Текст книги "Forever Us"

Автор книги: Sandi Lynn

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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

Chapter 37 Ellery

The house felt empty without Connor. I heard Julia cry, so I walked upstairs to get her from her crib. It had been over a week since I’d seen or talked to Connor. Every second and every minute of each day was killing me slowly. As I took Julia from her crib, she looked at me and smiled. I bundled her up in her jacket and took her down by the water just as the sun was getting ready to set.

“Listen carefully, Julia, and you’ll be able to hear the whispers of the ocean.”

The soothing sound of the waves lapping against the shoreline made me think of the special times I was with Connor at the beach. My mind traveled back to when Connor proposed to me in California. When I first told him about my past after the autism charity, and when I ran to the beach in the middle of the night before I got the final results of my last treatment. But the most special memory was when Connor asked me to marry him. The ocean held so many memories for me, not only with Connor, but with my mom. The sun was starting to set and, as I pointed to it, I told Julia to look up.

“The sun setting over the ocean will be one of the most beautiful things you’ll ever see. Your daddy proposed to me on the beach, just as the sun was setting. He made sure everything was perfect.” I smiled.

Julia screeched and then looked at me and put her hand on my face. She knew I was sad, and I could tell how much she missed Connor. I sat down with her and let her run her hands through the sand. The beach, the ocean, and the sunset, would become as special to her as it was to me.

“He misses you, and he’s not doing good,” I heard a voice say behind me.

I turned around and saw Denny standing a few feet away from us. I smiled and held out my hand for him to sit next to me.

“What are you doing here? Should you even be here?” I asked as I kissed him on the cheek.

“I’m fine. Dana drove. She’s in the house, talking to Mason. I don’t want to talk about me. How are you doing?”

“I’m okay,” I said as I looked out into the ocean water.

“No, you’re not. I know you, Ellery, and you miss him just as much as he misses you.”

“I’m so mad at him, Denny. How could he do that to me? How many times do I have to tell him not to keep things from me before it sinks into that thick head of his?”

Denny smiled at me and then looked at Julia. “Sometimes, we don’t always make the right decisions under pressure and stress. Need I remind you of a few times you didn’t make the right decisions where Connor was concerned?”

I laughed and shook my head. “That was different and we weren’t married.”

“You may not have been married, but you were a couple and you loved him. Listen to me, Connor is Connor, and he always will be. It’s how he’s wired. His love for you is so powerful that it clouds his judgment sometimes. The only thing he saw when he made the decision not to tell you about Phil was keeping you safe.”

“You’re always defending him,” I said as I looked over at him.

“Not always. I had a talk with him too. Believe me, I yelled at him and pretty much called him every name in the book. I think he got my point. The two of you can’t even be apart for one night, let alone an entire week. Everyone makes mistakes, Ellery.”

I glared at him with knitted eyebrows. “Okay, some more than others.” He smiled. “Should I remind you about how you lied to Connor and went and saw Ashlyn?”

“Just another thing he didn’t tell me,” I said as I rolled my eyes.

“And for a good reason. You could have gotten yourself killed. You know that girl is crazy,” he said.

It was getting chilly and the winds were starting to pick up. “Let’s go inside.” I smiled as I picked Julia up and looped my arm around Denny’s.

As soon as we walked inside, Dana came over and took Julia from me. “Why don’t the two of you stay here tonight and then we can all head back in the morning?” I said.

“You’re going back home?” Denny asked.

“Yeah, I think it’s about time, and Connor and I need to sit down and have a serious talk.”

After I put Julia to bed, the four of us sat around the table and talked. It was eleven o’clock p.m. and my phone started to ring. I looked over and saw it was Connor calling. I wasn’t ready to talk to him yet, so I rejected it. A minute later, my phone rang, and it was him again.

“Connor, what do you want?”

“Hi, Ellery, this is Sarah.”

I froze as I held the phone up to my ear and my heart started racing with the thought that he was with her.

“I know what you must be thinking right now, and this isn’t what it seems. I took Connor’s phone to call you because he’s here at Club S, a drunken mess, and you need to come get him.”

“What the hell is he doing there?” I asked.

“I’m assuming he came in to drink his troubles away. Listen, I’ll wait with him until you get here.”

“Thank you, Sarah. I’m on my way,” I said as I hung up the phone.

Denny looked at me as I got up from my seat. “Now what?”

“Connor is drunk at Club S, and Sarah told me that I need to come get him.”

“Do you want me to go and bring his sorry ass home?” Denny said.

“No, I’ll go.” I picked up the phone and called a cab. “Mason, can you pack up all of Julia’s things and bring her home tomorrow? I don’t want to wake her up.”

“Of course I will,” he said as he walked over to me. “Go get your man and spend some time alone. We’ll be fine.”

