Unintended Love: A contemporary romantic novella

by O'Riley, Harley

  “Well...I haven’t had a girlfriend in over two years.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  She decided not to ask him about the girlfriend he’d had two years before.

  “So, four children? Isn’t that a lot?”

  “I really only want two or three.”

  “So, why four bedrooms?”

  He smiled. “Well, how am I supposed to know how many children my wife that I may or may not have met wants? Besides, no form of birth-control is one hundred percent.”

  He put his arms around her waist and drew her to him. He searched her face and his smile left his mouth but stayed in his eyes.

  “How many children do you want?” he asked before he bent down and touched his lips to hers.

  Melanie’s heart was racing in her chest and her legs felt wobbly. His lips seemed to search hers for an answer to his question. She could feel herself responding. She was becoming aroused so fast that it occurred to her that her body, at least, must want this man’s children.

  For the second time since they’d come inside this house, she found herself having to resist what the primal part of her wanted with Alex. She moved away, shaking her head.

  “I want children, Alex, but not today!”

  He laughed. “Agreed. Not today. Come on, I’ll show you the grounds.”

  The property stretched down to the dirt road but they didn’t walk all the way. Halfway, Melanie spied a barn-like structure nestled in the trees with a drive leading up to the house and down to the road.

  “Is that yours?” she asked, and walked towards it.

  Alex followed. “Yes, that’s where I keep the toys.”

  She laughed. “I understand bedrooms for future children, but toys? Isn’t that taking things a little far? ”

  He shook his head. “You’re such a nut. These are my toys. Come on, I’ll show you.”

  He took his keys out of his pocket; hit a button on the key-chain and a large garage door sprung to life and rumbled open.

  Melanie approached the entrance tentatively. At first, she couldn’t see much in the dim light, but when they were both well inside he flipped a switch. Fluorescent lights fixtures that hung high over their heads flickered then flooded the open space of the barn with light.

  The sight of the contents of the barn, and everything they meant to Melanie, left her stunned.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered.

  “I know it’s a lot, but I’ve always had a thing for motorized speed.”

  The image of Alex on his tricycle flashed again through her mind. Then the memory of Sam in his hospital bed, and then in his coffin was there too, somehow connected. Melanie began shaking inside.

  That she had to leave, was all she could think. She wanted to flee from this place filled with danger in the form of motorcycles, four wheelers, speed boats, and what was that in the corner? It was a race car complete with a number painted on its side.

  Alex was giving her a puzzled look. “You look pale. Let’s get out of here. Do you want to sit down?

  “I think I need to go home. I’m not feeling well.”

  It was true. She felt almost dizzy.

  “What is it?” His face was filled with concern. “Why don’t we go back to the house?”

  “No!” she said, adamantly.

  Melanie knew she sounded unreasonable, but she didn’t care. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go home so she could fall apart alone in the privacy of her own home. She breathed in deep and held her emotions in check the best she could.

  Alex looked very upset. The line had appeared between his brows. He touched her shoulder gently.

  “What is it?” he demanded.

  Melanie jerked away. “No, I can’t do this. This will not work.”

  She knew as she spoke, that she sounded angry. But she wasn’t angry with Alex.

  “What won’t work, Melanie?”

  “Us! We won’t work. And as much as I like you and oh god I do like you. And as much as I want you – I can’t do this, Alex. Oh for Christ sakes, Alex, you built your house on a damn cliff!”

  “I know.”

  “On a cliff, Alex. Who builds a house that he wants to raise children in on a cliff? And this garage, or barn or whatever... it’s filled. It’s filled with danger, Alex. You like danger. I don’t.”

  “I don’t like danger, Melanie.”

  “Yes, you do! You are some kind of adrenaline junkie, and I’ll have none of it. I had one crazy man in my life that lost his life because of these “man toys”, and I will not go through that again. I won’t!”

  “Melanie, wait. Let me talk.”

  “No, I won’t. Because you are beautiful, and so wonderful and I don’t want to hear it. I have to go!”

  She ran to her car. And even as she ran, she knew she was being childish but the urge to leave was too great.

  When she saw Alex walking up to his house as she drove down the long driveway, she stopped and rolled down her window. He came up to the car slowly, looking her in the eye with an expression that was dark. Melanie felt afraid of what he would say, so she began in a rush.

  “I’m sorry. I know running away like this is juvenile, but ever since I heard you roar off on your motorcycle yesterday, I’ve been thinking that it won’t work between us. Sam, my husband, was riding a motorcycle when he had his accident. He broke his back, and damaged several internal organs. He was paralyzed and died less than two years later from pneumonia. But really, I think he just didn’t want to live after that.”

  Alex’s expression remained dark, but his eyes softened. He moved his hand to reach out to her then changed his mind and let it fall back to his side. “That must have been really hard, but I’m not Sam.”

  “No, but I can’t take the chance. You ride cycles, and drive race cars, and fly planes. I think you might be worse. If I fall in love with you, and I’m pretty sure I’m half-way there and something happens to you, I don’t think I could bear it.”

