by Aria Ford
“Why?” I was confused now.
“Well, because you didn’t say anything,” she said, giggling.
I flushed self-consciously. “Oh. Yeah. Correct.”
“Jay, you are a dear. An unbearably stubborn, hardheaded one sometimes. But a dear.”
I grinned. “Thanks. Those are probably the fairest way of saying it.”
“Yeah. Probably.”
I laughed.
She lay there and I took her hand. I stared at how beautiful she was. Margo was so stunning that I often felt as if she might disappear if I closed my eyes. I leaned forward to kiss her.
“I love you,” I said.
She kissed me back. She was crying again. I felt her tears touch my lips. I kissed those.
“Well,” she said.
“Well, what?”
“Well, you believe me?”
“Believe what?”
“That I didn’t cheat on you?”
I blinked. “Margo, I don’t care. I love you. Yes, I was hurt. But…you know what? I love you and I want to be with you and I forgive you.”
She looked at me, amazed. Then she started crying.
“Jay. Oh, Jay! How can you be so…so nice? Fair. Loving…” She trailed off, sobbing hard.
I reached out and thumbed away the tears. “Silly thing.” I chuckled. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Her words flowed into my chest like honey, healing my heart.
We sat silently a while. I held her hand. She held mine. She smiled.
“Well?”
“Well, what?” I asked.
“Are you going to read my mail?”
I chuckled. “Okay. Yes. I should.”
I reached for my phone and opened it. When I was finished my heart had almost gone through the floor. I felt like a complete ass.
“Margo. I am so, so sorry,” I said, choked. “I can’t believe…you should have told me!”
“I tried,” she said in a soft voice. “I wanted to. I called.”
“And I blocked you. I’m so dumb. I’m sorry.”
She smiled. “You know, the only reason you did that was because you couldn’t believe I could love you.”
I blinked. “Well, yeah,” I said. Hearing it so plain made me realize she was right. That was the reason I’d believed she’d cheated. I thought, because of my own self-hatred, that of course she’d prefer another guy. Any guy. Just a guy that could walk, and do what other guys could. I was stupid.
She laughed. “Jay, you can be really silly sometimes.”
I blushed. “Yeah. I suppose.”
She flushed pink. “And I can too,” she said softly. “I had no idea you loved me.”
It was my turn to stare. “Margo! How couldn’t you?”
“I thought you couldn’t really love me,” she said. “I mean…I’m difficult. And awkward. And boring…”
I stared at her. “Margo Lawrence!” I was somewhere between amazed and outraged. “You are the most stunning, most exciting, sweetest…where do you come from with this stuff? Why would you think…”
She smiled. “Well, I might as well say the same thing to you,” she said. “I love you, Jay. Not the athlete. Not the body. Not even that sexy smoldering look, though I admit it’s a nice extra. I love you. The person I talk to. The one who holds me. The one who laughs with me.”
I felt as if my heart would burst. I had not expected that. I would never have expected that.
But then, that’s the thing with love, isn’t it? It comes out of nowhere, and it sticks around forever. If you let it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Margo
It took a few days for me to get used to walking. I did it slowly, and by Monday I was ready to leave the hospital. Jay was there every second he could be, and his presence made my days happy.
We talked so much in that time. There was so much to say. And sometimes we shared silence together, the way you can share silence with someone you love.
“Ready?” Lance said. Dear Lance! He had barely left the hospital since arriving the day of the accident. I felt bad. He looked tired. Now he walked with me, carrying the bag of things Alle had brought for me: nightgown, slippers, flowers.
“Ready,” I said.
“Let’s go.”
He walked beside me, patient as I negotiated my way to the car. We got me into the passenger seat with some hilarity.
“Okay. So,” Lance grinned. “I have to admit I’m officially the world’s absolute nightmare nurse.”
I kissed his forehead where he bent to move my coat out of the wide-open door. “No, you’re fine.”
He made a face. “I don’t know about that. But, thanks. Are you in?”
“Mm.” I felt strangely sleepy, strangely peaceful now I was with him. Safe and cared for, like everything would be okay now: a feeling I liked a lot. He made me feel safe.
We sped off to my home.
While we drove, we talked. There was still one problem on the horizon.
“What can I do?”
Lance made a face. “I dunno. Mims, would you go to court?”
I stared. “I don’t think I…” It was a bad plan. How could I prove Durrell was pressuring me? I guess I had some texts, but there was no explicit reference in them. He always played just shy of actually asking me for sexual favors.
“I guess you’re right,” Lance sighed, “but what can we do? I mean, the guy has to be stopped.”
“I’m scared, Lance,” I admitted. “I don’t want to hurt my career.”
“It wouldn’t hurt your career,” Lance said, though even he sounded uncertain of that.
We looked at each other.
“I guess I could resign,” I said softly. My heart sank. This contract meant so much to me. How could I leave now?
“No,” Lance said softly. “No, there has to be an answer.”
I gripped his hand. “You’re encouraging, Lance.”
He chuckled. “Well, I wish I could be more than that.”
He helped me into my apartment and put the bag in my room. I thanked him.
