Chapter Thirty-Six
Molly
It had been only five weeks since I’d last seen the resort, and yet it felt like a different lifetime ago. Perhaps it was because my whole perspective had changed and that made me see everything differently. Tristan was no longer the reason I was here. I was here for myself. I was here because I was taking control of my own life and refusing to be scared any longer.
I had booked a room for three nights. I was hoping in that time to speak to Ben and Tristan and tell them that if it was still an option, I would like to resume my job, at least until my contract was up. I hadn’t informed anyone of my arrival; the only person who knew was Alani because she was the one that had taken my reservation. I walked around my room.
It was much smaller than the grand suite, but it was cozier, too. There was no living room or dining area, just a massive bed surrounded by stunning views. I walked over to the bed and sunk down into it. It was just as comfortable, and I felt the need to lie down and take a nap, if only to soothe my frayed nerves. I was rehearsing my speech for Tristan when I heard a knock at the door.
Tensing slightly, I walked over and looked through the peephole to see who was there. I could see Alani’s profile through the unclear glass. With a sigh of relief, I pulled the door open.
“Hi,” I smiled.
She just walked straight up to me and gave me a big hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
“I know,” I said. “It’s so good to see you, too… I’ve missed you these past few weeks.”
“Me, too,” she nodded. “It hasn’t been the same around here without you.”
Alani walked in, and I closed the door behind her. She joined me on the edge of the bed and we both sat down together.
“How have you been?” she asked, cutting to the chase.
“I’ve been dealing,” I said.
“You never told me why you left.”
I sighed. “I’m sure you’ve heard things.”
“But I wasn’t sure whether to believe them or not,” she said. “The rumor is that you found out that Tristan had been cheating on you.”
I sighed and Alani’s eyes went wide. “It’s true?”
“I’m afraid so,” I nodded.
“That’s crazy...”
“Is it?” I asked. “This is Tristan we’re talking about. You yourself told me that he was famous around here for playing the field.”
“Playing the field, yes,” Alani nodded. “But he’s never been in a real relationship before you, so I figured he’d…changed.”
“I thought so, too,” I nodded. “Turns out I was just being naïve.”
“Come on,” Alani said, sounding unbelieving. “I’ve seen him with you. It makes sense for the two of you to be together. You have chemistry, there’s an obvious connection there.”
“Apparently to everyone else but Tristan.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I didn’t,” I said. “Then I walked into his suite and found a naked woman in the shower. So yeah… I believe it now.”
“Fuck,” Alani said, shaking her head. “I was hoping it wasn’t true.”
“He confirmed it,” I said, in a soft voice.
“No!”
“I stormed into his office right after and basically confronted him with what I’d found out,” I said. “He gave me some bull crap about how we were better off apart, and that’s when I quit.”
Alani looked dumbfounded. “Okay,” she said, after a moment. “I understand why you left. But now I don’t understand why you’re back.”
“Because I realized I loved my job here,” I admitted with a smile. “And I loved the people I was working with and I shouldn’t have just left behind everything I’d built here just for a guy—even if that guy was Tristan.”
“Wait,” Alani said. “Does that mean you’re here for your job?”
I smiled nervously. “Well, that is the plan,” I admitted. “If Tristan will agree to take me back. I’m on contract, but I was the one who walked first. He has every right to say no to me now.”
“He won’t do that,” Alani said confidently.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because Tristan knows you were fantastic at your job,” Alani said. “His work load has increased tenfold since you left. And he’s been dragging his heels about hiring someone to replace you.”
I clung to that piece of hope. “Which means he might really consider letting me come back.”
“I have no doubt,” Alani nodded. “But—”
“But what?” I pressed, when Alani stopped short.
“Can you really do this?” she asked. “Work for the guy who cheated on you, especially because you were in love with this guy for forever.”
I smiled sadly. “I still love him,” I said slowly. “But I’m going to do my best to move on and put my feelings for Tristan behind me.”
“While seeing him every day?” she asked pointedly.
“I haven’t made this easy on myself,” I said. “I realize that. But I don’t care. I’m sick of running. I’m sick of acting like a scared little girl. I’m taking control of my life, and I’m going to fight for this job because I love it.”
“Well, I’m glad,” she said. “It’ll be nice to have you back.”
I leaned in and hugged her. “I’m glad I have you here; it won’t be so lonely.”
“Please. In a few months when you’re up for it, I’m going to fix you up with a few guys—for real this time. That way you can find someone who deserves you.”
I thought of Tristan and instantly felt sad at the prospect of moving on. I reminded myself that Tristan didn’t want to be with me—that was the only reason he would have cheated on me so openly.
“You’re right,” I nodded. “I do deserve someone better.”
Alani put her hand over mine. “It’s going to be hard,” she said comfortingly. “But you will get over him, trust me.”
I sighed. “That’s what I’m hoping,” I said. Then I shook my head and snapped myself out of the haze of self-pity that currently surrounded me. “So… how have things been here since I left?”
“Things have been piling up, to be honest,” she said. “It’s been crazy around here. We’re always at capacity—which is a good thing, of course—but it also means that there are more problems with staff and breakages and a whole heap of other things besides. And since there’s no one in charge of the staff anymore, it’s fallen to Ben and Tristan, and neither one has the time to spend on fixing all of the issues that have been piling up.
“That’s my fault,” I said. “I just left without giving in my notice or giving them time to find a replacement.”
“No one blames you, Molly,” Alani said immediately. “No one expected you to be thinking straight when you found out what you found out.”
I nodded gratefully. “Uh… I hesitate to ask, but how has Tristan been?”
Alani paused for a moment. “Honestly?”
“Yes?”
“He looks like he’s having a hard time,” she said. “And it has nothing to do with the resort. It almost seems like you broke up with him. A large part of the staff actually believes that you were the one that ended it based on how Tristan appears these days.”
“What do you mean?”
“He looks gaunt and pale half the time, he drinks like he never used to do, and sometimes he just looks…broken.”
I frowned. “That’s weird.”
“I think he regrets cheating on you,” she said immediately.
“You think?”
“Definitely,” she nodded.
I nodded and looked out towards the beautiful green-blue ocean.
“Molly?”
“Hmm?”
“If it turns out he does regret what he did and begs for your forgiveness…”
“I wouldn’t take him back,” I said firmly. “I can forgive some things, but cheating is not one of them. I’d forever be wondering when he’s going to break next and sleep with someone else.”
“Fair enough,” Alani nodded. “And I think it’s unlikely, but what if Tristan doesn’t let you come back?”
“Then, I’ll go back home and find another job and built my life elsewhere,” I said. “I know it’s a possibility I’ll be leaving at the end of three days. I’m prepared for that, don’t worry.”
Alani was just about to say something when I heard a knock on my door. She looked a little confused as she stood up.
“Did you order in room service?” she asked.
“No,” I said, shaking my head.
I went to the door and answered it. I froze as I came face to face with Emma. “Emma,” I said, in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“Visiting my brother,” she replied. “Hello, Molly, it’s great to see you.”
I gave her a tentative smile and we hugged awkwardly. “It’s been a long time.”
“It has,” she nodded.
“The last time I saw you was when you were, what, sixteen?”
“Seventeen,” she reminded me. “The boys were not around at the time.”
“Right,” I said. “Please, come in.”
Emma walked in and gave Alani a smile. “Hey, Alani,” she said. “Looks like you beat me to the punch.”
“I just came to welcome Molly back,” she said. “I’ll give you two some time to catch up.”
“That would be great,” Emma nodded.
The moment Alani left, Emma turned to me. She had always been a confident young woman who seemed far more mature than her age. Even now, she exuded confidence and maturity, except there was sex appeal there now, too. She was my height, and her long dark hair was draped around her slim shoulders. I realized that she looked a lot like Tristan now.
“You’re back,” Emma said.
I frowned in confusion. “Yes…”
“I’m sorry we missed each other the last time,” she said.
“Uh, did we?” I asked. “I think I must have left by the time you came down here.”
“No,” she said confidently. “There was definitely an overlap.”
“Oh… I didn’t even know you were in the resort,” I said, wondering if Tristan had mentioned it to me and I had just forgotten in light of everything that had happened.
“I think I arrived the day before you left,” Emma said.
“Oh wow… I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” I said. “If I had known I would have definitely come and said hi.”
“Oh, in fact we did meet…not face to face, but close enough.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “What are you talking about?”
“I was the girl in Tristan’s shower, Molly,” Emma said, sitting down on my bed and looking up at me.
