Текст книги "At Last"
Автор книги: Whitney Gracia Williams
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Mid Life Love: At Last
by Whitney G.
Published by Whitney Williams, 2013.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.
MID LIFE LOVE: AT LAST
First edition. October 18, 2013.
Copyright © 2013 Whitney G..
Written by Whitney G..
Table of Contents
Notice
Dedication | For the readers who wanted more...
Author’s Note:
Mid Life Love Epilogue
Mid Life Love: At Last | Whitney G.
Friday August 15, 2014
Chapter 1
Chapter 1.5
Chapter 2
Chapter 2.5
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Monday September 1, 2014
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Thursday September 18, 2014
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
The End
Twisted Love Excerpt | Prologue:
Chapter 1
Acknowledgments
More works by Whitney Gracia Williams:
A Preview of Desperation of Love by Alice Tribue
Prologue***
Notice
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.
Cover photograph by Julia Savchenko, Getty Images
Dedication
For the readers who wanted more...
Author’s Note:
About that ‘Mid Life Love’ Epilogue...
Before you begin to read this book, let me first say THANK YOU for reading the book that came before it: Mid Life Love. As I was editing that book with my beta team, there was a collective decision to leave out the epilogue at the end.
I know a lot of you didn’t agree with the final decision, and for that reason I posted it on Two Crazy Girls with a Passion for Books blog shortly after publication.
I want you to know that I’ve included the polished, edited version of the epilogue at the beginning of this book for anyone who hasn’t read it, and I truly hope you enjoy Mid Life Love: At Last as much as you enjoyed Mid Life Love.
Thank you for being the best readers in the world,
Whit’
Mid Life Love Epilogue
Eight months later...
Claire
“I need three hundred of those granite tiles here by tomorrow afternoon. Can you make sure that happens? Oh, and could you see if those doorknobs I designed for Mulholland were approved yet? Okay. Thank you very much.” I hung up the phone and swirled around in my chair, smiling at the red and white entwined “C” letters that hung over my door.
I was sitting in my office at C & C’s Charming Designs, my own interior design company. I’d quit my job at Signature weeks after Jonathan and I got back together, after he demanded that I accept his money and start my own company.
Business was extremely slow at first—especially since he kept showing up in the middle of the day and preventing me from getting anything done. But after about four months, I started to pick up client after client, and word of my services began to spread like wildfire.
I now had a six month waiting list for design projects, and I was in the process of expanding my store to include small home furnishings.
I adjusted the picture frames that were standing proudly on my desk: Jonathan and I smiling on his favorite yacht. Him and my daughters jumping into the ocean. And the most recent one—him kissing me onstage after receiving another prestigious award.
“Miss Gracen?” My secretary buzzed my office. “I’m off to lunch, and your twelve o’ clock is upfront waiting.”
“Tell the client I’ll be right there.” I slipped into my jacket and headed down the hallway. Since I’d picked up so many clients, I was never able to get more than five minutes alone.
“Caroline?” I walked around the front desk. “I told you that you and Ashley don’t need to make appointments to see me. You could’ve just called.”
“Yeah, right.” She rolled her eyes. “You practically live here.”
I shook my head. “What do you want?”
“I need thirty dollars.”
“Excuse me?”
“Actually, I need fifty dollars. Ashley does too, but thirty each will do.”
“Did the airport stop giving out paychecks all of a sudden? Where is your money?”
“What’s going on?” Ashley walked into the store and stood next to her, not even glancing my way. “Did she give you the money yet?”
“No.” Caroline sighed. “She still thinks we save money from our jobs...”
“How do the two of you expect to go to college this fall without knowing how to save money?” I was tired of going over this with them. “Do you think it grows on trees? Do you think it falls out of the sky whenever you need it?”
“So she’s not going to give us the money?” “I think that’s what she’s saying.” “Did you tell her it was for summer-senior-night and everyone who’s anyone is going to be there?” “No, I just asked for the money. I didn’t think I needed to explain why.”
I sighed and prepared to re-start my lecture, but Jonathan walked in with a large bouquet of bright pink roses. “Good afternoon, ladies.” He looked at me and then he looked back and forth between Ashley and Caroline.
“Good afternoon,” they said in unison.
“Can we have fifty dollars—each?” Ashley smiled at him.
“Of course.” He pulled out his wallet and handed them both a hundred dollar bill. Just like that.
“Why don’t we just do that every time?” “I don’t know...Maybe we like the challenge?” They both laughed and rushed outside.
