Running Into Love - The Complete Box Set

by Annalisa Nicole

  I’m truly incapable of putting coherent words together.

  “Drive to my house, alright? We can work this out,” she replies.

  What would I do in this town without Mia?

  I don’t even remember how I got to Mia’s house. She opens the door before I’m even out of my car. She pulls me inside and gives me a hug, while I cry on her shoulder.

  “Are these the same clothes you had on yesterday?” she asks, pulling away to get a better look at me.

  “Uh-huh,” I answer and cry louder.

  We head over to her couch, and I tell her everything that happened last night and this morning.

  “Why does he call you Doll? What’s the significance?” she asks.

  And that’s the million dollar question.

  “He always told me when his sisters were little, how they used to play with their dolls and how they loved them more than anything in the world. They would dress them in the finest clothes and treat them like they were royalty. They treasured them and treated them better than anything else they owned. He said I was his doll that he treasured and loved me more than anything else he owned. He said I deserved the best in life and when he became a professional hockey player, he’d make sure I had everything and anything my heart ever desired,” I tell her.

  We talk for about an hour and now I know what I have to do. I don’t know what I would do without Mia in my life.

  Chapter 6

  Adrian

  My guess is that Shay is packed and half way back to New York by now. I sit slouched in my chair, with one hand on my chin, and the other flipping a pen from end to end on my desk. My assistant, Ireland, comes in bringing the things I asked her to from my office to the job site. She sets them on the desk, turns around to walk back out the door, but stops and turns around again.

  “You know, I’m a good listener. If you have something on your mind you’d like to talk about, you know I’m here for you,” she says, in a saccharine sweet tone, as she runs her finger down her low cut blouse.

  She looks at her finger as she touches herself, then up at me through her eyelashes.

  “Ireland, I’ve told you this before, I’m your boss and you need to treat me as such. If this is going to be a problem, I think you need to find other employment,” I say rather rudely.

  I’m not in the mood for her games.

  “No, I’m sorry, you’re right. I apologize,” she says.

  She gives me a sexy grin, turns the door handle and walks out the door, slamming it behind her.

  Why the fuck did I pick her to be my assistant? Oh, yeah, I remember, because I’m a glutton for punishment. I hired a cute, young, sexy little thing, and I’ve regretted it ever since. A few months back she came on to me, and for a fraction of a second I considered it. But I quickly came to my senses and realized if I wanted to keep my company that was a bad idea. I warned her, right then and there, that it was inappropriate behavior and it would never happen. I thought I made myself clear at the time. But I guess I was wrong. Great, add one more thing to my list to do, find a new assistant.

  The door opens again. I think it’s going to be Ireland again, so I raise my voice and say, “Look, I told you this before…” I stop mid-sentence, because it’s not Ireland, it’s Shay.

  I clamp my mouth shut and watch as she walks to her desk, sits down, takes out her pencil, and gets to work.

  Well, fuck me. She’s just full of surprises. I open my mouth to say something, but she holds up her finger to stop me. I clamp my mouth shut again. I just don’t know what to say to that. The door opens again, this time it’s an employee.

  “Fuck,” I say out loud.

  That door is getting locked from now on. I’m needed back at the site and by the time I get back to the trailer, she’s gone. All her stuff is still on her desk, telling me she’s still planning on staying.

  I don’t see her the next day, but I assume she’s still on the job. I haven’t heard otherwise from John or Stewart. Today I’m headed to my parent’s house for Sunday dinner. I haven’t really talked to any of them since the pond incident, so dinner should be a joy.

  I arrive as late as I can get away with, without getting yelled at by my mother. Everyone is here, too. Asher and Willow are sitting on the floor playing with Abbey. Amelia and Kyle are sitting at the table playing peek-a-boo with Noah. Ava and my dad are in the kitchen helping my mom with dinner. Aiden avoids my look completely. Chloe and her boyfriend Max are here too.

  “Dinner is ready everyone, let’s take our seats,” Mom says.

