Only Me_A Second Chance Romance_Standalone Dark Romance

by Vivian Ward

  “Hey,” I grab his arm. “She’s not going to tell Toni that the three of us, you know, is she?”

  “Nooo, she’d never say a word. You know that.”

  I sigh in relief. Toni might kill me if she knew that Mason and I had taken turns screwing his wife before they finally wound up together, but they’re crazy in love and have a strong marriage. There’s also the fact that I’m madly in love with Toni and would never do anything to lose her.

  The women are chatting up a storm like they’ve been best friends forever, which doesn’t surprise anyone at the table. Penny and Toni actually have quite a bit in common.

  Before dinner’s over, I ask the waiter to bring a bottle of wine to our table under the pretense that we’re celebrating the laundromat, but I sneak away and pretend to have to use the men’s room.

  “Excuse me,” I chase the waiter as he makes his way back into the kitchen.

  “Sir, I’m sorry, you can’t come back here.”

  “I know, I know,” I say. “I was wondering if you could do me a favor?”

  “What is it?” he asks, eying me suspiciously as he tries to force me out of the kitchen.

  “My girlfriend; I’m going to propose tonight and I was wondering if you could drop this into her glass before you bring them to the table.”

  “Ohhhh,” he says smiling. “Yes, sir. I can do that.” With a forced grin on his face, he holds out his hand and stares at me.

  “Oh. Oh!” I say, realizing he wants a tip. “Of course.” I pull twenty bucks out of my wallet and put it in his hand, but he continues standing there. Narrowing my eyes, I look at him and cock an eyebrow but he doesn’t budge an inch. “Okay,” I say and fork over another twenty.

  “Thank you, kind sir. Your girlfriend? Is she the one sitting next to you with the brown hair or is she the cute blonde?”

  I don’t know whether I’m more offended that he called Penny cute and not Toni, or the fact that he even checked Penny out in the first place. We might’ve had our fun but she’s still my best friend’s wife.

  “The cute brunette,” I say to him. “She’s the one sitting next to me.”

  Taking my seat at the table, I join in the conversation as I anxiously await the wine to be brought out. My stomach is turning and I’m beginning to sweat. Mason must know exactly how I feel or what I’m thinking because he gives me a slight nod of reassurance.

  A few moments later, the waiter brings the bottle of wine with four glasses and carefully places each one before us, pouring the wine himself. This is perfect! She’s not even going to see the ring. I hope she doesn’t drink it and choke on it.

  The way she’s carrying on with Penny about music and books, she doesn’t even notice the ring in the empty glass. I wish I had a camera with me because it’s epic.

  “Let’s make a toast,” Mason says, cutting right to it. Everyone raises their glasses. “To relationships that last forever.”

  We all toast and begin to drink, but Toni stops immediately. “Oh my, God!” she gasps. “The cook or someone must’ve lost their ring! It’s in my glass.”

  Scooting her chair back to find the owner of the missing ring, I stop her and get down on my knee. She’s confused for a minute until she realizes what’s going on.

  “Oh my, God, Lucas,” she covers her face with her hand. “You’re not?”

  “I am,” I say, taking her hand in mine. “Toni, we’ve loved each other since the day we met and no amount of time or distance will ever change that. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes! Yes!” she says, crying. Everyone in the restaurant who was watching begins clapping as I kiss her. “You’re so silly! I can’t believe you put my ring in the glass. I thought someone lost their ring.”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t think it wasn’t yours,” I wipe the tears of joy from her face.

  “Oh! When do you want to get married?” She asks.

  “It’s up to you. That’s your big day. I don’t need a piece of paper that tells me that we belong to each other, so we’ll do whatever you want.”

  “Honestly?” she says, admiring her ring. “I want to get married right away. I don’t want to wait. We should’ve done it years ago.”

  “When do you want to do it?” I ask. “Like, how soon are we talking about?”

  “How fast can you get a marriage license and book the courthouse?” she grins.

  Epilogue

  I never thought I’d be so nervous. Our wedding is in three hours and I can’t stop puking.

  It sucks that we’re so far away from home. Our local courthouse couldn’t fit us in for almost two months so we decided to go to a small town south of St. Louis down I-55, which is about a two hour drive for us.

  We booked hotel rooms and stayed the night last night, and now I’m wishing I would’ve picked a different day or taken some nerve pills. Digging through my purse, I take a Benadryl so it makes me a bit drowsy to take some of edge off.

  “Are you okay?” Penny asks as she enters our room. “Lucas said you’ve been sick all morning. Do you need me to get you anything like some Sprite or something?”

  “Maybe,” I say, wiping my mouth. I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous. I don’t think I’ve ever been like this before.”

  Her lips purse into a fine line as she studies me. “Do you have a fever or anything? Maybe it’s the stomach flu?”

