Trusting You

by L. P. Dover

  I couldn’t forget how that same man was one I had married and was happy with, if only for a short while, I did love him and he loved me. Sometimes love just isn’t what it seems.

  “I’m sorry,” he choked out. “Mel, I am so sorry.”

  A tear escaped the corner of his blackened eye and his shoulders shook with each sob. I had never seen him break down before, and even though I wanted to hate him, I just couldn’t. He was a screwed up individual, and deep down I prayed that he’d get the help he needed to get his life back on track.

  I let my own tears fall freely when I gazed over at him. They were the last tears I’d ever cry for him. “Good-bye, Daniel.”

  He stared at me for the longest time, his cheeks moist with tears, before saying, “Good-bye, Melissa.”

  One Month Later

  It was a week before Christmas and there was so much to do. When my parents saw me on the news right after I’d been taken they came straight home from their travels and refused to leave. It went from talking to them once every couple of weeks to talking to them every day. It was kind of nice having them around. However, the night was just for me and Brett, but there was one stop I had to make before going to his condo, which had now become my home for the time being.

  After selling everything I owned, I had a nice giant sum of money that was going to help me with my new adventure. An adventure I couldn’t wait to begin. So many things were going to change once the New Year came. Once everything settled down after the whole Daniel debacle I had chosen not to go back to work for the rest of the school year. There was so much going on that I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus on it. It hurt my heart to leave, but it was the right thing to do.

  My last stop for the day was the one place I never wanted to see again. When I pulled into the driveway of my old house, the one I’d shared with Daniel, my realtor was waiting for me in her car. It was mid-December and very cold for this time of year which was odd. I parked my new yellow Jeep Wrangler, which I bought after selling my Lexus, beside my realtor’s SUV. Before climbing out of the car, I wrapped my scarf around my neck and buttoned up my jacket.

  “Good evening,” Amy said, walking around the front of her car to meet me.

  She was dressed in a long black skirt and a dark gray petticoat. I really liked her when she helped Daniel and I find our house, and I knew she would be the perfect one to help me sell it.

  She smiled and said, “Thank you for meeting me here. I was in the area and thought it would be easier to get the paperwork done.”

  Shivering, I tucked my hands in my wool pockets and smiled. “It’s perfectly fine. I can’t believe the house sold so fast. It’d only been on the market for two weeks.”

  Amy giggled. “That’s the way it goes sometimes. Did you want to take one last look around inside or do you want to sign the papers out here?”

  “Out here is fine,” I told her. “There are too many painful memories inside that house.”

  She opened the passenger side door of her car and pulled out a yellow folder. “I completely understand,” she said, sorting through the papers. “I know it has to feel good to be away from here.”

  “You have no idea,” I mumbled to myself.

  Slamming her car door, she fumbled with the papers in her hand and laid them on the hood of her car. “Okay, here we go.” She pointed to the vacant lines on both papers. “All right, Melissa, I need you to sign on both of those lines and you’re done.” She handed me a pen, and wasting no time I signed my name on the empty lines.

  “There you go, Amy. Thank you so much for taking care of me and finding someone so quickly. I really appreciate it.”

  Amy waved me off and shook my hand. “It was no problem. Good luck with everything.”

  “Thank you,” I replied, letting go of her hand. “For once I feel like luck is on my side.”

  As soon as Amy got in her car and drove away, I took one last look at the house before turning my back and driving away. It wasn’t my home anymore. My home was with Brett and that was exactly where I was headed.

  Before getting on the road, I dialed Claire’s number to tell her the good news. She answered with an excited, “Hey, girl. How are ya?”

  I chuckled. “I’m doing well. I just signed the papers over to the house. It’s officially been sold.”

  Claire shrieked. “No way! Does this mean what I think it means? Please tell me you’re going to move out here now. Does Brett know that you’ve been thinking about it?”