“Excuse me?”
“I arrived earlier than expected, and my room wasn’t ready yet. So I had to wait a few hours and there was no other room available for me, but I was desperate for a shower. My generous big brother offered up his suite for my use.”
I just stared at Emma for a second. “I… Sorry… I’m just…
“Processing?” she offered. “Understandable.”
“I went to Tristan after that,” I said. “I accused him and he… He admitted to it. He admitted to cheating on me—he never mentioned you.”
“I love my brother,” she said. “But as I’ve told him repeatedly before, he is a coward. He was scared, so he jumped on the out you were giving him.”
“Scared?” I repeated incredulously. “Scared of what?”
“The voices in his head,” Emma replied. “The voices that were telling him he would screw up with you sooner or later.”
“So he chose to accelerate the process?”
“I don’t claim to understand the exact reasons why he did what he did—though I’ve tried, believe me. But I think the crux of the matter is fear.”
I felt my jaw tighten in anger. “Excuse me, Emma,” I said. “I have to go.”
“Where are you going?”
“To give your brother something to be really scared of.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Tristan
“Say that again?” I said, looking at Ben with wide eyes.
“Molly’s here.”
“Here?” I repeated. “As in, at the resort?”
“Yes.”
“You saw her?” I asked. “With your own eyes?”
“Uh…no,” Ben admitted. “Monica from the reception informed me when she walked in.”
“Why didn’t we know this?” I demanded.
“I don’t handle bookings,” he reminded me. “That’s up to the reception staff.”
“One of them would have mentioned it to you,” I said. “Considering everyone’s been talking about Molly’s departure the last few weeks.”
“Alani was the one that took Molly’s reservation,” Ben replied.
“Ah,” I said. “I suppose that explains it.”
“Clearly, her loyalty is to Molly over you,” he said, and he sounded a little pleased by that.
I frowned. “I can’t really blame her,” I said. “So… Molly’s here.”
“Yes.”
“What suite is she staying in?”
“She booked herself into a room,” Ben told me. “Room number 305. She paid upfront for the whole stay.”
I sat back in my chair, feeling extremely uncertain. “Where is she now?”
“Probably in her room,” he replied. “She’s made no reservations at any of the restaurants for tonight.”
“Why do you think she’s here?”
“How would I know?”
“Take a guess,” I said. “We parted on bad terms, why would she come back here?”
“Maybe she wants her job back.”
“She wouldn’t want to work for me after what happened,” I said.
“Maybe she’s here for you?”
I smirked darkly. “She wouldn’t work for me because of what I did,” I said. “Do you really think she’s going to run into my arms after she believed I cheated on her?”
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Fuck that,” I said, shaking my head. “I know Molly… She will never be with me as long as she believes I slept with someone else.”
“Hey, I have an idea,” he said.
“What?”
“Why don’t you just go down to her room and ask her,” he said, in a sarcastic tone.
“Oh, sure,” I said, matching Ben’s tone. “I bet that’ll go over really well.”
“Can you blame her?”
“Find out why she’s here,” I said.
“What?” he asked incredulously.
“Find out why she’s here,” I repeated impatiently.
“How?” Ben demanded. “Short of walking up to her and asking her myself.”
“I’m sure you can figure out a way,” I said. “You have people.”
“People?” he repeated. “I have people? Who do you think I am? Some mafia boss or something?”
If I weren’t so stressed, I would have cracked a smile. “That would have been helpful to me.”
“Emma’s right,” Ben sighed. “You are a coward.”
I gritted in my teeth in annoyance. “I’m glad to see my sister’s been doing the rounds. I’ll need to have a chat with her.”
“Emma has a point.”
“Emma is a—wait,” I said, realizing that my sister wasn’t known for staying out of other people’s business. “Where is Emma?”
“How the hell am I supposed to know?” Ben demanded. “Contrary to what you might think, I don’t know everything that happens around this resort. She’s probably by the pool or something.”
“She can’t know that Molly is here,” I said, standing up.
Ben rolled his eyes. “Because she’ll rat you out.”
“Of course, she will,” I said. “She’s been fishing around for Molly’s number.”
“Huh, how nice of Molly to accommodate Emma and arrive at the resort.”
“Shit,” I said, walking around my desk. “Shit… if—”
I was interrupted by a loud knock on my door. I froze in place and Ben and I turned around. “Someone sounds mad,” he said, sounding half amused.
“Fuck you,” I shot at him.
“Should I answer the door?” he asked. “Or will you?”
I was about to answer when the door flew open and Molly walked in. She was wearing a soft blue dress that flowed seamlessly over her stunning figure. Her blonde hair was loose, and her blue eyes were on fire. Even in anger, she looked stunning and I took a quick second to admire her beauty.
“Ben,” she said, and her tone was warmer than I had expected. “How are you?”
“Molly,” Ben said, feigning surprise. “This is a surprise.”
“Is it?” she asked. “I’m sure you were aware that I’d arrived at the resort.”
“Not until a few minutes ago,” he replied honestly. “I wish you would have called me.”
“I didn’t want to make a big deal about this,” she said.
“About what exactly?” I asked, stepping into the conversation.
Molly looked around Ben towards me and I saw the fire in her blue eyes again. “Hello, Tristan,” she said, and any warmth that had been present in her tone before now disappeared immediately.
“Molly,” I said, taking a step towards her.
Molly turned to Ben. “Ben, would you mind giving us a moment? I need to talk to Tristan in private.”
“Of course,” he nodded.
He gave me a parting glance that looked sympathetic and amused in equal measures. Then he left the office and closed the door behind him. I felt my nerves rise up and constrict around my throat. My palms were sweaty and I felt as though my throat was parched, even though I had barely said two words to Molly.
“You’re back,” I said at last, when the silence wore on and on.
She looked out towards my stunning view. “I missed Hawaii.”
“Is that why you’re back?”
“I’m back because I have a contract with you,” Molly said. “And I should have considered that before I quit. I acted impulsively, and I regretted the decision almost immediately, but… I was emotional at the time and I didn’t think I could continue working for you, considering what happened.”
Was that it then? I wondered. Was she just here for her job? A part of me was relieved and a part of me was disappointed. She wasn’t here for me at all—she was here because she liked Hawaii and the job and the people she worked with. I had to assume that I was excluded from that group.
“Right…” I said awkwardly. “So you’re here for your job.”
“Yes,” Molly nodded. “Only if you’re comfortable with that. I know that I voided the contract when I walked out and you have the right to turn me away if you want to.”
“I’m not going to do that,” I said, feeling supremely uncomfortable.
I tried not to look directly at Molly. She was like the sun, and her beauty was blinding me with need and desire. I had forgotten how wonderful it was to have her here, to have her in my bed, to have her wrapped around my body... There was no other feeling quite like it.
“You’re okay with me resuming my work here?” Molly asked.
“Of course,” I said. “The resort needs you—you did amazing work while you were here. Everyone misses you.”
“Apparently not everyone,” she said pointedly.
I stopped short. “What?”
“I want you to know that I will stay away, Tristan,” Molly said. “Just because I work for you that does not mean we need to have contact. You can send Ben or Alani in to speak to me, and I will do the same. We don’t need to be around each other any more than we have to.”
“Molly…”
“I got your message loud and clear, Tristan,” she said. “I just wish you had the guts to tell me the truth straight to my face.”
I could see the muted anger on her face, and I knew instinctively that she was talking about something specific. “Molly,” I said carefully. “What exactly is the truth that you’re talking about?”
Molly looked at me closely for a long moment. “Emma,” she said, in one word.
I groaned. “She spoke to you.”
“Just before I came up here to speak to you,” Molly informed me.
“She’s always liked to stir things up—”
“Really?” Molly said, cutting me off. “I kind of thought that was you?”
“Let me explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain,” she said. “Like I said, you made yourself extremely clear. You let me think that Emma was some random woman you were fucking because it was easier than admitting to me that you didn’t love me and that you were only interested in sex.”
“Whoa, hold on—”
“Let’s not get into it, Tristan, okay?” Molly said, turning towards the door. “I just came up here to tell you that you don’t need to continue with the pretense. Let’s just put this whole thing behind us and get on with our jobs.”
“No,” I said firmly, darting in front of Molly and blocking her path. “Not until you hear me out.”
“Why are you interested in explaining things now?”
“Because you’ve got it wrong,” I said.
“Oh, really? What have I got wrong?”
“I let you believe that I had cheated on you because I loved you,” I said, wondering if that even made sense. “Not because I didn’t.”
