Beautiful Ever After

by Georgia Cates

  “This is how they did what?”

  “Hacked your computer. Hacked your email. Hacked your phone and the messages you’ve received and sent.”

  Her eyes widen. “Whaaat? You can’t do that.”

  “No, I certainly can’t but my friends can.” I reach over and place my finger on page one of her folder. “This number is your IP address. Yours. No one else’s. And you were too dumb to change it to a hidden IP address so everything in this folder came from you. Thank you for being stupid and making this so easy for us.”

  She pushes my hand away and glares at page one, softly muttering one profanity and then another.

  “If you’ll turn to page two.”

  She does as I say and I’d almost swear that I can see the color draining from her face.

  “Those are the text messages between you and Mina where you are encouraging her to sign up for a profile on a singles website. You even sent her a link to the one where she’d be able to meet affluential men. And that’s what she eventually did, which was only the beginning of your plan.”

  I reach over and turn the page for her. “Page six is where things really begin to get interesting—and disturbing—because these are pages and pages and pages of messages that were exchanged between Mina and her lover, Roman Kirk. But it wasn’t he who was sending these romantic and often kinky messages to her. It was you.”

  Blair flips through the binder, scanning each page.

  “You were catphishing your own sister with a phony profile. What kind of person does something like that?”

  Although I’ve seen the proof and know it to be the truth, I almost want her to deny it. I don’t know why but I want her to try to convince me she’s a better person than this. Because there’s something so damn discouraging about knowing that there are people like her in the world. People who care so little about hurting others.

  “You established an online romance between Mina and an imaginary lover and then paid a complete stranger, the man you used for creating the fake profile, to go out with her and form a fake relationship. You paid him to have sex with your sister. You paid him to make her believe he loved her. And you didn’t do it because you thought it would make her happy. You did it because you wanted her husband for yourself.”

  She’s silent, staring at the binder.

  “You don’t have anything to say about what you did to your sister?”

  “What do you want me to say? You already know everything that happened.”

  “Your sister made a baby with this man. She loved him and everything between them was a lie you created. Don’t you feel any kind of remorse for that?”

  Nothing. No response.

  “Mina told him she was pregnant and he confessed everything to her. She knew what you did.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “Roman Kirk.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I recorded my meeting with him. I can send you a copy if you’d like to watch it. Or I can email it to Thomas, Lundy, Beth, Elsie, and Doug and you can have family movie night. I’m sure they’d love to discuss it with you.”

  “I paid him to stay quiet,” she whispers, I think maybe telling herself.

  “You think your chump change was enough to keep him quiet when I waved big money in front of him? Honey, you should have worked out some kind of contingency plan if you wanted him to keep his mouth shut.”

  “What did he tell Mina?”

  “Everything. She knew what you’d done to her.”

  For the first time, I think I see some kind of remorse on her face. “Oh my God.”

  “She was devastated when she left Roman’s flat that night. That was the same night that she got into the accident that killed her. Her last thoughts before she died were of the way you betrayed her.”

  Blair places her hands over her ears. “Stop.”

  “She was devastated and distracted as she drove.”

  She shakes her head violently. “Don’t say it.”

  “Some people might make the claim that ultimately you are the reason she was distracted that night. The reason she had the accident. The reason she died. And they wouldn’t be wrong.”

  “Stop, please. I can’t take this.”

  “What you’ve done is vile and unforgivable. I wonder what your mum and dad would say if they knew what you did to their daughter. What would your sisters say?”

  “You can’t tell them. They would hate me. My dad would disown me.”

  And there it is—the desperation I needed and wanted to see in Blair. She’s tangled in my web.

  “You stand to lose everything if I show this binder to your family and husband. I’m going to need you to convince me why I should keep all of your bad behavior to myself.”

  “I will give you a hundred thousand pounds.”

  She thinks she can buy my silence with money? “Don’t insult me.”

  “What do you want?”

  “You’ll stop using Ava Rose’s paternity as leverage against Hutch and me. No more threats. No more blackmail.”

  “I won’t tell anyone about Ava Rose’s paternity if you keep my secret.”

  “Damn right you won’t tell anyone, but that isn’t all I want from you. You’re going to convince your family that Hutch and I belong together. You’re going to do whatever it takes to make your father allow him to leave the firm on good terms. And you’re going to convince them that I am a wonderful stepmother for Ava Rose. So wonderful that my adopting her as my daughter would be a wonderful and healthy thing for her.”

  “Do you have any idea what you’re asking of me?”

  “I certainly do and I don’t give a damn how you make it happen as long as it happens.”

  She stares at me blankly, saying nothing.

  My head moves up and down. “Nod and tell me you understand and will fulfill my demands or this binder of bad behavior will land on your father’s desk first thing in the morning.”

  “I understand and I’ll make it happen,” she says through clenched teeth.

  “Agree to all of my terms.”

  “I agree to all of your terms.”

  “Tell anyone about Ava Rose’s paternity or show up at our house unannounced again and I will bury you in a mountain of shit so deep you’ll never see the light of day again.” I lean closer and lower my voice. “You think you know me and what I’m about, but you don’t. You have no idea what I’m capable of, princess. Fuck with me again and you’ll find yourself in a very small rectangular dirt room. Do we have an understanding?”

