Page 25 of Shattered Love
I smile, shaking my head. “You were perfect.”
A smile appears as he kisses my forehead, pulling me close and wrapping his arm around me. The other lies on my flat stomach and I place my hands over his.
“I love you.”
* * *
Avery
I wake up, my body deliciously sore. I hear Cooper baking in the backyard and Dominic’s laugh follows.
My guys.
I take a quick shower. After getting dressed I make my way down the stairs to see Dominic heading toward me. Our eyes meet.
The doorbell rings.
Claiming the steps that separate us, he curses before looking me in the eyes. “Don’t get mad, beautiful. Remember, it stresses out the baby.”
Why would he say that?
He grabs my hand tight as if I’m going run away.
The door opens. Two familiar people stand in front of me. I groan.
Like a lioness protecting her mate, I stand in front of Dominic. “What are you doing here?”
They can’t mistake the coldness in my voice. I watch as both their eyes go to my stomach before moving to look over my shoulder.
I spin. “You invited them?” I growl my eyes instantly narrow my hands going to my hips.
“They are your parents, beautiful. A girl needs her mom at a time like this.”
Jerk. My sweet, thoughtful jerk.
I kiss his lips quickly before turning back to my parents. “One disrespectful remark and you will be asked to leave.”
My mother nods and, after a second, so does my father. I get my stubbornness from him.
Dominic leaves us in the living room.
I watch as my mother looks at the photographs of Dominic and I and the lives we have built together. Our wedding photo is the biggest.
“You look beautiful.”
I can’t help but smile. “It was the best day of my life.”
My father twitches in his seat. “Who walked you down the aisle?”
I had been a daddy’s girl growing up. As I got older, we started to drift apart like teenagers do with their parents.
It hurt more than I could ever admit that they hadn’t turned up for my wedding. I remember looking for them as I walked toward the beach. The moment I realized they weren’t there was the moment I pushed them away.
Carter was waiting for me. We may not be family by blood, but he is my family. That day proved it.
“Carter, Dominic’s partner.” I don’t owe an explanation.
I watch pain cross my dad's eyes. I am their only child. I didn’t care what they thought. Dominic was the only man I was ever going marry and they missed their chance to see me get married.