  I sighed. “No, he doesn’t know yet. I didn’t realize the house would sell so fast and now that it has ...” I paused and massaged the tension at my temples. “I just thought I would have more time. I won’t be able to leave Brett. I love him too much.”

  “Just talk to him, Melissa. I’m sure things will work out perfectly. All you have to do is ask him one simple question and go from there. If he says no then … I don’t know.”

  “Thanks, Claire,” I retorted dryly. “You were such a big help.”

  She giggled. “Anytime, babe. Call me tomorrow and let me know what he says.”

  “I will,” I said. After hanging up the phone with her, I started up the car and headed home.

  It was early evening, so I knew I would make it to the condo before Brett, but when I opened the door to our home, I was completely surprised with what I saw. Our Christmas lights on the tree were all turned on and twinkling in the darkness of the living room while our gas logs were burning bright. I gasped when I saw that Brett had a laid out the perfect picnic in front of our beautiful Christmas tree that we both spent a whole day and night making perfect together.

  “I thought I’d surprise you,” Brett muttered, coming up beside me and handing me a glass of sparkling white wine.

  “Surprise me?” I began. “What’s the occasion?”

  Unbuttoning my coat, Brett smiled as he took it from me and hung it on the coat rack. “It’s been a good day and I just wanted to let you know how much I love you.” Grasping my hand, he pulled me over to our picnic. “Sit,” he commanded playfully. “Let’s eat.”

  I took a seat on the soft pillows he had spread out and drank the rest of my wine. “Actually, it has been a good day,” I remarked. “My house is officially sold.”

  Brett’s eyes went wide. “Already? Wow that was fast.” He pulled the top off my plate and poured me another glass of wine that he had chilling in a tub of ice.

  Taking the filled glass of wine, I agreed, “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.” Just go ahead and tell him what’s on your mind, I thought to myself.

  With my stomach in knots, I sat there and ate the delicious chicken parmesan and salad that had my mouth salivating as soon as I entered the door. The meal satiated my growling appetite, but it did nothing for my nerves. Once we were all done, Brett cleared the plates and settled behind me on the massive pillows and blankets he had scattered across the floor.

  Brett nuzzled his nose in my hair and breathed me in, moaning as he exhaled. “I think it’s time for dessert, don’t you?” His hands slid down my arm, down the side of my stomach to my thighs and then back up making shivers race across my skin.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” I acknowledged, breathless.

  Reaching around to the front of my shirt, he slowly undid my buttons one by one. My lip tilted up in a smirk as I watched his hand deftly undo each one, exposing the bare skin underneath. I sat up and slipped my shirt off once it was completely unbuttoned while Brett did the same with his. Kissing me tenderly on the lips, he reached around my back and unhooked my bra while I worked on the button of his jeans. Once my breasts were exposed from the satiny cotton of my bra, he pulled one of my peaked nipples into his mouth and licked the sensitive flesh until I was bucking underneath him.

  I tried desperately to get his pants unbuttoned, but the bulge straining against the zipper made it difficult; I huffed impatiently. Once the button came undone I carefully freed him and wrapped my hand around the thickness of his cock, stroking him
long and hard. He jerked in my hand and moaned above me.

  “Damn, I love your hands and the way you touch me. Your grip is so tight, just the way your sex is when I make love to you.”

  My eyes rolled in the back of my head as his tongue licked my aching nipples and his fingers slowly delved into my underwear and grazed over my clit. He tested my wetness and I knew he was satisfied by the growl rumbling in his chest.

  “I see you’re ready for me, baby.”

  “Always,” I replied softly.

  With hooded eyes, I gazed over his hard, muscled body with satisfaction. His arms flexed as my eyes trailed over them, and then I couldn’t help but lower my stare to the one part of his body that instantly made my core slick and throb with the need to be touched.

  Once my pants were gone, Brett slowly lowered himself on top of me and entered me as deep as he could go. My sex instantly clenched tight and he stopped momentarily to take a deep breath. “Why do you always make it hard on me?” he teased.