  “Yes.”

  “Never contact Roman Kirk again. He has no idea that Ava Rose exists. If that changes, I’ll know it was you who told him. To drag that man into her life would be a terrible disservice to her.”

  “We agree on that much.”

  “We better agree on more than that.”

  “This must be very satisfying for you.”

  “Honey, the real satisfaction is waiting at home for me.” I get up and toss the other binder in front of her. “Please know that if anything should happen to me, I have multiple copies of these and the video. Both are in place to be sent to your family and the authorities.”

  I pick up my whisky and toss back the last of it. “Calvin is my driver so find your own fucking way home.”

  29

  Maxwell Hutcheson

  Brady leans close to me and lowers his voice. “Your wife just walked in.”

  What? Did he just say that my wife is here? “Come again, mate?”

  “Cait. She just walked into this bar.”

  It’s late. Why is she here instead of home?

  I’m at this bar tonight to watch the Super Bowl with my Lochridge colleagues. She knows this, so something must have happened. I can’t think of another reason that she’d come here.

  I twist on my barstool and look at the entrance, my eyes meeting Lou’s. When she smiles, I see that all is well and my fears instantly melt away.

  “Dammmn. Would you
look at what just walked in here?” one of my colleagues says as Lou walks past us, his eyes glued to her bum. “That is one fit lass.”

  She walks past me to the hallway where the toilets are and I interpret that as my cue to follow.

  “She didn’t randomly show up here. I need to see what’s going on.”

  Brady reaches over and grabs my beer, claiming it as his own. “You’ll probably be a while. I’ll take care of this for you.”

  “Fine but you’re buying the next round.”

  “I have a feeling you won’t be back for another round.”

  Lou looks so happy that even her eyes are smiling when I approach her in the hallway. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m sorry to show up like this. I knew you wouldn’t be home until very late, and I’m too excited to wait because something wonderful has happened.”

  Is she pregnant?

  I don’t think so. She would consider that kind of news to be too special to share with me while standing beside a sports bar loo.

  Ned, one of the newer financial advisors, approaches the toilets and lifts a brow when he notices Lou. “Hello.”

  “Hi,” Lou says.

  The loo door closes and I whisper, “We can’t be seen together like this by Lochridge employees. Too many eyes and ears. Meet me behind the building in five minutes.”

  Her smile widens. “Okay.”

  I return to my seat and reclaim my beer. “I’ll take that back from you, thank you very much.”

  “What does the wifey want?” Brady’s voice is low.

  “I don’t know yet. We’re meeting out back in five minutes.”

  “Must be important for her to come here when she knows you’re surrounded by half of the Lochridge firm.”

  “I’m certain it must be.”

  “Good news, I hope.”

  “I believe it is. She used the word wonderful to describe it.”

  I finish off what’s left of my beer and casually exit the bar, finding Lou right where I told her to be. “What is it, love?”

  She reaches out and cradles my face, coming up on to her tiptoes to place a kiss against my lips. “Listen to me with an open mind. Don’t jump to conclusions before I finish. Can you do that?”

  “Aye.”

  “As you know, I’ve been spending time with Bleu and the other wives.”

  “I’m aware.” And I’m pleased by the way the wives have been so welcoming to Lou. Rachel is a loyal friend, but she’s busy with Claud. Lou needs other friends.

  “You told me I couldn’t ask who or what the Breckenridges are, and I’ve honored that, but I have suspicions. And I knew that if I was right, they could help me—help us—and so I asked.”

  “You asked for what? And who did you ask?”

  “I asked Bleu for help with our Blair problem.”

  “Oh, Lou. I wish you hadn’t done that.” She doesn’t understand what they are.

  “You promised to not jump to conclusions. Remember?”

  “Aye, I know.”

  “Bleu and Shaw, well actually Shaw’s contact, hacked into Blair’s computer and phone.”

  “Oh fuck.”

  “We discovered awful things, Hutch. The things that she’s done are so much worse than either of us could have imagined.”

  I listen in awe as Lou describes Mina’s gullibility and Blair’s betrayal. And although I know both women well, it’s difficult to believe that Mina would be so easily exploited and Blair so vile.

  I’m sad for Mina. Even she didn’t deserve to be treated that way, especially in the last moments of her life. She must have been so hurt.

  “What do we do with this information?”

  “Nothing. I’ve already handled Blair.”

  “You’ve handled her?”

  “I turned the tables on that bitch. There’ll be no more threats. No more blackmail. Ava Rose belongs to us and our marriage doesn’t have to be a secret anymore. The nightmare is over.”

  “It’s really over?”

  “It’s really over.”

  The timing… it’s almost as if she knew what I was contemplating and saved me from going through with it.

  I wrap my arms around Lou and pick her up, spinning her around in the air. “I am married to the most amazing woman in the world.”

  I return her feet to the ground and cradle her face in my hands. “Let’s go home, mo maise.”

