Chapter Thirty-Eight
Kristen
“You went shopping?” Melody asked in surprise.
I smiled. “I did.”
“Without me?” she asked accusingly.
I smiled guiltily at her. “I wanted to shop for an hour, and if I’d brought you along, it would have turned into the whole day.”
“You are such a bitch,” she complained. “I don’t even know why I’m friends with you.”
I laughed. “I’m sorry, I promise we’ll go shopping after the New Year. I’m in need of some new clothes.”
“I’m glad you finally realize that,” she nodded. “Now show me the fruits of your labor.”
I smiled and pulled out the red dress I had chosen from my closet. I had the satisfaction of seeing Melody’s eyes go wide with appreciation.
“Wow…not bad for an hour’s worth of shopping,” she said. “That’s definitely a va-va-voom kind of dress.”
I frowned at it. “I’m thinking it might be a little too much,” I said. “This is an office party, after all.”
“It’s a New Year’s Eve office party,” Melody reminded me. “That is the perfect dress for the occasion. You definitely have my seal of approval.”
I smiled and nodded. “Well, I do want to impress tonight.”
“Who exactly do you want to impress?” she asked, wagging her eyebrows at me.
I rolled my eyes in response. “Would you believe, this is one of the first nights in a month that we’re actually going to be alone together.”
“Really?”
“I guess we’ve just been busy doing things with Noah,” I said. “Which I haven’t minded at all, actually. That kid is fun.”
“Apparently… I have to meet him one day,” Melody said.
“I’d like that,” I nodded. “I’d like you to meet Jake, too.”
“Are you kidding? I would love that,” she said instantly. “I’ve been wanting to meet him for months now.”
“Soon, then,” I promised.
“So, how are things between the two of you?”
“They’ve been going really well,” I said. “We’ve talked a lot over the last two months, and I don’t think we have any secrets from each other anymore.”
“I still can’t believe that his wife was your sister,” Melody said, shaking her head at me. “It’s like a soap opera.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Ew.”
She laughed. “I better head out … I have my own New Year’s plans.”
“Right,” I nodded, as I walked her to the door.
The moment she had left, I had a quick shower and then blew out my hair until it was glossy, shiny, and curling slightly at the tips. Then I applied some foundation, added a hint of blush, and opted for a dark and sultry smoky eye. Lastly, I added lipstick, and then I slipped on my red dress. It was a strapless embellished mini that hugged my body. Then I slipped on my high heels and stared at myself in the mirror.
I looked different. The makeup and dress were definitely come hither, but it was more than just what I was wearing. I could feel my own confidence translate on my face, and I smiled happily back at my reflection. A few minutes later, I heard a knock on my door. Frowning, I rushed to answer it, wondering if maybe Melody had forgotten something.
“Jake,” I said, in surprise as I opened the door to find him standing there in a smart black suit that made him look like a Versace model.
“Wow,” he said, looking at me with clear admiration. “You look gorgeous.”
“Thank you,” I blushed. “Right back atcha.”
Jake laughed and then he leaned down to kiss me softly on the lips. Then he produced a long-stemmed red rose from inside his jacket.
“Looks like red is the color of the night,” he said.
“Oh, thank you, Jake,” I said, accepting the rose. “This is the first rose I’ve ever received.”
“What?” he said, looking shocked. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “None of my previous boyfriends were ever that thoughtful.”
“Well, no wonder they couldn’t hold on to you,” he said as he held out his hand for me.
We walked to the car together, and Jake held the door open for me. He was such a gentleman that sometimes I couldn’t believe my luck.
“How’s Noah?” I asked.
Jake smiled. “You saw him this morning.”
“But I still miss him,” I said.
“You’ll see him tomorrow,” he reminded me.
I nodded. “I have a new recipe I want to try out with him,” I said. “I think he’ll love it.”
“If you suggest it, he’ll love it,” Jake said. “That boy worships the ground you walk on.”
As he said it, Jake reached out for my hand and held it the whole way to the office. When we got to the office parking lot, it was almost nine o’clock, and it seemed like the party was in full swing.
“Won’t people wonder why we’ve come together?” I asked, realizing that this was the first time we were going to be in a social setting with the office crowd, including the board of directors.
“Of course, they will,” Jake said, as we got out of the car. “But it’ll soon become clear to them.”
“What will?” I asked nervously.
“That we’re together,” he said, slipping his hand into mine just before we hit the entrance to the lobby.
“You don’t mind everyone knowing?”
“I want everyone to know,” Jake said. “I love you, and you love me, and that’s something we shouldn’t have to hide.”
I smiled, feeling a wave of excitement overcome me. I squeezed his hand, and we went up in the elevators to the highest floor where the party was being held. We walked into a crowded room and instantly, I felt everyone’s eyes on both of us. Jake was completely unfazed, however. He looked like he was in his element as he smiled and waved at people. I was more nervous than he was, but his boldness gave me courage.