  “No, nothing like that. I just feel sick to my stomach. Were you like this on your wedding day?” I ask.

  “Um, no,” she laughs. “But I was like that when I was—,” she stops mid-sentence. “Oh God.”

  “What?” I ask. “What is it?”

  “Are you pregnant?”

  “No, I can’t be. I’m on the pill.”

  “Those don’t work a hundred percent of the time,” she waves her finger. “I’m going to run down to the gift shop and see if they don’t have a test.”

  Shit, she’s right. “Hey,” I grab her arm. “Don’t let the guys know where you’re going or what you’re doing. Okay? I don’t want to freak Lucas out if it’s a false alarm.”

  She nods, “You’ve got it.”

  Nervously pacing the hotel room, I wait for her to come back and nearly jump out of my skin when the door pops open because I’m afraid it’s Lucas.

  “Hey, I got the test,” she waves it in the air. She’s also armed with a bottle of Sprite, which I’m so glad she has. I need something to help settle my stomach.

  “Whew!” I say, letting out the breath that I didn’t know I was holding in. “And stop waving that thing around! What if he walks in?”

  “Sorry!” She says in a goofy voice. “Here, go take this and tell me what it says.”

  Grabbing the box from her hand, I go in the bathroom and open the pregnancy stick. I’m so scared to pee on it but I have to know.

  “What’d it say?” she asks as I walk out of the bathroom.

  “Well, the box says to wait three minutes, but the little plus sign popped on it right away.”

  “Oh my, God!” She gasps. “Are you going to tell him today? You’ve got to do it. You have to!”

  “Slow down,” I say. “Let me wrap my head around the fact that I’m pregnant first. I just opened the laundromat two weeks ago. I’m not ready for this.”

  She smiles at me and gives me a hug. “You’re going to be fine. You’ll be a great mom. Lucas will be so excited!”

  I know Lucas will be excited. He was the first time that I told him, but no matter what, we’re having this baby. It’s time that we became a real family, especially since we’re making it official today.

  “You should do something really cute, like he did with the ring,” she says.

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea. What could I do?”

  The two of us are sitting around concocting ideas when the door pops open and the guys walk in. “Are you okay, babe?” Lucas asks, rubbing my back.

  “I’m good. Penny bought me a Sprite,” I say, holding the bottle up as proof.<
br />
  “If you’re feeling better, we should get a move on because we need to get down to the courthouse early. They do all the weddings at two o’clock and we have to make sure we’re there when they call our name, otherwise we have to wait until they call everyone else. and I’m sure you don’t want to wait around all day since you don’t feel well.”

  “Okay, let’s go,” I say.

  We’re the second couple to get called into the courtroom and Mason and Penny accompany us as our witnesses. The wedding doesn’t take long, but it could’ve been shorter because I didn’t want to stand there that long. I’m lucky I didn’t barf in the middle of the vows.

  “I’m starved. Does anyone want to go out to lunch? It’s our treat,” Lucas asks everyone. The thought of food makes my stomach turn.

  Penny speaks up and saves me. “Actually, we’ll leave you two alone, but thanks for the offer.”

  Confused and hungry, she ushers Mason along to the car to give us some privacy.

  “Wonder why they rushed off?” Lucas says. “I’m so hungry. Let’s go get lunch together.”

  Following him to the car, I say, “Wait! I have to tell you something.”

  “What?” he says, getting inside the car.

  “I don’t want to go out to lunch either.”

  “Why? Aren’t you starving?” He looks at me and can tell that I don’t feel well. “You’re still sick, aren’t you?”

  I nod. “Yeah, I’m afraid so,” I say.

  “Wonder what’s wrong with you?” he rubs my cheek.

  “I heard it’ll last about nine months,” I try my best to keep a straight face.

  “What? Nine mo—,” his mouth hangs open. “Wait! Are you pregnant?”

  I shake my head, “Yep, I am. We’re going to be parents,” I smile.

  “When did you find this out?” He reaches over and rubs my flat stomach.

  “This morning,” I smile at him. “I thought it was my nerves but Penny said she thought I was pregnant, so she ran down to the gift shop and bought a test.”

  “You knew before our wedding and didn’t tell me? I would’ve liked to have known that my boy was at my wedding,” he winks at me.

  “Your boy? What if it’s a girl?” I ask as he backs out of the parking space.

  “Nope, not happening. It has to be a boy because if we have a daughter even half as pretty as you, I’ll go to prison for murdering the first boy who touches her.”

  “Aww,” I laugh. “Is daddy a little protective?”

  “You’re damn right. I’m protective of my wife,” he squeezes my thigh, “and my kids.”

  “Kids? Plural?” I ask. “I don’t know if I can handle more than one.”

  “It’ll be fine. One down, three to go.”

  “Oh, you’re nuts,” I say as we drive down the highway heading back to St. Louis. “There’s no way I’m having four kids.”

