by Nia Arthurs
“Unless you’re busy with a guest—”
“No, no guest.”
“Okay, great. See you then.” I hang up.
A few minutes later, Diandra bursts out of the apartment doors and sprints pell-mell toward her car. She desperately grabs for the handle, shoves herself in and tears out of the parking lot.
“Well… that was entertaining.”
I slap Wilson’s shoulder. “I knew he was dating someone.”
“Why didn’t Diandra tell me?” Amaya asks, crest-fallen.
“Maybe she thought it would be too awkward. He’s your ex and he was head-over heels for you just a few months ago.”
“That doesn’t mean he’ll always be in love with Amaya,” Wilson says. “He can fall in love with someone else.”
I catch his eye. “Oh, really?”
He holds my stare. “Yeah.”
“Ehem.” Amaya clears her throat. “I think I’ve seen enough for one day. Can we go?”
Wilson starts the car and drops Amaya off at her bungalow. On our way back home, he takes my hand. “Are you okay?”
“My brother’s secretly dating his ex’s best friend so…”
“So you’re great.”
I slant him a look.
He chuckles. “I love it when you glare at me.”
“That explains why you keep saying dumb things.”
He opens my door and escorts me up the stairs, following me into my apartment. “Are you going to ask Thomas about it?”
“Nah. I’ll wait until he brings it up. It’s not really any of my business.”
Wilson cocks his head to the side. “But…?”
“But,” I grin because I realize that he knows me a little too well, “his happiness means the world to me and if I know Thomas, he’s not the one who wants to keep it a secret. I’ll talk to Diandra.”
“That sounds more like you.” Wilson approaches me and gives me a hug, but my protruding stomach keeps him from pulling me close.
He’s been going slow on the physical front, which is okay with me given I don’t feel particularly glamorous right now. Still, as annoyed as I am about his overprotectiveness, I’m starting to crave his touches.
I moan. “I’m so fat.”
“You’re not fat.”
“You can’t even hug me.”
“There’s a solution for almost every problem.” He steps back. Appraises me with a hand to his chin. Then he steps around me and gives me a back hug.
His strong arms pull me into his chest and wrap me up tight. I wiggle backward, pressing even closer to him. He smells so good. My eyes fall shut.
“You’re so soft,” Wilson murmurs against my hair. He kisses my ear. “Smell so sweet.” His beard brushes the side of my face down to my jaw. “So perfect.”
I turn in his arms. He blinks at me, his gaze hazy with attraction. Tingles explode in my stomach. Whether that’s me or my crazy pregnancy hormones, I don’t care.
Just like I did that night months ago, I kiss him. Because I want to. Because he’s so darn fine and my mind can think of nothing more than running my hand along the contours of his arms and branding him with my lips so every woman knows who this fine specimen belongs to.
But Little Bean is just too big of an obstacle and, unfortunately, my neck can only take so much craning before I have to back off.
“Ow.” I rub my neck. “Why are you so tall?”
“Sorry.” Wilson leads me to the couch, sits down and pulls me into his lap. “That better?” I nod and lean in to pick up where we left off when he mumbles, “I have to leave for work.”
I freeze. “You’re… leaving?”
“Tomorrow.” He rubs the side of my face with his thumb. “I don’t want to but there’s a problem at the office and—”
“No, of course. You should go.” I climb off him and run to the kitchen. “Are you hungry? I’ll make you something.”
“Zo, come back.”
I pretend I haven’t heard and bang a few pots together. Inside my heart is shattering.
Here in Belize with no Violet around, Wilson’s feelings for me can bloom, but when he’s back home, with his true love, I’ll be plucked up like a weed.
For a moment there, I forgot that this isn’t my story. I’m not Cinderella. Violet is.
All I am is the ugly, pregnant stepsister.
Chapter Nineteen
Wilson
The airport is filled with tourists in open-toed leather sandals with duffel bags strapped to their pale shoulders. A mild, feminine voice chimes over the speaker system, warning that I need to board my plane before it’s too late.
I don’t want to heed her call and I’m thinking of letting that plane leave without me.
“Wilson,” Zora’s voice calls me back to her gorgeous face, “you need to go.”
“I changed my mind.”
She laughs charmingly. “You already spent money on the ticket.”
“I can get a refund. Even if I don’t, it doesn’t matter. You need me. Keanu’s still out there and—”
She gently sets my hand off her shoulder. “Will, Keanu hasn’t so much as called me over the past few weeks. Plus, you’ve already got the hospital security on the lookout for him. Thomas will keep me safe too.”
“And I’ll stop by often,” Amaya says. She offered to take Zora back to the hospital for me. “I promise, we’ll take good care of them.”
“Last call…”
I shuffle my feet and glare at the speakers nearest to us. “Call me. It doesn’t matter what the problem is. Call me if there’s even a hiccup.”
“Yes, sir.” Zora salutes.
“Don’t go off alone, okay? Make sure someone’s with you at all times.”
“Got it.”
“And call the police the moment you catch a glimpse of Keanu.”
