Cocky Protector - Kat Mizera Page 0,62
he didn’t open his eyes, releasing me from his firm grip.
I stumbled into the bathroom and cleaned up, taking a minute to wash my face because my makeup had smudged. When I walked back into the bedroom, he was waiting for me and held out his arms. I crawled into them, resting against him once again. It seemed to be my favorite place lately and it was a good thing he was as content to hold me as I was to be in his arms.
“I have a question,” he said as we got comfortable.
“Okay.”
“You’ve mentioned more than once how much you want kids. How long were you married?”
“Legally, almost five years. Living together, a little less than four.”
“So how come you never got pregnant if that was your biggest motivation for marrying him?”
I sighed. “Douglas was a real piece of work. He had no desire for kids and had a vasectomy before we even met. He didn’t tell me that, of course, so he let me go three years thinking something was wrong with me.”
“Are you kidding me?” He lifted my chin and pressed a chaste kiss on the tip of my nose. “Can I punch him in the nose? Just once?”
I chuckled. “If you want. No skin off my teeth.”
“Asshole.” He held me tighter. “I’ve never had a vasectomy,” he said after a moment.
I smiled. “Good to know.”
“You, uh, feel strongly about your IUD?”
I gazed up at him curiously. “We’ve been together two weeks and you’re ready to make babies?”
“It’s come up enough times, just in general conversation, for me to know it’s important to you, and if it’s important to you, it’s important to me.”
I swallowed hard, tears stinging my eyelids. I’d been crying a lot lately, but it was good to purge all these feelings because Ace made me believe everything was going to be okay.
“Would you do me a favor?” I asked quietly.
“Of course.”
“Would you get my purse from the living room?”
“Sure.” He untangled my arms and padded into the living room, giving me a glimpse of his gloriously hard and sexy backside. Damn, I loved looking at his body.
He came back with my bag and handed it to me as he got back into bed, settling with his arms around me and some pillows propped behind us.
I dug my father’s letter out and held it up.
“Your father’s letter,” he said softly.
I nodded.
“We’re supposed to read it together.”
I met his eyes. “You think now?”
“Have you forgiven your mom?”
“We’re going to go back to therapy, via Skype, with the counselor we used before. I’m on the road to forgiving her because she’s the only mom I have and Dad would be so upset if I cut her out of my life. She’s a pain in the ass, but she’s my mom. You know?”
“I get that.” He kissed me.
My hands shook a little as I pulled the letter out of the envelope. “I don’t know what this says, but Mom said even if I never spoke to her again, to make sure we read this together. And that’s definitely my dad’s handwriting on the front.”
“Then we should read it,” he said gently.
“Okay.” I unfolded two sheets of paper with handwriting on them. I cleared my throat and held it out in front of me as I started to read out loud:
My darling Shannon and Ace,
If you’re reading this, my dying wish has come true and that makes me happier than you’ll ever know. Please don’t be angry with your mother. I asked her to do it, to make this happen between you because I ran out of time.
Shannon, I had no idea that night, when I re-introduced you and Ace at the charity dinner, that it would make such a lasting impression on you. But watching you struggle to find a man like Ace, who was worthy of you, broke my heart. I knew your husband was going to hurt you, but you wanted children and your mother made me believe that if we just left the two of you to work things out, it would happen. For that, I apologize. I love your mother, but I shouldn’t have listened to her. Not then.
Ace, I knew who and what you were, so I couldn’t reach out, but I hoped you’d come home ready to settle down. I was afraid you might not, though, and now that I’m near the end, I’ve told Samantha not to wait too long, that you and Shannon need each other. I’ve followed your