Now It’s Just Us
By Lauren Crossley
Now It’s Just Us
Copyright © 2015 Lauren Crossley
All Rights Reserved. This book may not be
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All characters and storylines are the property of the author
and your support and respect is appreciated.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious.
Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental
and not intended by the author.
Cover photo © istockphoto.com
I want to thank all of my readers who encouraged me to write a sequel to ‘Wrong Girl.’ You told me that Zack & Samantha’s story was not finished yet and I came to realise that you were right. Thank you for the continuous support and encouragement that you provide me with. I value each and every one of you and could not do this without you.
Prologue
“Mama, Mama, wake up! When is Daddy coming home?”
An anxious and excited little voice gradually wakes me from my slumber. I open one eye, taking a look at the alarm clock beside my bed which says it’s just gone five am. God, it’s far too early for this.
“Jamie, it’s too early for you to be awake yet, baby. Try and go back to sleep for a little while, ok?”
“But when is Daddy coming home? Is it soon? Is he on his plane already? Has he set off yet?”
My high-spirited son is beyond exuberant at the thought of Zack coming home. He’s been abroad for the past two weeks because of work but it feels more like two years. I understand all too well how much our four year old is missing him. Zack has made sure to call us both every single day since he’s been gone but that still doesn’t make up for his prolonged absence. We both want him home and the fact that he is due back at some point today makes the wait just that little bit more agonising.
“I don’t know, Sweetie. His plane was delayed, remember? He’ll be home as soon as he can be. He promised you that when you spoke to him on the phone.”
“But will it be today?” He asks, lowering his head as his lips start to pout.
“Yes, sweetie. Daddy will be back at some point today.”
“So we should get ready for him!” Jamie exclaims loudly, jumping up onto his feet as he starts to bounce on the bed.
He’s started sneaking into our room every night for the past two weeks, wanting to climb into bed with me and cuddle. He’s been really unsettled since Zack has been away and I honestly can’t wait for him to come home and things can go back to normal.
“Shh, Jamie. It’s only five o’clock. Why don’t you get into bed with me for a cuddle? Time will go so much quicker if we’re fast asleep.”
I take hold of his wrist, gently guiding him underneath the covers. I can only imagine how long this day is going to feel if we both get up so early. Plus, we’re both exhausted. I took Jamie to the beach yesterday, spending the afternoon on the sands before we enjoyed tea at a nice restaurant. We were there for hours before the sea air eventually wore him out. He was practically falling asleep when I gave him his bath, complaining about me washing him the whole time. He finally collapsed on his bed at half past seven and I wasn’t too far behind him.
“Really? Time disappears if you’re asleep?” He asks so innocently, his eyes wide and his little mouth open in awe and amazement.
“Well, it doesn’t disappear.” I explain patiently, tucking him in beside me. “Time still exists, it just feels like it goes by quickly. It’s like Christmas Eve. Remember when you’re so excited and you always want to catch a glimpse of Santa? I always tell you that he will only deliver your presents if you’re fast asleep, don’t I?”
“Uh-huh.” He nods his head and waits for me to continue, gazing at me in admiration.
My son truly believes that I know everything. Sometimes this frightens me because I’m so terrified that I will somehow get it wrong and tell him something that will confuse him or have a negative impact. His little mind is like a sponge, it absorbs every single word I say.
“Do you remember how fast the night seems to go once you’re sleeping at Christmas?”
“So Daddy will only come home if I’m asleep?” His green eyes start to fill with unnecessary tears, no doubt worrying that his father will never come if he fails to fall fast asleep.
“No, sweetheart.” I soothe him, stroking my fingers through his brown hair. “Daddy will get here as soon as he can but if you’re asleep, the wait for him might not feel so long. Do you understand?”
“I think so…” He says uncertainly, staring up at the ceiling in deep contemplation.
“Good boy. Now let’s try and get nice and comfy, ok? Sweet dreams, Jimbo.”
“Sweet dreams, Mama.” He whispers, smiling when I place a soft kiss on the centre of his forehead.
My son falls asleep in my arms within seconds, leaving me wide awake for the next couple of hours.
Typical…
“Baby, wake up.”
The scent of Zack’s aftershave is enough to rouse me from my sleep. I open my eyes and breathe a great sigh of relief when I realise I’m not dreaming. My husband is really home.
“Thank God you’re back.” I whisper, trying not to wake Jamie who is still fast asleep right beside me.
“Did you miss me?” Zack teases me, smirking as his eyes wander up and down my body.
I only sleep in shorts and a small T-shirt but you would think he had found me completely naked by the way his eyes sparkle with mischief and desire.
“I missed you far too much.” I complain, sitting up in bed so I can wrap my arms around him.
He takes a seat on the bed and returns my embrace, inhaling deeply as he nuzzles against my neck, breathing in the scent of my hair.
“God, it feels like I’ve been away for years, not just a couple of weeks.” He groans, tugging on my hair slightly so I’m forced to look up at him.
“I know. You have no idea how much we’ve missed you.”
At the mention of our son, Zack’s eyes wander towards Jamie, lighting up when he realises he’s right here beside us.
