She lifted her head from his chest and met his gaze. At that moment he deserved her honesty. “And I love you. But -”
He placed a finger to his lips. “I won’t accept any buts baby. When you’re ready to take full advantage of that second time around, I want you to say you love me with finality. There can be no reservations. Okay?”
She fought the tears from her eyes. He deserved what he was asking of her. “Okay.”
“What you need is time, sweetheart. Time to think about all I’m offering and I will give you that.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I won’t take up your time this weekend. I promised Norris I would help him work on the cabin at the lake anyway.” She swallowed. In other words, he would not be coming to Orlando this weekend. Would he come back ever?
As if he read her thoughts he lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “This is not goodbye so don’t even think it, babe.”
Relief flooded through her and she nodded. And then wanting to convey her own feelings in a physical way, she leaned up on her toes and she kissed him. She kissed him with all the love in her heart, although she knew for them it wasn’t enough. But for now it would make do and when he tightened his arms around her and returned the kiss, she knew her attempt had not only been accepted but was now being reciprocated. When he groaned deep in his throat and deepen the kiss, she wrapped her arms around his neck to hold on as heat rushed through her.
She gasped and broke off the kiss when she was swept off her feet and into his strong arms, and knew just where he was taking her. “The food is going to get cold, Willie.”
He smiled down at her. “That’s the beauty of having a microwave. We can warm it up again later.”
She smiled as she cuddled closer into his arms. Yes they could warm it up again and they would. Much later.
Eight
Peggy stood at the window and looked out. It had been two weeks since she’d seen Willie and she was missing him like crazy. They still talked on the phone most nights but it wasn’t the same. Their conversations didn’t have the excited anticipation of them knowing their week was headed into the weekend where they would spend time together.
She knew he would be leaving for Paris next week although he hadn’t reminded her of it. He’d invited her to go and was letting it be her decision. She thought about it all the time and each time she got ready to pick up the phone to call and let him know she’d decided to go, something would hold her back. Her hands would get clammy and sweaty and all it took was for her to remember the mess she made of her life when Joe had asked her for a divorce to marry Suzette.
She loved Willie; she knew that in her heart. And like she’d told him she also knew he was a different man than Joe. But still, something was keeping her from taking that next step in their relationship. Toni, Barbara and Sonya had tried talking sense into her, telling her she should go to Paris with him. But she’d closed her ears to their opinions.
“Ms. Morrison, Mr. Joe Morrison is on line one.”
Peggy winced. The last time Joe had called her at her office almost seven months ago had ended in them not speaking to each other for months. Not that she cared since even now their relationship was strained. The only reason she cared about it now was because of Sonya’s delicate condition. Her daughter was going through morning sickness big time and poor Mike was taking all the blame.
She drew in a deep breath as she moved to her desk and pressed the button. “Thanks.”
She picked up the phone. “Yes, Joe?”
“Peggy, I’ve been trying to get Sonya, where is she. I need to talk to her. I need to talk to my baby.”
Peggy frowned. Joe’s speech was slurred and she could barely make out what he’d said. If she didn’t know better she would think he was drunk and as far as she knew he was still only a social drinker, which didn’t explain why he’d be intoxicated so early in the morning.
Besides that, when had Sonya become his baby? He hadn’t referred to their thirty-five-year-old daughter as his baby in years. Maybe she should remind him about the two-month old baby Suzette had given him, but decided not to waste her time. The last person she wanted to bring up was Suzette.
“Sonya is out of town, Joe. She left yesterday with Mike. They went with Carla, Jesse and the kids to Atlanta for the Martin Luther King Day parade.”
“I need to talk to her. I need to tell her what Suzette has done.”
Peggy rolled her eyes. “I wished you wouldn’t get our daughter involved in you and your wife’s drama, Joe.”
“You don’t understand.”
Peggy squinted and placed her ear from the phone. Was he actually wailing? Certainly sounded like it. She placed the phone back to her ear concerned. “Joe, where are you?”
