Ray Donovan felt like all his Christmases and birthdays had come at once. The night with Sharon was the best night of his life. In prison, he had dreamed of a good woman, a decent woman, someone he could love, respect and trust, and he had found her, under the most unusual circumstances. He was amazed that it was a woman who already had two sons and had been married to a piece of shit like Lenny Scott. Because, when all was said and done, Lenny Scott was scum, he now knew that better than anyone. He was a man who should never have married and especially not a girl like Sharon. She had been with one man and she had trusted him to do right by her. Lenny Scott had tried, Ray did not doubt that, but his nature had made sure that he could never really love her. Ray’s heart broke for her; for a beautiful woman to find out she had never really been wanted was a terrible situation to be in. But now she had him, and he would make sure that she never doubted herself again.

They had talked into the night and she had explained how her husband’s actions had almost destroyed her. Even little Liam still had the memory fresh in his mind. For a child to see that? It was tragic.

He had left her that morning a happy man. The boys had stayed at her mother’s and that had given them time together. He was thankful for that and he hoped that they would accept him. But they still remembered their father and he understood that it might be difficult for them at first. They would soon learn that life was hard even when you had more than most people.

He was nervous of seeing her today, and he wondered why. They were perfect together. He hoped against hope that she would not regret letting him into her life. It was all he had wanted from the first time he had seen her. That was the strange thing about life: you never knew what was going to happen next. It was what made it so exciting, and now he had Sharon Scott he would never let her go. He would grow old with her, and that thought pleased him. He loved everything about her, her face, her body, her personality – even her smell. He had never felt like this about anyone before.

Chapter One Hundred and Eight