Call Girl

by Pavan Kaur

“Once all this is finished, I’d like to go home to see my dad. I haven’t been back since his funeral and…” I wonder if he will think I’m crazy to say that I saw him when I was in the hospital; that he spoke to me. “I just want to talk, that’s all.”

  “Spit it out. What are you thinking?” he asks. I turn to face him. He keeps a straight face without even a twitch in his eye.

  “You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

  “Already think that.” Ethan puts his lips together to stop him from smiling at me. “Come on, tell me.”

  “I saw my dad. He's the one that helped me. I was ready to give up, and he's the one that…” I look over at him. “I just want to go see him, that’s all.” I end the conversation. It sounds a little crazy to me when I say it out loud, so Ethan must think I’m insane.

  “As soon as the doctors give you the all clear, I'll get Selena to book us a flight,” he says. Without another word, he gets back to his sandwich.

  I'm not sure what Ethan is thinking, but I know I don’t really want to talk about it anymore. I know that it’s a lot to take in, and right now, I just want to sleep. The painkillers the doctor gave me make me so tired.

  “I might go to sleep for a bit,” I tell Ethan. He takes my plate before taking the blanket off me, then slowly helps me to stand. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” he replies as he helps me walk to the bedroom.

  This is the first time I get to see the bedroom with everything in it. “This is beautiful.” I look around and my eyes fall on the huge bed. The grey, and hint of yellow in the room are perfect. “I love this room.”

  “Very happy that you approve. I'll have to call my mom to let her know.” Lying in bed, Ethan pulls the covers over me. “I'll wake you for dinner.”

  My eyes are too heavy to even answer him back. This bed is so comfortable, I fall asleep right away.

  ***

  “Ethan?” I yell his name as I am getting out of the shower. “Can you change my dressings, please?” I ask as he walks over to me.

  “Sure,” he says, taking the bandage roll from my hands. I’m not sure which one of us is more anxious about today.

  “Are Travis and Tanya at court?” I try to make some eye contact with Ethan, but he keeps his head down.

  “Ummm.” He looks at me in question. I nod my head. “Do they hurt when you touch them?”

  “Not as much as it hurts when I cough or take a deep breath.” Ethan pulls my top down. “Will Travis call you and tell you what’s happening?”

  “He will, and I'll tell you anything you want to know. Or, I'll tell you what I feel you need to know.” He puts his hands on my waist. “But, all I really want to tell you is what happens at the end.”

  “Then just tell me the end." I know he doesn’t want to talk about this anymore, and I don’t really want to talk too much about it if it’s going to upset him.

  “Breakfast?”

  “Please,” I say, resting my head on his chest and closing my eyes for a moment to just think about nothing.

  “After today, everything will be good and you can finally stop running, and live the rest of your life with me.” Ethan kisses the top of my head.

  I smile up at him, loving his affection. “And I can’t wait for that to happen. What did you make for breakfast?” I ask, pulling away from him to sit back down on the bed. I still can’t stand for too long.

  “Pancakes. Do you want me to help you walk over? It seems like you're getting a little fed up?” Ethan sits on the bed next to me.

  Resting my head on his shoulder, I sit and think about it for a second. “Breakfast in bed sounds nice,” I tell him. I just want to lie in bed and not move. It hurts too much to move around a lot.

  “Get in. I'll bring breakfast to you.” He pulls the bed covers to the side for me to get in. “I just have an email to look through, then I might join you.” Giving me a wink, he walks out of the room.

  Ethan spent the morning with me in bed. Even though he isn’t at work, he's still working. Travis sent some emails over yesterday, and then Selena had a few questions for him this morning. Since Travis is in court, Ethan was the only one she could talk to. I can see that he's starting to miss work, so I've tried not to bother him. It’s nice to just have him close to me while I make a full recovery. Plus, the girls have been in and out visiting with me. Ms. Jackie calls to check on me every day, and Dan and Jon have been calling. Then they call Ethan right after they hang up to make sure I wasn’t lying about how I was feeling.