She frowned at me. “You just heard yourself, right?”
“Molly,” I said, frustrated that I couldn’t seem to get my point across. “I’m an asshole, okay? I’m not good with women, and I’m terrible at relationships. I’ve been through more girls than I can count and in every single story, I don’t come off well. Ask my ex-girlfriends, and I’m sure they’ll be delighted to tell you.”
“What’s your point?” Molly demanded.
“My point is that I would have done to you what I did to them,” I said. “I would have neglected you into leaving me. Hell, I was neglecting you for the past few months before you left. I would have ended up screwing this up at some point in the future. Then you would have left me and… It would have been harder to get over, for both of us.”
Molly frowned, in confusion. “Are you serious?” she asked. “That’s the reason you let me believe you were cheating on me?”
“I’ve never felt guilty about how things ended with my previous girlfriends,” I admitted. “And, that’s because I didn’t love any of them. Our connections were based on sex and that fizzled out eventually.
“But with you and me… It was different. You were the only woman I dreamed about that I felt I could never get. Then things happened between us and I was so weak that I let it happen. And it was better than I could have imagined.
“But then work caught up with me, and I realized I was falling back into the old patterns. Work was becoming my focus and I realized that at some point, I would repeat all the mistakes I’d made in the past. But this time, I respected you, I loved you and I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting you… So I thought it would be easier to let you make your assumptions to save you a whole lot of pain later on down the line.”
Molly stared at me, and all I wanted to do was grab her and kiss her. Looking into her eyes, I realized something. I realized how stupid I had been and how ridiculous my reasoning had been. Emma was right. I was a coward. And I had been too foolish to see that I had the ability to change my life, I had the power to control my future and I had the ability to make the right choices. Instead of trusting myself, I had pushed Molly away because I hadn’t been confident in my own feelings.
“Molly,” I said, taking a step towards her.
She backed away from me as though my very proximity was hurting her. “No,” she said. “Don’t.”
“I don’t deserve you Molly,” I said softly.
When Molly looked at me I could see the hurt radiating from her forget-me-not blue eyes. “You’re right,” she said. “You don’t.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Molly
His explanation sent a rage of emotion surging through me. At first, I found it laughably funny, then I realized how heartbreaking it all was, and then lastly came the anger. He had done all this just to get out of hurting me in the future? He had done all this because he might, possibly, maybe, perhaps, one-day screw things up between us?
Didn’t he realize that not being with him would hurt me either way? Whether it was now or ten years from now, it would always hurt, because Tristan was my soulmate. He was the person I was meant to be with and no matter how it happened or when it happened it would hurt to not be with him.
I was willing to try and move on when I had assumed he wanted nothing more to do with me. But to know that he still had feelings for me and had pushed me away for this hypothetical future scenario was mindboggling.
“Molly,” he said.
The sound of his voice saying my name was the catalyst. I walked forward and without even thinking about it, my hand whizzed through the air and made contact with the side of his face. Tristan’s face snapped back, but his body remained motionless. We both froze in place and a moment later, he looked towards me with eyes that were tortured and uncertain.
“I guess I deserved that,” he said softly.
I tried to push back the tears as I faced him. “You deserve worse.”
“I know,” he nodded. “Molly… I’m so sorry.”
I felt a tear slip free, and I tried to brush it away quickly. Tristan moved towards me as though he wanted to hold me, but I held up my hand and took a step back from him.
“No,” I said. “You don’t get to comfort me—not after you did what you did.”
He stopped immediately and dropped his hand. We stood like that for a long time, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to break the silence.
“Would you like to sit down?” Tristan asked at last.
I nodded silently, and we walked towards his desk. Instead of sitting in his usual seat, Tristan chose to sit in the chair opposite mine so that we were only inches apart. I pushed back the remaining tears from my eyes and glanced up towards him. His eyes were fixed on me and he looked truly sorry.
“Why didn’t you talk to me about all this?” I asked, breaking the long silence.
“Because I knew what you would say,” I said. “You would try and convince me that it would be different with us.”
“And what’s the real problem, Tristan?” I demanded. “I think the real problem is that you have no confidence in yourself.”
“It is,” he acknowledged. “I realized that just recently.”
“So what are you trying to say?” I asked. “You don’t believe you have the capacity to give our relationship a fair shake, you don’t believe you can be there for me? Or is it that you don’t know if you can be faithful to me?”
“I was scared of all those things,” he admitted.
“Why?”
He paused for a moment and I saw the uncertainty in his eyes. “Because I am my father’s son,” he said. “And, I took over his empire. Mom left him because she was sick of waiting around for a man who was more in love with his empire than with his family.”
“I get it,” she sighed. “I understand why that was a problem for them. But we’re not them Tristan, how could you assume it would be the same for us?”
“Because that has been the case for every relationship I’ve had before you,” he said. “Do you know that my longest relationship before you lasted three months? Three months—that’s it.”
“Did you love any of your ex-girlfriends?”
“No,” he replied. “I can say that with every confidence. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved.”
The moment the words were out of his mouth, he froze as though his deepest secret had just been found out. I looked at him with wide eyes. “What did you just say?”
“I…”
I could see him grappling with the words in his head. It looked like he was surprised himself, as though the realization that he had finally fallen in love with someone was a reality he had never envisioned for himself.
“I said, you’re the only woman… I’ve ever loved,” Tristan said slowly, as though he needed to hear it himself, too.
I felt a burst of happiness in my gut, and I wanted to run into Tristan’s arms right then and there. But I sensed the need to hold myself at a distance, at least for now. There were still things we needed to talk about, and I wasn’t prepared to be blind anymore. I had loved Tristan for ten years, but I wasn’t about to compromise my life or myself simply because he had said he loved me.
“Tristan?” I said.
“Yes?”
“You never slept with anyone else while we were together, did you?” I asked.
“No,” he replied. “I never did.”
“And the woman in your shower was—”
“Emma,” he replied, before I could finish the question. “It was only ever Emma.”
“And since we broke up, have you slept with anyone else?” I wanted to know. “And please, please be honest with me.”
Tristan leaned in towards me. “I haven’t slept with anyone else,” he said. “I haven’t even considered sleeping with anyone else. These last few weeks that you’ve been gone… They were hell, Molly. Honestly, it was like I was living in some awful nightmare. And I tried to tell myself it would pass, but seeing you now… I know that it won’t pass.
“I love you, Molly Sinclair…and I’m so sorry I hurt you.”
I felt my heart open up to him instantly, and I realized that I hadn’t been doing a very good job of getting over Tristan. I had simply been in denial. This was the real reason I had come back to Hawaii, to make sure that whatever had stood between us was gone…for both of us. But clearly, that was not the case.
“Molly…”
Tristan sounded nervous suddenly, and I searched his face for some other revelation that would leave me with doubt.
“Yes?”
“The job is yours,” he said. “It’s been waiting for you all this time. You can start immediately.”
“Oh,” I said, not having expected that. “Okay…”
“I know you came back for the job,” he continued. “But I would ask you to consider staying for something else…someone else.”
I felt a smile slip onto my face.
“Would you consider taking me back, Molly?” he asked. “Would you consider coming back to me? Or have I screwed up too badly? Have I hurt you too much to expect you to still love me?”
I stared at Tristan for a long five seconds, memorizing the way his face looked in that moment. He was unbearably handsome, striking and raw. He was bearing his heart to me, and I knew that he was making an unspoken promise, a new commitment that would cement our relationship and take it to a state of permanence.
“Of course, I still love you,” I breathed, feeling the intense relief that came with saying the words. “I’ve loved you since I was fourteen years old. I’m not going to stop now.”
Our eyes met and I saw the burst of relief flow into his eyes. The next moment, we had leaped off our seats and into each other’s arms. I had never felt an embrace like that one before. We clung to each other, trying to get as close as possible. I could feel Tristan’s heartbeat racing against my own. I could feel his hurried breath. I could feel the way his pulse raced ahead, as though it were running a sprint.
When his lips met mine, it felt like the entire world, which had been off its axis for the last five weeks, righted itself again. Suddenly everything was back to normal, everything made sense again.
Our bodies collided like two powerful waves meeting at the end of a long journey. It was a crash that I felt deep inside me. When Tristan began ripping at my clothes, I returned the favor and began pulling at his shirt, unbuckling his pants and grappling with his hands as they rushed over my body.
