He had even let himself admire the picture of Kimber that was included with the article. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered her, and he felt his thoughts drifting to their night together. The love making that he and Kimber had shared that night had been truly awesome, and there had been times he had thought that it would serve him right if Kimber’s baby was his since he had shared such an experience with someone other than his wife.
Thoughts of Kimber quickly left his mind though as Paul went back to his methodical planning of not only the sale of his house, his move and his new job responsibilities, but his divorce. He supposed he was lucky that Sierra wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable in terms of their divorce. He knew that she could probably have taken him to the cleaners if she’d wanted to. But even with her temper, Sierra was not the kind of woman that would make him suffer just because she knew that she could.
Paul tried to remember the good things about his marriage as much as he could in the days until its official end. It wasn’t always easy, and he knew that it might take him a while to entertain the thought of letting another woman into his heart. But he also knew that he wanted a woman beside him, needed a woman beside him. He thought that he might be more careful in his choices next time though. He figured that one beautiful hellcat in his life had been enough.
Sierra
Sierra tried not to think about Luke’s divorce as the day drew near to Paul’s leaving, but it was hard. She and Paul were going through the motions of separating everything that they had joined together with their marriage. They agreed on everything other than the fact that Paul wanted her to take half the money when the house sold, and his insistence on paying her alimony.
She knew that Paul believed he was only being fair, but he had paid every penny for the house himself and she didn’t believe that she needed alimony on top of the child support she would be receiving since she would still be Nathan’s main caregiver. The whole divorce process was terribly boring to her and she wished that it were all over with. She felt selfish for having such a thought, but its existence made it even harder for her not to think about Luke’s divorce.
Kimber
Kimber sighed when her phone rang, because it was Luke’s ringtone. She was not in the mood to talk to her soon to be ex-husband at all she thought as she pushed the button to answer the call.
“Yes Luke?”
“You always sound so thrilled to talk to me these days Kimber.”
“What do you expect Luke? We’re going through a divorce.”
“I know.” He sighed. “I wanted to make sure that I set everything straight before the divorce is final.”
Kimber’s voice was cautious when she said “What do you mean Luke?”
“I do feel bad about the whole mess with Jess. Mess with Jess. Ha ha. Anyway, Kimber I’m a little stoned right now and I apologize if I don’t make sense.”
“Stoned? Luke what in the hell are you thinking?”
“It helps me to be creative. Then I started to smoke it to relax when I realized that I was going to have to pay for the mistake I made with Jess sooner or later in one way or another. Believe it or not Kimber, I really would take that back if I could. I am sorry that I wasn’t up front and honest with you from the beginning. I guess I dragged a lot of skeletons out of my closet when you found out about my affair with Sierra. I told you I messed around a lot before I met Sierra, I told you about the proposal and the affair and all of that. I feel terrible that I sometimes wished that Halden wasn’t mine, but I did. I shouldn’t have said something like that to a virtual stranger though.”
Kimber sighed. “What is your point Luke? Are you trying to make amends with me? Our marriage didn’t work out and that sucks, but we’re both grown-ups and we know that the kids need both of us. At this point that’s all that matters.”
Luke let out a sigh of his own. “I didn’t call to tell you that I smoke weed Kimber. I called to tell you that I’m moving to be near Sierra. I would understand completely if you hate me for it, but I want to let you know that I am willing to do all the extra driving to pick up the kids since it’s my decision.”
“I’m thinking of moving myself Luke. There are too many memories in this town. There’s been some interest in the book store recently since they want to turn that block into some sort of mall. I believe I might open an online bookstore. I know how to run a business and I could do it completely from home and have more time with the kids.”
“That’s wonderful Kimber. I want you to be happy. I do love you.”
“I know. Love’s not always enough though. I figured that you were going to go to her eventually. Thank you for letting me know. We’ll work out the driving situation with the kids. I think I have somewhere in mind that we might be moving.”
“Just let me know. I’m planning on leaving town pretty soon. Sierra and Paul are going through a divorce too.”
“Oh.” Kimber wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be happy that Luke was going to be free to pursue Sierra or what. She was tired of talking to him, and knew that she needed to end the call before she started getting snippy with him. “Well, good luck I guess. I’ll let you know where we decide to move and I guess let me know your address once you get moved. Thanks Luke. Bye.”
Kimber quickly hung up the phone. She wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about the fact that Luke had admitted that he was moving to be near Sierra. It stung a little, but if she was going to be completely honest with herself, she had known that it would happen sooner or later, whether Sierra was still married to Paul at the time or not. She supposed that he had done what he thought was the right thing by telling her, but she wasn’t looking forward to receiving a wedding announcement in the mail for the joining of Lucas and Sierra Stone. She knew that Luke would marry Sierra sooner or later too and a part of her had even grudgingly accepted that fact.
But she almost wanted to smoke a joint herself that night. Instead she drank a glass of wine, took a hot bath, read for a while and then went to bed, falling into a blessedly dreamless sleep.
