Stay With Me ~ Kristen Proby

by Kristen Proby

  “There’s no need to yell, Wyatt.”

  He laughs, and I scowl deeper.

  “What’s up, sweetheart?”

  “Jules’ car won’t start. Can you please come get me?”

  “Of course.” I can hear commotion on his end. “Just text me the address.”

  “Can’t you be psychic just this once so I don’t have to actually move?”

  “You must be in rough shape this morning,” he says with a chuckle. “Unfortunately, I’m not psychic.”

  “Okay, I’ll send it. Please hurry.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  ~Wyatt~

  I hated being away from her last night. I could have offered to go get her, but it sounded like she was having fun with her sister, and they don’t do that often enough. So instead, I missed her, worked myself into a coma, and couldn’t get out of the house fast enough to go rescue her this morning.

  I’ve begun to wonder if having her permanently across the street is enough. What the fuck am I saying? Of course, it’s not enough. And some might say that it’s too soon for this, but I want her to live with me. I want her things mixed with mine. She’s already all over my home. Her scent is on my bed sheets. Her stuff in my shower.

  I can’t be there without seeing her everywhere.

  It just makes sense to ask her to move in. If she’s not ready, I can be a patient man until she is, but I hope it doesn’t take long.

  I want her. Always.

  The GPS guides me to Anastasia’s building in Bellevue, and there’s Amelia, waiting for me. She looks a bit grouchy. Her hair isn’t brushed, and it’s down around her face. She looks small, her arms crossed over her chest.

  Frankly, she looks miserable.

  “Hey,” she says as she climbs into my car and braces her head in her hand. “You’re breathing really loudly.”

  I chuckle and reach around her to pull her seatbelt over her, then kiss her temple gently.

  “Did you take anything?” I ask softly.

  “Yeah, just now. It should kick in soon.”

  I pull out of the parking lot, headed for the I-90 toward Seattle.

  “It sounded like you had fun.”

  “We did,” she says. “But Stasia wouldn’t snuggle me, the bitch. She’s never been much of a snuggler.”

  She smacks her lips. “Why does wine always do this? My mouth is dry. And I forgot my damn sunglasses in Jules’ car.”

  I take off my glasses and pass them to her. She glances up in surprise. “You need them more than me right now. Here.”

  “Thanks.” She slips them on, and they slip down her nose just a bit, making me smile. “Your head is bigger than mine.”

  “I have water for you, too.” I snap the top off and pass it to her.

  “And there you go, taking care of me again,” she murmurs. She opens her purse, then sighs and tips back her head.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Do you want the list?”

  I grin over at her before merging over a lane. “Of course.”

  “I didn’t put my lip balm in my purse.”

  “Here.” I open the center console and pass her some lip balm.

  “You’re so sweet,” she says softly. “And I’m sorry that I’m too hungover to be properly thankful.”

  “You’re fine,” I assure her, patting her thigh. “I’m sorry that you’re miserable.”

  “I should know better,” she says and shrugs one shoulder. “Wine always does this. I could drink tequila until the sun comes up and feel fine after. But wine is a bitch, who likes to make me feel like someone’s squeezing my head with a vise.”

  “Sip your water. You’re dehydrated.”

  “Yes, Dr. Crawford.”

  I wink at her and merge onto the 520, headed toward home.

  “We’ll get you in a hot shower, and I’ll make you something to eat, and you’ll feel better.”

  “If I want to take a nap, will you snuggle me?”

  “You don’t even have to ask,” I assure her. “I’m glad that you and Anastasia had time together. You don’t usually do that.”

  “We used to,” she says. “We’ve always been close. But after I married my ex, we grew apart. Vinnie didn’t like my family, and he wasn’t a fan of us spending a lot of time together. Which really wasn’t a problem because I lived in L.A. and Anastasia lived in San Francisco until recently. I got out of the habit of calling her and confiding in her. It’s been really great to get that back.”