“I’m leaving tomorrow morning,” he said, pulling a face. “I wanted to stay longer…” he trailed off tiredly.
“I know. You can’t take more time off.” I nodded.
“Yeah.”
He made sure I had stuff to eat in the pantry, then hugged me and headed downstairs. I sighed.
I was making coffee when my phone rang.
“Jay?”
“Hi!” he sounded happy. “Are you at home? Listen—my flight’s not until later. Can I visit?”
I felt my tummy flutter with excitement. “Sure.”
He kissed me when he came in through the door. I felt my body lean against his and I kissed him hungrily. I sighed. We were both aroused and we walked slowly to the bedroom, supporting each other carefully.
We collapsed on the bed. He undressed me slowly, his hands caressing my body. I was wearing a skirt that he worked down over my legs and then he was kneeling between my thighs.
His mouth descended on my wet folds and I shivered as he pleasured me, his tongue licking at my clit, fingers stroking me in places I didn’t know could feel that good. I shivered and shuddered and yelled.
When I had come, he knelt up and slowly, carefully, entered me. His expression was gentle as he pushed into me and then out again. I changed the way I was lying so that I could feel him rub on all my good places. I started to shake again, amazed by the tickling throbbing sensation that was building up in me, making me come again.
He cried out an instant before me. We collapsed together.
“Man,” he whispered. “No one does what you do to me.”
I giggled. “Thank you. No one has ever done to me what you do.”
He smiled. I couldn’t see him, but I heard the damp sound of lips moving. He kissed my brow.
Later we talked. We dressed—he helped me, being more used to dressing when one could only stand lopsided—and we had
tea.
“I don’t know what I can do,” I confessed. I’d just told him the story of Durrell.
“I have an idea…” he said.
“Jay, don’t do anything rash,” I said quickly. He had that brooding look that suggested to me that there was going to be trouble for someone soon.
“I won’t,” he said.
That was all he said. I sighed.
“Just…promise me you won’t hurt yourself now,” I said when the silence had endured awhile.
He nodded. “I won’t.”
He stayed until two hours before his flight. Then he kissed me and left.
“I’ll be back before you can miss me,” he promised.
I sighed. “Well, you can’t be. I miss you now.”
He laughed.
I went to sleep that night more peacefully than I had for weeks. I had a feeling that my troubles would soon be over. I trusted Jay.
On Thursday, three days after returning home, I walked into work.
“Oh my word…Margo!”
The secretary, Mrs. Reynolds, stared at me.
I greeted her. “Morning, Mrs. Reynolds. I did mention I had some issues…”
“I didn’t realize your leg was broken! You poor thing. Come in. Come inside…”
She gestured me into her office and I sat down comfortably behind the desk. There was meant to be a shoot in their studio at ten, or I wouldn’t have come in, but that gave me good half hour before I needed to go and get ready. I was pleased to be in the relative safety of her office—there was less chance of Burne finding me here.
“I’m sorry I was gone so long,” I confessed. “I hope nothing went wrong in my absence…”
“Of course not, sweetie,” the secretary said kindly. “You know this is the first shoot. And you’re on time for that.”
“Mm.” I nodded. I wanted to ask her if Mr. Burne was in, but I didn’t quite have the courage to ask. I didn’t want to know if he was, and I also didn’t want her to get the idea he mattered to me. As it was, though, she was being really gentle—maternal and caring. I wondered why. Probably just my injuries.
We chatted about everyday things, and then the esthetician appeared.
“Margo! There you are. Are you going to come down now? Only…”
“I’m coming,” I said.
I followed her down the hallway.
Again, she seemed subdued and attentive. I wondered why.
“I’m so sorry, honey,” she said as she sat me in the chair.
“Sorry? Why?” I frowned.
“We should have known that Burne was an ass…”
I frowned. “You heard? But…”
“I think it was so great he was exposed,” she said firmly. “I’m so glad. I never liked him.”
I frowned more. “Exposed? But what…”
“Yeah. And in the Sentinel. Good stuff.” She looked happy.
I was really confused now. The makeup was being done, though, and it was necessary to get it finished—the first shoot was in half an hour.
After the shoot—which luckily worked seamlessly round my injuries—I finally had a chance to check the news.
“Scandalous boss exposed.”
I stared. The picture of me was there again, but this time the heading was different.
“Source accuses longtime harassment suspect of preying on employees.”
I read the article. Somehow—and I had no idea how—someone had managed to find two other women from former companies where the guy had worked. I was amazed by how quickly it had all been done.
Was it Jay?
I shook my head. How could it have been? I told him about this three days ago! But it had his name on it. Quick, solid and firm.
“Jay…”
My heart was warm with love. I felt so safe. If the guy resigned or not, it didn’t matter. There was no way he was going to come near me, or harm me. If he fired me, with this kind of suspicion hanging over him, there would certainly be grounds for a case. Whether or not I had proof was immaterial now. Those pictures existed. And the testimony of two other people, whose stories were similar to mine.
I was free.
I left work shortly afterward and went to the park. I found a bench and my phone.
