Finally...My Forever (Just One of the Guys Book 4)

by Kristi Pelton

God, I’d compared him to Nick. What a cruel, moronic thing to do. I’d been stubborn, refusing to call or text because Austin had made me believe in the fairytale. I waited for him to swoop in and make it all ok. But why should he? I was the one who told him to fuck off. Fuck off! But why the background checks—it just didn’t make sense to me. The fact that he knew everything about me before I told him… My head rested on my forearm. Damn, even my spine ached.

  A wave of dizzies flashed through my head as I blew my nose. My ears popped. Swallowing was near impossible.

  “Sissy. Are you ok?” Claire asked.

  “Yep, Claire-bear. I’m just a snot factory right now.” I tickled her with my toes, not wanting to touch her. Although generally, once one of us got sick, it would make its rounds.

  “Is Hannah still coming?”

  I nodded, which did very little to help my inner ear equilibrium. Hannah wouldn’t be coming if Austin wasn’t still paying her. Another dagger to my heart.

  The front door opened, and Sloan rushed in with Nick in tow. I closed my eyes, faking sleep.

  “You can cut the sleep act. Your eyes were just open. And now I have a sore throat, thanks to you,” Sloan growled.

  “What are you doing here, Nick?” I murmured.

  “He has something to tell you. We do. Now that you and Austin are broke up, it may not matter.”

  Hearing the words hurt more than I anticipated, but then again, pain wreaked havoc on my entire body anyway. “We aren’t broken up. We are in a fight. That’s all.”

  Nick sat down next to my feet and instinctively, I pulled my legs up to my chest. Chills rippled throughout my body; I didn’t want to deal with this. With him.

  “Have you Googled this guy?” Nick asked.

  “What guy?” I asked, closing my eyes again.

  “This Austin creep. There isn’t anything really about him outside of his college honors and shit, but his father is in the fucking mob, Pheebs.”

  “The mob?”

  “The mafia!” Sloan shouted. “Like Chicago mafia. Scarface! Let me introduce you to my ‘leetle’ friend.”

  “Stop screaming at me, Sloan. I feel like shit. Hand me my blanket.” The chills had set in again. The ibuprofen had to be wearing off.

  “Hannah!” Claire screeched, driving the searing sword even deeper through my brain. I winced in agony.

  “Are you ok?” Nick asked.

  I tucked the blanket beneath my chin and nodded.

  Sloan’s cold hands touched my forehead and brought my eyes wide open. “You’re burning up.”

  “I’m taking the younger kids to the park and then for ice cream,” Hannah whispered.

  I nodded. I think. Then I heard the door open. Even sick, I knew what was going on. I had to. I had to protect the kids.

  “Hi, Austin.” I heard Hannah say the words and my eyes came open a bit, but my body was riddled with chills and aches fighting their war against my muscles.

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  “She has a cold.” I think it was Sloan that answered. “Why are you here?”

  “Phoebe?” I smiled. I think. Austin was here. He had come. My prince. “How long has she been like this?”

  “It started yesterday. She’s pretty hot,” Sloan whispered.

  “How about you get the fuck out of here,” Nick growled.

  I fought to open my eyes.

  “I’m taking her for some help.” I heard Austin’s voice again.

  When my eyes opened, they blurred, but I saw Nick step in front of Austin.

  “Over my dead body,” Nick blurted out.

  “That can be arranged.”

  “I’ll bet it can, Tony Montana. We know who you are.”

  I could tell someone picked me up because pain shot in every direction on my body. Moaning out loud, I heard Nick’s voice. “Where are you taking her?”

  “Sloan, would you please go open my car door.”

  “Yes.”

  I wanted to see him, more than anything but I simply closed my eyes.

  The pressure and releasing on my arm brought my eyes open. I glanced down at a blood pressure cuff. An IV pole sat next to the bed. A hospital bed? When I tried to push myself up, the IV in my hand shot pain up my arm when it bent it. Austin stood at the foot of the bed talking to a doctor or nurse. When he noticed I was awake, he rushed to my side.

  “Hey,” he said, releasing a long breath while his fingers wove through my hair.

