Chapter Thirty-Three
Alfie
Weekends rarely mattered as I worked all the bloody time, but the situation with Molly had me wanting to give up on just about everything. The advice from some good colleagues at work was to take my Saturday and do something I loved to do.
Funny enough, the only thing I enjoyed before saving Molly from her drama with Harry, was working. My hobbies had long fallen by the wayside. I’d have to get some new ones, besides drinking and one-night stands. My heart wasn’t in either just yet, and I wasn’t sure it would be anytime in the near future.
After waking up at almost noon, I piddled around the house and read the paper with my morning coffee. It felt peaceful and almost right. The only thing that would have made it better was the smell of bacon frying in the kitchen and my beautiful lass standing by the stove in her robe.
My cock hardened just thinking about her. She had a serious pull over me. “Get over your fucking self and call her. Stop thinking about the company and think about yourself for once. Shit.”
My phone rang, causing me to jump as I was mid-rant on myself. It was a strange life, being alone all the time, but I’d grown accustomed to it. Or had…
I picked up the phone to see it was Logan. He was the only person I didn’t mind talking to. “Hey, mate.”
“Alfie. Good to hear your voice, man.” He sounded far too chipper for the time of morning it was back in New York.
“I was just there a week ago. You’re getting sweet on me. I can tell.” I smiled before lifting my mug to my lips to finish off my cooling coffee.
“You wish, old friend.” He chuckled. “I was calling because I had an interesting encounter yesterday.”
“That so?” I leaned back in my chair. “Did you run into that old broad who nipped the tip of your dick back in University?”
He groaned. “You wait to bring that up every time, don’t you?”
“If I’m being completely honest, then yes. Of course, I do.” My smile had widened. The humorous memory had me wanting to laugh out loud, but the event had been a bit traumatic for Logan. He still had issues letting a woman suck him off. Not that I blamed him.
“Anyway. I shared a cab with a beautiful woman yesterday.” I could hear the smile on his face.
“Oh, yeah? Did you get her number?” I stood and started to gather my breakfast dishes.
“No, but I figured you might have it.” He paused briefly. “It was Molly. She’s much more beautiful in person for sure.”
I stopped in my tracks as my shoulders stiffened. “My Molly?”
“Yours? Is she still yours?” He was teasing me. Fuck me for not telling him that things had fallen apart between us.
“No. I suppose not.” I continued my trek to the kitchen. Maybe a pint down at Albert’s Pub would do me some good. At least it would take the edge off. “I didn’t call her after leaving New York. We got in a fight about the marketing strategy, and I felt like maybe it was a good time to part ways.”
“And how are you feeling now? Still happy with your decision to let a beautiful woman like her go?”
My mood soured. “No, Logan, but you know my life isn’t really conducive to having a woman in it. I run a huge company, and a lot of people rely on me.”
“Yeah, but what about you? You’re just going to hole up and never live at all? That seems like shit to me.”
“I understand your concern, and honestly, it touches me that you care, but I’m not sure what to do about it.” I shrugged, quite set in my reasoning for why I wasn’t pursuing a life with Molly. “Besides, she would end up raising our children mostly by herself and eventually falling for another man while we were still married. It just isn’t right.”
“She’s not your mother, Alfie. She’s not going to follow that same path.”
“You don’t know that,” I barked into the phone and immediately regretted it. Lashing out at Logan wasn’t going to help anyone.
“And you don’t know that either.” He put me back in my place. “You’re missing out on the greatest adventure any of us will get this side of heaven, man. Love is painful and scary as fuck, but it’s worth it.”
“Says the single guy with no worries.” I walked toward the foyer to take the stairs to my room. A pint was definitely in order.
“I don’t want to be single. I just pretend like I do. It sucks ass to be lonely every night.”
I nodded. I agreed completely. The little bit of time I had Molly in the house completely changed my view on being a bachelor forever, but the events in New York set me back a few steps. I was terrified of loving and losing, but here I was…doing it by choice now.
“I’m sorry for being a dick.” I climbed the stairs. “I miss her like crazy, and yet, I don’t know if calling her after ignoring her for a week would work.”
“What do you have to lose, old friend?”
It was a good question. “Her?”
“You’ve already done that, Alfie. Fix it. She wants you too…I promise.”
“You sure about that?” I stopped just inside my bedroom and let my eyes run across my crumpled sheets. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t have given to see her in the bed, stretched out, naked and horny for me.
