Mid Life Love: At Last (Mid Life Love, #2)
By
Whitney Gracia Williams
SUMMARY
Mid Life Love (Mid Life Love, #1)
If you'd asked me what love was two years ago, I probably would've said, 'It's this amazing feeling that obsesses and possesses you; it's what me and my husband currently have.' If you ask me that same question today, I'll say, 'Please get the hell out of my face.’
Claire Gracen's life is picture perfect. Her career as a marketing director is on the brink of being
legendary, and her marriage to her high school sweetheart has never been stronger. No, wait. It has.
It used to be amazing and fulfilling, but one day Claire realizes that she's been living a lie and her best friend and husband have committed the ultimate betrayal.
Broken and depressed, Claire is in need of something new—new city, new job, new friends.
When she happens to attract the interest of the sexiest man she's ever met, a man significantly younger than her, she immediately turns him down—only to later discover that this man is Jonathan Statham, self-made billionaire and CEO of Statham Industries. Her boss.
Jonathan Statham is unlike any man she's met before. He's used to getting whatever he wants— whenever he wants, and he isn't about to take no for an answer.
Mid Life Love: At Last (Mid Life Love, #2)
If you ask me if Jonathan Statham makes me happy, I’ll say ‘Absolutely. He’s the man of my dreams and I can’t wait to marry him.’ If you ask me why my ex-husband Ryan is currently one inch away from me— staring into my eyes and pressing his hand against my cheek, I’ll say, ‘I have no fucking idea…’
Claire Gracen finally has the life she’s always wanted: A career she loves, a man who’s willing to do any and everything for her, and friends that show her the true meaning of the word ‘friendship.’
As she and Jonathan prepare to make the ultimate commitment to one another and plan the wedding of her dreams, she quickly realizes that the hurtful past she left behind in Pittsburgh is a lot closer than she thought.
Sexy, unpredictable, and as charmingly clever as ‘Mid Life Love,’ ‘At Last’ will captivate you from the first page and never let you go.
**This is a companion novel to Mid Life Love**
Goodreads Link
Purchase Links
Mid Life Love – Amazon (Paperback)
Mid Life Love – Amazon (Kindle)
Mid Life Love – Barnes and Nobel
Author’s Bio
A self-diagnosed candy addict, travel junkie, and hypochondriac, Whitney Gracia Williams LOVES to write about characters that make you laugh, cry, and want to (in the case of Selena Ross) reach through your Kindle and slap them.
She is the "imaginary bestselling" author of the Jilted Bride Series, Mid Life Love, Wasted Love, and
Captain of My Soul.
She also loves getting emails from her readers, so if you want to tell her how much you loved (or hated) her stories e-mail her - > whitgracia@gmail.com
Contact Links
Email
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Pinterest
Author Interview
1. What inspired you to start writing?
I've been writing since I was a little girl, but I think all the encouragement I received from my English teachers inspired me to continue working on it.
2. What is your writing ritual (if you have one)?
HA! Write as much as I can, edit, stress myself out over every sentence, delete half of the draft, repeat until perfect lol.
3. Who is your Favourite Author?
I have sooo many, but right now it's Tracy Garvis Graves.
4. What are your favourite books? All time and book-of-the-moment.
All time??? I read a book a day, come on!!! This year, my all time faves are On the Island and Fifty Shades, and my book of the moment is Desperation of Love by Alice Tribue.
5. What writing support network do you have?
I have my friends, two fantastically awesome bloggers at Two Crazy Girls with a Passion for Books, a group of great new authors/bloggers that I've met recently, and most importantly, my mom and my sister :-)
6. What is your most loved and most loathed moments of writing/publishing?
Most loved is definitely having readers read my work (whether they hate it or love it lol) and most loathed? The editing! Hands down!
7. What do your fans mean to you?
My fans mean the WORLD to me!! Just one message or nice email from them makes any day of mine ten times better! I have the best fans in the world!
Excerpt - Chapter One
Claire
“We don’t need pre-marital counseling,
Claire.” Jonathan looked over at me as the elevator doors closed. “This is a
waste of time.”
