Sunday came around quickly, and Damian liked how easy it had been falling into living with Mia. She was such a laidback woman, so calm, so caring. He’d woken up in the mornings to find her already sitting at the table, feeding their kids, with a breakfast keeping warm for him.
He’d not eaten so well ever. His mother had always cooked for him, or he’d put together a sandwich, or eaten out.
Mia sat beside him in the car and kept checking into the back to make sure they’re kids were doing all right. They looked so beautiful, and he smiled at Martha.
“Will all your family be here?” she asked.
“Yes, and my brand new extended family.”
“Are you going to cause a fight? Have a gun pushed against your head?”
“Nope. That’s for diners only.”
She giggled. “You’re weird.”
“Yeah, well it takes one to know one.”
“Really, you’re calling me weird?” she asked.
“Hell yeah, you don’t want to be anything normal. Normal people suck. Stay weird like me.”
She laughed, and he loved that sound coming from her. It was so light, and every time she did, he found himself smiling along with her.
“I’ve got to give Gabriel a chance. I’m not a total asshole, but it’s hard. Everything has changed.” He had been thinking about what his brother had said. To the outside world they were a united force, and the moment you started to show a weak link, someone would try to take away from you. He didn’t want that to happen, so he had no choice other to put his differences aside, and to accept Gabriel as his brother.
“I’m proud of you. He’s only an asshole now, and not a total fucking one.”
Damian threw his head back and laughed. There were a lot of times over the past few days that he’d said some pretty colorful things about Gabriel. Mia had always listened to him without saying a word. He enjoyed talking to her, and sometimes she’d share her own personal problems with him, which he liked a lot.
When it came to Mia, he was completely infatuated by her. She was so beautiful, and there were many times throughout the night that he would sneak into her room.
He found watching over her calmed him. There was always a risk that he’d get caught because of one of the kids whimpering. He’d never been someone who could sleep for long periods of time.
They arrived at his parents to find his two brothers, Jacob and Gabriel, outside. It was hard to think of Gabriel as his brother, but Damian was going to try. He’d make the effort, especially as he’d taken the time to look at the Denton situation, and he’d also seen a slight decline in the respect that he was given. He didn’t like it, not one bit.
Climbing out of the car, Jacob came to help with Martha as Mia grabbed Reese.
“If you head in, I’ll be with you in a minute.”
“Okay. Try to be nice,” she said, smiling at him.
He saluted her, and felt like a fucking idiot.
“You really are smitten,” Gabriel said.
“You’ve head of that legacy thing? The pesky little curse all of us men are supposed to have.”
“Maddox mentioned it, yes.”
“You don’t call him Dad?” Damian asked.
“He’s not really my dad. He’s told me to call him that, but it doesn’t feel right.” Gabriel tilted his head, staring at him. “What’s it like? This pesky little curse?”
Damian sighed. “It’s different for us all, I think. I don’t know.”
“What does it feel like?”
He saw that Gabriel was just curious. Part of him was tempted to be an asshole, but he had Mia and their two children to think about. “Everything falls away. The moment you see her, you just know in your gut that she is the best thing that has ever happened to you, and that you’re going to love her, hold her, and cherish her for the rest of your life. It doesn’t matter what anyone does or says, you will just love and hold her. Whenever I look at Mia that is exactly how I feel. There is no one else around that I could want, or even wish to have. She is it for me.”