The Look of Love (The Sullivans): Chapter 22 + Exclusive Commentary from Bella
I hope you loved Chapter 21 of The Look of Love (The Sullivans)!
We’re getting close to the end of Chase and Chloe’s journey to Happily Ever After! I always want my books to make people smile and feel happy, although there can sometimes be tears along the way, as well. The chapter you’re about to read is really crucial for Chloe to finally face all of her fears—and to know that even though Chase is in her life and wants to take care of her and help her, she is completely able to take care of herself. Before I say too much, I’ll let you start reading.
Enjoy Chapter 22!
If you’ve missed any of the previous chapters of THE LOOK OF LOVE, you can read them here —> Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 / Chapter 12 / Chapter 13 / Chapter 14 / Chapter 15 / Chapter 16 / Chapter 17 / Chapter 18 / Chapter 19 / Chapter 20 / Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
copyright 2022 Bella Andre / Oak Press, LLC
Please Note: My books are sexy and emotional love stories. Which is to say there will be lots of scenes where the hero and heroine are smooching (and doing much, much more!) in nearly all of my posts. 😍
Chloe had been dreading making that phone call to the police for so long that she’d assumed her stomach would be in knots for hours, if not days, afterward. But she didn’t feel weak or shaky. Just the opposite. She felt so much lighter now, like she could sprint up the mountain and not even be winded when she got to the top.
The lavender planted in front of the guesthouse was in full bloom, and she could smell it as the sun warmed her and the flowers and the grapes growing on the vines all around the stunning Napa Valley property. Smiling, she moved to the plant with her scissors and had just started cutting a thick bunch when she heard a sudden sound behind her.
The instant it took her brain to realize that Chase wouldn’t be sneaking up on her was a moment too long to jump out of the way of the hand that came down over her mouth.
The scissors fell out of her hand as a man yanked her hard against his body. “You little bitch, I saw you in there playing house with that guy.”
Dean.
How had he found her here?
And how had he gotten onto the property? There was a gate, with a remote control needed to open it. But she knew, even as the questions ran through her brain one after the other, the answers didn’t matter.
The only thing that mattered was that Dean had found a way in.
And he obviously wanted to hurt her. Again.
Chloe worked to still the panic inside. If she let fear rule her, she wouldn’t be able to think straight enough to fight back. To fight for the life she deserved.
In place of fear, she let fury fly free.
Because she wasn’t going to run this time.
No, she was never running again.
Her ex-husband’s hand was smooth and sweaty across her face as he hissed in her ear, “Are you begging him to do all those dirty things to you, you filthy slut?”
He was even angrier today than he’d been at her apartment. His pride had to be pretty badly battered at the way she’d knocked him out with the paint can. And after living with him for so many years, Chloe knew how his brain worked: He figured since she hadn’t gone to the cops yet that she must be too scared to tell anyone what he’d done to her.
She knew what he expected her to do. He expected her to take what he gave her. He expected her to cower. Just like she must have all those years that they were together. He hadn’t even needed to use force during their marriage to get her to surrender her power to him. All he’d needed to do was look at her like she wasn’t worth a damn thing—and she’d believed him.
Well, she knew a hell of a lot better now what she was worth. And who she was.
Using his underestimation of her to her benefit, Chloe bit down on his palm as hard as she could. She tasted his blood in her mouth as he screamed in pain.
Taking her chance, she kicked behind her, hoping she was nailing his family jewels, and dove for the scissors.
Chloe almost had them when her hair was yanked back, hard enough for tears to spring to her eyes. Somehow she bit back her whimper of pain, knowing now that Dean would get off on that.
“I tracked down your car and bribed the tow-truck driver to tell me where he picked it up,” he bragged. “He said the call came from this winery, but I didn’t think you’d already be in the sack with some guy when I got here.” He yanked her hair again, hard enough that her vision almost went black with pain. “Tell me what he’s doing to you. Now!”
She knew what would happen if she told him the truth. He’d hit her again. She could see how much he wanted to do it.
Oh, God, it had hurt so much the first time, but Chloe knew all she needed was to get a few inches closer to the scissors. And then she’d make damn sure the tables were turned.
Permanently.
