Until Then (Cornerstone Book 2)

by Noorman, Krista

  The photographers were all very passionate about their craft. Michelle listened to them talk for a couple hours about weddings and photography and everything that surrounded their businesses. It was interesting, but it left Michelle with the old familiar feelings of confusion and uncertainty. They all knew what they wanted to do with their lives. She wished she could figure out what to do with hers. What was her purpose? Where was her joy? She sure hadn't found it working ten years in a boring office. The only thing that made her happy these days was Simon.

  After a delicious dinner, they moved along the hallway toward the exit. Jamie and Shannon, two photographers who had been seated at their table, walked ahead of them with Maggie and Sarah.

  “Girl! I have not seen you in months,” Jamie said to Maggie. “You need to fill us in on what happened in Vegas.”

  “What do you mean?” Maggie replied.

  “We saw you and Simon kissing at the party, then you just took off. We need details!”

  Michelle gasped and stopped in her tracks. She looked over at Simon in shock.

  He glanced at her, guilt written all over his face.

  “You kissed Maggie?” The entire room spun around her, as Maggie and her friends rushed out the door.

  His shoulders sank, and he looked down at the floor.

  “Simon?”

  He took her arm and led her from the restaurant.

  “Answer me!” she demanded as they walked across the parking lot.

  “Let’s talk somewhere else.”

  She was fuming. He kissed Maggie? She couldn’t believe it. Maggie hated Simon. How could this happen?

  They climbed into Simon’s car, and she turned to face him.

  “You better start talking,” she demanded.

  “Calm down.”

  “I will not calm down until you tell me the truth.”

  “It happened at my party the last night of the conference.” He paused.

  “OK?”

  He let out a breath. “We were drunk.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

  “What?”

  “That’s it? You were drunk, and you kissed?”

  “That’s what happened.”

  “Maggie was drunk? I highly doubt that.” Michelle was fairly certain Maggie had never touched a drop of alcohol in her life.

  “Well, I was. I don’t know about her.”

  “I want more of the story. How did it happen? Where were you? What were you doing?” The old familiar jealousy kicked into high gear.

  He fidgeted in his seat. “We were dancing, and the song turned slow. I kissed her, but she didn’t kiss me back. Then she left, I guess.”

  Michelle didn’t know what to say or whether to believe him at all. Her mind was racing a mile a minute, but it suddenly came to a screeching halt when she was struck with a horrible thought — one that she could not easily dismiss.

  “She’s not the reason … I mean, that’s not why you had a change of heart about us is it?”

  “No!” he replied a little too quickly. “Chelle, that’s ridiculous.”

  “Is it? Because it was after Vegas that you came to see me.” She felt sick to her stomach. “Maggie turned you down, then you just suddenly changed your mind and wanted to be with me?”

  He reached across the space between them and took her hand.

  She looked out the window at a passing car.

  “Michelle, look at me.”

  She did.

  “I do wanna be with you, and it has nothing to do with what happened in Vegas.”

  As he drove them to his apartment, she stared out the window. More than anything, she wanted to believe him. He had never lied to her before, but she had a feeling he wasn’t telling her the whole truth this time. She thought about the events leading up to this night and tried to piece everything together to fit with what Simon had told her. She reached the same conclusion every time. If Maggie hadn’t rejected him in Vegas, they probably wouldn’t be together right now.

  For some reason, her mind wandered to high school basketball, to sitting on the bench, barely getting to play the game she loved. She had that feeling again — that second string, watching from the sidelines, never gonna be first choice feeling.

  17

  Since the events at Rose's, things had felt strained between them. She wasn't sure if Simon was purposely avoiding her or not, but things seemed to be going south fast. More of his time was taken up by work as the most popular month for weddings kicked off.

  Michelle received multiple messages from Maggie wanting to explain about Vegas, but she didn't want to hear it. Simon and Maggie had kissed. It didn't matter that the kiss happened before she and Simon got together. They had kissed. And all the old jealousy was back in full force. She couldn't control it. Perfect Maggie, with her perfect family and perfect photography business, who always seemed to get everything she wanted and then some. Beautiful Maggie, who was taking Simon away from her without even trying.

  She decided to focus all of her pent-up aggression on something positive — convincing Simon that he had made the right choice, that she was the one for him. And she was determined to show him that she was.

  "What's all this?" Simon entered his apartment and dropped his camera bag on the floor after a long day of shooting.

  The place was spotless. She spent all day cleaning his apartment from top to bottom. The carpets were vacuumed, floors mopped, shelves dusted, windows washed. The glow of two tapered candles lit the dining room table, which was set for two.

  He walked into the kitchen, where Michelle was stirring chunks of chicken, vegetables, and rice around in a skillet.

  "I'm making you dinner." She smiled at him over her shoulder. Something was wrong. She could tell by the look on his face.

  "I'm not very hungry, but thanks." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

  "What's the matter?"

  "I'm just tired."

  "Are you sure? Did something happen at the wedding?"

