“Don’t apologize. I should have told you. I wanted to, but… I guess I was just scared. I didn’t want you to think I was broken or something, you know? I wanted you to see me as this strong, stable, successful guy. Not like this,” he gestured at himself. He sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes, a look of embarrassment on his face as he spoke softly while shaking his head in disappointment. “God, I’m so pathetic, right? Look at me. I’m a mess.”
“No, Devon, you’re not,” Eva said compassionately as she stepped down the stairs into the rain and took his hand in hers. “You’ve been through a lot. It’s okay. You don’t have to hide things from me. You don’t always have to be this big, tough guy. You don’t do a good job of it anyway,” she joked.
“No?” he chuckled back, his eyes beginning to brighten. Guiding him with one hand and Burley’s leash in the other, she led Devon back up the stairs and out of the rain. As they stood under the building’s eave, water trickling down around them, Eva reached up and tenderly placed a hand on his cheek.
“You’re a sensitive guy, Devon. I’ve known that from day one. And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s one of the things I like about you,” she smiled sweetly.
“Thank you,” he replied, his wet hair matted to his head. “My wife used to joke that my heart is as big as my arms,” he chuckled as he remembered her words and fought back another wave of tears. He paused to swallow and recompose himself while Eva remained silent, giving him all the time he needed as she held onto his hand.
“What happened?” she asked when she felt he was ready.
“When she died,” he began slowly, “I couldn’t handle it. We met in one of the foster homes I landed in after my parents died. I was seventeen and she was fifteen. We instantly became best friends, but we got separated when I was shipped off to another home. We kept in touch every day, and as soon as she turned eighteen we ran to the courthouse to get married. Since she didn’t have any family either, we didn’t feel the need to have an actual wedding. No guests, nothing like that. We just went to the courthouse and that was that. We were so in love, Eva,” he paused to once again regain is composure. “We were so in love,” he reiterated, “and we just wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. We shared the same dreams, and with my grandfather’s money we were going to do good things. Give people better lives. We worked hard doing just that. And we shared nine wonderful years together before she got sick. When she passed, I lost my mind. I holed up in my grandfather’s estate and kind of became a hermit. It took me two years to even start going out again.”
“Oh, Devon,” Eva’s lips quivered as she held back tears. “I can’t even imagine…”
“The business took a major hit, to say the least,” Devon explained. “We started it together, and without her by my side it just wasn’t the same. I lost all desire to continue on, to be honest. Remember when I told you my properties only recently starting turning a profit?”
“Yes,” Eva answered, remembering back to their first date at Burger World.
“Yeah, that might have been a lie. My entire business is fucking hemorrhaging money,” he chuckled before sniffling and wiping another tear from his eye. “I suck as a businessman. I have no idea what I’m doing. I wear nice suits and occasionally hit up a fancy restaurant to try and look the part, but my heart just isn’t in it anymore. Truth be told, my wife was the one with the business savvy and she was pretty much the brainchild of the entire operation. I’ve been lost without her,” he confessed as a stray tear made its way down his face.
“You know I don’t care about money, Devon,” Eva reminded him as she released his hand and wiped his cheek dry with her delicate thumb.
“I know you don’t,” he said with a heavy sigh. “And that’s one of the reasons I care about you so much. Most women only see me as a walking moneybag. You think you’re defensive? Try being me,” he laughed. “When I first met Marie, she had no idea how much I was worth. I didn’t tell her about the inheritance until we were already a couple. Over the last two years I’ve thought about dating, but it’s just so damn hard. Women care about my bank account, not who I am as a person,” he pointed at his chest to drive the point home, his big, blue eyes still full of hurt.
“I guess I never thought of it that way,” Eva replied as she took his hand in hers again. Since meeting this man, she’d never considered how hard dating must be for him. The entire time he’d been every bit as defensive as her, he’d just been better at hiding it. Burley had grown bored with their conversation and had laid down on the stoop to watch the rain falling onto the uneventful street. “I’ve been selfish and I hate myself for how I’ve treated you. I’ve never once put myself in your shoes. I guess I just assumed since you had money that life was easy for you.”
Devon watched her with a sort of fascination as she spoke. Eva had never met anyone so captivated by her every word, and she was very much flattered by it. There was something deeper and more genuine about him than any man she’d ever met before. He’d been so good to her when all she’d done from the day they’d met is misjudge him and make false accusations. Despite this, he’d still been patient with her and that kindness is what she admired about him the most. He was so much more than good looks, muscles, and money. His heart truly was as big as his arms, and she vowed to show him the patience and understanding he’d shown her.
“You’re the first real girl I’ve met, and you knocked me off my feet,” Devon said as his spirit lifted and he flashed her a warm smile. “You didn’t care about my money and it actually seemed to be a turn-off to you,” he laughed. “Plus you didn’t walk out on me when I took you for a greasy burger at a cheap fast-food joint!”
Eva giggled and playfully delivered her trademark “you’re stupid” line as thunder sounded in the distance. Devon’s face grew serious as he pulled her close to him, his suit still dripping from the rain. Towering over her small frame, he stared down into her eyes and gently brushed her hair with the back of his hand. Not even ten minutes earlier she’d wanted this man out of her life for good, but as she felt one of his strong arms around her she suddenly couldn’t imagine her world without him in it.
