Forever Mine (Paradise Place Book 9)

by Natalie Ann

  This time the tears rolled down her cheeks and he handed her a napkin. “God, if Carly sees me she’ll think we are breaking up again or fighting. I love you too, Trey.”

  Though he didn’t come here planning on saying those words or even telling her about Kathy’s call, he knew there was no way he was bringing up the call now. He’d handled it, he told Kathy the way it was, and in his mind it was done.

  The girl he knew before wasn’t vulnerable. The woman he was in love with now was more than anyone could imagine. He wouldn’t add to it by bringing up something that wouldn’t make a difference to her.

  21

  In A Good Place

  The Saturday before Christmas, Whitney was walking home after visiting with Shannon and the kids. Trey had things to do and he and Ben would be over later tonight. Once he got on his weekend rotations they didn’t see much of each other. Thankfully that wasn’t happening this weekend, but he did have to work Christmas Eve and for the first time she was going to have Ben overnight by herself.

  She hadn’t wanted to ask. Or she had been wanting to ask to have Ben overnight but held back because she’d been so worried about moving too fast.

  Not anymore. Not after he said those three important words first. Now she felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders and she could bring it up.

  She wasn’t talking about the future. Nothing like that. It was too soon even for her. She knew that.

  But she was in a good place and that was enough for her.

  Until a car pulled up next to her and the window rolled down. “Whitney.”

  She turned her head and looked at her ex in what had to be a dealer BMW. No way he could afford that car. He went back and forth to all luxury dealerships in the area. Not sure if he was that good or kept getting fired. She never asked and didn’t want to know. At least he worked.

  Or maybe he wasn’t and that was the problem too.

  Again, not her concern anymore.

  “Go away, Kevin.”

  “I want to talk to you.”

  “I don’t want to talk to you. We’ve got nothing to say.”

  She kept walking. She wasn’t going to start to sprint. That was stupid. It was the middle of the day. The weather was a beautiful high fifties and she’d thought it was perfect for a walk. Now she wished she’d driven over and could have avoided this.

  But since he seemed to be looking for her in Paradise Place, it probably wouldn’t have mattered if she was in her car or not.

  “I heard you’re dating someone.”

  She turned her head. She shouldn’t be surprised he’d heard. Maybe the bigger surprise was it had taken as long as it had for him to approach her on it.

  “I’m sure you’ve slept with a dozen or more women since we divorced. Probably while we were married too. What’s your point?”

  He was following along talking to her while she kept walking. Her house was in sight and she couldn’t wait to get away from him. “He’s all but moved in with you right now. Him and his kid. Is that what this is about? I didn’t give you a kid so you’re going to find someone else to?”

  She stopped and turned to glare at him. “If that was my plan I’d have a few right now. One dick is as good as the next when it’s not shooting blanks.”

  “Bitch,” he said.

  “Go away. You’re still pissed you didn’t get anything out of the divorce.”

  “I could have fought you and you know it.”

  “You’re delusional,” she said.

  She was walking up her driveway now and he pulled in. “I’m not the only one who cheated, Whitney.”

  She turned and looked at him. “What?”

  “You heard me. And unless you want your neighbors to hear it all too, then we can go in the house and talk about this.”

  She didn’t want to let him in, but she had a feeling he wasn’t going to leave until he said what was on his mind.

  “You’ve got ten minutes, then get the hell off my property or I’ll call the police to have you removed.”

  “Going to call Daddy for that?” Kevin snarled and shut his car off. “Or Ryan to come and attack me again? I’ll press charges this time. I should have done it last time too.”

  “I don’t need my father or brother to fight my battles,” she said. “I never did.”

  If she needed the police, she was calling Ruby and getting her husband, Josh, here who was an investigator with the state police. Or maybe Josh’s best friend, Nathan, who lived here too. Josh’s brother, Dylan, just bought a house in Paradise Place over the summer and was dating Zoe. She had an endless number of people she knew personally—law enforcement or not—that would come here and gladly yank her ex off her property.

  But that would draw more attention to her than she wanted.

  Her mother wanted to know why she held on? That was part of it.

  She was sick of being gossiped about and this was a surefire way for it to happen again.

  It was bad enough everyone did the whole poor Whitney thing when they found out Kevin cheated. Then it was all about how stupid she was for not seeing it, or maybe seeing it and hanging on for no reason.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t have a reason. She’d believed that maybe Kevin would come around to having a child. Then she wondered what other man would want her if she was damaged. If she couldn’t bear a child.

  It was stupid on her part, but she’d been knocked down so much in her marriage, she started to feel like such a failure.

  Not anymore.

  “Says the woman who had her daddy pay for her house.”

  That was the last straw. They were in the house and she was ready to make her voice heard. “My father didn’t pay for this house. I did. But you and your spending and shitty credit wouldn’t let us get a loan for what you wanted done.”

  “We shouldn’t have had to pay for this house. The land was given to you, why not the house?”

  “Shut the hell up, Kevin. I’m not hashing this out again and if that is all you wanted, just leave.”