“I’m here at the hotel?”
“Hotel? What hotel?”
“Brandy’s hotel.”
That would be the St. Laurent. “Are you alone?”
“Yes, I’m alone. I don’t care if I ever see Suzette again. She used me.”
Peggy shook her head. Although she had no idea what Suzette had done, the part of her that felt he fully deserved anything the woman did to him wanted to dance on top of her desk, but she couldn’t. She of all people knew how it felt when someone you loved disappointed you.
She opened her mouth to say something when her secretary beeped her. “Hold on for a second, Joe, I got another call.”
“If it’s my baby tell her I need to talk to her.”
Peggy rolled her eyes as she clicked on the other line. “Yes, Teresa?”
“Sorry to interrupt but Brandy Masters is on line two and she says it’s important.”
“Thanks, please put her through.” Brandy was a friend of Sonya’s and the owner of the St. Laurent hotel.
Peggy heard the connection. “Brandy?”
“Hello, Ms. Morrison, sorry to bother you, but I didn’t know who else to call since Sonya is out of town and Suzette Morrison refuses to cooperate.”
Peggy blew air from between her lips. “What is it Brandy? I have Joe on another line.”
“Oh. So you know he’s on a drinking spree. He was at the bar all day yesterday and we gave him a room so he wouldn’t make an attempt to drive home last night. He ordered room service from the bar and also drank during the night so now he’s in even worse shape. We called Suzette to come get him and she practically cursed us out before hanging up on us.”
Peggy sighed deeply. Joe was a private man and had never let anyone know when he and Suzette were having issues of any kind. He pretty much always painted a picture that everything between them was always rosy. She wondered what had brought on this drama where so many people knew of their recent marital discord. What had him all broken up?
“I sent Grey to check on him earlier and that’s when we discovered he was still drunk. I’ve never known Mr. Morrison to be a heavy drinker. Grey is trying to get him to drink plenty of coffee.” Grey Masters was Brandy’s husband.
“People change,” she couldn’t help but say. She really didn’t want to get involved but knew if Sonya was aware that something was going on with her father she would be worried and concerned. Peggy figured the least she could do was try and talk some sense into her ex. She glanced at her watch. It was ten in the morning.
“And another thing, Ms. Morrison.”
She raised a brow. “Yes?”
“He trashed the room during the night, so legally we can have him arrested.”
Peggy gasped as she stood to her feet. She also noticed Joe had disconnected the other line. What on earth was wrong with him? Whatever problems he and his child bride were having couldn’t be that bad. She knew the only reason Brandy hadn’t called the police was due to her relationship with Sonya. As much as it really wasn’t her concern she knew she couldn’t ignore what was going on. If nothing else she would order a cab and have him dropped off on his doorstep. What Suzette did after that wasn’t her problem.
“I’m on my way
, Brandy.”
* * *
The first thing Peggy noticed when she walked into Brandy’s office was that Joe looked a mess. It was evident the clothes he had on were the same ones he’d worn yesterday and had slept in during the night. Her ex always prided himself on his dress, looking like a million bucks with his designer suits whenever she saw him. So why was he looking like he was some hobo from off the streets?
Brandy gave her a relieved look when she saw her and motioned her to step outside the door for a moment since Joe hadn’t seen her yet. His back had been to the door while Grey was plying him with cups of black coffee.
“We offered him a cab home but he refused to leave. Grey even offered to take him home and he refused that as well,” Brandy was saying. “He’s paid for the damages to the hotel room and he apologized for what he did. Whatever disagreement he and Suzette had must have been a doozy.”
Peggy nodded. “Let me talk to him and tell Grey when I’m finished he can take him home. He’s Suzette’s husband and she can deal with him. Whatever problems they’re having are their problems and he shouldn’t be getting Sonya involved in their mess. Especially since he knows how she feels about Suzette and vice versa. Mike isn’t going to like it if anyone upsets his wife.”