Luke
It hadn’t been easy for Luke to tell Kimber what he had told her, but he knew there was no point in delaying it any longer. He had found out through the private detective he had hired that Sierra and Paul had filed for divorce, and that Paul was moving without Sierra. There was suddenly nothing stopping him from going to the woman that he loved.
He knew then that he had to put aside his worries that he wasn’t good enough for her or that she didn’t want him anymore, and lay it all on the line with Sierra. He knew that he would live the rest of his life wondering if he didn’t go to her.
So he found a moderately priced four bedroom house in the town where Sierra lived. He was excited to hear that she was working as a preschool teacher. The days seemed endless as he planned his meeting with her. It seemed like he planned the smallest detail of his simple trip to her home over and over, but he was still so nervous by the time he actually stood on her doorstep that he felt as if he was going to have a panic attack.
Kimber
Kimber made the decision of where she was going to move on the day after Luke called to tell her that he was moving to be near Sierra. Somehow it seemed easier to choose once the decision was cemented to move. She had a smile on her face as she spoke to the developer that wanted to purchase her bookstore. She had even been lucky enough to find a house that suited her needs perfectly in a town that she liked.
It felt good to make plans when such a short time ago she had dreaded almost everything she’d had to look forward to in the upcoming days. She even tried to be happy for Luke, because she supposed he saw his reunion with Sierra as the beginning of the rest of his life. But it was more than a little hard to be quite that happy for him.
Relationships were the last thing on Kimber’s mind as she planned her move, though Paul, who by a twist of fate was at that moment on his way with his son in tow to his new home in the exact town Kimber had decided to move her family to,
had felt his thoughts drifting uncomfortably to his new lack of a relationship more and more as the days passed.
Paul
The drive to their new home was long and boring for Paul. Nathan slept most of the way and he wouldn’t have been able to have a real conversation with his son anyway since he had the vocabulary of a four year old. Paul had found himself missing adult companionship more and more.
On top of that, he was afraid that he would never be able to bond with Nathan in the same easy, natural way that Sierra seemed to bond with him. It was pathetic to him that one of the main reasons that Paul knew he needed a woman by his side was so he wouldn’t feel like such an ass when it came to caring for his son, but it was as true as it was sad.
His thoughts drifted to Kimber more than once on the long drive. He supposed that it made sense in a way. He hadn’t had a lot of sex partners and what he had shared with her had definitely been memorable. They were even in the same boat in a way, since she and Luke were getting divorced. He let himself fantasize about making love to her, wondering if it were possible for the joining of their bodies to be as perfect the second time as it had been the first. It seemed safe for him to fantasize about Kimber at least. He was sure that it wasn’t likely he would see her again. Though he had a distant hope that he would see her beautiful blue eyes light up for him if they were to meet again.
Sierra
Sierra’s spirits were low that night as she sat in her empty house. She had hoped that the house would be sold by the time Paul left, but it was beginning to look as if the house might not sell at all. They had dropped their asking price on the advice of what Sierra considered to be their overpaid real estate agent, but Paul was convinced that they wouldn’t make any money if they were to take an amount that was any lower than their current asking price. She half hated the big house as she wondered if there would ever be more children to fill the empty bedrooms.
She wondered why she was bothering to think about children when her marriage was ending, but it was hard not to on a night like this. She was depressed because Paul had left, but she knew that it was the right thing for him to do. She also knew that it was the right thing for her to stay, though she certainly dreaded the thought of being in the house alone when Nathan was with his father.
She had decided to get drunk when there was a knock at the door. She briefly wondered who it was, but all rational thought was blown out of her head as she opened the door and saw the man standing on her doorstep. She swallowed hard, suddenly at a loss for words.
Luke gave her an easy smile. “Hello beautiful.”
Sierra stepped back so that he could enter the house, her heart pounding in her chest as she shut the door behind them. “Hi.”
He chuckled. “Are you not happy to see me?”
She cleared her throat. “Of course I’m happy to see you Luke, but what are you doing here?”
He reached for her hand. “I can’t say that I was really sorry to hear about your divorce, but at the same time.” He gave her an easy grin. “I can’t say that I was too broken up about it either.”
Sierra made a face at him. “Thanks Luke. We proved that we couldn’t make either of our marriages work. Big win for us huh?”
Luke chuckled. “Darlin’ it’s even harder to make a marriage work when you married the wrong person.” His face softened as he twined his fingers through hers. “We managed to create three beautiful children in the process, but we both know that neither of us married the right people. I love you Sie, and with as much as divorce sucks, there’s no reason for us to have to be apart anymore. I mean if you want to be with me.”
“Oh Luke.”
Sierra put her head on Luke’s chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. It felt so right to be in his arms, but at the same time she wondered if they could really make things work after all this time, especially with their exes and three children involved. A part of her still wanted to jump in with both feet right then though. Her body was reminding her of its very apparent attraction to Luke. He looked even more handsome than he had the last time she had seen him, and he had looked so good then that the thought had passed through her head for a split second that she’d hoped the baby was Paul’s.