  “Whatever. That is the only reason I didn’t get anything. You hid all your money.”

  “So did you. Oh wait. You spent all your money on women and hotels. Probably gambling and drinking too.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Maybe if my wife gave me sex instead of someone else, I wouldn’t have had to go to other women.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? I never cheated on you. Ever! We had plenty of sex. I’m sorry if when you walked in the door drunk at two in the morning smelling like smoke and cheap booze I wasn’t going to turn over and spread my legs for you.”

  “I had to go get drunk because you were withholding sex from me,” he said.

  “I was trying to get pregnant. Years, Kevin. I’ve put my body through so many tests and unnecessary stress to have a child. Part of that was having sex at certain times. You knew that and you understood. I never did anything without talking to you first.”

  “It was all you ever talked about,” he said, snorting.

  “Why are you here?” she asked. “Four minutes is up, so you’ve got six to finish and then I will be calling someone to get you out of this house if you don’t go alone.”

  Kevin looked around. “The place looks different. Just like you wanted it. It was always all about you.”

  “I’m not in the mood for this,” she said.

  “Fine.” He walked over and picked up one of Ben’s toys in the corner. “How would your new boyfriend...oh wait. It’s your old boyfriend. Your first. The one that broke up with you before graduation. Trey, right?”

  There was no reason to ask how he knew. People talked in this town, but since he saw her walking, chances are he was driving around watching her house. “Your point. What about Trey? Or are you jealous because no one could compare to him? What is it they say? You never forget your first? Guess that is the case here. No one could quite give it to me like him. Maybe that is why I withheld sex from you like you think I did. Or maybe that
is why you went elsewhere because you knew your wife wasn’t happy?”

  “Bitch,” he said again. “Let’s see what your boyfriend thinks of the fact that you aren’t the pure sweet innocent girl that he thought you were. That you got pregnant with my child out of wedlock.”

  She started to laugh. “He knows. Try something else.”

  He looked shocked over that statement since she’d always said she’d never tell another soul. Not even her parents. She didn’t want them to know what happened and be disappointed in her.

  “Okay, then the little princess cheated on her husband. Bet he wouldn’t be pleased to know that for someone who was so righteous about the vows that you threw in my face, that you didn’t honor them yourself.”

  “I repeat. I never once cheated on you. Did you pick up a drug addiction from one of the whores you were sleeping with and can’t remember facts now?”

  “James Wright,” he said and she felt her face pale. “Oh, see? Guess I’m right.”

  “You’re an asshole,” she said. “Yep, I slept with James.”

  “And we were married, so that is cheating.”

  “Fuck you, Kevin. I’d just found out that my husband had been cheating on me for years. Years!”

  “You don’t know that,” he argued. “It was only for a few months.”

  “Don’t lie to me,” she said. “That night when I kicked you out, I believed it’d been a few months. But you never throw anything out. You’re such a slob and when I was packing some of your shit up, I found receipts for local hotels years in the past.”

  “Whatever,” he said. “It’s a moot point.”

  “It’s only a moot point because I proved you’re wrong.”

  “As I said, you slept with James,” he said.

  “Four days after your stuff was packed up and I found out what you’d done, I’d gone out and had a few drinks. I ran into James and he’d heard I kicked you out.”

  “I thought he was my friend. But you went and slept with him to get back at me. I know all about it.”

  “No,” she said. “I went back to his place because he felt bad for what he’d heard. Some friend of yours, he said he’d known what you were doing for years. We had a few more and one thing led to another. It’s not cheating when I’d kicked you out. We were done. End of story. I’d already seen my lawyer and started the paperwork and you know that.”

  “You didn’t even give me a chance to explain.”

  “Because you’re doing such a wonderful job of it now,” she said, looking at her watch. “Your ten minutes are over.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Leave or I’m calling the police. And it’s not merely a threat, as I’ve got friends. Unlike you. They will be here fast. Try me. I think seeing you in cuffs would brighten my day.”

  “Always were a bitch,” he said, slamming out the door. He wasn’t even creative in finding another insult to call her.

  She sat down on the couch and took a few deep breaths while she noticed her hand was shaking.

  No one knew about James that she was aware of. It was a mistake. She’d never told a soul, but obviously James did. He probably went and bragged about it back to Kevin even after he’d been nice to her about it all.

  Her trust in men was so low for many years.

  There was a knock at her door and she looked down at her phone to see on the camera who it could be. If it was Kevin she was calling the police. But it was Ryan and she’d noticed Kevin left almost five minutes ago.

  She stood up and went to the door to let her brother in. He had a key and could get in if he wanted to. She could pretend she wasn’t home, but then he’d worry figuring she had to be by now.

  “Hey, didn’t I just see you?”

  Ryan shut the door. “Tell me that bastard wasn’t here.”

  Shit. “What are you talking about?”

  “I saw Kevin drive by my house like a bat out of hell. I wouldn’t have paid attention other than the guy was being erratic and there are kids around. Then I got a closer look at who it was. Not sure what he was doing here, but then, you know. I figured I better check on you.”

  “Does it matter if he was?”

