Underestimated u-1

by Jettie Woodruff

  She nodded. “I was with him the night that he sat straight up in bed, remembering you telling him about Drew donating money to your school. I’m a horrible friend, Ry. I didn’t want him to find you by then.”

  I smiled. “You’re not a horrible friend. You fell in love. And to a good man. I fell in love too, but it wasn’t with Dawson. I mean I loved Dawson. I still love Dawson, but it’s not the same kind of love that I feel for Drew. I was actually going to break his heart last night. I’m glad that he has you, Lauren, and if this baby turns out to be his, I’m glad that you will be the other female in his life.”

  “You’re going back to Drew?”

  “Eventually, I’m going to my mom’s for a while. I think I might have the baby there. She’s been out of my life for a good many years. I want to make up for that.”

  “I’m going to miss you like crazy.”

  I smiled. “I would say that you and Dawson can come and visit, but that might be a little too awkward.”

  “Yeah, no doubt,” she agreed.

  Lauren and I talked for two hours and a whole pot of coffee. I felt good after all of cards were laid out. I was surprised that Dawson hadn’t told her about why I had run from Drew the first time. Well, she didn’t act like she knew anyway. I was hugging her at the door when my unbelievable husband pulled up. I should have expected it. He was only in New York, extremely close to Maine when you owned a private jet.

  Lauren and Drew exchanged greetings, and she headed across the yard, back to her own dwellings. I stared after her, sadly. I was going to miss her waking me up, and eating my food. She turned and smiled at me before disappearing into her house. I turned my attention to Drew.

  “What’s going on?” Drew wanted to know, sensing the thick air.

  “I was about to ask you the same thing,” I said, sliding into his arms. I missed him, I loved him, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life being his wife.

  “I had to come and drive my obtuse wife to North Carolina because she is so damned hardheaded and difficult, and the most beautiful woman on earth,” he explained.

  “You have to work,” I reminded him.

  “Not really. I own the company, and I have a really good assistant.”

  “I own the company, you kind of work for me,” I teased.

  “In that case, may I please have a few days off so that I can spend the next fifteen hours trapped in a car with my wife?”

  “Hmm, most definitely,” I replied, kissing him.

  Chapter 28

  We didn’t get on the road until later in the afternoon. I wanted to stop and say goodbye to Starlight. I didn’t know when I would see her again. Drew drank coffee and ate a pastry while we chatted in her office. I was surprised that she had known about Dawson and Lauren. She never mentioned it. I had even poured my heart out to her. She had the perfect chance, and she didn’t say a word. I shouldn’t have been surprised. She was Lauren and Dawson’s friend too. She was just that kind of friend. I was going to miss her.

  “Why do I get the feeling that something is going on that you’re not telling me?” Drew asked when we were finally on the road.

  I didn’t want to talk about it yet. I was sad, and needed time to deal with the fact that I had just said goodbye to a man that I loved dearly, my friends, and my home.

  I smiled over at him, and he took my hand. He was learning. He knew that I needed a moment and he let me have it. Well, actually he let me have three hours. I stared out the window thinking about what lay ahead while he conducted business on his Bluetooth. I have no idea what he was talking about and only picked up bits and pieces of his conversation. I knew that he had talked to Celeste several times, some guy named Patrick with security in Chicago, and Felix the pilot.

  He answered another call from Celeste two minutes after hanging up from his last call. I didn’t want him to work anymore. I was done feeling sorry for myself, and I wanted his attention.

  “Damnit, Celeste. I forgot about that. Can you fly them out to North Carolina? I will go over them there, sign them, and you can get them back to Mr. Richfield.”

  I picked up his smartphone resting in the cup holder without him realizing it. I switched off his Bluetooth and picked up the conversation. He looked at me like I had lost my mind when he could no longer hear her, and I took over.

  “Hi, Celeste. How are you?” I asked, looking at Drew.

  “Why don’t you bring your little guy and Alicia and spend the weekend on the beach?”