“I didn’t say we needed it. I said we
should try it—to make sure we both have honest expectations about being
married.”
“And what expectations are those?”
“You’ll find out when we get there.” I
smiled at him and he rolled his eyes.
I’d told him I wanted to attend a few
sessions before we got married—something Ryan and I didn’t do, just to make
sure we were on the same page about a few things. Of course, he was one hundred
percent against the idea, but after I told him it would make me “happy,” he
slowly gave in.
We were scheduled for a two hour session
with the top counseling firm in San Francisco—Waldo and Emerson Associates. The
doctors had assured me that it would be a light and easy process and that
Jonathan and I would come out of it feeling closer than before.
As our elevator came to a stop and the
doors glided open, I realized that there was nothing ahead of us. There was no
secretary’s desk, no simple sign that read “Waldo & Emerson,” nor was there
anything that resembled any sort of professional counseling business. Instead,
the entire floor was covered in white sand, the few clear columns that stood
ten feet apart were filled with colorful fish, and there were three beige
beanbags that surrounded a small makeshift fire-pit.
Before I could accuse Jonathan of tampering
with our session, a man dressed in an all-white tunic stepped in front of us.
“Ahhhh,” he said, smiling. “The future Mr.
and Mrs. Statham. Welcome to Waldo pre-marital counseling. I’m Dr. Choate and
I’ll be assisting you through the first stage of unity today.”
“Wait a minute. I’m sorry.” I shook my
head. “We’re supposed to be meeting a Dr. Fleming. Is this the wrong floor?”
“No. You’re in the right place. This is
it.”
“Then where is Dr. Fleming?”
“He retired last week. He didn’t send you
an email?”
I shook my head.
“Oh, well sorry about that. The company
decided to hire me in his place the same day that he left. After all my success
with the Zen rituals at Statham Industries, they thought I was the best
choice.” He reached out to shake Jonathan’s hand. “That’s why it’s an absolute
honor to bestow my new and exclusive Zen practices with the man who made me a
household name.”
Oh god…
He instructed for us to take our shoes off
and then he led us over to the bean bags.
“So…” He put on a pair of glasses and
looked at a sheet of paper. “Miss Gracen, I see that you’ve signed up for the
two hour session. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“And when asked what you wanted the main
focus to be on…” He flipped the paper over. “You said that you two are having
problems in the intimacy department?”
Jonathan quickly turned his head to face
me, raising his eyebrow.
“NO. I never said that. I said that—”
“Ah, ah, ah. It’s right here. My secretary
never makes a mistake.”
“You don’t even have a—”
“Shhh.” He leaned forward and pressed a
black pen against my lips. “Don’t be ashamed of your bedroom problems, Miss
Gracen. Every couple has them in some form or another. That’s what today’s all
about.”
I could feel Jonathan glaring at me,
begging me to look his way so he could say something, but I kept my eyes
straight ahead.
“If you’re hurting about something—anything
at all, no matter how small it is, these next two hours are the perfect time to
let it out.” He took a deep breath. Then he shut his eyes and slowly exhaled.
“Let it all out.”
He sat like that for at least two
minutes—shut eyes, Indian style, head tilted up to the ceiling, and I prepared
to signal to Jonathan so we could just leave and end this joke of a session,
but Dr. Choate’s eyes suddenly flew open.
“Now
that that’s done,” he said. “Let’s get down to
business. Why are you here today, Mr. Statham?”
“To help fix my fiancée’s intimacy
problems.”
“See that, Miss Gracen?” Dr. Choate nodded.
“He wants to fix things too! So, on a scale of one to ten, how satisfied are
you with your current sex life, Mr. Statham?”
“Twenty.”
“Okay, that’s great. Miss Gracen, how about
you?”
“Twenty,” I whispered.
“Hmmm. I see…” He wrote something down and
handed us both a notecard. “I want you to write down your honest expectations
for sex after marriage. Is it going to be the same as it is now? More?
Less—well, definitely not less because Miss Gracen clearly isn’t satisfied
but—”
“Thank you, Dr. Choate.” I snatched my notecard
from him, still avoiding the intense glare that was coming from Jonathan’s
eyes.