  “What happened? Where are the kids?” `

  “Hannah is with the kids. They are fine. I came by the house and you were pretty sick,” he said, tenderly tracing the backs of his fingers up my cheek.

  Seeing his face, hearing his voice, feeling his touch. I closed my eyes. It was too much. How was I going to pay for this damn ER visit? I didn’t have insurance. The thought of what those bills were going to be...it just made me feel even more sick. I didn’t want to be mad at him for bringing me there. There was no way for him to ever understand what someone like me worried about.

  “You tested positive for influenza and you are completely dehydrated. This is the second bag of fluids. Why didn’t you call me?”

  Even dehydrated, two tears managed to seep from my eyes.

  “Baby, what’s wrong?”

  “I can’t afford an ER trip. And I know you’re just going to flippantly say you’ll pay. And I was too mad at you to call. And I feel like shit,” I wept, more tears following the two previous ones as the pain continued to linger in every single cell of my body.

  Austin climbed in bed next to me, cradling my head on his chest. “Shh. Just rest.”

  The clarity in my head wasn’t there and the thought of tackling the elephant in the room at the time seemed less important to my heavy lids. As my body relaxed into his, I prayed he was there to stay by my side.

  Austin

  This was the first time to have her in my home and I took her straight to my bed. Not quite the way I’d envisioned but I tucked her in. Fluids, pain meds and Tamiflu in her system.

  ‘The flu is serious this year. We’ve already experienced some deaths.’ The doctor’s words kept resonating in my head. Between the doctor’s words and Nick’s ‘Tony Montana’ comment, I wasn’t sure which was worse.

  “This is your house?” she asked wearily.

  “Yep. I’ll show you around when you feel better.”

  Surrendering to the virus, she curled up in a ball. The beautiful red hair sprawled out over my gray pillowcase. Even sick, she looked perfect. I changed out of my work clothes, threw on my khaki shorts and a t-shirt and then went in to eat a quick bite. I texted Hannah so she could let Sloan know that Phoebe was doing ok. Hannah texted back that Nick was still there. I tossed my phone on the counter.

  “Give up and leave cocksucker,” I said out loud.

  Sloan didn’t respond, which didn’t surprise me. In the kitchen, I popped my own Tamiflu, thankful the doctor had given me some because I had been exposed. Then I went back in and crashed in the chair in the bedroom, close enough to hear her if Phoebe called for me. Just as I dozed off, my phone buzzed. Sloan’s name flashed on the screen. When I opened the text, it simply said,

  Thank you for taking care of her.

  Setting the phone back on the nightstand, I contemplated telling Joe about Nick’s comment. Undoubtedly, Joe’s solution would be to off Nick, and though not a bad idea, killing Bernie and Nick within a short time would not behoove our situation. I lay there thinking about the options until exhaustion won out.

  The low, painful moans brought me out of my sleep. I lay there for a few seconds trying to figure out what I was hearing. Then the agonizing moan came again. Lunging from the chair up to the nightstand where the Tylenol with Codeine sat, I nabbed the pills. Sliding in behind Phoebe, I whispered in her ear to take the medicine. The heat radiating off of her heated me in no time. Finally, she was able to swallow the pills with water.

  “The water is so cold,” she whined. It wasn’t cold at
all. The bottle was completely room temperature. I reached for the thermometer that I’d bought on the way home. Reaching beneath her shirt, I slid the slender instrument beneath her arm, watching it blink. The weight of her body rested on mine.

  “Austin,” she whimpered.

  “I’m right here, Sweet Pea.”

  “I don’t feel good,” she cried, sounding defeated and hopeless.

  “I know, baby.”

  The square window on the thermometer continued to flash but already read 103. Leaning to the nightstand, I grabbed my phone and Googled how to bring a fever down. This was all new to me. When the thermometer stopped blinking at 103.4, I shifted myself out from beneath her and rushed to my bathroom where I grabbed a washcloth, wetted it and then knelt next to the bed. Slowly and carefully, I lowered the folded cloth over her throat. The rest of her was covered by blankets. Phoebe’s eyes flashed open as she gasped.

