by Aria Ford
His jeep pulled into the lot, and I stared at him as he got out and walked toward me. Jesus, but Stephen was handsome. My heart jumped in my chest even with all the stress and the clear set of his chiseled jaw.
He raised his eyes to meet my face and pain flashed through them. Did I hurt him? What did I do?
Stephen unlocked the door, and we walked to his office in a cold silence. He opened his door and let me go in first before following me and sitting at his desk as I stared at him. “Why are we here?” His voice was cold, and I walked toward him, trying to find his eyes as he stared at his desk.
“We are going to be working closely together, Stephen. I want to clear the air between us. I want things to be normal,” I said as he raised his eyes and glared at me.
“Normal? This is far from normal, Mandy.” Stephen was sarcastic and cold, leaving me to feel empty inside.
“What is normal? I have never had normal, Stephen. My mom wants me to be something I’m not and every guy I have ever been with leaves me. You’re the first man that I’ve ever felt this way for, and I hate that we’re not talking.” My voice rose with every word, and he clenched his fists. “I don’t know what we are. I don’t know if we were anything at all, but I need to know. Seriously.”
“I was doing fine, Mandy. I was a dad and doing everything to provide for my son. I didn’t get attached to anybody.” He looked at me and ran a hand through his already messy hair. “What the fuck have you done to me?”
“What have you done to me? Why do I keep thinking about you?” I cried out to him as he stepped around the desk and stalked toward me.
“It seems like you’re thinking about a lot of men here.” His voice was so cold.
My eyes widened. “What the hell are you talking about?” I never thought about anybody else at all. My mind raced as I tried to sort out where he was coming from before I realized that he was in front of me.
“You’re sleeping with other men in the office. You have been the entire time. You slept with Paul!” he yelled as stepped back.
“What?” I asked in shock, anger rushing through me. “Did he tell you that?”
“In so many words, yes. That little moment in your office cemented my suspicions,” he confirmed.
“Nothing was happening that day between us. He’d been hitting on me since the day we met, but Paul was different that day. He was hard and cold, almost like he knew that you would be walking in just then.” I surmised as he narrowed his eyes in thought.
“He’d told me about you earlier. I suppose that he would expect me to confront you and that would be perfect timing.” Stephen shook his head.
“He told you about me that day?” I asked as he nodded. “He’s playing us against each other. He told me a lot about you in that visit to my office.” Stephen stared at me. “Are you back with Lacy?”
“Fuck me. He mentioned her?” Stephen groaned as he pressed on the bridge of his nose. “She is back, but I suspect that he made it sound much worse than it is.”
“If you mean that telling me how much better she is than I am and so hot, then yes. Are you back with her?” I knew that my voice was shrill and out of control, but I was hurt.
Stephen stared at me as he grabbed my shoulders. “No,” his voice roared through the office, making me jump. “I’m not! She showed up the morning after you were over, wanting to push her way back into our lives. She went as far as to tell Brandon who she was before I had the chance to explain anything. I was fucking livid and told her that I would contact her when I was ready to talk. Imagine my week with all of Brandon’s questions, Mandy. Imagine the hell that I’ve been in with that, knowing that I’d fallen for you and I didn’t even have you. I thought that you were playing me. I was so pissed at myself.”
I crossed my arms over my chest as relief flooded me. He wasn’t upset with me, and he wasn’t seeing Lacy. Paul was a fucking liar. “Unbelievable. What an asshole.”
“Agreed.” He reached out and touched my shoulder lightly. “Look at me. I’m sorry. I feel for Paul’s shit because I couldn’t imagine a beautiful, young woman like you seeing anything in a man like me.”
“Well, you were wrong.” I dropped my arms to the side, feeling incredibly tired all of a sudden. “I was falling in love with you.”
“Was?” He dropped his hand from me and stepped back. “Not anymore, hmm?”
“I don’t know.” I glanced down to the ground. “I’m a little confused right now.”
“Then take some time.” His voice was soft, sweet. I could almost feel his pain rolling off him. We’d both been taken for a fucked up ride. I needed to try and remember that all of the shit that had happened wasn’t his fault. Nor was it mine.
“I don’t want time. I just want to have open communication between us.” I reached out and ran my hands down his thick chest, loving the feel of him under my fingers. My words moments before came back to haunt me. I was falling in love with him.
“We can do that. And what about Brandon?” Stephen asked as I let out a trembling breath. “How do you feel about the fact that I have a son?”
“I love the fact that you have a son. I think he’s a great kid.”
He slid his strong hands over my hips and pulled me closer. “He likes you a lot. He’s brought you up several times since the tennis camp, even with all of this shit going on.” There was a hint of hope in his eyes. “Can you live in a world where the man that you’re with has a son with a woman that will in part be in his life? I am going to let her get to know him in supervised visits for a while.”
“Of course.” I leaned closer, wanting to take away his pain.