I wrote down “same” on my notecard and
waited for him to speak again.
“Okay, now toss your cards into the fire
pit.”
What? We both crumpled them up and threw
them into the small fire.
“Now,” he said as he handed us two more.
“This time I want you to answer the question that is printed on the notecard
and be as honest as possible. And actually, could you address them as ‘Dear
Future Husband’ and ‘Dear Future Wife’? We’re going to toss them into the fire
again as soon as we’re done, but make sure you take this seriously.”
He reached behind him and turned on a small
radio—a radio that played the sound of ocean waves, and then he shut his eyes
again.
There was only one question on the card:
What’s one thing you wish you could change about your current intimacy
exchanges?
I looked over and saw Jonathan scribbling
away, but I couldn’t think of anything. And I suddenly felt guilty for
suggesting this session in the first place. Whether I wanted to believe in my
current fairy tale or not, there was nothing I would change. Not a damn thing.
Sure, he and I argued about things from
time to time—me working late so often, him being so damn controlling, me
redecorating every room in his house, but for the most part we were great. More
than great.
As a matter of fact, last night he’d held
me in his arms and told me everything he loved about me, assuring me that our
marriage would be the greatest accomplishment of his life.
“Miss Gracen?” Dr. Choate snapped me out of
my thoughts. “You’re not writing anything down. Don’t be afraid to unleash your
honesty. You have to let him know exactly how you feel. How else can you expect
your bad intimacy to change to good intimacy? Unless you want to experience bad
sex for the rest of your life that is. I know you only said ‘twenty’ because he
said it first.” He winked at me and then whispered, “It’s okay. We’re going to
fix this.”
Jesus…
I rolled my eyes and wrote down a few words
so it would seem like I was trying. When I looked over at Jonathan again, I
realized he was still writing.
He has that much to say?!
“Time’s up!” Dr. Choate beamed. “Now,
before we feed the fire, we’re going to exchange the cards and read them out
loud.”
What?! “No…I can’t.” I started to crumple
mine in my hand. “I didn’t know that was going to happen. I would’ve written
something else…”
“What’s wrong, dear?” Jonathan smirked and
held his card out to me. “I thought we were working on having honest
expectations for our marriage.”
I sighed and handed him my crumpled card,
taking his into my hands, not bothering to look at it.
“Mr. Statham, you first.” Doctor Choate
smiled. “What’s the one thing your future wife would change about your current
intimacy?”
Jonathan looked down at the card, then he
looked back up at me—smiling with his eyebrow raised.
Please don’t read it out loud…Please don’t
read it out loud...
“She says better communication.” He smiled
even wider and I exhaled, relieved.
“And what about you, future wife? What did
your future husband have to say about you?
I flipped the card over and forced myself
to look at it: Dear Future Wife, the only thing I wish I could change was
letting you wake up late this morning because I should’ve woken you up early,
taken you in the shower, and made you forget about this dumb ass meeting.
However, now that we’re here, I want you to be fully aware that right after
this is over, I’m going to make sure the words “marriage counseling” and
“intimacy problems” never come out of your mouth again. :-)
I blushed. “He says the same thing.”
“Okay, well great. Now we’re getting
somewhere. Communication is very key in having a successful intimate
relationship. Moving on… In an average week, how many times do you currently
have sex now, future wife? And in all honesty, is it fulfilling?”
Is he fucking serious? “A few times,” I
said, hoping he would move on to something else.
“A few times?” Jonathan looked into my
eyes. “That’s what you honestly think?”
Stop it…I knew he was reading my mind right
now and could sense that I wanted him to stop, but he was clearly enjoying my
embarrassment.
“Doctor, what classifies as a few times?”
Jonathan kept his eyes locked on mine.
“Two or three times a week, Mr. Statham.”
“Hmmm…And a lot?”
“Well, I guess I would say eight to ten
times a week.”
“Interesting.” He leaned forward and ran
his fingers across my golden anchor necklace. “So Claire, having heard that,
you think a few times is accurate for what we do?”