  “I’m sorry. Just tryin’ to get your fever down,” I said softly, pushing her hair away from her face. Her dry lips needed Chapstick, but I’d wait. Within just a few minutes, the washcloth was warm, so I flipped it over. I’d never noticed how slender her fingers were until I held them while she slept. Having her in my bed was oddly comforting even if she was sick. With her hand in mine, I rested my forehead on the mattress, hoping her fever broke soon.

  A hoarse noise jarred me awake as Phoebe sat upright, coughing. My watch read 3:30 a.m. She drew in a shuddering breath. “You ok?” I asked, moving my stiff body off the floor.

  A slow nod was the only answer I got. The slump in her shoulders was indicative of how she really felt.

  “I need to use the restroom,” she said with barely audible words.

  Without thinking, I stood, cradling her in my arms and a slight groan worked up her throat. “Where are we?”

  “My house,” I gently reminded. A feeble gasp slid between her lips when she sat back on the seat of the toilet. “Cold?”

  She nodded, resting her head on my shoulder.

  With her in my arms, I carried her back to the bed. “Lay with me,” she groaned.

  It wasn’t really a question. Just a statement. A weak statement. My mind wondered if she’d forgiven me for the deception. For the entire contents of the folder she’d thrown at me. Even if she hadn’t, the opportunity to hold her one last time was right in front of me. There was no way I wasn’t going to take it.

  Chapter 14

  Phoebe

  STFU

  THE DAYLIGHT SHOOTING through the window delivered an intense abundance of heat. The heavy covers weighed down my legs, holding heat in, and when I pulled my foot free, I found immediate relief. When I moved, I braced for the pain. To my surprise, the all-encompassing agony that had accompanied all movement for the past few days stayed away. The fog that was my brain slowly started to clear as I sat upright, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. Austin’s bed. My eyes flitted between various shades of gray all over the room. The massive, baroque furniture—the dresser, the armoire, the nightstand, matching headboard…a multi-gray rope rug on the beautiful wood floor—all of it shouted expensive. The carpet at the apartment needed replaced horribly. Not one single piece of matching furniture for me either. Shaking my head, I once again, waited for the familiar throbbing. Nothing. The Oregon Duck t-shirt I wore wasn’t mine. I didn’t remember putting it on.

  Finding my footing, I tiptoed out of the room and down a hallway, peeking into each beautifully decorated room I passed as I traveled down a two-sided staircase, through the house and finally turning into a family room. Brown leather furniture decorated the room. Austin’s voice was audible, but I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. As I fought to remember being there or seeing the house for the first time, I had no recollection of getting there. This place was pretty damn memorable.

  “I promise.” I heard Austin say as I rounded the corner of a kitchen I’d only seen in a magazine.

  “Tell her I miss her.” Was that Jakes voice? Nearing Austin, I peeked over his shoulder.

  “Sissy!” Claire squealed, and Austin spun around, seeing me not just on the phone but in reaction to the squeal. His eyes skated over my face as he stood and quickly handed me the phone.

  “Pheebs?” Jake said as I brought the phone up so I could see them.

  “Hey guys,” I said smiling. All of them, including Sloan, were in the image on the screen.

  “You ok?” Sloan asked.

  Nodding, I pulled my shoulders into a shrug. “I think so. The aching is gone. How is everyone there?”

  Hannah peeked into the screen. “We’ve had a perfect week. At home and at school.”

  “Week?” My eyes shot up to Austin’s.

  The Adam’s apple that my lips had kissed darted out and back in. “You’ve been here four days.”

  Missing time. My mind searched for memories. I remembered very little of it. Something in his brown eyes was foreign to me. I couldn’t place it.

  “When are you gonna be home?” Jake asked.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe today. I feel weak but...” I looked up to see Austin disappear around the corner. “I’ve missed you guys so much.”

  For a quick moment, a flash of anxiety soared through my head at the thoughts of missing work, bills piling up, rent etc. Then I remembered the bills Austin had paid off and the way he seemed to always pick up the pieces when I needed him to. And, the lies… the deception.

  Once the kids were satisfied that I was going to be ok, I padded through the house in search of my caretaker not even sure what to say. In the bedroom, the clothes I’d worn sat folded neatly in a chair. The sound of the shower in the bathroom let me know where he was. The crumpled covers called my name and willingly, I obliged, collapsing into his bed.