His lips were searing hot as they grazed my neck, my lips, and my breasts. He pushed me against his desk, and I felt the clatter of unimportant stationary as it hit the ground. Tristan didn’t even blink—he just kept going and I could see the need in his eyes. I massaged his cock as he pulled the dress off me. I knew he wanted me naked—just as I wanted the same of him. We had been too long without one another’s bodies, and I craved the carnal heat of his skin.
When we were both naked, Tristan pushed me back against his desk until I was spread-eagled against the cold wood. When he pushed himself inside me, I let out a loud gasp and grabbed at his toned and muscular arms. He fucked me hard, almost brutally, but it was perfect, it was freeing, and it was exactly what I wanted. I wanted to feel the hard fierceness of his cock as he slammed into me.
My body was alive with lust and desire, and I came faster than I had ever expected to. Tristan was not done, however, and he kept fucking me until gasps and moans were forced from my mouth without my permission. All I could do was cling to him and scream. Just when the second orgasm was about to hit, Tristan pulled me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. Pulling me closer into the curve of his body, he kept fucking me.
Our faces were inches apart. I could see the heat of his dark eyes bore into mine, and it made our love making that much more intense. Each time he slipped in and out of me, I felt our connection grow deeper and stronger. This was more than just sex—this was our promise to one another. This was Tristan telling me that he was going to do his best; he was going to try harder. This was me telling Tristan that I wouldn’t leave again, this was me promising him that I would always be there to support and help him.
The second time, he kissed me passionately as we came together in chaos made of moans and screams and gasps of pleasure. He held me afterwards, as I leaned against him. We were both sweating slightly, and I breathed in deeply, realizing that I had missed the musky sensual smell of him.
“This is it, right?” Tristan whispered in my ear.
“It is,” I nodded. “No more getting scared, okay?”
“I can’t promise that,” he told me honestly. “But I promise to come to you if ever I get scared again.”
I smiled and kissed his brow softly. “I can live with that,” I said.
Three Months Later
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Tristan
“I understand it’s irregular,” I said. “But the kitchen on the island wasn’t made to withstand heavy cooking. I need the hotel to bear the brunt of the cooking. Cover over the food with foil if you must and get it on the boats as fast as possible.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thank you,” I nodded, before I hung up.
Sighing, I sat back down in my chair just before Ben walked in. He was looking at his clipboard with a frown on his face.
“Please tell me that everything is going smoothly?”
“Uh… I could tell you that,” he replied. “But it wouldn’t be true.”
“Fuck,” I swore. “What is it now?”
He smiled. “I’m kidding, everything is fine,” he said. “You worry too much.”
“Can you blame me?” I asked. “Planning this thing has been a nightmare.”
“You should have let Emma plan it.”
“Oh sure,” I nodded sarcastically. “Brilliant idea, that would have gone down really well.”
“I didn’t expect to find you here,” he said. “I thought you’d still be with your mother.”
“Shit,” I said, jumping out of my seat. “I completely forgot.”
“You forgot to welcome her to your resort?”
“I got a call from Alfonso, okay?” I said. “I’d better head down there. Has she been checked in?”
“Of course.”
“Great, thanks.”
I ran down the hall and into the elevator. When I arrived at the lobby, I saw my mother standing by a huge bouquet of flowers, admiring the view while she sipped a cocktail. She was wearing an ivory skirt suit and high heels that looked painful.
“Hi, Mom,” I said, as I approached her. “Sorry I’m late.”
She embraced me with a smile. “Business meeting ran late?” she asked.
“Actually, no,” I said. “I was just sorting out some last-minute arrangements for the engagement party.”
“Really?” she said, raising her eyebrows.
“Uh…yeah,” I nodded. “Why?”
“I didn’t realize you had planned this party yourself.”
“Well, it was meant to be a surprise for Molly,” I admitted. “Except that she found out two days ago, so the surprise part didn’t work out. But I didn’t want her to have to do the work for this dinner. I just want her to enjoy herself; she’s been working so hard lately.”
Mom looked at me with surprise in her eyes. “Do you realize that it’s been a year since I’ve seen you.”
“That can’t be.”
“It is.”
“Wow, time flies, huh?” I said. “Let’s walk down to the lounge bar; we can sit and catch up there.”
She cast a critical eye over the resort as we moved through the wide corridors and the pillared halls. “It’s a beautiful hotel, son,” she said admiringly. “It’s different, though.”
“Dad liked modern architecture,” I said. “I prefer a mix.”
“I can see that,” she nodded as we walked into the lounge bar.
We sat down, and I ordered the finest champagne we had to offer. “So,” she said. “Where is Molly?”
“She’s finishing up a meeting,” I said. “She should be here any minute.”
“A meeting?” she repeated. “She seems to be as busy as you are.”
“She’s been a Godsend,” I said. “She’s really helped relieve my workload.”
“And, she doesn’t mind the hours you have to work?”
“She understands completely,” I said. “She’s been really supportive. And I’ve tried to balance things out now… I want to be there for her.”
“I have to be honest,” Mom said, shaking her head at me. “I never thought I’d see this day. I honestly thought you’d never get married. You were so much like your father.”
“Dad got married,” I reminded her.
“Sure, but he was never any good at it,” she said. “We had an engagement party, too, right after he proposed to me. Except he was so busy that he made me plan the whole thing. He showed up late because he had meetings all day, and he answered every call he received that night.”
“Wow,” I said, seeing my mother’s perspective for the first time in a long time. “That can’t have been easy.”
Mom sighed. “I was young and naïve. I thought at the time that it was only temporary, until he got his feet on the ground. I never imagined that my whole married life would consist of playing second fiddle to his empire.”
“I don’t intend for that to be the case for me,” I assured her. “Dad ended up losing you because he didn’t have his priorities in order. But I want to learn from his mistakes. I don’t intend to lose Molly to my career. No empire is that important.”
I could see the pride in her eyes as Mom smiled at me. “I’m glad, son,” she said fondly.
At that moment, Molly walked into the lounge. She looked like she had hurried to get here. I noticed she was a little out of breath as she approached. She was wearing long white pants, a tight white shirt, and a black blazer. She looked like some chic professional out of the pages of French Vogue.
“Mrs. Larson,” Molly said, giving my mother a hug. “It’s so nice to see you after so long.”
“Please, dear,” Mom replied. “You have to start calling me Anita. Mrs. Larson is far too formal for my intended daughter-in-law.”
“Daughter-in-law,” Molly repeated, giving me a smile. “I’m going to have to get used to that.”
I laughed. “You’ve got quite a few new titles to get used to,” I said. “Not least of all is wife.”
Molly laughed and slipped in beside me as I put my arm around her shoulders. She looked radiant, and I just wanted to stare at her for a moment.
“Are you excited for the party tonight, Molly?” Mom asked.
“Very much,” she nodded. “I think Tristan and I are both in need of a good party. But most importantly, we just want to celebrate our engagement with our closest friends and our family.”
“Speaking of family,” Mom said. “Where are your parents? I’d love to say hello.”
“They’re down by the beach at the moment,” Molly told her. “But don’t worry, you’ll see them tonight at the island.”
“Excellent,” she nodded. “And Jason? Where is he?”
“He’s just arrived actually,” Molly replied. “I met him just before I got here. He’s changing in his room at the moment, but I told him to meet us here.”
Molly gave me a glance and a reassuring wink. I had spoken to Jason a few times over the last three months but we had yet to meet. Jason had assured me that as long as I treated his sister well, then he and I would never have a problem. His reaction had made me realize that using him as an excuse had just been a scapegoat for my fear.
“So tell me, Molly,” Mom was saying. “How did Tristan propose to you?”
“We were on his island—”
“Our island,” I corrected her.
She smiled. “Our island,” she said. “It was my twenty-fifth birthday, so he had cooked me this amazing Italian meal. It was the first night in days that we’d gotten to spend together, and I was already pretty happy. I had just put the dishes in the sink when I turned around to find Tristan on one knee.”
“Let’s take a look at that ring,” Mom said, holding out her hand.
Molly offered up her fingers for inspection, and Mom looked at me with obvious admiration. “You picked the ring yourself?”
“I did,” I nodded. “Do you approve?”
The ring comprised of sparkling round diamonds arranged into a perfect ball atop the sphere. “I most definitely approve,” she nodded. “When are you two thinking of having the wedding?”
Molly glanced at me. “We haven’t spoken about dates yet,” she said. “But we discussed a June wedding next year.”
“In Hawaii.”
“Of course,” I nodded. “It doesn’t make sense to get married anywhere else. It’ll have to be a beach wedding, too.”
