Poison Pen

by Jacquelin Thomas

  “Of course, I do.” Bailey surveyed his face. “What’s this about?”

  Colton reached into his pocket and pulled out a gift. “This is for you.”

  She opened it, revealing a black velvet box with a sapphire and diamond tennis bracelet inside. “This is so beautiful…” Bailey glanced up at him. “What did I do to deserve such a nice gift?”

  “It’s a small token of my love.”

  Grinning, she asked, “Are you sure this is not a get out of the dog house gift?”

  Clearing his throat noisily, Colton inquired, “Now why would you say that?”

  “Honey, I was teasing.”

  Bailey noted that Colton still didn’t have much to say while they ate. He was not acting his normal self. She was sure that it had to do with work. He was worried but didn’t want her to know it.

  “Everything’s going to work out,” she said.

  “Huh…”

  “With your job. You’ll find another one if it comes to that.”

  Colton smiled. “You have a lot of faith in me.”

  “It’s well deserved.” Bailey wiped her mouth on the edge of her napkin. “I know that you really wanted us to live together, but—”

  “You were right,” Colton interrupted. “The more I thought about it—the more I understand what you’ve been saying.”

  She was surprised by his words. “I didn’t expect that to come out your mouth. For the past four or five months, you’ve been trying to convince me to move in with you. Now you’ve changed your mind?”

  “I just think it’s best that we wait until we’re sure we’re ready to get married.”

  “I agree,” Bailey murmured. “I’m fine with that.”

  They left and went back to her apartment. When Colton didn’t park his car, she asked, “You’re not staying?”

  “Not tonight, babe. I wanted to spend some time with you, but I brought some work home that needs my attention.”

  “No problem,” Bailey responded. “I understand what that feels like. That’s why I stayed late today—I wanted to keep my claims under control, although when I walk in tomorrow morning—I’ll have even more waiting for me.”

  Colton kissed her. “Love you, babe.”

  “I love you, too,” Bailey told him.

  She showered and was in bed within the hour. Bailey tried not to let Colton’s actions bother her. There was something going on with him—something he wasn’t sharing with her. Colton was not one to keep secrets from her, so Bailey wasn’t really worried. Colton would tell her whatever he was dealing with whenever he was ready.

  Friday night, Harini stepped aside to let Colton enter.

  His hand trailed along the cool skin of Harini’s arm. “You look like you’ve been waitin’ on me to come home—did you cook dinner?”

  She gave a short laugh. “My cooking dinner for you or anybody is a borderline fantasy, honey.”

  “So, who does the cooking ‘round here? Your brother?”

  “If Pip doesn’t cook, then we order take out,” Harini responded.

  “Where is Pip? When do I get to meet him?”

  Colton was looking at her as if he could see all the way into her soul. As if he knew what was in her heart and was waiting for a confession.

  Harini swallowed, then said, “He flew out this morning to Los Angeles. He’s spending time with some friends. Since I’m writing on my next book, it’s the perfect time for him to vacation.”

  “How come you don’t have any family pictures up? I’ve never been to a house where there weren’t personal photos anywhere.”

  Harini bit back her irritation. “Why all the questions, Colton?” She knew he was trying to search out that secret place where she stashed all the feelings she was too afraid to deal with.

  “I was just curious.”

  “I moved in here about a year ago, but I still have a lot of unpacking to do.” Harini pulled a stack of menus out of the kitchen drawer, then turned to face him. “What would you like to eat?”

  “I’m not really hungry,” Colton said.

  Harini frowned. “I don’t like this mood you’re in.”

  “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I need to be honest with Bailey,” Colton blurted. “She deserves to know the truth.”

  “And what’s that?” Harini asked. “What is that truth?”

  “That I’ve been seeing you.”

  “Colton are you sure you want to do that? Break Bailey’s heart for what? A couple of nights in my bed. A fling.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “We’re just having a bit of fun, Colton. There’s no need to ruin what you have with Bailey—not right now anyway.”

  “It’s not easy to face her knowing I’ve been with you. You know, Bailey thinks you’re her friend, Harini.”

  “Sweetie, we can’t help who we’re attracted to…”

  Colton shook his head. “I’ve never cheated on her until now.”

  “Maybe you need to consider that Bailey is not your soulmate as you believed.”

  “You might be right,” he responded, his gaze traveling from her face to her naked body. “But this is not the way for me to find out. I’m sorry, Harini. I can’t do this.”

  “You mean you won’t do it.”

  “I need to leave.”

  Harini slipped on her robe. “You’re not being held hostage.”

  “You deserve a man who can love you the way you deserve.”

  “I know,” Harini responded. “I thought that man was you.” She paused a moment before saying, “Are you sure you want to leave? Do you really want to deny yourself?” Opening her robe, she murmured, “This is all yours.”

  Colton’s resolve was weakening. Harini could tell from the expression on his face and the lustful gleam in his eyes. She allowed the silken material to slide down her shoulders to a puddle in the floor.

  He was hers.

