Fifteen Weekends

by Christy Pastore

  She stood there in the bathroom wrapped in nothing but a fluffy white towel with her mouth hanging open. Overcome with emotion, she somehow managed to blurt out with excitement, “Yes! I will absolutely marry you Liam Oliver Frost.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two:

  Amanda

  The door of Amanda’s apartment slammed behind her as she threw her keys across the room. Pacing frantically, she tried to push what she had just witnessed out of her mind. Pouring herself a drink from the bar, she proceeded to Vince’s office. She wanted to snoop, but she didn’t know what she was looking for or where to start.

  “Amanda? Are you home?” Alex called.

  “Yeah, I’m here,” she answered coldly. Amanda walked to the living room and began muttering. Her tone was thick with anger. “I cannot believe what a goddamn liar he is.”

  “He, who?”

  “Vince!” she snapped. “Who else do you think I’m talking about?”

  Alex shot her a look of confusion, “What did Vince lie about?”

  “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

  Before Amanda knew it, she was wrapped up in Alex’s arms kissing him. She needed him to chase away the loneliness and the hurt she was feeling. She’d been gutted about sleeping with Alex and betraying Vince, all the while Vince was keeping Amanda distracted from what was really going on, holed up in this ivory tower while he fucked his wife and had backyard barbecues with his family. How could she be so blind? Of course Vince hadn’t introduced his children to her. Amanda was the other woman.

  Alex gripped Amanda’s hips lifting her up allowing her to encircle her legs around his trim waist. She fisted her fingers through his brown waves, and he began to move his mouth down to the lower part of her neck. Amanda gently slid down Alex’s sturdy frame. Looking at him with a seductive smile, she grasped his wrists and led him into the bathroom. She turned on the water and turned back to face Alex. Staring at each other as the bathroom began to fill with heated mist they began to undress.

  Amanda stepped in the shower and the steaming liquid stung as it ran over her tight shoulders, down her back and over her thighs. She inhaled and closed her eyes feeling a hand on the small of her back. Alex was behind her grinning lazily as he poured some shower gel in his hand. He began rubbing it over Amanda’s shoulders, trying to relax her aching muscles, calming the tension that lingered in her body. Kissing her neck he pulled her into him, and she could feel his cock hardening and twitching with each kiss. He gently ran his sudsy hands over her breasts. Her skin began tingling, and Amanda’s body instantly responded to his touch.

  A whimper escaped her firm lips as her body trembled. Lightheaded from the heat and Alex’s hands gliding over her body, she managed to muster the words, “Alex, make me forget…please. Wash it away…” she breathed a deep sigh. “Wash it all away.”

  “Amanda,” he whispered. “If I had my way you’d never be in pain.” He searched her face running the pad of his thumb over her wet lips. “There would be no hurt to wash away, but that’s just me.”

  She leaned into him and captured his mouth with hers. Alex moved Amanda away from the pouring water and lifted her onto him. He ran his lips down her jawline to the base of her throat. Her back was propped against the cool tiled wall and Alex began a slow, steady, rocking movement driving them both crazy. His hips ground into her while she gripped his shoulders tighter. Amanda let out a breathless cry as Alex delivered the final thrust that sent intense shockwaves pulsing through her entire body. Again the pain was gone. All Amanda felt was warmth spill over her. A smile slid across her lips.

  Moments later Alex and Amanda found themselves wrapped in fluffy towels lying atop her bed. Propped up on her elbow she traced the lines on Alex’s abs with her index finger. He weaved his long fingers through her damp wavy locks and brushed her reddened cheek with the back of his hand.

  “Alex,” Amanda said softly. “I saw my sister today and…well…I’m pretty sure she’s hiding something from me.”

  “Oh,” Alex said as he arched his eyebrow.

  “Yeah, I was wondering if you could look into a guy named, Andrew Langston.”

  “Sure,” he replied as his hand fell to her back. “Anything you need.”

