Chapter 15 The Love Confession
Lara's pov
The kitchen felt smaller suddenly.
Like the walls had moved in closer the moment those words left my mouth.
"I'm in love with you."
Damien set his mug down carefully. Like he was afraid any sudden movement might shatter whatever was happening between us.
"Lara—"
"Let me finish," I said, my hands trembling.
"Please. Because if I don't say this now, I might lose my nerve."
He nodded, staying perfectly still.
"I'm not falling in love with you. I'm not developing feelings. I am right now, standing here completely, terrifyingly in love with you."
My voice cracked on the last word.
"And it scares the hell out of me because the last time I loved someone, he destroyed me. He took everything I had and threw me away like garbage. So loving you? That's the bravest thing I've ever done."
Damien's jaw tightened.
"I watch you with Ethan and my heart feels too big for my chest. You change diapers at 4am without complaining. You make airplane noises with sweet potatoes. You got on the floor and cheered when he took three steps. You're... you're everything I didn't know a man could be."
"Lara," Damien whispered.
"I'm done being scared," I continued.
"Done protecting myself. Done holding back. I love you, Damien Otto. And I just need you to know that."
Silence stretched between us.
One second. Two. Three.
Then Damien moved.
He crossed the kitchen in two strides and his mouth was on mine.
This kiss was nothing like the hotel.
That night was fog and confusion and trying to forget.
This? This was clarity. This was choosing. This was diving in headfirst with my eyes wide open.
His hands slid into my hair, tilting my head back.
I grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer, needing more.
"Say it again," he murmured against my lips.
"I love you."
"Again."
"I love you."
"God, I'll never get tired of hearing that." He kissed my jaw, my neck, my collarbone. "I've imagined you saying those words for so long."
"How long?"
"Years. Since before—" He stopped himself.
"Before what?"
Damien pulled back to look at me. "Before you married Lucas. I've loved you that long."
My breath caught. "You... what?"
"That day you crashed into me at your father's office. You were wearing yellow.
Your hair was up. You said 'sorry, I'm a disaster today' and kept running. And I just stood there like an idiot, completely gone for you."
"That was seven years ago."
"I know."
"Why didn't you—"
"You were with Lucas. You seemed happy.
What was I supposed to do? Tell my boss's daughter I was in love with her while she was dating someone else?"
I touched his face, feeling stubble under my palm. "I wasn't happy. I just didn't know any better."
"I know that now."
"All this time..."
"All this time," he confirmed. "Watching you at company events. Seeing you fade a little more each year. Wanting to tell you to run but knowing you wouldn't listen."
Tears spilled down my cheeks.
"Hey, don't cry." He wiped them away with his thumbs.
"I wasted so much time with the wrong person."
"You didn't waste anything. Everything that happened brought you here. To this moment. To us."
He kissed me again, softer this time.
Slower.
Like we had forever and he planned to use every second.
"Come upstairs with me," he said quietly.
My stomach flipped. "Damien..."
"Only if you want to. If you're not ready—"
"I'm ready."
I'd been ready for months but too terrified to admit it.
Too scared I'd mess everything up.
But standing here, looking at him, I wasn't scared anymore.
He took my hand, lacing our fingers together.
We walked upstairs in silence.
My heart was hammering so hard I was sure he could hear it.
In his bedroom—our bedroom—he turned on the small lamp on the nightstand.
Soft light filled the space.
"You're sure?" he asked.
"Stop asking me that."
"I just need to know—"
I kissed him, cutting off whatever he was about to say.
He got the message.
His hands found the bottom of my shirt, fingertips grazing my skin.
I shivered.
"Cold?"
"No. Just... nervous."
"We can stop"
"Damien, if you try to stop one more time, I swear"
He laughed against my neck. "Okay. Okay. No more stopping."
We undressed each other between kisses.
No rush. No frenzy. Just discovering each other inch by inch.
When he laid me down on the bed, his eyes traveled over me.
"You're beautiful," he whispered.
"I'm not—"
"You are. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Then his mouth was on mine again and all my protests died.
His touch was worship.
Every kiss is deliberate.
Every caress is intentional.
Like he'd been memorizing this moment in his mind and now he was finally living it.
"Look at me," he said when our bodies finally joined.
I opened my eyes, meeting his gaze.
"I love you," he said. "I need you to know that. This isn't just... I love you."
"I know." I cupped his face. "I love you too."
We moved together slowly.
Learning each other's rhythm.
Finding what made the other gasp.
This was nothing like that desperate night at the hotel.
This was creation instead of destruction.
Building instead of breaking.
Choosing instead of fleeing.
When pleasure finally crashed over us, I held onto him like an anchor.
Like if I let go, I might float away and discover this was all a dream.
But it wasn't a dream.
This was real. He was real. We were real.
Afterward, we lay catching our breath.
His arm around me. My head on his chest.
Our legs tangled.
"That was..." I started.
"Perfect," he finished.
"Yeah. Perfect."
We lay quiet for a bit.
Then out of nowhere, Damien said, "Marry me."
I jerked up to look at him. "What?"
"Marry me, Lara."
"We just— You can't just—"
"I'm serious." He sat up too, taking my hands. "I want to marry you. Not right this second. But someday. When you're ready.
Say you'll think about it."
My mind was spinning. "Damien..."
"I know it's fast. I know you need time. But I'm thirty-five years old and I've never been more certain of anything in my life. You're it for me. You and Ethan. You're my family. I want to make it official."
"I need time," I blurted out.
His face fell slightly. "Oh. Okay. I understand—"
"Ask me again in a year."
He froze. "What?"
"Give me one year. Let me finish healing completely. Let me be sure I'm choosing you for the right reasons and not just because you saved me."
"You're not—"
"I know that. But I need to prove it to myself. One year from today, ask me again."
Understanding dawned in his eyes. "And what will you say?"
"Yes." I smiled through sudden tears. "I'll say yes."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure. I just need the time to get there on my own terms. Can you understand that?"
He pulled me close, kissing my temple. "I can understand that. One year. I can wait one year."
"Thank you."
"But I'm warning you now—I'm planning something elaborate. The proposal, I mean. You're not getting a half-assed 'hey, wanna get married?'"
I laughed. "Good. Because I want the whole thing. Down on one knee. A ring. Maybe some candles."
"Oh, there'll be candles. And probably a ridiculous speech I'll rehearse a hundred times and then completely forget when I see your face."
"I can't wait."
"Neither can I."
We settled back down, my head finding that perfect spot on his shoulder.
Sleep pulled at me, heavy and warm.
"Lara?"
"Mmm?"
"I'm going to love you until the day I die. You know that, right?"
"I know." I pressed a kiss to his chest.
"And I'm going to let you. That's new for me."
"I know it is. Thank you for trusting me."
"Thank you for being worth it.
His arms tightened around me.
And I fell asleep smiling.
For once, the future didn't look terrifying.
It looked bright.
Full of possibility.
Full of love.
Full of everything I thought Lucas had destroyed in me.
But he hadn't destroyed it.
He'd just buried it.
And Damien? Damien helped me dig it back up.