“A beach wedding,” she repeated. She didn’t sound very happy about the idea, and Molly and I tried to suppress our laughter.
Mom was still peppering Molly with questions when I spied Jason enter the lounge out of the corner of my eye. Giving Molly a kiss on the forehead, I excused myself and walked up to him.
“Hi, brother-in-law,” I said.
Jason laughed. “That’s right, we’re going to be related now,” he said, as he leaned in gave me a short hug.
“Pretty much,” I nodded. “Pretty weird, huh?”
“Weird is one way to describe it,” he nodded. “I can’t quite believe it…you and Molly. I’ve had a few months to wrap my head around the two of you as a couple and it’s still strange to think about.”
“I’m sorry for not telling you myself,” I said, giving the apology that I’d been rehearsing for months now.
Jason smiled. “I’ll forgive you on one condition,” he said.
“Shoot.”
“Don’t you ever hurt my sister,” he said. “Because that is something I will never forgive.”
“I wouldn’t have asked her to marry me if I’d thought there was any chance of that happening,” I assured him. “I made a mistake months ago and it made me realize how much I love her and how I will never do anything to screw up what we have.”
He looked at me carefully and nodded. “You love her?”
“More than you will ever know.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“How long have you had feelings for her?”
“Uh…if I tell you, will you promise not to punch me in the face?”
He cringed. “Since she was fourteen?”
“God, no,” I said quickly. “She was sixteen when I started…seeing her differently. But I promise nothing ever happened between us until she was older.”
“How much older?”
“Eighteen,” I said. “And it was only a kiss.”
“Huh.”
“What?”
“Molly never mentioned anything about a kiss to me.”
I smiled. “Why would she?”
“You have a point,” he nodded.
“So…you forgive me?” I asked. “For breaking the bro code and sleeping with your sister.”
He smiled. “Hey, if sleeping with her was all you were doing, then I’d probably be tempted to punch you,” he nodded. “But you’re marrying her—that means something completely different.”
“It does,” I agreed.
“So, your engagement party?”
“Yeah?”
“I hear it’s on some private island?”
“It is,” I smiled.
“How are we getting there?”
“I’ve hired boats to ferry the guests over there,” I said. “We wanted an intimate engagement party, so we’re only talking about twenty-thirty people.”
Jason shook his head at me. “This is so surreal… I’m at your resort to celebrate your engagement to my little sister. I would never have predicted this in a million years.”
“Your parents were thrilled,” I told him smugly.
“Of course, they would be,” he said, rolling his eyes. “They’ve always loved you. But then, you’ve always had a way with parents.”
I laughed. “I’m glad you’re here, Jason.”
He clapped me on the back. “I’m glad to be here, bro,” he said. He looked towards Molly, and I turned to glance over at her, too.
“She’s a great girl, my sister,” Jason said fondly. “She’s patient and kind, and she’ll make an amazing wife.”
“I know,” I agreed wholeheartedly.
“She’s too good for you,” he said light-heartedly.
I smiled. “Oh trust me, I am aware of that. I will do my best to be the husband she deserves. And I will do my best to give her the life she deserves.”
“Good,” Jason nodded. “Because if you don’t—”
“You’ll kick my ass,” I smiled. “I know.”
“Good,” he laughed. “Then there’s only one more thing I have left to say to you.”
“Which is?” I asked, with raised eyebrows.
“Congratulations,” he smiled.
Five Years Later
Epilogue
Molly
On a whim, I grabbed the now empty bowl in front of me and placed it on my stomach. I lay still as I balanced the bowl on the topmost part of my belly. Concentrating hard, I let go carefully and to my utter delight the bowl stayed firmly where I had placed it. I was smiling to myself when a particularly violent kick pushed the bowl off center it fell to the ground.
“Oh, man,” I groaned, as I reached down to try and grab the fallen bowl.
“Whoa,” Tristan said, as she rushed to retrieve it for me. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Hey,” I said, delighted to see him. It was still early evening, and he wasn’t usually done with work till about seven in the night. “What are you doing here? Did you want to change before a meeting or something?”
“Nope,” he said, setting the bowl on the table and sitting down next to me. “I came to check in on my beautiful wife and my feisty son.”
I laughed as Tristan placed his hand on my stomach. “He’s feisty alright,” I nodded. “He just kicked that bowl clean of my belly.”
Tristan laughed. “Were you trying to balance it?”
“I wasn’t trying,” I said, pretending to be affronted. “I was succeeding.”
He shook his head at me in amusement. “Are you hungry?” he asked. “Can I get you something to eat?”
“I just finished a plate of pickles and followed that up with a bowl of ice cream,” I said. “So no… I won’t be hungry for at least another fifteen minutes or so.”
He smiled. “Well then, how about we take a walk together?” he suggested.
“Sounds perfect,” I nodded.
About a year into our marriage, Tristan had renovated the space down the hall from his office and turned it into a three-bedroom luxury apartment for the two of us. We had originally intended to move into the island, but a few weekends spent there had made us realize how impractical that was. Not only did we have to make the drive down to the beach, but we also needed a boat to ferry us across in the mornings and evenings.
It was just easier to make our home in the resort itself. But neither one of us had liked the idea of living out of a hotel room indefinitely. So Tristan had created an apartment space for us that was homey, cozy, and felt very much like our little world within the resort.
Sometimes, I would even forget that if I walked outside my hall I would find myself in a resort rather than an apartment complex. Tristan held my hand and we stepped outside and made our way down to the fountain gardens. They were my favorite place to take a walk, comprised of four separate little fountains, each with their own design, statue, and story.
The plants and flowers that decorated the gardens were vibrant and beautiful, and since my maternity leave had kicked in, I’d been spending a lot of time sitting on the lounge swings, reading books, and chronicling my pregnancy in the journal I had started right after Tristan and I had discovered that I was going to have a baby.
“So, are you getting nervous?” Tristan asked. “Or just excited?”
I smiled. He asked me that question every month. “Both now,” I said. “We’re less than two months away.”
Tristan nodded, and I saw how nervous he was. “It’s going to be an adventure,” I told him, kissing him softly on the cheek.
“I know,” he nodded. “I’m just so thankful I have you. Otherwise, I would have been freaking out.”
I laughed, as we sat down on one of the lounge swings in front of the water fairy fountain. “I miss working,” I admitted.
“It’s only been a month since you stopped,” he reminded me. “Do you miss it already?”
“I do,” I nodded. “It’s so weird not to have something to do all day.”
“I thought you were looking forward to reading, writing, and binge-watching Netflix?”
“I was,” I nodded. “Then it wore off after the first week. I’ve spent the last five years working…it’s hard to get out of that rhythm.”
“Well, things are going to change a lot around here after the little tyke gets here,” Tristan said.
I nodded, in awe of the incredible change our lives were about to go through. “By the way, I asked Mom to come down next week,” I said. “I figured I could use the company, and it’ll be nice to have her around during the latter stages of my confinement.”
“No problem,” he nodded. “The guest room is ready for her whenever she comes.”
“She’s so excited,” I said. “Her first grandchild.”
“He won’t be for long,” Tristan smiled. “The way things are going with Jason and his new girlfriend, we might have more kids in the family soon.”
“They’ve only been together ten months.”
“We were together for seven before we got engaged.”
“Yes, but our love was meant to be,” I said, giving him a smile.
Tristan laughed. “It was,” he nodded, kissing my hand.
“Emma called yesterday,” I told him.
“What’s she up to?”
“She’s taking the world by storm, as we expected,” I smiled. “She’s almost done with her doctorate, which means she’s going to be a licensed therapist soon.”
“Who would have thought,” he said, shaking his head.
We were interrupted suddenly when a tall man in shorts and a bright Hawaiian shirt walked up to us. On his heels was a thin, tall woman in a swimsuit and a chic wrap-around sarong. He was one of Tristan’s investors. I had met him and his wife five years ago at another resort dinner party, and we had become good friends since then. Every year they made it a point of holidaying at the resort for at least three nights.
“Tristan, my boy,” he said, in his booming voice. “What a nice surprise to run into you here.”
“Darren,” Tristan said, standing up to shake his hand. “I was told you had arrived. I’m sorry I couldn’t meet you sooner.”
“Think nothing of it,” he replied. “We know you’re busy.”
“Molly, dear,” Joanna said, coming forward to give me a hug. “Look at you; you’re about ready to pop.”
I laughed. “Not quite yet,” I said. “We still have a little time left.”