Moving her mouth up into an insolent smirk, she said, “You couldn’t handle knowing how good he is. How much better he is than you.”
Just as she’d expected, his fist came at her. Only this time, she wasn’t afraid, wasn’t simply trying to get away like she had that horrible night when he’d come at her in her apartment. She wasn’t able to move far enough to completely avoid his punch, but the shock of being hit paled against the victory of grasping the scissors in her fingers a few seconds later.
His fist was halfway to her face again when she ducked, turned and aimed the sharp tip of the blades at the man she’d once made vows to in front of her family, all because she hadn’t been brave enough to trust her own heart.
She finally trusted it, damn it. Finally loved. And she wasn’t going to let anyone take the love she deserved away from her.
As she nailed him with the tip of the sharp scissors right beside the dark bruise and cut she’d left him with when he’d attacked her in her apartment, Dean’s screech of pain had him stumbling back…straight into Chase’s path.
Chase’s fist landed square in the middle of her ex-husband’s jaw, the crack of bone against bone sounding loud and horrible in the once-tranquil vineyard.
Dean’s eyes actually crossed as he stumbled back, but Chase didn’t stop there, just kept slamming his fist into her ex-husband’s face again and again until he looked like a bobble-head doll with his head wobbling around on top of his skinny neck.
A voice in Chloe’s head—a fairly small, quiet voice—told her she should stop Chase before he did permanent damage. But before she could, Dean’s legs fell out from beneath him.
He hit the ground hard, and she expected him to be unconscious, given the loud sound his skull made when it landed in the dirt, but he still blinked up at her, groaning as a line of blood trailed from his mouth.
Chase was down on the ground beside him a moment later, his hand around Dean’s throat. “Apologize to Chloe.”
She’d never seen Chase like this, completely letting loose his fury, his rage. Yes, she’d known all along just how strong, how powerful, her lover was, but it was still amazing to watch him protect her like this.
When her ex didn’t say sorry fast enough, Chase tightened his hand around Dean’s throat to the point where he started coughing.
“I’m going to give you one last chance to apologize to her.”
Dean’s eyes started to roll back in his head, but Chase wouldn’t let him pass out, shaking him until he groaned again.
“Apologize right now. Or else.”
The menace in Chase’s low-pitched voice had Dean’s eyes opening and his gaze locking with hers.
“I’m sorry, Chloe.”
She couldn’t speak, could only nod.
Dean started to pass out again, but Chase shook him. “You’re not done yet, asshole.”
She’d never seen her ex-husband look so miserable. His face was bloody and bruised, he was crying and he had dirt smeared in with the snot running from his nose.
“Are you ever going to come near her again?”
Chase emphasized his question by banging Dean’s skull into the dirt a few times.
“No.” Dean was sniveling now. “Never. I’ll never bother her again.”
His eyes finally rolled all the way back in his head and he went out. Cold.
Chloe was staring down at her ex-husband, lying on the ground, looking smaller to her than he ever had before, when Chase’s fingers brushed warm and gentle across her smarting cheek.
She turned her gaze to him as he pulled her into his arms. “Chloe, sweetheart. He hit you. Again.”
But she didn’t care about her own face, not when she could still hear the shockingly loud crunching of bones smashing together each time Chase had nailed Dean with his fist.
“Please tell me you didn’t hurt your hand.”
“I’m made of steel, not marshmallows, remember?” he said with a small smile. “It’s going to take more than a few punches to hurt my knuckles.” She could feel the anger, the fear for her safety, radiating off him. “Bloody hands are well worth the satisfaction of making sure he never comes near you again.”
She knew Chase wanted to do even more damage to Dean to make up for what her ex-husband had done to her—not just the bruise on her cheek, but for years of controlling her…and not loving her right.
Chloe pulled both of Chase’s hands into hers and held them over her heart. “You said you would do anything for me.”
“Anything,” he confirmed.
“He isn’t worth it. He isn’t worth any more of your anger. He isn’t worth hurting your hands on his hard head when you need those fingers and knuckles working perfectly so that you can take your beautiful pictures. I want you to let the police take it from here.”