“She told me that she was an addict and it took some time to get help. She swears that she’s sober now and she wants to know Brandon again. I don’t think I should deny him of that, but I also know that the three of us don’t have to be a family.” Stephen wrapped me into a tight hug. “We were dealing with too much at once. We didn’t talk through any of that, and I’m sorry. I am sorry that I didn’t reach out and ask you about all of this. I was just so fucked up.” He stared at me. “Forgive me?”
I lifted up and pressed my chest against his before kissing him softly. “Yes. Will you forgive me for not reaching out as well?”
Stephen breathed in before nodding. He brushed his lips against mine gently as I let out a soft moan. I didn’t know how addicted to his touch I was until then. I smiled as he kissed me harder, deepening the kiss.
Everything about us being together felt right. Good.
Time melted as he claimed my mouth in slow kisses. I felt the heat between us, undeniable as our lips parted and tongues met hungrily. I knew that I didn’t want to live in a world where this wasn’t a part of my life. I knew that I’d fallen hard for Stephen and was well on the way to doing the same with his son.
“You’re not going to regret this. I promise.” He kissed me again and slid his hand into my hair, holding me in place while he made love to my mouth, and helped to heal my soul.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
A Month Later
Stephen
I slapped Mandy’s ass with the towel as she turned the chicken in the pan, making her jump and laugh.
“Do you want to eat?” She threatened as I laughed and dropped the towel on the counter.
“You’re making Brandon’s favorite dinner, not mine.” I didn’t mind at all. It had been a month since we reconciled in that office and life had been great. Mandy didn’t officially live here but spent all her time away from work here with us. It was an easy process since Brandon already liked her. He grew to love her and her food over the weeks and fried chicken was on the menu tonight.
It was fucking good, and I knew that I’d been in love with her since day one.
Brandon was standing on a step stool and mixing a salad for dinner as I marinated some vegetables. There were some mashed potatoes ready to warm up in the microwave.
I looked over the scene, feeling the love in the room. We’d already h
elped Brandon with his homework for the night, since Lacy was picking him up for a long weekend after dinner. They were doing great. We’d spent a lot of time together until I felt confident that she was ready to be a mom again, and Brandon was comfortable as well. Now she had an apartment close to the house and a great job that allowed her weekends twice a month with Brandon.
I walked over to get a tray for the oven so I could roast the vegetables, sneaking a kiss as she giggled. I dumped the zucchini onto the big sheet and shook it to spread them evenly before I slipped it into the oven. This time, I cupped her head for a deeper kiss and Mandy pressed against me.
“Are you going to be my other mommy someday, Mommy?” Brandon asked adorably from his place at the counter as she and I smiled at each other. That wasn’t the first time he’d asked me now that he was in a routine with Lacy and aware that he could love a lot of people as his family. It was a surprisingly smooth transition once everything had been discussed between all of us in different settings. I’d say that we were professionals at communication at this point, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I sure hope so,” I said as she blushed a little bit and returned to turning the crisp chicken in the pan.
“Me too,” Brandon agreed as she smiled sweetly. “I like having Mommy Lacy, and I want Mommy Mandy too.” He finished with the salad and jumped down to take it to the table before he set the table for us. We had a great little routine here, and I noticed that Brandon was thriving from that. We still had Danielle to watch him when we were at work, but with the three of us working as a team, she had a lot more time off.
She set the chicken on a plate covered with paper towels, setting it aside as she heated up the potatoes. I finished with the vegetables as she was taking the potatoes to the table and got them on a plate to take over. I stole another kiss before Mandy poured herself a glass of wine and got a beer for me as I transferred the chicken to a plate for dinner. Brandon already had a glass of milk at the table, and we sat down together as I looked from Mandy to Brandon. “I love you two so much.”
“I love you!” Brandon called back as Mandy chose to mouth the words to me before she helped him fix his plate. I got mine and handed Mandy her plate piled with her favorites as she groaned.
“I need to get to the gym.” We both went to the same one at the company. It was awkward for Mandy for a time, but Paul had taken things too far and ended up losing his job. All the staff realized that he was the cause of a lot of tension after he was gone and the general atmosphere of the office increased, and people got to know each other all over again.
I missed him as a friend but resented the fact that Paul tried to sabotage what I was building with Mandy. He wanted her for himself, and given that she didn’t fall for his flirtations, Paul took it to another level and got between the two of us. He knew me since I worked here when Brandon was just a baby and all that I’d been through with that. He knew that I didn’t react to women at all before Mandy and had to know that she was special to me.
We were a team at work, paired for many new accounts while Mandy also taught tennis at the camp. Brandon still wanted to go, and he was advancing in the sport as time went on. It made me proud. It was pretty cool to see my mother hug Mandy every time that she saw her for that as well.
We all discussed the upcoming camp next weekend, and Brandon expressed excitement over it. Mandy grinned as he spoke and I saw the surge of pride in her eyes as she watched him. We had him packed and ready for a trip that Lacy was taking him to the aquarium and lunch. He was also excited about that, and I took a bite of mashed potatoes as he went on and on about their plans.
We cleaned up the table once we finished dinner and Mandy packed a little container of leftovers for both Brandon and Lacy. She always made a lot of food given the appetites that my son and I both had, and we even had some for later tonight after I worked my appetite up all over again.
