Penalty Clause

by Lori Ryan

  Twenty minutes later, they were pulling up in front of Jill’s front door. Andrew handed her the keys then turned to walk back to his grandmother’s house.

  “Andrew,” he heard behind him. Andrew took a deep breath to steal himself, then slowly turned to face Jill.

  “I need to tell you why I can’t marry you. I owe you that much.” Jill looked so sad and alone standing on her front steps. Her arms wrapped around her waist, clinging to herself as if trying to hold herself together.

  Andrew watched her, waiting, but didn’t say anything. He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move as his senses moved to high alert.

  Jill seemed to struggle for a minute before she spoke. “After Jake left, I realized how one sided things were. How much I had loved Jake… But I honestly don’t think he ever loved me. Jake said he did but it wasn’t there. I know that now.”

  Andrew watched Jill as she blinked back tears and held herself tighter as she talked. He knew every word was costing her. Every word caused her pain.

  “I thought I would be okay with the penalty clause, that I would feel secure and know you wouldn’t…” Jill’s voice broke and the tears streamed down her face but she continued.

  It tore at Andrew’s heart to see her in such pain… His arms ached to hold her, but he was frozen to the spot. Watching, waiting.

  “I fell in love with you, Andrew,” Jill said quietly, tears flowing freely now. “I didn’t mean to, but I did and then I realized if we went ahead with the marriage, I would be right back where I started. I would be in a marriage where only one of us was in love and the other was staying for the wrong reasons. I couldn’t be with you, knowing you would only be there to avoid losing your money. And I couldn’t be married to you knowing that you weren’t as in love with me as I am with you. I didn’t mean to lead you on or make you mad or anything. I’m so sorry. I just… I didn’t mean for this to happen.” Her hands fluttered and fell to her sides.

  Andrew couldn’t breathe as he processed what Jill said. What it meant for them. Then he crossed the space to Jill in two long strides and swept her into his arms. Andrew held on for dear life, holding her tight, understanding then, why he had almost lost her.

  “I love you, Jill,” Andrew said into Jill’s neck. “I’ve loved you almost since the moment I set eyes on you again. Hell, I don’t think I ever stopped loving you as a teenager. I don’t know. I just thought if I told you, you’d run like hell. So, I gave you the penalty clause instead.”

  Andrew felt Jill collapse in his arms and heard her sobs. He set Jill down and pulled back to see her face.

  “Don’t cry, sweetheart. Why are you crying?” He wiped the tears from Jill’s cheeks with his thumbs and kissed her lips softly.

  “I can’t help it. I thought…I just…I just can’t stop crying.” Jill half laughed, half sobbed as she swiped at her tears and smiled a wet smile at Andrew.

  “I can fix that,” Andrew said. He scooped Jill up in his arms and carried her in through her front door.

  “Say it again,” Jill said.

  “I love you. With all my heart. With everything I am. I love you, Jillie Walsh,” Andrew whispered and laid kisses on Jill’s wet cheeks.

  Then Andrew carried Jill upstairs and showed her how much he loved her again and again, over and over throughout the night. He held her when she slept, spent, in his arms in the early morning light.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Jill and Andrew brought Rev home from the hospital the next night and by the following day, Rev was back to normal. His regular vet put him on a regimen of daily Phenobarbital and they went back to the usual wait-and-see routine that they had been on with his epilepsy.

  As Andrew lay in bed Tuesday morning with Jill snuggled against him, he almost laughed at himself for all the worry he’d held inside. Telling Jill he loved her hadn’t caused her to turn on him the way it had with Blair. It had set him free. Andrew had never felt more free, more right, more whole at any other time in his life.

  Jill stirred in his arms and he brushed a kiss on her temple.

  “Good morning, sweet Jill,” Andrew whispered. His gut clenched when Jill turned her beautiful golden eyes to his.

  “Morning, handsome,” Jill said. She stretched her body out, long and lean against Andrew’s, contorting like a contented cat.

  Andrew’s body instantly came to life and he let his hands trail over her soft, warm skin. Heat flashed between them as Jill turned into his embrace and began the small moaning gasps Andrew loved.