A loud frustrated breath whooshed out of Chase’s beautiful mouth. “It’s going to kill me to let him walk away, Chloe. To know that he’s hurt you and hasn’t paid for it.”
“But you will do it, won’t you? You’ll walk away. For me.”
She watched him battle within himself, loving him even more for the way he wanted to take care of her.
Finally, he said what she’d known he would. “Anything, sweetheart. I’d do anything for you.”
She went on her toes so that her mouth was a breath from his. “I know. And I’ll do anything for you.” She pressed her lips to his, then whispered, “Everything.”
A few seconds later, she took the cell phone he handed her and called the police, telling them to come right away. And although she wouldn’t let Chase tear Dean apart the way he clearly wanted to, she had no issues whatsoever with letting him tie her ex up with some heavy-duty rope. Tight enough that Dean came to.
Ignoring his groans, Chloe and Chase moved to the porch, where they kept an eye on her ex while they waited for the cops to arrive. She knew Chase didn’t want to leave her for more than a few seconds, and he zipped into the kitchen for ice faster than should have been humanly possible.
Pulling her onto his lap, he held the ice to her cheek just as he had that first night she’d met him, and softly said, “I’m so sorry, Chloe. I should have been out there with you.”
“It’s not your fault that he came after me here. Just like you said earlier, neither of us could have known what he was going to do next. But I’m pretty sure he won’t hurt me again.”
“No,” Chase said in a low voice, “he won’t. Do you know why?”
“Because he’d like to keep the teeth you left him with. And once he finds out there are five more sets of fists like yours…”
“You’re right. He’s scared senseless. But not because of what I did, not because of what I said.”
“What do you mean?”
He smiled at her, a smile so filled with love—and respect—that it took her breath away. “The reason he won’t hurt you again, sweetheart, is because you had him. You didn’t need me to hit him to make sure he didn’t come at you again. You had already won the battle. The scissors were genius. And perfectly aimed.” He looked a little sheepish. “You didn’t need me to get in the middle of it all—I just couldn’t help myself. Not when I’ve been wanting to take him down all week.”
Chloe didn’t care that grinning hurt her newly bruised jaw. She couldn’t have held her smile back for anything. Chase believed in her. And he wasn’t the only one.
She finally believed in herself, too.
“You know what I’ve realized this week?”
“That I’m a sex god.”
The laughter that rippled through her felt like it was washing all the hurt, all the pain, away.
“Yes, Hotstuff, you are definitely a sex god. But also, I’ve realized that I like being a team. With you.”
She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Chase look happier, not even when she’d told him she’d fallen in love with him.
And she was just as happy. Because she hadn’t just been looking for warmth her whole life…she’d been looking to be part of something bigger than just herself, too.
A family. She wanted to know she was part of a family that loved her, no matter what.
Always.
Forever.
Just then the sirens blared through the Sullivan Winery gates, and in moments the cop cars were pulling in front of the guesthouse. Chase held her hand the entire time she gave her report to the police officers. They would need an official report at the station soon, and Chase would be there with her for that, too.
After they’d watched them put her ex-husband into the backseat of one of their vehicles, Chase asked, “How are you feeling?”
Chase hadn’t let go of her hand for one single second, and as the police cars drove away, she turned into his arms and rested her head against his broad chest.
“I’m a little sad,” she admitted. “All those years…but I keep trying to tell myself none of them were wasted.” She lifted her face to look into his beautiful eyes. “Because they led me to you, Chase.”
Before she realized what he was doing, Chase was down on one knee in the middle of the garden. Reaching out for the lavender bush, he pulled off a flowering stem.
“Chloe Peterson, I love you.”
She loved hearing those three words that filled her soul with such warmth—and endless happiness. But even if he never said them again, she would know what he felt for her simply by looking into his eyes.
“Will you marry me?”
Chloe no longer doubted that she was a strong woman. She also knew she didn’t need to be strong with Chase.
Which was a very good thing, because her legs suddenly felt weak, her eyes were wet, and it was all she could do just to nod and whisper, “Yes,” as Chase gently wound the lavender around her ring finger.
And as he stood up and kissed her, Chloe was amazed to realize that her fairy tale wasn’t coming to an end, after all.
It was only just beginning.
Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for Chapter 23!
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