23. J.W.

Chapter 23

J.W.

J ames watched Yara dress, his eyes never leaving her. They were both finally clean and while he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep against her naked body, he knew she needed sleep.

Just as he did.

And there would always be next time. Because he was determined at this point for Yara to take up a permanent residence in his life. He just hoped she felt the same.

He lifted the sheets for her to slide in next to him.

She carefully settled onto the bed, and he tugged her back against his chest.

He marinated for a moment in her warmth. He had been alone for too long.

“So, what is your story?” Yara mumbled softly, shifting closer to him.

He pressed a kiss into the back of her hair, clenching his arms around her much smaller body.

“You gave me your truth earlier? Well I will do the same. I was never married, but I had somebody for a long time. She was practically my wife. We were together for almost fifteen years and while I had tried to tie the knot several times, she never seemed interested.” James let out a whoosh of air.

He was grateful he didn’t have to watch Yara’s face. He didn’t want to see the typical judgment he was used to witnessing .

“We shared a child and after fifteen years together, they both disappeared without a trace.” James’s voice cracked. He had looked everywhere for the both of them, but their names weren’t anywhere. There was no paper trail. It was as if they had disappeared without a trace.

“They disappeared?” Yara whispered out hoarsely into the mattress.

“I came home from a business trip and they were both gone,” James confirmed, his words muffled by Yara’s hair.

“Your child, what was her name?”

Had he said he had a daughter? Or was it that obvious? “Isobella, but we always called her Izzy.” James was so wrapped up in his own grief, his own shortcomings, his own memories that he didn’t realize Yara had stiffened in his arms.

Didn’t realize that she was no longer resting comfortably against him.

Didn’t realize that he was holding his daughter’s best friend.