“What about your mother? What if she gets out or you must go through a trial? Are you sure you can keep us in the loop with that?”
“I’m going to keep you involved in everything I do from now on. We’re a family. At least, I hope that we still are. I know that I want to be a family again.”
“I want nothing more than that,” he whispered as he scooted closer to me. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted for us. When you left, my world fell apart. It didn’t matter that Jenny was making my life a living hell or that my mother was sick. All I could think about was your coming back home.”
“And I never did,” I whispered. “I know how much I screwed everything up, but we have to get past it if we’re going to make this work.”
“I am past it,” he said. “I just wanted you to see how much you meant to me. It wasn’t just for Amy. I wanted you back for me too.”
“I’m going to come back with you.”
“Is that just for Amy though? I know that I have no right to ask after all these years. But do you think there’s any hope for us?”
It was the question I’d been asking myself the entire time. Was I ready for a relationship with my husband again or would my ghosts just keep popping up? He’d just taken a call from the woman who’d helped to end our relationship, and he told me all about it. How could I wonder if he really cared when he’d been upfront and honest with me? It was a new adventure for us, starting over with something old, our relationship. What had started as a foundation of friendship had blossomed into so much more, and now God was giving me a second chance at happiness. All I needed to do was take the leap.
“Aaron,” I said carefully. “Are you sure this is what you want? You know that I’m damaged goods.”
“And I come with baggage, but that isn’t stopping me.”
I laughed. “Amy isn’t baggage. She’s a total chick magnet.”
“I meant my slightly insane mother,” he muttered. “Of course, I guess by that respect, you’ve got a little baggage too. See? It’s a match made in heaven!”
“Ha! I don’t know about that, but I do know one thing. I want to be with you and Amy both. I want the fresh start and the happily ever after. And if my mother comes calling or the courts need me, then we’ll face that as a family.”
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted to hear,” he whispered. “I love you, Julia, and I always have.”
“And I love you.”
He leaned forward and I kissed him. It was different from all the kissing before that moment. This was love, pure and true, with a touch of passion. Aaron slid closer to me and pulled me to him. His face bristled against me, unshaven in the rush of the morning. He slid down my body, kissing my neck and tickling the skin of my breasts. The passion was bursting at the seams as the love between us grew. I wanted to rip his shirt off and feel his chest pressed against mine. I groaned with pleasure as he traveled lower on my body.
“Julia,” he whispered. “We should go upstairs.”
I shuddered beneath him. “Okay.”
He stood up and took my hand, leading me to the steps right as the front door opened and Amy ran through with Theresa close behind. She had an apologetic look on her face. I smiled knowingly and opened my arms for Amy to run to. She didn’t waste any time as she wedged herself between her father and me.
“You guys are back early,” muttered Aaron.
“Sorry, Son,” said Theresa. “She wanted to know what was going on. I tried to keep her under control but she was so excited to find out.”
“Find out what?” I asked.
Aaron smiled. “Well, I told her that we had to talk first, but she was really excited to know if you’d be coming back with us.”
I took her hand and led her to the couch where we sat down. “What all did your dad tell you?”
She shrugged. “I knew that you never came back before. I just didn’t want to make him sad. He said he didn’t know if you were coming back this time and that I had to wait to ask you, but Mom? I can’t wait any longer. I don’t like not knowing what’s going to happen.”
“I know you don’t, and I’m going to tell you everything that happened. Do you remember the story I told you?”
Amy nodded.
“That story had a lot of truth in it. See, my mother is a very sick woman. She hurts people because she doesn’t have that voice in her head telling her not to. I had to go and take care of her for a long time. I didn’t know that your father missed me so much.”
“I missed you too, Mom,” she muttered. “Why didn’t you ask us to help you?”
“I didn’t want you to be anywhere near her. I didn’t want either of you to get hurt.”
“What about now, though? If she is bad, won’t she come after us?”
I hid the shudder as I smiled. “Honey, that is never going to happen. Where they put her, she won’t ever get out, and if she did, by some chance, your father and I would watch over you and keep you safe, just like always.”
“Does this mean that you’re going to come live with us again?”
“I would like to, if it’s okay with you?” I asked.
She paused. I knew it was a lot for a little girl to take in. There was no way I could know what was going on in that precious head of hers. Amy was the perfect blend of her father and me. She had his passion and fire but was smart enough to think before she spoke. It was the speaking part that shocked me every time. She didn’t let the people around her govern when or whom she spoke to. As a young woman, she was always willing to stand up for others, even me when I needed it.
After a few more seconds, she nodded her head. “I want you to come back with us, but I want you to be sure about it. I don’t want you to ever leave again, and if you think you will, then I don’t know.”
I could hear the hurt in her voice as I pulled her into another hug. “I won’t ever leave you again, honey, and if I do, it will only be for a few days to deal with my mother. Is that okay?”