  “What about the Super Bowl?”

  “Forget the Super Bowl.”

  Ava Rose is already asleep when we arrive home, but Lou and I go to the nursery and stand beside the crib looking at her. “She’s ours.”

  “Yes, she is.”

  “What do you think Mina would say about my being Ava Rose’s mother?”

  “I think she would be happy that her daughter has you as her mum.”

  “I obviously didn’t know Mina, but I think she’d choose me over Blair.”

  “Knowing what we know now, I’m certain that is the truth.”

  I wrap my arms around Lou from behind and kiss the side of her neck. “I’m ready to try for another one whenever you’re ready.”

  Lou twists and looks at me over her shoulder. “Are you talking about what I think you’re talking about?”

  “She turns one this month. If you got pregnant in a few months, they’d be two years apart. Isn’t that what we said we wanted?”

  “That’s what we said.”

  “Then stop your birth control and we’ll start trying in May.”

  “Okay.”

  Lou turns and wraps her arms around my shoulders. “I think we should practice making a baby before trying the real thing. You know, just to be sure we know what we’re doing.”

  “I think that is an excellent idea.”

  She places a quick kiss against my mouth and tugs on my hand. “Come on. I’m going to give you your very own halftime show.”

  Fuck yeah. “I like the sound of that.”

  Once we’re in our bedroom, Lou places her hands on my hips and walks backward, pulling me toward the bed. She sits and glides to the center. Lifting her foot, she curls her toes around the waistband of my jeans. “Take ‘em off. Take everything off.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  My jeans and Y-fronts drop to the floor and she moves to the edge of the bed. At first, I think she’s going to stand and undress but instead she moves to her all fours and reaches into the drawer on the nightstand.

  Condoms? She wants to use condoms? Why? We just agreed that we both wanted to try for a baby soon. “There aren’t any in there.”

  Lou laughs. “I’m not looking for condoms, goofball.”

  She smiles and sits back on her haunches, holding up my wedding band. “This is what I’m looking for.”

  She reaches for my left hand, slides my wedding band on my finger, and kisses the top. “You can wear this for everyone to see now.”

  “And I will, mo maise. With pride.” Because I am proud to be her husband.

  I wrap my arms around her and press my mouth to hers. Tongue gliding against tongue. I think I could devour her here and now.

  I grip the front of her dress. “Take it off. Take all of it off.”

  “Yes, Mr. Hutcheson.”

  Lou grips the bottom of her dress and tugs it upward, pulling it over her head and dropping it on the floor. The bra and knickers go next and she’s bare, except for the ring on her left hand.

  She slides to the center of the bed and lies on her back. Using her index finger, she beckons me. “Come here, husband. It’s time to practice making a baby.”

  Crawling up her body, I take my time, leaving a path of kisses up her belly and chest. When we’re face-to-face, she grasps the back of my neck and pulls me down, bringing our mouths together.

  Tongue against tongue, my mouth makes love to hers. Slow. Deep. Loving. But possessive. Always possessive. Because this woman is mine.

  “I love you, Caitriona Hutcheson.”

  Her hazel eyes stare at
my blue as I hover above her. “And I love you, Maxwell Hutcheson. I love our family. I love our life.”

  Her legs part and I nestle my body between them until my hard cock is against her warm, inviting entrance. “We get to do this for fun for a while longer, but it’ll soon have a special purpose behind it.”

  “I know. It scares me but in a good way.” Her body trembles as she says the words.

  “I feel the exact same way, mo maise.”

  My cock is pressed against her, ready to enter. All it will take is one thrust and I’ll glide inside her slick canal. But I don’t get the chance. She impatiently lifts her hips, forcing my tip to glide into her entrance. “Eager much?”

  “You know I’m always eager.”

  That’s one thing I can say about my wife. She has never been guilty of lying beneath me, praying for sex to hurry and be over. “You’re never at a loss for enthusiasm.”

  Her ankles dig into my arse, forcing me to slide deeper inside of her. “I want it. Give it to me.”

  “I’m going to give it to you.”

  Reaching behind her, I wrap my hand around her lower back. Lifting her hips off the bed, I sink into her as far as possible before pulling back and doing it again.

  I place my free hand over her lower belly. Right there beneath my palm is where our child will grow. And it will soon if things go well.

  And what if things don’t go well? What if Lou’s previous pregnancy was some kind of fluke miracle and I actually do have an issue with sterility?

  I can’t think about that right now.

  Her legs are bent on each side of my hips and I grasp them, pushing back. Opening her up to take more of me.

  I slip my hand between our bodies and feel for that point where we connect. No beginning. No end. So close it’s as though we’re one being.

  I find that spot—the one that drives her crazy every time I touch it—and I stroke the tight nub with my fingertips. Her breath quickens and she grasps my back, pulling me against her tighter, grinding her hips against me.

  “That’s it. Just like that,” she says in that breathy voice I love so much.

  She grinds harder and I know what comes next. She does.

  Her inner walls squeeze around my cock, contracting in rhythm. Once. Twice. And then again and again until I lose count because I’m lost in my own world coming apart.