I watched as they climbed into two separate white Range Rovers—Jonathan’s ridiculously over-the-top birthday gift to them.
“You have to stop doing that.” I took the flowers from him.
“Doing what?”
“Giving them money whenever they ask for it.”
“Why?”
“Because they don’t need it. And they’ll never learn how to save their own.”
“They make nine dollars an hour and they work fifteen hours a week. How much do you honestly expect them to save?”
“I give up.” I rolled my eyes. “Thank you for the flowers—and for the ones you sent this morning. You know, we’ve been together for a while now...You don’t have to keep sending me flowers every day. I’m sure the cost has to be adding up and I don’t want you to feel like you have to do that.”
“Shhh.” He kissed me, making me forget whatever I was going to say. “How’s your day going?”
“It’s okay. It’s been a bit busy.”
“It doesn’t look busy...” He looked around the empty store.
“It is.”
“Where’s your secretary?”
“On break. Why?”
He smiled and pulled me closer. “No reason.”
I saw the familiar ‘I’m-about-to-pull-you-down-to-the-ground’ look in his eyes and immediately stepped back, rushing behind the counter.
He laughed and moved close to the counter’s edge—ready to join me, but I hit a button that made a clear panel drop down from the ceiling, completely blocking his way.
He raised his eyebrow. “What the hell is this?”
“This is what I had the engineer build for me last week, after you interrupted a very important meeting with your distracting sex and cost me two hours’ worth of design time.”
“You think I’m a distraction?”
“You are a distraction. And you have your own company to run—one worth billions last time I checked, so I would appreciate it if—”
“You had this built to keep me from coming behind the counter?” He pressed his hand against the glass. “To keep me out of your office?”
“Clearly. And it seems to be working.”
“It’s very cute.” He nodded. “You always amaze me with your sense of creativity.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out a key. Then he slid that key into the panel’s hole and pushed the door open.
What the...
“You are aware that I run a background check on any man that comes near you, right?”
I blinked.
“The second you told me you were having more construction done,” he said as he pushed the door shut and walked over to me. “I made sure the company and the engineer knew exactly who they were dealing with. And I demanded to have extra keys to any locks you might attempt to install.”
“Why do you always do this?”
“How long is your secretary’s break?” He pushed me against the wall.
“Jonathan...” I tried to ignore the look in his eyes. “I really need to get some work done. You can’t show up every day...”
“I don’t show up every day.” He pressed his lips against mine. “I only show up when you don’t answer my calls. And I’m beginning to think you do that on purpose because you know exactly what’ll happen if you don’t.”
“I was busy.”
“How long is her break?”
“An hour...” I moaned as he kissed my neck, as he squeezed my ass and lifted my leg around his waist. “I’ll make this up to you tonight.”
“You said that yesterday.”
“I...” I gasped as he ran his fingers against the back of my bra. “I promise.”
“You’re going to lose this argument, Claire. Give up,” he whispered. Then he laughed. “I didn’t come here to have sex today.”
I gave him a blank stare.
“I didn’t.” He kissed me again and stepped back. “I just wanted to remind you about this weekend, wanted to make sure you didn’t forget.”
I didn’t forget. He’d made that impossible.
Even though I’d moved into his house and we’d traveled to amazing places with the girls, he and I still hadn’t had an entire weekend alone. For him, there was always some major business deal that couldn’t wait until Monday. And for me, it was always some project that I couldn’t step away from.
“I didn’t forget.” I smiled. “Is it a surprise location?”
“Isn’t it always?”
I blushed. He still had a way of making me feel like it was the first time we’d met, like he was going to do anything to show me how much he cared.
“I’m working late, so Greg will pick you up from our house at nine.” He brushed a strand of hair away from my face. “And then we’ll be on our way... Don’t bring any work with you or I’ll make you regret it...”
“Looking forward to it, darling.”
“Darling?” He rolled his eyes and kissed me one last time before walking over to the door. Then he turned around. “If you wear a fucking pantsuit like you did on our last date, I’ll rip it off of you before you make it into the car.”
Jonathan
“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Mr. Statham.” The editor of Forbes stood up to shake my hand.
“Not a problem, Miss Evans.”
“It’s such an honor to finally meet you in person.” She bit her lip and I tried not to roll my eyes at her unwanted attention.
She’d been flirting with me the entire meeting—batting her eyes, uncrossing and re-crossing her legs. She’d even “accidentally” let a mint fall down her revealing silk shirt, terribly pretending to be “so embarrassed” because she’d “never been this clumsy before.”