  “Hello,” Ethan answers his phone. “Yeah, she’s with me.” He looks over at me, then puts his phone on speaker. I take Ethan’s hand, waiting for Travis to say something.

  “Courts finished. You won’t have to see Sam ever again. The judge gave him life without the possibility of parole,” Travis tells us, and an enormous weight lifts from my shoulders.

  “Are you coming over?” Ethan asks, taking him off speakerphone and I look at my phone buzzing on the side table. I watch Ethan walking out of the room.

  “Travis beat you to it,” I say, wiping my tears.

  “Good. We’re all coming for dinner. It’s finally over, Lexi,” Dan says, and at this moment, I don’t know what to do with the information.

  I’ve been running for so long that I don’t really know how to live without looking over my shoulder. “See you in a bit." Ending the call, I wipe the tears from my cheek. Sam's been put away and I never have to worry about him again. I’m finally free.

  I look toward the door, as I hear Ethan walking back over. He's smiling and it looks so good on him. I haven't seen it for a while and I've missed it.

  “Why are you crying?” Ethan sits on the bed and wipes my tears away, taking my hand in his.

  “I have no idea. I think it’s just that the weight has finally been lifted from me and I don’t know what to do or how to feel,” I say, as I look down at our hands. “I never thought there would be a day that I wouldn’t have to look back to see if he was coming after me.”

  “Well, it’s here, and you can now enjoy every day, knowing he can’t get close to you.” Resting his forehead against mine, he gives me a soft kiss. “You never have to run again.” He gives me another kiss. “Everyone is coming over to celebrate, so you rest for a little bit, okay?”

  Now I can finally be in one place and enjoy life, and I've decided to enjoy it with Ethan.

  Ethan

  Three weeks later

  The doctors finally gave Lexi the all clear to fly. I can’t believe how strong she is. One thing’s for sure, I have never been so scared of losing someone in my life. But now, I watch her in the mirror eyeing up the new shoes she ordered while on bed rest.

  The look on her face when they came, it was like looking at a child opening a present on Christmas morning. When she realized that she couldn't wear them yet, she looked like she was going to cry. As soon as the doctors gave her the all clear, I was hoping she wanted to do, something with me, but no. She went right to the wall of shoes, and has been standing in front of the mirror for over an hour, just staring at them.

  “Lexi, as much as I love to see you this happy over shoes, Selena has booked our flights and we have to leave soon to make it on time,” I tell her. She looks over her shoulder at me. “We’re only going to be gone for three days.” She wanted to go see her dad once she got the all clear, and I promised I would take her. I would have liked to go a for a little longer, but Edward and Angie’s kid’s surgery is tomorrow, and my lawyers want me back here to sign the last of the paperwork for all of that.

  “I’m only taking these shoes and two outfits. Since I now have the all clear, I plan on spending a lot of time naked,” Lexi says, giving me a wink.

  Walking over to her, I wrap my arms around her waist. “I’m looking forward to it,” I say, then kiss her neck. I’ve missed kissing her there. I know it gets her all excited, but I wasn’t about to risk her pulling anything. “But first, please, can you pack a bag?”

  “F
ine,” she says, taking one more look in the mirror at her shoes before she finally walks into the closet to pack something.

  I’ve spoken to Dan a few times to ask about their hometown and a few things about their parents. I wanted to get an idea of who they were. I knew Lexi found it hard to talk about them, and after everything she’s been through, I can understand why she feels that way. Dan told me Lexi, still to this day, blames herself for her father’s death. No matter what anyone says to her, she still feels the burden of guilt. Dan said there’s no point trying to change her mind, because it just ends in a fight. One he would rather not have.

  ***

  I watch Lexi talking to her dad’s gravestone. I stayed in the car to give her time to say whatever she needs to in private. She needs to be able to forgive herself without me there. I know she won’t ever forgive herself, but I want her to be able to try.

