by Sienna Skye
“I know they are important to you, Jace. Do you know that it started with the first time I ever saw you?”
“What do you mean?”
“The day I came with Sarah to sign up at the gym. I saw you and it was like I was hit by this lightning bolt. But when I looked back, you were with Julia and there was such an obvious connection between you I thought you guys were together. A few minutes later, it was clear she was with Morgan. But that connection between you two was palpable.”
“Madison, there are lots of types of connections in this world. You’re right, I do have a connection with Julia. One that has been made by years of friendship. To be upset by that diminishes the connection I have with you. They are on two entirely different levels.”
“It seems so easy when you say it.”
“It is easy, Madison. I don’t want this to come between us. I still want us and everything we talked about the other night. But, you’re the one who has to make that decision.”
“I don’t want it to come between us either.”
There was a call from Hunter coming through. “Hunter is calling. Are we okay for now? I don’t want anything that was said the other night still hanging between us.”
“We’re okay.”
“Good. I love you, Madison.”
“I love you, too.”
I clicked over and took Hunter’s call. About ten minutes later, I went back to join Julia who was studying my face as I entered the room.
“How did it go with Madison?’
“Good, I think. Hunter called. He and Trey are coming over tomorrow to review some things.”
“He can’t do that over the phone? I mean not that I mind the visit.”
“I think it will make him feel better to see for himself that you are all safe and sound. It would be easier if we were all in the same room and I’m sure he wants to make sure everything is in place for when Morgan gets home.”
“Makes sense. Call her back. Invite her to come over tomorrow with the kids.”
“What are you up to?”
“Just learning from history and altering it ever so slightly. Trust me.”
Chapter Twenty Five
Madison
My nerves got the better of me when I thought about seeing Jace again. Even though we said everything was okay, I still felt things were a little strained. Maybe it was the distance. It’s hard to trust all is well without looking into someone’s eyes. I guess I was afraid of what I would see in his eyes when I got there.
I was relieved when Jace looked really happy to see me. And I definitely still saw love in his eyes. There was tension too. He and Trey wore the same intense expression, but I knew that had to do with the job they were doing. When he hugged me and held me, that’s when my nerves calmed.
When Jace, Hunter, and Trey went into Morgan’s office to have their meeting, Julia asked me if I wanted to come to her office with her.
“I have to get some work done while the boys are napping. Would you like to help me out with some Ask Nikki stuff?”
“You want my help?”
“Sure. Besides, it will be nice to have some company. I’ve been limited to where I’ve been. By my own doing. I’m still a little paranoid about the kids.”
“I’m sure I’d be the same way. Alright, let’s go read some problems.”
I followed her to her office, and she started scrolling through questions on her laptop.
“Here we go. Let me print this one out for you to read. Tell me what you think.”
She hit the print button and then grabbed the paper off the printer.
“Read it out loud, if you feel like that would help.”
“Okay. Dear Nikki, I could really use your advice. My husband and I have known each other since we were kids. We are also fortunate enough to have some friends who we also grew up with and we consider these friends to be family. One of our friends has been dating this woman. He is head over heels in love with her and my husband and I couldn’t be happier for them.” I paused when I realized what was going on, but I finished reading the rest anyway. “Here’s where I need your help. She is not comfortable with the relationship I have with him. It has caused some friction in their relationship and that’s the last thing I would ever want to do. What should I do?” I looked up at Julia. “That’s the end. Don’t these things usually have a witty signature?”
“Usually, but perhaps the writer has a few things going on and doesn’t feel like her usual witty self.”
“That could be.”
“I know you’ve never been asked to answer an advice column letter, so for this first one, would you like to know what advice I’d give?”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“I would tell her that it was probably past time that she had an open conversation with the girlfriend. First, to make sure she didn’t unintentionally cross any boundaries. Second, to make sure she makes it known she is open to discuss any concerns the woman may have. And third, to make it clear that she has no intention to come between their relationship and she would never disrespect them…or her husband like that.”
“Is that the advice you would give anyone who writes in or only for a letter you wrote.”
“Like I said, I have a lot on my mind. I would for certain be much more entertaining if I was answering a letter written by someone else. But, I do think we should talk.”
“Jace told you about what happened.”
“Well, I will tell you what he told me. This way if there is more, you don’t share it by accident. He told me you freaked out about him staying here with us. He told me you have had some insecurities when it comes to my relationship with him. And he brushed lightly over something I already figured out myself. That your ex-husband played some mind games that chipped away at your self-esteem. Jace also told me you told him you trust him and that you weren’t sure why you were as upset as you were.”
“Yeah, you pretty much summed it all up. I want you to know, you’ve never done anything that was inappropriate. And I know you have tried hard to bring me into your circle and make me feel accepted.”
“It’s important to me that you feel welcome. I consider Jace family and I want you to be part of that family. When he told me that you told him you trusted him I thought maybe you needed to hear it directly from me that I would never go after him.”