We had been at the party only fifteen minutes when Jake leaned in and whispered in my ear. “I can see the board across the room. Will you excuse me for a little bit?”
“Of course,” I nodded.
The moment Jake had left my side, I found myself surrounded by people who wanted the details of my relationship. Martin, Adelaide, and Tiffany came up to me instantly.
“You and the boss?”
“You and Jake Middleton!”
“Oh my God!”
“Can’t believe it!”
“You are so lucky; he’s gorgeous!”
“And rich.”
“And, he looks like he’d be great in bed, too.”
“You and Jake Middleton!”
“I always suspected.”
“Me too.”
I laughed. “Whoa,” I said. “Calm down, guys, this is not that shocking.”
“We had no idea,” Tiffany said, shaking her head at me. “Why didn’t you ever let on?”
“Because for a while there, things didn’t look like they were going to work out,” I said honestly. “So there was no point in telling anyone.”
“Wait,” Martin said, raising an eyebrow. “This doesn’t break any company policies, does it?”
I laughed. “We’re both consenting adults who are in a committed relationship,” I said. “And, this company doesn’t have any rules against employees dating one another.”
“I suppose even if they did, Jake could change them,” Adelaide said, giving me a sly grin.
“What’s he like?”
“How is he in bed?”
“How much does he earn?”
“Doesn’t he have a kid?”
I held up my hands to stop the steady flow of questions. “Whoa, guys…let me catch my breath, will you?”
“Come on,” Adelaide wheedled. “Give us some dirt.”
“Yes, he does have a son. Noah’s five, and he’s the apple of my eye,” I answered. “Jake is a complete gentleman; he’s amazing in bed, and as for how much he earns…that’s none of your business. Happy now?”
“Not completely,” Tiffany said.
“Well, I’m afraid you’re going to have to be happy with that because he’s on his way over here.”
“Fuck,” Martin said, and then he made a beeline towards the buffet.
“You guys don’t have to leave,” I pointed out, but Adelaide and Tiffany gave me nervous smiles.
“Sorry, hon,” Adelaide said. “He’s still our boss and hella intimidating to boot.”
Jake walked up to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. “What happened to your friends?”
“Turns out you’re intimidating,” I joked, remembering that that was exactly how I felt about Jake when I had first met him.
“Is that right?” he asked in amusement. “Should I be flattered?”
“I would be,” I nodded. “So how did the talk with the board go?”
“They’ve agreed to expand the budget a little and distribute the workload,” Jake told me. “Which means I’ll have more time for Noah…and you.”
I clapped my hands together and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so glad.”
“This party is kind of lame,” Jake said, looking around the room.
“What would you rather be doing?” I asked teasingly.
“Something that requires no clothes…with you.”
I laughed. “Too bad we don’t have any closets here…”
Jake raised an eyebrow. “We don’t have a closet, but we do have the next best thing.”
With that, he grabbed my hand and dragged me through the hall. The party was loud and buzzing with energy, and while a few people looked in our general direction, they didn’t stay interested for long.
“Where are you taking me?” I demanded.
The hall tapered at one end, and there was a small space that left off from the main room. Jake pulled me through to a door on the side, opened it and pushed me through. Once we were both inside, Jake sealed the door shut with what looked like a mop.
“Is this the utility closet; the one the janitor uses?” I asked.
Jake laughed. “Like I said, the next best thing.”
Before I knew it, his hands were running all over my body, and every protest in my head fell away instantly. All I wanted was to be here with Jake in a small, enclosed space with the sounds of the party echoing around us. I could hear voices, laughter, and music, and it was exhilarating to know that there was only a door between us, and all the people we worked with.
Jake’s hands felt like fire as they roamed all over me. He pushed up my skirt and pulled down my thong. He squeezed my ass hard, and I moaned without worrying about being heard. The music would drown out our lovemaking. His cock was rock hard as he pushed inside me. We fucked against the back wall, disrupting all the cleaning supplies around us.
My body was so titillated by the experience that I felt my orgasm come on early. But before it could fully form, Jake changed positions by turning me around and taking me from the back. I groaned in ecstasy as he fucked me hard, pulling my hair from the back with one hand as the other hand squeezed my left breast.
For the final leg, he turned me around again so that we were face to face. With his lips only inches from mine, he whispered to me while he was still inside me.
“I love you, Kristen.”
“I love you,” I whispered back breathlessly, just as I reached climax.
Six Months Later
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Jake
“Daddy,” Noah called, as he ran into my room. “How do I look?”
I turned to him and smiled at the outfit he had chosen. He had picked his favorite pair of jeans, a t-shirt with Batman on the front of it, and a little blazer-style jacket that I’d bought ages ago knowing he would grow into it. I noticed that he had even combed his hair.