  I watched Drew’s bottom lip curl a little, amused.

  “I’m sure it will be fine with Drew. My mom has a bed and breakfast there. I will see if there are any empty rooms if not there are nearby hotels.”

  “Don’t worry about him. I can handle Drew, bring your family and relax for a couple of days.”

  “Okay. We will see you tomorrow. I will call and let you know about the room.”

  I hung up and tossed the phone to the back seat.

  “I need that,” Drew smirked.

  “No. You don’t. You need me.”

  “I do need you, baby,” he confessed. “How did you know about Celeste’s family? You’re supposed to think that I am doing her.”

  I laughed. “You’re not really her type.”

  “You’re kind of deviant.”

  “I learned from the best.”

  He smiled. “Do you want to talk to me now?”

  I nodded. “Dawson and I called it off last night.”

  “Jesus, Drew!” I screamed when the tires hit the gravel, swerving off of the pavement.

  “Sorry. What do you mean, you called it off.”

  “Keep your eyes on the road. I mean, I am coming home to you.”

  “Are you serious, Morgan?”

  “Yes, I am very serious.”

  Drew hit the brakes and swerved to the side of the two lane road, causing a horn to blow past us.

  “Oh, my God. We’re not even going to have to worry about it. You’re going to get us killed,” I yelled, still holding the dash.

  “You’re not fucking with me right now? Please tell me this is real,” he begged.

  “It’s real, Drew,” I smiled. I didn’t expect him to be as excited as he was.

  He smiled the biggest toothy smile he could muster, not on purpose, I was sure. He couldn’t help it.

  “I am going to spend the rest of my life loving you,” he assured me.

  “And I am going to spend the rest of my life, loving you back. I am never going to bring up the past, and you can’t go all dark on me if it comes up in my sleep.” I knew it would. I hoped that eventually it wouldn’t but for now, it was inevitable.

  “You’re leaving Maine?”

  I laughed. “I can’t come home to you if I stay in Maine, now can I?” He was having a hard time believing what I was saying. “I’m not going to sell the house just yet. I need to wait until this baby is born. If he has to go to Maine for visitations, I want to be close to him.”

  “He’s not going to any visitations in Maine. He will be at home with his daddy, no doubt in my mind. There never has been.”

  I didn’t tell him he could flip a coin. That was his chances on being the father. He was too excited. I didn’t want to ruin that for him.

  “Drive,” I demanded.

  He leaned over and kissed me. I placed my hand on the side of his face and let my tongue dance with his.

  Down vagina, not now.

  Our kiss was interrupted by the ringing of his phone in the back seat.

  “You know this will drive me crazy, don’t you?”

  “Yes. I am aware of that,” I said but didn’t retrieve the phone for him.

  Drew and I drove all the way to Pennsylvania before stopping for the night. We ordered Chinese up to our room, and I let him have his phone while I showered.

  He was talking to Celeste when I came out. I shoved him back on the bed and straddled his waist while he talked. He smiled up at me with the eyes full of love. I couldn’t have been
happier. It may be crazy, but I was actually even happy for Dawson and Lauren. I think it made it a little easier for me, knowing that he wasn’t alone.

  I unbuttoned Drew’s dress pants and slid down the zipper.

  “I have to go Celeste. My wife is demanding that I give her some attention.”

  He dropped his phone to the bed and raised his hips, helping me to slide them off.

  He was already at full mast. I stroked him in my hand while our eyes stayed entranced.

  “What are you doing, Mrs. Kelley?” he rasped in a sexy as hell voice.

  “I need fucked,” I rasped right back.

  I hated my ginormous stomach at the time. I wanted to be wild and kinky with my husband, but I knew that he would be the one to control how far that went, knowing it wasn’t going to be very far. He rolled me over and lifted my shirt, kissing our baby. I hoped it was our baby, anyway.

