“But I—”
“No buts,” I tell him. “I’ll forgive myself if you forgive yourself.”
“I don’t need to forgive myself, princess, I need you to forgive me.”
“All is forgiven,” I say simply.
“You can’t just let this all go.”
“I already have,” I tell him. “Why? Do you not forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
“Ditto,” I reply simply.
He searches my face for any sign that I’m not being totally honest with him, but he’ll find none, I know that already.
I’m all in. Again.
I look at him, my handsome husband, and sigh.
This is the sight I’m going to get to wake up to every single day, and I couldn’t think of a better view. I did three whole years without seeing it, and I’m not willing to part with it another day.
“I love you, Drew, but I don’t want you to be sorry anymore.”
He nods his head, like maybe he’s finally considering accepting that it’s time for us to move on.
“There’s just one more thing I need to do.”
He untangles himself from around me and strides over to the table.
He picks up the divorce papers and rips them in half and then in half again and again.
I laugh as he totally destroys the sheets of paper.
“Feel better now?”
“Almost,” he says as he balls up a scrap of paper and tosses it in his mouth.
“Did you just swallow that?” I ask in disbelief.
“You bet your ass I did.” He smirks. “Now next time you get pissed off with me you can’t dig all these bits out and stick them back together.”
“Touché.” I giggle.
“Smart, right?” He grins at me wolfishly.
“Knew I married you for a reason.” I wink at him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Andy
She strolls back into the room, and I groan in appreciation of the view in front of me.
“I don’t know what I’m more excited about, that ass or my ring being back on your finger,” I drawl.
There’s really no competition – as fine as her ass might be, that ring has my head and my heart so full and satisfied, it’s almost messed up.
She giggles and shakes her butt at me playfully.
I’m physically exhausted, she is too, but it’s not going to stop me from looking – even if I’m too tired to do anything about it.
We’ve spent all day in bed and I don’t know about Dylan, but without some type of special pill, three times in one day is my fucking limit.
I’m maxed out.
It’s dark out now and I glance at the digital clock next to her side of the bed as she slides back in next to me.
She snuggles against me and makes a purr of appreciation at the warmth.
“It’s after midnight, princess.”
“Mmmm?”
“It’s day seven,” I say.
She tilts her head back so she can look up at me. “Huh… so it is.”
I brush a strand of hair from her forehead. “What’s the verdict?”
She smiles at me and pretends to ponder it for a moment. “I’ve got what I wanted, maybe I might send you packing now after all.”
“Is that how it’s gonna be?”
I tickle her ribs and she laughs and squirms.
“I’m joking!” she cries. “I swear I was joking.”
“What was that, princess?” I question as I carry on tickling her. “You were implying you were only after me for my dick? Is that right?”
She rolls away from me as she laughs, and I drag her back towards me.
She looks up at me and bites down on her bottom lip. “I think I’ll keep you,” she whispers.
“You’re not just after me for my penis powers?”
She sighs and grins. “They are some good powers.”
I grin smugly.
“But even without them, I still think you might be worth keeping…” She blushes. “And besides, I can’t get rid of you, you ripped up the papers, and ate half of it like some kind of deranged animal, remember?”
“Damn right I did.”
I lean in and kiss her on the forehead in a gesture much softer and sweeter than what just went down in this bed a short time ago.
“I love you, Dylan.”
She smiles at me like the words are music to her ears. “I love you too, Drew.”
“I’m never going to leave you again. I won’t fuck this up – not twice,” I promise her.
She runs a finger down the side of my face. “I know you won’t.”
I kiss her forehead and close my eyes. “Get some sleep, princess, we’ve got shit to do tomorrow.”
“We do?” she replies sleepily.
“Fuck, yes we do.”
***
“C’mon, princess, the lawyer is waiting for us.”
She stops in her tracks and sits her hands on her hips. “Have you ever tried walking in heels this high?”
I give her a ‘what the fuck do you think’ look, but being the stubborn ass that she is, she just stands there, waiting for an actual answer to her ridiculous question.
“Well?” she prompts with a brow arched.
“I can’t say I have,” I drawl.
“Well then, until you have, don’t you fucking rush me, Andy, I’m not opposed to taking one of these off and throwing it at you.”
The corner of my mouth twitches with amusement.
She’s still so feisty. I’ve gotten used to being around men who don’t give lip and attitude, but this isn’t some dude, this is my wife – and she’s full of fire. I just have to hope I remember how to avoid getting burnt.
“I’m sorry, princess, how about I take a pair for a spin later, so I know what you’re up against?”
She tries her hardest to hold back a grin but fails miserably.
She strolls over, no faster than she was before and links her arm with mine. “As funny as that would be to watch, you keep those huge trotters away from my shoes, you got it?”
I chuckle as I hold the door open for her to go in ahead of me.