  “I’m sure it has. I’ve always been pretty close to Levi and Jace, as well. They can be a pain in my ass, and when we were young, they liked to torment me relentlessly. But if anyone else tried to bully me, they were right there, ready to kick ass.”

  “Exactly,” she says, a small smile tickling her lips. “Also, it sucks when your family doesn’t love your spouse. It just makes everything uncomfortable, so I got used to staying away. I could blame him for it, but the truth is, I wasn’t strong enough to put my foot down and say no. This is my family, and I love them.”

  “I get it,” I reply and sigh, feeling my jaw clench. “My family didn’t like Claudia either. And sometimes it was easier to do what made her happy because she was the one I lived with.”

  “Yep, you get it,” she says and then clears her throat. “But enough about all of that. I guess I should say now that if you have any issues with my family, you should go ahead and say so. Because I won’t compromise my relationship with them for anyone. Ever.”

  “I like your family.” I reach over and take her hand in mine. “And even if I didn’t, I’d never ask you to choose between us.”

  “I like yours, too. It’s handy.”

  I pull into her driveway. “Did you call anyone about the car?”

  “I texted Jules. She said Nate was going to have it taken care of.”

  “Good. Let’s get you in the shower.”

  “I love you, Wyatt. And God knows I want to climb you every time I see you, but I just don’t think I can do the sex right now.”

  I laugh from the bottom of my gut and lean over to kiss her cheek. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, you’re safe from my libido for now.”

  She cups my cheek. “Thanks for rescuing me.”

  “Anytime.”

  I follow her upstairs, grinning at how slowly she’s taking the stairs. When she walks into the bedroom, I hurry into the bathroom and get the water flowing in the shower. When I return to the bedroom, she’s just sitting on the edge of the bed, staring off into space.

  “Are you sleep-sitting?” I ask with a raised brow.

  “I think so.”

  “How’s your head?”

  “I think it’s still attached.” She reaches up and touches it. “Yep, still there.”

  “You’re so funny.” I cross to her and slip her shirt up over her head, throwing it into the hamper. “You have to stand up so I can finish getting you naked.”

  “I think this is your favorite hobby.” She does as I ask and braces her hands on my shoulders as I slip her shorts and panties down her legs, then unfasten her bra and let it fall to the floor.

  “It ranks right up there,” I agree. “Come on.”

  I take her hand and lead her to the shower. She steps inside and immediately lets the hot water sluice over her head and down her body. Her nipples harden, and it takes everything in me to not strip down and join her.

  “Are you okay here?”

  “Yeah, this is nice. My head’s starting to feel better, too.”

  “Good. Do you want breakfast? Maybe some scrambled eggs and toast?”

  “I love you,” she says, rubbing the water out of her eyes so she can look at me. “I love you a lot. And not just for this but because you’re a good person, Wyatt.”

  “I love you, too.” I lean in and kiss her lips. “You get comfortable and come downstairs.”

  She nods. “This won’t take long.”

  I walk downstairs and through the kitchen out back to the pool, cleaning
off her favorite lounge chair, then I spread a soft blanket over it so she can curl up there in the sun for a while after she has her breakfast.

  My girl loves the pool.

  Once that is set up, I brew her a cup of coffee and take it up to her. She’s just walking out of the shower, wrapping her hair in a towel.

  “Did you just make me coffee?”

  “I did.” I hold it out of her grasp and purse my lips, waiting for a kiss.

  She grins and obliges, then sighs in happiness after the first sip. “Totally keeping you,” she whispers. “I’ll be down in five minutes. I’m not going to dry my hair, I’ll just twist it up.”

  “Okay, baby. No hurry.”

  “No, there is a hurry because I’m starving.” She winks, then reaches out and pulls me to her. “But I’m not opposed to the whole sex thing now. I mean, I’m naked and everything.”

  “And ridiculously tempting,” I reply, pressing my lips to hers. I let myself sink into her for just a moment, loving the way her naked skin feels, soft and damp from the shower, and smile against her mouth. “Do you know how badly I want to be inside you right now?”