“She was weepy and broken yesterday. She loves you, man. Go after her. Seriously.”
“All right. I’ll think about it. I’ll call you later, mate.” I dropped the call and tossed the phone onto the bed before face planting beside it.
He was right. I missed her so much my insides hurt, and the world seemed awfully dark. Even if we did get together and she ended up leaving for another man, I could deal with that shit then. And maybe… Maybe if I were really lucky, she’d stay, and we could be together, happy and raising a few beautiful kids.
It felt like a pipe dream, but maybe Logan was right.
Maybe it was worth the risk to see if it would work out.
*
“Alfie. Good to see you, young man.” Albert gave me a warm smile as I walked into the pub a few hours later. “You want something to eat?”
“I’d love some of your fish and chips.”
“And a pint of lager?” he patted me on the back and walked with me to my usual seat.
“That would be brilliant.” I dropped down and let out a long sigh. “You doing okay?”
“Oh, yeah. My wife loves your new phone.” He shook his head. “I can’t figure out how to work the damn thing, but she believes you to be a very gifted young man.”
I smiled. “Bring it to me, and I’ll show you everything you need to know.”
“I’ll do that.” He nodded and turned, walking toward the back.
Much to my surprise, the voice that called my name didn’t send a shiver of anger down my spine. Harry.
“Alfie. Hey, mate. Mind if I sit?” He stood beside the open seat across from me. “Please? I have some apologizing to do.”
I nodded, not quite sure what to think.
He dropped down and let out a long sigh, holding my gaze, which was brave of him. “I’m sorry, mate. I shouldn’t have been such a dick to come out to your place and act like I did.”
“I understand why you came.” I reached for my beer as Albert approached. He gave me a weary look and glanced down at Harry.
“Pint for you, lad?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll take whatever Alfie is having, and bring the bill to me, please.” He turned back to me. “The moment I met Molly back in the States, I knew she would be perfect for you.”
“What?” I snorted as I lifted my glass to my lips. “Perfect for me?”
“Yeah.” He leaned back and gave me a sheepish look. “I shouldn’t have proposed or taken advantage of her. She’s far too good of a woman for me.” He shrugged. “But I knew she would make a great wife and a fantastic business partner.”
“Why would you marry for practicality?” I leaned toward him as my brow drew tight. I couldn’t fathom marrying for anything but love. It was too fucking hard. You had to have the right kind of binding between you when things got tough because they would. I’d seen it with my parents and all their friends, as well as the people in my small beloved town. Love was the only reason to marry.
“Because I’m an idiot.” Harry reached up and took the beer from Albert, thanking him. “Molly had fallen for me, maybe not fully, but enough for me to know that we were compatible.”
“Then why did you cheat on her?” My voice grew tight as the room darkened a little. I wanted to reach out and beat his ass all over again for hurting her.
“Because I wasn’t in love.” He glanced down at his pint and back up to me. “I’ll make my peace with her over all of it because she’s worth the humility, but I’m telling you now that I’m sorry. I was a dick to both of you, and I shouldn’t have been.”
“What happened to you, mate?” I pulled my napkin into my lap as Albert brought out my fish and chips. Harry stole a fry, and I started to reprimand him, but I couldn’t.
We’d been friends for years, and if I were really being honest with myself, I missed him. The old him. There had been many days where he’d carried my wayward ass out of a bar or helped me fight off some lass’s boyfriend because I’d dry-humped her on the dance floor.
“No clue.” He shrugged and smiled. “I was just thinking the other day that it’s almost like we traded places. You became responsible and caring, and I turned into a drunken asshole who would do anything for a laugh or rise outta someone.”
“Yeah.” I dropped my hands into my lap. “You took care of me a lot back in Uni. I never thanked you for that.”
“No need. I should thank you for taking care of Molly. She deserves so much better than me.”
“And me,” I added and reached for my beer. “Are you going to call and apologize to her?”
“Absolutely, but I thought I would start with you, seeing that you’re here.” He extended his hand toward me. “Please. Forgive me. I’m going to return to being the man my folks raised me to be. Let that begin today.”
I shook his hand without hesitation. Everyone fucked up and deserved a second chance.
I could only pray that Molly felt the same. I’d be taking a page from Harry’s book and calling her the minute I got home. I couldn’t live without knowing that I’d tried to reconcile things between us.
Harry was right about one thing: she was the woman for me. Of that, I had no doubt.