“That’s two too many.”
She smiled, then dug her heel into my lower back, pushing me in deeper.
“Paige, are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I want this, Lucas. God, I want this.”
“I love you. I’ve always loved you,” I whispered against her lips before kissing her and pushing myself all the way in.
Her arms wrapped around mine, and she held me tight. For a few seconds, I didn’t move, enjoying the tightness of her wrapped around me. Our hearts hammered, and I had never in my life felt such complete happiness. Such completeness.
Slowly, I moved in and out of her, our kisses soft and sweet as we moved in perfect harmony.
I leaned my forehead to hers as I drew almost all the way out, then pushed back in.
“Yes, Lucas. Faster.”
I gave her what she asked for. Soon her hips were meeting me thrust for thrust. Her eyes met mine, and I knew she was close. The feel of her pussy squeezing around my cock nearly had me coming, but I held off. Waited for her. I’d waited this long for her, so I’d wait a little longer for this moment.
“I’m going to come,” she whispered.
Our eyes locked and her body trembled, pulling me in even deeper.
“Lucas!” she cried out, her body arched up to mine as I hit the spot she needed for her release. She looked utterly breathtaking as she came. Never once did she take her eyes from mine.
“Paige, oh God.”
And just like that, everything in my world fell back into place. The stars aligned. All was right in the world again.
We came together, and it felt like stars exploded behind my eyelids. Holy shit, I had never experienced an orgasm like that before. My body trembled and it took everything I had to hold my body over hers without crushing her.
Our breaths came fast and hard. I was still inside her when I leaned my forehead against hers.
“I don’t want to move.”
Her fingers moved slowly over my back. “Me either.”
I chuckled. “I don’t think we understand what slow means.”
She laughed and wrapped her arms tightly around me. “That was the best sex I’ve ever had, not knocking all our other experiences, of course. Just the best sex I’ve had in my twenties.”
I nuzzled my face into her neck and said, “Same for me.”
“I know the right thing to do is say we need to pull back some, like we talked about, but the horse is now plainly out of the barn,” Paige said, “So, when can we do that again?”
And just like that, I fell even more in love with her.
Paige
MY GAZE DRIFTED across the attic to Lucas. I was pretty sure I’d be floating around on my orgasmic high for days. I felt different—like I had the first time Lucas and I had had sex. How crazy was it that I was comparing this morning to when I lost my virginity? But the past day with him had been so amazing, and I never wanted to forget it.
Lucas cursed and sneezed as he attempted to move a giant box from the corner where he’d been searching.
We’d been up in this attic for two hours. It was filled with antique furniture and dust, lots of dust. The thought was daunting, considering I had a storage shed also filled with furniture.
“I don’t think the chest is up here. I can’t find it anywhere,” Lucas said.
Glancing around, I sighed. “What in the world are we going to do with all this furniture?”
Lucas shrugged. “I guess we could have an estate sale.”
I walked up to the wardrobe chest and pulled open the top drawer that had all the jewelry in it. I had taken a picture of the ruby necklace, as well as a few other pieces, including a small diamond bracelet, and given it to my brother to take to his friend who was a mineralogist. I asked him to see if it was indeed costume jewelry or not. I still couldn’t believe all of this was just thrown into a drawer in a wardrobe.
Shutting the wardrobe, I looked around and saw something by the window on the north side of the house. I carefully made my way over and bent down.
A small wooden box sat on top of an old wooden stool. It was no bigger than the size of a shoebox, but it required a key to open it. My heartbeat picked up, and I couldn’t have wiped the smile off my face if I tried.
Carefully, I picked up the small box and walked to the sofa and sat. I stared at it while I ran my finger over the name carved on it.
William Lucas Foster.
“Lucas, I found something.”
He quickly headed over and sat down. “What did you find?”
I held it up. “I believe this is the chest you have been looking for. It was sitting right on that stool, plain as day.”
Lucas looked over at the window, then back down to the box. “You think this is it?”
I nodded and pointed to the keyhole. “It takes a key to open it.”
Reaching into his pocket, Lucas said, “Only one way to find out.”
He inserted the key, turned it and we both heard the click.
“Holy shit! You found it, Paige.”
With a giggle, I handed the box to him. “You should open it. William meant for you to find it.”
Lucas stared at the box. Then looked at me. “We don’t need to open it.”
My eyes widened in shock. “What? That’s why we’ve been up here for the last few hours. Searching for this box. For the reason William left us this house.”
He shook his head. “I don’t care why he did it. All I care about is you. Helping you start your flower shop, going over to my folks’ place each Sunday for dinner. Arguing with you on what color to paint our bedroom walls. Planning our wedding in the greenhouse. That’s what I care about.”
My eyes filled with tears and I tried, without success, to hold them back. When they slipped free, Lucas placed the box to his side and bent down in front of me, his hands on my face, his thumbs wiping away my tears.