“I agree,” Brandy said, shaking her head. “Like I told you earlier, I’ve never seen Mr. Morrison in this condition before. I almost feel sorry for him.”
Peggy tightened her lips; otherwise she would have been tempted to tell Brandy to save her pity. “Well, let’s see if I can talk some sense into him.”
* * *
“Joe?”
He had been standing at the window with his back to her. He turned around and her stomach did a hard lurch. He was holding a cup of coffee in his hand but what caught her by surprise were his eyes. They had that hung-over look and were as red as the vase of roses sitting on Brandy’s desk. Red and puffy. And his clothes were all wrinkled. He looked like someone she’d never seen before and nothing like the man she’d run into two weeks ago after the play. That night he was looking his usual sharp self, as meticulous as ever.
“Joe, what on earth is going on?”
“I’m surprised you’re here, considering how bad I’ve treated you over the years, Peggy. You never told me how you felt but Sonya jumped into my shit whenever she could about it. I almost lost my daughter during that time. Even now I’m not sure if she still loves me as much as she used to and …”
He kept talking, mostly doing a whole lot of rambling and Peggy discovered she was losing her patience fast. “Okay, Joe, forgot all that,” she cut in to say. “What is going on with you now? Why are you embroiled in a drunken stupor and going so far as to trash a hotel room?”
He placed the coffee cup down and before her eyes she actually saw those same red eyes fill with tears. She was so taken aback by the sight of them that she had to lean against Brandy’s desk for support. She couldn’t recall when she’d ever seen Joe cry. He certainly hadn’t done so at his parents’ funerals.
“Suzette cheated on me,” he said in a broken voice. “I gave her everything and she cheated on me with another man.”
Peggy didn’t say anything for a moment and then. “Are you sure of that Joe? You might be mistaken.” She couldn’t believe she was actually stepping in and defending his child bride.
“Yes, I’m sure. I confronted her and she told me the truth. I began getting suspicious about a few things, like finding men’s underwear in my laundry that I knew weren’t mine, and noticing things like how she always wanted to know my whereabouts during the day so I wouldn’t make surprise visits home.”
She swallowed hard thinking now he knew how it felt to be betrayed. “And how did you find out?”
“Video cameras I had installed throughout the house without her knowing about them. I figured if she wasn’t doing anything wrong then I would surprise her with them later for the baby. They would be good to keep an eye on any babysitters we hired to take care of Joey later.”
He pulled in a deep guttural breath and said. “But I discovered she was doing plenty wrong and in a house I’m paying for. She admitted he was the same man she’d been secretly involved with for more than a year. He’s the guy who comes to our house every so often to clean our pool.”
He snorted. “Hell she wasn’t even smart enough to mess around with a man who had something going for him. A damn pool cleaner.”
It was on the tip of Peggy’s tongue to tell him it was her opinion that he hadn’t been so smart either when he’d asked her for a divorce to marry Suzette. He had been CEO of his own company and Suzette had been an administrative assistant from a temp agency. From the stories Peggy had heard, at the time Suzette’s credit had been deplorable to the point where she couldn’t even get a car financed. She was catching a bus to work every day.
“Well, Joe, I regret hearing about you and Suzette’s troubles but that’s something the two of you need to work out and please whatever you do, don’t involve Sonya. If you get her upset in her condition Mike isn’t going to like it.” And she was sure she didn’t have to remind him that his son-in-law didn’t care for him any.
“If you’re going to need a place to stay you might want to stay at a hotel. And please not the St. Laurent. I believe you have outstayed your welcome here.”
“What about your place? You have an extra room, right?”
“Yes, but don’t even think it, Joe. Your problems are your problems. Leave me out of them.” She couldn’t believe he’d fixed his mouth to suggest such a thing. This conversation she was having with him was certainly an eye opener in more ways than one.