  “Why? Did you want more babe? I don’t mind you running around barefoot and pregnant. You could be a regular old housewife. I’m sure you and Penny could find lots of things to do during the day while us guys are out making the bacon.”

  “No way!” I shake my head. “I’m not giving up my laundromat. I put too much blood, sweat, and tears into that place.”

  “So what are you going to do with the baby while you run the laundromat?” he asks, lacing his fingers in mine as he drives.

  “I don’t know. I’ve only known a couple of hours longer than you have. We’ve got plenty of time to figure it out. Right now, let’s enjoy us,” I say.

  “Yeah, you’re right,” he reaches over and squeezes my nipple.

  “Ow! What was that for?” I laugh at him while rubbing my boob.

  “Just keeping things fresh and playful. I love you, babe. I can’t believe we’re going to be parents.”

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  Chapter One

  I should have known when I found the porn on my husband’s computer. I mean, how stupid was I?

  Well, it’s not that I’m stupid, but I just didn’t see the signs. The clues that he had left behind. Little tiny traces all over.

  Walking through the door, I toss my work bag and purse down by the door as our youngest son, Alex, rushes toward me.

  “Mommy! Mommy!” his little fists clenching open and closed as he reaches out to me.

  I’ve always loved how he greets me when I come home. His brother and sisters couldn’t care less about welcoming me when I walk through the door, and maybe that’s why I adore him so much. He still loves his mom; he needs me.

  “Hey, baby!” I pick him up, squeezing him in a bear hug.

  “What’s for dinner?” he asks.

  “Um, I don’t know.”

  I look over at my husband who is sitting at his computer desk; his usual spot since he works from home. I don’t know how he does it because I’d go stir-crazy. I love human interaction and have to talk to people. Out of the two of us, I’m the outgoing one.

  He doesn’t mind the solitude of working from home, though. In fact, I think he prefers it. The only time he’s not at his desk is if he’s sitting on his throne (in the bathroom) or if he’s outside with the kids.

  “Any ideas?” I ask my husband, Brett.

  “I don’t know, babe,” he sighs. “I haven’t even thought of dinner; I just figured you knew what we were having.”

  Right.

  Because I always do the cooking and it’s always my responsibility. For being as thoughtful as he is, he sometimes takes little things for granted, such as eating for example.

  A part of me feels guilty for expecting him to cook dinner. He works just the same as I do but my job is more physically demanding. The biggest part of my guilt is that while he is always cooped up in the house all day with the kids while he works, I’ve been at work surrounded by men who smile and whistle at me, stroking my ego all day long. My stress doesn’t begin until I’m cooking dinner while the dogs play at my feet and I have to referee the kids while I try to get laundry started.

  He’s a good husband, and I couldn’t ask for better. Sometimes I wake up to gift cards from Bath & Body Works or Victoria Secret sitting in my inbox. Other times, I wake up to the sound of him playing with the kids and taking care of the dogs while he lets me sleep in late.

  But it’s usually me who wakes up to him snoring, mumbling incoherent babble in his sleep while I start the coffee and let the
dogs out to potty before I get the kids ready for school so I can get myself out the door.

  I’m sure it’s stressful for him to work with the kids in the house on their days off or letting the dogs out every couple of hours, but he doesn’t complain. Of course, judging by the way the couch cushions are scattered across the living room and the massive amount of dirty dishes, he probably doesn’t pay that much attention to them when he’s busy.

  “I’ll go get something started,” I say reluctantly.

  As good as he is to me, I don’t know why I allow the guys at work to flirt with me, or why I flirt back. I mean, it’s harmless flirting, but I like the attention. I like knowing that even though I’m a married woman with a family, I’ve still got it.

  If I’m going to be completely honest, it scares the hell out of me that my 40th birthday is right around the corner. I’m halfway to middle age.

  Fucking middle aged!

  I don’t want to be middle aged. I don’t want to get older, but it’s inevitable. So yeah, if I’ve still got it, I want to know it. Who wants to get old, shrivel up and die?

  Certainly not me. I’m terrified of aging, and that’s probably why my husband rolls his eyes every time I come home from Sephora or Ulta. I’ve got enough lotions and creams to keep my skin young and smooth to last a lifetime, but I’m always on the hunt for the latest and greatest miracles.

  From the kitchen, it’s hard to ignore all of the kids arguing in the living room. The boys, Alex and Dakota, are fighting their sisters, Angie and Karen, for the TV. From what I can tell, the boys want to play a racing game, and the girls want to watch the latest episode of Supernatural.

  “Babe?” I call out to my husband, tired of hearing the kids fighting.

  “I’m on it,” he replies.

  That’s the great thing about him, about us. I never have to tell him things. He just always knows. Maybe he can tell by the tone of my voice, or maybe it’s because he’s my best friend and I’m madly in love with him, and he can just read me that well.