by Maci Dillon
I nodded. Why did this fucker insist on speaking to me?
The black-haired beauty sat silently and watched the exchange with a smirk.
Unsure what I had walked into, I moved my focus back to Chloe.
“Raven, walk with me?” Sean’s words caught me off guard.
He was still fucking talking, and Chloe hadn’t spoken another word yet.
The other woman grinned, stood, and whispered something in Chloe’s ear.
Turning her attention to me, she thrust her hand out to me. “I’m Raven, Chloe’s wing bitch.” She winked at me, causing me to chuckle. I was not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this. “Take care of my girl, forgive her for being a dumbass and leaving this morning.”
“Raven,” Chloe warned from behind her. Raven flipped her off, and Chloe rolled her eyes at her friend. I liked this chick, and she was pro-Chloe and Will. My heart squeezed.
“Sean had already convinced her to call you and make it right, by the way,” she added cheerily with a slight shrug.
Come again?
They both exchanged goodbyes with Chloe, and as they started to walk away, Sean or whoever he is, tapped my shoulder. “Good luck, man. I hope things work out for you two.”
Had I walked into a fucking time warp?
Maybe it was the heat and the heaviness of this dress shirt. Sweat dripped down the middle of my back as I stood in the morning sun.
Chloe pointed at the empty chair across from her and lowered herself back into the metal stool. I jumped at the offer to join her and summoned the waiter as he finished up at the table beside us.
“Have you eaten?”
“Your meals will be out in a moment, sir,” the waiter answered as he approached.
My brow creased in confusion, and Chloe laughed.
“Sean and I had already ordered before Raven arrived, and now, well, they left, and you are here, so to answer your question, no, I haven’t eaten, but we’re both about to.”
The waiter appeared confused as he took my order for a flat black, another latte for Chloe, and returned inside.
“I hope the guy has better taste in food than he does dogs,” I scowled as I stretched out in the child-sized excuse of a chair.
Chloe chastised me with a hard stare until a smile broke out on her face, and we both broke into a fit of laughter.
Our meals arrived, and Chloe groaned. “I’m fucking starving.” Digging straight into her omelet, I was pleasantly surprised at the bacon, eggs, sausages, half loaf of bread, and tomatoes with mushroom gravy on the plate in front of me.
“How did you find me here, Will?”
I finished my first mouthful of food before I answered.
“Shouldn’t you be more concerned with why I’m here, Chloe?” I wanted her to be intrigued.
Hopeful.
But she gave nothing away. She remained quiet and devoured her food.
“I was walking back to my room, keeping an eye out for you on my travels when I heard you laugh.” I smiled. “I guess fate has its way of showing up.”
Chloe’s eyes narrowed, and her expression turned.
“You believe fate intervened to bring you a free breakfast for your stalker efforts?” she joked.
Shaking my head, I smirked at her playfulness. But enough already with the stalker comments.
“The strangest thing happened to me recently. I met up with the love of my life after ten of the longest and most challenging years doing life without her. Although unexpected, we spent the night together, a deliciously sexy night that made my heart explode with possibilities. It was a dream come true until I woke to find her goodbye note. I was gutted she walked away so easily after what we shared.”
Chloe placed her cutlery on the half-eaten plate of food and leaned on the table, hanging on my every word.
I approached my next steps carefully.
Words scrambled around in my head while I enjoyed another bite of breakfast. I was famished.
The metal table shuddered slightly in response to Chloe’s knee impatiently bouncing underneath. I fought to hold off a smile, knowing it pained her to wait.
“But the note was not a goodbye, it was an awakening. Those words hit me where I needed them most. Never fail to fight.”
I dropped my knife and fork to the side and reached across the table to clutch Chloe’s hands in mine. Her gaze drifted to where my thumb rubbed over her knuckles. I wanted to hold her so badly.
My heart beat uncontrollably as I repositioned myself in the chair, leaning further into her.
“As I read those words, Chloe, standing alone in the room...” I squeezed her hand tighter, “… I made a promise to myself. And to you. I would never fail to fight.”
A tear escaped the corner of Chloe’s eye, and I loved she was not afraid to show her vulnerability in public.
“If I didn’t run into you this morning, I would have continued blowing up your phone until you finally answered me and agreed to give me a chance, little one.”
She pulled her hand from mine to wipe the tears from her face with a napkin.
“What exactly are you saying, Will?” Her voice quivered.
“I’ve loved you all my life, Chloe. I will never stop loving you whether we are together or not. I am now certain I will never be with any woman who is not you.”
I rose to my feet and kneeled at Chloe’s side, not caring who was watching us. Her hands fell to her lap, and I wrapped them lovingly in mine.
“Please, Chloe, I beg you to consider giving us another go. Let us explore what life has to offer. I promise to leave the past in the past, to forge ahead with a love-filled future. The one which was always meant for us. And if you say no, I promise I will never stop fighting for you. Every waking moment from now until the day I die will be spent proving to you I am the only man for you.”