“I love you, Paige. For whatever reason we’ve been given a second chance, and I don’t want to question it anymore. The thought of wasting another minute makes me crazy. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, plain and simple.”
My throat burned as I fought to hold back a sob. “You really don’t know the meaning of slow, do you?”
He laughed and pulled my mouth to his, kissing me. When our foreheads met, we both let out a contented sigh. I drew back first.
“I want all of that, too, but I also want to honor William’s wishes. He wanted you to find this chest. It must have been important to him.”
Lucas closed his eyes and let my words sink in.
“Are you afraid of what you’ll find?” I asked.
He opened his eyes and looked directly into mine. “No.”
“Then let’s do it together.”
Lucas picked up the box, sat down next to me. I laced my fingers with his and smiled.
He opened the box, and we both looked inside it. We exchanged a quick glance, then Lucas picked up a stack full of envelopes.
“They’re handwritten letters,” he said as he opened the top letter and drew a deep breath. “It’s from Grams to Granddad,” he added in a barely-there voice.
I moved closer to him. “Do you want me to read them?”
He handed me the letter and nodded.
I cleared my throat, drew in a breath, and read.
Dear William,
Please do not be upset with me. I was confused and scared. I know today you asked me to be yours. I cannot, at least, not now. I do love you with all of my heart, though. Please never doubt that. Don’t be angry with Lou, there is nothing inappropriate going on between us. He agreed to help me, to see that I got off safe. I knew if I told you of my plans, you would stop me. I need to do this, William. I fear if I don’t, I will forever wonder if my life was full or not.
This is my choice to leave Johnson City, to travel the world and…”
My voice trailed off. Lucas pulled me closer, his arm wrapped around my waist.
“Keep reading, Paige.
Please.”
I lifted my gaze to his. “The wardrobe trunk. She left him the day he asked her to marry him.” When I looked back down at the date on the letter, tears filled my eyes. “It’s dated almost a year before the letter we found in the observatory. Why would she have left him?”
Lucas looked just as confused as I felt. “I don’t know. It sounds as if she declined his proposal, then he asked her again, but they didn’t marry for another year? So two years after his original proposal is when they married. Why did they wait so long?”
“Because she wanted to travel, see the world,” I said. I swallowed hard, trying to clear the heaviness in my throat. Lucas reached over and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
“Keep reading.”
I focused back on the letter.
This is my choice to leave Johnson City, to travel the world and experience the things I have read about in my books. I wish when I had begged you to run away with me, you would have agreed. Instead, you called me a silly girl with big dreams. I guess that is what I am then, a foolish girl who wants to see the world. Who wants to visit the places she has dreamed about.
I will understand if you wish not to take me back. I know rumors will run wild, and I know what they will say about me. Please know it is not true. I will remain true to you and only you, William. You have my word.
I will write when I arrive in Paris. Lou is to accompany me on the ship, then he is going to England to visit his aunt and uncle and will return home ahead of me. I do have a schedule. I left it on your bed. Read it, my darling, and it will be as if you are with me. Or better yet, come join me, William! Come explore the world with me. Together!
Lucas let out a disbelieving laugh. “What in the hell? She left with Granddad’s best friend, then asked him to meet her in Europe before they were even married? And here we were worried about rumors.”
I gave him a soft smile. “Poor William. He must have been heartbroken. To read where she wanted to go and not be able to go with her. Why wouldn’t he have gone with…?”
Lucas and I stared at each another. I set the letter in my lap and covered my mouth with my hands. It wasn’t exactly our story, but suddenly it all felt too familiar.
Lucas closed his eyes and shook his head. “It makes so much more sense why Granddad was angry with me. Why he begged me to go after you…because he hadn’t gone after Grams and he regretted his decision.”
“Why did he not go after her, though? Or why didn’t they travel after they married? Surely they could have compromised.”
Lucas looked away. “Maybe stubbornness runs in the family.”
Lucas flipped through the letters, finding another one and opening it.
“This one is dated six months later.”
“Six months! How long was May gone?”
He shook his head and started to read.
My Dearest William,
I have not heard from you and I must be honest, I was hoping to see you in London. I waited at the restaurant I wrote to you about. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how heartbroken I was when you didn’t arrive. I guess that is the silly romantic girl in me, thinking you would run after me and follow me on this journey. I feel so silly. I feel ashamed. I abandoned you and do not fault you for doing the same, if that is what you have done.
I’ve met some lovely people and have encountered a duke here in London. He is a distant cousin of a wonderful woman I have met and has gifted me with a beautiful necklace made of a ruby from what I suspect might be from a distant queen of England. He laughs when I ask him about it and tells me I should write books with an imagination like mine. It is a thought…write books about my travels. I could fill journal after journal with the tales. Oh, how I wish you were here with me. I cannot wait to show you the wonderful things I have found for our home when I return.
Love you always and forever,
May
Lucas set the letter to the side and searched for another. “This one is dated ten months after the first.”
With a shake of my head, I looked at Lucas in disbelief. “She was traveling in Europe for a long time, I think.”
