Accidents Happen (Forever Happens Book 1)
Page 17
“Well, that hasn’t changed.” Cal laughed and then took a drink from his cup.
“What’s that?” I asked after I swallowed another sip.
“You can’t live without coffee in the morning,” he teased, his eyes sparkling by his comment.
“I can’t?”
“No. Even Lana knows you’re not happy without it. She’s dragged you out a couple of times, making sure to get you a cup before even speaking.”
“Huh.” The remark flew out of my mouth as I tried to picture if I’d been miserable without it all week. I hadn’t thought so. “I wonder if my old habits died with my amnesia,” I joked—well, halfway joked since it seemed to be true. I hadn’t felt like I had to have coffee to get through my day. “Maybe that’s one of the good things that came from my amnesia.”
“At least your optimism didn’t fade.” He winked and gave me a nice deep kiss. After pulling back, he sipped from his coffee again and then asked, “So, what’s first on our to-do list today?”
“Well, we need to have my locks changed, see if we can find my old car, and…” I pulled my brows in as I thought about it more. “How would I find out if I had an attorney file my divorce?”
“When I pulled it up, it was listed on there.”
“You saw my filing?” Nerves shot through me and my stomach rolled. Was it because I hadn’t told him I was married to begin with?
“Uh, yeah.” He looked at his coffee cup as if it needed to be inspected. “After I found out you were married, I wanted to find out for how long. Since it didn’t add up with Lana either, I decided to check the records and see for myself. That’s how I found out you were divorcing John.”
“Oh.” Now added to my silly reasons for feeling awkward, seeing Cal being a hero mixed my emotions all together. “Do you…” I shifted uncomfortably in the bed and then put my hair behind my ear. “…still have the filing?”
“I printed it out in case you needed to see it. Your attorney’s name is on there. I’m thinking you might want to give him a call?”
I nodded as I watched Cal get off the bed and leave the room. Naked. I guess he had the same sense of comfort of our old routine. Staring at the cup in my hand, I tried to keep calm. Knowing that John had cheated on me, I was sure that had to be the grounds for divorcing him, but what if there was some other reason? My naked boyfriend was now going to show me the papers for divorce that I had filed. And that small fact hadn’t escaped me. I was probably at fault for our divorce too.
Leaning over, I snapped up his cotton T-shirt and slipped it over my head. He might feel that free around me, but I wasn’t there yet.
Cal returned to the room with printed papers in his hand. Of course, I wasn’t staring at the paperwork he was handing me, and only really noticed said papers when he sat on the bed, blocking my sight of what I was looking at. With his eyes averted, he handed them to me.
Pulling the covers to my waist, I took the papers and placed them on my lap, watching as Cal slipped his boxer briefs back on.
Cal kept his back to me, leaning forward, his arms resting on his thighs. Was he giving me privacy?
Shifting my thoughts, I began to read the words in front of me, ignoring all the legal mumbo jumbo and getting down to the actual reasons. It seemed pretty straightforward to me: the filing stated that he had cheated on me and that I had received…what?
My head turned toward Cal, even though he wasn’t looking at me. “I have a prenup agreement, and according to that, I receive ten thousand for every year married?” I sat there stunned, although thinking I wanted to be out of the relationship. “So why, then, isn’t he signing the papers?”
Cal lifted his head and turned toward me. “Because he wants you back, Andi. At least that’s my guess. Even more so now that he thinks you might be carrying his child.”
I flipped back to the first page to check the date. “Cal, this is exactly two months before my accident. When…when did you and I start dating?”
Cal looked at me and shook his head. “Andi, I’ve been going over that in my head. You filed the day before we hit it off—the day before you walked into The Freckled Maiden.”
“Well, that’s good, right? It means I wasn’t trying to deceive you. I really was divorcing?” I phrased it as a question because it still wasn’t making much sense to me. I’d filed exactly two months before my accident. “I wonder what was in the prenup.”
“Let’s contact your attorney. He had to have that when he filed.” Cal had been staring at his coffee as if it were the most important object in the world. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how awkward the whole situation must have been for him.