  “Hello,” I say, answering the phone as I watch Lexi sitting on the ground.

  “I have the park all ready for you,” Selena tells me.

  “Thank you.” I have a special night planned for Lexi. I’ve wanted to do something special for a while now, and when Dan told me about this park, I knew this was the perfect place and time to ask the woman I love to marry me.

  As Lexi stands up, her eyes still on the headstone, I get out of the car and walk over to her. Standing next to her, I kiss the stop of her head as I wrap my arm around her “You okay?” I ask.

  “Yeah. It’s been a long time since I came back home,” she says into my chest, “but I’m happy that I came.” She lifts her head to look up at me. “There’s this restaurant close by—it’s amazing. Would you like to go there for lunch?”

  “Well, I had other plans.” She gives me a sarcastic look. “No, not that, get your mind out of the gutter,” I say walking to the car. “This is something special.” I open the car door for her and wait for her to get settled.

  As my nerves start kicking in, I close my eyes and take a deep breath, hoping to relax a little. Mom told me nervousness was a good sign. I’m still not sure how it’s a good sign, but she’s never been wrong before. Walking to the other side of the car, I look over at Lexi, still gazing at her father’s grave as we drive off.

  Lexi was quiet on our drive. It’s been a long day, so I don’t blame her.

  Pulling into the park, Lexi’s face brightens. “How did you know about the park?” she asks with a huge smile. “Dan told you, didn’t he?” Opening the door, she starts walking to the spot I had ready.

  Dan told me that this park—this spot—means so much to her. It’s the same spot her dad asked her mom to marry him.

  I stay in the car and just watch as she picks daisies from the grass. She turns around and stands there waiting for me. Getting out of the car, I check my pockets. I pull out my phone and throw it onto the seat. No one is interrupting me today.

  I walk over to her, and she wraps her arms around me. “Ethan this is beautiful,” she tells me. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” She goes to walk away, but I stop her.

  “No, I’m the lucky one. You know that I’m not really a person for words, so I’m just going to spit it out.” As I’m getting down on one knee, I hear her gasp. “Lexi, will you marry me?” I ask, opening the ring box.

  Lexi looks at me without saying a word, moving or anything. I’m hoping she’s just shocked and that’s why she’s not answering me.

  “Lexi,” I say.

  “Yes. Yes, I will marry you.” I stand up, wrap my arms around her waist, and swing her around. Placing her feet back on the ground, I kiss her. “So, are you just asking me to marry you or do I get the ring?” She starts laughing.

  Taking her hand, I put the ring on her finger and watch her staring at the ring. I made sure the sales clerk at Tiffany’s only showed me the best rings they had. “I’ve seen better.” She gives me a wink and I can’t help but laugh.

  “I can see you on our wedding day. Instead of saying I do, you’re going to say something you shouldn’t,” I say with a laugh.

  “Yeah, and I’m not telling you what, either.” She jumps up and wraps her arms around my neck, and I wrap mine around her waist.

  “How fast can I get you to be Mrs. Knight?” I ask, walking over to the table.

  “I’m going to start planning as soon as we get home. Two months, max,” she tells me. Sitting on the bench, she takes her phone out.

  “Two months?” I question her.

  “Hey, I’m soon to be Mrs. Knight. I'll get it done, because if people don’t make it happen, then they know who they'll be upsetting. Mr. Ethan Knight, and that just won’t do,” she says with an enormous smile on her face. She’s got that right. Anyone upsets her, I'll make sure they don’t have a job.

  I watch her looking through her phone. She props the phone against the wine bottle I have on the table and we listen to it ring.

  I see Dan’s face pop up on the screen and before he can even say hello, Lexi’s shouting. “I’m engaged!”

  Jon’s face pops beside Dan on the screen. “When will you be back so we can start planning?” Jon asks.

  “Will you let me at least say congratulations to her?” Dan pushes Jon out of the way. “Congratulations, guys! I’m so happy for you.”

