Deep Dive: An enemies-to-lovers billionaire romance (Deep Love Series) Lauren Winter (red white and royal blue hardcover TXT) 📖

I hold his hands and stare at them. His fingers are round and thick. The tips of his thumbs are roughened by all the handiwork he has done lately around the house. This is a man who came from humble beginnings. The son of a blue-collar worker. He could fix furniture, repair a boat, and paint a garage door with these hands. He built an impressive career and several successful businesses with these hands. There is nothing he couldn’t create with them. I know that I want to build a life with him. But I need to be honest with him. I need to be honest with myself.

“Fletcher, the reason that I don’t want to come to New York.” I begin uneasily. “It isn’t because of you.” I take a deep breath. Here it comes. “I’m scared of going back because of my father.”

“Your father?” His dark, straight brows knit together.

“My father was, and I’m sure still is, an abusive alcoholic.” I swallow a hard lump in my throat. My father was this giant monster that overshadowed my entire childhood. A monster that hid in every dark corner and could strike any second. Only three-thousand miles of distance could give me some semblance of a normal life for the past five years.

Words come out slowly. “He used to hit my mom. For years. We ran away from him. He still lives there.” I am ashamed to notice the note of fear in my voice, even after all these years.

Fletcher suddenly crushes me hard against his torso. His body fits perfectly against mine and makes me feel so protected. Fletcher is a man who shows how he feels through actions, plainly and simply.

“I won’t let anything bad happen to you,” he promises. Fletcher isn’t a man full of tender and flowery words. But I know he is a man who stands behind his promises. His words strike a chord with me. I always had to take care of myself and my mom. I always had to be strong for both of us. I have never had anyone who wanted to take care of me. I break down in tears.

“He pushed her down a flight of stairs. He put her in a wheelchair! For life! So when I turned eighteen, I left and took her with me. I never looked back. He’s a monster and I won’t ever let him hurt the people I love.”

His arms tighten around me. We hold each other silently in the darkness.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you either,” he tells me.

I scoop the eggs and sausages from the frying pan into two plates and bring them from the kitchen. I set them down in front of us and smile at the person across from me.

“You’re humming,” Mom points out.

My cheeks heat up, and I pretend to be engrossed with my breakfast. “What? No.”

She doesn’t know about Fletcher. At least not yet. I have been trying to bring him up, but it’s hard. I don’t know how she would take it. Actually, I do know. She would be so happy for me. If I need to move away, she would say that she is fully capable of being on her own and taking care of herself. She’d only want me to be happy.

But she can’t. For as long as I can remember, Mom has been the wisp of a shadow compared to my towering father. She took his snarls and blows quietly and demurely as if it was her fate. She never fought back. I have always fended for the both of us because I had to. I learned to push back, to scream, to fight, and to run, because she couldn’t do any of those things. So now, how can I leave her by herself?

“You seem so happy.” She begins to eat. I love watching her eat. She eats so elegantly. As long as I remember, she treats every meal as if we’re having tea at Buckingham Palace. There are always cloth napkins and minimum chewing sounds. “Ever since you’ve been spending nights at Meghan’s recently,” she adds slyly.

Blushing, I know that she knows it’s a lie. I haven’t been staying over at Meghan’s.

“I’m not blind, you know.” She cuts up her sausage into short sections and forks a piece into her mouth. “You met a boy?” That is less of a question than a statement.

I nod over my plate of breakfast.

“You like him?”

I nod again.

“Things are getting kind of serious?”

I hesitate, but then nod.

Her light blue eyes narrow, and her smile widens. “He won’t let you get away, will he? Smart boy.”

“But I don’t know what to do.”

She arches a light brow at me. “What do you mean? You like him, don’t you?”

“He wants me to move to New York with him.”

“So?” Mom takes a sip of orange juice and stares at me as if I’m slow. “Go. If you want. I’ll be fine here.”

I knew that’s what she was going to say. “No, Mom. I can’t just abandon you like that. I have to be near you.”

“Oh, please. I’m not an invalid. I’ve told you so many times before, dear.” She reaches over the table and strokes my face lovingly. “You fuss over me too much. I can take care of myself.”

“But you can’t.” My vision becomes blurry. “If you could, you wouldn’t be in a wheelchair! If you could, why didn’t you defend yourself against Dad?”

She straightens against the back of her wheelchair. Her features are dainty and pretty, but there is a defiant cut in the line of her jaw. “Amelia, my dear, you’re strong and you’re stubborn. I love that about you, but those things didn’t come out of nowhere, you know.”

“I had to do it for you, my dear. Your father was rich and powerful and completely unscrupulous. I had nothing. He was feared, and he had the best legal team in the country. I didn’t