“Yes. I do.” I didn’t want the doctor in
our sex life. At all. When I’d made this appointment, I’d been assured that the
focus would be on us discussing our expectations for the long term—our goals
and our dreams; there was no mention of dissecting what we did in the bedroom
and I was damn sure I never said anything about “intimacy problems.”
“I am so hurt by these claims, Doctor.”
Jonathan put his hand over his chest. “I mean, to have the love of my life tell
me that she feels like we only have sex a few times a week is just…Is this the
part where I’m allowed to cry?”
“Yes, Mr. Statham. Let out all of your
pain.”
He smirked. “Is our sex not memorable to
you, Claire? It must not be if you think we only have sex two to three times a
week. I want an honest marriage as well, so if you think we have intimacy
problems and that our sex is that terrible—”
“We have sex every day.” I nearly lost it.
“Every. Day. Sometimes more than once. Sometimes more than twice. And every
time is fucking memorable. Happy?” I narrowed my eyes at him and he kissed my cheek.
“Um…” The doctor adjusted the sleeves of
his tunic. “Well…I….Very good for both of you. Let’s move away from intimacy
then shall we?”
“Thank you.” We both said in unison.
Once the counseling session finally came to
an end, we both shook Dr. Choate’s hand and said we’d be “in touch” about
scheduling part two. As soon as the elevator doors opened, I rushed inside and
pressed the “door close” button over and over—anxious to get far away from
white sand and invasive notecards.
“What’s the rush, future wife?” Jonathan
stepped directly in front of me and pressed my back against the wall. “Do you
have another meeting to go to right now? Somewhere else where you plan on
discussing our intimacy problems?”
“I never said we had intimacy problems…That
was a mistake and you know it.”
“Hmmm.” He brushed his fingers against my
necklace.
“I can’t believe you pushed me into telling
him about our sex life.”
“He asked.”
“You didn’t have to tell him the truth.”
“I thought you wanted me to be honest.” He
ran his fingers through my hair. “I’ve told you a million times that I don’t
lie.”
“Well, why didn’t you tell him what I wrote
down on that card?”
He slipped his hand underneath my skirt.
“If you would like, we can go back up and I’ll happily tell him that my future
wife wishes that my head was between her legs right now.”
I blushed and shook my head.
“Are you sure?” He tugged at my panties.
“I’m not opposed to telling him that.”
“That’s okay…”
He lowered his mouth to my neck, taking his
time to press gentle kisses into my skin as he wrapped his arms around my
waist.
I looked up at the floor numbers that were
flashing above the doors as we passed them by—Eleven, Ten, Nine, and pushed him
away from me.
“We’re almost back in the lobby,” I
murmured as I stepped to the other side.
“No. We’re not.” He hit the stop button and
walked over to me, pressing me against the wall again. “I actually think we do
have one huge intimacy problem, Claire.”
“What?”
“Why is it that you can only be open with
me about sex in text messages and notecards?”
“What are you talking about? That’s not—”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
He cut me off with a kiss and slowly hiked my skirt up to my stomach. “I always
have to try and read your mind, or read between your little smart-ass comments
when it comes to what you want…Why is that, Claire?”
“I…” I couldn’t focus when he looked at me
like this, when he locked his eyes on mine and demanded answers that I didn’t
have.
“If you like when I fuck you with my mouth,
why don’t you ever say that when we’re at home?”
I bit my lip as he slipped a finger inside
of me, as he held me steady with his other arm.
“Hmmm, Claire? I’m standing right
here...Tell me what you want…”
“Jonathan…” I moaned; he was pressing his
thumb against my clit, punishing it with slow, sensuous circles.
“You can’t tell me right now because you’d
rather wait until you get to work and tell me in a text message?”
“No...”
“Then tell me what you like…”
“Everything…”
He closed the little space that was left
between us, keeping his thumb busy, bringing his mouth close to my ear. “Tell
me you love it when I fuck you with my mouth.”
“I do.”
“Say. It.”
I swallowed. “I love when you go down on
me…”
He sighed and slowly pulled away from me,
and I thought he was going to step over to the other side and hit the start
button, but he spun me around so that I was facing the corner and gripped my
waist. “You were right…We do need better communication.”