  Jon pushes Dan back out of his way. “Yeah, congratulations! So, when will you be back? I'll pick up some magazines to look through for ideas.”

  “In two days. I’ll call you as soon as we get back.” Blowing kisses to them both, she ends the call. “So, soon to be husband, can we talk about the thing we have been avoiding?” she asks, and I know what she's talking about. Children.

  “I don’t care. I love you. We can get a surrogate or adopt, or we can try on our own. The important thing to remember is they said it might be a little harder, but not impossible. So, I think we should get started trying. I also think, to help even out the odds, we should try at least three times a day,” I say with a wink, making her giggle.

  “Only you would think like that, but what—”

  “Lexi, nothing. I don’t care. I want to marry you, and we'll figure it out. I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” I tell her. She can try and say what she wants but it won’t make any difference to me.

  “I suppose we could start today…”

  I get to have her for the rest of my life and I can’t wait.

  Lexi

  Three years later.

  Standing in the bathroom, I look at my reflection. Ethan and I got married four months after our engagement, and it was exactly how we wanted it. Well, I should say Ethan got me everything I wanted. The only thing he wanted was for me to be happy, and I only wanted him to be happy. It was the best day of my life. Jon planned everything with me then Dan walked me down the aisle and gave me away. It was just perfect.

  Ethan knocks on the door. “Lexi, if I’m late, Travis will kill me.”

  “I’m coming,” I tell him.

  “This is the one day we can’t be late—I’m his best man.” Ethan replies. It’s Travis and Tanya’s wedding day, and we are both so happy for them. “Lexi, your scaring me now. Can you open the door?” I hear him trying to open door. As I look up in the mirror, I wipe the tear from my cheek. “Lexi.”

  Turning around I unlock the door and smile at how handsome Ethan looks in his tux. “You have to give up your phone one more time,” I tell him. On our wedding day, he didn’t once touch his phone and I was that lucky he didn’t touch it for the first few days of our honeymoon, but then it went back to normal.

  “I’m not putting my phone away for the wedding. I have way too much to do.” Ethan tells me as his phone beeps, alerting him to a new email.

  “I’m not talking about today.” I tell him as he looks up from his phone. "I thought you would want to be one hundred precent in the room on the day our baby will be born.” I lift up the pregnancy test, and Ethan throws the phone on the bed.

  Picking me up, he spins me around, then placing my feet back on the floor, he kisse
s me. “I love you. This is… I knew it would happen. Doctor’s… Tomorrow.” He says. He’s going to be even more protective over me now, and I can’t wait. We’ve both waited so long for this day, and I have no words.

  Ethan wipes the tears from my cheeks. “It’s finally happened,” I say through sobs. We stopped using any protection, just waiting for this day. “Ready to get our world turned upside down?”

  “Yes,. I can’t wait to tell everyone.” Cupping my face, he gives me a kiss—a very hard kiss—that makes my stomach flutter with butterflies.

  I have everything I could ever wish for. A husband that loves me, and now a little baby growing inside me.

  The first people I want to thank is my family for believing in me, and supporting me.

  I want to say a huge thank you to my editor, Amanda. She has been amazing, and gave a piece of herself to this book, and I’m so thankful for her.

  To my PA, Chez. She is always there when I need someone to talk to, helps when I need it, gets the word out for me, and she is an amazing friend.

  My beta readers: Elaine Lafferty-Merritt and Sahara Jones, without your guidance I would have been lost.

  To all the bloggers who shared the book and helped spread the word, I am very grateful every day for what you do for me.

  To my friend Dawn- She is always there for me when I need to talk, or when I need some advice, and for making me this is kick-ass cover.

  To my readers- I can never say this enough. Without you, I’m nothing. You reading my books; supporting me, is making my dreams come true.

  Love Pavan xoxo

  Other books by Pavan Kaur

  Mr. Dark

  Mr. Saint

  Fortitude Series: