“Oh, I like when you call me Mr. Caldwell. Brings all these naughty images into my head of having my way with you,” he said. As my laughter faded, I noticed his expression turned serious. He twirled a small section of my hair around his fingers as his voice turned thoughtful. “Is this okay? With everything that you told me about Justin… I would understand if you need time.”
Grabbing his hand, I firmly tilted his chin to face me. “He isn’t a part of us. You’re my choice and what we decide to do in the bedroom will not be contaminated because of him.” I gave him a long and slow kiss on the lips, basking in his goodness. “What do you say about having a groupie along for the first stop on your tour? I took a few days off from the restaurant for the wedding, so I have the time if you don’t mind having your old lady tag along,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
“I’d love to have my old lady there. And I plan to be back as much as I can between shows. And when we can’t see each other in person, we can have some fun with Facetime,” he said. I was glad he picked up on my need to move on from the heavier stuff.
“I’ll have to go shopping then and buy a few scandalous outfits to try on. Any suggestions?”
“I’m in a band called Trojan Jedi. Of course, I’m going to ask for you to wear a sexy Storm Trooper or Princess Leia outfit.”
“I love it! For someone in a band, you can be such a huge nerd sometimes.”
“Only with you, baby. No one else gets this.”
“I get that and I feel lucky.” I bit down on my lip as I reached for the button on his dress pants. “Want me to show you how lucky I feel?”
His answer was a kiss and I melted against him. All that uncertainty and torture I put myself through was over and done with. All along, I had wanted an epic love story and the man who could have given it to me sooner had been right below my radar. Cole had surprised me and impressed me in countless ways. I didn’t have questions about our future, only confidence of his place in my heart. I was lost to him and had complete certainty he was put on this planet just for me.
“Cole,” I said with a catch in my throat.
“Yes, love?”
“I love you.”
Cole took a second to watch me, his eyes filled with so much strength and joy. “I see you, Casey. You’re all I see.” And at that moment, I realized I had fallen so hard that I would never get back up again.
Epilogue
Five Years Later…
“Aunt Casey, is there really a baby inside there or did you swallow a watermelon?” My niece Angelina poked my belly with her small fingers and gave me a shrewd look. Autumn’s daughter was the spit and image of Blake and I couldn’t help giggling when I noticed the way Angelina would mimic her father’s expressions.
“No watermelon, sweetie. But there will be a new girl cousin for you to play with,” I said, ruffling her dark hair.
“Thank the heavens, darling," said Angelina. "Aunt Lexi brings her boys over to play and they are just wretched!” Angelina tossed her hands up in a dramatic fashion.
Autumn walked over and shook her head at her four-year-old daughter as Angelina ran off to play. She addressed me. “My daughter is obsessed with 101 Dalmatians and has decided to speak like Cruella De Vil all… day… long. If she keeps this up, she may end up being an only child.”
We were having a picnic in Autumn’s sprawling backyard to celebrate Memorial Day. Before the birth of Angelina, Blake had purchased an uber-mansion nearby Cook University on the outskirts of Fairfort. Both of them loved the area and he had wanted to make it convenient for Autumn to finish her Master’s degree program at the college. The house wasn’t too shabby with six vast bedrooms, an Olympic-sized swimming pool with waterfall, a gourmet outdoor kitchen and a high-tech home gym.
Not that I ever felt a twinge of jealousy over all Autumn had. Cole and I were building an amazing life together as well. A year earlier, we had moved into our own house a town over from Autumn and Blake. A month after we made our first mortgage payment, we had flown to Vegas and surprised our friends by having an impromptu wedding ceremony at the Bon Mel Ami Wedding Chapel on the strip. Our mothers hadn’t approved, but the ceremony was just as beautiful and meaningful as a traditional wedding. The bonus was the wedding cost under a thousand dollars and we hadn’t had to shell out two hundred dollars for my Great Uncle Bart to eat an overcooked piece of prime rib. The most important people in our world was there and if I were the gambling sort, I would say it was only a matter of months before Levi and Delia got hitched.
“Hey babe, why don’t you sit down for a little while? The doc said for you to take it easy,” Cole said, coming up from behind me and placing his hand on the small of my back. He smiled at Autumn before leaning in to give me an affectionate peck on the lips.
“No. She said if I’m feeling good to stay active as possible. You were the one who suggested I be bedridden for the next four weeks,” I countered.
Cole gave Autumn a helpless look. “She’s unhinged, Autumn. She’s still managing the restaurant while also taking lead on our house renovations. She falls into bed every night in one giant heap.”
“It’s called nesting, Cole. Completely normal,” Autumn said with a smile. “Casey is tame compared to when Lexi was pregnant with her twins. She made Finn repaint the nursery five times until she was completely satisfied.”
I went to chime in, but I was silenced by Angelina’s loud voice carrying across the lawn. “Now sit down and listen to me, you little mongrels!” she yowled at Lexi’s twins Michael and Dylan. The boys were watching her with a mixture of shock and awe as they sat cross-legged on a picnic blanket. Blake, Lexi and Finn were nearby, bowled over in laughter. Only Autumn seemed offended by her daughter’s outlandish behavior.
“Angelina! Be nice or you will get put on the naughty step!” she called sternly while giving Cole and me an apologetic look. “Welcome to parenthood, kids.”
As Autumn walked away to reprimand Angelina, Cole gave me an alarmed look. “The naughty step? It’s probably not as fun as it sounds.”
“No. I’m afraid not,” I said teasingly. I gave him a more serious look. “But that’s okay, right? I mean I know we talked about waiting until after your tour and after the new album comes out—”
He put a finger against my lips. “Don’t say another word. I love you. I love our life.”
I grinned at him and automatically the tension left my body. “I love our life too.”
“We’ll make it work. You and little Joan can be our roadies…”
I interrupted him. “We did not decide on Joan.”
“Why wouldn’t we want to name our daughter after Joan Jett? She’s automatically bad-ass by association alone.”
I stopped him by grabbing both of his cheeks and looking deeply into his eyes. “I am so in love with you. I didn’t think it was possible to stay this madly in love for so long and not have a single ounce of affection I feel toward you to fade. And I can’t wait to complete our family.” I gave him a slow and leisurely kiss, enjoying the taste of him. I felt a bit out of breath as I pulled away. “But you are delusional if you think I don’t have veto power when I’ve been carrying around this little lady for nine months.”
He kissed the tip of my nose. “I’m only kidding about the name. This little girl is going to have me wrapped around her little finger. Just like her mom.”
I wished I could have bottled my happiness and sent it back to myself five years earlier. For a long time, I hadn’t thought Cole and I could ever be together. But we were so amazingly strong together. We had faced it all. Going forward about my rape was the hardest thing I had ever done and I couldn’t have survived the aftermath without Cole. He made me take a social media hiatus to protect me from all the skeptics who believed I was only after Justin’s millions. He distracted me with board games and made me laugh by telling me stories about him and his brothers as hell-raising young boys.
And although Justin wasn’t charged with my rape, there was goo
d that came out of my decision to share my story. Several other women stepped forward to state that they were drugged and raped by Justin. The allegations were enough to lead the Warriors release him from his contract. He would never play again in the NFL. And whatever monies he made from pro football were likely taken by a private settlement after one of the victims filed a civil suit against him.
I didn’t think I would ever find closure, but I did in a way. Hearing from other women confirmed my suspicion that I had been drugged. But it also hurt to know there were other victims. It was a club none of us wanted to be part of. It took me a while to get over the guilt of not speaking up sooner. I kept thinking of the women in the interim who may have been victimized because of my fears. But I had been naïve and never realized that rape didn’t have to be a back alley attack.
My only hope was I’d be able to teach my little girl to be strong and smart. We lived in a tough world for girls and I never wanted her to see the cruel side of men. And I had faith in my choice of a father for my daughter. Cole was a good man and was going to make an incredible father. She would be surrounded by so much love growing up. Not only from Cole and me, but from all of our best friends. Even Evan seemed to finally be growing up—well, as much as a man like Evan could mature.
“Oh, she just kicked! I think she likes you complimenting her mom,” I said teasingly, rubbing the center of my belly.
Cole bent down and planted a kiss in the center of my tummy. “You’re a daddy’s girl no matter what we call you. And you have a smoking hot mom, so expect lots and lots of brothers and sisters.”
“That’s a given,” I said and then took his hand to give him a short, reassuring squeeze. “I love making babies with you.”
“Good. Because there’s no one else I’d want to make babies with for the rest of my life. So, you’re stuck with me.”
“I think I can handle that,” I murmured, biting back a smile.
“I love you so much, Casey, my tesoro,” he said, his words making me shudder. He placed his hands on top of my stomach, while leaning in to give me a tender kiss.
We had such a beautiful life already and I couldn’t wait to see what else was in store for us. He was mine. And I was his. For always.
THE END
About the Author
Heather Topham Wood’s obsession with novels began in childhood while growing up in a shore town in New Jersey. Writing since her teens, she recently returned to penning novels after a successful career as a freelance writer. She’s the author of the paranormal romance Second Sight and The Dark Dreamer series and the standalones Falling for Autumn, Pretending Hearts, The Ex Trials and The Disappearing Girl.
Heather graduated from the College of New Jersey in 2005 and holds a bachelor's degree in English. Her freelance work has appeared in publications such as USA Today, Livestrong.com, Outlook by the Bay and Step in Style magazine. She resides in Trenton, New Jersey with her husband and two sons. Besides writing, Heather is a pop culture fanatic and has an obsession with supernatural novels and TV shows.
Follow Heather on Facebook, Twitter and her blog to keep posted on her upcoming works:
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Acknowledgements
My super supportive fans, I love you all! Every word of encouragement I receive is what keeps me writing tirelessly for you.
My amazing husband Bryan, you make me a better person and writer. Thanks for loving my crazy.
Dominic and Luke, my sons and suns. I love your wonder and intelligence and you are both huge inspirations in my life.
Ashley, you are an amazing part of our family and I’m so grateful for all your help.
My mother and father, thank you for being supporters of my writing from the very beginning. Your humor will always find its way into my stories.
My sisters, I love that I have my best friends constantly around me for support and guidance.
My team of editors, formatters, proofreaders and cover artists, your expertise has helped my books become so much more.
To the rest of my friends and family, I love you all and will be eternally grateful for how much you’ve helped me succeed.
The Ex Trials (Falling for Autumn Book 3) Page 20
