Текст книги "More Than a Memory "
Автор книги: Amber Nation
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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 13 страниц)
I had to force myself to take a breath before I could even give him an answer. It was still so surreal that he was kneeling there before me, pleading for me to come back with him. My heart already knew the answer and was shouting it faster than my brain could register what was going on. I slowly released another breath and nodded my head, “I love you too, Baylor. These past three weeks have been miserable and I’ve kicked myself on a daily basis for leaving you asleep in your bed like a coward. In my mind I knew that my heart wouldn’t be able to take it if you let me leave without asking me to stay behind with you, so I took out the option for the both of us.” Tears were beginning to gather in the creases of his eyes and he nodded his head, silently encouraging me to go on. Contracts be damned, but I was gone. Nashville wasn’t my home; I supposed it never really was, it was just a place I resided until someone deemed it was time to go back. That time had come; better late than never, I guess. “I will go back with you, Baylor; there isn’t a reason in my mind that would cause me to stay.” I flipped off the other side of my headphone, causing it to crash with a thud onto the floor, and launched myself into Baylor’s arms, sealing my mouth with his.
“Well, you heard it here, folks, I think our beloved Eden has just quit and is now officially off the market,” Blaine explained amusedly into the microphone.
I pulled away from Baylor after hearing Blaine speak and our eyes danced with merriment. “Was all that on the air?” He nodded. “Shit, so I basically just quit on the air?” He nodded again, while a little smirk appeared on his face. I rolled my eyes and guessed I would wait to take the wrath of my boss whenever he dished it out; I wasn’t going to actively seek him out. Knowing him he was probably right behind me with his hands folded in front of his chest with his icy cold glare intact as if Blaine or myself had said a curse word or something controversial on-air. I stood up, smoothing out my clothes, and helped Baylor get to his feet as well. Looking to Blaine, I gave him a small smile and shrugged one of my shoulders, silently apologizing for placing him in this predicament.
He walked across the room in our direction, extending a hand out towards Baylor, “Take good care of our girl,” he smiled as the two of them shook hands and then he turned to me, opening his arms for a hug, and I didn’t hesitate entering his embrace. We had worked together for ten glorious years, he was like a brother to me and I would miss him dearly. He whispered into my ear while I was still in his clutch, “I would’ve taken you up on that marriage proposal if I had known he was going to be stealing you away. You’re an amazing woman, Eden, enjoy your bit of happiness.”
He released me and I took two steps back, wiping a tear from my face. I couldn’t leave things sad and melancholy between us, so I retorted, “I really am sorry for quitting so suddenly like this, I hope they don’t stick you with Ryan as a cohost now.” That realization hadn’t dawned on him until then and his eyes widened and his nostrils flared; you could just tell that he was picturing the new version of the show without me.
Raising his extended index finger in my direction, “You had better turn around and march out of here real fast before I bring you back and duct tape you to your chair so you can’t leave!”
I knew he was joking of course, but I wasn’t about to take any chances, so I grabbed Baylor’s hand and we darted from the studio room and directly into my boss. Just as I had suspected, he was outside of the doors with his arms crossed in front of his chest and a deathly glare on his face. “Mr. Richmond,” I stammered, feeling Baylor’s stance stiffen behind me. “I suppose you heard what happened, huh?” I wasn’t one to go actively seeking confrontation, in fact, despite what happened at the reunion with Kristina, I actually loathed it. Especially when it was coming from my boss, whom I had known for several years but who still managed to scare the living shit out of me.
“Eden, what kind of game do you think you’re playing? You are under a contract with the radio station for another two years. Don’t you think you should’ve thought about this instead of making a rash decision?” I could feel my anger and annoyance level rising by the minute and the moment I opened my mouth to speak, Baylor beat me to the chase.
“Mr. Richmond, is it? After consulting with my attorney, even though you are a larger radio station within Nashville, you still don’t hold any legal rights over Eden. She didn’t quit to go to another rival station within the city, she quit to move entirely out of state. Now I apologize for this all happening quite abruptly, as that part is my fault, but should you choose to take this matter to court I think it’ll just be a waste of all of our time. Now if you have nothing further, we will go clean out Eden’s desk and be out of your hair in the matter of minutes.”