Sierra tried not to let her hormones overwhelm her as she pulled back and looked into the eyes of her first love. “Luke, why did you and Kimber get divorced?”
Luke sighed. “I did something that I’m not proud of and it came back to bite me in the ass.”
Sierra raised an eyebrow. “You cheated on Kimber?”
“It really was something I’m not proud of Sie, even worse than the way I was living before I talked your sexy as hell seventeen year old self into coming to my party.”
“Luke, I thought you’d know by now that if there’s anyone that you really can talk to about anything, it’s me. I’ve done a lot in my life that I’m not proud of, but I know that I could tell you about any of it without you automatically thinking I’m a terrible person just because I did something that was stupid or that hurt someone else. I’ll tell you what I did that broke up my marriage.” She gave him a grin, though it felt more than a little weak.
Luke brushed a kiss against her forehead. “That wasn’t much of a smile beautiful. Have you eaten? I could cook something or we can order in. My treat.”
Sierra rolled her eyes. “I have money Luke. I even have a job now and everything.”
“There’s my girl. I could tell as soon as I looked at you that your divorce hasn’t been easy on you Sie. It’s hard even if you know that it’s the right thing to do and it’s even harder when there are children involved. It was hell for me to tell Kimber that I was moving here to be close to you.”
Sierra sighed. “I’m sure Paul will love hearing that you’re here. It’ll just prove to him that he was right all along. He told me that he thought I was always comparing him to you. And I think he was right. I had a dream before we got married that I ran out of my wedding to Paul to be with you. And if you had been single and would have shown up, there probably would have been a damned good chance that I would have left with you.”
Luke smiled. “Just a good chance huh?”
“Hello ego, is Luke at home?”
Luke chuckled. “I love you Sierra.”
“I love you too. I’m glad you’re here, but with as much of me that thinks that this is the best possible thing that could have happened, there’s also a part of me that thinks that we’re just fooling ourselves and have been for years. We were young and immature and neither of us knew what we really wanted. Even if we had gotten married, we might not have stayed married. I was dreading marriage when I married Paul, but it didn’t really seem like a big change since we had lived together for a while before then. I might have run away from you at the altar.”
He offered her an amused smile. “You think so huh?”
“I don’t know. We’ll never know so it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m sorry I’m in a shitty mood Luke.”
“Wanna smoke a joint?”
“You’re kidding right?”
“No. That wasn’t fun to explain to Kimber either, but smoking weed helps me get creative sometimes. I’m trying to settle into my new place, and I feel like I can use all the help I can get. My divorce has been pretty rough too. I spilled my guts to Kimber about pretty much everything, and she definitely wasn’t happy about a lot of what she heard. But at least I was lucky in the fact that I married a damned good woman. Smoke with me beautiful. I have a cigarette too if you want one.”
Sierra made a face. “Yuck. No. I tried to smoke a cigarette six months ago when I was drunk and it tasted so terrible that I know I’ll never smoke one again. I haven’t smoked weed since college. Paul would have freaked out if he’d have found out I was smoking weed.”
“How did you of all people end up marrying such a tight ass?”
“I’m not going to say anything bad about Kimber because I don’t really know her and other than the fact that she was dumb enough t
o screw Paul without protection, she seems like a decent enough person. Could you please refrain from talking shit about Paul? He may have driven me crazy sometimes, but I did love him. Do love him. Fuck it. Get your pot Luke. Might as well get stoned.”
Luke grinned. “We’ll get stoned, eat dinner, get stoned again, have a drink if you want. We can talk about anything and everything. I’d love to stay with you tonight Sie. You look like you need someone to put their arms around you and tell you that everything is going to be okay.”
“Sometimes that’s hard to see Luke.”
“I know baby.”
He squeezed her hand briefly and then let go, turning to rummage in his pocket. He pulled out a baggie and gave her a triumphant grin. “Mary Jane to the rescue.”
Sierra rolled her eyes. “Ha ha. Aren’t you too old to be getting stoned, father of two?”
“You’re never too old to get stoned, mother of one.” He winked at her. “I’m sure I could be persuaded to help you change that number if you wanted. If you’ll recall, I’m not afraid to remind a pregnant woman that she’s beautiful, especially if it’s my child that she’s carrying.”
A blush rose to her cheeks. “Uh huh.”
“I’m not.”
Luke lit the joint, took a drag and then passed it to her. Sierra racked her brain to locate her joint smoking skills before she took her drag. She saw that Luke certainly hadn’t forgotten his joint smoking skills as she passed the joint back to him. They were both soon pleasantly stoned and Sierra found that it was all too easy to talk to Luke about anything.
Luke
Luke had been sure he was going to have a panic attack as he stood on Sierra’s doorstep, waiting for her to answer his knock at the door. And she had looked so down when she’d opened the door that he had wanted to take her into his arms and carry her to the nearest bedroom and make love to her until she knew that all was right with the world, or at least that it would be again.
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 30