  She curled up next to him resting her chin on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. Amanda let out a deep sigh and began to chew her lip. Alex could sense she was still troubled.

  “Are you ready to tell me what had you so worked up earlier?” Alex asked softly and kissed the crown of her head.

  “I also saw Vince today,” she began. Amanda let out a deep sigh and rolled onto her back staring at the ceiling. “Alex, he was wearing a wedding band, and he told me he was going to be in New York until Thursday, but magically he’s here and having smoothies with his wife and kids!” Amanda shouted at Alex in anger. “I’m so stupid. How, how could I have trusted him? This is karma, Alex.”

  Tilting her head back, she laced her fingers with his and said, “I feel so incredibly foolish, Alex. What am I going to do?”

  He gave her a sympathetic look, which pissed her off. Amanda hates to be pitied, but it’s a cause she’s come to know quite well. Sometimes when desperation rears its ugly head, she uses pity to her advantage. It was beneath her to behave in such a way.

  Punching her fist to the bed, she snapped, “Amanda Parsons is not mistress material—I’m the goddamn trophy. I’m the fucking gold, silver and bronze medal rolled into one.”

  Alex swallowed the lump in this throat and propped himself up leaning against the headboard. “Amanda, Vince is divorced.”

  Amanda sat up in the bed and drew her knees into her chest. Confusion flashed in her eyes. “What do you mean is divorced?” she asked, her voice brittle. “You sound pretty damn sure of yourself.”

  “Amanda, I’m with Vince a lot. I attend to all of his interests, personal and otherwise. I know more about him than anyone in the world. As much as it pains me to admit—he didn’t lie to you.”

  “Okay, so spill it Alex. Tell me everything,” she demanded.

  Alex began explaining that Vince’s kids did not yet know their parents were divorcing. He told Amanda, that Vince and Jennifer, his ex-wife, were trying to figure out how to break it to them. In reality, the divorce was final.

  Shock and embarrassment coursed through Amanda. She ran her hands through her wet hair nervously twisting the ends around her fingers.

  “Godammit!” Amanda screamed as she jumped up from the bed. “Walking in a small pattern around her bedroom, she took a sip of the wine that Alex had brought her after their shower. She was breathing heavily, and the tears started to roll down her face.

  “Amanda,” Alex said, his voice soft and laced with concerned.

  “I’m so confused,” she said shaking her head back and forth. “Alex, you need to leave.”

  Alex stood up from the bed and walked towards Amanda. He reached for her, but she recoiled like a snake and backed away.

  “Amanda,” he began, his tone low. “Don’t do that…don’t push me away.”

  “Alex, we cannot do this anymore,” she lectured. “This absolutely cannot happen again.”

  “Amanda, why…why are you with Vince?” His tone with her was sharp. “I know you feel this…connection…this heat we have between us.”

  Amanda thought about his question. Her mind was fogged. She had no real answer except that she needs Vince, but she also cares deeply for him. Amanda didn’t know if she was in love with Vince but she knew she loved him. Amanda’s feelings for Alex were confusing. He stirred mixed emotions in her. Obviously there was excitement and pleasure. There was also calmness. Alex grounded her, but he also frightened her, or at least the idea of him troubled her.

  “Alex, I…I’m afraid of you…” Amanda confessed her voice was low a
nd controlled.

  Alex’s brow furrowed.

  “I mean, I’m afraid I’m using you as a replacement to take away the pain. It’s like you’re my drug of choice and I’m addicted to this thing that’s ignited between us.”

  Alex inched closer to her locking his gaze with hers. Amanda felt her knees buckling beneath her and her skin began to prick with heat. Alex closed the space between them, and Amanda drew in a sharp breath.

  “There’s no need to be afraid.” He grinned as he drew her palm up to his lips kissing her gently. “Amanda, I’ve never met anyone that gets my heart racing like you do. I go to work every day happy, because I know that at some point I’ll see your beautiful face.” He bent down and brushed his lips to hers.