* * *

As I got out of the cab, I stood in front of Club S as the line of people waited impatiently to get into the now famous club. I walked up to the front and stood behind the rope as I called Frankie’s name.

“Ellery Black! How are you, girl?” he said.

“I’m good, Frankie. It’s nice to see you.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Connor’s inside and someone called me to come get him.”

Frankie lifted the rope. “Go on in, Elle. It was good to see you. If you need my help, come get me.”

“Thanks, Frankie. It was good to see you too.” I smiled.

The music was loud and people were everywhere. As I pushed my way through the crowd, I headed towards the bar. While I stood there looking around, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw Sarah standing there.

“Where is he?” I asked.

“He’s over there,” Sarah said as she pointed to a table in the corner.

Instantly, I started to have flashbacks of the night when I first saw him. I took in a deep breath and started walking towards him. Sarah grabbed my arm.

“Don’t be too hard on him. He’s full of regret, and he’s sorry.”

“So he told you what happened?”

“Not all of it, but I know he messed up. I’ve never seen love like I do when I see the two of you. It’s romantic, and I’m envious of what the two of you have. I didn’t think a love like that existed.”

“Thank you for keeping an eye on him. I appreciate it.” I smiled.

“No problem, Ellery,” she said as she walked away.

I stood there and stared at him from across the way. He could barely sit up. After being apart for a week, this wasn’t the way I wanted to see him. As I took in another breath, I walked over to him, sat down, and took the glass out of his hand.

“Ellery,” he slurred.

“Come on, Connor. It’s time to go home,” I said as I helped him up.

“Are you coming too,” he slurred.

“Yes, I’m coming home. Now let’s get out of here.”

He put his arm around me as I held him up and helped him to the door. He could barely walk and he was stumbling so badly that he almost took me down. We reached the doors and stepped outside. The cab was parked at the curb. I opened the cab door and tried to help him in.

“Get in the cab, Connor.”

“I want to talk first. I don’t want to get in the cab.”

“Get in the cab, Connor,” I said a second time as I pushed him in.

He wouldn’t slide over, so I shut the door, got in the other side, and gave the cab driver our address. Connor looked over at me. All I could see was the sadness in his eyes. I was really pissed off that he went to the club, but that was an issue we’d deal with later.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said as he ran his hand down my cheek.

“You’re so drunk,” I replied.

He leaned his head on my shoulder, but he kept falling forward. I brought his head down to my lap and softly stroked his hair as he closed his eyes. Shortly after, we arrived in the garage of the penthouse.

“Do you need help getting him out, ma’am?” the cab driver asked.

“I think I can manage,” I replied as I handed him a large tip.

“Thank you so much, ma’am!” he said with excitement.

“Thank you for your patience.” I smiled.

I sat Connor up and told him to stay there while I walked around to the other side. I opened the door, grabbed his arm and helped him out. He stumbled and it took every bit of strength I had to hold him up and not fall.

“Isn’t this a familiar scene?” I said to him as I walked him to the elevator.

I leaned him up against the wall while we waited for the doors to open. His eyes never left mine.

“I want to fuck you so bad,” he said.

“Not tonight, baby,” I said as the elevator doors opened and I helped him inside.

When we arrived to the penthouse, I helped him off the elevator and tried to get him up the stairs. He kept tripping over the steps and falling.

“Connor, you have to help me out here.”

I helped him climb up the stairs on his hands since he was way too drunk to walk up them. As soon as he made it to the top step, I stood him up and helped him to our bedroom. “Are you going to be sick?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said as he nodded his head.

“Hurry and get to the bathroom!” I exclaimed as I pushed him.

He made it to the bathroom just in time, and he started vomiting in the toilet. I left him there, went into the bedroom, and turned down the bed. When I went back into the bathroom, he was lying on the floor. I shook my head and sighed as I ran a washcloth under warm water and put it on his head.

“Come on; you need to get in bed,” I said as I sat him up.

“I’m sorry for everything, Ellery. I wouldn’t blame you if you left me and never wanted to see me again.”

“I’m not going to leave you, Connor. Please give me some help here, so you can go to bed. You need to sleep the alcohol off.”

As he was sitting up on the bathroom floor, I lifted his shirt off and helped him up. With my help, he made it to the bed and fell back on it. As I unbuttoned his pants and started to pull them down, he grabbed my hands.

“I love you so much,” he slurred.

“I know you do, and I love you too. Now, lift your ass up and help me get your pants off.”

Once I had him stripped down to his boxers, I told him to turn around and lie down on his pillow.

“Now, remember to lie on your side,” I said as I covered him with the sheet and wiped his forehead with the cloth one last time before he closed his eyes.