Not only was my mouth hanging agape, so was Mr. Richmond’s. During my entire time working there, I had never seen someone actually go up against the ape and the fact that it was my Baylor made him even sexier in my eyes. I quickly closed my mouth and looked up to Mr. Richmond to see him lower his hands down to his side and nod in my direction, “Eden, it’s been a pleasure to have you working with us here at 98.9 but as of now, you’ve fulfilled your duties here. Please empty out your desk and proceed with leaving the building in a timely fashion so I don’t have to call Security on you for loitering.” He tried to come across as macho, like normal, but for some reason unbeknownst to me he seemed to be lacking some of his luster.
Chapter 17
Baylor
I placed my hand on the small of Eden’s back as we sidestepped past Mr. All Talk. He didn’t seem too big and bad once I put him in his place. Eden looked up towards me and a bright smile lit up her face. “What?” I asked, knowing exactly what she was going to say.
“I thought Dean made it perfectly clear that he was strictly a Divorce Lawyer, so how did he find out about contractual agreements in the workplace?” Her eyes twinkled up at me, reassuring me that what I had done was more than all right with her.
Shrugging my shoulders, closing the door behind us and shoving my hands into my pockets after we entered Eden’s small, dimly-lit office, I replied, “He is, but he’s Dean, nothing that a little coercion can’t fix. He knows people and I just sort of took advantage of that.” She was facing away from me, shuffling some papers on her desk and then throwing them in the trash. I took the opportunity to walk up behind her until I was flush with her backside. She was wearing her hair up in a ponytail, so I just moved it off to the side to let it flow across her shoulder and placed a single open-mouthed kiss in the middle of her slender neck. I continued on by trailing my nose up the length of her neck until I reached just below her ear where I placed another brief, feather-light kiss. “God, I’ve missed you, baby. Now that I’ve gotten a taste of you and have been spoiled by your touch, I don’t want to ever go without it again.” Dragging my fingertips ever so lightly down the exposed flesh of her arm, I felt her skin stiffen and goose bumps break out on the places my touch just encountered.
It didn’t matter that we were in her office, at a job where she was no longer employed; I wasn’t shying away from what we both wanted and craved at that very moment. I took her by her shoulders and spun her around to face me, her eyes were slightly parted and desire was shining back at me. I moved my hands to cup her face, but we were interrupted by the phone on her desk ringing with an incoming call.
Eden blindly reached behind her and began fumbling with a few of the buttons in what I thought was an attempt to shut it off, but instead she pressed the speaker button.
“You bitch!” A squeaky voice roared on the other end of the line, causing Eden’s entire stance to freeze and turn rigid. “I just heard the entire show and your breakup with Nashville.” Without even taking a breath, the enraged female voice continued, “You couldn’t think of a reason to stay? Well, I can think of two words right off of the top of my head and they are the most important: Julia Caldwell.”
“Oh shit!” Eden gasped, bringing both of her hands to cover her mouth for a brief second before she haphazardly attempted to reach for her chair and finally sat down, scooting closer towards the phone. “Jules, you know I didn’t mean it that way. I was completely in the moment; I mean tell me you wouldn’t be?” Eden’s backpedaling stung a bit but I knew that she was just trying to calm her friend off of the ledge of her tirade.
“Oh, I know, but you know that one of my favorite pastimes involves holding grudges. And well, so is Mrs. Schaefer’s.” Her voice lost its candor, resulting in a bit of trepidation.
“Who the hell is Mrs. Schaefer?” Eden demanded. I was certainly glad that I wasn’t the only one lost by the turning of the conversation.
“Well, you see she was the client in my chair at the time of your little broadcast. She wanted a seven a.m. appointment to get a quick cut before work and got a little more of a snip than what she bargained for. While she loves her now-shortened layers, it wasn’t initially the vision she saw in her head.”
“Oh I see, and your little mishap with your scissors is naturally all my fault.” I could tell that the two of them together would result in an absolute riot, with Eden being the more mellow and down-to-earth woman while Julia was the high-strung and high-maintenance diva.