  His fingertips grazed the curve of her face. He says, “Your smile…it melts my heart and your laugh…I love hearing how it whimsically singsongs up and down.”

  “Alex,” she pulled back breathless. Her bottom lip quivering, she replied, “but, we’re hurting Vince. It’s not fair. It will break his heart.”

  “I plan to win your heart and never break it. Vince has money, power and all that comes with that, but I can give you the one thing he can’t—time.”

  Amanda reached her hands up and touched his face. No words were spoken, the glint in her eyes said everything. Alex swept her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Our time is limited, Amanda,” he whispered. “We shouldn’t waste a second of it waiting for someone else’s schedule to clear up to make plans.”

  Locked in a deep kiss, swallowed up in the warmth of their embrace, Alex pushed Amanda to the bed, where she surrendered to him over and over. They don’t even notice the late afternoon sun had faded to darkness.

  Chapter Thirty-Three:

  Emily

  Emily arrived home after her morning workout to find Ethan’s car parked in her driveway. She pulled into the garage as Ethan stepped out of his black Lexus looking as handsome as ever. He was wearing his favorite navy blue shorts paired with a navy, white and grey striped J. Crew oxford with the sleeves rolled up.

  “Maybe, I should give you a key so you don’t have to wait in the driveway,” she said with a flirtatious smile.

  “Did you think about me while you worked up a sweat at the gym, Em?”

  “I always do,” she hummed. “Although I would much rather be working up a sweat with you, Ethan.”

  As she began to walk towards the door, Ethan grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her back close to him. He pushed her back against the hot metal of her car, it stung a bit at first because it had been sitting for a while in the parking lot, under the blistering sun. Ethan let out a low groan as he kissed Emily. The vibrations sent a pleasurable shiver through Emily’s core.

  She heard her gym bag hit the garage floor as she felt Ethan’s hands gliding down her thigh. Emily felt her knees go weak as she encircled her arms around Ethan’s neck. He ran his index finger over her thigh making figure eights and zig zags, like he was drawing designs in the sand. Emily moaned softly. She became hot and cold all at once, her body ached for Ethan. She felt just how much he wanted her, too, as Ethan positioned his hips into her and hitched Emily’s leg up around his waist while cupping her bottom. Ethan continued to kiss her neck, and Emily looked around to make sure no prying eyes were staring at them. She would die of embarrassment if her sweet neighbor, Mrs. Crenshaw caught Emily making out with her boyfriend in the garage like two horny teenagers.

  Thunder rumbled in the distance. Emily took that as an opportunity to distract Ethan and suggest they go inside.

  “Ethan, as much as I would love nothing more than to continue kissing you, I think we should take this inside away from such a public setting.”

  “Fine,” he growled in her ear. “Besides, I have some news about the Cadillac that nearly ran me over,” Ethan said as he scooped up her bag.

  “Oh yeah?” her eyes widened and gleamed with hopefulness. “Did Alex find the owner?”

  “They found the white Cadillac matching the description you gave down by the abandoned railway station on the southeast side near Wealthy Street. Alex said he and his team searched inside the vehicle and found nothing. It had been completely wiped clean. The license plate had been removed and the VIN number was stripped from the car”

  A chill shot up Emily’s spine upon hearing the news. “Seriously, nothing?” Emily scoffed as she dumped her bag by the stairs.

  “I’m sorry Em,” Ethan said while taking a bottle of water out of the fridge. “It looks like we’ve hit a dead end at the moment.”

  “We cannot catch a goddamn break,” Emily said, her voice thick with anger and frustration.

  “Alex isn’t giving up, Em,” he reassured her. Ethan slung his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. “Okay, now don’t you have to get your hair and nails done or something for tonight?”

  “Yes, my appointment is in an hour.”

  “I have to go back to the office, but I’ll meet you at my house to change. Then can we go to the gala together?” Ethan asked.

  Shaking her head, Emily huffed, “I cannot believe Clark is making you come back to work on a Saturday afternoon, and before the fucking gala no less. Has he lost his damn mind?”