  Everyone gathers at the table and I can feel everyone’s stares. They all want to know why Shay is back in town. I really don’t want to get into this with them at the dinner table. As ashamed as I am of my own behavior back then, I don’t know how to tell them she overheard everything they said about her too.

  “So Adrian, what happened to your hand?” Ava asks.

  Leave it to Ava to not let anything be left alone.

  Right at that moment, Willow was drinking water and sprays it all over her plate of food in front of her.

  “Oh my God, I’m so sorry! The baby just kicked and it startled me,” she says.

  Nice cover Willow, but I’m pretty sure no one’s buying that.

  Ava eyes Willow with that one eye squinty look. Willow looks at me with an, ‘I’m sorry’ look. I shake my head no, letting her know it’s not a big deal and start to pass serving dishes around. Aiden tosses a dinner roll at me with a, ‘knock it off, or you’ll get me in trouble too’ look. Again, Ava eyes him with the one-eyed all knowing stink look. She’s on to us all for sure.

  Ava eyes Willow and Aiden back and forth, then me. She’s not going to let up on this at all.

  “You two know something. This has something to do with Shay, doesn’t it?” she asks, pointing back and forth between the two of them.

  “Let it go, Ava,” I warn her.

  “No, I will not let it go! She ruined your career, not to mention abandoned you at the lowest time in your life. I will not let it go. You haven’t seen her again, have you?” she asks.

  I really don’t want to get into this at the dinner table. If she keeps pushing the subject though, I’m going to lose my shit.

  “Oh my God, you have, haven’t you? You’ve seen her again since that day at the pond. Adrian what in the hell are you thinking?” she asks angrily.

  “Ava,” my mom says trying to warn her.

  “Sorry, Mom, but this is just wrong,” she says, looking at me.

  “Ava, I’m not going to say it again. Let it go,” I tell her again.

  My patience is running extremely thin and I don’t think I can take much more of her bullshit.

  Ava stands up, throws her napkin on her plate in her food and shouts, “No, Adrian, I won’t let it go! Who was there for you when she wasn’t? This family was, that’s who. I know I was young, but I remember all of it, Adrian. Mom and Dad dropped everything to be with you! I remember how much Mom cried, everyone was devastated about the accident except for Shay, she just up and left you…”

  “You can stop right there. Yes, I have seen her. We have to work together on this new contract I have. I won’t have you or anyone else bad mouthing her either. Do you want to know why she left? Well, I’ll enlighten all of you. It was all of us. She heard everyone blaming her for the accident. She heard Mom crying. She heard Dad say that he warned me not to even marry her in the first place. She heard each and every one of you blame her for me being hurt, for me losing my scholarship and losing my career. She even heard you say that you wished it was her that got hurt and not me. I even blamed her. She was out in the hallway, ready to come back in to be with me, when she heard all of us. She heard every single one of us blame her, behind her back. I don’t blame her for leaving. I’m not saying I completely understand it, because, I don’t. Yeah, I’m still mad as hell, and I intend on getting to the bottom of it. What I don’t need is any of you giving me, or her, shit about any of it. I think we’ve already
done enough of that.”

  “You can’t be serious. You’re actually making excuses for her leaving you. You’re defending her? Are you crazy?” Ava shouts.

  “This conversation is over,” I say, get up and walk to the front door.

  “Son,” Dad calls.

  “I’m sorry, Dad. I just can’t be here right now,” I say and leave.

  Shay

  I’ve made the decision to stay. Not only is it better for my mother not to move her to New York, but I’m a coward. I do run at the first sign of trouble. I’ll get this contract over with then, hopefully, never have to see Adrian again. I’ve been avoiding going to the job site all day. I need to stop by to get some drawings for another project I’m working on. I waited as late as I could in hopes that Adrian would already be gone for the day. I did finally get a key, so now I can just let myself in.