Tears turned to waterfalls, and a crowd of people around us began to cheer me on. My eyes never left Chloe’s for a second. I waited with bated breath for her answer.
Suddenly, she jumped from her chair, pulling me up with her, and she slammed into my chest, her arms wrapped tight around my neck. “So, is it a yes?” I whispered nervously into her hair.
She pulled back to gaze into my eyes. I supported her with my arms locked together around her waist. Gorgeous blue eyes with remnants of tears glistened in the sunshine, and I vowed never to give her a reason to cry again unless she was weeping with joy.
“Yes, Will. Yes!” she screamed. Her head fell back as I spun her around and kissed the exposed skin on her neck. The onlookers erupted again.
As I lowered Chloe to the ground in front of me, I took her face in my hands and crushed my lips to hers.
I was the luckiest fucking man on this earth, and hell, if I wouldn’t move mountains to deserve every ounce of her love from this moment forward.
“Yass, girl.”
Chloe chuckled into our kiss at the outburst, and excessively loud cheering followed. Another set of arms flung around the both of us from the side. Black hair swirled around us both. I looked forward to meeting all the people important to Chloe, and I didn’t want to waste a minute.
Over Raven’s shoulder, I caught Sean smiling broadly. He nodded when I gave him a thumbs-up before he turned and walked away.
I hoped to run into him again. It wouldn’t be right to overlook the role he played in this past eighteen hours.
***
Chloe and I spent the rest of the morning enjoying what the city had to offer, walking hand in hand, giddy in each other’s arms like it had never been any different.
We talked incessantly, got reacquainted, and learned some of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the past decade. Thankfully, there would be plenty of time for that in our future, though today was coming to an end.
I needed to get some affairs in order. And I’d missed a few calls from Amanda in the past hour.
A black mini rolled into the street and pulled to the curb in front of us.
We were
standing outside my hotel, where Chloe had arranged for Raven to pick her up. I will never be more grateful she hadn’t whisked her back to the Gold Coast before I ran into her at breakfast.
Chloe turned to me, snuggled into my chest, and held me tight. I too was familiar with the feeling. I didn’t want to leave her yet either.
“I will call you once I have spoken to Amanda, okay,” I whispered as I rubbed her back.
Chloe let go of me and reached up on her tiptoes to kiss me but avoided eye contact.
I cupped her chin and lifted her head until our eyes met. The moisture swelling in her eyes had me wanting to change my plans and spend another night, but I didn’t want to keep Amanda wondering about our future any longer than I already had.
I owed her that much.
“Are you certain about this, Will? About us, giving us another go?” Her eyes dropped to the ground, and it hurt that she seeked validation after everything we shared today.
“Don’t question me, Chloe. I’ve never been more serious about anything or anyone in my life.”
She nodded and smiled.
I longed for a glimpse of the spark in her eyes, the one as genuine as her heart.
“Let me close this chapter with Amanda. It’s only fair before we make any concrete plans.”
Of course, I already had plans.
Bold motherfucking ideas had carved canyons in my brain since I read her note this morning. The mind map was ready to be kicked into action, and I was anxious to deliver. The last thing I wanted was to overwhelm her with a blueprint of all the ducks I had to get in a row to achieve the result.
A forever with her.
“Little one, I promise I won’t keep you waiting long. And I’ll be in contact every day until I move closer, so we can give each other all we have to offer.”
There was the glint in her eyes I desperately needed to see. I kissed her beautiful lips one last time before I helped her into the car and waved goodbye.
Raven glared at me, signaling she would cut my throat if I fucked this up. I understood.
I would cut my own balls off if I ever hurt Chloe again.
And believe me, it was not an experience I ever wanted to endure.
Chapter Fifteen
A Blessing in Disguise
“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise for which we are later, in the fullness of time and understanding, very grateful for!” ~ Oscar Wilde
WILL
I pulled into the drive of Amanda’s mother’s place.
My soon to be ex-mother-in-law.
I wasn’t expecting a welcome party, but the front door was closed and the place quiet as if nobody was home. She received my voice message as she called when I was in the city with Chloe. I hit the doorbell, which rang out a few decibels too high. I shook my head to clear the incessant ringing, but it quickly turned into a high-pitched scream. I put my ear to the door.
Is that a baby crying?
I sifted through a mental list of friends Amanda had around here with a baby. But I guess it’s been ten months, and I have no idea of the friends she has made since she moved out here.
The baby’s cries grew louder, and the door knob turned.
I was holding the screen door open as the wooden door flung open, and Amanda stood in the doorway, a small bundle of screaming cuteness in her arms.
Her face paled as she stared back at me.
She began to rock the baby in her arms, looking flustered, trying to put a pacifier in its mouth.
“Didn’t you get my message?” she whispered angrily.
I frowned. “I called to tell you I was coming.”
What the fuck is going on here?
Amanda glanced around the room behind her, and she leaned in closer to me, her finger pointed at my chest. “And I called to tell you not to come here.”
I stared at the woman I was married to, hardly recognizing her. She had put on weight, and her eyes were weary.