She looked like she was about my age, and her hair was radiant blond with autumn colored highlights. Her eyes were a spectacular shade of blue, and in all honesty, she was quite beautiful. But she didn’t have shit on Claire. At all.
“It was nice meeting you too, Miss Evans. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.”
Her eyes lit up and she bit her lip again. “Would it be too much to ask for a tour?”
“Not at all.” I picked up my phone and called Hayley. “Hayley? Would you mind giving Miss Evans a tour of corporate this afternoon? Okay...Great. Thank you.” I hung up and walked her over to the door. “Hayley will meet you in front of the elevators. Have a great afternoon, Miss Evans.”
“Thank you.” She scoffed and walked away.
I plopped down in my chair, happy that the unnecessary magazine interview was over. I opened a drawer to shut off my voice recorder and caught a glimpse of my digital photo-book. Scrolling across its screen, I smiled at the pictures Claire and I had taken of Caroline and Ashley last month.
Over the past eight months, I’d realized that I finally had everything I could possibly want—almost everything I could possibly want.
Claire and I had grown closer than ever and she’d finally learned to accept our relationship and be comfortable with it. Sure, she still frustrated the shit out of me from time to time—but not because of insecurities or being seen in public together.
It was mainly because she’d agreed to move into my house, but not before turning it into a damn renovation project that never seemed to end.
She was always finding something new to tweak, some part of the house that could be “done better.” If I didn’t love her so much, I would’ve put a stop to it a long time ago—like the time she shattered the windshield of my Bugatti while installing new lights in the garage.
“Mr. Statham?” Angela’s voice bounced off my walls.
“Yes?”
“Corey and...Miss Gracen are here to see you.”
I looked at my watch. There was no way Claire had left her company this early—surprise weekend getaway or not. I always had to personally drag her out of there at the end of the day.
“Send them in please.” I looked towards the door and watched as Corey held the door open for...Ashley.
I smiled. “Yes, Ashley?”
“Can I have fifty more dollars? I forgot to account for a few things...”
“A few things like what?” I handed her a hundred. “Is that the only reason you came by?”
“No, not really. I was wondering how long you and my mom were going to be gone this weekend...”
“Why?”
“No reason.” She put on her best poker face—something she’d definitely inherited from Claire. “I just thought I’d stop by to ask. That’s all.”
“We’ll be back on Tuesday...”
“Good to know!” She clapped. “Have a safe trip!”
“The house is under state of the art surveillance.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Only two cars are allowed through the gate within the same four hours unless I have the key, and I’ve already alerted my security team to check the property every hour to make sure no extra guests arrive while we’re gone.”
Her jaw dropped. “I thought we were friends, Jonathan.” She shook her head. “You and I have history...”
I laughed. “We do have history. I still haven’t told your mother about the last secret pool party you had on my yacht, her crashed Audi, or last weekend when you and Caroline came home at four o’ clock in the morning. Would you like me to?”
“No.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you later...It was nice seeing you again, Corey.” She gave us both a hug before walking out of my office.
“How do you tell them apart again?” Corey sat down at my desk. “I could’ve sworn she was Caroline.”
“Instincts I guess. Are we all set on the CS account?”
He nodded. “The shipment should get here within an hour. I’ll sign for it and have Greg bring it up. You made an appointment with me so I could tell you that?”
“No...” I looked at the only photo on my desk, the one of Claire and Hayley playing Scrabble. “I need you to find out who Hayley is dating.”
“What?”
“Claire slipped up and said something to me about it yesterday...She and Hayley are apparently BFFs now and they’re keeping secrets from me. I need to know who this man is so I can kill him.”
Corey blinked. “Kill him?”
“Yes.” I balled my fists. “Not literally kill him. I just want a few words.”
“Right...” Corey cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. “Well, I um...I already screened the guy.”
“Great. What’s his name?”
He sighed. “Um...”
“Mr. Statham?” Angela called over the intercom again.
“Yes?”
“Miss Gracen is on line one.”
“One second, Corey.” I picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Hey...” Claire’s voice was faint.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing...I just decided to leave work early today.”
“Was there a fire?”
“No...” She laughed. “I was ripped off a couple hours ago. The man I’m seeing stopped by and he just...”
“He just what?”
“He left without giving me what I wanted. And to think, I purposely avoided his phone calls all day so he would get the hint. He usually doesn’t back down so easily...”