  “Play nice, Em,” Ethan joked and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll see you later, I love you.”

  Emily loved hearing those three little words pour from Ethan’s perfect lips. She was on cloud nine. Everything seemed to be falling into place, well, except that she had a stalker.

  “I love you, too,” she said while walking him to the door.

  Emily rushed to Ethan’s house after her salon appointment to start getting ready for the gala at The Plaza de Grand. She was feeling a bit stressed, Ethan was at the office wrapping up a last minute meeting with Clark. Emily knew whatever they were working on had to important. She suspected it was something to do with LA Business Design and the store opening in Hong Kong next month.

  Emily heard her phone vibrating in her bag. A text from Ethan read: CLARK PUSHED THE MEETING BACK ANOTHER TWENTY MINUTES.

  Emily sighed and returned Ethan’s text: THAT’S OKAY, WE STILL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME BEFORE TONIGHT’S EVENT. I WILL SEE YOU IN A BIT. I’M GETTING IN THE BATH.

  After pouring a glass of red wine she walked upstairs and turned on the radio in the bathroom. A severe weather alert came across saying high gusts of wind were taking down trees, and there was a power outage in East Grand Rapids. A possible funnel cloud was spotted near Kentwood. Wow, we’re in for a rocky ride tonight.

  Emily began to run the water in the tub, poured in some bubble bath and lit some candles just in case the power went out. Slipping out of her clothes Emily stepped into the tub and closed her eyes. Just then the power did go out, and Emily heard a rattling outside. She pulled up the Tune In app on her phone to find her favorite radio station and sat back in the tub. The wind was really picking up, and the lighting was intense, steadily streaking through the sky. Closing her eyes she took a sip of wine allowing her mind to relax.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Sparkling metallic stemware and sterling silver-rimmed place settings sat carefully atop pressed white linens that were surrounded by plush velvet chairs in the ballroom. Amanda stood with her arms crossed, very pleased at the sight of her surroundings. She drummed her freshly painted fingernails against her smooth skin and hummed to the soft music pouring through the sound system. George Michael was right in the middle of singing the chorus to “Kissing a Fool” when the intense rumbling of thunder that shook outside rudely interrupted him. The lights flickered a bit, causing the ornate chandeliers that hung above to jiggle slightly. Emma Sterling shot Amanda a worried look.

  Amanda shrugged and said, “I don’t recall inviting this thunderst
orm to the event.”

  Emma giggled, “I definitely didn’t put her on the guest list.”

  Amanda turned on her heel, moved out of Emma’s line of sight and sighed with relief. She was glad this day had finally arrived. The Phillip Cooper Foundation was the biggest charity event of the summer season. Nearly three hundred prominent people would be in attendance for the glamorous evening—schmoozing and boozing. The silent auction items had all been delivered, and the hotel staff was currently setting up the banquet tables. Amanda’s favorite florist, Anne Stephens, had just called and said she would be delivering the centerpieces for the tables and the rest of the decorations any minute.

  “It’s going to be a wonderful event, Amanda. I cannot thank you enough for pulling all this together,” Emma gleefully hummed. “I’m very impressed with you, Amanda. You have quite the flare for event planning.”

  Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the thunder explode. It sounded like a bomb went off directly over their heads.

  “Thank you for the lovely compliment. I think so too, Emma. Anything that could have gone wrong did, and we solved those issues. I’m sure tonight will be smooth sailing,” she replied feeling a bit nervous. But she didn’t let Emma see she was sweating bullets.

  Ashleigh greeted Liam when he arrived at the Plaza de Grand.

  “This weather is insane,” Liam said as he kissed Ashleigh on both cheeks. “Hello my darling.”

  Ashleigh smiled warmly as Liam took her hand in his. “Hi handsome, how was your flight?”

  “It was good. The flight from Detroit to here was a little bumpy. Luckily the strong weather didn’t hit until after we landed. I am just glad to be here with you.”