“Wow,” I said, nodding in approval. “You look better than I do.”
“You look like James Bond,” Noah said.
I gave him a wink. “That was the idea,” I nodded. “I have to make sure she can’t say no.”
“No?” he repeated, with a frown. “No to what?”
“You’ll see,” I said cryptically. “What’s the time?”
“Daddy,” he said, sounding annoyed at me. “I can’t tell time.”
“What?” I teased. “You’re off to college next month; you should be able to tell time.”
“Daddy,” Noah said again, giggling slightly. “I’m not going to college.”
“No?” I asked. “You sure?”
“Uh-huh,” he nodded. “I don’t want to go to college.”
I raised my eyebrows and turned to him. “You don’t?”
“I want to stay with you forever,” he said.
I felt my heart expand tenfold at the sound of those words. It was proof that I wasn’t doing such a terrible job at this single parent thing. Even as I thought it, however, it didn’t feel authentic. Maybe because in the last few months, I hadn’t really felt like a single parent anymore. Kristen was always around, and Noah had slowly gotten used to having her spend the night, too. Most weekends, Kristen would stay with us. We would plan our weekends with Noah and end up going someplace or the other, either to the planetarium, the zoo, the museums, or the park.
Sundays were lazy, stay-at-home kind of days. Kristen and Noah would spend half of it in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes they found online. Then we would eat together and play games or tell stories for the rest of the evening.
There were a few odd weekdays when Kristen would come over. She would cook something healthy and hearty and then she’d help Noah with homework before she put him to bed.
Our lives had taken on the comforting ease of routine, and I loved feeling as though my family was complete. I had never really experienced that before. Daphne had been so depressed and sad after Noah had been born that the focus had been taken off our new baby. Right afterward, she had enlisted and left overseas, and my journey into single parenthood had begun.
It felt like another lifetime ago now. It was funny how when you were going through something it felt both hopeless and endless. But then something happened that changed your perspective and made the hard times dissolve into distant memories that didn’t hurt at all.
I still thought about Daphne a lot, but it was no longer painful for me to remember her. Kristen never minded talking about Daphne; in fact, she encouraged it for Noah’s sake, and I was deeply grateful for that.
“Daddy?” Noah said, cutting into my thoughts. “Come on, let’s go. We’ll be late.”
“Right,” I nodded, spraying myself with a little aftershave before heading out.
Noah was practically bouncing around in the backseat. He was so excited at the thought of sitting and eating in a proper grown-up restaurant.
“Daddy?”
“Yeah, bud?”
“Can I order anything I want?” Noah asked.
I smiled. “Sure, bud, you can order anything you want.”
“Even a grown-up meal?”
My smile grew wider. “Actually, I think this particular restaurant doesn’t even have a kid’s menu. So everything on it is grown up.”
“Wow,” Noah said, drawing out the word.
Kristen appeared at the door two minutes after we pulled up. She looked spectacular in a lilac dress made of wispy chiffon. She wore simple heels, and her hair hung loosely around her shoulders. Her makeup was, as always, understated, but she had chosen a dark lipstick that got me a little hot and bothered.
“You look amazing,” I said when I greeted her outside the car. “Like some hot seductress from my dreams.”
Kristen laughed and gave me a kiss. “Where’s Noah?”
“I’m here!” Noah yelled, having rolled down his window.
Laughing, Kristen rushed to him and leaned in for a kiss. “My, don’t you look handsome.”
“This is the first time I’m wearing this jacket.”
“It’s fabulous,” she said. “No question, you’re going to be the handsomest gent at the restaurant tonight.”
“Come on you two,” I said, breaking up their little catch-up. “We’d better head out.”
The moment Kristen got into the front seat, Noah started jabbering away. “Daddy says I can order anything on the menu.”
“Sounds like quite the decision you have to make,” Kristen said, sounding impressed.
As the two of them spoke, my mind wandered slightly. It was nice to hear their conversation, even if I wasn’t listening. It gave me strength and comfort to know that Noah had Kristen now, as well as me. The closer we got to the restaurant, however, the more nervous we became. And when I got nervous, I also tended to get quieter. I tried to keep my cool and remain suave and in control, but my mind was reeling. I had never really done this before. My first proposal had been so different.
Instantly, the memory jumped into my head, and I could see it play out as though I were watching a movie of my life. I hadn’t thought about this particular moment in ages, and so it surprised me how vivid it was.
Daphne approached me while I was attempting my tenth suicide. I was drenched with sweat and slightly cranky because I was hungry and tired and completely over my work out.
“Hi there.”
“Hi,” I replied back grumpily.
“Someone’s in a mood.”
“I’ve been doing suicides all day.”
“What number are you on?”
“Ten.”
Daphne rolled her eyes and sat down opposite me. “Please, I did twenty today.”
“Good for you,” I replied sarcastically.