As I sighed, I got up from the bed and changed into my pajamas. I washed my face, put my hair in a ponytail, and lay down next to him, watching to make sure he stayed on his side.

* * *

I opened my eyes and looked at the clock. It was nine o’clock a.m. already, and I couldn’t believe I’d slept that late. I rolled over and Connor was still sound asleep. I got out of bed, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and headed to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. As much as Connor hated my hangover cocktail, he was going to need it desperately when he woke up. I gathered the ingredients and put them in the blender. I was pouring myself a cup of coffee when I heard someone clear his throat from behind me. I slowly turned around and stared at Connor as he leaned up against the wall with his arms folded.

“Didn’t I go over the rules with you last night?” he asked.

I couldn’t help but smile as I bit down on my bottom lip.

“Come here, baby,” he said as he held out his arms.

I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could.

“I’m so sorry. Please tell me you forgive me,” he begged as he buried his face deep into my neck.

“I forgive you, but we need to talk,” I said.

“I know, and I’ll do anything to make things right. I love you, and I missed you so much.”

I broke our embrace and placed my hands on his face. “I missed you too,” I said as I kissed him. “Come sit down and have some coffee and the hangover cocktail I just made.”

“You know I hate that stuff, Elle.”

“I know you do, but it works and you have to be feeling pretty lousy right now.”

“I am,” he said as he rubbed his head.

I picked up the glass with the cocktail in it and sat down on his lap. He wrapped his arms around me as I brought the glass to his lips. “Drink.” I smiled.

He looked at me, made a face, and took a sip as I tilted the glass. He took it from my hand and chugged it down as fast as he could, then placed the glass on the counter.

“Where’s Julia?” he asked.

“She’s at the house with Mason. He’s going to pack her stuff up and bring her home later.”

“Let’s go sit on the couch,” he said.

We sat on the couch, and I snuggled up against him as he put his arm around me. “Do you remember anything about last night?” I asked.

“Not really. How did you know I was at the club?”

“Sarah used your phone to call me.”

“Oh,” he said as he looked away.

“It’s okay, Connor. She kept an eye on you until I got there. She’s a good person. I’ve misjudged her.”

“She is a good person, but don’t be going and becoming best friends with her.”

I smiled as I stroked his chest. “I wouldn’t do that.”

When I lifted my head and stared up at him, he brought his mouth down to mine. His kiss was soft and gentle. I’ve missed his mouth, his kisses, everything, and my body was begging for him. I sat up and straddled him. His small smile grew bigger as he stroked my hair. I brought my lips to his and kissed him with such passion that it made my toes curl. After we made love the second time, Connor called Mason and told him not to bring Julia home because we were coming out to the beach house to stay for a while.

“We’re staying at the house? For how long?” I asked.

“I don’t know. We can stay for as long as you want.”

“What about Black Enterprises? You don’t have a VP to help out.”

“My dad is going to come out of retirement while I take some time off to spend with my wife and daughter.” He smiled.

I smiled back as I kissed him. I wanted nothing more than to have him all to myself for a while. “Thank you,” I said.

Connor’s hand swept across my cheek. “You’re the light in my life and when you’re not around, my world is dark. I will never do anything to jeopardize our relationship again. I make this promise to you, Ellery Black, that from this day forward, I will never keep anything from you. You have my word, baby. I promise forever.”

Chapter 38 Connor

It was Julia’s first birthday and party today. We’d spent the last two months at the house. I worked from home and occasionally went into the office. My dad had done an excellent job taking over as vice president, but did warn me to find someone quickly because he needed to go back into retirement. Caterers had been in and out of the house all day, preparing for Julia’s party. She had just started walking and took her first steps to me. Her first word was “dada” and Ellery was not happy with that.

As I looked around the house at all the balloons that were hanging everywhere, I walked up to Julia’s room, where Ellery was getting her ready for the party. The minute she saw me, she said, “Dada” and smiled. As soon as Ellery put her princess dress on her, Julia walked over to me and hugged my legs.

“Can you keep an eye on her while I go and get ready?” she asked.

“Of course I can,” I said as I picked up Julia.

I took her out of the room and went downstairs. She smiled and pointed when she saw the balloons.

“Those are for you,” I said as I kissed her cheek.

She looked at me and then screamed to hold one. I took one out of the bunch and gave it to her. She smiled as her hand wrapped around the ribbon that was tied to the balloon. She babbled on as she put her hand in her mouth and looked up at the balloon she was holding. I love my little girl so much. Ellery was my queen and Julia was my princess, and nothing would ever change that.

Guests had started to arrive and the party was underway. We had a total of one hundred people show up to help celebrate Julia’s first birthday. It was a day of fun, laughter, and good times with friends and family. Ellery even went to the extreme and invited Sarah. She came with her boyfriend, and they both seemed really happy. Cassidy and Ben were still dating and he confided in me that he was going to ask Cassidy to marry him. Denny had some aggressive chemo treatments for a month and was in remission and doing well.