It was odd how as soon as I heard it from her, I started to feel better. It was ridiculous, really. But, I felt a weight lifted. Then it hit me.
“Holy crap, you were right.”
“Don’t be so surprised. I do get paid for this stuff.” She shook her head and laughed. “What was I right about?”
“I kept letting it stew and fester. Even with Jace, I’d brought it up…in anger…a few times, but I’ve never had a rational conversation about it. With him or with you.”
“It does tend to happen that way. Things become bigger and scarier when you don’t face them. Believe me, I have learned that lesson the hard way.” Julia looked at me with kindness in her eyes.
“Thank you, for talking to me about this. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”
“No worries. I mean what I said. I want you to be part of our family. Look, I know that when you have suffered from emotional abuse, even when you have been doing really well, something unexpected can come along to trigger you. If that happens, whether it has to do with me or not, I want you to feel comfortable coming to me to talk about it. I’m sure Sarah would be willing to do the same.”
“I’ll try.” I could promise that much.
“Fair enough. Sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger. Someone who is trained to help.” She looked a little nervous about saying that. But, she only said what had already crossed my mind.
“I’ve been thinking the same thing. I’ve been to therapy before. It helps.”
“I know that first hand, too. Come on let’s go see if they are ready to surface any time soon. I need to talk to Trey about something.”
> We found Jace looking for us when we left the room.
“Everything okay?” His eyes darted back and forth between us.
“I’ll let Madison answer that. I need to go find Trey.”
When she left, Jace asked me again. “So, is everything okay?”
“She wanted to talk about what’s been bothering me. She wanted to let me know that she would never cross that line.”
“I already told you that.”
“I think the difference is that you already told me that and I trust you.”
“But you weren’t sure about her,” Jace said.
“Kind of. I don’t know why I needed to hear it from her so badly, but I did. On some level, I’ve always known my fears were unfounded. Maybe I have more work to do on myself. Julia offered to listen, but I’m thinking it might be time for me to go back and work some more things out with a therapist. I stopped going when I felt I was doing better.”
“Whatever you need to do. You know I’ll support you. Just think of it as a refresher course.”
“And if she thinks that it would be helpful for you to come with me?”
“Then we’ll go together. I’m in this for the long haul, Madison.”
He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. He still hadn’t let me go when Trey walked in the room.
“Well I guess Julia was right,” Trey said in that cocky voice of his.
“Right about what?” Jace asked.
“She told Hunter to stay and help her with all the kids and told me I needed to take your shift here for the next couple of hours so that the two of you could get some time alone to get busy. Looks like you’ve already started. Go. Get. I’m giving you two hours.”
“I owe you,” Jace said.
“Go have fun you two.” Trey slapped Jace on the shoulder as we left.
Jace drove us to his place. When we got out of the car, he grabbed my hand and pulled me up the front steps. Once inside, he locked the door, tossed his keys on the table, and pulled me down the hall to his room.
He never broke eye contact while he slowly removed my clothes. Or while he removed his. He pulled me to lay down on the bed and then he brought his body on top of mine. His kisses were soft. Tender. And turned me on more than I would have thought possible.
“No swinging from the chandelier tonight?”
“No. Tonight I am making love to you. Slowly.” He brushed a lock of hair away from my face. The look of love in his eyes took my breath away. My eyes fluttered closed as he took me with slow steady strokes. “Because I want you to know that we have all the time in the world. We have forever.”
Forever. Yes, this I could do forever.
Epilogue
Madison
Jace and I were watching a movie in my living room. He was around a lot and the kids loved it. Sometimes we all hung out at his place or sometimes we went out. Of course, we made sure we had time alone together as a couple.
Ralph had stopped his onslaught after Jace confronted him and when he realized that Jace wasn’t going anywhere. Between that and the counselling sessions I was going to, I was already feeling much more confident about not only myself, but our relationship.
Trey and Jace were still working on the stalker situation. A lot of the times when Jace went over to Morgan and Julia’s, I went with him. Not because I was insecure, but because I was trying to get to know Julia better. It made Jace happy. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like her.
Ryan and Alexis came running in the room. Alexis had a piece of purple piece of paper in her hand.
“Look Mommy! It’s a clue!”
“A clue? A clue for what?” I asked with confusion.
“It says it’s for a treasure hunt,” Ryan answered.
“Where on earth did you get that?”
“It just appeared like magic,” Ryan said.
“Yup. Just like magic,” Alexis agreed.
“It says that we should go to the place that makes you strong,” Ryan informed us.
“It does, does it?” I looked over at Jace who just shrugged his shoulders. “Well where do you think that is?”
“It must be the gym, Mom.” Ryan looked at me like I was crazy.
“What do you think, Jace? Should we go on a treasure hunt?”
“I kind of think we have to. How else will we find out what the treasure is?”
“True. Alright guys, let’s head to the gym and see if there is another clue there.”
They bolted out of the room like a flash and returned with their backpacks.
“What are you doing with those?”