  “I love the way your hands feel on me. The way they make me feel. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of the feel of your hands on me,” Jill said.

  Andrew’s lips quirked into a smile. “I’ll just have to keep my hands on you forever, then, sweet Jill. Forever and ever and ever,” Andrew said as he added his mouth to his hands.

  Andrew still wore that smile when he walked into his office an hour and a half later.

  ***

  Theresa caught the look Andrew gave her as he walked past her desk. He said a quick ‘hello’ to her. It was designed to look like a casual, friendly encounter between two people who worked together to anyone who might be watching, but Theresa knew better.

  On the outside, Andrew looked happy once again now that he and the whore were back together. But Theresa didn’t miss the helpless looks he snuck her. In fact, he had been watching her more and more lately. She felt his gaze on her whenever he walked down the hall past her desk. Andrew’s looks told Theresa he still needed her help. He was desperate for Theresa’s help, desperate to find a way to get him out from under that woman’s thumb.

  Theresa had been straightening Andrew’s office for him one evening and found the prenuptial agreement the whore had forced Andrew to sign. That was all the proof Theresa needed to know Andrew was in trouble. She didn’t know yet what hold this woman had on Andrew but it must be strong if she had manipulated Andrew into signing away all of his wealth to her.

  The biggest question Theresa had was whether the whore just had Andrew so brainwashed, he couldn’t see her for what she was, or whether she was blackmailing him. Maybe his little tramp had something she was holding over him. Andrew just couldn’t see that woman for what she was.

  That wouldn’t last long. Theresa was working on a plan to show Andrew just what his little whore was up to. Theresa would arrange to show him the tramp only wanted his money. And, when Andrew finally got out from under the bitch’s spell, Theresa would be there for him. To help him pick up the pieces. To answer those silent prayers Andrew had been sending Theresa all this time.

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Jill was surprised to hear the doorbell ring. She rarely had visitors at the house and wasn’t expecting anyone. Andrew would be home soon, but he never rang the bell.

  Jake. Great. Just great. Jill stepped away from the window and opened the front door.

  “What can I do for you, Jake?” It wasn’t a stretch for Jill to add a touch of annoyance to her voice and she hoped it would eventually discourage Jake’s surprise visits.

  Jake smiled and pulled a bouquet of carnations from behind his back.

  Really? Carnations? Is there any cheesier flower than that?

  Jake seemed to be waiting for a response. Jill had no intention of inviting him inside so she stepped out onto the front porch, taking the carnations as she walked. Jill leaned against the porch railing and set the flowers next to her.

  “Jake, what’s this about? Why do you keep doing this?” Jill tilted her head and studied the man she had once loved. The man who’d walked away from her.

  “I miss you, Jill. I’ve been thinking and I think I made a big mistake. I want us to try again.”

  “What!” Jill sputtered. “I… That’s insane… I don’t even know what to say to that.”

  Jake took Jill’s hand but she pulled it back from him.

  “Please, Jill. Say you’ll give us another try. I broke things off with Missy. I know I was wrong, Jill, but I can do t
his. I can make this work. I know I can.” Jake sounded earnest, but there were an awful lot of ‘I’s in what he’d said.

  Jill shook her head. “Jake, I’m not some project for you to keep working at.”

  “I know, Jill. But we’re good together. We had such a good life, together, you know?”

  “No. I don’t know. I’ve realized a lot of things over the past several months. Our marriage wasn’t right, Jake. I thought I was happy, but I didn’t see how much I was giving up. I’m sorry, Jake, but I don’t love you anymore.” Jill tried to be calm and firm, wondering if maybe this time he’d listen to her. For once, would he just listen?

  “But Jill,” Jake began.

  “No. Stop.” Jill sighed. “Look, Jake. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to give us another try. I’m in love with someone else. I’m getting married, Jake. To a man I love with all my heart. And the best part is, he loves me just as much. He respects me. He would never treat me the way you treated me.”

