by CJ Laurence
“Really?”
“Yes, really,” he said, folding his arms over his chest.
“I know all about Cassie.”
He sucked in a deep breath but remained silent, giving me the opportunity to carry on.
“And I also know the only reason Paul won’t get involved with anyone is because he doesn’t want to see his own father fucking his girlfriend.”
I was so angry I didn’t care what I said as I felt the situation we were currently in was all down to him anyway. If he hadn’t forced Paul into his seedy sex club all those years ago, then maybe things with Paul and I would have turned out differently the first time around.
“He had jealousy issues,” Roger said, dropping his arms to his sides. “It’s the best thing for him.”
“Is it? So you don’t think him getting what he actually wants is the best thing for him? Him living the life he actually wants wouldn’t be the best thing for him, then?”
“Paul?” Roger said, glancing at his son.
“I hate it,” he said. “I always have done. I can’t stand the way you and Mum live. I would rather die alone than subject any wife of mine to what you do.”
“Oh.”
“And if you don’t let me live my own life, at the age of thirty-five, you’ll find yourselves completely childless.”
Giving us both a curious look, Roger nodded his head and closed the door, disappearing.
Paul and I both let out a sigh of relief before we flopped back onto the soft pillows and stared up at the ceiling in silence. A couple of minutes later, he rolled over on top of me, scooping his arms underneath my back as he nestled himself cheekily between my legs.
“Well, I guess that’s the complications over and done with,” he said.
I giggled at him as he nuzzled into my neck and slowly started planting kisses across my skin.
“I’m completely and utterly madly in love with you,” he whispered, his thumbs stroking my back.
I gasped in shock at the sudden outburst of his feelings. I rested my hands on his shoulders, ready to push him off me should this go very wrong.
“I know,” he said, raising his face so he could look me in the eye. “I said the dreaded ‘L’ word.”
I smiled at his sarcasm, giving him a withering look.
“I’ve tried to tell you twice in the past week and both times I’ve been interrupted so I figured I may as well just say it now the opportunity arose.”
I looked into those hypnotizing blue eyes swimming with love and tenderness. Why had I not seen this side of him before? It made my heart heavy and ache at the thought of where this could have gone if this had happened months ago.
“I’m crazy about you too,” I said, careful not to jump in with the ‘L’ word.
He grinned at me with a satisfied look on his face. “That’ll do,” he whispered. “That’ll more than do.”
Epilogue
Well, it was fair to say my life changed rather drastically over the past six months.
Paul and his parents managed to iron things out—eventually. It was Paul’s mum who finally made Roger see they couldn’t impose their own lifestyle choices onto their children. Paul made his plans about the future of their business quite clear. In the end, they decided to split the businesses up. Paul kept the nightclubs and took sole charge of them whilst his parents continued on with their own lifestyle choice of the club. They would sell it on in the future, when they were too old, and keep the money behind for Paul and Rebecca once they were gone. They had also moved out of the house and bought themselves a new estate a few miles down the road. Paul had been utterly gobsmacked when they handed him the keys and told him they didn’t want to force him out of his childhood home.
Paul also kept himself at the head of Mr. Collins’s company and all was going swimmingly well. The new branch out in Germany had sprung into life last month and he had moved two of the directors out there permanently to control it whilst he stayed back here—with me.
I wanted to keep my job at the company but Paul refused to have me stuck behind a desk, restrained from the joys of a good life when he had more than enough money to “keep me,” aside from my own small fortune from Mum’s shares. After some rather heated discussions we came to an agreement and a very suitable compromise was reached for both of us. His relationship with Rebecca had flourished considerably since everything happened and I found myself going into business with her. I evented her top horses, including Eloise, and helped her with her breeding and training programmes. Burying myself in horses for hours every day was perfect heaven to me.
Ash and Ben announced they were getting married at the end of the year after they had now permanently relocated themselves out in Texas. Ash was teaching Ben about horses and they were making a good go at running a dude ranch along with some help from the locals.
Tim was awaiting his trial, which was scheduled for next month. He pleaded guilty to all charges and it was pretty much set in stone he was going away for life. The children who he had taken inheritance from over the years were all given their money back from their unfortunate mothers and any leftover had been donated to local equine charities.
Nelson had been flown over here and was currently standing at stud at the yard. We were making an attempt at introducing American Quarter Horses over here and it was going well. It was a joyful relief for me to ride him after the seriousness of the competitions I had with the eventers.
Molly and Chris had gotten divorced rather quickly. Chris pushed it all through, at an insane cost, and managed to get it finalised last week. We kept in touch loosely as after being victims to the same thing, it had been daft not to. We had always gotten along anyway. Molly moved to Wales to get a fresh start. She never attempted any sort of contact with me and I was grateful.
Scott moved out to the States courtesy of his father. I was a little saddened to hear he had been shot and killed in a series of riots that took place in Boston where he was visiting for a few days. I knew he never intended me any harm and I felt that was a rather sticky end to meet. Paul, on the other hand, along with Ash, were rather obvious in their gleeful snickering.
I was now living with Paul. I moved in when his parents moved out in the new year. It didn’t feel rushed or forced; it just felt right. I had even managed to say the dreaded ‘L’ word to him shortly after I moved in. He reacted with a couple of tears but insisted it was merely his eyes sweating and I wasn’t to tell a soul about his strange bodily function.
This evening, I lay in bed listening to the rhythmic breathing of my sleeping beautiful Greek god next to me. I lifted my left hand up in the moonlight streaming through our window and twirled the sparkling diamond around my third finger with an aching smile spreading onto my face. He’d proposed to me only a few short hours previously.
