“I’ve been thinking about that too. It wasn’t really an option when we weren’t speaking, but now that we are…” My words trailed off.
“Yeah, that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about.” Phoebe hesitated for a moment and sipped her wine. “I think I’m ready to go home. It feels wrong to be apart from you, and worse knowing it’s my fault.”
“Phoebe…” I put down my whiskey and took her hand. “Damn, that makes what I wanted to talk to you about really complicated.”
“What is it?” She tensed up.
“Before I left Penny Grove today, I told Henry that I wanted him to buy me out of the firm—I was planning to tell you that I was going to move here.” I looked away. “Fuck…”
“Well then you don’t have to.” She shook her head. “I’ll move back to Penny Grove. You shouldn’t leave your firm—that’s your family’s firm.”
“It is, but I’m the last Anderson that will ever practice law there.” I shrugged.
“What if you’re not?” Phoebe’s eyebrows shot up. “I mean—I want kids…”
“Kids?” I felt a tightness in my stomach. “I didn’t do a very good job with the one I was blessed with.”
“Jake is in a good place now. It just took him a little longer to get there.” Phoebe rubbed my hand.
“Maybe you’re right.” The tightness in my stomach quickly loosened. “I think it’s too soon to seriously discuss children, but it’s a door I would be willing to open at a later date.”
Phoebe and I kept talking for almost an hour. I wasn’t sure about her decision to return to Penny Grove because I knew what kind of challenges she would face there. She seemed confident in her choice, and I got the sense that she really was ready to go home. Our relationship was the catalyst, but her conversation with Jake helped. She had put a lot of thought into it while we were apart just like I had, and the important thing was that we reached the same conclusion in different ways—we wanted to be together, regardless of what it took to make that happen. Our commitment was stronger than any challenges that could come our way.
“Does this mean that you’re coming back with me when I leave on Sunday?” I pulled Phoebe into my arms, and we started moving back towards the bedroom.
“I might need a little longer…” She looked up at me as she fell back against the mattress. “I’ll have to pack.”
“We can do that next weekend.” I teased her thighs with my lips and pushed them apart.
“Okay.” She smiled. “I guess that would work.”
“Good.” I slid between her thighs. “I love you, Phoebe.”
“I love you too.” She gasped as my cock pushed into her.
Forever is going to be beautiful if I get to share it with you.
Epilogue
Phoebe
Six months later
“I passed!” I jumped up from my chair and ran to hug Arlo. “I did it!”
“Congratulations.” Arlo gave me a warm embrace. “I knew it wasn’t going to be a problem—you spent all that time stressing out for nothing.”
“I can’t help it!” I leaned back and shook my head. “Now that I’ve been admitted to college, I get to stress about actually passing those classes.”
“You’re going to be fine.” Arlo tightened his embrace and kissed me.
My return to Penny Grove wasn’t nearly as painful as I always imagined it would be. Occasionally, I would run into an old classmate or a teacher who would ask how I was doing, but those meetings were rarer than I expected. I could truthfully tell them that things were great for me—finally. I got my GED not long after I came home and mulled over my options for a few months before I decided to enroll in college. I used to dream of living in books about history and helping others appreciate the finer details the way I did, but teaching didn’t interest me as much as it once did. I enjoyed working with Arlo, I wanted to have a bigger role in the firm, so I decided to take his advice and become a paralegal.
The hardest part of my return was the conversation with Jake about my relationship with his father. Arlo decided to talk to him first and lay everything out before I came into the room—we figured it was best for him to have both of us there after he learned the truth. He handled it with a lot more maturity than either of us expected. He didn’t fully accept it and said that he needed more time to process everything, so we gave him the space he asked for. A few weeks later, he called Arlo and said that he was happy for us, but it was still going to take time for him to really come to terms with it. He didn’t judge us or lash out, so I felt like that was one of the best possible outcomes, even if it wasn’t perfect.
“Oh, don’t forget…” I leaned back from Arlo after our lips finally parted. “Val is in town this weekend, so we’re going out tonight.”
“I was hoping we would get to celebrate your success.” He let his hands drift down to my hips. “I suppose we’ll have plenty of time—Val doesn’t visit very often.”
“Yep, she’s leaving tomorrow.” I nodded. “But who knows, we could get in a lot of trouble tonight—I’m sure my Daddy will make sure I regret it…”
“You don’t have to get in trouble to get a spanking.” He cupped my ass and squeezed. “Maybe I should give you one right now—as a warning.”
“I have a few hours before I have to leave.” I wiggled out of his grasp and started walking to the bedroom.
I can’t think of a better way to spend them…
* * *
One year later
“Where is Arlo?” Val looked over my shoulder and grabbed my hand. “It’s bad luck for him to see the bride in her dress before the wedding.”
“I don’t think he’s planning to sneak in here.” I laughed and reached out to close the door.
“You never know.” Val narrowed her eyes. “He is kind of sneaky.”