“Jonathan, there are federal offices in
here. The fire department is going to—” I stopped once I felt him sliding into
me, once I felt him forcing himself deeper and deeper.
“If you think that I’m going to be happy in
a marriage where my own wife can’t tell me what she wants, you’re sadly
mistaken, Claire…” He held me completely still once he was entirely inside of
me. Kissing the back of my neck, he whispered once again, “Tell. Me. What. You.
Like.”
I couldn’t think. I was too pre-occupied
with thoughts of the fire department calling the elevator to check on us,
thoughts about how my standing in a corner with Jonathan buried deep inside of
me would look.
Before I could snap back into reality and
answer him, he pulled out and quickly thrust himself back in—over and over,
making me scream louder than ever.
“I asked you a question, Claire.” He
gripped my breasts and squeezed them, slamming into me with each moan I let
escape from my mouth.
“I…I like…” I stuttered. “I like when you…”
“Yes?” He moved one of his hands down to my
clit and started rubbing it in a rhythm he knew all too well.
“When you…”
“Fuck me with your mouth…” He was speeding
up his thrusts now, making it harder and harder for me to talk straight.
“Finish. The .Sentence.”
“Wait…I…I like when…when you—”
BEEP! BEEP!
“Elevator car number 510 at Waldo and
Emerson Associates, This is responding unit 861.” A voice came over the
speakers. “Speaking to you right now is fire chief Brennan Marshall. We’ve
noticed the current cart has stalled for over six minutes. Are there any
persons inside?”
BEEP! BEEP!
“You know I don’t care if they see us like
this,” Jonathan whispered and reached down for my hands, pulling them up over
my head and pressing them against the wall. “And I won’t stop when they open
the doors if you haven’t answered me.”
“Are there any persons inside?” The fire
chief repeated. “Hmmm. Might be an empty cart gentlemen…” He said in a lowered
voice.
“There are persons inside.” Jonathan
answered calmly, but his thrusts inside of me were the exact opposite. I was
doing my best to hold my breath and bite my lip to prevent myself from
screaming again.
“Okay, hold tight. We’ll send a team over
now.”
There was another series of beeps to end
the conversation, and then everything around me went hazy—blurred. I was
suddenly screaming at the top of my lungs as he pushed me to the verge of an
orgasm, as he demanded that I answer him one last time.
“I love when you…” I let my head fall back
against his shoulder, let my body completely go. “When you fuck me with your
mouth…” I shut my eyes as my knees gave in beneath me, as he slowly slid out of
me and let me fall down to the floor.
I wanted to sit like that forever—on a
high, in bliss, but Jonathan pulled me up and held me against his side, hitting
the stop button and pressing the level that was right above the lobby.
When we stepped off the elevator, he kept
me tucked by his side and led me down the emergency stairwell and outside. As
soon as the first whiff of fresh air hit my face, I took a deep breath. “Do you
always have to do that to me? Is it impossible for you to wait?”
“It’s the only way to get you to tell me
the truth…” He released me. “And I think you like it…”
I rolled my eyes and tried not to smile.
“I love you, Claire.” He kissed my forehead
and adjusted my necklace. “I don’t know why you’re still so reserved about
discussing sex with me, but you shouldn’t be. You should be able to tell me
what you want, whenever you want, and I’ll make sure it gets done.” He kissed
me again and wrapped his arms around my waist, leading me over to the parking
lot.
As we approached our cars—town car for me,
Bugatti for him, he spun me around to face him.
“Do you still think we need pre-marital
counseling? Are there any other intimacy issues we need to discuss?”
“No…”
“Hmmm…” He pressed his lips against mine.
“You are so lucky that I have a flight to catch right now,” he said as he
slowly pulled his mouth away from me, as he pressed my crumpled notecard into
my hand. “Be home by six.”
Days later, I stood in my office and stared
at the newest set of family photos I’d hung on my wall: pictures of me, Ashley,
Caroline, and Jonathan hanging out at a private lake.