  Bailey glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was half pass two in the morning. She stretched and yawned. From the moment she’d left work and walk through the doors of her apartment, she parked herself in front of the television with her laptop to work on her book.

  She had just typed The End on her manuscript. A feeling of accomplishment washed over her, prompting a satisfied smile.

  It was done.

  The feedback Harini had given her was a tremendous help. Bailey had reached out to the editor who stated her schedule was full at the moment. Instead of waiting, Bailey decided to polish it to her best ability, then submit to publishers.

  If was late, but Bailey wanted to call Colton. She knew he was most likely asleep, so she decided to hold off until morning.

  She glanced at the clock once more.

  I have to work in the morning, so I need to get some sleep.

  She couldn’t wait to tell Harini that she was ready to begin the submission process to find a publisher. Bailey was so excited she could hardly sleep. She had every confidence that her book would sell.

  Bailey turned to her left side.

  Colton would be just as excited about this phase of her journey as she. Bailey planned to call him first thing in the morning. Then she would call Harini at some point.

  Her eyelids grew heavy. Bailey closed her eyes, letting sleep take over.

  The alarm went off as it did every week day at six a.m.

  She crawled out of bed, showered and dressed for work.

  Bailey had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, then drove to the office. As soon as Bailey was settled, she called Colton.

  “Good morning,” Bailey greeted when he answered his phone.

  “Hey baby.”

  “I’m not going to keep you, but I want you to know that I love you, Colton. I love you and I’m so grateful to have you in my life. You’ve believed in me from day one, when I told you that I wanted to be a writer. Even when I didn’t have my family’s support.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “I also wanted to tell you that it’s done. The m
anuscript is finally finished and ready to go.”

  “That’s great,” Colton said. “Congratulations, baby.”

  Bailey smiled. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

  “Yeah, you could have,” he responded. “But I appreciate the sentiment.”

  “What do you think about going away this weekend to celebrate?” Bailey suggested. “We can go to Atlantic City. I’ve never been there before and always wanted to go.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Great. I’ll make the reservations,” Bailey said. “Then I’ll give Harini a call, so I can tell her the good news.”

  “Why don’t you hold off on telling her,” Colton uttered. “Let’s just keep this between the two of us for now.”

  Bailey frowned in confusion. “Okay…” She had no idea why he wanted to wait, but she decided to oblige him. “I won’t say anything.”

  The discussion turned to their plans for later that evening.

  “I have to take care of something first,” Colton said. “Then I’ll be at your place.”

  “See you tonight.”

  “Bailey…”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “I love you.”

  “I know. Love you too, babe.”

  “That’s what I needed to hear,” Colton said. “From the moment I met you—Bailey, I knew you were the one for me.”

  “Then don’t do anything to mess it up,” Bailey teased.

  “Colton, I didn’t expect to see you tonight,” Harini said when she walked out to her car. “I’m on my way to meet a friend for dinner.” In truth, she was having dinner alone, but she refused to tell him that.

  “I apologize for showing up unannounced, but I really wanted to talk to you.”

  “I can give you five minutes.”

  “It won’t take that long,” Colton stated. “I can’t see you anymore, Harini. I can’t keep doing this to Bailey. She doesn’t deserve to be cheated on.”

  “So, you’re back to that.”

  Colton met her gaze. “I’m sorry.”

  Harini took his hand in her own. “I really care for you, Colton. That’s the truth.”

  “Bailey… she really admires and respects you. She loves me. What we doing is wrong.”

  “Clearly you are not the man for her, Colton. It’s that simple. You and I… we belong together. I thought you were beginning to see that.”

  He shook his head. “Bailey and I have a future together and I don’t want to mess that up.”

  Harini shrugged. “If she’s what you want, that’s fine. I told you before that I wouldn’t hold you hostage.”

  “You’re… you’re not going to say anything to her, are you?”

  “You look scared.” Harini glimpsed a flash of anger in his gaze, then said, “You have nothing to worry about from me.” She sat down in the driver’s seat of her Mercedes Benz.

  He closed the door. “I hope that I can trust you.”

  “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, Colton. The truth is that I’ve fallen in love with you, but… all I can say is that it’s your loss. We had a good time while it lasted.”

  Harini drove away, tears streaming down her face. She’d really believed in her heart that Colton was going to choose her. She could not believe he had chosen that nobody. Bailey didn’t know what to do with a man like Colton. She didn’t deserve him.

  Chapter 10

  “The boardwalk here is amazing,” Bailey murmured. “I’m loving Atlantic City, especially the Steel Pier.”

  Colton laughed. “You were like a little kid on the rides.”

  “I haven’t been on a ride in years until today. It reminded of my fair days back home.”

  “I was thinking that maybe we should get married,” Colton said. “We can do it right here in Atlantic City.”

  Bailey eyed him. “Is that your way of proposing?”

  “I love you and I don’t want to spend another day apart from you.”

  “What’s gotten into you?” she asked. “I know we’ve both been pretty busy, but we’re good, baby.”

  Colton kissed her. “C’mon... why are we waiting? We’ve been together four years. Let’s get married right now.”