“Naturally. I’m glad you see it my way,” Julia said, causing Eden to huff and throw her hands in the air. “Listen, I just wanted to give you a bit of shit before I actually congratulated you on your happy ever after. They don’t come along too often in a lifetime, believe me I would know. You better call and fill me in on all the juicy details.” Her voice became small and had an air of sadness about it, “And you know, don’t leave town without coming to say goodbye to me and all.”
“Jules…” Eden conceded.
“Bye, babe.”
Eden slowly pressed the speaker button on the phone and left her head hanging low; I knew she was feeling a mixture of a lot of different emotions, from happiness and pure elation, to having your friend guilt you into wanting to stay. I moved closer to her slouched form and just placed my palm in the middle of her back, “Edie, I understand if this is moving a bit too fast, but I missed out on fifteen years with you and I really didn’t want to waste another minute.”
She raised her head and swiveled her chair to face me before yanking me down to my knees so I was eye level with her. “Baylor, don’t mistake my sadness towards my friend for being regret at what is happening here.” She looked down at her hands in her lap as they fiddled with the bracelet that I had given her just a few weeks prior then returned her gaze to mine. “I love you, Baylor Jenkins, I always have. You were my first and only true love and I wouldn’t want any of this to take place any differently than it is now. If you hadn’t come to get me, I was going to end up coming to my senses and going after you myself. We were meant to be, I can’t fathom to think otherwise.”
I continued to toy with the small square box within my pocket and even with my heart racing with nerves and my palms breaking out in a sweat, I knew that if I didn’t go for it I would regret the missed chance. I cleared my throat, wishing I had a bottle of water to furiously gulp down before proceeding, “I wanted to give you something that made everything a bit more permanent. I consulted with the only other woman I trust besides you and my mother. Norah agreed that it was a good idea. But if you want to wait a bit, I completely understand.”
I knew I wasn’t making a lick of sense, but true to Eden and her sweet, caring self she placed a hand on my forearm which immediately made all of my nerves dissipate. “Baylor, you’ll never know what I think unless you let me know what it is.” The side of her mouth raised in a small smile right before she pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth. I was suddenly certain that I was doing the right thing.
She was right, I needed to just get my point across the best that I could and see what she had to say about the entire thing. It was a scary moment for me, but being with Eden made it more bearable.
I looked her deep in her chocolate-brown eyes and just let my heart do the talking. “Edie, when I first saw you in the airport after all of that lost time the only word to describe what I was feeling was stunned. I had instilled it in my brain that you weren’t ever going to return to Cottage Grove. I wanted to believe in my heart that someday you would but it just wasn’t logical thinking. Then I found out what had happened between us so long ago and that it was nothing that we each intentionally did. You have the best heart and are the absolute easiest person to fall in love with. I know we each need to work on our communication, because it’s been twice we’ve missed out on open opportunities but I’m not letting it slip by once more. Eden Nicole Richardt, would you do me the extraordinary honor of becoming my wife?” I pulled out the black velvet box, cracking it open to reveal the diamond solitaire engagement ring. Her eyes glistened with tears and I had one more thing to say before she revealed her answer. “I know that it was Norah who wrote the letter that was the deciding factor of your return home, she’s much smarter than me. But if I had known that was all it took I would’ve done it years ago. Norah is so much more than my amazing daughter now; in my eyes she was my saving grace. She wanted her dad to be reunited with his first and true love and she set out to make that happen. She definitely had more guts than me.”
The tears began rolling down her cheeks, so I took my hand that was entwined together with hers and swiped it across her skin trying to clean off the salty droplets, still awaiting her answer.
“Baylor, there is no question in my mind. I would absolutely love to marry you,” I was ready to celebrate and lift her high up in the air but she continued on with a bit of hesitation, “as long as you’re all right with me not having a job for a while. I have some money saved up but I’ll need to sell my condo. The last thing that I want to become for you is a burden.”
“Baby,” I started, keeping my eyes locked on hers, “you could never ever be considered a burden to me. It wouldn’t matter to me if you never worked again, but with that being said, I know how much you valued and loved your job, which is why I secured you an interview at a station in Eugene. It was a bit presumptuous of me and while it’s only part-time starting out, it could eventually lead to a full-time position. Now, they are a much smaller station and aren’t as prestigious or well-known as the station here, but with you possibly on their team some big opportunities could arise.”