“There’s more, Peg,” he said. And the words sounded like a tortured groan from his lips.
She wondered what else was there. “I think I’ve heard enough, Joe. I hope for the baby’s sake you and Suzette get your stuff together and -”
“The baby’s not mine.”
Peggy’s blinked. “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” he wailed in a tormented voice filled with agony and pain. “She confessed to that, too. Joey is that man’s child.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later and it was as if she was seeing Joe for the first time in her life; actually looking at him through all his layers. As far as she was concerned, a complete stranger was standing in front of her.
He had stopped wailing but now he was whining. Pacing the room and bellyaching with every breath he took. He was going on and on about all the things he’d done for Suzette from day one; not even mindful of the fact that a lot of those thing had been accomplished while he’d still been married to her.
After the shock had worn off over what he’d said about the baby’s parentage, she had listen to all his complaints and insults about his wife. The same woman he’d left her for. Peggy shook her head thinking that Joe was certainly not the man she thought he was all those years. He was only the man she had made him out to be. Thirty years in the making.
And why on earth should she continue to punish herself and the man that she loved? It wasn’t Willie’s fault that she had chosen to make her ex-husband out to be someone he was not. Someone she had wasted thirty years of her life on. Barbara had tried to tell her. So had Toni and Sonya, but she hadn’t listened. As far as she was concerned, for better or worse, he and Suzette deserved each other.
Willie, on the other hand, was everything she wanted in a man and more. He was sensitive, loving, caring and not the least bit selfish. He had encouraged her to live her life for her and not for anyone else. He had proven that she was a passionate woman and he had made her believe that she was worthy of a man’s love and devotion in every way, and that age didn’t matter when it came to love. True love.
Funny, why hadn’t she seen Joe for the person he really was years ago? The weakling. The wailer. The whiner. He was selfish, inconsiderate, uncaring… Oh, she could go on and on. Why had she been such a fool? But she did see him now and doing so made her realize that she
wanted Willie more than anything in the world. She loved him and the good thing about it was that he loved her too.
She smiled at the thought, feeling happy, loved, supported, and safe. Safe in Willie’s love.
“Did you hear what I said, Peg? I am not the father of Suzette’s baby.”
Joe’s broken voice invaded her thoughts. She glanced over at him not believing she’d given a full thirty minutes of her time to listen to this. “I heard you Joe, but that’s not my problem. It’s something you and your child bride need to work out, and I hope for the baby’s sake the two of you find a good solution. He’s an innocent in all this drama.” She then moved toward the door.
“And where are you going?” he called out and asked.
She glanced over at him, the man who’d caused her so much heartache and grief. Now it seemed he was about to experience his own. “I’m going home to pack. I got a plane to catch first to Texas and then to Paris.”
“And what about me?”
She stopped walking when she got to the door. Her mother always told her not to kick a man when he was already down. Otherwise, she would tell him that she didn’t give a royal damn about him. He’d wanted Suzette and he could have her and she wished them the best.
Instead she said. “Grey will take you home or anywhere else you want to go and just remember my warning about Sonya.”
And then she was gone. She needed to get home and pack.
Nine
Willie had just showered and slipped into a t-shirt and jeans when he heard the doorbell ring. Kelly had called when he’d gotten in from work and said she was going shopping and might stop by later.
He glanced at the clock on the wall and then his phone as he headed for the door. Florida’s time zone was an hour behind Texas in most areas and he was looking forward to talking to Peggy, but he wanted to give her time to settle in from work first.
He missed her. He’d known that he would but hadn’t known just how much. They had talked several times over the past two weeks and not once had she brought up anything about Paris. As far as he was concerned that didn’t brood well, but he refused to give up. A part of him was still holding out that she would decide to go with him. He would keep his fingers crossed until the very last moment.
TIS THE SEASON...FOR ROMANCE (WESTMORELAND/MASTERS/JEFFERIES) Page 14