  He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. It was his telltale sign of frustration.

  "Simon. What happened?"

  "Nothing, Chelle! Just drop it!” He stomped off to the bathroom in a huff.

  Whatever had happened that day most certainly had to do with Maggie. She was the main photographer for the wedding, but Simon had also been hired to take fashion formal portraits for the bride, which had become his signature style. Michelle didn't like that they were working together, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something more might be going on between them.

  Michelle turned the burner off and dumped the half-cooked meal in the garbage. She blew out the candles, and put the plates and silverware away. Just as she grabbed her purse from the counter, Simon emerged from the bathroom.

  "Are you leaving?"

  "I think I should. You're clearly not in the mood for company."

  Simon took her purse and set it down. He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry I snapped. It wasn't a great day, that's all."

  "Do you wanna talk about it?"

  "Not really. Can we just watch some X-Files or something? Like old times?"

  She smiled up at him. "That sounds perfect."

  “The apartment looks amazing, by the way. You didn’t have to do this.”

  She grinned, proud of her accomplishment. “I wanted to do something special for you.” Because I love you. She wanted to say those three little words, but she held her tongue, afraid he wouldn’t return the sentiment.

  Simon’s mood did not improve much after that night. In fact, it seemed to swing in every direction during the busy wedding season. If only he would open up to her about what was really going on.

  They sat in her apartment quietly eating dinner together for the first time in two weeks.

  She glanced over at him and noticed dark circles under his eyes. “You look tired. Maybe you need to take a vacation.” She was trying to be helpful, but he looked at
her like she was insane.

  “This is my busiest time of year.”

  “I know, but we never see each other.” She pouted. He owned his own company. Couldn’t he take some time off now and then?

  He reached across the table and took her hand. “I’m sorry, Chelle. It will get better.”

  She tried to smile, but couldn’t even manage to fake one.

  “In fact, I have the next two Saturdays off.”

  Her eyes lit up. “You do? No weddings?”

  “Well, I have Friday and Sunday weddings, but we should do something this Saturday. What do you wanna do?”

  She jumped up from her seat and climbed into his lap, hugging him with all her might. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever you want. I just wanna be with you.”

  He pulled back and looked at her. “It’s a date.”

  She beamed at him and softly touched her lips to his over and over. He returned the favor, until his arms tightened around her, and their kisses became more intense.

  The food on their plates was cold by the time they came up for air.

  Picnicking at the beach in Grand Haven, walking the pier, and strolling along the boardwalk was the plan. Michelle had been looking forward to this all week. A whole day together. The perfect date with Simon. It sounded like a dream.

  Just as she was packing a towel and sunscreen into her bag, her phone rang. “Hey! Are you on your way?”

  Simon cleared his throat. “I’m so sorry to do this, Chelle, but I can’t go.”

  She dropped hard onto the kitchen bar stool. “What? Why not?”

  “I have to work.”

  She should have known it was too good to be true. But she was confused. “You don’t have a wedding today.”

  His end of the line was quiet for a few beats. “Sarah’s sick, and Maggie had nobody else to fill in for her today.”

  She gritted her teeth together, so angry she could barely see straight.

  “Chelle, I’m so sorry. Rain check?”

  She didn’t respond.

  “I know you’re upset. Why don’t I stop by after the wedding.”

  “Fine.” That made her feel a tad better.

  “It might be kinda late.”

  “I don’t care if it’s three in the morning. You better get your butt over here.”

  He chuckled at that.

  One thing was for sure, if she didn’t see his face before morning, things were going to get ugly.

  The clock had not yet struck twelve. Michelle was watching the Tonight Show while she waited. Well, she wasn’t really watching. Her eyes were fixed on the clock. The more minutes that ticked by, the more anxious she became. Her crazed mind concocted all sorts of scenarios. All of them ended with Simon kissing Maggie again. She was relieved when the click of the key in the lock announced Simon’s arrival just after midnight.

  He strolled in happily and dropped his bags just inside her door. “You waited up for me.”

  “Yeah. I wanted to see you. Why would I go to sleep?”

  He shrugged and walked to her kitchen. He returned to the living room with a glass of water and sat down close beside her on the couch.

  “How was the wedding?” She was afraid to ask.

  “It went well.” He took a sip of water and smiled a little. “Really well.” It spread wider across his face and turned into a full-blown smile.

  She looked at him curiously. “What is with you?”

  “What? It was just a really fun wedding.” He set the glass on the coffee table.

  “Tell me about it.” She wanted all the details, but she knew she would probably get the abridged version.

  “It was at the Public Museum downtown. Really fun group. Poor Maggie took the bridal party outside for pictures and ended up getting drenched in a downpour.” He laughed.

  Michelle didn’t find it very funny, but she gave him a fake laugh to humor him. She was secretly glad things hadn’t gone perfectly for Maggie for once.

  “They had the carousel running for all the guests,” he continued, “which made for some fun pictures.” She noticed the corner of his mouth turn up a little, like he had left out an important piece of the story. It annoyed her immensely, and she wanted to slap that look right off of his face. “And, boy, did they like to dance.”