I smiled. “You’re at home?”
“Not yet. I’m leaving my office now. But as soon as I get there, I’m going to take a nice, long shower to get ready for this weekend.”
“Don’t leave. I’ll come get you.” I hung up and sent Angela an email, canceling the rest of my day. Then I looked up at Corey. “Remind me to ask you about Hayley’s asshole boyfriend when I get back.”
“Oh my goddd...Ohhh myyy—Oh my god...Jonathannn...” Claire moaned as I gripped her hips and moved her back and forth. “I....I...” She shut her eyes and cried out, louder and louder.
I watched as she let go the same moment I did, as she sucked in breath after breath and collapsed against my chest.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of taking the scenic route with you...” I rubbed my hands against her bare back. “Are you okay?”
“Yes...” She murmured and nodded her head, still breathing heavily.
I waited until she completely calmed down before pulling her up and helping her back into her dress. I ran my fingers through her hair and sighed as I pushed one of her clips back into place.
“You seem tense...” she whispered. “Are you okay?”
“What makes you think I’m not okay?”
“Because you’re making the face you always make when something’s bothering you...Is it the CS account?”
I raised my eyebrow.
“I eavesdropped a few nights ago...You were talking on the phone in bed and I couldn’t sleep.”
“Hmmm. Well, yes, it is the CS account. Would you like to offer your advice on landing the biggest deal I’ve ever pursued?”
“Sure.” She sat in my lap. “How much is it worth?”
“Why is that always your first question?” I laughed as she scrunched her face in anticipation of an answer. “It’s worth more than my entire company. A lot more...I would be twice as rich if I landed it.”
Her eyes widened. “What happens if you don’t land it?”
“I guess I would have to figure something else out...You want to come back to Statham Industries to help me if that happens?”
“Please.” She rolled her eyes. “Can I have a hint about where we’re going this weekend?”
“No.” I kissed her lips. I was tempted to have Greg take us on another scenic route, but I held back.
For the rest of the ride we slipped into the familiar silence that we’d grown accustomed to sharing—a special silence that no one else could possibly understand.
“Mr. Statham?” Greg’s voice came through the speaker.
“Yes, Greg?”
“We’ve arrived sir.”
The car came to a sudden halt and I adjusted Claire’s straps again.
Greg opened the door and reached for her hand, helping her to step out. Then he directed the other men that were standing nearby to load our bags onto my plane.
I placed my hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Are you sure about flying today?”
“Is this the best way to get there?” she whispered.
I nodded and held her hands. “But there’s always a Plan B. You know that.”
Even though she’d assured me that she was on better terms with her flight phobia, I wasn’t completely sold so I always took precautions. If she looked uncomfortable or hesitant for one second, I called the whole trip off; I’d had to do that four times over the past few months.
“I’m okay,” she said. “I promise.”
I studied her eyes for several seconds more, watching for signs of uncertainty, hints of fear.
When I didn’t see any, I walked her over to the steps and slowly led her up and into the plane. I motioned for her to sit down and pulled out the “Pre-Flight Words” paper that she’d received in therapy.
“I need you to read it aloud, Claire.” I held her hand and waited until she’d recited every word, until she gave me a look of assurance that said she was okay with this.
I nodded at the pilot and sat down in the seat next to her.
“DeLille Chaleur Estate Blanc to drink, Miss Gracen?” The flight attendant checked our seat belts.
“That would be great.” Claire leaned against me.
She fell asleep before the flight attendant returned and didn’t wake up until we stopped at a re-fueling point.
“We’re here?” she asked.
I shook my head and offered her some of my food, but she leaned against me and fell asleep again.
“Did you put something in my dinner yesterday, Jonathan?” Claire rolled across the bed and looked up at me.
“What?”
“I’ve never slept like that before...And I remember you carrying me off the plane when it landed. Did you put something in my food?”
“No, Claire.” I walked over and kissed her. “It’s called being tired. You work all damn day every day and we did have sex twice before the flight. If I thought I had to drug you to get you to fly, then you wouldn’t fly. It was only a ten hour flight.”
She blinked. “I’m sorry...Where are we?”
“Take a look.” I pulled the floor to ceiling drapes open and watched as her eyes took in everything.
We were staying right on the edge of clear blue waters, in the biggest villa the island had to offer. To the left of us was a beach of sprawling white sand and sky high palm trees. And in the distance there were rows of hidden bungalows, tucked beneath miles of lush greenery.