“I remember when I had Bridget and Brendan,” she said fondly. “I was so stressed out about everything that I never remembered to enjoy myself. Remember to sit back and savor this experience, it goes by so fast.”
“I will,” I promised. “How are the kids?”
“Oh, they’re not kids anymore,” Darren laughed. “Bridget’s in her sophomore year and Brendan is graduating high school next year.”
Joanna reached over and touched my stomach. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said, realizing late that I might be one of those women that preferred not to have my stomach stroked.
“I don’t,” I smiled.
“Do you know what you’re having?” she asked.
“It’s a boy,” I said happily.
“Ha!” Darren said, in his booming voice. “Congratulations, a little tyke to take over the business, huh?”
“Wow, that’s a lot of pressure on my unborn son,” I said, as Tristan laughed.
“We’ll see,” he said. “It all depends on what he wants to do.”
“Have you settled on a name?” Johanna asked.
“Not yet,” I said. “We agree on one name and then the next day one of us falls out of love with it and we’re back to square one.”
“We had the same thing with our first one,” Darren nodded. “Picking names is impossible. But don’t worry, the right name will just fall into your lap when the time is right. For us, it was in the hospital after Joanna had delivered. We just looked at her, and she looked like a Bridget.”
“I’m assuming you’re having the baby here, Molly?” Joanna asked.
“Definitely,” I said. “That was never a question.”
“How lovely, to be born in Hawaii…in a five-star resort, no less,” Joanna said. “This is one lucky child.”
“I’ll have my work cut out for me,” I smiled. “Keeping him humble and grounded.”
“If anyone can do it, you can,” Tristan said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
We spoke to Joanna and Darren for a few minutes longer, promising to have a meal with them before they left Hawaii, and then they made their way down to the beach.
Tristan kissed my nose the moment they were gone. “I should have known we wouldn’t be able to get away with a private stroll around here.”
I shrugged. “Comes with the territory,” I reminded him.
“I was thinking…”
I raised my eyebrows. “Yes?”
“I was thinking of expanding,” he admitted. “What do you think?”
I bit my lip. “Honestly?”
“Of course.”
“That’ll keep you really busy,” I said. “And I’d like you to be more present these days…for our son’s sake.”
“I agree,” he nodded. “Which is why I’m thinking of selling my other hotels.”
I blinked up at him. “Excuse me?”
“I’m running four different hotels and resorts in different parts of the States,” he explained. “It’s too much for me going forward, especially now since we’re starting a family. I don’t want to be flying back and forth and missing their milestones. So I was thinking…why not sell and focus my attention on one resort—this resort.”
“You would really consider that?” I asked in amazement.
“I have been considering it seriously over the last few months,” Tristan replied. “I want to be there for you and our family. And, I can’t do that if my attention is split.”
“Wow…that’s a lot to process,” I said honestly.
“How does it sound to you?” Tristan pressed.
“It sounds like a good idea,” I nodded. “But I don’t want you to regret anything later. Those resorts are what your father built.”
“Exactly, they’re his achievements,” I said. “Not mine. And, while I do have sentimental value attached to each of them, I need to do what’s best for my family and me. Our future is here—in Hawaii.”
I smiled. “We should definitely discuss it then,” I nodded.
Tristan kissed my cheek softly. “The only hotel I’m considering keeping is the one in LA,” he said. “I might actually send Ben over there to manage it for me.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Ben?” I said. “But then…he won’t be here.”
Tristan laughed. “We’ll miss him, but we’ll see him often. I’m sure of it. He’s risen on his own merits, and I think he deserves to have an operation to run on his own.”
“I agree,” I nodded. “Oh, by the way, my baby shower is going to be next week.”
Tristan shook his head. “Wasn’t that supposed to be a surprise?”
I laughed. “You know no one can keep secrets from me around here,” I said. “I was onto Alani for weeks. She’s so sweet do to all this for me.”
“She loves you,” he pointed out. “And, she’s already a little too obsessed with our baby.”
I laughed. “It’ll be good practice for her…once Joel and she decide they want kids, anyway.” I reached out and took Tristan’s hand. “You know, I was thinking the other day about names…”
“Yeah?”
“And since we’re having this baby in Hawaii… I thought it might be kind of nice to give him a Hawaiian name as well?” I suggested. “What do you think?”
“That’s a brilliant idea,” Tristan nodded. “Do you have any names in mind?”
“Actually yes,” I nodded. “What do you think about Kai?”
“Kai,” Tristan repeated like he was trying out the sound on his tongue.
“It has Latin origins but it means ‘from the sea,’ which I thought was…apt,” I smiled.
“Kai,” Tristan said again. “I love it.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he nodded firmly.
“I was also playing around with a more traditional Hawaiian name,” I continued. “Makani, it means ‘wind.’ What do you think?”
“I think we have our boy’s name,” Tristan smiled. “Kai Makani Dubois.”
“It has a ring to it.”
“It certainly does,” Tristan nodded. “A few more weeks and we’ll finally meet our son.”
“Sometimes I can’t believe I’m going to have a baby,” I said. “And it’s more unbelievable that I’m having a baby with you.”
Tristan turned me towards him and kissed me passionately on the lips. “You saved me, Molly Sinclair,” he said. “You do realize that, don’t you?”
I smiled. “Sounds like you still love me…even after four years of marriage.”
“Are you kidding?” he replied. “I love you more now than I did back then.”
I smiled and leaned into the curve of Tristan’s body; it was the place I felt safest now. I didn’t have to tell him I loved him too. He knew.
That’s the end of the Christmas Virgin. Below I included 4 of my previous books to read as a free bonus.
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BILLIONAIRE’S BET
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Claire Adams
Chapter One
Tyler
“That was a fun night,” I said as my alarm went off and I jumped out of bed.
It was always a fun night when I had a hot girl come home with me. But the previous night had been more than just the usual sex. We tried all sorts of fun moves, and I knew I was going to be sore that day for sure.
“Should I join you?” the young woman in my bed asked.
“No, I’ll just be a minute; I’ll get some breakfast started as soon as I get out.”
Sarah was a blonde bombshell I met through Dating the Rich. After signing a marketing deal with them, I’d been roped into agreeing to be on their cover page. Initially, I found the idea deplorable—I didn’t need help finding a woman—but as I quickly learned, it was a really great way to bring top-notch women right to my front door.
Single women flocked to Dating the Rich. When women saw that my profile was active and they could connect with me, they just couldn’t resist. Therefore, I always had a woman in the wings and could easily find a date for any night of the week. I wasn’t a jerk about it, I was nice to the girls, but I wasn’t the relationship type of guy. I preferred my relationships short and sweet.
This particular young woman had messaged me a few weeks earlier and caught my attention. Sarah was in her mid-thirties with a body to die for. Literally, I almost died after a full night of making love with her. She had the energy of a twenty-something, that was for sure. Sarah knew how to do things with her tongue that very few women could successfully do.
Our night was fantastic, but that didn’t mean I planned on having another night with her. Sarah just wasn’t my type. She was good for a fun night, but not what I was looking for in the long run. In fact, after a year on Dating the Rich, I had yet to find a woman that stood out from the rest. There were fabulous women on the site, really smart, amazing women, but nothing made them different when I was with them. Even the brilliantly smart Harvard graduate I went out with the week before didn’t have that spark that I hoped for.
I warmed the shower up for only a brief moment before I jumped in. It was a Thursday, and the last day I would be working at my main office in Birmingham. I had a lot of things to finish up before handing the reins over to my chief operating officer at Market Mayhem International. Sure enough, despite telling her not to join me, Sarah came walking into the shower ready for another round of fun.
There’s one thing I’m 100 percent certain about: I cannot turn down a naked woman in my shower. As Sarah fell to her knees and started to pleasure me, I had no option but to allow her. A few minutes later and a whole heck of a lot more relaxed, I finished my shower and left it for Sarah as she cleaned up before breakfast.
Some women might think I was brash or even rude, but I preferred to consider myself an honest man. There was no use pretending as if I was going to call this girl again. No reasonable excuse for me to lead her on and make her think we were going to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. No, I was being a gentleman by telling the truth, and the truth was that I had to get to work and I wasn’t planning on spending more than 20 minutes with her for a goodbye breakfast.
Eggs, bacon, and a biscuit were my normal breakfast, and I made the same for Sarah and placed it on the counter for when she decided to come down. I checked my watch to verify the time and sipped my coffee while I waited to see if Sarah would make an appearance before I had to go.