“Sneaky?” I raised an eyebrow. “Not exactly how I would describe him…”
“Seriously? He stole my best friend’s heart right out from under my nose!” She smiled. “Now he’s going to marry her!”
“No stealing required.” I turned towards the mirror and glanced at my diamond ring. “I gave it to him willingly.”
“You’re happy right?” She walked up beside me.
“I couldn’t be happier.” I smiled and adjusted my veil. “Everything happens for a reason, and I am exactly where I want to be.”
“Good.” She squeezed my hand. “I don’t think I could be anything but fucking ecstatic if I was marrying Arlo Anderson.”
“You better not be getting the hots for him.” I gave her a playful nudge. “I do not like to share.”
“No, he’s all yours.” She giggled. “I do have my eyes on a couple of the guys here—doesn’t the maid of honor get first pick?”
“I don’t think I’ve heard of that tradition.” I threw my head back and laughed. “Okay, help me get ready before they start playing my song.”
I practically did cartwheels when Arlo asked me to marry him. I wasn’t sure if he actually would—he had expressed some concerns about getting married again, so it came as a surprise when he got down one knee. My mother didn’t really approve of our relationship when we initially told her, but the engagement ring seemed to ease some of her concerns. Maybe it was enough for her to realize that what we had was real. Jake was more accepting than either of us expected. He was happy with his new girlfriend, and like me, he didn’t want to let the things that happened in the past influence his future. We had both spent too much time doing that.
“Okay, I have to go.” Val leaned in and gave me a hug. “I’ll see you out there.”
“Thank you.” I smiled and checked myself in the mirror before I walked to the door.
Now it’s time to begin the rest of my life—on my terms.
Forbidden Kiss
Taylor
“How does my dress look?” I turned around to check myself in the mirror and adjusted a couple of wrinkles in the fabric.
“It looks fine
.” My younger sister, Anna, looked up from her book for a moment and shrugged. “Why do you care anyway? It’s not like you’re going to buy anything.”
“I want to blend in with the crowd—the best way to do that is to look like I belong there.” My shoulders slumped forward, and I sighed.
I totally don’t look like I belong there.
There was an art auction—technically, it was just a preview show for the art that was going to be auctioned so potential bidders could figure out what they wanted to bid on before the actual auction took place. Every year, Wellington’s gave a few tickets to the art department at Carson Cove University so that a few students could come to the art show. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for most students because very few of us were ever going to have the kind of wealth required to get a real invitation.
I didn’t expect to actually win when I entered my name in the raffle, but luck was on my side—the fact that I bought twenty raffle tickets might have had something to do with it too. It was my senior year of college, and my last chance to attend the art show, so I decided to take a risk. Thankfully, it paid off.
“Have you seen my crimson-sin lipstick?” I picked up my makeup bag and started digging through it.
“Why would you ask me?” Anna looked up from her book again. “If anyone in this house is borrowing your lipstick, it’s not me. Mom was talking about lipstick a few days ago when she was getting ready for her date with Brad—or was it, Steve?”
“Right…” I nodded and made a beeline for my mother’s bedroom.
Anna would rather die than wear lipstick.
My mom had been raiding my makeup since she decided that it was time to start dating again. I couldn’t say much—I did the same thing to her when I first started wearing it. I still hadn’t adjusted to the fact that my mom was going on dates with someone other than my dad, but he was the one that left, so I couldn’t say much about it. At least someone in the house was getting some action. I was too busy with school to have a boyfriend, and Anna was technically old enough to start dating if she wanted to, but she always had her nose in a book. I’m wasn’t sure she would even notice if a guy hit on her.
“Ah, there it is.” I found my crimson-sin lipstick sitting on my mother’s vanity—it was a stark contrast to the boring shades she usually wore.
Anna didn’t look up at me when I walked back into my bedroom and started applying my lipstick. I had no idea why she even bothered to hang out in my room anymore—it used to our tradition after school every day, but it had been a long time since we shared any common interests. Our age difference had a lot to do with it. She was barely sixteen, and I was twenty-three. I hated that we had drifted apart, but our lives were in different places. I was focused on graduating, finding a real job, and getting my own place. She was trying to survive high school, and if there was anything else going on, she didn’t talk to me about it. The divorce seemed to impact her more than it did me. I was old enough to realize that the relationship was broken before our dad left, but she was still young and naive.
“Alright, I don’t know when I’ll be back—don’t wait up.” I tried some humor to see if I could get a smile out of my little sister.
“I never do.” She looked up and rolled her eyes—but there was no smile.
Oh well, I tried…
The art show was being held at Wellington’s Museum downtown, which was about thirty minutes away from my house. I waited for my phone to connect to the car so I would have some music for my drive and skipped over a couple of Ariana Grande songs so that I could listen to my latest jam, Old Town Road by Lil Nas X. I started singing along as I drove through the streets of the Mandalay Subdivision. I didn’t live in the richest part of Carson Cove by any means, but my neighborhood was picture-perfect suburbia with well-manicured lawns and flower beds everywhere.