“We should always bring backpacks on a treasure hunt, Mommy. We might need things.” Alexis held one finger in the air to emphasize her point.
“And we don’t know how many treasures we will find. We might need these to carry them.” Ryan added.
“I suppose following that theory, you are going to want us to go in Jace’s truck.”
“Absolutely!”
We got to the gym and the four of us headed inside.
“We’re on a treasure hunt!” Alexis announced to the girl at the desk.
“Ahh, well that must be why I have this big blue envelope that says clue number two.”
I didn’t know what they were up to, but I honestly didn’t know how they managed to pull this off. I looked at Jace and he looked as clueless as I felt. I wondered who they managed to wrangle into helping them.
“There are too many words here, Mom. Can you read it please?”
I took the paper from Ryan and scanned over the clue. “Talk quietly…secret…spirited...prohibited… Wait…I think it’s the speakeasy we went to, Jace!”
I handed him the clue and he looked at it. “I think you’re right. Let’s go and see.”
“How did they get to the speakeasy?” I looked at Jace for an answer.
“They obviously had help.”
Sure enough, clue number three was waiting at the restaurant.
“You read this one, Jace!” Alexis was jumping up and down.
Jace opened the yellow envelope and read the next clue.
“It says that if we want to get a handle on the situation we should cut through the forest.”
“What forest? And even if we found a forest, how the heck would we find a clue in there?” I asked.
“I don’t think its an actual forest. I think it means something else. Maybe it’s the cutting we should concentrate on?” Jace said.
“Wait a minute…handle? What do you use to cut down a tree?”
“A saw,” Jace answered.
“Or an axe,” I added.
“I think that would take a lot longer,” Jace said while shaking his head.
“No, I mean it’s the axe throwing place we went to. Let’s go. I think I am sensing a theme.”
A green envelope was waiting for us at the axe throwing place. Jace was quick to pick up on that clue and it led us to our favorite frozen yogurt place. There, a red envelope hinted to our next location.
As soon as Ryan read it, I knew exactly where we were headed. Miniature golf.
The last envelope, a pink one, gave us our final clue. And told us we should play a round of golf.
“You guys sure went through a lot of work to get us to play some mini golf,” I said in disbelief.
“I love mini golf. Love. Love. Love it!” Alexis cheered.
What were these guys on? We got our clubs and started to play. Ryan set up the order and I was the last up to play. The next to the last hole was the windmill that Alexis loved so much. It was also the one that I could never get. Like clockwork, my ball went around back and down a little slope and I ran around to retrieve it.
When I got back, I stopped dead in my tracks. Jace was on one knee. A ring box in his hand. Alexis held a sign that said, “He loves us!” and Ryan held one that said, “Say yes!” I guess I knew what they had been carrying around in their backpacks.
“Madison, I love you. I love the kids and the life
we have been building together. Knowing you has been the greatest joy in my life. I want us to be a family. I want to grow old with you by my side. Will you marry me?” He opened the box and there was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen.
I glanced over at his co-conspirators. They were both nodding their heads like little crazy people.
“Yes, Jace. I’ll marry you!”
I hadn’t noticed there was silence in the place until he put the ring on my finger and kissed me and a chorus of cheers and clapping rang out around us.
“We’re getting married!” Alexis squealed.
Jace picked her up and gave her a hug. “Yes, we are sweetie!”
“Because he loves us all, Mommy.”
“Yes, he does. And we all love him.”
Epilogue
Jace
Hunter asked for a meeting at his house. Madison and I were going with the kids. Morgan and Julia were going with theirs and Trey had been invited. From conversations I had with both Hunter and Morgan, I suspected they were going to discuss the new division of TechStone and the security team they would need in place. Before we left the house, I grabbed some information I had in the stalker case and shoved the folder in my laptop bag.
After Morgan came home from his business trip, Trey and I continued to work on our investigation. Trey stayed at their house a few extra nights. He wanted to oversee the updates that were being made to the security system and even though Morgan was home, Trey and I both felt better with him staying there until the updates were finished.
There were more text messages. More escalations. Trey and I talked to Morgan and Hunter and told them we felt it was a good idea if Julia had a bodyguard when she left the house. The four of us sat down to talk to Julia about it. While she agreed and understood the necessity, she wasn’t really happy about it. I wouldn’t have let her refuse. This guy was escalating quickly, and I was not only concerned about Julia’s safety, I was also becoming more worried he might make a play for the kids.
Trey and I interviewed a number of candidates. Hunter spoke to us privately and told us to hire the best. He was willing to pay whatever was necessary, just as long as they were all safe. We ended up hiring three bodyguards. Two would accompany her when she went to the studio. One was assigned to her and one was assigned to keep an eye on the kids while they were with the sitter at the studio. If Julia went out alone, there was always a bodyguard with her. We also convinced Morgan to allow someone to be in close proximity if he and Julia were out together. If the kids were home with a sitter, one of the security details stayed at the house with them.