Julia was exhausted by time the party ended and she was getting cranky. After the last of the guests left, Ellery and I took Julia upstairs and put her in the bathtub. When her bath was finished, Ellery put Julia in her pajamas, we both kissed her cheeks, and then Ellery laid her down in her crib. I held out my hand to Ellery and she took it as we walked out of Julia’s room, shutting the door behind us. We both stood outside the door for a moment to make sure she didn’t scream. The caterers and cleanup crew were cleaning the house, so I took Ellery outside and down to the beach.

“That was a great party.” I said as we sat down in the sand.

“Thanks, honey. It was, wasn’t it?” She smiled.

I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it as we looked ahead at the ocean water. “Now that we’re alone, there’s something I need to tell you,” Ellery said.

“What is it, sweetheart?” I asked as I looked at her.

She turned to face me and took my hands in hers. With a big smile, she placed my hands on her stomach. “We’re going to have another baby!”

I sat and looked at her shock. “What? Are you sure? When did you find out?”

“I found out this morning. I wanted to tell you right away, but with all the people in and out, getting the house ready for the party, and then the guests arriving, I figured it would be better to wait until we were alone.”

The joy that shot through me was incredible. I was so happy that Ellery was pregnant again and I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. I cupped her face in my hands and I kissed her lips.

“I’m so incredibly happy. Tell me you’re happy, baby?”

“I’m so happy. Maybe this one will be a boy.” She smiled as she rubbed her tummy.

“It is a boy. Aunt Sadie said so, remember?”

We laughed and hugged each other tight. I got up and held out my hand. Ellery placed her hand in mine as I took her into the house and straight up to our bedroom to celebrate the news.

* * *

The next eight months passed by so quickly. It seemed like it was only yesterday that Ellery told me she was pregnant. She was scheduled for a C-Section tomorrow morning. We found out through the ultrasound that we were having a baby boy. I was elated at the news that we would have a boy to carry on the Black name and hopefully, someday, take over Black Enterprises. Julia was growing fast and becoming, what Mason liked to call her, a diva. But she was still my little princess and she had me wrapped around her little finger.

After I put Julia to bed, I walked into our bedroom, where Ellery was sitting sketching on her sketchpad. The Chicago building was finally up and running and the Art Gallery was doing very well. I took off my shirt and pants, put on my pajama bottoms, grabbed my laptop, and sat on the bed next to Ellery. I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She turned to me and smiled.

“I need to talk to you.”

“About what, baby?” I asked as I opened up my laptop.

“I know we talked about a couple of boys’ names, but I’ve already decided on one for this child.”

“Is that so? You decided on a name without consulting me?”

“Yes. Does that really surprise you?” She smiled.

“No, it doesn’t. What did you come up with?”

“I want to name our son Collin, after your twin brother.”

As I put my hand on her large belly, I smiled at her. “I would love to call my son Collin. Thank you, sweetheart,” I said as I kissed her.

“Good, I’m glad you’re on board with it. I really wasn’t sure how’d you feel about it.”

“Collin would be honored to have his nephew named after him.”

Ellery smiled and went back to her sketch pad. I answered some emails and read some articles.

“By the way, how’s Ben doing?” she asked.

“Ben’s doing good. He’s settled in his office, and he’s buried up to his neck in legal bullshit.”

“I think it’s great that you hired him, and I know Cassidy is happy.”

“He’s a great lawyer. He’s marrying my sister, and he’ll be at all the family functions. How could I not hire him?” I winked.

“Just think, this time tomorrow, we’ll have our second child. I never thought I’d have one child, let alone two,” Ellery said.

“Me neither, baby. I never saw kids in my future, until I met you.” I smiled as I looked over at her. She looked so tired. I pushed her hair behind her ear and ran the back of my hand across her cheek. “Why don’t you put your sketch pad away and get some sleep. You look tired.”

“I am tired. It’s been a long day,” she said as she closed her sketch pad and set it on the nightstand. She leaned over and gave me a kiss on the lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I smiled.

It hadn’t even been five minutes and Ellery was sound asleep. I was thirsty, so I got out of bed and headed downstairs for a bottle of water. On my way back up, I stopped into the spare bedroom that we had turned into a nursery. I flipped the light switch and looked around. The painted ocean blue walls with colorful fish, coral, and seaweed made you feel like you were standing in the bottom of the ocean. The turtles Ellery had painted on the wall were amazing, as were the stars up above on the ceiling. She spent three months painting the room and she just finished putting the final touches on it yesterday. I smiled at the thought that come tomorrow, I’d have a son, and we’d finally be a family of four.