In one photo, the four of us were flying
our kites high into the wind, laughing at how long it’d had taken us to put
them together. In another we were rowing four small kayaks across the water.
Ever since Ashley and Caroline had gone off
to college in Arizona, my days at home were a lot less noisy. They were
actually quite boring.
I missed the two of them lying around on
the couch—talking about absolutely nothing, laughing at my terrible jokes, and
ultimately getting on my nerves from time to time. I missed that.
Now, instead of family dinners on Sunday
and Thursday nights, Jonathan and I simply went over to his little sister
Hayley’s condo and ate dinner with her. Although he never admitted it, Jonathan
was missing family dinners too; I was pretty sure that was why he’d already
planned a week of meals for their Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks.
“Miss Gracen?” My assistant interrupted my
thoughts.
“Yes, Rita?”
“Your daily flowers from Mr. Statham have
just arrived. Would you like them in here?”
“Yes, please.” I leaned back and watched as
she pulled a small cart of flowers—orchids, Baby’s Breath, and white
carnations, into my office.
As usual, there was a silver card with a
note on top:
Dear Future Wife,
Do I need to start picking you up from work
to get you home in time to eat dinner with me? You’ve been late all week.
Stop Testing Me.Love,
Your Future Husband
I laughed. I was about to pick up my phone
and call him, but Rita stepped inside my office again.
“Your three o’ clock is here now,” she
said. “I’m going to go ahead and bring her back before my lunch break.”
“Thank you, Rita.” I stood up and smoothed
my dress, ready to seal another deal, blocking everything else out.
As soon as the client walked inside my
office, my mind was focused on white columns, framed cabinets, and stained wood
necessary to create a brand new space. She and I talked for hours, negotiating
the timeline, the best materials, and of course—the cost for everything.
When I handed her the final contract, she
nodded her head and grabbed a pen to sign it. “Everything looks really good,
Miss Gracen. These dates work well for me.”
“Great. I’m really looking forward to
designing your new living room, Mrs. Klein.” I shook her hand and stood up.
“Thank you.” She smiled. “I’m sure it’ll be
just as fabulous as all your other work.”
“I guarantee it.” I led her out of my
office and back inside the storefront, pulling all the drapes closed once she
walked outside.
I’ll finally get to make it home on time
today…
I started straightening the pillow display
that was over by the far window, making sure all the tags were tightly tucked
underneath. I was tempted to lay across them and relax, but my phone rang.
Jonathan.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Claire.” His deep voice still had
the power to make me melt. “What are you doing right now?”
“I’m…I’m closing the store. You?”
“I’m driving. Are you tired?”
“Why?”
“Answer the question.”
“Yes.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m too tired to
have sex with you right now.”
He laughed. “Would you like me to
reschedule our meeting with the wedding planner then?”
“No!” I’d been looking forward to that
meeting for weeks. “Not at all.”
“Good. I’m on my way to pick you up. I’ll
be there in five minutes.”
“See you soon.” I hung up and started
swiping a mini-duster over all the candle shelves. I was halfway done when I heard
the bell over the door ring.
“I’ll be right there.” I sighed and didn’t
bother turning around. “Let me finish this last shelf and—”
“Claire?”
My blood boiled at the very sound of that
voice.
I shook my head, knowing that I couldn’t be
standing in my store. I had to be at home and asleep in my bed. I had to be
dreaming. I had to be having a nightmare.
“Claire?” He asked again, and I pinched
myself before slowly turning around.
I wasn’t at home. I wasn’t dreaming.
It was Ryan.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed.
“I almost didn’t recognize you when I
walked in. You look good, really good...” He looked me up and down. “Life must
be treating you well.”
“What. Are. You. Doing. Here?” I narrowed
my eyes at him.
“Look. I know I’m the last person you want
to see right now, but since I’m in town, I thought I would—”
“Invite me out to dinner? Catch up on life?
I don’t have shit to say to you.”
“I beg to differ. We need to talk.”
“No thanks. Not interested.”
“It’s important.” He sighed.
“No. It’s not.”
“Claire, it’s been five years now. We can
at least be cordial to one another.”