  As I pull up to the trailer, I can see a dim light on inside and for a second I consider turning back around and going home, but I really need those drawings. I reluctantly get out of the car and march up the steps. The door is unlocked, so I take a deep breath and go inside.

  What I find sitting at Adrian’s desk, is the last thing I ever expected. There’s a very pretty young woman sitting in his chair wearing a barely there black nightie. Her stiletto clad feet are up on his desk and she has herself perched ever so sexily. I know exactly who she is. It’s Adrian’s assistant, Ireland. I’ve seen her several times skirting around Adrian. I should have known Adrian wouldn’t be single. God, I can’t believe I slept with him. This makes working with him even harder, now that I know he’s sleeping with his assistant.

  Ireland has the smuggest look on her face and I’d love to rearrange it for her. Instead, I walk to my desk get what I need and start to head back out the door. What she say’s next stops me in my tracks.

  “I was expecting Adrian, but it wouldn’t be the first time Adrian and I included a third person. You’re more than welcome to stay.”

  Each word she says is like fingernails on a chalkboard. Oh God, I think I’m going to be sick.

  Just then Adrian walks in with this ‘oh shit,’ I got caught look. No shit, asshole, your secret is out. He stands just inside the doorway looking back and forth between the two of us. What, is he actually considering a threesome with me? He’s out of his ever loving, God damn, fucking mind.

  “What the fuck is going on here?” he barks.

  “I was just leaving. Have fun with your jail bait,” I say and try to move around him.

  He puts his hand on my stomach stopping me, and says, “You stay.”

  “I don’t have to listen to you, and you need to stop barking orders at me. I’m not a dog,” I say angrily.

  He sighs and says, “Just hang on one second, please. I’m asking you.”

  I roll my eyes and stand my ground. He visibly relaxes, then directs his attention to Ireland.

  “You, what the fuck do you think you’re doing? You called me back to the office for this? Get dressed. I told you this was never going to happen. You’re fired. Clear out your desk at the office tomorrow morning and get the fuck out of here, now.”

  She huffs and throws her clothes back on. She walks up to Adrian and I, looks me right in the eyes and says, “He likes it deep, make sure you don’t gag. I’m sad to have to let him go. You look like you would’ve been a fun addition.”

  “No, what the fuck are you talking about? We never slept together. You tell her the truth right the fuck now!” he says to Ireland.

  “No, she doesn’t need to tell me anything. What you do with your free time is none of my business. I’m leaving,” I say.

  I step around him and rush to my car. I can hear him behind me, but I get to my car before he gets to me. I start the car and put it in drive, as Adrian bangs his fists on the top of the car.

  “Shay, I never slept with her. She’s full of bullshit. Fuck!” I hear him say as I drive off.

  I see him in the rearview mirror grab Ireland by the arm and drag her to her car. I guess he’s upset he got caught.

  I need to get back to my mom, but I fully expect Adrian to show up at my door. Sure enough, just as I get out of my car, he comes screeching to a stop behind me.

  “You have to believe me. I never slept with Ireland!” he says loudly, then grabs my arm to stop me from walking away.

  “Is that why you fired her? Or, was it to shut her up? No, I don’t care, don’t answer either of those questions, you don’t owe me any explanations,” I say and start walking to my front door.

  “Doll,” he says in a completely different tone, one that’s soothing and makes me even more mad that just with a change in his tone he can stop me cold.

  No, I know better than this.

  I turn around, hang my head to try and compose myself, then look him in his eyes and say, “You can’t, Doll, your way this time Adrian. It was a mistake to sleep with you. I was a fool to think that we could have something again. We need to work with each other and that needs to be all there is between us.”

  “I’m telling you the truth. I never slept with Ireland. You have to believe me. I’ve never lied to you,” he says.

  That just makes me mad too. He never lied to me, well I guess technically that’s true, but he had no problem telling his version of the truth to his family behind my back. To me, that’s just as bad as a lie and worse than straight out lying to my face.

  “You never lied to me? Are you seriously saying this to me right now?” I question him.