  The wedding was fun. I get it.

  She reached for the television remote and clicked “off”.

  “Are you tired? Do you want me to go?”

  She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his chest.

  He rubbed his hands up and down her back. “I’m sorry about today. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll come over for dinner a couple nights this week if I can. Maybe we can go out to dinner and a movie one night. We haven’t done that in a while. Next Saturday is the bonfire at Pete’s for the Fourth.”

  She heard him speaking, but his voice started fading out as his soft caresses soothed her into a deep slumber.

  Simon said he wouldn’t be too late, that he was just stopping over for a couple quick card games with Tom and Uncle Pete after work. Once again, Michelle sat alone in her apartment watching the clock.

  At nine, she tried his cell phone and got no answer. The hours crawled by. When the hour hand hit eleven, she dialed his phone again. Still no answer.

  Groaning, she grabbed a pile of unopened mail from the counter and stomped into her bedroom. She angrily tossed the mail across the room, scattering it about the floor. Climbing under her comforter, she pulled the covers tight around her face and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

  In her groggy, half-asleep state, she felt the covers lift and the bed dip as a warm body climbed in next to her. She pretended to be asleep, and slowly inhaled the familiar scent of Simon.

  He brushed the hair back from her forehead and planted a kiss there.

  She didn’t move.

  He snuggled up to her and draped his arm over her hip. “Chelle,” he whispered.

  She wished he didn’t have a key to her apartment.

  He planted a soft kiss on her lips and shook her lightly.

  Her eyes slowly opened and met his.

  “I’m sorry I’m late.” He softly stroked her back.

  She said nothing.

  He kissed her again.

  No response.

  He leaned over her, and his lips found her earlobe — her weakness. When he did that, she could almost forgive him anything.

  She rolled away onto her back and looked up at him. “Why didn’t you call?”

  “We lost track of time.”

  She eyed him. “Was Maggie there?”

  He opened his mouth to speak, then pressed his lips together, as if he was deciding something. “Yes,” he replied, not looking her in the eye.

  “What happened?” She glanced over at the clock. It was well past midnight.

  “We played cards.”

  “With Maggie?”

  “No, with the guys.”

  “What about Maggie?”

  “We just talked.”

  Michelle swiftly sat up, pushing his arm away.

  Simon rolled onto his back and began softly running his fingers up and down her arm. It was very distracting.

  She didn’t look at him. “Can you please stop that?”

  His hand stilled.

  “What did you talk about?” Michelle had a feeling there was more to the story.

  “She was really upset. She went to a meeting tonight with a couple who wanted to hire her for their wedding, and it turned out to be Ben.”

  “No.” Michelle felt sick to her stomach.

  “Yeah, it was pretty messed up.”

  “Is she OK?”

  “Why don’t you call her, Chelle?”

  The room was silent for several eternal minutes. It broke her heart that Maggie had seen Ben so unexpectedly with his new fiancée. She knew how devastating that must have been, but she wasn’t ready to talk yet.

  “I can’t,” Michelle finally said. />
  “You don’t have to go to Fourth of July if you don’t want to.”

  “Why would I not go?”

  “Well, you’re mad at Maggie, and she and her family will be there. You might not have any fun.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

  He sat up next to her then. “Stop saying stuff like that.”

  She swallowed hard.

  “Michelle.” He searched her face. He only called her Michelle when he wanted her to take him very seriously. “I’m sorry. I really am. Please don’t be angry with me.”

  “Do you wanna end this, Simon?” She wasn’t afraid to ask the tough questions.

  He closed the distance between them and replied with a sweet kiss. “Does that answer your question?”

  She wanted to believe him. More than anything, she wanted them to work. She wanted happily ever after with Simon.

  But what she wanted and what God wanted for her were two very different things.

  18

  Michelle sat next to Simon on top of Uncle Pete’s picnic table and watched the boats motoring about on the lake. The colors of the sunset reflecting across the water reminded her of graduation night. That seemed like a lifetime ago.

  Simon put his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek. “What are you thinking about?”

  “That night you threw me into the freezing cold lake.”

  He laughed aloud. “It wasn’t that cold.”

  “Not when I was in your arms.”

  A look of remembrance crossed his face, and he grinned.

  “Hey, buddy!” Tom waved at Simon as he and Sarah rounded the corner of the house. “Hi, Michelle.”

  “Hey, Tom.” She greeted him with a smile. “How are you?”

  “I’m very well, and you?”

  “Super.”

  The lovely girl standing next to him held her hand out to Michelle. “Hi, I’m Sarah. We haven’t been formally introduced.” She flashed a look of disapproval at Tom.

  “Oh, sorry. This is my fiancée, Sarah.” Tom grabbed Sarah’s left hand and shoved it in Michelle’s face.

  Sarah pulled her arm away and elbowed him. “Sorry. We just got engaged, and we’re very excited about it.”