“It smells delicious in here,” she said as she walked into the kitchen wrapped in a towel.
“I hope you enjoy it. I’m just heading off to work. Yolanda is around and can help you if you need anything. I really enjoyed our time together; you’re going to make some man a really great wife someday. Take care of yourself.”
I kissed her sweetly on the lips and grabbed my bag to head off to work. There wasn’t much left for me to say; I just wasn’t that into her. I noted her facial expression wasn’t all that pleased with me though, and I sensed this one was going to be difficult to get out the door.
“You’re leaving?” Sarah said from behind me.
“Yes, darling, I told you last night that I was heading into work early this morning. Please, feel free to take your time getting ready. There’s no rush.”
“So, that’s it? Just one night of fun and you’re not interested in getting to know me better or going out again, nothing?”
Yolanda heard the commotion and came to the living room. She was my house supervisor and managed everything that had to do with keeping the house up and running for me. Yolanda was also a great shoulder to cry on when a woman was upset. She had a level head and always calmed the women down when they got over-the-top angry with me.
“This is Yolanda,” I said as I introduced the two. “Yolanda, this is my friend, Sarah. She’s going to eat breakfast and then head out. Please keep her company.”
This served two purposes. First, she was an emotional shoulder that Sarah could unload on. Second, Yolanda being there limited the likelihood that Sarah would trash my house out of anger toward me. Not that I thought Sarah was that type of woman, but I’d learned the hard way that I really couldn’t measure the level of anger a woman could have toward me.
“Wow, you are just as much of an ass as people say you are.”
“It was nice meeting you, Sarah, and I did have a fantastic evening with you. You’re smart, funny, and smoking hot; I just don’t think you and I were meant to be. I certainly don’t mean any disrespect; I just don’t like wasting your time or mine.”
“That sounded like the most rehearsed pile of bullshit I’ve ever heard.”
She wasn’t wrong. I’d said pretty much the same thing to every woman I’d spent the night with. Of course, I meant every word of it, and I did change the compliments up to fit the woman I was with. To me, I wasn’t being a jerk; I was just being kind enough not to mislead her. If I had played along and pretended like I was going to call her, but never called her, well, that seemed much crueler to me.
“I’m going to get going. I wish you all the best,” I said in my most upbeat voice as I left the house.
Before I had even left my driveway, I dialed into work to talk with Marcus about the day. I was pretty much a figurehead in most of our interactions, but there were still some figurehead duties we had to get straightened out before my trip. Marcus had transitioned into doing a lot of the negotiating and even worked closely with the other department heads. I still had plenty of day-to-day work, but nothing that I felt was essential for me to handle. It was exciting to give Marcus a chance to take over for longer than a week, and it would give us the ability to see if I even needed to be around much more. I loved the idea of an early retirement so I could move onto my next big business adventure.
“Yeah, boss. What’s up?”
“Do we have the Wilsons at nine o’clock or the Hendersons?”
“Neither, it’s the Kodak account. The Wilsons are coming in at 10, and the Hendersons pushed back until three.”
“So, these are the last of the accounts that requested to meet with me before I left?”
“Yep. Well, there were others, but I talked them out of bothering you. You know you didn’t even have to tell anyone that you’d be going away for a few months. Most of the clients wouldn’t have noticed; no offense to you and your brilliant personality.”
“None taken. I know you and the other team leads could have handled things just fine. But with the tabloids reporting on my life and the marketing campaign with Dating the Rich, I didn’t want any of our big clients to feel like I had abandoned them.”
“Tyler, you’re going home to spend time with your father at the end of his life. I doubt anyone would consider that abandonment. You probably should have gone home months ago.”
“I know, but once I get out there, I’m not going to leave until I’ve helped my mother and sister with transferring the farm and all the legal stuff. It could be several weeks before I’m back in the office, and you know how much I believe in the commitments we have.”
Marcus laughed a little, and it was only because we were friends that I understood why he had laughed at me. Only a true friend could understand how I could be so committed to my work, yet struggle horribly in any sort of commitment outside of work.
“Yeah, you are committed to your clients, I’ll give you that,” he continued to snicker.
“All right, I know. But hey, I’m on the dating site. I’m going out. At least I’m not a hermit or a recluse. It’s harder than you might think to find a good woman.”
“I’m not a recluse!” Marcus argued.
“Yeah, when was the last time you and your wife went out on a date?”
The truth was Marcus and his wife had a better relationship than I had ever experienced in my life. They met in high school and had been together ever since. It was a sweet story and exactly the opposite of what my high school romances had been like.
“We go out. Don’t you worry about us. Are you almost here? I’ve got a stack of papers for you to sign giving me full legal authority over the decisions for the company.”
“It’s a good thing I trust you.”
“Yeah, it is. See you soon.”
I made it into the office just before the first meeting of the day. After dropping off my bag, I grabbed a fresh coffee from my secretary and strolled into the conference room to meet with one of our million-dollar clients.
“Boris, how are you?”
“Not nearly as good as you are, my friend,” he said as he threw down the local paper with a picture of me and Monica, a smoking hot brunette I had dated a few days before. “If I weren’t married, I’d be on that rich guy dating site, too.”
“How’s Marina doing? I’m sure she is more beautiful than ever.”
“Now I know you’re just sucking up to me,” Boris joked. “She’s good. The kids are good. Everyone is good. I don’t have any business to discuss; I think Marcus and the rest of the team will handle our account just fine. I wanted to stop by and give my condolences regarding your father. I heard he is very ill.”
“Yes, thank you. He’s in hospice care now. It won’t be much longer. He’s suffered for a very long time with his lung cancer, though; he just kept it to himself until it was too far along to fix. I think it might be a relief when he can get some peace. I hate that my mother and sister have had to watch him suffer so much.”
“Death is never a pretty thing,” Marcus added.
“I know our account will be in good hands. Marina and I send all our best to you and your family. Please reach out if there is anything we can do for you,” Boris said as he started to tear up a little.
“Thank you, Boris; you’re a good friend. Not just a client. I appreciate your heartfelt visit.”
“I’m going to get going before this old man starts crying like a lady. Marcus, you keep up on the new print ad for me and get the previews to me each week. You know Tyler has never missed a Sunday paper ad section; I expect that to go the same when he’s gone.”
“Yes, sir. We have a great team and will make sure everything with your account continues to run like clockwork,” Marcus said as he shook hands with Boris.
Boris shook hands with me too, but then pulled me in for a hug. He was one of my very first corporate clients, and we had grown close over the years. It was touching that he had thought of me during the difficult time of my father’s illness. I’d worked hard over the last few years to build up a company that was like family, and it made me happy to see that Boris thought of me that way.
“That was nice of him,” Marcus said as we sat down and looked over the schedule of visitors for the rest of the day.
“Do you think all of these clients are only coming in to say their condolences?”
“What do you mean all? We should only have two others.”
“Nope, looks like the calendar has been filled up.” I laughed as I looked out at my secretary. I had told her she could schedule any clients who wanted to check up on their accounts. “Maybe they do just want to check in, but that’s all right. I’m not too concerned about the time. I’ll stay as long is necessary to wrap up the meetings and make sure all our paperwork is in order. You do know I’m still going to be the CEO while I’m gone, though. Don’t let all this power go to your head.”
“Hell, I thought I was going to get to buy a jet and fly to Europe while you were gone.”
“I know you’re joking, but if you and Tina ever want to take the kids on a trip, I’d be happy to let you use the jet. I’ll pay for it out of my own pocket. After taking over for the next few weeks, you’re going to need a vacation.”
“I just might take you up on that offer. I know Tina has been dying to go to Europe and now that the kids are all teenagers, I think it might be a fun time.”
“It’s a plan; you tell me when and I’ll make sure it happens.”
“Thanks, Tyler. You are a good guy, don’t let anyone tell you differently.”
“Very funny.”
The rest of my day ended up being meeting after meeting with our loyal clients coming to check in and give their condolences for what I was going through with my father. It was awesome how much the clients supported us and really made me realize I had done something right in my relationships at work at least. Business relationships I could do; it was the personal relationships that I sucked at.
By five o’clock, I’d finished my meetings but still had hours and hours of paperwork to go through before I could officially hand over the company to Marcus for my time off. Since my original plan had been to fly into Texas that night, I wasn’t going to make my flight and had to rearrange things with my friends.
“Bryce,” I said as I called my best friend. “I’m not going to be out there until tomorrow.”
“I was really hoping you’d say that. I’m exhausted. Turning 33 has really kicked my ass. I swear I can hardly move without some anti-inflammatory medication.”