“I don’t know.” Lucas started to read the letter.
My Dearest William,
I have received your letter. Words cannot even begin to describe the pain in my heart. I realize how selfish I have been with my travels, and I am to return home at once. I understand if I am too late.
Love you always and forever,
May
I turned the letter over.
“What did his letter say?” I asked.
“I don’t think my father knows any of this.”
“William or May never mentioned it to me, in all of our talks. Even when May passed, he always made it sound like they were so happy. He said she was always a carefree soul. Wait. He told me once she loved to travel. I just assumed he meant with him.”
I reached into the box and pulled the very last letter out. “This one is dated only a month later.”
“What does it say?” Lucas asked.
My Dearest William,
I am sorry I was unable to attend your wedding. I simply could not bring myself to watch you marry. I wish you all the happiness in the world. I won’t pretend my heart is not broken, but I do not blame you. I left you no choice. We, my love, have not been given a second chance, and that is a permanent ache in my heart that I will live with until the day I die.
I love you…for always and forever.
Yours,
May
Lucas grabbed the letter from my hand and stared at it.
“What?” he asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “I’m so confused. Granddad was married before he married Grams?”
I didn’t want to admit to Lucas that I was even more confused. William had said all the answers as to why he gave us shared ownership of this house could be found in this chest. But all that was in this chest was more confusion and heartache.
Standing, I attempted to figure it all out in my head. “Now the other letter makes sense. The one he wrote to ‘M’. That date is only two days before this one, from May. So, was ‘M’ not May, but someone else?”
Lucas looked dumbfounded. He glanced back into the box. “Wait, there’s one more letter.”
I turned and watched him open it and read the first few lines. His eyes widened in disbelief.
“What! What is it? What does it say?”
He swallowed hard. “I think it’s the answer we’ve been looking for.”
Lucas
THE PIECE OF paper was the reason my granddad had given both Paige and me ownership in this house. I just couldn’t believe it. Everything I had always thought I knew about my grandfather and Grams was gone in an instant. It explained Paige’s love of the house and why Granddad had given her a share in it. It was literally in her blood.
“Lucas, what does the letter say?”
“It’s not a letter, it’s a marriage certificate.”
I handed it to Paige. She stared down at it in utter disbelief.
“Holy shit.” Her eyes bounced back up to mine.
“This house is as much yours, as it is mine,” I said.
Paige looked back down at the certificate, then up at me before she focused on the paper and read it. “I hereby declare the marriage of Lucas William Foster to Millie Rose Miller.” She covered her mouth and stared at the paper.
Millie Rose Miller was Paige’s grandmother. If my head was spinning, I knew for a fact, so was Paige’s.
“William was married to my grandmother? Why would he never mention it?”
“If I remember right, you never met your grandmother.”
“No,” Paige said, looking utterly confused. “She died while giving birth to my … father.”
Paige’s face turned white as a ghost. “Oh my God, are we…?”
“No. There’s no way. There is no way Granddad would have ever have allowed that to happen. You and I were friends. I told him I had a crush on you; he wou
ldn’t have allowed it. Not even to hide a secret.”
“Wait, I need to sit down. None of this makes any sense. My father was raised by his dad, but was he his dad or was it William?” She looked up at me. “What is William trying to tell us, Lucas?”
I rubbed the back of my neck, wishing like hell we had just let all this bullshit go. But even I was starting to doubt everything. Was William Paige’s grandfather also?
“The other letters we skipped over. We have to read all the letters!” Paige cried out.
Paige and I sat back down and started reading through the letters my granddad had kept.
“We must have skipped something,” she said. “We have to keep looking.”
I nodded, taking out the stack. “Let’s look at the dates on the envelopes when they were mailed.”
We opened each letter from Grams. We couldn’t find anything else. Paige stood and wrapped her arms around her body.
“He wouldn’t have let us date if we were related. He wouldn’t have,” she mumbled.
I stood and walked back to where Paige had found the chest. I lifted a blanket and nearly jumped for fucking joy. There was another chest, exactly like the one we had found. It was laid on its side; apparently it had fallen over at some point.
“There’s another one. Another chest, Paige.”
She rushed over to my side. “Does the key fit in there?”
With the chest in my hands, I walked back to the sofa, took the key and slipped it in. I almost let out a cry of joy when I heard it unclick.
Inside the chest were papers, along with a few letters. I pulled out the top paper.
“It’s a birth certificate. It’s got Granddad’s name and Millie’s name on it. They had a son, his name was … Phillip Joseph Miller Foster.”
“I’m going to get sick,” Paige said, covering her mouth.
“The next paper is adoption papers.”
“Adoption papers?” Paige asked.
“Joseph Miller, the brother of Millie Miller Foster adopted his nephew, Phillip Joseph Miller, one month after his birth.” I kept reading. “It states in the paper that Phillip is not to ever know who his true father was, that both men agreed to keep it a secret.”
Divided Interests Page 17