“You did that, didn’t you?” I said warmly.
“Margo! Did what?” He sounded confused.
“Jay! You know! The article.”
“Oh. That. Well,” he paused. “As you can see, I didn’t do it alone.”
“But Jay! What…how?” I shook my head. How had he possibly done all this so fast?
“I have a friend at the Sentinel,” he said. “Sports writer. I asked him if he knew anyone who was interested in Burne. As it happened, someone had already put together some evidence. It would have been printed sometime anyway. I just, well, hurried it up.”
I laughed. “Jay, you’re wonderful.”
“No, I’m not,” he said gently. “You are, though.”
I chuckled. “You’re more wonderful then.”
“Well, I could just say you’re most wonderful.”
I pulled a face even though he couldn’t see it. “Do you have to always win every argument?”
He chuckled. “Sometimes.”
We chatted a while longer and then hung up. I was so happy.
That night, I talked to Lance. He was as happy as I was that things were finally settled. I could enjoy my work.
“You love him, don’t you, Mimi…”
I laughed. “I love him.”
Just saying it made my heart soar. I loved the way it sounded. I love Jay. I wanted to tell everyone. I knew it was silly. But somehow, even though I felt like I was being like a teen, I knew it made no difference how old you are. It always felt as good.
“Well.” He sighed. “Houghton’s quite far.”
“It is,” I said, frowning. That was the one tricky thing about our relationship. I was tied down here for work for at least five years. I had no idea how his work looked, but I could imagine he had a similar situation.
“Never mind,” I said confidently. “We’ll fix it.”
I felt sure we could.
As it happened, the solution came up by chance.
“Margo,” Jay said as we talked on the phone. “You know…I’ve been thinking.”
“Mm?” I asked.
“When I chatted to Rudi at the newspaper, he had an idea.”
“Oh?”
“Well, he asked me if I didn’t maybe want to join their team. As sportswriter. I said…”
He trailed off as I interrupted him with a shout. “Jay! That’s brilliant.”
“I dunno about brilliant,” he said shyly. I laughed.
“Well, it could be amazing. It could work out perfectly. Oh, Jay. That’s such good news.”
“Margo, I love your enthusiasm.”
I chuckled. “I love you, Jay. All of you.”
“I love you too.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Margo
I stood in the garden, the sun making patterns through the leaves. I was wearing a long dress and high heels, which felt awkward when I tried to walk on the lawn. I turned to Jay.
He smiled. He was beside me. The wool suit he wore fit tight across those big shoulders, the shirt cut to perfection and the blue tie bringing out the blue of his eyes.
I caught sight of that tender, soft smile and looked away. Put my attention back on the preacher where he stood before us.
He was saying the vows.
I waited my turn impatiently. “I do,” I replied. My voice was surer than anything I’d heard in my life.
Even the pastor smiled. Then he was repeating the vows, this time for Jay.
“I do.”
I looked sideways as he said it. The gentle expression in his eyes made me melt. I moved my fingers so that they brushed against his hand and his gently touched mine.
I tried to focus. All I could think of, though, was Jay. The ceremony was short, but it see
med to me to take a long time. The sky was blue, the sun warm. I could hear the sounds of nature and the soft sigh of our guests and smell flowers.
“You may kiss.”
I looked up as Jay turned to face me. He tenderly lifted the veil. It was a full veil, lots of gauze, and I wanted to giggle as he lifted it uncertainly, his brow quirked as he tried to figure out how to smooth it back from my face.
Then all thoughts melted inside me into a sweet wonder as he kissed me.
I closed my eyes as his tongue gently moved down the gap between my lips, just flicking inside. I leaned against him and our tongues pushed playfully at each other and his arms held me close.
Then, almost before it seemed we had even started, he was stepping back.
We faced our friends and family. We were a couple.
“Hurray!”
That was Alle, who was my bridesmaid. She was the first person to hug me as I walked between the benches and under the arch that marked the precinct of where we’d held the ceremony.
“Congratulations, girlfriend!”
I smiled and hugged her too, feeling her warm, comforting arms around me. She smelled of flowers and she wore roses in her hair.
“Thank you, Alle.”
She smiled. “You look so beautiful.”
I looked down shyly at my dress. It was a long white dress with a high waist, the skirt covered in a lacy gauze and full, so that it was a trumpet shape that swept the floor, sweeping back in a longer train. It had a wide slash of neckline that showed my shoulders. I loved it.
“You do look beautiful,” Jay said.
“Well, look who’s talking.” I smiled at him. His eyes crinkled at the corners.
“I don’t know about that,” he said.
“I do.”
We both laughed and we headed through the garden and into the house.
We had made sure that the location of the wedding was a secret and we had each invited only ten guests. It couldn’t have been more private and small. I was so happy.
“You look beautiful,” Lance said, coming over to hug me and greet Jay.
Jay, leaning serenely on the wall, lifted his hand from his crutches to shake Lance’s.
They chatted briefly and then my mom came over and hugged me and Jay’s mom hugged me and Jay and everyone seemed to weep.