“What’s the name of this place?” She slid the glass door open and stepped out onto the balcony.
“St. Kitts and Nevis.”
“Could you put that in terms that a non-billionaire who hasn’t traveled the world can understand?”
I wrapped my arms around her waist and laughed. “Southern Caribbean.”
She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but then she stood on her toes and kissed me, pressing herself against my chest like she wanted to take this further.
“Wait...” I slowly pulled away. “I want to take you down to the other part of the beach. Leave your shoes.”
“Can I change first?”
I nodded and kissed her again before she slipped back into the suite. Leaning against the railing, I looked out into the sunset and shook my head at the couple that was attempting to kayak without a paddle.
I was trying my best to distract myself from the looming CS account, but it was all I could think about.
“I’m ready now.” The sound of Claire’s voice made me turn around and—I stopped.
She was wearing a tightly fitted short white dress that hugged her in all the right places, a dress that flowed with each short gust of wind that blew past us. It was strapless and thin enough to where I could see the bright red bikini she was wearing underneath.
“You don’t like it?”
“I do.” I reached for her hand and led her down the shore.
We paused ever so often to take in the waves or watch another couple run into the water. We were halfway down the shore when I walked her over to a small clearing that was hidden away from everything else.
I slipped my arm around her waist and sighed.
“You promised me that you weren’t going to do any work while we were on this trip, Jonathan...” She looked up at me.
“I did, and I meant that.”
“Does that promise not cover when I’m sleeping?”
“Excuse me?”
“I was going in and out of consciousness when we had that layover. I heard you talking about the CS account again...We could have pushed this trip back if you were that worried about the deal. You’ve pushed things back for my projects before.”
“Claire...” I released her hips and shook my head. “There is no CS account.”
“What? So what have you been doing for the past eight weeks?” She paled. “Is that—you made up the biggest deal of your career to...to do what? Why? Why would you lie to me?”
“CS stands for you, Claire...It stands for what I want—what I need you to be.”
She raised her eyebrow in confusion, shaking her head as if she didn’t understand.
I gently grabbed her hand and got down on one knee. “Claire...” I stopped once she gasped. “I need you to know that there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Nothing. Ever. And I’ve never felt for anyone what I feel for you.” I resisted the urge to stand up and wipe away her tears. “I fell in love with you the moment we stopped at those vacation rental houses in San Fran, the moment I realized whatever it was between us was more than physical. Much more. And I—” I felt her trembling.
“I told myself that no matter how much you frustrated me, no matter how much you tried to deny that you were falling in love with me too, that I would never let you go.”
“Jonathan...” She was crying.
“This is the biggest deal of my life and it’s worth much more than my company or any other billion dollar deal that’s come across my desk. And I can’t go another day without knowing.” I pulled the eighteen carat ring out of my pocket. “I want you to be mine—officially. I want you to be Claire Statham.” I paused for a few seconds. “Claire...Will you marry me?”
“Yes. Yes!” She joined me down in the sand as I slipped the ring onto her finger.
I kissed her lips—again and again, wiping all her tears away with my fingertips, stifling her cries with more kisses.
When we finally pulled away to catch a breath, we simply stared at one another in silence, smiling. Then I pulled her on top of me.
“What are you thinking about?” I looked into her eyes.
“You...How do you think Claire ‘Gracen-Statham’ sounds?”
“Like it’ll never happen.” I narrowed my eyes. “It’s an all or nothing deal.”
“Is your jealousy included in the package?”
“It’s the best part.”
“Hmmm...” She smiled. “How many days do I need to set aside for negotiations and paperwork?”
“Paperwork?”
“Yeah...” She lowered her voice. “I’m not silly enough to believe that you won’t draft a pre-nup for this. I mean, I’m sure you wouldn’t rake me over the coals if you and I didn’t work out, but—”
“Stop.” I pressed my finger against her mouth. “There is no pre-nup. And there won’t be one. Ever.”
She gasped.
“This is forever, Claire. Do you understand? It’s you and me, together forever, until the very end.” I kissed her lips. “Would you like a wedding?”
She nodded.
“A big one?”
She nodded again.
“Okay.” I smiled. “We can plan that the second we get back. In the meantime...” I slipped my hands underneath her dress and untied the strings of her bikini top. “I’d like to explore the future Mrs. Statham right now.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ve told you over and over that sand and sex don’t go together.”
“I remember you saying that...” I ripped off the bottom of her swimsuit. “But I’d like to find out for myself.”
