood was justified, but when Damien found himself stomp
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Arguments? He had a few, but none that were effective. Excuses? A whole hay wagon full, but none he dared utter in the face of the threat to his mother’s well-being. Other women? Damien could think of many a delectable armful over the last ten years, but none interested in anything as dull as marriage. He’d stayed far away from the home-and-hearth type.“No,” Damien conceded, then stepped aside to let her pass. “I don’t think I could pay my assistant enough to move to the middle of nowhere and put up with me 24/7.”“It’s hardly the middle of nowhere,” Regina said with a light tone as she scooted past, brushing the far wall in an attempt not to touch him again. Which was just as well.“We might not have the culture of New York City,” she continued, “but there’s stil
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Regina enjoyed reading to Iris. Sometimes she would indulge in short verses from a book of poetry, magazine articles, or a cozy mystery. Today the words from a story set in a small town like theirs eased over them both until muffled bumps and bangs erupted from the adjoining room. She cocked her head, hearing more thumping sounds. A quick glance reassured her Iris was okay, so she set the book down and hurried through the dressing room. The noise grew as she approached the door that led from Iris’s dressing room to Regina’s bedroom. ‘What was going on?’ Opening the door, she found herself facing a... wall? A mattress wall? Going back through Iris’s suite to the other exit into the hallway only gave her time to get good and angry.
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Almost a week after making his pledge to his mother, the marriage license arrived and Damien was royally screwed. Oh, he would go through with it, that was for sure. In his gut, he knew this was the last thing he could do for his mother, one thing she could be proud of him for. She’d made her home here, been highly involved in the community, and she’d want him to care for it, too. He couldn’t promise her he’d stay. But he could get her safely settled and make sure the town remained secure. Still, his confrontation with Regina on the stairs taunted him. And the fire with which she’d argued with him in her bedroom, soon to be their bedroom, tempted him to enjoy everything she might have to offer. Which made it imperati
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Suddenly, Damien appeared in front of her, blocking everything from view but his silvery gaze.“Regina,” he murmured again, those moving, sexy lips drawing her attention down, making her wish this was all real, even though she knew she shouldn’t.“Are you okay with this? Do you still want to go through with it?” The furrow between his eyebrows deepened.“I mean, we don’t have to do this right now, if you don’t feel like it.” Oh yes, they did. Before the nausea in the pit of her stomach got the best of her. The slight hope in his eyes made her sad. His face wavered for just a moment. She knew she had to do it… It was Iris’s future in this house at stake. Regina closed her eyes for a moment and nodded.“No, Da
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She was on her knees on the floor, in front of her open closet… Crying over her clothes… She missed Damien. He was always busy, but until today, always within reach. She missed arguing and the comfortableness of working together. But, above all, Regina missed the intensity of his passion and the feel of her soul mingling with his. The days were torture. The nights were devastating. They went to sleep, each on their respective sides of the bed. Some nights, lying there feeling useless and empty, Regina thought she’d give anything to have him curled against her back like he had that night in the hospital. Sure enough, by morning they would be tangled together, and her heart broke all over again. Something had to give soon because having him close but not having him for real was killi
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Drawn to the woman he loved like a puppet on a string, Damien approached her hospital bed with caution. Sitting in the chair beside her wouldn’t do it. He needed to be near, to touch Regina and assure himself that she was okay. The doctor said they only wanted to monitor her oxygen, but the need remained. Her body was so still. Was she sunk deep in the healing sleep she so desperately needed? Or was she pretending to sleep so she didn’t have to deal with him at all? Taking a chance, Damien settled on the space beside her in the bed. There was just enough room for him to sit, his thigh resting along the curve of her back as she faced the opposite wall. Testing his welcome, he lay his hand on top of her hip. Sure enough, her body jerked
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The men looked at each other, then around the back lawn. Damien’s whole body tightened.“I guess she didn’t come out,” Joshua said. “Maybe she must still be in the house… with mom.” Briar was already shaking his head as Damien spoke.“Have you ever known her to not be involved in something with this household?” He turned to sprint toward the cabin, adrenaline surging through his veins.“I thought the cabin was locked,” Joshua yelled from beside him as they ran. It seemed like forever before they reached the clearing now dusky with smoke. A quick glance back showed the other men were headed their way, loaded down with hoses and buckets.
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Regina’s bare feet ghosted over the back lawn, damp from the evening’s dew. She couldn’t stand being cooped up in the house anymore. Damien had been gone five days. The amount of time Stanton had informed Joshua he was prearranged to be away. After tonight, they would be in violation of the will. Damien hadn’t contacted her personally, so she had no idea if he planned to be home by morning... or not. Or if he’d ever come back… She wished she had the option of escape, even if only for a few hours. Instead, she’d waited until June headed out for Wednesday night church. The sympathetic looks were more than she could handle.“I must have been out of my mind… To let things go so far…” she said while walking slowly.&nb
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Damien ran his fingers through the hair and sighed, then twisted her way. His expression was extremely preoccupied.“Hey, gorgeous,” he said slowly, those whispered words reaching through her confusion. “Sorry to wake you.”“No problem, Damien. I was already awake…” ‘He is about to leave… to leave the mansion… to leave all of them again… leave her…’ she thought. Feeling a cold shiver going up and down her spine, Regina pulled the comforter tight around her, wishing she wasn’t naked. The protection of her clothes would be a big comfort right now.“What’s going on? It’s something wrong in New York?”“There’s been a water leak at the warehouse. The alarms ale
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Life often moved in directions Regina never expected. She had spent a lifetime going to movies and restaurants alone, hanging out in coffee shops and bookstores on her days off. But as she looked around the dinner table a month later, she finally understood that she was no longer alone. That’s what family was for. And she had claimed the people around her as hers, for as long as they would let her.“I have an idea,” she said, gaining the attention of the table. Everyone was in their usual places, one end full now that Joshua had rejoined them and Lucas had been able to clear a brief few days for his appearance at the fair. Briar and June peeked through the door from the kitchen.“I think we should go to the fair. Together.”“The fair?” June said
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“We’re a little too early for a harvest festival, which is what we put together for the high school last year. How can we fine-tune this summer fair, ladies?” Regina asked. Surrounding her was a group of women who loved working together for the good of the community, and were known as the go-to choice for getting things done. They weren’t from the country club like Candy’s set, who simply threw money at a charity to be seen doing it. Just good women who worked hard and had fun.“I’m so excited,” Billie Walker said, clapping her hands together like a happy little kid. “It’s been a long time since we had a true country fair. Or anything more than that awful carnival set up in the high school parking lot.” Lana Simmons jumped in, too.“And the fairgrounds are still in really good
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She’d seen it so often, Regina wished she could tell him he wasn’t the only one but didn’t want to risk scaring him off by getting too deep. Instead, she settled for something simpler, to help Damien ease up a little. “You haven’t spent much time in a sickroom.” His eyes widened slightly before his face resumed an emotionless mask.“Does it show that much?” Sighing, Regina sank into her chair on the opposite side of the bed. Why had she thought he would make this easy on either of them? She smiled down at Iris, the woman who’d become a surrogate mother to her before the older woman’s accident. Her heart ached with the guilt of her involvement.“It’s alright, you know… It’s often hard for family a