“What’s this? Has little man taken to sleeping in our bed since I’ve been gone?” He chuckles softly, leaning over to place a kiss on his son’s head.
“Yep. Every single night since you’ve been away he ends up in here. At first he was complaining about bad dreams but in the end I just think it came down to missing you. He must have asked me when you’re coming home at least two hundred times a day since you left.”
“I really want to wake him up.” Zack admits, gazing at his son longingly.
“It’s only half past seven and he came in here at five.”
“So I should let him sleep?” He asks sombrely, a disappointed expression on his face.
“Maybe for another half an hour or so, otherwise he’ll be grouchy all morning.”
“Is it wrong that I don’t even care right now? I just want my boy to see me.”
Zack hovers over his sleeping child. It’s clear how desperate he is to wake him, having missed his son as much as his child missed him.
“Fine.” I smile lovingly. “Wake him up but you’re going to be the one to deal with any tantrums he might have later on, ok? Have we got a deal?”
“Deal.” Zack agrees begrudgingly, offering me his little finger so we can make a pinky promise. “Jamie? Jamie, wake up. I’m home, buddy.” He rests his hand on our
son’s small shoulder, shaking him gently.
“Jamie…” I coax him, stroking his small hand in an attempt to stir him. “Jamie, Daddy’s right here and he really wants to see you.”
“Mama, I’m sleeping.” He mumbles tiredly, turning away from me.
Zack and I look at each other and laugh quietly. I can’t believe he wanted us to get up at five o’clock and now his father is actually home and it’s ok to be awake he doesn’t want to know.
“If you stay fast asleep you won’t find out what your present is…” Zack teases him playfully, winking at me to let me know that he really does have a gift for him.
“What present?” Jamie yawns, struggling to open his tired eyes.
“Aah, he’s finally awake! I thought you wanted me to come home, little man.”
“D-daddy?” Jamie asks, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
“I’m home, buddy. Did you miss me?”
“Daddy!” My baby suddenly shrieks with excitement, sitting up in bed and flinging himself at his father.
Zack catches him in loving arms, picking him up in the air before spinning him around and around.
“Be careful.” I warn him, something I always do when I feel like my husband underestimates just how tiny our little boy is.
They’re always play fighting and Zack’s forever throwing our son in the air and over his shoulder. I guess boys will be boys…
“Daddy, I missed you so, so much! Every day I thought you would be home but you didn’t and I was sad and you should ask Mama how upset I was. I was crying, wasn’t I, Mama? Tell Daddy how I cried.” Jamie looks at me for confirmation, unable to control his animated euphoria that comes with the reality of his father being right in front of him.
“Yes, you did cry a couple of times from missing him but you were also a very brave boy.” I remind him, watching father and son reacquaint themselves with one another.
“Wow, you were really brave, huh? That’s my little soldier.”
Zack throws our wriggling four year old over his shoulder, tickling his bare stomach until he’s giggling and kicking his small legs with joy.
“If you’re not careful you’re going to get a black eye.” I inform Zack knowingly, watching my son’s feet miss his face by a centimetre or less.
“Don’t be silly- oww!”
I can’t help from smiling. Jamie’s right foot just made contact with Zack’s eye, forcing him to hold onto our boy with one hand whilst he cradles his injured eye with the other.
“What’s the matter, Daddy? Did I hurt you? Are you hurted?” Jamie asks, suddenly consumed by concern for his strong father.
“No, I’m ok, Son. It’s just a little graze. Daddy’s fine.” Zack assures him, placing him back down on the bed beside me.
I can tell he’s not being entirely truthful. I watched the blow that came from Jamie’s little foot and it must have hurt him quite a bit.
“Jamie, why don’t you go and find the Spiderman toy you won at the beach yesterday? I’m sure Daddy would love to see it.” I suggest, helping Jamie climb down from our bed.
“Oh, wow, yeah! Daddy, wait until you see my Spiderman. I winned it all by myself, ask Mama. Mama, tell Daddy how I winned Spiderman all on my own!”
“Won, baby. Not winned.” I remind him patiently.
“I forgot again.” He replies sadly, lowering his head. “I won’t next time.”
“Don’t worry, Jimbo. Why don’t you hurry up and go find me that Spiderman?” Zack, encourages him, trying to hide the fact that his right eye is now badly swollen from Jamie’s accidental blow.
“Oh, yeah! Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back soon!”
He tears off down the hallway towards his room and I know we’ll have at least a couple of minutes by ourselves before he returns. Our son has that many toys to search through, we’re lucky if Spiderman is found within the next hour.
“Ouch, look at that eye. It’s closing up, Zack.”
“Jesus… that bloody hurt.” He complains, falling onto the bed so he lands on his stomach right next to me.
“I did try and warn you.” I tell him, laughing softly.
“I know, I know.” He groans, still protecting his eye with his hand.
“You need some ice on it.”
“But I don’t want to freak him out. If he sees me with ice on it he’s going to know he hurt me.”
“He’ll be too excited showing you his new toy and finding out what present you have for him to be overly concerned.”
“Gee, thanks.” Zack mumbles sarcastically, burying his face in my pillow.