“Listen,” he spoke softly as he held her tightly with one arm, his other hand caressing her cheek softly as she looked up at him with her big, brown eyes. “Because of you, I’ve been truly happy for the first time in five years. You remind me of Marie in a lot of ways because you’re so genuine and so… so… real. Does that make any sense? You’re just not fake, and that’s what I love about you.” He pulled away slightly and took her hands in his. “It’s important to me that you know something, though. Okay?”
“Okay…” Eva answered slowly with her brow raised in concern.
“I want you to know that I’m not trying to replace Marie with you. I’m not trying to fill some void and using you to do it. I care about you, Eva Johnson, with all of my heart.”
“Thank you,” Eva said as she grabbed his wet necktie and pulled him in for a kiss. “I needed to hear that,” she smiled.
Devon’s serious look returned as he wrapped an arm around Eva again and held her cheek in the palm of his strong hand. Heat radiated between them as they gazed into each other’s eyes for a long moment before Devon spoke the three words that made Eva’s knees go weak.
“I love you.” He took a step back, his eyes still locked onto hers as he gauged her reaction. The words had caught her off guard, and as they sunk in he nervously awaited her reply.
“I.. I love you, too,” she stammered as she finally admitted just how hard she’d fallen for this sweet, sensitive man who was as handsome as he was kind.
“Really?” he asked with childlike enthusiasm, his face beaming with a big, toothy grin.
“Yes, really, silly,” she laughed as he stood glowing, unable to pry the smile from his face. Standing on her tiptoes, she placed her hands on his broad shoulders and locked her mouth on his for a deep, passionate kiss. He wrapped his stron
g arms around her waist, lifting her off the stoop and twirling her around as she cackled in amusement.
“What now?” he asked as he gently set her back down.
“I really don’t know, Devon,” she replied with concern. “I mean, I love you so much, but we have two totally different lifestyles. I’m a simple girl. I want a simple life. A modest home and just enough money to get by is all I need. I don’t care about mansions or limousines. When you’re around money all the time, you don’t appreciate it as much and I never want to wind up like that. Can you understand that?” she asked with an almost pleading look in her eyes.
“I understand it more than you know,” he answered earnestly. “Marie knew it, too. All the money in the world couldn’t save her. When she was diagnosed, I tried getting her into the country’s best clinics but she knew her time was up and wouldn’t allow it. She saw it as a waste of money and refused to even attempt treatment. I watched my wife die,” he paused to refrain from weeping again, “and money was useless to stop it.”
“Oh, baby, I’m so—” Eva began, only to be interrupted by Devon’s shaky voice.
“One year into our marriage we bought a puppy together. We didn’t have time for a child, so little Roscoe became our baby. He had to be put down last year but he lived a full life, at least. I’m sure he spent the last few years of it wondering where Marie went,” he stopped to take a deep breath and contain his emotions. “You think I care about money? I don’t. It couldn’t save my wife. Couldn’t save my damn dog. Hell, sometimes I think I want my business to fail. I just want to be happy, and I know money can’t buy that. You make me happy, and money certainly can’t buy you!” he chuckled with a small sniffle. “I’d give it all up for you, you know? Every dime I have. And just lead a normal life with you by my side forever.”
“You’d really do that for me?” she asked, her emotions causing her eyes to well up with tears again. Burley was now sitting beside her watching the two speak and trying to determine what exactly was going on.
“In a heartbeat,” he replied with a sincere smile. “All I need is you.”
“I… I don’t know what to say,” Eva uttered, her eyes wide and mouth agape.
“I’ll list all of my properties for sale tomorrow,” Devon nodded, “and that includes the estate. We’ll donate most of the money to charity and keep just enough for us to live on, okay? Maybe we can buy a small house and live that modest life you’ve always wanted. That is, if you’ll have me,” he grinned.
“Jesus, Devon, you don’t have to do that. Not for me. I’m not worth it, trust me. You’d see that eventually and then resent me.”
“Oh, stop,” Devon laughed. “You’re worth it to me. I’m serious, Eva. I want to be with you for as long as you’ll have me, and I’d trade my lifestyle to have you in a second.”
At a loss for words, Eva threw her arms around Devon’s neck and held him tightly as she sobbed in a happiness she’d never felt before. She felt his powerful body close to hers, and felt safeness and security envelop her as he pulled her into him. Their lips connected in a tender kiss as the rain fell down around them, and in that moment Eva knew they were going to be just fine. No matter what lifestyle they chose to live, they’d be okay as long as they had each other.
About The Author
From her ranch just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, Destiny Davis escapes the desert heat by spinning yet another gripping novella from the air- conditioned comfort of her modest home. This independent author is a dreamer with a wild imagination, and that's evidenced by her captivating, original romance stories. Destiny developed a love for the romance genre at an early age and still enjoys reading these books as much as she does writing them. Her style is unique and her writing filled with riveting characters and situations that will have you completely transfixed.
Destiny's books are hard to put down, and she's always working on another intriguing tale. In college, Destiny Davis excelled in writing and parlayed that skill into a full-time career penning romance stories and articles for her local newspaper. In her free time, she enjoys horseback riding and spending time with her two yellow Labrador retrievers. She hopes to someday find a man as romantic as the ones she writes!
Destiny loves hearing from her fans and can be reached at:
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Misjudging the Billionaire - (Contemporary BWWM Romance) Page 10