Eden paused a moment to bring one hand to her chest and braced her head with the other, “I can’t believe this is all happening and you are going to such great lengths for me.”
Wow, she really just must not get it. “There is absolutely nothing that I wouldn’t do for you.”
A glimmer appeared in her eye and an evil smirk on her face; I was beginning to rethink the exact way I put that statement but in the end it wouldn’t have made a bit of difference. It was true, there wasn’t anything that I wouldn’t at least attempt to do for her.
“You know,” she said, “I may take you up on that because I just may have an idea up my sleeve…” She wouldn’t elaborate further on her phrasing so I had to drop the subject for a while.
I took her hands in mine and helped bring her to her feet from her sitting position. “Let’s pack up your desk so you can show me your bed,” I winked and in that moment she was complete putty in my hands. The same level of desire that I was feeling was reflected back to me tenfold from just the glint in her eyes.
She looked around and picked up a small trophy in the shape of a microphone and a picture of her and a blonde woman, which I would assume to be Julia, opened her bottom drawer to yank out her purse, then turned to me, slinging it over her shoulder and slamming the bottom drawer closed with her foot. “I’m done.”
I gazed around the mostly empty space that she called her office and realized that she really didn’t have much in there, especially for as long as she had worked there. “That’s all you have?” I questioned.
She took one last glance around, making sure she had collected everything, and shrugged, “I just never felt the need to clutter my desk, so yeah.”
As she drove us to her condo she took a little extra time showing me her favorite hangouts. The coffee shop she would frequent most mornings and where they knew her name and drink order by heart, the local music store in which during her early days as a radio DJ she would broadcast live from inside. She even took me down Broadway Street and showed me some of the best bars that she and Julia would make appearances at on Saturday nights. Eden was taking a chance and leaving behind a huge portion of her life; after college all of her adult life was spent learning the ins and outs of this beautiful city. I needed to consider myself a lucky man and count all of my blessings that she was taking such a giant leap just to be with me. If that didn’t tell me that she loved me, then I didn’t know exactly what would.
Once we arrived in front of her condo and she pulled into the driveway she sat there a second with the biggest smile on her lips, holding her hand out to admire her new piece of adorning jewelry. She was practically glowing and was the most breathtaking woman I’d ever seen.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“I’m just so happy,” she announced and made a little wiggling movement in her seat.
I leaned across the console in the car and grasped her chin with my fingers, directing her head until her eyes were trained on me. “I’m glad, so am I. Norah will be extremely excited, too.”
I noticed the telltale sign of a tiny bead of tears welling up in her eyes, “I’m going to have a daughter?” she said as if she had just come to the realization. I had no doubt in my mind that Eden would be a terrific mother for Norah, it was just the type of woman that she was. Norah would be absolutely thrilled to actually have a positive female figure in her life, paying attention to her, unlike her own mother.
As we made our way towards her front door I heard the yapping of a little dog even before the white head poked out from in between the blinds. Just as soon as Eden’s key hit the lock, the dog’s head disappeared and its faint whimpering started to build until it was a full blown howl.
Eden just barely inched the door open and a little fifteen pound dog darted out and started spastically circling our ankles. “Petunia, settle down,” Eden said in a soft tone and bent down just in time to catch the white Westie in her arms. “Baylor, meet Petunia,” I leaned forward to let her sniff my hand before I began scratching behind her ears. “She’s only a bit rambunctious when I first get home. Within a few minutes she’ll have worn herself out and you’ll find her in her bed passed out for a nap. Isn’t that right, girl?” She cooed.
After Eden gave Petunia a minute of attention she bent over to let her down and straightened back up again. “So,” she said, slapping a palm on her hip almost as if she was a bit nervous. “This is my home, well, for now.”
I wiped my hands down my pants to try and dry my sweaty palms and walked further into the room so I could take it all in. The room was immaculate and decorated with rustic colors of gray and teal. She definitely held a woman’s touch and my house, our house, could use some sprucing up.
Our house.
