Happy Never After

by Candace Dowds

  “Fair enough, but if there is anything you need, I want you to call me. Got it?”

  “I don’t have your number,” I whispered.

  “I never changed it in hopes that you’d call me one day,” he whispered in return, leaning in to press a tender kiss to my lips.

  “Thank you. I really don’t know what’s going to need to happen in the near future, but for now, I need to go and deal with my dad. He’s just come back from giving the funeral home my instructions regarding my mother’s coffin. I need to make sure they agreed, because they don’t want me heading down there,” I explained, his lips still very close to mine.

  “Okay, call me?”

  “I will. Thank you.” I didn’t want him to go anywhere, but I couldn’t turn this week into being about me. This was the time when I needed to keep my focus and make sure everything for my departed mother was absolutely on point.

  After kissing me one last time, I watched as he left through the front door. When he was gone, I knew I had to wipe him from my

  mind, at least for now.

  Cole

  As I sat at the desk in my home, my phone began to ring. Picking it up, I saw it was Matt. “Yeah?” I answered.

  “I need to warn you about the something,” he started and the seriousness in his voice had me on alert.

  “What’s going on, Matt?”

  He took a moment to breathe. “Mia’s mum died. She’s in town, but I want you to stay away from her.”

  Shit, Mia’s going to be a mess. “Why the hell did you call me then, if you want me to stay away?” Why, why call me and warn me that she’s so close by? Matt knows I’ve been searching for her, he knows I still love her,

  and he goes and does this?

  “Finding out she’s here was inevitable, we both know it, but she doesn’t know anything about your life, Cole. Leah and I were banned from ever speaking your name in her presence. She doesn’t need your shit piled up on her. She needs to mourn and then get out of here as fast as she can. Please, just stay away.”

  I don’t give him an answer, I just hang up the phone and begin searching the online

  phone book, looking for her mother’s new address.

  Thank god, for public listings. I had the address in mere moments, and forgetting about everything else, I raced out of my hotel room, got into my 2019 gun-metal grey Clubsport, put the address into the Sat Nav, and got the hell out of there.

  When I pulled up to the house, I knew Mia was there the second I spotted an identical copy of my Commodore (except it was white) in the driveway. Holden’s were always a shared passion of ours, and I couldn’t help but smile. ‘She hasn’t changed,’ I think.

  Walking up to the door, I was a bundle of nerves. I hadn’t seen Mia for going on six years and I didn’t know how she’d react to having me show up, especially after how

  abruptly she’d left a lifetime ago. For the longest time, I’d done all I could to find her, but she was good. She’d covered every track, including cutting off everyone she thought would give away her location.

  Mia was my everything, I was ready to leave my family behind for her, to cut away from the religion, which I had done, but none of that had made a lick of difference because she was gone. She’d banned everyone, including her mother, from ever speaking my name in her presence. Even when I’d made

  the changes, it was too late, she was gone, and I was left an empty shell of a person.

  The very moment I heard her voice as I stood at the front door of her mother’s home, my heart melted, and I couldn’t wait to see her stunning face.

  When inside, I spotted her. She was sitting on the floor wearing a barely-there floral shoestring dress, with her legs crossed under her and was sorting through papers. She was still just as stunning as I remembered.

  Chapter Eight

  Mia

  After Cole left the house, I was left in a state of shock. I hadn’t been expecting to see him, let alone be wrapped around him again. It had felt right, but I’d been pulled from my fog when I heard my father clear his throat.

  He’s leaning against the door jamb, and the prick’s wearing a huge grin. “So, how’s Cole?” he asks sarcastically. Asshole.

  “I don’t know,” I tell him, because I really don’t have a clue as to how Cole’s doing.

  “Couldn’t find time to talk?” He’s still chuckling.

  “Yeah, you’re so mature, dad.”