  “I can’t help it. It feels too good when you’re inside me.”

  Taking my face in his hands, he kept his gaze on me the entire time we made love. He kissed me over and over again, while riding me slow and rocking his hips against my tender spot. I could tell he was getting close to the edge, but he always kept it off until I was on the verge of mine. It was one of the things I loved about him when it came to making love. He always put my needs first above his own.

  His thrusts grew deeper and he pounded harder while holding my face in between his hands, watching me as I screamed out my orgasm. Growling, he bit my lip and sucked it as he came inside me, all hot and thick. Breathing hard, he kissed my lips and slowly lifted up on his elbows, still hard and pulsating inside me. It always drove me crazy when he would stay inside me without pulling out; it made the tremors from the orgasm vibrate more violently and I loved it.

  “We need to talk about something,” he began, gazing down at me seriously. “It’s something important.”

  “What is it?” I asked, furrowing my brow. “Is something wrong?”

  He smiled and shook his head. “No baby, everything’s right. I wanted to talk to you about our future. I want to know what you want out of life and what you want to do. You quit your job as a teacher, and now you’re free to do what you want, anywhere you want. In your heart, where do you feel like you belong?”

  Lifting my hand, I caressed his cheek. “I belong with you, Brett. Wherever you are is where I belong.”

  “Do you mean that?” he asked, searching my gaze for the truth.

  I smiled and leaned up to kiss his lips. “With all my heart.”

  Biting his lip, he grinned mischievously at me. “Well, with that being said I need you to do something for me.”

  “Is it my turn to make love to you this time or something?” I asked teasingly, moving my hips against his still hard cock in between my legs.

  He chuckled and shook his head, pointing to a specific spot on our Christmas tree. “No, but I do want you to look over at the tree.”

  Breaking away from his gaze, I glanced in the direction he was pointing. I searched for a clue but found nothing. “What am I supposed to be looking at exactly? I see ornaments, Brett.”

  “Look closer,” he demanded warmly.

  “Look closer,” I repeated his words out loud. “Okay, I’m looking closer.”

  The presents underneath were the same, they were all from me to him so nothing odd was going on there. He was staring at the tree so I tried my best to look at the exact spot he was looking at. Slowly, I searched each branch and each ornament until something sparkled and immediately caught my attention. My favorite ornament was a crystal ballerina that always glittered against the twinkling lights of the tree. I could stare at it for hours if time allowed it. It was my most precious ornament as a little girl and my mom made sure to give it to me when I moved out. But it wasn’t just the ornament I was staring at … it was the shiny, emerald cut diamond ring that glistened on the arm of my crystal ballerina.

  I gasped and covered a hand over my mouth. “Brett, is that what I think it is?” I asked, completely in a state of shock.

  He chuckled and fetched the platinum band off the ornament. Taking my shaky hand, he slipped it down my finger and released a nervous breath. “Yes, it’s what you think it is,” he said, gazing into my tear-filled eyes with such longing. “When you say you belong wherever I am well that’s the way I feel about you. Wherever you go I will follow. I love you more than life itself, more than the breath I take in every day. You are my forever, Melissa, and it doesn’t have to be right now or next year. Hell, we can wait five years if that’s what you want, but know this … I want to be with you until my heart stops beating and I take that last and final breath. I want to take care of you and watch your belly swell with the children we make with our love. You are and will always be the fire that burns in my soul that keeps me going. You are the reason I live, Melissa.”

  Eyes glistening, he leaned over and kissed me tenderly on the lips. “I want you to be my wife, firecracker. I want to hear you say you’ll love me for the rest of your life just as I will love you for mine.”

  “Yes,” I answered from my heart. “I’ll be your wife, Brett, for now and always I will forever be yours.”