  Jake’s face grew hard and his hands suddenly gripped her arms tightly. Too tightly.

  “You can’t. You can’t marry someone else. You’re supposed to love me, Jill.” Jake’s eyes were hard and flashed with anger. Jill didn’t know if she was more stunned that he had grabbed her or more stunned that he still didn’t care about her feelings. How had she not seen him for who he truly was over the time they’d spent together?

  Jill didn’t have much time to respond to Jake because Jake was lifted off the ground and tossed down the porch stairs.

  “Oh, God, Andrew. Don’t hurt him!” Jill grabbed Andrew’s arm and tried to pull him back. She’d have better luck stopping a freight train, but it only took Andrew a few seconds to get himself under control.

  “Leave. Now,” Andrew bit out through clenched teeth. Jake scrambled backwards in the driveway as Andrew stalked him.

  When his feet finally found purchase, Jake scurried to his car and quickly drove away while Jill pulled Andrew back to the porch.

  Jill’s arms tingled as Andrew ran his hands gently over them, scowling at the red blotches that were blossoming on Jill’s arm where Jake had grabbed her. He let out a deep roar and turned back toward his car, presumably to go after Jake, but Jill grabbed Andrew’s arm and pulled him back to the porch.

  “It’s not important, Andrew. Let him go.”

  “Did he hurt you?” Andrew’s voice rippled with anger. He was controlling it, but only just.

  “I’m okay. He wouldn’t have really hurt me,” Jill answered.

  Jill slipped her hands around Andrew’s back and brushed her hands up and down in long strokes, soothing away the tension.

  “What did he want?” Andrew asked.

  “Nothing. It’s not important,” Jill said. She turned and opened the door to let out a frantic Rev. “It’s all right, Rev. Mommy’s fine.” Jill knelt down to scratch Rev and reassure him. When she stood back up, she ran into the brick wall of Andrew’s chest.

  Andrew’s arms came back up to her shoulders, pinning her firmly, but gently. His eyes pierced hers in a steady gaze.

  “What did he want, Jill?” He said every word slowly, carefully.

  “It was silly, Andrew. It’s nothing.” Jill shrugged a shoulder. “He’s apparently tired of Missy and wants to get back together with me. Obviously I told him that wasn’t going to happen and he didn’t like that answer.”

  Andrew was still for a minute and then bent to look into Jill’s eyes. His voice was soft and quiet when he finally spoke. “Do you want that, Jill? You were with him a long time. Are you sure you don’t need to see where that might go?”

  Jill took a step back and studied Andrew’s face to be sure he was serious. He looked deadly serious and the realization made her a little sick.

  “How could you even think that?” Jill shook her head at Andrew. “How could that even cross your mind? There isn’t anything Jake could say or do to make me want to be back with him.” She studied his face again to see if he understood. “You. You’re my world, Andrew. What you and I have together is so different, so much more than anything Jake and I ever shared. I wouldn’t give up what you and I have – for Jake or anyone else.”

  Andrew’s smile was slow, sexy, the kind of smile that burned through Jill and heated her from the inside out. With that one smile, Andrew changed the air between them. Suddenly there was a crackling heat that charged between their bodies. Andrew called Rev inside and pulled Jill into the house behind him.

  Jill’s arms wound their way around Andrew’s neck and her body pressed into Andrew’s as if it had a mind of its own. Every fiber of her wanted to be closer to Andrew, wanted to feel him pressed against her. Andrew’s hands went around her bottom and he scooped her up, pulling her tight to him as his mouth devoured hers with a heated kiss.

  Jill wrapped her legs around his waist and matched the heat in his kiss with passion of her own. She felt her nipples pebble against his chest and let the friction of their joined bodies thrill through her.

  “Dining room,” Jill said, her lips still on Andrew’s.

  A small chuckle came from deep in Andrew’s chest as he lay Jill on the dining room table and began to work the button on her jeans. Jill tugged at Andrew’s shirt, trying to pull it free of his jeans, wanting to touch his muscled chest. Andrew paused and pulled his shirt over his head with one arm and then made quick work of the rest of their clothes.

