Before Happily Ever After

CHAPTER 10: Larkin

"Mr. Denton is loaning you the money?" She asks in disbelief.

"I know, it sounds crazy and everything, I didn't even believe it myself right away but he came by the gym earlier this morning and wanted to take a look around then we got to talking and he said he thought I had a great idea and wanted to invest in it." I tell her.

She's quiet for a moment and looks like she's thinking about it.

"As good as that sounds, how do we know this isn't too good to be true? I mean, we don't even really know this guy and for him to offer us a loan like that, I mean, what's the catch?!" She asks me.

"Well, he said he'd like just fifteen percent of the profits from it and that was it." I finished.

I was waiting still for her to be just a bit somewhat happy about the news as I was, but I could tell she still wasn't feeling too confident about the offer.

Then I notice her face start to relax before she replied and looked at me, getting up from her chair and sitting down on my lap and wrapping her arms around my neck as I did around her waist.

"Look, although I have SOME suspicions and maybe it IS from me not really trusting people, I want you to know that I support you and will try and be MORE trustworthy, especially with this." She tells me.

"Thank you baby." I smile in reply. "And hey, I understand where you are coming from and don't expect you to trust him right away, but to at least maybe give him a chance?" I suggest.

"I promise." She nods her head in agreement with a smile and leans in to kiss me.

"In fact, to prove to you I am willing to give him a chance, why don't we invite him over for some dinner and then I can get to know him more." She mentions.

"That would be great." I smiled at her.

"Good. Then let him know to be at our place by six." She tells me before giving me another kiss and then we both head out the office and get back to work.

I am glad that she suggested what she did because I really think that he isn't such a bad guy and may actually like him.

Throughout the rest of the day, Nate and I both were doing doing some sketching of our ideas and he was excited too about the opportunity Mr. Denton was helping give us.

Once work was over and after Mr. Denton had accepted the invite to dinner tonight, I started making my way home and stopped by the store to pick up some things Kamille texted me to pick up that she needed to make dinner-including some wine.

When I got home, she seemed to be close to done with dinner and the kids greeted me the moment I walked inside the house and they seemed to be all cleaned up and nicely presentable. Our daughter was sitting on the couch next to her brother that was in his playpen.

I swear, I am always amazed at how great my wife is as a mother because she already has the kids ready, the dinner is almost done and seems to be finishing upstairs getting dressed with our bedroom door cracked opened a little bit.

After we finished getting ready, I went downstairs to help her with the kids while she finished setting the table and finished the food.

Moments later, Mr. Denton had arrived and after introducing him to the kids and giving him a short tour of our home, we sat down to eat.

Throughout the dinner, he seemed to make our kids laugh. I couldn't help but smile with admiration as I began remembering back when I was little and the times I shared with my grandpa playing with me and teaching me things. It was nice.

After dinner and dessert, Kamille and I put the kids to sleep and then came back downstairs where Mr. Denton was patiently waiting for us at the table.

"That was a very nice dinner. You are an amazing cook and baker." He smiled at Kamille.

"Thank you Mr. Denton." She smiled. "So, are you married? Have any kids?" She begins to ask.

His facial expression seemed to have changed a little.

"I was married for nearly twenty-five years. She was the love of my life. She made me a much better man than I ever would have ever become. We wanted children but, it turned out she couldn't have them and we tried looking into adoption but, then she got sick." He starts to say with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Oh my god. I am so sorry." Kamille begins to say.

"Oh, no. Please. I'm okay now. It's been four years since I lost her to ovarian cancer." He finishes.

We all sit there and share a moment of silence.

"Well, anyways, I don't want to put a damper on this very nice evening. So, how did you both meet?" He asks.

Kamille and I look at one another before answering.

"It's quite a...interesting story." Kamille started.

"Oh?" Mr. Denton asks.

"Actually, it's more like an embarrassment and regret of mine." I said. "You see, I had known Kamille from back in school and I used to bully her."

When I looked up at Kamille, I could tell she didn't like me saying this.

"You bullied her?! This amazing young woman here?!" He asks while pointing at her.

"Yes. Then luckily, years later, we found each other again and fate gave me another chance." I smiled at her as I noticed her tearing up while smiling.

Although we always vocalized our love to each other, our eyes too, did the talking at times, just as it is doing now.

Next chapter will be posted soon! :)