  “I never lied to you and I would never lie to you about sleeping with another woman,” he says.

  “You laid there in that hospital bed for days. I stayed with you almost nonstop. You never once said you blamed me for the accident. I leave for an hour only to come back and overhear you and your family blame me for everything.”

  “I’m really sorry you heard that. You have to understand, I was angry. I was eighteen and I thought my life was over, because I wouldn’t be able to play hockey anymore. I was falling into a deep depression at the time. I don’t want to make excuses for me or my family, but in my state it just made it easier to let them blame you and for me to go right along with them. None of what I said was true. I don’t blame you for the accident, I never have. I lost everything. And in the end I lost the one thing that ever really meant anything to me in my life. I lost you. I can understand why you ran and did what you did now. I’m still fucking angry as hell, that you just left and gave up so easy, but damn it don’t run from me again.”

  Oh, God. Please don’t say nice things to me. I don’t think I can take it. He has no clue why I ultimately left. The guilt is all-consuming. All I can do is stand here frozen. I hang my head and start to cry. Damn him for bringing this all back up to the surface.

  “Don’t cry. I never stopped loving you, even after all these years. There’s never been anyone else, it’s always been you. Please, can we give our relationship another try? Let me love you again,” he says as he steps up to me and runs the back of his hand down my cheek.

  Oh, if only. There’s never been anyone else for me either. It’s only ever been him. He’s the only man I’ve ever loved. But he won’t love me anymore once I tell him my secret. I can’t even think of having a relationship with him unless he knows the truth, the whole truth. I can’t do that to him or myself. I could never be with him and live with myself, knowing that I’ve kept this big secret from him. In the end, it would eat away at me and it would result in tearing us apart again. It seems so simple, just tell him the truth. I’ve never been so scared in my whole life.

  “Adrian, I…I want to give us another chance. I really do. I just can’t. You need to accept that and move on. I can work with you, but that’s the extent of our relationship. Please, just leave me alone.”

  In the end, again, I’m a coward. I take the easy way out, but truthfully it really wasn’t easy at all. It was the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever had to do, to walk away from him again. I want nothing more than to be
with Adrian. But, I can’t live with the anger and sorrow that I know it will bring to his eyes. Every time he looks at me with those amazing eyes, it’ll be written all over them. I can’t live with that every day.

  “I don’t understand. If you want to give us another chance, why can’t you? Why is it so easy for you to just walk away and for a second time rip my heart out? You don’t have a good reason to not give us a second chance. If it’s my family, I can talk to them. I know they’ll understand.”

  “It’s not your family. I don’t blame them anymore. I did for a long time, but I’ve accepted responsibility for everything that happened. They can blame me, they have every right to. I just can’t. OK. Please, just leave it at that.”

  This time, he lets me leave. Walking away from Adrian, yet again is killing me. I’m doing the right thing, though. There’s no reason to upset him by dredging up the past. What’s done is done.

  The next morning, I’m not looking forward to going into the office and seeing Adrian, but I have a job to do. As I get ready for work, there is a knock at the door. Adrian isn’t giving up easy. I open the door and a delivery man hands me a bouquet of flowers and a card. I take them and thank him. I put the flowers on the counter and take a seat at the table with the card. My hands shake at the possibility of what it could say. Adrian always was a romantic. He wasn’t your typical jock. He was full of surprises, and letters, and love notes. He could write the most amazing poetry. Every single one of them would bring tears to my eyes. I open the envelope and it’s no surprise it is poetry. I fold the card back up and shove it back in the envelope without reading it and cover my face with my hands.

  I leave the card on the table and finish getting ready for work. I can’t get it out of my head though. I head back to the kitchen to make my mom breakfast. When I get back to the kitchen, she’s sitting at the table with the card in her hand. My heart drops and I really hope she hasn’t read it.

  “Who’s this from, dear?” she asks, stuttering her words ever so slightly.

  “Um, it’s from an old friend,” I tell her honestly.