by Casey Hagen
“At Junonia. It’s a restaurant inside the Casa Blanca Resort & Spa.”
“Right where my guys are staying. Fucking groupies,” he muttered.
Laura’s hands flew to cover her mouth, and her eyes went wide. “Oh, no!”
“Yeah,” he said, shoving a hand through his hair.
“She was so hurt.”
He could imagine. When he thought back to all of those conversations—Jesus—could she have possibly heard anything worse?
“Do you know where she is?”
“She’s at the beach this afternoon. It’s her birthday.”
He put his hands on his hips and sighed. “I was just there; I didn’t see her.”
She shook her head. “Did you think she would go back to where you could find her?”
“I suppose not.”
“If you head up the coast about half a mile north of the causeway to Naples, there’s a pull-off up there. You’ll see her car.”
“Any chance you can come with me?”
She glanced over her shoulder then back to him. “Now?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Why?”
He scratched the days’ worth of growth coming in. “For protection. She won’t harm a pregnant woman.”
Laura’s eyes softened, and she smiled. “Do you love her?”
“It’s only been a few days.”
“So?”
He nodded in affirmation. “Yeah, I love her.”
“What are we waiting for, then?”
Chapter 8
Maureen tipped her head back and let the hot Florida sun beat down on her skin, burning away the sorrow of the last few days.
The situation with Dominic could have been prevented, had she just trusted her instincts. She may have screwed up, but something good came from it.
She could let William go.
She pushed herself up, picked up the urn, and headed for the water. A light breeze blew , making what she was about to do a whole lot easier.
“I can let you go now. I’m strong enough. I’m ready to move on.” She slid the lid off the urn and found it full to the brim. She glanced away fast, not wanting to have the last memory of William be the dust he’d been reduced to. “I’m glad I waited. I got to turn forty with you after all.”
She waited for a gust to sail through, and tipped the container into the sea. “Be well.”
The urn emptied, and she tucked it back under her arm as laughter bubbled up inside her. It was like shedding lead weights and, despite the sorrow of the past few days, she smiled with the freedom of it.
She dropped to the damp sand and watched the waves carry William away, to where his dreams could finally come true.
“Is this seat taken?”
Maureen jumped at the sound of Dominic’s voice behind her. “What the hell do you want?” she said, craning her neck and scrambling to her feet to find not only Dominic, but Laura, Jack, their kids, her parents, and five players from the Marlins. “What’s going on?”
“You stood me up,” he said, handing her his Starbucks cup.
“I gave up coffee,” she said, raising her chin in defiance.
He grinned. “Liar.”
“Whore,” she spat the word at him, so he would know just what she thought of his womanizing ways.
“Ouch.”
“Truth hurt?”
“Nah, you just made a fool of yourself in front of all these people” he said, gesturing to the group standing with him.
“Explain.”
He took a sip of the coffee. “You were misinformed. You know those fetuses I warned you about? Seems as though you had a run-in with one who happened to follow my guys into town. They overheard a conversation, and understood maybe half of it before relaying it to you. I have witnesses,” he said, glancing back at the group he’d brought with him.
The ease with which he stood there drinking from the cup made her want to pinch him. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“Do you see me laughing?” he asked.
She squared her shoulders. She had her pride, and she wouldn’t be some cheap piece of ass. “I’m not interested in being your ‘for right now’.”
He tilted his head and squinted in the sun. “Funny, I recall the first day we sat on the beach together that’s all you were interested in.”
She set her hands on her hips. “You know what I mean.”
“I’m not using you for sex.”
“Is it true?” she asked the group. “I’m not just some conquest?”
The player in the front stepped forward and cleared his throat. “No, ma’am,”
She lifted her eyebrow and regarded him. “Ma’am?”
“Uh, sorry. I’m a Southern boy, and we’re not supposed to address a lady by her first name until we’re formally introduced, but since my mama’s not here to box my years, no, Maureen. You’re not just a conquest.”
“Oh, God,” she muttered, rubbing her forehead. “I just made a huge ass of myself.”
Dominic slid his arm around her waist and smiled down at her. “Maybe a little, but my friends won’t hold it against you.” He kissed the corner of her mouth, his lips sliding along her cheek to her ear. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart.”
He pulled a box from his pocket and handed it to her.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said warily. “It’s only been a few days, and we just had a colossal misunderstanding. I’m pretty sure neither of us is grown up enough to get married.”
“Open the box, Maureen.”
She flinched as she opened the lid, and let one eye crack open.
A platinum necklace with a convertible car charm dangling from the chain winked up at her in the brilliant sunshine.
She threw back her head and laughed. “Our first date.”
“First of many. Happy birthday,” he said, pressing a kiss to her temple. He glanced down at the urn in the sand. “You think William will approve?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.
The wind kicked up and washed over her. For just a split second, it was as if William was there running his hand over her hair again, just like he used to.
“I think he already does,” she murmured.
Dropping her to her feet, he cupped her face and brushed his lips over hers. “I love you,” he murmured against her lips.
“I love you, too,” she whispered.
“For now?” he asked.
She shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. “Forever.”
Available on Kindle, Amazon, and Audible…
Falling in Fiji
A Falling in Paradise Novel
smarturl.it/FallingInFijiAmazon
Falling in Angels Falls
smarturl.it/AngelsFallsAmazon
Available on Kindle, Amazon, and Audible…
Sunset at Lake Crane
A Livingston Valley Novel
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Other Kindle World novellas by Casey Hagen…
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smarturl.it/BillionaireDame
smarturl.it/ConsumedbytheDare
smarturl.it/ADaringProposition
smarturl.it/HeartstringsAmazon
smarturl.it/UnconventionalLove
smarturl.it/OpGirlNextDoor
smarturl.it/PhoenixBlindSpot
smarturl.it/OutOfTheFire
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ABOUT CASEY HAGEN
Casey Hagen pens her snarky, passionate stories from the salty air of Kennebunk, Maine. She’s a born and raised Vermont native, a New England girl to the core, with Ben & Jerry’s in her heart and real Vermont maple syrup pumping through her veins.
She’s the proud mother of thre
e girls and a soon-to-be first-time grandma with an insatiable addiction to Fall Out Boy, and a new, rather concerning obsession with tattoos and piercings. Can you say “cool grandma?”
The inked and pierced grandma spends her time tucked away in her office, coated in cat hair, alternating between tearing her hair out trying to find the perfect words and being one step ahead of her three scheming fur babies she is positive are plotting her demise with every swirl around her ankles at the top of her office stairs.
She loves writing stories about real people, with complicated histories, relatable everyday problems, and giving them the hard-won happily-ever-afters they deserve.
And she thanks every last one of you who picks up one of her stories.
Casey is done talking about herself in the third person.
*Casey out*