  I moaned when his fingers slid between the elastic around my leg. Only Drew’s fingers could do that. He slid me out of my panties and rolled me to my side a little. I guess he thought that was the easiest way to keep my round stomach out of the way. I didn’t mind, especially when I felt him slide in me. I was almost embarrassed by the fact that I made it all of five strokes before I was grabbing the hotel sheets and calling out in pure ecstasy. That in turn, turned him on even more, and he thrust fast and hard into me.

  “Yes, fuck me,” I moaned once I felt the second wave.

  That was too much for Drew. He thrust deep inside of me and released himself.

  “Damnit, Morgan. You just had to go and say that, didn’t you?”

  I laughed and turned to face him. If somebody would have told me a year ago that I was going to love this man as much as I did, I would have deemed them crazy, and possibly shot them in the head.

  Drew and I lay naked, tangled in each other’s bodies, talking for a long time before drifting off to sleep. I told him about Dawson and Lauren. I told him about deciding after my heart to heart with Star that I wanted him, and how I had dreaded telling Dawson. I told him that I found out about the two before the serious conversation. I sure am glad that I did. It did make it easier to break his heart. I told him about the conversation with my mom, and let him know that I was proud of him for confessing his sins to my mom. I’m not sure what got into me, but I talked and talked. Drew lay silent beside me caressing my stomach. He would stop me and ask a question here and there, but for the most part, listened.

  Drew stood behind me, trapping me in his arms as we floated across the ocean on the ferry. It was Friday, and I promised Caroline that we would be there before she got out of school. We barely made it. Our late night before had caused us to sleep in later than normal. I threatened to throw Drew’s phone away twice already. I knew he was going to work. He couldn’t help it. That stupid phone was a permanent part of his body. At least I would be around my mom and Caroline.

  We did luck out and get an empty room, but Celeste wasn’t going to be as lucky. They were booked unless someone didn’t show, which I was hoping. I suddenly liked her and couldn’t wait to meet her little boy.

  My mom hugged us both at the door. We had no sooner gotten our things carried upstairs when Caroline came boring around the corner, coming to a screeching stop at our door. I smiled. She ran to me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

  “That baby is getting really big,” she stated.

  “He is, and I can’t wait for him to meet his Aunt Caroline.”

  “I’m going to be his aunt?”

  “You sure are, and he is going to love you.”

  “But, I’m only seven and three quarters.”

  “That is the perfect age to be an aunt,” Drew offered, smiling at me.

  “I’m mad at you,” she stated, cocking her hip and resting her fist on its side. “You said you were coming to hunt sea glass with me, you didn’t show up.”

  “I’m here now. Let’s go.”

  “Wait for Vincent,” I told Drew, wanting Celeste’s little boy to have fun too.

  “Who’s Vincent?” Caroline wanted to know.

  “His mom works for Drew. He’s seven too,” I explained.

  “I better go get my homework done,” she stated and started off.

  “Wait. It’s Friday. You do homework on Friday?” Drew asked.

  Caroline rolled her eyes. “My dad, he won’t let me put off till tomorrow what I can do today,” she said mimicking her dad’s tone. We laughed at her and followed her out.

  We sat in the guest dining room and drank coffee while Caroline did her homework. My mom smiled at me as we both observed Drew calling out spelling words to Caroline. He was going to be a good daddy, maybe not as cautious as Dawson would have been, but none the less, he was going to be fine.

  “Dinner,” Drew said.

  “D i n e r,” Caroline called out.

  “Almost, that is diner like in a restaurant. This is dinner, like what’s for dinner, Mom? Just remember you need two plates for dinner. That will help you remember you need two N’s as well.”

  “Oh,” Caroline relied, liking his instructions.

  “I have good news,” Jason called, walking in to join us.

  “Our newlywed couple just got into a fight and left. It looks like your friends just got a room for the weekend.”

  “It’s good news that someone had a fight, Dad?” Caroline asked.

  “No, simple Simon. It’s good news that we have an extra room for Morgan and Drew’s friends.”

  “Oh,” she smiled.

