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On the rooftop, he could finally breathe. Cool night air stung his face but with Penny safely protected by his men, Damien took a moment for himself to try and untangle his thoughts. Being so close yet so far from her pained him more than he cared to admit. The last seventy-two hours were a blur.
He hadn’t thought much beyond getting her back safely, and now that he had her, he didn’t know what to say or how to act in her presence. He ran his hands through his hair and stared up at the night stars.
What now?
On the one hand, she’d been his wife, his best friend, his confidant. She was the mother of his child and he’d fully expected to grow old with her. They couldn’t just ignore what had happened between them but how to bring it up eluded him.
“Hey, there you are.” Boots thumped across the rooftop and stopped at his side. Gabe sucked wind and shook his head. “Why’d you run away?”
He didn’t want to talk about it and he said so.
“Not gonna fly with me, old man.” Gabe grinned. “You’ve been there for all of us in one way or another. Let me return the favor.”
“I don’t see how.”
Gabe laughed. “You feel estranged from her, don’t you? Like you don’t even know who she is.”
Ugh. “Yes.”
“That’s normal. To be expected.”
Damien wanted to tell him to go away, but maybe he could learn from Gabe’s experience. “Go on.”
Gabe shrugged. “It’s going to feel weird, and honestly, it probably should. I bet she feels the same way.”
Damien turned to face him. “I don’t know what to say to her, or how to bring up the elephant in the room, so to speak.”
“You mean there’s only one elephant?” Gabe shook his head. “Think again.”
Ugh.
“You two need time alone. Away from us, and especially away from Stevie, at least until you and Penny have faced some facts.”
“Stevie needs her mother.”
Gabe sighed. “You haven’t heard a word I said, have you? Penny’s not the mother that Stevie would know and the same is true for the reverse. You,” he poked Damien in the chest, “can’t let them meet until Penny’s had time to decompress and debrief. You, of all people, should know that.”
The truths were uncomfortable, but Gabe was right. “How the hell did you get so smart?”
Pleased with himself, Gabe smiled. “I had a brilliant mentor.”