“She will.” Amaya steps up and arches both eyebrows. “You’re seriously going to miss your flight.”
I surge forward and press a kiss to Zora’s mouth. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Yeah.” Her smile falters.
She’s been quiet since I told her about my trip last night. It reminds me of the way she acted after our dinner with Kent and Amaya. She was polite, civil, but distant.
I wish I could pick her brain and figure out why she’s reverted to that, but I don’t have time.
Although it pains me greatly, I force myself to walk away from Zora. Doubts plague me with every step.
As I find my seat and stow my suitcase, I debate abandoning the plane and heading back to her. Leaving is the wrong move. I’m getting a bad feeling about it. But I wait too long to make my decision and by the time I jump up, a stewardess is there to stop me.
“Sir, the plane is about to take off. Can you please take your seat and buckle up?”
I sink into my chair and glance out the window at the airport and tower. My mind skips back to last night. Zora returned from the kitchen with a forced smile and a bowl of cereal.
When I teased her about ‘making dinner’ she just smiled serenely and offered to get me something else. It was like a completely different person had entered her body.
When I did my usual routine of checking her doors and windows to make sure she was secure, she didn’t tease me about being a prison warden.
When I leaned down to kiss her goodnight at the door, she turned her head so I caught her cheek instead. I brushed it off thinking she was tired, but maybe I missed something.
Even though I have a ton of work to plow through on my laptop, I spend most of my flight distracted by thoughts of Zora and her odd behavior last night.
By the time the plane lands, I’m no closer to an answer.
When I stride into the office, I’m ready to lash out at someone. Milton just happens to be a convenient target.
“What happened to our storage cloud, Milton?” I bark, yanking my tie down and flying behind my desk. One shake of the mouse and the screen blares to life.
“I
don’t know, sir. It crashed and—”
“I know it crashed. That’s why I’m here. I’m asking why the firewalls were hacked.”
“I don’t know. It’s like someone intentionally tried to shut it down with an unsophisticated code. It was so old school we didn’t even plan for it.”
I grit my teeth and fold my sleeves. “Let’s clean this up. I have someone waiting for me.”
I work with the other programmers to restore the system and upload new malware scanners that are equipped to withstand all attacks. Our new program is near impenetrable.
My eyes are gritty and I rub them, noticing the clock on the wall. It’s well after midnight. I sent the other programmers home at ten after we’d weeded out the virus, so the office is empty and quiet.
My jaw cracks on a yawn. I glance at my phone, but Zora hasn’t messaged me yet. I’m taking no news as good news. Hopefully, I can finish up here tomorrow and head home by the end of the day.
It’s too late to call her now so I grab my jacket and prepare to close up, determined to call her first thing in the morning.
As I flip off the light switches in the office, I hear a clopping sound. Unnerved, I peer into the darkness. A womanly figure emerges from the shadows.
My heart calms when I recognize Violet’s shape. I could spot her in a crowd, so it’s easy to identify her. That doesn’t mean I’m happy that she’s here.
“Violet,” I say dryly.
“Hello, Will.” She steps closer to me. I realize the clopping sound came from her red heels. The shoes match her dress, which is flowing past her knees but fitted at the waist. It sets off her alabaster skin. Her dark hair is fixed into a high ponytail.
She’s stunning, but that’s not a surprise.
“How did you know I was back?”
“Because,” she clasps her fingers together, “I was the one who ordered the hit on the B-Jogger cloud.”
My jaw drops. “What?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know your firewalls would blow like that. I asked the hacker guy to create an emergency so you could come home but—”
“Wait.” I wave my hands as I struggle to process her words, “you did this? What the hell, Vi!”
“I know. It was stupid, but I was desperate. You weren’t answering my calls.”
“I didn’t get any calls from you.” I shake my head. “My SIM card doesn’t work in Belize. I use another number when I’m there.”
She winces. “Oh.”
I readjust my jacket over my arm. “What was so important you almost destroyed our business over it?”
“Now obviously isn’t a good time to talk. Can you make time for me tomorrow?”
“No. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Already?” Her delicate eyebrows hike. “But you just got here.”
“There’s something more important over there that I have to take care of.”
“What?”
“None of your business.”
She frowns. “Look, I get that you’re pissed at me for watching Kent’s pictures, but you didn’t have to make a big deal about it.”
“Make a big deal? I don’t give a damn who’s pictures you watch. It’s the fact that you were toying with me.”
“Toying? You knew how I felt about him!” she yells, her blue eyes aflame. “You knew and you still wanted me.”
“Maybe I was a fool, but at least I was honest.”
“No, Will, you’re not a fool. That’s not—” She licks her lips. Searches my eyes. “I don’t want to fight. I did all this to talk to you, to apologize. You’re right. I was using you. It was all for show. I mean, the sex was great. Really great. But I never gave you a chance to win my heart.”
I lean back. “What are you saying?”
“That I want you.”
I step back.
She steps closer. “These past few months without you have given me a lot of time to think, about me, about us. I didn’t know what I had, what I needed was right in front of me. Instead, I got caught up longing for someone who would never see me the way I wanted them to.”