“Still think your four years of hard farming labor has been worth it?” I joked.
“Yep, best time of my life. So, you’ll be in town for the party tomorrow?” Bryce asked.
“The reunion thing? Are we really going to that? I didn’t go to the 10-year; why on earth would I show up for the 15-year? Isn’t this sort of a given that no one will be coming?”
“Dude, it’s free booze. I’m going whether you’re coming or not. I’ve already arranged the night away from the family; there’s no turning back now.”
“I’ll buy your drinks at the bar. There’s no one I want to see at the high school reunion.”
“No one?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Ty, you might run into Kelsi. I’ve seen her around. You know, my little brother Robert is dating her little sister, Kendall. Wouldn’t it be nice to see her again?”
“First of all, that’s really confusing who is your brother dating. Second of all, even if I wanted to see Kelsi, she wouldn’t want to see me. Have you forgotten the torture you and Mike put us through senior year?”
“Oh, come on, she’s over that. Who still thinks about stupid high school crap?”
“I don’t need to see anyone from high school except you and Mike, but I’ll go to the reunion if it will make you happy. I know there’s so little that you will actually get up off the couch for nowadays.” I laughed.
“That’s good enough for me. I’ll see you tomorrow. I think Mike was stuck in Los Angeles or something. Probably ran up his credit cards and couldn’t buy his plane ticket. Will you give him a call and make sure he’s coming?”
“Why can’t you?”
Neither of us really liked Mike, yet we were both friends with him. Mike was the kind of friend who picked on everyone around and was pretty much a total ass. I would have thought he had gotten over it, but he was still just as much of a jerk as he was back in high school. I felt sorry for him, though; he’d been in football and had his chance to date any woman he wanted, yet he was still single.
“It’s your turn. I called him at Christmas.” Bryce laughed. “See you tomorrow,” he said quickly and then hung up before I could argue with him.
It probably was my turn to call Mike; I’d tried to get out of it every chance I got. He was the kind of friend who people accidently forgot to call and invite to things, but on purpose. Even in high school, he had been a bit annoying, but he was our friend, and we weren’t going to give up on him. Somewhere, deep down, I was convinced he needed us.
“Tyler, my man. The hot stud of Birmingham, Alabama. How the hell are you?” Mike yelled into my ear as he picked up the phone.
“Just checking in on you for the high school reunion. Are you still coming? I know Bryce and I were looking forward to getting the old band together and playing some tunes in his garage,” I lied. Bryce and I had no desire to play in the band again, but it had been really important to Mike so I thought I’d throw it out there.
“Oh, yeah, man, I was totally coming. I’ve just got this physical therapy thing for my knee and then I was going to come out tomorrow. I’ll probably drive since it’s easier on me. You know, being a big guy, it’s hard to fly and fit in those seats with all this muscle.”
“Do you need me to get you a ticket, Mike?”
Mike had played football for the University of Southern California and then a couple years for the San Diego Chargers. He had made at least $10 million over the course of his career, but now subsisted on small commercials and speaking engagements. He threw a lot of his money away in Vegas; I’d talked to him a few times when he’d literally spent all of his money and couldn’t get back home. But he was my friend, for better or worse, and I’d always help him out if I could.
“Wow, man, that’s cool of you. Could you make it first class? You know, it’s just easier for me to fit into the seats. These big arms don’t sit well in coach.”
The truth was that Mike was primarily fat and not muscle nowadays, but I wasn’t going to argue with him. In the last few years, he seemed more and more out of control with everything he was doing: eating, gambling, drinking, and even some drugs.
“Of course, I’ll have my secretary send you the e-ticket this evening, and I’ll see you back in Texas tomorrow. Bring something nice; I think it’s a formal event.”
“Okay, man. Thanks, man…I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow. Take care of yourself and get some sleep tonight. No staying out all night if you want to be fresh and on your toes for all the girls tomorrow.”
“Hey, good call. I’ll get some sleep. See ya tomorrow.”
It was exhausting talking to Mike. He was like a child who had never really grown up. I attributed it to his head injuries from playing football all his life, but I wasn’t sure he would have ended up much different if he had avoided football.
Giving up control over the day-to-day operations of my company was bittersweet. I’d done it before when I had extended vacations, but even then, I stayed fairly involved in the big decision making. This time, I had chosen to concentrate solely on my father and giving him as much of my time before he passed away. For the first time in my life, I was putting my family ahead of my business.
By morning, I was rested and had moved into my vacation mindset. My company was in good hands, and this time off might be just what I needed to finally step away from all of the day-to-day tasks and reduce the stress of operating the company. I’d be happy to continue on with more time off and more time to do the things I enjoyed in life.
“Mr. Pace, good morning,” my pilot said as he greeted me at the airport.
“Morning, sir. How’s the plane doing?”
“Wonderful. We will have two and a half hours in flight and Rosemary is here to take care of you. I’ve also got a co-pilot who is already onboard checking the gauges.”
“Sounds great. Thank you so much.”
As I boarded the plane, it quickly became apparent that Rosemary was there to take care of me in more ways than just serving me with some drinks and a meal. She was a petite blonde with her fake boobs exploding out of her uniform and the hemline barely covering her ass. It was nice to work with a private jet company that could understand my needs so well, although I wasn’t sure I was going to take Rosemary up on her offer for this flight.
My mind was on my family, and this trip wasn’t going to be fun. This trip would end up being the most heartbreaking of trips home. My father was my hero, the man I had looked up to my entire life. His decline into lung cancer had taken us all by storm. He wasn’t a smoker any longer and hadn’t smoked in more than 20 years, but the disease didn’t discriminate based on the time a person had been free from cigarettes.
My sister and my mother were the ones I worried about the most. Dad handled all the day-to-day business for our small ranch. He did the hiring, the working in the field, even the financial books for the family. My sister and mother ran a small store in town that sold their homemade goodies like jams, jellies, and candies. The ranching business was my Dad’s baby, and I wasn’t even sure my mother and sister wanted to keep running it after he was gone; that was why I had to be there. If they wanted to keep running things, we’d need to set up a new way for them to operate with the two of them in the lead; if they wanted to sell off the ranch, I’d have to help them with that as well.
I’d spent most of my life away from my hometown and opted to fly my family to see me more than I had ever gone home to see them. We did family Christmas at my house; even my parents’ birthdays were usually celebrated at some fun location that I flew them out to. Of the times I had come home, this would be my first time coming home that coordinated with my high school reunion. The only one of my friends who still lived in Rainbow, Texas was Bryce, and he technically lived a little outside of town. If my friends and family were willing to come out and see me, I had no need to visit the tiny town where I was raised.
“Is there anything else you would like?” Rosemary asked as she leaned over my table to show off her perky body.
“That’s it for right now; thank you, though,” I said.
The disappointment flashed across her face for a brief moment before she smiled again and went back to her area of the cabin. I wasn’t in the habit of turning down beautiful women who wanted to sleep with me, but I had too much on my mind for that day.
After calling Mike to confirm he received his ticket, I called Bryce to confirm I’d be arriving in a few hours. He offered to come get me from the airport and take me out to my parents’ house since my mother and sister were still at the hospice facility. It was going to be a shock seeing my father like that after talking to him only a few weeks before.
“Thanks, Bryce; you’re a good friend.”
“Nah, I have ulterior motives. I want to make sure you come to the reunion with me tonight, and it will be easier to get you there if I keep my eyes on you.”
“I’m going to go see my father today; maybe you could just take me over there first? I don’t know how much I’m going to feel like going to the reunion after I’ve visited with my father.”
“You’re not getting out of this reunion, but yes, I think that’s a good idea to go see him first. Your sister didn’t think he knew when people were there or not, but I bet he will know it’s you. The two of you were so close. He’s probably waiting to let go until he sees you.”
His words pulled at my heart. I really wasn’t ready to let my father go. I probably hadn’t been the best of sons in recent years and felt horrible for always saying I was busy with work when he invited me to come see what he was doing with the ranch. The guilt over brushing him off was eating me alive, and I really did need to see him and talk to him before he passed away.
“Thanks, man,” I said as I felt myself getting choked up. “See you in a bit. Don’t bring Ashley or the kids, though; I hear he’s not doing all that well, and it might frighten them.”
“Just you and me today, bud; I’ve got the whole night to myself.”
“How’d you manage that?” I joked.
“Oh, I did a honey-do list that was a mile long.” He laughed.
“See you soon.”