They had a place within this new family.
She didn’t.
Sure, she hung out with the wives, and Charlotte, and even Tamsin. She hated to think about it, but out of all of the women, Tamsin was the only one she felt any real connection to. The youngest Denton seemed to get it. She had a clue. No one else did though.
“Forget it. It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. You really care about this stuff.”
“It’s more than just this stuff.”
“Emma, talk to me. You want out of the city or out of the Denton life?”
“Both,” she said. “Look, what you and your family have done for me is amazing. Honestly, I really appreciate it, but this is not the life I ever wanted, and now I’ve got a chance and I want to take it.”
“Have you talked about this with your brothers?”
“Not yet. I know there’s a lot to work through, and I don’t have everything figured out yet.”
“How soon are you wanting to do this?” Gideon asked.
“Within the next couple of months.” She hadn’t thought about it that much. It had been a passing fancy, but now that she was actually considering it, really thinking about it, she couldn’t bring herself to stop. Would it be so bad to do this, to have a plan, to finally leave all of this behind?
She wanted to go, and the more she thought about it, the happier it made her feel.
“Don’t make any rash decisions though. Take your time.”
“You’re not going to try and talk me out of it?” she asked.
“Of course not, why would I do that? It’s something you want.”
“You don’t look happy about it either.”
She watched as he rubbed his fingers across his forehead, looking really deep in thought.
“I guess, with everything going on, I never considered leaving this life.”
She chuckled. “I’m not asking you to leave, silly. I’m thinking about, you know, going by myself. Being away from it all. Owen and Wyatt, they love being here, you know. It’s their place. Where they feel comfortable being. Me, not so much. I know they’ll try to talk me out of it, and I don’t want that.”
“Not even when your parents were alive?”
“I thought about running away so many times. I mean, my dad was a monster, and he was always looking around for the next big power thing. He was all about wealth and power. Anything he could do to get his hands on it, he wanted it.” She shrugged. “I guess, it was just always a little scary. My mom told me that as a woman in this world, I didn’t have any power of my own. My dad would pick my life for me. I’d have to smile and just take it. That’s what we do. I remember asking her about love. She told me that love is for fools who think it exists.”
“Do you want to believe in love?” he asked.
“I kn
ow it exists. I’ve seen it in people’s eyes, you know. That dreamy look that always comes to them when they see a loved one.”
“I know love exists.”
She looked at him and smiled. “Is this about your curse?” She’d heard all about the Denton family legacy or curse. Owen and Wyatt were teasing Gabriel about it. She didn’t see what was such a curse about finding the woman you love.
It certainly made life a lot easier to know the woman that would be yours for the rest of your life.
“You know about the Denton curse?” he asked.
“Why do you call it a curse? That I don’t get.”