Desire: Love and Passion - By Lesia Reid Page 0,30

to her.

“I thought you were staying the night,” he said.

“I think I’ll be more comfortable in my own bed.”

“Don’t go, please.”

“Why can’t you just want me for who I am now, today?”

“Because I’m selfish,” he said. “Whenever I think about you with someone else, now or in the future I go into this blind rage. I want to know what I can do to prevent that from ever happening.”

“You can stop trying to figure us out,” she said. “I should tell you about my parents.”

“Okay.”

“They got married two weeks after they met,” she said. “Two weeks from ‘hello’ to ‘I do’. They didn’t try to figure everything out. They felt they were destined to be together and they took a chance. We are not them, we are not other people. You have your demons and I have mine. We don’t talk about them, we don’t open up about the real parts of our lives to each other because either it’s too painful or we are afraid our views will change about each other. Do you know how difficult it is never to run my hands on your back in the heat of the moment? What we have is this wonderful chemistry between us that resembles normal. Don’t try to spoil it to make it something it’s not.”

“You’re right.”

“So no more trying to see if I’m jealous about the ex,” Willow said. “I trust you when you say you are only friends. And yes, I don’t really care if I get pregnant with your child. We’ll deal with that if it happens.”

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” he said. “Please stay.”

He hugged her. She hugged him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Chapter 10

James was right about one thing, the news would twist his date and his gift to Stacey. Willow was still asleep when he woke up and went downstairs for a drink. Larry, Henry, and Daphne, Henry’s wife, were already in the kitchen. Both men were laughing and talking but they fell silent as he entered.

“Good morning,” James said.

“You might change your mind when you see the papers,” Larry said.

James sat on one of the barstools in front of the island in the kitchen. Henry, the real chef of the house, was behind the island making some elaborate breakfast. Larry was having coffee and reading the papers from another barstool.

James took a quick glance at the paper before handing it back to Larry.

“It could be worse,” James said as he took a cup of coffee from Henry.

“Worse?” Larry balked. “Come on, you know I am no fan of Miss Barnes, but the reporter makes it sound as if you are ready to exchange nuptials with Stacey. What do you think she’s going to say when she sees this?”

“She said it was none of her business, basically,” James replied.

“What are we talking about?” Cassandra asked as she entered the main house from the common room. Giles was close behind her.

“This,” Larry shoved the paper at his sister.

“I said it was a bad idea,” Cassandra said after a quick read

“Willow knows about it,” James said.

Cassandra climbed onto one of the stools. Giles did as well. Henry served up coffee to everyone.

“How could she know?” Cassandra asked, “The paper just came out today.

“I told her everything last night. Now can we stop talking about this?”

“If you say so,” Larry said.

“Since you hate her so much Larry, why do you even care?”

“Because I’ve lived and worked with you for six years and this past month is the happiest I have ever seen you. So I concede. She has some good qualities. Though encouraging and actively participating in a plot to dodge your security in Ireland was not wise.”

“I can’t wait for the two of you to get married,” Cassandra said. “A free pass to fashion shows for the rest of my life.”

James listened for a moment to his friends. But they were more than employees and friends. They were his family. He wanted her to be a part of that circle. He didn’t want her separate, on the outside. He could not see his life with them and then a life with her, he wanted it all together. This loose fit of people he had personally hired had transcended being just employees and though he often said he was the boss, he very much liked their input in his life and he certainly enjoyed their company.

He knew the only way he would ever win her heart was to let her in. He