  “Hey, I wasn’t the one getting felt up in the living room. Now, let’s put that aside, for now. I managed to get the coffin to your specifications. Your mum will be very comfortable.” He gives me a genuine smile. Not many ex-husbands would do this for their former wives, so I’m beyond grateful to him. My dad has been my rock.

  Letting go of a sigh, I rest my back against the wall. “Thank god. I need this to be over and done with. I want to go home, back to where it’s quiet.” I don’t know how I ever

  managed to get any sleep when I lived in the city. Being back here now, every night when I’m trying to rest, I can’t seem to drift off because of the bustling sounds of the cars and the honking of horns. The worst that happens out where my cabin is located is a dog might stray from my father’s home and pop up onto my porch, but that’s about it.

  The next day was the day of my mother’s burial. It’s the day I was to say goodbye to my mother forever. Of course, we may have not always gotten along, but she was my mother and I loved her.

  Matt and Leah are going to be meeting me down at the gravesite as a show of support. I’d opted not to have a viewing because I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it, not at all. Seeing her laying in her casket would have been far too much for me to handle.

  As I pulled up to the curb inside the cemetery, my eyes glazed over when I saw the dug up ground and my mother’s white casket that was covered in purple gerberas, her very favourite flower.

  As I place my hand on the door handle, my father grabs my forearm and I hold myself in place, looking over to him as he’s seated in the passenger seat.

  “Are you okay, love?” he asks, wearing a sympathetic look on his features.

  “I’ll be okay, sad, but okay,” I try to assure

  him. My father is a worry wort when it comes to me. He often forgets the fact that I’m now a twenty-four-year-old woman, and not his little girl anymore.

  “If you need anything, you tell me. Got it?” he questions and his brow raises in warning.

  “Got it. Now, let’s get this over with.” I want to go home, now.

  Taking my time, I head over towards my mother’s grave, but as I do, I’m also careful not to disturb anyone else’s. I couldn’t think of anything more disrespectful a person could do to someone’s loved ones.

  When I come to a stop at the casket, I smile to myself. The day is perfect. There is a warm breeze, and the sun is shining, it’s just as my mother would have wanted it.

  “Hey, are you okay?” I hear Leah ask as she slips her arm around me.

  Resting my head on her shoulder, I whisper, “I’m okay. I’m just happy she’s at peace and that her pain is gone.” I smile to myself.

  Soon enough, I feel another presence come up on my other side. “You’re doing great, babe.”

  It’s Matt.

  “It’s been a long and emotional road, but this is the end.”

  We stand together in silence for the longest time and finally my attention is grabbed

  when I hear Matt utter, “Mother fucker.”

  Immediately, I’m set on alert. Matt isn’t one to use expletives often, so I have no idea what to expect.

  Looking up, I search the grounds, and my heart almost explodes when I see Cole making his way towards us. Damn, he looks fine.

  Now, I know where I am and what I am here to do, but it doesn’t stop me noticing that Cole is looking sexier than ever. He’s wearing a black three-piece suit and his hair is styled like Harvey Specter’s in the later seasons of Suits.

  If we weren’t standing at m
y mother’s grave, right now, I’d already be trying to stop myself from throwing him to the ground and straddling him while he wrapped himself around me.

  “Don’t stress, he came to see me yesterday,” I whisper to Matt. I know he’s angry because I’ve wanted to keep this man out of my life, but for now, I’m going to focus on the here and the now.

  “He fucking did what?” Matt stated loudly enough for everyone in the cemetery to hear.

  “I don’t know what the big deal is, but can

  we please let it lie until after the wake?” I ask, frustrated. For now, I don’t need to

  know what Matt’s big issue with Cole is. Yes, I understand that he was mad when I up and left because of Cole all those years ago, but I also know they’ve stayed close over the years. Whatever the issue is, I’ll get to the bottom of it when I’m not trying to bury my mother.

  When Cole is only a foot away from us, he looks to Matt first. “Not today,” he whispers to him.

  “Agreed,” is all Matt says in return, leaving me utterly confused.

