Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Damian

Three days later.

Lily was safe.

That was all that mattered.

Ethan had taken her without permission. He claimed he only wanted to spend time with his sister. After one huge confrontation, I made it very clear that he would never do that again.

For the first time in weeks, the house was peaceful.

No journalists. No secret files. No mysterious letters. No family drama.

Just peace.

I intended to keep it that way.

Harper walked into my office carrying a cup of coffee.

“You’re working again.”

I looked up. She was wearing one of my shirts.

My brain immediately stopped functioning.

A dangerous habit lately.

“I own a company.”

“You also own a vacation home.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What?”

She placed the coffee on my desk. “I heard Mason talking.”

“Mason talks too much.”

“He said you haven’t taken a real vacation in years.”

I glared at my best friend even though he wasn’t there.

Traitor.

Harper smiled. “You need a break.”

“I’m fine.”

“You definitely are not.”

I leaned back. “And what exactly are you suggesting?”

She crossed her arms. “A vacation.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I have work.”

She laughed. “You always have work.”

I opened my mouth. Then closed it.

Because unfortunately she was right.

Harper smiled victoriously. “I win.”

“You are very annoying.”

“And yet you married me.”

The words came out naturally. Both of us froze.

Then slowly smiled.

Because lately moments like this happened all the time. Moments that felt normal. Comfortable. Married. Real.

An hour later, Harper somehow convinced me. I still wasn’t sure how.

Maybe because she looked happy for the first time in days.

Maybe because I was weak where she was concerned.

Probably both.

The next morning we arrived at my private beachfront property in the Caribbean.

The moment Harper stepped out of the car, she gasped.

“Oh my God.”

I watched her smile. The sight alone made the trip worthwhile.

The ocean stretched endlessly before us. White sand. Blue water. Warm sunlight. No reporters. No Blackwoods. No problems.

Just us.

Harper slowly turned toward me. “This place is incredible.”

“You like it?”

“I want to live here.”

I laughed. The sound surprised both of us.

Lately she had that effect on me. She made things easier. Lighter. Better.

A small villa overlooked the beach. Nothing overly grand. Private. Peaceful. Exactly what I wanted.

As soon as we entered, Harper dropped her bag. Then ran straight toward the balcony.

I followed.

The view was spectacular. The ocean sparkled beneath the afternoon sun.

Harper looked completely captivated. “It’s beautiful.”

I wasn’t looking at the ocean. I was looking at her.

Eventually she noticed. My wife always noticed.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re staring again.”

I smiled. “You keep mentioning that.”

“Because you keep doing it.”

Fair. Very fair.

The afternoon passed quietly.

We walked along the beach. Talked about random things. Nothing important. Nothing serious. For once we weren’t discussing scandals or secrets.

Just life.

At sunset we sat together on the sand. The sky glowed orange and gold.

Harper tucked her knees against her chest. “This is nice.”

“Yeah.”

She looked at me. “I can’t remember the last time I relaxed.”

I understood. The past few months had been chaos. For both of us.

Harper smiled softly. “I think this is the first time we’ve spent a day together without someone trying to ruin it.”

“Give it time.”

She laughed. Then threw a handful of sand at me.

I stared at her. “Did you just throw sand?”

“Maybe.”

I immediately grabbed some myself.

Her eyes widened. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes.”

A second later she was running. Laughing. Actually laughing.

I chased her down the beach. Eventually catching her around the waist.

Harper squealed. “Damian!”

“That’s what happens.”

“Put me down.”

“No.”

“Damian.”

“No.”

Her laughter filled the air.

For a moment I simply held her there. Neither of us spoke. Neither of us moved.

The world felt far away. Just the ocean. The sunset. And us.

Slowly Harper looked up. Our eyes met.

Something shifted. The laughter faded. The smiles softened. The space between us disappeared.

Neither of us looked away.

“Harper.”

My voice came out lower than intended.

Her pulse jumped visibly.

“Yeah?”

The answer barely sounded like a whisper.

For weeks we had been dancing around this. The attraction. The feelings. The marriage. Everything.

But here? Alone? Without distractions?

There was nowhere left to hide.

My hand moved to her cheek. Slowly. Giving her every chance to stop me.

She didn’t.

Instead she stepped closer.

My control snapped instantly.

I kissed her. Softly at first. Then deeper.

Real. Nothing fake about it. Nothing forced. Nothing arranged.

Just us.

When we finally pulled apart, Harper looked stunned.

Honestly, so did I.

A slow smile appeared on her face. “Well.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Well?”

“That definitely wasn’t in the marriage contract.”

I laughed.

Then kissed her again.

This time she laughed against my mouth. The sound nearly destroyed what remained of my self-control.

Eventually we returned to the villa.

Neither of us stopped smiling. Neither of us mentioned the kiss. Mostly because if we started talking about it, neither of us would know where to stop.

Later that night, we sat on the balcony watching the moonlight dance across the water.

Harper rested her head against my shoulder. Comfortably. Naturally. Like she belonged there.

The realization felt dangerously right.

Then she suddenly spoke.

“Damian?”

“Yeah?”

“If this marriage wasn’t fake…”

I looked down at her. She looked nervous. Vulnerable. Beautiful.

“What?”

Harper swallowed. Then smiled softly.

“I think I would’ve fallen for you anyway.”

My heart stopped.

For one perfect second, nothing else existed.

Then a loud knock echoed through the villa.

Both of us frowned.

Nobody should have known we were here.

The knock came again. Harder this time.

A chill ran down my spine.

Because taped to the glass door was a single envelope.

And written across the front were six words.

FOR HARPER VALE AND HER HUSBAND.