Gone - Anna Brooks Page 0,32

me out from behind him and clamps his hand around my waist, plastering me to his side. “I want you to meet my Isabel. Izzy, this is my grandma Lottie.” God, the way his entire demeanor transformed is crazy. He sounds so vulnerable right now, and it’s actually really spectacular to witness his adoration for the woman.

I extend my hand, but she shoos it away, then pulls me in. I giggle as I hug her one-handed because Damien doesn’t let me go. “Why, you’re just as cute as a button.”

“Thank you, you’re so sweet.” When I step back, Jordan has moved closer, and Damien shuffles us away from him. “Damien says such great things about you. It’s nice to finally meet you.” I purposely emphasize you just a little. Enough for Damien to hear, hoping Jordan does too, but not bitchy enough to make a bad first impression on his grandmother.

Jordan smirks, like the pompous ass I can already tell he is without Damien even having told me about him. “Come on, Grandma. Let’s get you to the table. Laila saved a seat for you right next to her.”

A muscle quivers at Damien’s jaw, and I lean against him, offering any support I can while he’s in his brother’s presence. Once they turn the corner, I twist out of his hold. “Who’s Laila?”

“My ex.”

You’ve got to be kidding me. “Your brother married your ex-girlfriend?”

“No.” He shakes his head and huffs out a puff of breath. “He married my ex-wife.”

My reaction is swift, but he’s faster. I barely even take a step toward the door before he’s on me. He pushes me against the wall, and when I open my mouth to tell him to fuck off, he clamps his hand over it.

“Listen to me.”

“Fuck you, Damien.” I say it, but it only comes out mumbled. How does he not tell me that little detail? I can understand everything else, but this… this is insane.

He swallows and checks over his shoulder. “I should have told you, but she wasn’t supposed to be here. I can’t leave now. Please, baby, please, just suck it up for an hour, and then we’ll leave. I’ll tell you everything when we get home.”

I pull at his arm and shove him. “You were married?”

“Yes.”

“Who ended the marriage?”

“I did. And I swear to you, I feel nothing but hatred for her. I didn’t even think to tell you about her because I never think about her, I promise.”

I shoot daggers at him but take several deep breaths to calm myself. He’s been nothing but perfect to me, dealing with Danny and all, so the least I can do is be here for him now. “Fine. But I’m only staying because I love you, and I know you would never hit a woman, so if she tries to start something, I’ll be here to knock her ass out.” And if it came down to that, I’d definitely be able to. I’m not some sissy hair puller. I’m pretty badass, if I say so myself.

He hooks my neck and hauls me closer, then tilts my face up roughly. “You love me?”

My head snaps back, yet his fingers stay tight against my scalp. “What?”

“You just said you love me.”

Oh God, I did. “I, uh…”

“You said it, so you can’t take it back now.” He slams his mouth to mine for a hard, fast kiss. “We have to get in there, but Izzy baby, you just made this night so much easier. You have no clue how much that means to me. Especially right now. Fuck.” He eases his forehead to mine. “I needed to hear that more than you know.”

He takes my hand and pulls me away, and I have no choice but to follow him, which isn’t a bad thing because it doesn’t give me time to think about what I just said to him. I have so many mixed emotions but don’t even have time to process them before he leads me down the hallway and to the dining room, which is like something you’d see in a magazine. Or in a movie. It’s beautiful. And when I glance around the table and my perusal lands on the woman next to Jordan, I feel my heart bottom out because she is, too.

Dammit. I was hoping she’d be ugly, but I should have known better. Her hair is cut in a pixie style, which is perfect on her. Her eyebrows are arched, again perfectly, and her gold eye shadow