  Matt turns his attention back to me. “I’m going to go and check on your dad, okay?” he leans in and asks.

  “I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl now, my dear.” I grin.

  “Just checking.” He kisses me on the cheek, and as he moves away he pats Cole on the shoulder, which only further confuses me.

  Leah let’s go of my arm as Cole comes in to hug me, and when he does, I let him. Right now, even though I hadn’t thought to invite him to the burial when I saw him yesterday, I’m glad he took it upon himself to show up. I needed him here. I needed him for the next hour to help me get through this nightmare. Tomorrow, I’ll take the time to deal with all

  the rest, in regards to what seeing him again truly means.

  Unfazed by those around us, I grab onto the love of my life and don’t let go of him. I keep him close, my face nuzzled into the nook of his neck. His Calvin Klein Escape aftershave is wafting around me, causing me to smile. It’s a scent I’ve missed very much. “Don’t leave me today,” is all I mutter to him as I stay pressed up against him.

  “If it was up to me, I wouldn’t ever leave you again,” he whispers in return, his warm breath caressing my skin, causing goosebumps to run up my neck.

  “Stay with me until I head back home?” I ask, in hopes that he’ll say yes.

  “Of course. I have a hotel I’m living out of in between moves, we can stay there tonight if you like?” His grip on me tightens.

  “Yes.” What the hell did I just agree to? Fuck. My. Life.

  When the funeral was over, we spent some time lingering around the wake in a restaurant close by. As the small group began to break up, I told my father I’d see him the next day up at our property.

  Yes, I was supposed to follow him home today, but I want just one night with Cole to

  see if there was any chance of rekindling the love we’d once shared.

  Of course, I’ve dated here and there since, but nothing had ever stuck, I was never destined to be with any of those men. Each relationship, if you want to call them that, had lasted a week, max, because none of them were Cole. Buried deep down, I knew I’d never love anyone the way I’d loved him all those years ago.

  Before Matt left the restaurant, he pulled me aside. “I know I said I wouldn’t start shit today, but you need to be careful when it comes to Cole. I love the guy, but I don’t want to see you get hurt again. You don’t deserve that.”

  Grinning, I lean in and kiss his cheek. “Thank you, my love. I’m not going to let that happen. I’m an independent woman and I know how to care for myself, but I truly appreciate you caring so much for me.” I do. Not many people have friends like mine, friends who’ve had their back their entire lives. I’ll never take that for granted.

  He squints, and his nose scrunches up, as if he doesn’t believe I can handle things on my own. I guess I’d feel the same if our roles were reversed and it was Matt who’d just lost his mother. “Okay, but you call me if it all goes to shit. Okay?”

  I give him a curt nod, and keep my face serious. “Got it, now fuck off and go and have some fun,” I chuckle.

  His smile returns. “Will do. Love you, kiddo.” He leans in and gives me a warm hug.

  “I love you, too. And take Leah with you, for me, because if you don’t, she’ll hover and give Cole the stink eye the entire night. She is fiercely loyal.”

  “No problem, but it’s not going to be easy.”

  “She’s been giving Cole the stink eye all day. I’d ask what that’s about, but I’m going to save it until tomorrow. Tomorrow the pair of you can fuck up my world, but today, I just need to be me,” I explain.

  “Fair call.”

  When Matt had finally managed to pull Leah away and take her home, my focus went to Cole. “You want to get out of here?” I ask as he rests his elbow on the bar, a glass of bourbon in his hand.

  He gives me the half smile that had always made my most delicate of places throb for him. “Let’s go.”

  Cole tells me to leave my car in the private parking lot of the restaurant where the wake had taken place and he’d have it picked up for me later. Of course, I wasn’t impressed by the idea, no one’s allowed to drive my car, but I also didn’t want to waste

  any time.

  Finally, I agreed to let my car be driven by a complete stranger. When Cole leads me

  through the car park, shock hits me when I see what he’s driving. It takes me completely by surprise. “You definitely still have good taste when it comes to your choice in cars,” I tease him.