I always thought I would leave Carson Cove behind when it was time for me to go to college, but money got tight after my parents divorced. Living at home and attending Carson Cove University was the best option for everyone—I certainly didn’t want to drown myself in student loans and work two jobs on top of going to school.
Getting a chance to go to the art show is a definite perk of staying behind—I wouldn’t have gotten an opportunity like this if I moved to New York like I planned.
The drive was rather peaceful. There weren’t that many cars on the road since it was the weekend, and it was late afternoon, so most of the people my age hadn’t begun their weekend debauchery. I didn’t have any bad intentions on my agenda for the weekend, and I rarely mixed it up with the people my age who thought they ran the town on Friday and Saturday night. I didn’t have Carson Cove privilege as some people referred to it—that basically meant you were filthy rich and not afraid to flaunt it.
There would be plenty of people at the auction with Carson Cove privilege, and my only goal for the evening was blending in so that I didn’t look like an unprivileged member of the middle class. I wasn’t ashamed of being unprivileged, but it would be nice to have one evening where I didn’t get slapped in the face by it.
Tonight, I’m not simple little Taylor Abernathy from Mandalay—I’m just a girl in a black dress who enjoys art—standing next to people who could buy every piece with a wave of their hand.
* * *
One hour later
The art show was set up in sections where you could browse based on the price range, and there was an area with an open bar and some snacks I would have never purchased on my own, for those who were just there to socialize. Like most gatherings in Carson Cove, it was more important for people to know they were getting something expensive than to just enjoy it, so there was a card explaining why everything you could have was special. The liquor they were serving was a step above top shelf, the wine was older than anyone in the room, and the snacks were ridiculously expensive.
I learned that it was possible to spend five-hundred dollars for a pound of cheese and while it wasn’t bad, it didn’t taste that good. Even the crackers were from a premium bakery that boasted about using water you could only get a certain time of day from a special spring that was supposedly prehistoric with rich deposits of Tanzanite at the bottom. The crackers didn’t taste any different than the generic ones my mom bought at the grocery store, but the people around me acted like they were sampling manna from heaven.
I guess I’ll get a glass of wine—it’s not like I’ll ever get to drink anything this expensive again.
The only good thing about the exotic food and drink selection was that nobody seemed to notice an unprivileged in their ranks. I was completely ignored for the most part. I started walking through the gallery and immediately wished it was socially acceptable to take pictures because some of the paintings that were being auctioned were exquisite.
I might not have had the means to hang one of them in my home, but I loved art. I got that from my parents—they were both artists when they were younger, and several of our family vacations were conveniently scheduled around art shows at the destination they chose. That part of our family dynamic never rubbed off on my sister, and she normally complained when our vacation took a detour towards a museum, but I couldn’t have been happier.
My parents would love to be here right now—they might even be civil to each other while they were looking at all of these pieces of art.
I spent some time looking through the gallery while I sipped my wine, and by the time I got to the end of the first section, I decided that I wanted a refill. I hated to admit that it was the best wine I had ever tasted, although my palate was inexperienced. There were more people near the open bar than there were when I got my first glass of wine, so I had to wait my turn to get served. I tried to pretend that I was a statue that only got to take a step when the person in front of me did. I was nothing more than an image against the backdrop—a nameless face in the crowd. I hoped to stay that way for the rest of the night.
The glamorous, beautiful, and drop-dead gorgeous Carson
Cove privileged were all around me, and I was extremely uncomfortable. As soon as my glass was refilled, I scooted over to the side to look for an opening, so I could disappear into the gallery. I must have blended in so well that the privileged thought I was literally part of the scenery because two women walked over and stood directly in front of me to sip their wine while they gossiped about the other guests. I wasn’t sure if they cared that someone was behind them or were just so caught up in their own conversation that they didn’t notice—I couldn’t help but eavesdrop.
“Did you hear that Jon and Mary Alcott are getting a divorce?” The woman on the left, a blonde in a Versace dress, leaned close to the brunette beside her. “They’re here together, but this may be the last event in Carson Cove that they attend as a couple.”
“Then I guess they won’t be buying anything.” The brunette hid her laugh behind her wine glass. “Unless they plan to take a pair of scissors to it when they split everything.”
“She’ll probably get custody of the kids and take him to the cleaners.” The blonde shrugged. “He won’t have much of anything after she’s done with him.
“I’ll mark him off my list of future ex-husbands.” The brunette grinned and sipped her wine.
“Speaking of—do you have any leads?” The blonde gave her friend a side-eyed glance. “I never thought I’d see the day Alexis Devereaux was celebrating the anniversary of her last divorce without an engagement ring on her finger.”
Oh my god! That’s Alexis Devereaux? I need to get the hell away from here—asap! She is not someone I want to be associated with by accident.
“I’ve got my eye on someone.” Alexis winked at the blonde. “I might even have our first date lined up before the end of the show—which means the countdown to taking him for half of everything he owns can officially begin.”
My Ex Boyfriend’s Daddy Page 21