“Cordial? How cordial do you think I should
be to the lying sack of shit who got my ex best friend pregnant?” I shook my
head. “Actually, don’t even answer that. I’ve already used up my ‘pointless
conversation’ minutes for the day. Please get the fuck out of my store.”
“You’re going to listen to me, Claire.” He
took a step forward and looked directly into my eyes. “Whether you like it or
not, you’re going to stand there and listen to every fucking word that I have
to say.”
I crossed my arms. “If I were you, I would
leave right now. My fiancée will be here any minute and he won’t be as nice as
I’m being to you.”
His face suddenly fell—or at least it
looked like it did. “You’re…You’re engaged now? To who?”
“Please leave, Ryan.” I felt an ache in my
chest—a painful, burning ache. “I don’t want you here. Ever.”
He stared at me—shaking his head as he
slowly backed away. Before he opened the door, he looked over his shoulder.
“I’m only leaving right now because you’re closing and I have somewhere to be.
I was just stopping by to make sure it was true that you worked here. Trust me,
I’ll be back. And you and I are going to talk.”
It took every ounce of strength in my body
not to run over and stab him with the sharp edge of my dust wand, but I just
stood there. Paralyzed. Livid.
As soon as he was gone, I gained mobility
again and threw my dust-wand down on the floor. I headed behind the counter,
pressing the button that made the glass panel drop down and block anyone from
coming any further; I didn’t want to take any chances on him returning minutes
later.
I locked myself in the bathroom and ran
cold water in the sink, splashing my face over and over again.
The mere thought of Ryan could still light
a bitter flame within me, but seeing him? In person? That was a damn wildfire,
and I wasn’t sure how long it would take to put it out.
I couldn’t believe his audacity—to actually
show up and attempt to have a regular conversation with me, to act like I would
give him the time of day.
What the fuck does he even want?
There was a knock at the door, but I didn’t
answer it. I couldn’t. My body was shaking and my thoughts were consumed with
rage and anger.
Why would he even show up here? He knows I
HATE him…
“Claire?” Jonathan’s voice was on the other
side of the door.
“Yes?” I snapped out of my trance and
unlocked it.
“Why are you in here? And why is your face
wet?” He grabbed a towel off the rack and softly pressed it against my cheeks.
“Are you hot?”
“No…I’m…” I hesitated.
“We can reschedule the appointment.” He
wrapped his arm around my waist and walked me back out front.
“I’ll let her know we can come another day.
You don’t look like you’re feeling well.”
“I’m not…Ryan was just here.”
His body suddenly stiffened, and he looked
down at me with his jaw clenched. “Your ex-husband Ryan?”
I nodded.
“What did he want?”
“I don’t know…I told him to leave. I didn’t
want to talk to him.”
“Good.” His eyes softened a bit, but I could
tell he was upset. “How does he know where you work?”
“I don’t know…” Caroline and Ashley knew
better than to discuss me with Ryan, just like they knew better than to discuss
him with me. The few mutual friends we shared back in Pittsburgh only knew tidbits
of my new life—nothing major, and they would never share any information with
him.
“Do you know why he would bother coming to
San Francisco?”I shook my head. There was nothing here for him.
“Hmmm.” He pulled me close and kissed my
hair. “I’ll make sure he never bothers you again.”
I wanted to ask, “How?” but I knew he would
handle it. I leaned against him and sighed as he led me over to the passenger
side of his car.
“Since you’re finally leaving work on time
today, what would you like for dinner?” He revved up the engine and looked over
at me.
“That’s implied.” He grinned. “We can order
something in.”
He pulled off and sped onto the highway,
making me smile at how perfect my life seemed right now, how everything I
wanted and needed was sitting right next to me in this car.
As I looked out my window and watched the
city disappear in the distance, I tried not to think about Ryan’s visit, but I
couldn’t help it.
Outside of scheduling time to see our
daughters, Ryan hadn’t bothered me any other year that I’d been living here. He
knew not to, and I didn’t need my painful past colliding with my perfect
present. At all.
It has to be something really serious for
him to come here…No, fuck him. It doesn’t matter what it is…