  “So, do you.” He winks in return.

  When he’s behind the wheel, and I’ve slipped in beside him and closed the door, he leans over and reaches up, cupping my cheek in his soft hand. “I smiled like a fool when I pulled up to your mother’s house yesterday. I knew immediately that the Commodore in the driveway was yours, and I was taken back to know that even after all of this time apart, we still managed to go out and buy the exact same make and model. It can’t be just a coincidence, baby girl,” he whispers, and my chest fills with air. Baby girl, he hasn’t called me that in years, I’ve missed it.

  Cole licks his lips, and I can’t, for the life of me, focus on anything else, so I close the distance between us and kiss him, hard.

  As his tongue sweeps the inside of my mouth, I let go of a whimper, and Cole pulls away, breathless. “I need you in my bed,” he whispers, his chest heaving.

  “Take me there.”

  After another lengthy, very hot kiss, Cole flicks the key and the car comes to life. I feel

  the familiar rumble beneath me and I still cannot believe we have the same car, it reminds me that we were once happy as one. We were the same person, the perfect fit.

  Chapter Nine

  Cole

  Once we reached the hotel and exited the car, I took Mia’s hand in mine like I had so many times before. It was a natural movement, a natural connection.

  I led her through the car park, and through the lobby to the elevator. As we travelled to the twenty-second floor, I turned her until she was facing me. We didn’t utter a single word, we just stared at one another, in a comfortable silence, until the bell dinged and the doors opened.

  Eager to have her all to myself, I got us the hell out of there and into my room. The room is big and very slick; modern, if you will. It has clean lines and everything is white, the only reprieve is some black accents dotted around the room. There are some vases and paintings, but the only thing that has the ability to hold my attention is the girl standing before me, wearing a cute white, floral dress. Mia had explained to me at the wake that her mother didn’t want her wearing black to her funeral, and she’d wanted to honour her wishes, so she did.

  Kicking off my shoes, I stare at Mia. I’ve never been able to get over her natural

  beauty. Her hair has always cascaded down her smooth back, and her skin has always had a natural glow to it. I would always try to tell her, to conv
ince her, that she didn’t need to wear makeup, but she’d go on to tell me I was just blinded by my teen hormones. That simply wasn’t the case. Mia is, and has always been, perfect, and even after she left me, I knew that would never change.

  Mia closes the distance between us, then reaches up and pulls at my tie it’s undone and off. She then pushes up on her toes and brushes her lips across mine. My breathing is now laboured by the fact that I can’t believe I’m standing here with the woman I have loved for so long.

  Mia

  He’s mine, at least he is for tonight, and I won’t let my mind become cluttered with ‘what ifs, or why nots.’ No, tonight will be about just that, tonight.

  As I lose myself in his embrace, I rest my hands on his chest and slowly slide them upwards until I push the jacket he’s wearing off his shoulders and down his arms, then hear it hit the floor. Before I have a chance to rid him of anymore clothing, Cole runs his

  hands over my waist and down my ass until he has a grip on the backs of my thighs. He uses them to lift me up and I wrap my legs around him. Using his strength, he pulls me against him and I can feel him grow with excitement beneath me.

  Cole leads us over to the bed, where gently he lays me out before him. Instead of taking me as his, he stands back for a moment and he stares down at me. “What?” I ask, feeling like I’m on display.

  His smile is broad, and there’s a glimmer in his eyes. “I can’t believe I have you here with me. For so long, this is all I’ve wanted, I’ve wanted you by my side. No one will ever be able to compare to you, Mia. I just wish we hadn’t wasted so many years being apart. You ripped my heart out the day you left without warning. I’ve never been able to get past it, but I have you now and I still love you as much as I did all those years ago,” he whispers as he leans back, resting his weight on his arms, hovering over me.

  With our eyes still locked on each other, I respond, “Let’s not talk about any of that tonight. Let’s leave the past in the past, for now.”