  “You can’t choose who you fall in love with. Besides, I’m very careful and my tastes are changing as I get older. I’m not as into those things anymore. But, Melanie I am in falling in love with you. I’ve never felt like this about any woman before.”

  He knelt so he was eye-to-eye with her and leaned on the car door. “Please, don’t do this.”

  Melanie held back the tears that were welling up in her eyes, and she drew in a shuddering breath.

  “Oh Alex, you’re right I can’t choose who I fall for, but I can choose who I’m with.”

  He touched her cheek lightly, then stood up and started back up the drive without looking back. Melanie watched him feeling the pain she’d expected begin to expand in her chest.

  The tears didn’t start until she was safely back home.

  CHAPTER 13

  It was more than six weeks before Melanie saw Alex again. Every time she went into town she’d found herself doing double-takes, thinking she saw him walking down the street, and each time that she’d found that it was not him the dull ache in her heart that she’d been feeling since she’d driven away from his house that day, grew stronger for a while.

  She missed him even more than she’d known she would, but she hadn’t been idle. Sometimes she marveled at how completely her life had changed in a month and a half.

  Partly to distract her thoughts away from Alex, but mostly because it seemed like the right time, Melanie had begun to put the pieces together for a literacy program that would be offered to impoverished children in the county. Once she’d begun, the project seemed almost to unfold magically. Sponsors for the program were coming forward after a large letter writing campaign that she had done on her own, and it was looking promising for a grant that she’d written.

  Once the money was in play, Melanie was planning to start developing all the ideas she had. The main goal of the program was to get books into the hands of those children who didn’t have the money to own books, but she also wanted to start a free summer camp based on literacy.r />
  After meeting with her accountant, and realizing she’d need private donations as well, Melanie had called the local news. Although the producer really hadn’t sounded all that interested, Cary Andrews had called back and told her to stop by the station.

  It was when she was walking from her parking space to the news station that she saw Alex. He was walking towards her, and walking with him shoulder to shoulder was Cary. They were both smiling until Alex saw her. She watched as his smile faded and he went pale under his tan.

  She could imagine how he might be feeling. Her own stomach clenched and she shivered even though it was a warm day. Some large part of her had imagined running into him the past six weeks, but she’d never visualized him with another woman. The sight of him smiling and laughing with Cary made her feel sick inside.

  When they got close, Melanie managed a polite smile. Alex returned her smile with a tight-lipped one of his own and stopped in front of her. Cary recognized Melanie and laughed in surprise while pulling on the fabric of Alex’s shirt sleeve.

  “Why there’s Melanie Michaels! Alex look, it’s Melanie.”

  “Hello, Alex,” she said and then turned to Cary. “I was on my way to see you.”

  “Oh my gosh, I know. It completely went out of my mind. I am so sorry, dear. Please join us. We are going over to Maya’s Sweetshop for a coffee.”

  “Well...”

  Melanie saw Cary gently bump her arm into Alex’s as if to remind him of her presence. The gesture spoke of a level of intimacy between them that made Melanie’s heart sink. How quickly he’d found someone. It was surprising that it was Cary, but she was pretty, smart and very ambitious.

  She pushed the jealous feelings that bubbled up aside. After all, he was a free man, and it didn’t matter to her life if he had a new woman in his.

  It shouldn’t matter, but it did.

  “Yes. Please come,” Alex said.

  He did sound sincere and when he gave her a warm smile, she began to relent.

  “I don’t think...” she began, before Cary interrupted and put her hand palm out to stop her.

  “You must. Come on, Melanie, we can share this tall drink of water for an hour, and then we’ll have our interview. I’m sure that will work out best. It’s lunch time. I’m starved, Alex is hungry, and you must be too.”

  She grabbed Melanie’s arm and propelled the three of them down the street. The diner was only a few storefronts down, and soon Cary was pointing out a booth in the corner.

  When they were seated, Cary turned to Alex.

  “We’ll continue our discussion later. I want to see it again before I make my final decision, but we’re practically there darling.” Then she turned to Melanie.

  “He’s so yummy, Mel. I know I’d love to spend three days alone in the wilderness with him fiancé or no. But, I’m single. How is your fiancé anyway?”

  Cary grabbed Melanie’s ring finger.

  “Where’s the ring?”

  Melanie glanced at Alex, who was leaning forward and looking at her with interest.

  “He wasn’t...we broke it off,” she answered looking at the finger that hadn’t held a ring for almost a year.

  She watched Cary glance at Alex as if to judge his reaction. He seemed amused then he caught Melanie’s eye and winked. Before she could stop herself, she winked back.

  Cary dropped the subject and spent the rest of lunch talking about herself in such a way that neither Alex nor Melanie were required to say much. A few times their eyes met and each time she smiled.

  Although he hadn’t ever been far from her thoughts over the past weeks, the reality of him there in front of her was intoxicating. She’d often asked herself why she was having so much trouble putting him out of her mind, and now it seemed obvious. His smile was so warm, and his dark brown eyes reflected a soul that she felt sure was kind and wise.

  The enormity of what she’d run away from hit her hard while she was sitting there.