Our house would soon be comprised of three people, two adults and a child. And adding a new dog to the mix, it would be absolutely complete. My breath became staggered as I tried to process everything that was occurring. Did I want this? One hundred percent yes but, truth be told, I was a bit nervous as well—not enough to end up in a panic attack but enough for me to break a sweat. Before when Eden and I were together there was always that looming expiration date. And now that it’d progressed to what I hoped in my heart was forever, would things still feel the same?
I tried to stuff my worries and insecurities to the back of my mind. I could allow them back out when the timing was right.
Several of the picture frames sporadically placed about her living room caught my eye. I took my time walking around to each of the few that were hanging on her wall, studying them as I moved along. There was one of her and Blaine in the studio, another was of her and the same blonde that was in the picture on her desk, and then one of her and Petunia as a puppy. She looked completely happy and carefree in each of the pictures. My heart panged with guilt at the thought of uprooting her so abruptly from her former life. I didn’t want her to regret this decision several years down the road.
A teal frame perched upon one of her end tables was what took my attention next. Something in the photo drew me in and I found myself picking it up to examine it closer. I ran my free hand along the ceramic swirls just taking in how happy the three people in the photograph were at that time.
Dean, with his goofy ass smile, was on the left and a much younger version of myself was on the right. Eden was sandwiched in between the two of us and she looked absolutely beautiful, with a twinkle in her eye.
“Graduation?” I asked, but it was already clear to me that it was. There weren’t many times that Eden willingly wore a dress back then and the royal blue unzipped gowns that we all had on sort of gave it away. I vaguely remembered Eden’s mom taking the picture but I had never seen it; given the circumstances I could understand why.
Seeing the picture itself made a lump form in my throat, but it was the phrase engraved on the bottom of the ceramic frame that threatened tears to well up in my eyes. I ran my rough fingertips over the cursive letters, feeling the smooth etching under my calloused skin, and released a pained sigh. So much fucking time wasted and for what? A bitch with a vendetta on our happiness?
“The Three Musketeers,” Eden said, approaching me, looking down at the frame that was now tightly grasped in my hands.
“You kept this out all this time? Even with the hatred that loomed inside?” I questioned, not sure that I was ready to hear her honest answer.
Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked perplexed. “Baylor, there was never hatred. Sadness, yes. Despondency, yes. Heartsickness, absolutely. But never was there ever any hatred towards either you or Dean. I kept this as a memory because at the time that’s all you were. I didn’t want to forget that happy-go-lucky girl in the picture with her two best friends, because it was that next day when my entire life changed, including my outlook. I’ve come to the conclusion that Kristina instilled all of this bitterness inside us because of her own unhappiness in her life. She wasn’t a people pleaser, she just molded and changed people to what she wanted them to be. And when you fought back against it by standing up and stepping into the family business she knew that she had lost.” She took the frame from my hands and replaced it back on the end table where it belonged and then ran a hand down the side of my face and across my jaw, “She’s gone now and not hindering us any further. Now is our time to be happy and I for one am not going to waste another minute of it trying to dwell on the past or what could’ve or should’ve been all along. I now have a fiancé who I love more than life itself, who has a daughter that I would love nothing more than to call my own.” Tears were swimming in her eyes, threatening to release, and my own heart was thumping loudly in my chest. “Sure, this is all happening very fast, but you have to remember I’ve waited fifteen years for this moment, and I know this will be an adjustment for all of us. But I’m done with waiting around; it’s our turn for our happy ending.”
I was so glad that we were on the same page as one another and she squashed my fears with her powerful words and positivity ensuring that everything would be all right. We needed to get away from the sadness and tears because it absolutely killed me inside seeing her cry, even though they would’ve been tears of joy. I grabbed ahold of her hips in my hands and pulled her flush against me, so she had to crane her neck just to look up at me. “So you have this fiancé now? I think I might go off in a fit of jealous rage because he’ll get to see you naked anytime he wants. I don’t want any other information, but please tell me this, is he as good-looking as me?”