I’d been competing at a one-day event with one of the up and coming youngsters. After a rather sticky situation at one of the fences out on the cross country course, we came home, splattered in mud and me utterly overjoyed I was still alive after he refused a simple log fence and sent me flying into a puddle of mud.
I slid down from the saddle weak at the knees and gasping for breath. I’d turned to lead the horse back to the lorry when Paul’s grinning face greeted me. He hugged me in his designer clothes before bending down on one knee. Opening a dark blue velvet box, he presented me with a stunning diamond ring and the words, “If this is the worst you’ll ever look, which I think it is, then I’d still marry you right now if I could. Will you marry me?”
He’d been grinning like a Cheshire cat as he’d said it, full well knowing how I’d react to him doing that to me at such a horrifying moment.
I pushed him over into the squelching grass before jumping on him like a starfish on ecstasy and screaming my answer in delight. I then interrogated him as to why he couldn’t have given me hearts and flowers and let me look my best.
His response, with a big grin, had simply been, “Because then it wouldn’t have been a
surprise.”
I couldn’t believe after the past year of insane highs and hitting real rock bottoms, after giving in to my wants of him and then ignoring him for the needs of my own life, I finally found everything I ever wanted and needed in him.
I had finally found my happy ending.
Bonus!
Get Instant Access to "Secret" Bonus Content From Want & Need by C J Laurence Now!
Click HERE.
BEFORE YOU GO…
DON’T MISS OUT!
Would you like to be a part of our FREEBIE FRIDAY LIST and get 5 FREE E-books sent to your inbox each week? Every week we send out different e-books including ALL different genres such as Romance, Suspense, Thriller, Westerns, Paranormal, New Adult, and much more! If you’d like to join over 9,500+ subscribers and growing, click below to be a part of FREEBIE FRIDAY…
Join FREEBIE FRIDAY!
Acknowledgments
So here is the one place where I can talk in my own voice rather than that of the jumble of characters in my head. Whilst a sense of relief is upon me for this freedom inspired moment, I am somewhat stumped and, ironically, at a loss for words. And so follows my eternal gratitude to those whose names mean something to me but leave you wondering who on earth they are.
First and foremost, my long-suffering partner, Steve. Without your patience, understanding, and love, I would be shrivelled up in a corner by now, rocking back and forth whilst muttering some strange language. You always give me the drive and comfort I need when I doubt myself. I love you.
Second comes Limitless Publishing. You made my once called “pipe dreams” bloom into reality—for that I am ever in your debt. Thank you!
Third is, of course, you, my reader. Yes, I am referring to you as a singular, not plural. There is only one of you reading this right now—unless you’re into some group stuff but we’ll not go there. Without you, I would be nothing but a crazy lady, scribbling stories on my laptop deep into the night with no one to entertain but myself. I cannot express enough gratitude to you for picking this book up in the first place. I hope what follows is enough to say thank you for supporting me.
Fourth, my family and friends. The past year or so has been a rather rocky road for me—you know what I’m talking about. Without all your laughs, dragging me out of the house kicking and screaming, and support when I need it, I would be institutionalised by now. For sure. Specific mentions have to be given to Carol and Chris, my in-laws. Chris—you’ve been like a dad to me and I know my own dad would be giving you a pat on the back for being there for me if he could. Carol—you’ve been like a second mum to me and are always there for all three of us at any time of the day or night. Thank you. Really. Elicia, Kerry, Gina—you guys are awesome. Thanks for being great friends and accepting my “crazy.” And of course my fabulous employer and work colleagues. There are too many of you to mention—as I can imagine I’m boring the reader right now so I must wrap up. Thank you for putting up with me—it is more than appreciated.
And last but not least, my close circle of writing pals: May Freighter, Juliet Lyons, R K Close, and Leila Adams. The little group we have formed is just fabulous and I love you girlies. Thank you all for supporting me—you know it will be reciprocated.
And now, I shall sign off and thank you again, dear reader, for bearing the past painful couple of minutes to read through my personal acknowledgements. If you’re a budding writer, you could be writing your own acknowledgements one day soon—don’t give up. If you’re a bookaholic reader, I hope you fall in love with my stories. If you don’t, no offence taken. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that I can’t please everyone!
Much Love, CJL XXX
P.S.—not bad for being at a loss for words initially, hey?
About the Author
C J Laurence lives in a small village in Lincolnshire, England. Born in the grand year of 1986, she has lived around this area all her life. Mother to a soon-to-be nine year old boy, C J works full time Monday to Friday in a busy accounts office. Her mind is a constant whirring stream of ideas, characters and scenarios and by the time she gets home at night, emptying her head is the number one priority.
Her pen name is a tribute to her late father, Laurence, whose ideas of the universe sparked the beginnings of her first paranormal book. This particular story is being walked through many rewrites in order to give her father the best story she can muster from his thoughts. Fairly new to writing compared to some, C J began her first novel in early 2014. This story was of a serious tone, centred around domestic violence. She is hoping to publish this into the main stream at some point.
Outside of the literary world, C J has a passion for horses, a love that has burned away since the age of six. Having had to have her beloved mare put to sleep in 2014, C J has only just recently rekindled her relationship with horses and is now learning the wonders of Western riding. As well as natural horsepower, C J also has a passion for mechanical horsepower and harbours a rare female love for cars. Having her own weekend toy of a performance car, C J is often found drooling over pictures of high powered motors – ranging from old classics to brand new supercars. Perhaps her most bizarre love, the one which drives her long suffering partner crazy, is that of conspiracy theories. C J is always looking for hidden meanings and manages to find conspiracies in anything you can think of. She can only hope you like this side of her twists and turns in her books!
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/CJLaurenceAuthor/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/cjlauthor
Website:
http://www.cjlaurence.com/
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/36226345-cj-laurence