  “Why, Mel, what is it?” Cary asked solicitously. “You suddenly look so sad. Are you all right?”

  She glanced up and was drawn to the concern in not Cary’s, but Alex’s eyes. But the look he was giving her felt like pity, so she took a deep breath and sat up straight.

  “I’m fine. A little tired is all. I’ve been putting in late nights with the literacy project trying to get it off the ground.”

  “Well, I’ll bet with the exposure I give you, you’ll get lots of interest and maybe some donations.”

  “I hope so. Even with the grant money I believe I’ll get, I’ll need more to be able to open the camp by next summer. That’s my goal.”

  “Well, just keep believing. That’s my motto anyway.”

  Melanie felt a sudden affection for Cary. Even though she was often pushy, and a bit self-involved, she seemed to have a good heart. Maybe that’s what Alex saw in her, besides her obvious attractions, that is.

  Still, Melanie wasn’t sure anymore that they were together that way because Alex was treating her more like a business associate than anything else, and although Cary kept touching him in almost intimate ways, he didn’t seem to be responding. Of course, on the other hand, that could be out of consideration for her feelings.

  Melanie sighed, meeting Alex’s eyes again before looking away. Her feelings for Alex hadn’t changed one bit in almost two months. And having him right there in the flesh was making it perfectly clear that she had never before felt this way for any man, not even Sam.

  Or maybe Sam, but that magical time when they were in high school, falling in love, seemed like a lifetime ago now.

  In this life, Alex was the one who made her heart beat fast. It was Alex who had brought her joy, and it was the lack of him in her life that made her feel despair.

  She looked at her watch then slid out of her chair after taking a five dollar bill out of her purse and laying it on the table to cover her coffee.

  “I’ll meet you at the station. I have to run a quick errand,” she said.

  “It was really good to see you, Melanie,” said Alex. He gave her a meaningful look, but Melanie didn’t know how to interpret it.

  “Yes.”

  She didn’t really have an errand to run, but to kill time went into the drugstore across from the news station. She browsed through the magazine racks, taking one down at random and flipping through its pages. The title of the first article she came to read: Fear of Falling- don’t let the fear of being hurt again ruin your life. She closed the magazine and hurriedly put it back. Suddenly, she had a strong desire to call her mother.

  The interview went smoothly and although it was very short, Melanie felt she’d made her pitch well enough, and most importantly, had managed to get the information about the website that was now set up to take donations. Then before she left the studio, Cary came up to her and handed her an envelope.

  “Just a few contributions from the folks around here,” she said.

  Melanie thanked her, feeling that if she had been able to touch people at the news station, she might get a good response from the interview.

  When she got home, she went to her computer and found that ten people had already made small contributions on the website.

  The urge to talk to her mother persisted and after a light dinner of pasta and salad, she poured herself half a glass of white wine, curled up in the leather armchair and got out her cellphone. While she was searching through her contacts the phone rang. It was her mother.

  “I was just calling you.”

  “Well, I’ve been thinking about you all afternoon,” Dalya answered, as if that fully explained the coincidence. “How are you, dear?”

  That one question opened up the floodgates, and the story of Alex poured out of Melanie. Her mother was an experienced listener, encouraging her with small gentle noises and thoughtful questions. She hadn’t told anyone all these weeks what had controlled her thoughts and feelings since the first day she’d spent with him, and to do so now, left her feeling actually
physically lighter. The tight feeling in her chest had loosened somewhat as well.

  Finally Melanie grew quiet and after a few moments, Dalya spoke.

  “It sounds like you may be in love.”

  Melanie started to cry. “Oh Mommy, I think I am.”

  “It’s not really a bad thing, sweetheart.”

  “But what about what I told you? He has a freaking race car! He rides a freaking motorcycle. He flies a damn plane!”

  “Melanie! Please watch your language. It sounds like he’s adventurous and exciting. He really likes to live his life to the fullest. It’s probably why he’s attracted to you and a big reason why you’ve fallen for him.”

  “But, he’s lovely otherwise too. He’s intelligent and funny. He’s kind and really giving. I would care about him without all the rest of it.”

  “If you love someone then you have to accept the whole package. You don’t get to pick and choose, and it’s usually a disaster to try and change people.”

  “I don’t think I can handle the whole package.”

  “You should think about it though. Meeting someone you can love like that doesn’t come along that often. I should know.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “I have some news of my own, Melanie. I’m seeing someone.”

  “What did you say? Seeing someone for what?”

  Dalya laughed. “You are so silly! Remember that man that I told you about? You know- the one I thought I could...”

  Melanie understood her mother’s awkwardness with the subject of her deepest feelings and tried to help. “Love?”

  “Yes, that’s the word, I guess.”

  “Oh wow, that is news.”

  “He lives on the Island. I used to see him a few times a year, just in passing, and I always wondered... well, when you were lost I called him.”

  “You called him when I was lost?”

  “Yes, yes. I thought he might be able to help somehow.”

  Melanie was confused but she was more curious about the relationship between her mother and this man, so she stayed quiet.

  “Anyway, I’ve seen him almost every day since then.”

  “You never said anything all these weeks.”