Instead of getting annoyed, she just laughed. “Man, you’re in a bad mood. Is there anything I can do to help?”
I sighed and just like that her laughter broke my bad mood. “Sorry,” I said. “I’m being an ass; it’s just been a long day.”
“You’re probably going to have lots more,” she pointed out.
“Well, as long as you’re around, my moods won’t last.”
“Is that a promise?”
“It may be.”
Daphne smiled. “Hmm, well, I wouldn’t want the world to suffer on account of your moods,” she said. “And because I am a good Samaritan, I have the perfect solution.”
“Oh?” I asked. “Do tell.”
“You’ll just have to marry me.”
I looked at her in shock, wondering if she was serious or not. “What?”
“You heard me,” she said. “If you marry me, then I’ll always be around to counter your bad moods.”
“I… Did you just propose to me?” I asked.
Daphne laughed. “I think so,” she said. “So what do you say?”
“I say yes,” I said, still slightly shocked. “I will marry you.”
I smiled to myself at the memory and then put it away. That was my past, and while it would always be with me, now there was something bigger and brighter in my future that I needed to focus on. Kristen and Noah were still jabbering away, and my smile grew wider. I hoped that my life would always be like this.
We got to the restaurant, and as the valet drove off the car, I turned to Kristen and Noah. Their hands were already linked, so I walked behind them into the restaurant, willing to surrender Kristen to Noah for the time being. We were shown to the table I had requested three weeks ago when I had made the reservation. It was nestled into a little nook that overlooked the entirety of the restaurant. The table was set against glass that overlooked a pond that held swans.
Noah went crazy for the swans, and immediately he ran up to the glass to take a closer look. Kristen turned to me and slipped her hand into mine.
“I was under the impression that this restaurant needed to be booked weeks in advance.”
“It does,” I nodded.
“Wow, you’ve been planning this for a while,” Kristen said. “What’s the occasion?”
“I just wanted to give both of you a treat,” I said evasively.
We sat down as the waiter came forward with menus. Noah needed help deciding what he wanted, so Kristen leaned over to help him. In the end, we just ordered a bunch of different things to share. I also ordered a bottle of champagne for Kristen and myself, and a mocktail for Noah. Once the waiter had left, Kristen tried to engage me in conversation, but my nerves were getting in the way of my composure.
Thankfully Noah’s presence helped take the focus off me, but every now and again I saw Kristen looking at me curiously, as though she didn’t know what was going on. The waiter had just cleared away our dinner plates, and Noah was by the glass partition admiring the swans when Kristen turned to me and placed her hand over mine.
“Hey,” she said. “Is everything alright with you?”
“Yeah… Of course.”
Kristen raised her eyebrows, not convinced at all. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“You seem distant tonight.”
“Do I?”
“And, you’re giving me the shortest answers possible.”
“Am I?”
“Stop that.”
“Sorry,” I said, trying to suppress my smile.
“You know, if Noah hadn’t been here and if this restaurant had been less fancy, I would have assumed you wanted to break up with me.”
“That’s not it.”
Kristen smiled. “Well, that’s good to know.”
We were interrupted as Noah came back to the table, but instead of sitting on his own chair, he slipped onto Kristen’s lap and leaned against her shoulder. The sight of them together brought a lump to my throat, and I knew the moment had arrived.
“Kristen,” I said, reaching out for her. “You’ve made my life so much better.”
“Mine, too,” Noah piped up.
I laughed. “You’ve made a difference in both our lives, and I’m so grateful that we met.”
Kristen’s eyes were soft with tenderness, and I could tell she was getting emotional, too.
“I know neither one of us expected this, but we found each other, and it makes sense. We make sense together. I’m a lucky guy. I didn’t always think that, but now I’ve realized that I had the privilege of having not one, but two soul mates. But you’re not just my soul mate, Kristen; you’re my best friend, too. And I know I’m going to be okay as long as you’re by my side.”
With that, I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out the small jewelry box that I’d been hiding for the last month. Kristen’s eyes went wide, and a little gasp escaped her. Noah sat up straight, looking excited and impatient.
“Kristen, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“Yes!” Noah screamed before Kristen could say a word.
We laughed, and I shook my head at him. “Sorry, bud, but Kristen needs to be the one to accept my proposal.”
“Say yes, Krissy,” Noah prompted, looking back at her pleadingly. “Please say yes.”
I saw tears sparkle in Kristen’s eyes as she nodded. “Of course, I’ll marry you,” she said.
Noah screamed in excitement, and I rose from my chair to embrace Kristen. As we were kissing, I heard applause go up in the restaurant, and when we broke apart, I realized that everyone was cheering for us. Noah was wedged in between us, joining in our embrace and clapping along with everyone else.
I looked at Kristen and kissed her softly on the lips. “Yes?” I asked again, just to check.
“Yes,” she said firmly.