I remain silent, studying her, listening to the words I wanted to hear since she pulled me under the bleachers and told me she had feelings for my cousin.
I should be more excited.
This is Violet. My dream girl. Except the only girl I can think about right now, as Violet confesses her love to me, is back in Belize.
“I want to give you a chance,” Violet says, unaware of my thoughts. “The way I should have back in high school. And after I came back from college. And after I found out Kent was engaged.”
“Vi, listen—”
“Don’t speak.” She shakes her head allowing her ponytail to whip the air. “I’ve been a fool, Wilson. I got so used to you loving me that I started taking it for granted. And I tried to find someone else,” she blows out a breath, “but no one treated me the way you did.”
“Violet—”
“So here’s my proposal.” She stops right in front of me. “You’ve got my permission to use me. Treat me the way I treated you. It’s okay. You said you wanted all of me, not just my body. So you can have it. No questions asked.”
“I don’t—”
“I know what you’re going to say.”
My lip twitches. “You do?”
“You can’t possibly imagine treating me as horribly as I did to you, but it doesn’t matter what you do. All I want is you, Wilson. I see that now. I was so blind before. Chasing after the wind when I had a good man right in front of me. Well, I won’t make the same mistake again.”
It’s everything I’ve ever wanted to hear and there is a selfish part of me that wants to sleep with her one last time and then tell her about Zora. Just to leave her with the same scars that she dug into me.
But I can’t bring myself to.
For one thing, that’s not the kind of guy my parents raised me to be.
And second, I do love Violet. Just not the way I did before. I’ll always have a soft spot for her. But a lot of things have changed since I hopped on that plane to Belize moping about her and Kent.
“Well?” She slips closer to me and puts her hand on my chest. “If you’re tired, how about you come back to my place and we can—?”
I grab her wrist to stop her before she kisses me. “Violet.”
“What?” Her eyelashes flap.
“I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“You want to stay here?” She smiles wickedly. “It wouldn’t be the first time we did it in the office.”
The images come flooding back, but I vanquish them with one thought of Zora. Somehow, I find the strength to push the woman I once considered the love of my life away from me. “There’s something you should know.”
“What?”
“I have a girlfriend.”
She laughs and flicks my top button with a manicured finger. “You’ve had girlfriends before. That hasn’t stopped you.”
“She’s pregnant.”
Violet freezes. “What?”
“And I asked her to marry me.” Not that Violet needs to know Zora basically told me to try again in two years.
“M-marry?”
“That’s right.”
Staring at Violet as she reels from the shock of my revelation, I come to a new understanding.
She’s human.
I always put Violet on a pedestal. If she sneezed, I worshiped the spray. If she walked, I kissed the ground her foot trampled.
Now I see her. She’s insecure, grasping at anything that will keep her afloat in a turbulent world where falling in love doesn’t mean you’ll be with that person forever. I was her life vest, keeping her safe even when she swam in deep waters.
Not anymore.
As I study her face, I feel a wave of compassion. “I’m sorry, Violet. I hope you find what you’re looking for, but it’s not going to be me.”
“Wilson! Please, don’t leave.”
“I’m not leaving you.” I dig in my pocke
ts for my keys. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
After I drop Violet off, I head to my hotel, collapse into bed and sleep like a baby.
Chapter Twenty
Zora
I toss and turn all night. Sleep runs away while fear taunts me with images of Violet and Wilson in bed together. On top of each other. Entwined with each other.
It makes me want to puke.
I sit up with a groan and yank my bandana off. My scalp is itching, which is usually a sign that I’m frustrated or stressed. I dig my fingernails in there before tossing myself back on the mattress and forcing my eyes closed.
Except there’s no escaping the torture. Behind my eyelids, a million different scenes play on repeat—Wilson kissing Violet, loving her, assuring her that she’s the only woman for him.
And she is.
I know that. I anticipated that.
But it still sucks.
Restless and annoyed, I lumber out of bed and head to the bathroom to relieve myself. When I’m done, I wash my hands and stare at my reflection in the mirror.
“Pathetic.” I spit at the woman in the glass. “You went and fell for a guy that wasn’t yours in the first place.”
Something clatters in response.
I jump at the sound, my nerves skittering with horror. My gaze sweeps the bathroom—the sink, the shaggy blue rug beneath the toilet, the shower curtains. Everything’s in place.
“Alright, Little Bean,” I whisper to my stomach, “calm down. There’s nothing to be scared of. Mommy’s gonna check this out.”
Strengthened by the thought that my baby is depending on me, I straighten my shoulders and stalk into the living room. I’m pretty sure the sound came from this direction. Maybe I forgot to close the curtains and the wind blew something down?
Or maybe it was all in my head.
It’s hard to see in the darkness, but I don’t notice anything particularly alarming in the hall either. When I turn on my heels to head back to my bedroom, I stop short. Spin back. Fix my eyes on the front door.
It’s ajar.
My breath hitches. Why is that open? I know I locked it when I came in after work.