  “I’m right here,” she replies, holding onto my shirt at the sides.

  “After you eat,” I promise and kiss her once more until we’re both breathless. “You’ll eat eggs, and I’ll eat you.”

  She grins happily. “Promises, promises.”

  “Don’t get sassy, or I’ll slap your ass while I’m at it.”

  “Seriously, stop talking like this unless you’re willing to do something about it.”

  I laugh and walk back down to the kitchen and pull out the pan for the eggs. Bread, eggs, and butter come out of the fridge, and when I turn back around, I notice a letter on the counter with a certified envelope next to it.

  . . . in L.A. in ten days of receiving this letter . . .

  I frown and move back to the task at hand, not wanting to invade her privacy but now curious about it. I’ve just opened the bread when Amelia walks into the kitchen, looking much better than she did when I picked her up.

  “You look better.”

  “I feel much better,” she says.

  “I didn’t mean to snoop, but I see that you have to be in L.A. soon?”

  She frowns and looks down at the letter, and then her whole face lights up with a bright smile. “Yes. I have to go back for the legal crap I told you about, but I have to talk to you about this.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Well, I was hoping that you might be able to take a week off of work so we could fly down together, pack up my place, and get my car. Then we can road trip it back to Seattle.”

  I nod, thinking about my schedule. “I’m pretty sure I can move some things around. That would be fun.”

  “I think so, too. I’ll hire a mover for most of it, but I’d like to pack up my personal things, and my valuables, and bring them back in the car.”

  “Makes sense.” I smile and then pull her into my arms. “This is really happening.”

  “So happening,” she replies and hugs me tightly. “I’m so ready to be out of L.A. I like it there, but I want to be here. Not to mention, I’m beyond excited to have this divorce final and finished.”

  She pulls out of my arms and paces the kitchen, still talking, but I can’t hear anything except divorce final and finished.

  “Stop.” My voice is hard. She pauses and whips her head around.

  “What?”

  “What did you just say?”

  “That it was a technicality and it sucks?”

  “Before that.” I didn’t even hear that part.

  “That I’m ready for the divorce to be final?”

  “Yes, that.”

  “Oh my God, Wyatt, I’m so ready for it to be final. He was such a jerk . . .”

  I’ve been fucking a married woman.

  “ . . . and I thought it was over. I mean, I left him years ago . . .”

  She’s not divorced. She said she was divorced.

  “ . . . party and everything. I mean, how humiliating is that, right? But then . . .”

  She’s been cheating on her husband. With me.

  “ . . . he just wants the money. Money that he’s not entitled to, but I’m sure I’ll write a hefty check. Are you still listening?” she asks with a smile, and then the smile fades when she gets a good look at my face. “Wyatt?”

  “Let me get this straight. You’re not legally divorced.”

  “Well, I was, but—”

  “Answer me. It’s a simple yes or no, Amelia.”

  “No.” Her eyes narrow. “That’s what’s happening when I go to L.A. next week.”

  I lean on the countertop, hang my head, and do my best to not punch a wall.

  “I fell in love with a fucking married woman.”

  “I don’t understand—”

  “Exactly. You don’t understand. Amelia, I’ve told you that I love you. I have molded you into my life so completely, I can’t even look around my house without seeing you there. And I loved that. I was high on it. I couldn’t wait to have you there permanently. But now it’s going to torment me for the rest of my fucking life.”

  “What are you talking—”

  “I was ready to build a life with you.” I pace away and stare out the glass door to the pool. “I was committed to you. Completely. I would have died to keep you safe.”

  “Why are you speaking in the past tense?”

  I turn to look at her and see all of my hopes and dreams evaporate. “Because this was a deal-breaker for me from the beginning, and you fucking knew that, Amelia. You’re not divorced.”