  Wrapping his arms around me, he held me tight and descended on my lips, claiming me for his own. When he pulled back from the kiss, I wasn’t expecting the next words to come out of his mouth. In all seriousness, he gazed into my eyes, and uttered, “I hope you know I meant it when I said I will follow you anywhere.” He stopped for a second while a devilish grin spread across his face. He continued, “… even if that means we move to California. I’ve heard you talking to Claire, baby. I could hear it in your voice how much you want to go out there and help her with the vineyards. And now that your house has sold there’s nothing keeping you here.”

  “Except you, Brett. You’re here and that’s where I belong just like I told you.”

  Brushing a stray hair off of my face, Brett smirked and bit his lip. “What if I told you I would go out to California with you? What would you say then?”

  “Is it even possible?” I asked, wide-eyed. “What about your job?”

  He smiled and winked. “Let’s just say I got promoted. I’ve been given the opportunity to partner with M&M and have my own branch on the West Coast. I figured it would be a good starting out place for us. You could work with Claire like I know you want to and I wouldn’t have to travel so far all the time with me already being on the West Coast. But it’s completely up to you, Melissa. Say the word and we’ll go. I’m ready to take the next step when you are.”

  I gazed at Brett in awe and wonder. Who would’ve thought that a one night stand would turn out to be the second chance I longed for. I feared I had lost him when Daniel took me away, but now I didn’t have to worry about him or anything else standing in our way.

  Completely confident in my decision, it didn’t take me long to make up my mind. “I’m ready, Brett. Let’s take the next step … together.”

  And that’s just what we did.

  Ten Months Later

  After Brett proposed to me, we spent another two months in North Carolina to get all of our affairs handled before the big move. When we moved, Brett had managed dozens of accounts on his own on the West Coast before it became too much and he needed to hire several people to help him. M&M Architectural Building and Design had flourished in the past year, leaving Brett with a partnership and his own thriving branch on the other half of the United States.

  The Tuscan villa I inherited from Daniel’s mother was a place she found peace and solitude in when life got in the way for her. Claire kept everything inside it just the way her mother left it and I was honored to not change a thing about it.

  However, there were changes today. The whole place was adorned with bouquets of flowers, decorations, and everyone from my life that I cared about … including my parents, Brett’s grandmot
her, and Mason. Everyone was outside waiting patiently for me to make my entrance.

  I picked out a white, strapless wedding dress that hugged my waist and flowed gracefully down to the ground. Crystals were threaded around the bust and they glittered like diamonds when I turned circles in the light. It reminded me of my ballerina ornament and how my ring twinkled around it on our Christmas tree on that fateful night many months ago.

  Through the window, the whole scene was gorgeous. Korinne had put her designing skills to good use and became my wedding planner for the whole occasion as well as one of my bridesmaids. Claire was my maid of honor and both of them looked amazing in their red gowns. Tears pooled in my eyes when I saw the hard work she put into my special day.

  “Hey, none of that,” Mason demanded, passing me a tissue. “I don’t handle tears very well.”

  He clasped my arm and steered me toward the patio door that led to all of our guests and my awaiting husband. I had chosen Mason to walk me down the aisle on my special day. He deserved the honor more than anything and I wanted him to know that.

  Taking the tissue, I dabbed under my eyes and sniffled. “Do I look okay?” I asked, turning to him.

  Leaning down, Mason smiled and took me by the shoulders. “You look beautiful,” he uttered wholeheartedly. “But if we don’t go Brett’s going to come looking for you.”

  We both laughed. “That’s true,” I agreed. Taking a deep breath, I nodded toward the door. “Lead me out there, Mason.”

  Opening the door, he escorted me down the path to where Brett was standing, all handsome in his black tuxedo and spiky brown hair, his gray eyes only focused on me. No one else existed in that moment but me and him. Time stood still as Mason passed me off to Brett and we stood there staring at each other, his warm hands clasping mine. His smile made my heart flutter like the first night I met him; the night that changed our paths.

  “Are you ready for this?” he whispered to me as the preacher began the ceremony. “I may not always be perfect, but I will love you and cherish you for the rest of my life. You can trust me on that.”