ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 84

CHAPTER EIGHTY FOUR

GABRIELLE’S POV

Damon’s eyes fell on me and I felt my breath hitch slightly. I held his gaze, waiting for him to look away first, but he didn’t.

“Oh, hi Gabrielle,” Selene said, snapping the tension between us.

I turned to her and managed my usual polite smile. “Hi, Selene. What were you guys talking about?”

She giggled, as if I had said something funny. “We were just talking about funny moments of his mother and reminiscing about how sweet she was.”

I blinked, not expecting her response. I could tell she had been waiting to throw that in my face all night.

I cleared my throat. “Oh, that’s nice. Must be good memories, then.”

She shook her head slowly. “No, not really. Today is her death anniversary. I noticed Damon here was drinking a lot so I decided to cheer him up.”

Yay, someone is excited to be a jester.

I turned to Damon, my chest tightening. I had no idea that today meant that much to him. I had no idea that was why he was punishing himself.

He did tell me that he felt responsible for her death.

However, the empathy disappeared just as quickly as it had come, replaced by anger.

He had refused to tell me what the problem was but had no issues discussing it with his first love.

Selene’s head tilted slightly, fake concern on her face. “Oh, he didn’t tell you?”

I forced my eyes to hers again. “No, he didn’t. I guess his mouth was too busy doing other things.”

I didn’t mean to say it the way it came out, but it was too late to retract my words. I had meant that he was too busy giving me half a response and leaving the rest unsaid.

Her smile faded slowly, and she turned to Damon, ignoring me. “Now that your wife is here, we’ll talk some other time.”

Then she walked away, her expression tight.

I snatched the drink from Damon’s hand and downed it in one go. He raised a brow but didn’t stop me. Instead, he beckoned to the bartender for another drink.

I slammed the empty glass back onto the counter harder than necessary.

“Why didn’t you tell me what was wrong when I asked you?” I asked quietly.

Damon’s jaw tightened.

He didn’t look at me as the bartender slid another glass toward him. He wrapped his fingers around it and took a slow sip.

“It’s not a conversation for tonight,” he said.

I let out a humorless laugh. “Funny. It seemed perfectly fine a few minutes ago.”

His eyes finally met mine but he didn’t respond. His free arm wrapped around my waist and he pulled me closer. My body bumped into his, making me warm in different ways.

“We have to kiss,” he said, his voice low.

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Iblinked. “What?”

He raised his eyes and I followed it to the mistletoe above us, “It’s tradition to kiss under the mistletoe ”

My face flushed as I looked around. “Damon, we’re in public.”

He leaned in slightly, his thumb pressing into the small of my back.

“So?” he murmured. “They expect it. There’s a mistletoe above my wife and I.”

My heart thudded harder, anger tangling with something dangerously close to want. “People will see……“

He cut me off with a kiss. It was soft and light at first, then he deepened it, making me cling to him and tasting the alcohol in his mouth.

For a moment, I forgot we were in a room with other people and my hands moved to wrap around his neck

When he finally pulled away, his lips had a little bit of my red lipstick. I tried to hold back my laughter and failed miserably.

He raised a brow, his face still a few inches from mine. “What’s wrong?”

I opened my purse and brought out something to wipe his face. “You have a little bit of lipstick on.”

He let me wipe it off, his eyes staring at me with a look I couldn’t describe. I tried to move away from his arms after I was done but he didn’t let me.

His hold grew tighter.

“You’re awfully cheerful for someone mourning,” I said.

He finished his drink and asked for another one. “It’s the alcohol. I see why you like it so much.”

“You fucking drunk,” I threw his words back at him. “I should have known I was marrying a raging alcoholic. Sounds familiar?”

His expression shifted into something softer. “I think so. I’m not sure. Let’s kiss again.”

I stared at him, stunned by how easily he said it, like it was the most natural thing ever.

I shook my head, trying to ground myself. “I won’t let you dodge conversations with alcohol and kisses, Damon.”

His expression didn’t change. “I don’t want you to worry about anything.”

“It’s your mother’s death anniversary,” I said and brought my voice lower. “I saw you doing that to yourself this morning and I’m naturally worried.”

He exhaled, his eyes turning colder. “We don’t have to talk about this stuff. Selene knew my mother. You didn’t.”

“So? Whose responsibility is it to tell me about her?” I shot back. “You married me, Damon. You share a bed with me. Why do I need to have a reason to want to know more about you?”

Beatrice’s voice boomed from the microphone before he could respond.

“It’s almost midnight and that means it’s almost Christmas,” she said and the room clapped. “It’s time for gift exchange.” Damon turned to the staff, giving them directions to the car so they could bring in our gifts. I was still mad at him but I decided to hold back until we were alone.

The event lasted a few more hours and one by one, the guests started leaving.

I was exhausted and in desperate need of a warm bath but Damon was still in a conversation with some business partners.

Selene and Teatrice were across the room whispering and staring in his direction. I wondered what they were talking done.

Anya had left early as Lila needed to rest without even so much as a glance my way, Naomi and Cassie gave me a

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