  “It’s a technicality, Wyatt.” She shakes her head and rubs her hand down her clean, naked face. “I was divorced, and he contested it. It’s not like I have a lovesick husband sitting around somewhere. I didn’t leave him yesterday.”

  “I don’t care when you left him,” I yell and turn away from her. “It doesn’t matter when you left him. You didn’t divorce him.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  I shake my head. “If it was as simple as a technicality, you would have told me, yet you managed to avoid that little piece of information for almost two months. Jesus, I’ve been inside you for two months.”

  “Don’t you dare make our relationship out to be dirty.”

  “We don’t have a relationship, Amelia. We’ve been committing adultery.”

  Her face goes red. “Get the fuck out of my house.”

  “Gladly.” I walk past her, careful not to touch her. When I get to the door, I stop and look back at her. She hasn’t turned around. “Did you do this on purpose? Were you just playing with me? Or did you think I wouldn’t care?”

  She spins, fury all over her face. “Get the fuck out!”

  I nod and leave, shutting the door behind me, and get in my car. Rather than go home, I speed away, not sure where I’m going. I just know that I can’t be close to her right now.

  I’m numb. Every part of me is numb.

  Well, every part but my heart. That seems to be a bloody mess. Unfortunately, Jace can’t fix this one.

  No one can fix it.

  I’ve done the one thing that I swore I would never do. I started a relationship with a woman who was already tied to another man. I know what it is to be on the receiving end of that, and I wouldn’t ever want to put anyone through that. It’s agony.

  It seems both sides are fucking agony.

  I pull into Jace’s driveway and bang on his door. He opens it, blinking sleep out of his eyes, and takes one look at me, scowls, and stands back, silently inviting me inside.

  “What’s wrong?” he asks immediately.

  “She’s married,” I reply and pace his living room.

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Amelia is married.”

  “Not to you.”

  I laugh humorlessly and then look at him like he’s an idiot. “You’re still half asleep. No, not to me. If she were married to me, and yes, I’d pla
nned that she would be at some point in the not so distant future, I wouldn’t be standing here wanting to punch the fuck out of someone.”

  “Hey.” He raises his hands in surrender. “Don’t punch me. I don’t even know what’s going on.”

  I rub my hand over my mouth and walk to the window. Jace has a view of the city. People are driving, working. Living their lives.

  And mine is falling apart.

  “I loved her,” I say. “Fuck me, I still love her, and she destroyed me with one sentence. ‘So ready for my divorce to be final.’”

  “I’m going to go out on a limb—precariously, by the way, because I don’t want to get decked—and guess that you didn’t know that.”

  I shake my head. “No. She said she was divorced.”

  I turn and look at Jace. “She said that? She didn’t say separated?”

  I shake my head again. “Not long after we met, we were having lunch, and she said she was divorced. You know me, man. I never would have pursued her if I knew she was still married to someone else.”

  “He’s not here,” he points out, and I just glare at him.

  “Jace.”

  “I know. Jesus, Cruella did a number on you.”

  “And now Amelia is doing a number on someone else.”

  “Hey, you don’t know that. Did you ask for specifics? Circumstances?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” The fight is leaving me, and I’m just left with despair. “She’s married, Jace. And that’s a deal-breaker for me.”

  “It’s a deal-breaker for most of us,” he says softly. “I’m sorry, Wyatt.”

  “What is it with me and women?” I ask him. “That’s not rhetorical, I’d really like an answer.”

  “You love hard,” he says and then scratches the back of his head. “But I don’t think you’re blind. You want to believe the best in people, and you can’t blame yourself for trusting.”

  “That’s just it, I don’t trust. Not easily.”

  “I know.”

  “But I trusted her.”

  “Yeah. You did.”

  ~Amelia~

  Two days. It’s been two damn days since the fiasco in the kitchen. I’ve cried.

  Okay, let’s be real, I’m still crying. I don’t quite remember what my face looked like before. Now it’s red, and my eyes are swollen with bruises around them. My lips are even puffy from blowing my nose so much.