  As often happened with Jill, Andrew couldn’t wait longer than the time it took to position himself between her legs.

  “God, what you do to me,” he murmured to Jill as he entered her slowly, plunging deep and then staying as still as he could as if trying to gain some semblance of control.

  Jill laughed but it was thready and needy and her nails dug into his hips, urging him to move within her. Regaining control, Andrew moved slowly, drawing a tortured moan from Jill.

  “Mine.” Andrew’s voice was raspy, husky with desire and possession as he brought Jill closer and closer to orgasm.

  “Only yours,” Jill whispered.

  Slowly, deeply, Andrew plunged harder, drawing gasp after gasp from Jill until she shattered beneath him, spinning blissfully out of control.

  And, somehow, when Jill returned to earth, she found Andrew smiling at her, still in control, ready for more.

  “Put your arms around my neck and hold on, sweetheart,” Andrew whispered, his voice ragged.

  Jill held on while Andrew lifted her and carried her to the couch where he sat, still inside Jill as she straddled him. He gave Jill free rein now, letting her loose to set her own pace on top of him. When their bodies were entwined together, the hard, slick heat of Andrew filling her so completely, Jill lost all control. She wanted him deeper, faster, harder and with Andrew, Jill took what she wanted. She bent her head and nipped at his neck, writhing, engulfed in sensation as she rocked her hips into him over and over. Jill exploded in pleasure once again, bringing Andrew with her as she went.

  ***

  Theresa’s hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly, her knuckles turned white. She was stunned as she sat outside Jill’s house and watched Andrew chase off the man Jill had been whoring around with.

  My God, Andrew catches her in the act, with another man on her front steps, and still, he doesn’t see her for what she is! This has to stop. I have to find a way to show Andrew once and for all that this woman is wrong for him. I have to find a way to open his eyes.

  Theresa took deep breaths as she slowly, carefully pulled the car away from the curb. The calm, deliberate movements soothed her.

  Breathe in. Breathe out.

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Christmas that year was by far the best holiday Jill had ever had. She and Andrew traveled to her parents’ house for the holiday and spent almost a week with them. Andrew and Jill’s parents hit it off immediately. They had met Andrew in the past, of course, but hadn’t seen him in years. Jill was happy to see her parents really liked Andrew.

  Andrew spent time w
ith Jill’s dad in her father’s garage playing around with a car he was restoring. She and her mom looked through wedding magazines and Jill was relieved that this visit had come after she and Andrew had acknowledged they loved one another. The thought of facing her parents had seemed daunting when her wedding was more about a contract between two good friends than love.

  With Andrew’s love and support behind her, Jill was happy to bury herself in wedding plans and hopes for future babies.

  Andrew had surprised Jill on Christmas morning with an antique box camera he’d found on Etsy and had restored for Jill. It was by far the most thoughtful present Jill had ever received. Jill had printed several of the shots she’d captured during their trip to Big Bend and had them framed for Andrew’s office.

  Jill and Andrew sat on the back swing on her parents’ porch. They snuggled together with mugs of mulled wine to keep their hands warm and they rocked lazily in the crisp evening air. Jill felt completely at peace. Content. It was hard to believe that she had felt so off-kilter just a few months earlier, as if her whole world had been rocked and she would never find her axis again. Now, Jill knew that Andrew was her axis. Her whole world hadn’t truly ever been in balance before him.

  Jill let out a soft mewl of happiness as she let her hand play up and down Andrew’s stomach, to his chest and back down again. The feel of his strong arms around her and his warm body pressed against hers had Jill almost dozing off to sleep as they rocked.

  ***

  “I think I want six.” Andrew really wanted four kids, but he figured he’d start the conversation at six so Jill would have some room to talk him down.

  “Hmm? Six what?” Jill asked. She didn’t raise her head from Andrew’s side.

  “Six kids.” Now Jill’s head came up.

  “Six! Are you crazy? I’m thirty-five years old, Andrew. When do you think I’m going to pop out these six babies?” Jill sounded indignant. Andrew laughed.