  We were just sitting down to eat when Celeste, Alicia and Vincent arrived. I swear I have never seen such a cute kid in all my life. I was surprised to see Celeste in jeans. I had never seen her in anything but expensive pant suits and fancy skirts. Her girlfriend, Alicia, was just as beautiful, but with light brown hair, also in jeans. I assumed that Celeste had been the one to give birth to Vincent by the blonde hair, but he could have been adopted. I found myself curious about the couple, and wanted to ask Celeste about their relationship.

  Vincent was shy at first, but my busy little sister didn’t let that last too long. She insisted on him coming out of his shell. She was explaining sea glass to him, and they were both scarfing their plates, ready to head to the beach.

  “Can I go now, Mom?” Vincent asked, leaving a little on his plate.

  Celeste told him to let Drew eat first. Alicia told him to eat two more bites.

  “Wait, which one is your mom?” nosey little Caroline asked.

  “I have two moms,” he replied proudly.

  “Oh,” she replied.

  I just knew she was going to have a million questions with that one. I did. I had never had a gay friend. She didn’t though. I was more inquisitive about it than she was. I was under the assumption that one always played the male role. That wasn’t the case at all. Alicia was just as feminine as Celeste was. Her hair was perfect, her nails were manicured, and she was just as pretty as Celeste.

  “My friend, Marissa has two moms too,” Caroline explained.

  “Let’s go munchkins,” Drew said, probably wanting to stop the conversation, as well.

  We all made our way out to the massive deck once Drew, and Jason took off with the two little ones.

  It was nice in North Carolina, not summer nice, but a lot warmer than it was when we had left Maine. We all had on thin jackets or sweatshirts. I smiled when I watched Vincent reach up and take Drew’s hand.

  “Mom, come here,” I exclaimed.

  I placed her hand right on the side of my belly. Her face lit up. Of course Celeste and Alicia had to feel it too.

  “It seems like so long ago when Vincent was doing this,” Alicia remarked. I couldn’t help it. I had to ask.

  “Did you carry him?”

  “No. Celeste did. Can’t you tell by the blonde hair?” she added. “She was not the most pleasant person to be around when she was pregnant. I swear I have never seen anyone cry as much as she did. I was ready to kill her.”

&
nbsp; I laughed. I couldn’t see Celeste crying over anything. She was too, strong, powerful and full of herself.

  “Alicia gets to carry the next one,” Celeste assured us.

  “Are you trying?” I asked a little too excited.

  “We’re always trying,” Celeste teased. They really were just like a normal couple.

  “Shut up,” Alicia badgered back.

  Celeste laughed. “She starts her first round of in vitro the week after Thanksgiving.”

  “We are still talking about that,” Alicia stated with a stern look right to her mate. “Celeste seems to want to do nothing but work all the time now. I’m not interested in doing this alone.”

  “I have a feeling my husband has something to do with that,” I confessed. “But don’t you worry, I will make sure you are spending the time with your family that you should be. You start the process Alicia. I promise she will be home more.”

  “Yeah because he fired me,” Celeste said not entirely joking.

  “He would never fire you. You should hear how he talks about you. He is overly impressed.”

  “He is?” Celeste asked, hopeful.

  “Absolutely, but I’m not going to let you neglect your family to please Drew,” I assured her.

  My mom and Alicia got to talking about crocheting of all things. Before we knew it Celeste and I were alone on the deck while they were off looking at the new baby blanket that my mom was working on for the baby.

  “I can’t thank you enough for this, Morgan,” Celeste said, sipping her hot tea.

  “You don’t have to thank me. I’m glad you’re here, and I love Alicia.”

  “Me too,” she smiled. “We really did need this.”

  “How long have you two been together?”

  “Nine years in March. How long have you been with Drew?”

  “On and off for about ten years, on again for a day,” I smiled.

  “You are coming back to Vegas for good?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “We never really talked about it, but I am sure that is his plan. I told him that I needed to live by the beach, but he went and did all the new remodeling and the baby’s room and all. I hate to disappoint him now.”