  “I can tell by the look on your face he was. What did he want?”

  She could lie, but why bother at this point? She needed to talk to someone and Ryan had been the one who’d held her head while she puked the next morning a few times. More than a few times. The two of them put away a lot of alcohol that first six months after she kicked Kevin out.

  She was shocked she’d never spilled any secrets in her drunken state. Then she wondered if maybe she did and Ryan would pretend otherwise.

  “Seems he found out I’ve got a boyfriend.”

  “What does it matter to him?” Ryan asked.

  “Want a beer?” she asked. “I need some wine.”

  “Oh boy. I don’t like the sounds of this. I can’t go home drunk to my wife. She won’t understand,” he said, laughing.

  “Shannon would completely understand. And if she weren’t pregnant she might come here and join us after I tell you.”

  “Is he threatening to tell Trey something about you? He knows it’s Trey you’re dating, doesn’t he?”

  “He does. I didn’t bother to ask how he knew. Doesn’t matter. He obviously knew all about Trey. How could he not? I’d told him things. He’d heard more through the years from the family. It’s not a secret.”

  “No, it’s not. But he’d still try to make trouble if he could.”

  “Which is what he wants to do.” She inhaled and admitted it. “First thing he said he was going to do was tell Trey I got pregnant when I was eighteen. Like I was tainted or something over it.”

  “What kind of lie is that?” Ryan asked.

  “It isn’t a lie. I did get pregnant when we first started to date. Don’t tell Mom or Dad. I didn’t want anyone to know and be disappointed.”

  “I can’t believe you never told anyone that you were pregnant before. Not after you’ve been trying for years.”

  “I took a store-bought test. It was positive. I got my period and miscarried before the doctor’s appointment. They said I was young and things happen. Not to worry, I had plenty of time to conceive again.”

  “So that is why you started to talk about marriage so fast. Why go through it though?”

  At least her brother wasn’t judging her. “I don’t know. I just saw something with him that I wanted and didn’t get.”

  Ryan shook his head and went to the fridge to get a beer. “I know there is more to this. Keep talking.”

  “I need to know it doesn’t go any further and that you won’t go after Kevin either. It’s over with. He’s itching to toss you in jail and you know it. Don’t ruin your life over him.”

  “He is trying to ruin your life,” Ryan argued.

  “No, he’s not. He can’t do anything if I don’t let him. But when he threatened to tell Trey that, I laughed and told him Trey knew.”

  “You told Trey and not us you were pregnant?” Ryan asked, lifting his eyebrow. “Why?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “I think it does.”

  “He wanted to know about my divorce. He figured I’d have kids by now.”

  “So you told him you couldn’t conceive?” Ryan asked. “But you did, so I’m confused.”

  “Now comes the part where you have to promise not to hunt Kevin down. I mean it, or I won’t tell you. If you don’t promise me then I’m not telling you.”

  “I don’t like the look on your face.”

  “Promise me, Ryan.”

  He took a long sip of his beer. “I promise.”

  “Kevin got a vasectomy before I tried to start a family. He did it when I was on a trip with Mom and never told me.”

  Ryan threw his beer bottle against the wall. That was about what she expected. “Fuck.”

  “You promised me,” she said.

  “How do you know he wasn’t yanking your chain?” he asked.


  “Because he was pissed enough that he wasn’t getting anything in the divorce that he lost control and said it. And it makes sense why he’d never get tested. He always said he didn’t need to since I’d gotten pregnant before. It was because then I’d know the reason. And just so I know he wasn’t lying to hurt me more, I’m not sure he meant to say it, but there were still boxes from his office in the house and I went through the papers and found a slip from the hospital that day with instructions for care. He never threw anything out.”

  “I didn’t think I could hate him any more than I already did,” Ryan said, running his hands through his hair. “The things you went through. Your body, mentally, and he knew all along what was going on.”

  “Yeah. I know. I think that is why he couldn’t fight me over the divorce too once he’d said it. He knows how private I am and I didn’t want anyone to know because I thought you and Dad would end up in a cell if you did.”

  “If we knew back then, we might have.”

  “Exactly.”

  He snorted. “Here I was thinking Kevin was going to threaten to tell Trey you cheated on him too.”

  “What?”

  “Whitney. You drank a lot those first few months. You’re lucky I didn’t break James in half after I found out he took advantage of you. But you insisted you needed to feel like a woman. That you had to know someone wanted you. I couldn’t argue with it.”

  “So much for thinking I kept that secret. Why didn’t you ever say anything that you knew?”

  “Why embarrass you? You didn’t bring it up again, I wasn’t going to.”

  She went to her brother and hugged him. “Thanks for always looking out for me.”

  “That’s what brothers do,” he said.

  “They keep their promises too,” she reminded him.

  “Shit. Yeah. It won’t leave this house.”

  “That means Shannon too,” she said. “I know how tempting it is to share with your spouse and I trust her, but not right now, please.”

  “I won’t. And look at me, Whitney. Not all men are assholes. I know you say you aren’t skittish or jaded, but sometimes I wonder.”