“Promise you will always come back?” she asked as she squeezed me tighter.
“I promise,” I whispered.
She lingered in my arms for a few more minutes before Aaron cleared his throat and we both turned to him. Theresa was standing at his side, tears streaming down her face. Amy saw this and ran to her as I walked over and took Aaron’s hand. I would never let it go if I could help it.
“Grandma?” she asked, her tone full of concern. “Why are you crying? Doesn’t this make you happy?”
Theresa laughed and scooped up the girl in her arms. “Oh, honey, this makes me so happy that I can’t help but cry!”
“I only cry when something is wrong,” she said with a frown.
“Not us,” I said for Theresa. “We adults cry a lot when we’re happy.”
“Then I feel like I should be crying too,” said Aaron playfully. “Because you three women have completed my dream. I’m now the happiest man in the entire world. I love you all.”
Amy leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. “We love you too, Daddy.”
I tilted my head up and kissed his other cheek. “She’s right, you know. We love you too. So very much.”
Epilogue
Aaron
“It will be fine,” I promised her once again. “You just have to go in there and act like you own the place. It always works for me.”
She rolled her eyes and shoved her elbow playfully into my naked chest. “Of course you would say that. You can charm the socks off a snake.”
“Since when do snakes wear socks?” I asked.
Julia rolled her eyes at me again and I laughed. It was a common thing for us now. Our relationship had become so much more than it was five years ago. Now our house was filled with an equality that had been lacking. In the four months since the cruise ended, things had finally started to die down and we were slipping into a familiar routine, all of us back together in the same house where Amy had been created.
“Have you heard anything?” I asked carefully.
>
Her body stiffened. She knew exactly what I was talking about. The trial was two days ago. Margarete had been convicted of murder, along with a slew of other offenses that were brought to light when Jenny had been put under pressure. The depth of their strange relationship was still disturbing. It wasn’t the verdict, which we knew we had in the bag, that was worrying her. The judge was going to give his recommendation at any point for Margaret’s care.
Between him and the doctor, they would decide her fate and likewise, ours. We didn’t want anything to do with her, but if she was going to be set free at any point, I wanted to make sure that my family was prepared to deal with it. After all, she’d played a heavy hand in ripping us apart. Jenny was her secret weapon that Margaret had hidden for years to keep us apart. Any time Julia would think about leaving her and coming back, Margarete would call up Jenny to make sure she was ready to jump into the center of our lives again.
“No,” she whispered. “The doctor still hasn’t called and the suspense is killing me.”
“It’s okay. We knew it could take up to two weeks to find out anything. At least we know she’ll be locked up for a while longer, right?”
“Yeah,” Julia muttered, still sounding unsure. “I just wish they would hurry up. I hate having that unknown dangling above my head, especially on my first day of work.”
“Orientation is at two, right?”
“Yep. I must say, I didn’t think that I would get the job since I don’t have much experience, but I’m happy that I did. It will give me something to do while Amy’s in school.”
I cocked my head. “You’re working at an assisted living facility. I have to say that I couldn’t think of a more fitting job for you. You love people and you’re good with them. I think they’re lucky to get you, and they knew that too.”
“But I haven’t worked in so long.”
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you care. That’s hard to find anymore in employees. Are you sure you’re ready to go back to work? You know we don’t need the money.”
“I know,” she said. “But I want to do something with my time. I was never cut out to just be a housewife and you know that. This will give me a reason and a purpose.”
“Then why are you so nervous?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“You’re right—it’s because of the judge. I just hate waiting around. Amy knows that something is going on too.”
I smiled as I thought about our daughter. Right after the cruise, the second we came into the house, she’d disappeared upstairs and come barreling back down a few minutes later with a small box. I recognized it at once as the one sitting on my nightstand. It was a reminder of what I had been fighting for over the years, one that I’d planned on putting away for good if the cruise didn’t go as planned.
Amy handed the box to Julia after I nodded my approval, and she opened it. Inside was the same engagement ring she’d worn before leaving. The same one that she’d left behind years ago. Her eyes started to tear up when she saw it and she looked back to me.
“You kept it? After all these years?” she whispered.
I nodded and took the simple band from the bag. “I did, and I would have hung onto it for the rest of my life, but I think it belongs to you.”
I slid it on her finger and smiled. “Perfect.”
“Thank you,” she said through the tears. “Thank you both for giving me the life that I never thought I deserved.”
Amy had been ecstatic, a new child since her mother came home. It was summer break, but somehow, the entire school still knew that Julia had finally come home. I didn’t stop her from telling everyone. She had a right to have some pure joy in her young life. Julia, for her part, took everything in surprising stride as she was bombarded with questions at the very first soccer game of the season.