Dark circles cupped her eyes, a telling sign she wasn’t getting enough sleep. Her hair was thrown together in a messy bun with strands of hair escaping in all directions.
The woman who stood in front of me was a disheveled version of my wife.
Her eyes darted between the baby and me, who had started to settle, taking comfort in the pacifier at last.
Unease began to settle over me.
“Whose baby, Amanda?”
Tears formed in her eyes as she stared at the newborn in her arms. Based on the color of the onesie, I guessed the baby was a girl, and she appeared to be a few months old.
“She’s mine, Will,” Amanda answered while tears fell down her cheeks.
I clenched my jaw and pushed past her and inside the house.
Careful not to raise my voice so I didn’t startle the baby, I questioned her again.
“Whose baby is it?”
Amanda broke down in tears. She sat on the sofa and cried, hugging the baby to her chest.
“I already told you, she’s mine,” she sobbed.
When she glanced back at me, her eyes were filled with defeat. “I told you not to come, Will.”
“Because you were hiding a baby from me?” I accused through gritted teeth.
My mind was racing. Amanda had a baby.
I did the math. The baby couldn’t possibly be mine. Not a chance in hell.
“She’s not yours. I wanted to tell you first before you showed up to find out like this.”
“You have been calling me for months, Amanda. Every time I called back, I reached your voice mail.”
“It’s hard to get to the phone sometimes,” she explained, her eyes drifted to her daughter.
“Sometimes I imagine it is, but every time?”
“You never returned my calls, Will. For months.”
She was right. And I didn’t come to argue.
“I understand, and I’m sorry.”
This is far from what I expected this visit to be.
“Who’s the father?”
“I am.”
I raised my head in the direction of the voice.
“Jamie?”
No fucking way.
He stood across the room, his arms crossed over his chest. It had been almost ten years since he punched me in the face and left town. Now he was fucking my wife and making babies with her.
I laughed. How uncanny.
Good fucking luck to them both.
“What are you doing here, Will?”
My eyes widened in surprise at his question. I glanced between Amanda and Jamie, and my eyes came to rest on their baby girl.
There was so much I could say, but what was the point? I came here to put an end to our marriage.
“Funny you should ask. My wife has been hassling me about finding Chloe to resolve our past. You remember Chloe, right?” I deadpanned.
His stare was cold. Enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention.
“I guess you couldn’t have her, so you went after my wife.”
“Will,” Amanda warned, stood up, and passed the baby to Jamie. “It’s not what it looks like.”
I lowered my head to collect my thoughts.
“Let me tell you what it looks like to me,” I offered and glanced up to them both before my gaze settled on Amanda.
“You used Chloe as an excuse to leave a marriage you only ever wanted because you were scared I would walk out on you. At the time you left, you were obviously pregnant. We haven’t had sex in almost eighteen months, maybe more, and you only walked out ten months ago.”
I pretended to count on my fingers to drive the story home.
“Ah, yes, this is what it looks like. You slutted it up with one of my ex-best pals before you even left.”
Jamie stepped forward, the baby in his arms. “Hardly a slut when she wasn’t getting any at home, and her husband was still in love with another woman.”
My insides churned, and my fists flexed. “Call it what you want,” I growled
, fighting to keep my temper in check.
I observed Amanda as she stood in the middle of the room and fidgeted nervously with her fingers. I hardly recognized her. But I was happy I got to witness this for myself.
“The fact is, you were cheating on me and didn’t have the guts to end our marriage, so you left. Ten months you’ve been here with child, and not once have you come clean about it. You made me believe you were waiting for me to come back to you.”
Manipulative bitch.
“I did, I do want you back, Will.” She walked toward me. “You were so distant, and we hadn’t made love in so long. I knew in my heart you were still in love with Chloe.”
I shook my head in disbelief.
“And yet I didn’t make contact with her until ten months after you left. Yes, I love her. I wanted to meet with her, gain the closure we needed so I could move forward with you. Give you what you deserved.”
I glanced in Jamie’s direction. He couldn’t even look at me.
“At least I believed it to be true before I reunited with her.”
Hope faded from Amanda’s eyes.
Despite these new developments, I felt awful for what I’d put her through and didn’t want to hurt her any more than I already had. She’s not a bad person, and I loved her with what I had left to give.
But Amanda is not my forever love.
“None of it matters anymore.” I waved my hands around and relinquished them both from any blame. “I came here today to tell you I want a divorce. Chloe and I are starting over.”
Amanda’s lips quivered, and she broke into a sob, falling to the ground.
“I’m so sorry, Will.”
“I had already made this decision prior to coming here today before I spoke with Chloe about giving us a second chance. My mind was made up. I didn’t want to continue with this charade of a marriage. Whether Chloe accepted me back in her life or not, we were done.”
Amanda had to accept there was no going back.
I glanced between the three of them once more.
“I’m confident I made the right decision.”
I nodded at both of them and turned to leave.
As I opened the door, I turned back to them one last time.