  “What’s the rush all of a sudden?” Bailey asked. “You’re the one who wanted to have a wedding.”

  “The thought that I could lose you one day…”

  “You’re not going to lose me,” Bailey interjected.

  “I guess I’m just being selfish,” Colton said before kissing her.

  She embraced him. “I think it’s really sweet, but you’re going to have to come up with a more romantic proposal.”

  They laughed.

  “C’mon, I want to buy some souvenirs,” Bailey told him, leading Colton by the hand. “I saw some tee shirts that would be perfect for Maurie and Cass.”

  When they finished shopping, Bailey and Colton returned to their hotel room at Ballys.

  “After dinner we going to the casino, right?” he asked.

  “You know there’s a concert tonight as well.” Bailey sat on the edge of the bed and removed her shoes. “I don’t know if we can still get tickets, but since we’re here—we might as well try.”

  “I don’t see why we can’t do both,” Colton responded. “We can stay up late and sleep in tomorrow.”

  Bailey held up a red and black strapless dress against her body. “What do you think? Should I wear this tonight?”

  Colton broke into a grin. “Definitely.”

  Her cell phone rang.

  “It’s Harini,” Bailey said.

  “Don’t answer it. We’re on vacation.”

  “I can send her a quick text.”

  “Why?” Colton asked. “You’re a grown woman. You don’t need to report your whereabouts to Harini Samuels.”

  Bailey met his gaze. “You really don’t like her, do you?”

  “She’s alright.”

  “Honey, I know you. You don’t care for Harini and it’s okay. She’s the type of person you will either like or can’t stand to be in the same room with her. But I can’t deny that I’ve learned a lot from her. I bought all of the books she recommended, so I feel like I have a great start.”

  “Take what you’ve learned so far and just go for it. Submit your book to the publishers,” Colton said. “What are you waiting for? You don’t need her permission.”

  “I’m not looking for permission from Harini. I was only going to update her. She’s my mentor.”

  Colton pulled her into his arms. “I don’t want to talk about Harini anymore. This weekend is all about you and me. Let’s make every moment count.”

  Smiling, Bailey murmured, “Agreed.”

  “The doctor will be with you shortly.”

  “Thank you,” Harini said. She sat down stoically to wait. It generally was at least ten to fifteen minutes before the doctor ever showed up. This time it was closer to a half-hour before the knock on the door came.

  Her doctor entered, the chart in her hand. She looked at it briefly, then at her. “How long have you been pregnant?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “A month, maybe two. I took a home pregnancy test. I waited to come in because… because of what’s happened in the past. I was afraid to get my hopes up.”

  “Lay back on the table and I’ll take a look,” she said.

  Silently Harini climbed onto the small examination table and put her feet in the stirrups. The bright lights in the ceiling over her head shone into her eyes. She blinked.

  “Take a deep breath.”

  She filled her lungs with air and held perfectly still against the searching intrusion of her doctor’s fingers. Her touch was light and efficient and was gone in a moment.

  Harini started to sit up, but Dr. Richard’s hand against her shoulder stopped her. She lay quietly waiting.

  “Why did you become pregnant, Harini?” she asked. “After the last one, I informed you that you could endanger your life.”

  Harini shrugge
d. “I want to have a baby. As a woman, I’d expect you to understand.

  I’ve gotten everything I’ve ever wanted in life—except the chance to be a mother. I feel like my womb is cursed. I have no problem getting pregnant, but I can’t carry to term. It’s not fair.”

  Dr. Richards gave her a sympathetic smile, then said, “Get plenty of fresh air and rest. Refrain from sex for at least three months. Eat plenty of healthy foods.” She scribbled a prescription and handed it to her. “Take this. I want to see you again in four weeks.”

  Harini looked at her. “Will I be able to carry this baby, Doctor? This time it feels different.”

  Dr. Richard kept her face impassive. “I am going to do what I can.”

  “Thank you,” Harini said quietly.

  A month had gone by since she last saw Colton. She had promised herself that he wasn’t worth her time and energy, but her pregnancy gave Harini renewed hope.

  “I got my first rejection letter today,” Bailey announced.

  “Baby, I’m sorry.” Colton embraced her.

  “I’m okay.” She stepped out of his arms. “It was a nice one. The editor just didn’t feel it was the right project for her.”

  “How many did you send out?”

  “Four,” Bailey responded. “I only need one person to say yes.” She was still very hopeful about her writing. She wasn’t going to let one rejection letter get her down.

  “You’re going to sell your book,” Colton said to reassure her. “I can’t explain it, but I know you’re going to be this renowned author one day.”

  “The worst-case scenario is that I’ll have to self-publish. I’m not going to give up on my dream.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” He swept her up into his arms. His kiss held them bound by breath and soul. Carrying her through the apartment to her bedroom, he set her on her feet and in seconds they fell onto the bed covered in a soft comforter and a mountain of pillows.

  Holding her close, he whispered, “I forgot the popcorn.”

  Bailey chuckled. “We didn’t make any, silly.”

  “How are we going to watch a movie without popcorn?” Colton asked.