  Austin

  A long, hot shower was exactly what I needed. For the last two days, it had taken all I had to take care of her as my body was wracked with aches. Fever hadn’t gotten over 100 degrees, but damn was I feeling it. Goose bumps scattered over my skin when the breeze from the ceiling fan in the bedroom hit me. My eyes landed on her in my bed. The perfect curves of her butt cheeks peeked out from beneath my Ducks shirt.

  Rolling over, she caught me staring at her. Seeing her eyes eat up every inch of me standing there wet with a towel around my waist made everything worth it.

  “You ok?” I asked, hoping she wanted to sleep because I sure did.

  “Thank you for calling the kids.”

  “I’ve updated them morning, noon and night.” I turned away from her to slide on my boxer briefs. I didn’t know how she felt after all the things she’d seen at my office and for some reason, it felt too presumptuous for her to see me naked.

  A perfect, slow smile touched her lips. When her eyes surrendered to sleep, I was thankful. Thankful that she’d gotten up and was feeling better. Thankful that we didn’t fight. Thankful that I could finally sleep too.

  During the night, I woke up to watch her crawl out of bed and go to the restroom. Shockingly, I was feeling better than when I’d fallen asleep. When she crawled back into bed, our eyes connected.

  “You don’t feel well, do you?”

  “I feel ok. The Tamiflu has really helped.” I grinned.

  “I’m sorry I got you sick.” She laid on her side tucking her hands between her cheek and the pillow.

  “I was bound to get it one way or another. Besides, I feel better already.”

  Our eyes remained on each other even in the darkness. The lids of hers seemed heavy with her slow, deliberate blinks.

  “Thank you for taking care of me.”

  That moment was the moment that I chose. “I love you, Phoebe. I want to take care of you forever.”

  It didn’t take long for a tear to trickle out one eye, over the bridge of her nose and to the other eye. Even though darkness filled the room, a shimmy of moonlight highlighted our faces.

  “I’m sure with what you saw at my office, you may question my motivations, my feelings…everything,”
I whispered. My fucking heart jackhammered against my chest. “Everything I did was prior to the trip. I didn’t know you. I didn’t know anything about you. So, I ran some background checks. That’s not completely unreasonable, Phoebe.”

  Monitoring her reaction, I held my breath and waited for her response.

  Her quick nods eased my tension. “I know,” she said softly. “But when I told you all those things.” When her eyes pinched closed, tears seeped out again, crushing me. “You knew all of it already. You acted as if you were hearing it for the first time.”

  What she said was true. Bernard Coffman didn’t join the party until Sloan’s therapy appointment. The juvenile records had been sealed. I mean, until I hired someone to unseal them for me. For years, I’d questioned my father’s motives, his tactics, his morals, his ethics, his ability to have people hurt…killed. An understanding like I never knew suddenly soaked into me. Watching her—hands tucked beneath her cheek and the mattress, her body curled into the fetal position, her perfect mess of hair doing its thing—I knew I’d do anything for her. Anything. Hence my instruction to have Joe talk to Coffman. Not kill him, talk to him. If needed, I’d have had him killed though. If he posed any sort of threat to her, I wouldn’t have hesitated.

  “I didn’t know what to say, Phoebe,” I whispered. “I was screwed either way. Even though I found out these things before we left and before I knew you; I couldn’t very well say to you, oh hey, I already know all this stuff. I’d have lost you then, too.”

  The long lashes fluttered. “Too? You think you’ve lost me?”

  “Haven’t I?” Reckoning time.

  Her body raised with her sharp inhale. “Austin. I’ve never had someone love me like you love me. I feel your love in the deepest part of my soul. Even before you said it. I see it in your eyes when you look at me. I feel it in your touch. Your kiss. I’ve dreamed my whole life about being loved by someone like you.” The slight quiver in her chin broke me. I was going to kiss her until she tucked the top of her head into my chest.

  It was time to find out if this was about the gifts…the money or me. “What do you mean someone like me?” My lips found their way through the curls of hair, kissing the back of her head. She unrolled from the fetal position and faced me.