I had tried to keep her shielded from everything but it was pointless. Just like she did with the job interview, she breezed through the social interactions with grace, caring, and understanding. It was amazing to watch her grow into a new woman, one whom I somehow loved even more than before, though, I didn’t think it was possible. She nuzzled my neck as her fingers moved down my body, and I knew what she wanted.
Glancing at the clock, I saw it was only ten in the morning. As a teacher, I didn’t work much during the summer, and Amy was staying the week with Theresa and helping her pack. I glanced at my phone to make sure there were no missed calls from them.
“Everything okay?” Julia asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, I just wanted to make sure my mother was doing okay. She had a lot to do in a week.”
Julia chuckled. “She was the one who asked for Amy to come down for the week. She’s a brave woman. I can’t imagine packing up fifty years of my life with a nine-year-old in tow.”
“True, but she had Marcel there to help her,” I said.
“And all five of his dogs,” she agreed. “However, I bet Amy is going crazy with all the dogs there. She’s probably having a blast.”
“And keeping those spoiled pooches out of the adults’ hair while they move everything.”
“It will be okay. We’ll be down there in a few days to help your mom move in with Marcel and get Amy back. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kid so excited to start a new school year.”
I thought about Amy’s love for education. Even in the summer, she could be found stashed away in my office among the books. In the past year, she’d become very proficient at reading and now it was all she wanted to do. The Odyssey, Anne Rice, Stephen King—it didn’t matter. If it was the written word and I approved, she would read it.
It was nice to see that she was finally coming out of the stage of being a spy. One morning, not long after we had returned, she’d decided that being a spy wasn’t cool anymore. She changed her profession and became an artist. It was messy most of the time, but the girl had some skills, to my surprise. Patience was never a skill either of us had mastered. Julia and I agreed that she could be whatever she wanted as long as she was safe in exploring those goals.
“She’s always had a knack for it. Of course, this is her first year at the new elementary school too. We’ll be in different parts of the building, so I think that has something to do with the joy. Before, she had to deal with me every day, but now, she’s got a mom around to bail her out of awkward situations.”
Julia laughed. “Well, I’m happy that I can be of some use.”
“Have you thought any more about what we talked about?” I asked her carefully.
She blushed. “I don’t know. It’s a lot. Don’t you think that we should wait a little while? I mean, with the trial and now waiting on the judge, it’s a busy time. Plus, I’m starting work and the house is small. You know we would have to move, right?”
“I will move anywhere you want if that’s what it takes, but I want it to be a decision that we make together.”
“It’s something I want. I know that much. I’ve wanted it ever since we came back from the cruise, but . . .” She paused.
“Julia, you have to see that we aren’t going anywhere, right?” I asked her. “I don’t want to lose you again. I thought that we were ready for the next step, but if not, I can wait as long as it takes or take it off the table altogether.”
She shook her head. “No. I do want it.” She took a deep breath. “I think we’re ready, if you do.”
“I do,” I said quickly. “I want us to have another child together, and I think this is the perfect time for that.”
A blush fell over her perfect cheeks again. “So, what do you want to do with the rest of the afternoon? I still have a few hours before I have to be at work, and I could use a distraction from all the waiting around for that damn judge.”
I shrugged, knowing full well what I wanted to do. I wanted to ravage her like I had almost every night since we had come back from the cruise. Our love life was nothing to scoff at. I slid a hand down to her nipple and pinched it gently as she moaned and closed her eyes
. I would never get tired of seeing her face like that or the way that she arched her back. The temptation to move lower on her body was overpowering as I ran my hand along her ribs and down to her hips.
Her eyes opened and she smiled. “You know, you’ve made me the happiest woman in the world. How did I ever get so lucky to have you in my life?”
I shrugged. “I ask myself that all the time about you. I waited so long to get you back and I won’t ever let you go again. You’ve turned our house into a home and filled a gap in my heart that was missing something. I know now that it was you. You were always the glue that held us together.”
“I love you,” she whispered once more before my fingers slipped into her body.
“And I love you,” I promised her.
We stopped talking. There was no more need for words as I brought her to the edge of a climax before pulling away and climbing between her legs. Her sweet body was all I needed to be at peace. She was mine, and we would be together for the rest of our lives as one big, happy family. It was a gift that I would forever thank her for.
Check out the rest of the One More series!
Book 1 - One More Kiss
Book 2 - One More Turn
Book 3 - One More Chance
About Roxy Sinclaire
Roxy Sinclaire writes steamy, suspenseful romantic stories as the main genre, and this includes a variety of different topics. Some of these include dark romances, action packed romances, mafia romances, and many more. She currently works in customer relations in New York City, but is trying to fulfill her passion in writing and eventually have her dream job become a reality
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One More Kiss: A Second Chance Romance (One More Series Book 1) Page 12