An almost silent giggle escaped from her throat as she stood up on her tiptoes, trying to get closer to my face, “Oh but he’s more than just good looking,” she swooned seductively, “he is the sexiest man I have ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on.” Her hand traveled up my forearm and bicep, all the way up to the base of my neck where her fingers began fiddling with the edge of my hairline. “And now, he’s all mine,” she said with a moan as her other hand moved to cup my ass through my jeans.
My dick sprung to life as she began grinding her pelvis into me and pushed her voluptuous breasts against my torso. I bent my body just a bit so I could scoop her up against me and into my arms. There wasn’t time to go searching amongst the rooms just to find her bedroom, so I chose the next best thing to her bed or any flat surface in the kitchen; I picked the couch. I carefully laid her on her back against the tan-colored microfiber cushions and reached behind me to pull my polo off over my head and discard it somewhere on the floor. Her breathing was already labored with the anticipation of what was going to occur in the minutes ahead and she immediately lifted her back clear from the cushion so I could remove her shirt and unclasp her bra leaving her entire torso bared to me.
I braced myself on my exposed forearms as she clutched her hands together behind my back and I took a brief moment to study her entire face and chest before engaging any further. You could tell her embarrassment was beginning to get the best of her when her cheeks and chest turned the faintest of reds. I knew that just by staring at her that there was no possible way for me to ever grow tired of seeing her before me. Eden was right, it was time for our happy ending and there was absolutely no one else on God’s green earth that could make me feel as complete and as elated as she did.
Apparently I wasn’t moving in a timely enough fashion for her as she abruptly yanked on my sides, trying to bring my face closer to hers. She tried her best, but still she was no match for my upper body strength, and it was a bit comical seeing her getting more and more flustered and frustrated by the second.
“Kiss me, Baylor,” she demanded before immediately letting go of her grasp on me altogether and skillfully sliding out from underneath my body, ending up on her knees directly in front of my face. This way was much easier for her to shift my head to where she wanted it to be. By that time I was raised up completely off of my forearms and resting on the palms of my hands and instead of bringing our lips together she stopped my mouth at the stiff peak of one of her round breasts. I hesitated before pouncing on her again and she released a throaty pout. “Bay, I need you. Don’t sit there and pretend that you don’t need me too.” Her movements were beginning to grow a bit bolder as she shoved her hand down my pants and took my throbbing erection in her clutch, emphasizing her point in my need for her as well. With her gentle yet abrasive touch, it was turning me on even further. She knew exactly what she was doing to me too when she squeezed my dick just a bit harder.
I rose up on my knees quickly, having the element of surprise on my side, and wasted no further time before taking her mouth. I was rough and ravenous as I pushed into her gateway with my tongue making sure to give subtle nips with my teeth. The kiss was brief but extremely erotic and when I pulled away I made sure to pull that sexy as hell bottom lip with me, giving it a liberal suck before releasing it from my assault.
Kissing my way down her neck to her exposed breasts, I flicked my tongue across the tip of her nipple and heard a throaty growl rip from her throat. I proceeded to enclose my entire mouth on her breast and gave each of them the attention they deserved. When I chanced a peek up at Eden, her eyes were closed tightly and that lip was pulled in between her teeth and her fingers were shoved into her tousled hair as if she couldn’t take the extreme pleasure. I sat back on my haunches and just studied her as she kept pulling on her hair that was still shoved into a haphazard ponytail. Reaching behind her, I pulled the binding constriction out of her hair and let the strands fall in wayward directions, covering her bare shoulders. She finally opened her eyes and the extremely pure lust that was shining back at me from within the depths of her milk chocolate irises was my complete undoing.
I swooped in and pinned her body to the cushions once again, roughly attacking the button and zipper to her jeans, which were giving me fits. Our pants and underwear were the only barriers to exposing our complete bodies to one another and her jeans were proving to be insubordinate and quite frankly if I could have gotten away with cutting them from her body I would have. With my brain not communicating with my fingers on how to release her from the rest of her clothing, Eden shoved my hands out of the way and proceeded with ridding herself of them without my being in the way. I watched like a horny teenager ready to pounce while her nimble fingers seemed to take the barrier with great stride and within no time at all she had her jeans and her panties slipped from her legs and tossed them over my shoulder to some undisclosed location in her living room.