We’re here to meet Tim, my defence lawyer.
I’m armed with every scrap of evidence that Stu was able to find for us and for the first time since all this bullshit went down, I actually feel a glimmer of hope.
Dylan glances around the space suspiciously. “I think we should have got you a new lawyer,” she whispers.
“Tim’s a good lawyer, Dylan.”
“Really?” she hisses at me. “If he’s such a great fucking lawyer, then why’d you end up in prison for three years?”
I chuckle as I lead her down the hall to his office. “I didn’t give him a lot to work with.”
“It didn’t take Stu long to figure it all out, what were the cops and this so-called lawyer doing the entire time? Sitting around with their thumbs up their asses?”
“He’s a pretty serious guy, princess, you might have to tone it down a bit.”
She gives me a look that makes it clear she doesn’t give a flying fuck about my warning.
“You’re going to get me in trouble here, aren’t you?”
She smirks at me as I knock on the door. “Probably.”
Seeing my woman going into bat for me is one hell of a turn on – it just makes me realise how much I missed out on by not having her on my side in the beginning of this whole mess.
If I’d been more open and honest with my wife, maybe she would have believed me and stuck by me. And if I’d been less of a dodgy bastard in my work practices, then maybe I wouldn’t have found myself in this fucking position in the first place.
It’s been one hell of a learning curve – that’s for damn sure. I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I won’t be making these mistakes twice.
I hear Tim call out for us to come in and I open the door, ushering Dylan in ahead of me.
“Tim, t
his is my wife, Dylan. Dylan, my lawyer, Tim.”
“It’s good to finally meet you, Dylan.” He holds out his hand and Dylan warily reaches out to shake it without replying.
“We’ve got new info for you,” I announce as Tim gestures for us both to sit down on the opposite side of the table.
I don’t bother with pleasantries, I haven’t got time for fucking around anymore – I’ve got a life to live now and I want to get on with it.
“You mentioned on the phone.” He holds his hand out for the folder I’ve carried in with me.
I pass it over to him and wait somewhat nervously as he takes his time flicking through each page of the findings.
“Where did you get this?” he questions without looking up.
“I work for a newspaper,” Dylan answers before I can. “My work colleague is the best investigative journalist in the business – he found that out.”
“In less than a day,” she adds in a mutter.
I smirk at her sassy comment.
Tim stops reading and glances up at her. He heard it too.
“This is impressive.”
She looks back at him with a ‘no shit’ expression.
“You think it’ll be any use?” I ask him before Dylan can start a fight.
“I’ll have to get in touch with the arresting officer and the detective on your case, but if this information checks out, I’ll be pushing to have your conviction ruled as wrongful and your stint in prison as wrongful imprisonment too.”
“What happens if we do that and win?”
He glances at the information in front of him again. “I know I shouldn’t say this – I don’t like to make promises, but I’ve got no doubt that we’ll win if these leads check out. If you want to go ahead and fight it that is?”
My heart speeds up. “And then?”
“Then your conviction will be removed from your record, and you should be awarded compensation.”
“How much?” I growl.
I might have left myself in a vulnerable position by working on those cars, but I didn’t deserve prison time and I’m willing to milk all I can get out of this if it goes my way.
He scrawls a figure down on a scrap of paper and slides it across the table to me.
Holy shit.
“That much?” Dylan gapes at Tim as she looks at the number over my shoulder.
“That’s right.”
“Can we throw him back in for a bit longer?” she quips.
I shake my head in amusement. “That’s charming, princess, really charming.”
She grins at me. “I’m kidding… kind of.”
Tim actually cracks a smile at my wife.
I chuckle and hold my hand out for Tim to shake. “Do it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Dylan
“Where to now?” I ask him as I sit in the front seat of the classic Corvette he surprised me with this morning. It’s the same one I admired in his garage only a week ago.
He looks so incredibly sexy sitting behind the wheel of this car.
It feels like this thing between us has been going on for an eternity already – I’m so comfortable with him again, but in reality, it’s only been seven days.
He was right. He only needed a week.
“We’re going to see Sarah,” he replies, surprising me.
“Sarah? Why?”
He smirks at me as he weaves through traffic. “You’ll see when we get there.”
I try the entire trip to convince him to tell me what it is that he needs my best friend for, but he won’t give the answer up.
I don’t know how he knows where Sarah’s new place is, but before I know it, we’re parked outside.
I narrow my eyes at him and cross my arms over my chest as I watch him climb out of the car and round the hood.
He opens my door and chuckles at my expression.
“What?”
I raise my brow at him and shoot him a ‘you know what’ look.
He laughs again. “Stu,” he offers with a shrug by way of explanation.
“He’s such a little traitor,” I grumble as I take his offered hand and let him guide me out of my seat.
Andy grins at me and pulls me against his firm chest. “We’re on the same side now, princess.”