There was something to be said for weekends alone with my girlfriend. We didn’t have to be quiet. I made sure that I took her all over the house on those days.
The dishes were loaded into the dishwasher when the doorbell rang, and Brandon jumped up from his movie to go and open it. I stepped forward and greeted Lacy with a smile as she walked inside. Her hair was blonde. I thought she looked good and healthy, and more than that; happy. I never saw her this happy before. “Hi. It smells great in here,” Lacy said as she inhaled deeply and wrapped a hand around Brandon as he tackled her leg.
“I am sending you home with some. Any chance to have a break in feeding this guy is precious.” Mandy walked out from the kitchen with a bag for Lacy. I wouldn’t say that they adored each other, but they got along for the sake of Brandon. I think that Mandy had been a little unsure of the situation with Lacy at first, but it was obvious that there was nothing between us. She was a good mom to Brandon, and they were forming a special bond.
Lacy told us that she’d have him home on Sunday evening and they walked out to her car, talking about everything that they were going to see the following day. I closed the door and pressed Mandy against it to kiss her the way I’d been thinking about all day. “I am going to ravage you now, woman.”
I spent a lot of time worrying about a family for Brandon. It was natural to think that Lacy and I could provide that when he was born and even briefly when she showed back up in our lives. It took a few days for me to understand that I could have Mandy and that we could be a family for Brandon while he had a life with Lacy as well.
“Mmmm, I can’t wait,” she said, her shyness fading as she wrapped her arms around my neck to kiss me deeply. She was a little hesitant about too much affection in front of Brandon, wanting to keep it tasteful for his young eyes. When he wasn’t around though, she was all over me.
We stumbled to the couch, and I pulled her on top of me, pushing up the pink dress that she’d worn to work that day so I could cup her ass. “I love you, Mandy.”
She stared down into my eyes and smiled as emotions passed through her eyes. Mandy looked so beautiful as she pressed her lips to mine, whispering that she loved me back. I kissed her lips, her jaw, and down her neck as Mandy leaned back to offer me more of her delicious skin. I could not get enough of her sweet body. I pushed her down against the cushions to unbutton her dress so I could taste her addicting nipples.
We made love right there after we were naked and unable to get to the bedroom. I held her close as I plunged inside of her, feeling Mandy so tight around me. She arched her back to take me deeper and moaned my name sensually.
I rolled beside her after we were both sated, holding Mandy close.
“God, I love making love to you.” Her voice was a whisper as she looked at me, her eyes shimmering in the light from the kitchen.
I had never loved a woman like I did her and deep down, I knew that I never would. I vowed to always let her know as I leaned forward to press a kiss to her lips. “I love it too, baby. You’re mine. Forever.”
“That a threat or a promise?” She gave me a cheeky grin.
“Both?” We laughed and snuggled up together. I wasn’t ever letting her go. She completed me.
Epilogue
Six months later
Mandy
I was soaring into the clouds as we left the tournament where Brandon had won his first trophy. He continued to love tennis, and I started working tirelessly with him, proud of his commitment to the sport. I looked at Stephen as he gripped his son’s shoulder and praised him, and we shared a long look.
This trip was to LA, and we’d brought Danielle and Mike along so they could enjoy the city along with us. Well, that and so we could have a date night while we were here. There was so much to see, and we wanted to have a nice dinner and maybe do some sightseeing.
They were behind us, raving about the win, and I laughed happily as we headed to our cars. After this, they were going to take him swimming at the hotel pool while we scoured the city. We piled into the cars and headed back to the Hyatt, getting Brando
n in his suit and giving them a bag of fresh clothes for dinner later.
Stephen led me by the hand to the shower once we were along, pulling me into his arms for a long kiss as I moaned against him. I’d moved into his house three months ago, and we were a happy family. I loved my life. I’d taken on a tennis class through the parks department in addition to the YMCA. I still had the job and worked well with Stephen on projects, so I had more balance.
Paul lost his job after he caused a little too much trouble at the office with his backstabbing, and I was really starting to get to know everyone on a more genuine level. He’d painted a bad picture of me to everyone, but it mostly bothered me that he hurt Stephen. They were supposed to be friends, but Paul couldn’t take the fact that I wanted Stephen and not him.
We went into the bathroom, and he started the water so we could rinse off the sweat from the hot summer day before heading out to the town. I pulled off my cotton dress and joined him under the spray, smiling as he dropped to his knees and looked into my eyes. “I am all sweaty,” I lightly protested as he shook his head and pressed a kiss to my pussy. I leaned back and spread my legs as he teased my clit, bringing me to a release quickly.
It only got better with him.
After he was back in a standing position, towering over me, I reached down to stroke his cock. “Got anything else for me?” I teased in a shaking voice as he raised an eyebrow and pushed me against the wall. I felt him lifting me up before he slid inside of me, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Is that what you were looking for?” he asked me in a gravelly voice as I sighed happily.
“Yes, sir, it is.” I leaned my head back as we made love slow and sweet. I cried out his name as we came together, smiling as he dropped me on shaking legs. “You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”