“You know what I mean.” I joke with him, poking him in the ribs playfully.
“How have you been, anyway? You two have been alright here without me?” He asks, pulling himself up until he’s seated.
“We’ve both missed you and it really does feel like you’ve been away for much longer than two weeks.” I answer truthfully. “Let’s just say I’m really glad you’re back.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I won’t leave you again, I promise.”
Zack takes me in his arms and pulls me against him, cradling me in his arms until I feel warmed by the feeling that comes with safety and security.
“I can and I will. No more travelling for me from now on.” He states firmly, tightening the hold he has on me.
“Zack, it’s a part of your job now and you did agree to the promotion.”
I broach this with caution, aware that his work and the demands they’ve now started to place upon him is a sensitive subject for him.
“I know but I didn’t think they would expect me to travel so often. Why don’t they ask one of the other guys who are single and have no commitments to go instead? I have a wife and a small son that I need to take care of. I can’t be away from home and most importantly… I don’t want to be. I want to be here with you the two of you.”
“Let’s not talk about it right now. We already have a really busy day ahead of us and Jamie is going to demand that you give him all of your attention for the next twelve hours or so. I hope you’re ready.”
“I am.” He smiles lovingly. “I’ve missed that little scoundrel so much, it actually hurt being apart from him for so long.”
“Well, you’re home now. That’s all that matters.”
“You’re right and it feels so damn good.” He says sincerely, taking a look around our bedroom. “And you feel so damn good.”
His hand finds its way inside my T-shirt, automatically reaching for my naked breasts.
“Not now.” I moan softly, guiding his hand away from my naked skin. “He’s going to come barging right through that door any minute.”
“Alright…” Zack groans in frustration, closing his eyes as rests his against our pillows. “But this isn’t over, you know that, right? You and I will pick right up where we left of later.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, I do.”
He locks those truly magnificent brown eyes of his on mine, smouldering with intensity as he draws me in, closer and closer until our lips are just millimetres apart.
“Daddy, look! Here he is. The real Spiderman! I winned it!”
We both separate and Zack sighs heavily, trying to conceal his disappointment at being interrupted.
“Won. You won it.” I laugh, reaching for our son. He’s fairly tall for his age, taking after his father and he has Zack’s dark looks and brown hair. However, he’s inherited my green eyes and they stand out beautifully on him, such a contrast against his olive skin.
Zack takes him from me and places him between us, exchanging a knowing glance with me, the silent nod between two parents who are about to play a lively and well-loved game with their child.
“You know… I’m so hungry after my long flight.” Zack says to me, touching his stomach.
“Really? What do you fancy? How about I make you a nice breakfast?”
“Hmmm. I don’t think I fancy something from the kitchen. I think I fancy something different.”
He muses, struggling to hide his mischievous smirk from Jamie.
“Like… some little toes and a couple of tiny feet?” I suggest, trying really, really hard to keep a straight face as I pretend to ignore our baby’s delightful, yet horrified expression at the thought of such a proposal.
“Exactly. I can’t think of anything else I would like to eat more.”
“Huh? Whose toes? Whose feet? Not mine! You can’t have mine, Daddy. Mama, tell him he can’t eat my toes!”
“Oh, I don’t know… I’m feeling quite peckish myself and those itty bitty feet look so tasty!”
“On the count of three I’m going to start eating.” Zack adds, moistening his lips whilst staring at our cheeky boy’s tiny little feet which he can’t keep still.
The image of my successful and accomplished husband being so carefree and playful with our four year old is something I will never tire of. These are the moments of my life that I will always cherish, making every single thing that Zack and I experienced before worth it. I can’t regret anything that happened which brought us here and that gave us our gorgeous son.
“One… two… three!” I yell, pouncing on my little boy’s feet.
“Nooooo! Stop! Stop! Not my toes. I need them!” He squeals loudly, laughing and giggling as he tries to wriggle away from us.
The two of us chase our excitable little boy around the bedroom, eventually we catch him, playfully pretending to feast on his little feet and toes. We’re both lucky we don’t get another black eye from the way that Jamie’s thrashing about, trying to dodge and evade our tickling fingers. We don’t stop until we’re all breathless and giddy, collapsing onto the bed where we fall asleep once again.
This time not waking up until noon.
“Baby?” A deep and all too familiar voice interrupts my dream, slowly waking me from my restless state. “Sam, wake up, baby.”
I open my eyes and come face to face with Zack’s handsome face gazing down at me. I look around and realise I must have fallen asleep on my sofa, meaning he must have had to let himself into my apartment.
I don’t know the reason behind my dream or what its interpretation can be. It’s always the same and rarely changes which makes me question whether or not it is the ideal family unit I am craving. I wake up to a remarkable and unforgettable feeling of warmth, something I haven’t felt in such a long time. It comforts me and gives me the strength to get through another day. One thing I do know for certain is the idea of starting a family right now is the last thing on my mind. The idea of falling pregnant still terrifies me and I think it’s going to take several years of therapy for me to even consider choosing to go down that path again.
Now It's Just Us (Wrong Girl Book 2) Page 1