“I know we are.” I sigh and give in with a smile. “But I’m still going to argue with you.”
“It wouldn’t be any fun if you didn’t.” He smirks “Now hold my hand, your friend scares me.”
I don’t have a clue what we’re doing here, but if I know Andy, it’ll be something totally unnecessary.
He tugs me up the front steps and knocks on the door.
He shuffles from foot to foot nervously – I don’t actually think he was joking when he said that Sarah scares him.
“Stop twitching,” I tell him with a shit-eating grin. “She’s like a wild animal, she’ll smell your fear a mile away.”
He’s about to reply something smart when the door swings open and the retort is lost.
“Oh hey…” Sarah looks between the two of us in confusion. “What are you guys doing here?”
She looks back at me in confusion and I shrug.
I’ve got no more idea about what we’re doing here than she does.
“I wanted to talk to you,” Andy answers.
Sarah looks at him in surprise. “Alright then, Woodman, do you wanna come in?”
He shakes his head. “This won’t take long – we have somewhere else to be.”
I don’t know where the hell else we’re going, but apparently the excursions aren’t done for the day.
We’ve been back together only one day officially, and he’s already driving me crazy, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t loving every second of it. The unknown is exciting.
I’ve always been content to sit back and let Andy take the wheel. I just hold on for the ride.
“Well you better get talking then,” she prompts.
He takes a deep breath and I watch with interest.
“I wanted to say sorry to you, Sarah. I put Dylan through hell and you were the one that had to pick up the pieces. It can’t have been easy for you to watch her go through that.”
I can tell Sarah is surprised, maybe even shocked, but she does a good job of covering it.
“It wasn’t the best time,” she acknowledges after a beat.
“And I also wanted to thank you,” Andy says.
She tilts her head to the side and eyes him curiously. “For what?”
“For taking care of her when she lost the baby. You can’t possibly imagine how much I wish that it hadn’t happened, or that I could have been there for her, but I wasn’t. You were. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for taking care of her – I know it wasn’t for my benefit, but she’s my whole life, so thank you.” His voice cracks with emotion and I squeeze his hand tighter.
I can feel tears welling in my eyes.
This is so unexpected, I don’t know how to deal with it.
Andy might have shown me that sensitive side of him a bit more lately, but he never, ever shows it to anyone else.
Sarah is being given a rare glimpse into the real Andy, and I hope she realises how much of a big deal this is.
Sarah looks like she might be going to cry too. She glances between Andy and I several times before speaking.
“I’m glad you’re back, Andy,” she tells him quietly. “She’s never as happy as she is when she’s with you.”
She’s right. He drives me insane, but it’s the kind of insane I crave. I really do love this man like crazy.
“She’s my princess,” he answers with a shrug.
Sarah nods her head. “And even though it doesn’t really matter, I accept your apology and I forgive you.”
I look up at Andy and he’s got one hell of a smile on his face. Sarah might not think it matters, but I can tell it matters a whole hell of a lot to my husband.
“Thank you,” he says, his voice sounding li
ke gravel. “You’re her best friend and I hate to think where we’d be without you.”
I shudder at the thought too. I wouldn’t have got through any of this without the woman in front of me.
“Then don’t think about it,” she replies with a grin. “You mechanics aren’t all that sharp, are you?” she teases.
Andy chuckles and just like that, it’s back to the way it was before he left.
“You really don’t wanna come in?” She gestures with her thumb over her shoulder.
Andy glances at his watch. “Next time? We’ve already gotta hustle.”
“Come for dinner next week.”
“Sounds good,” Andy says.
I watch the interaction before me with utter bewilderment.
This is the same man who I’ve wanted to hate for three years, and the same woman who was right there encouraging me to give him the flick.
Now they’re back to being best friends like nothing ever happened.
I wave over my shoulder at her as I’m dragged back down to the car by my husband who’s muttering about being late and which way will have less traffic.
I pause outside the car and just take a moment to really look at him, even though I know it’s bound to piss him off that I’m mucking around.
“Princess?” he questions.
I press up to my tiptoes and kiss his lips. “Thank you,” I breathe as we break apart.
He brushes a strand of hair from my face. “You’re welcome.” He presses his lips to mine once more. “Now get in the car already, we’re gonna be late.”
***
I watch nervously as the tattoo artist grabs a clean paper towel and squirts some type of liquid onto it before wiping down Andy’s skin.
The buzzing of the tattoo gun has brought back a lot of memories for me, it was only a few months after my miscarriage that I came to a place just like this one and asked for the one single word to be etched into my skin.
Unlike my husband, it’s the one and only mark on my skin.
“Princess?” he calls, breaking me out of my thoughts.
“Huh?” I look up at him.
“What do you think?”
Mr. January: A Second Chance Romance (Calendar Boys Book 1) Page 13