Placing the papers down, I scooted my body close to his and placed my hand on his back. He gave me a lopsided grin, but didn’t look right at me.
He placed his cup on the nightstand and then reached for me, pulling me tight to his body. His soothing tone had put me at ease as I relaxed into his arms. He kissed my lips, running his hand over my stomach and resting it over the place our baby was growing. “This has to be my child.” His brows pulled in as his face glazed with a troubled expression.
“What?” Why did that strike complete panic in me? What if I had been with John right before? Was that even possible?
He shook his head and gave me a half smile. “Nothing.” He kissed me again. “Nothing at all.”
I hoped he meant that, because something about the way the divorce filing was written had seemed off. It was missing some sort of information, or it seemed as if I’d given up and wanted out of the marriage, taking that prenup at its face value. I really needed to speak with my attorney and find out what else was being done.
Twenty-Seven
Andi
“Hello, this is Mrs. Vassl—“
“Andi!” The woman on the other end interrupted me. Wishing I remembered her, I felt my heart stutter. “Honey! Where have you been?” She had a sweet southern accent, and her tone was so sincere—as if we were old friends.
“I—well, actually, I was in a car accident and—“
I heard her gasp and then she said, “Nooo. Oh my word! Are you all right?”
Smiling at how sympathetic and overly sweet she was, I found that it actually made it a little easier to tell her. “Actually, no. I have amnesia and I’ve been trying to figure—“
“Amnesia? Like in the movies?”
I refrained from rolling my eyes—well, not that she could see if I did or not, but found myself nodding my head as if I had to convince her. “Yes, actually, exactly like that. I…John told me we were working out our marriage—“
“He did what?” Her anger was palpable, and I heard her start to yell something after a muffled sound as if she’d covered the phone. “Mr. Hartley needs to see you right away, he said. He’s gotta be in court in a little bit. Can you make it here this afternoon?”
“Yes, yes, of course. I was hoping I could meet with him today.”
“Well, we’ll get you right in here, sweetheart. I’ll see you at one?”
“Yes, I’ll be there. Thank you so much.”
“Of course, Andi. Anything for you. How’s your momma?”
I was about to answer when she broke in again.
“Oh my word. It’s like you and your momma both have forgotten the past. You with amnesia and her with Alzheimer’s. Oh, lord. That’s gotta be the worst.” I could hear the other phone lines ringing, and that’s when she added, “Andi, I gotta go. We’ll chat more when you get here at one, hon. See you soon!”
I stared at the phone, now sounding out a dial tone, trying to catch up with the conversation still rattling in my head. She knew my mom?
Cal sat at the bar counter, staring at his laptop. There was no way he had ignored my call. His eyes flicked to mine, and I could see the laughter in them.
“Well, that was an odd conversation.” I hung my head and walked toward him.
Laughing, he said, “It sounded a little one-sided.”
“Well, at le
ast I have an appointment at one.”
He smirked, sitting back and folding his hands behind his head. “That was the point.”
My eyes scanned the kitchen. The stainless steel appliances and modern cabinets with handles of the same steel held some sort of memory to them. I walked a few feet and ran my hand along the steel countertop. Sleek, the whole kitchen was, yet the wood cabinets, although contemporary, still gave it a warm feeling. I placed both hands on the counter and leaned forward, looking over to the living area. My heart throbbed inside my chest and every nerve ending in me heated. I spun around and hopped up on the counter, gazing over at Cal.
“We fucked here.” The statement flew out of my mouth before I had a chance to reword it. My breasts felt full, while my nipples hardened under the lace of my bra. The ocean scent from the nearby candle wafted to my senses and I turned to grab it, inhaling deeply.
“You bought that for me,” Cal said as he walked over to me. His steps were slow, but his eyes were hooded. The moment he stepped near me, the feel of his hands on my thighs heightened every feeling I’d been having. He spread my legs, grabbing my ass and pulling me toward him. The feel of his hard cock beneath his jeans made my body clench in desire. “And yes, we fucked here.” He smirked as he took my mouth with his while I wrapped my arms around him.
Pulling back slightly, he grinned. “Matter of fact, you wore this same blouse.” He unbuttoned each button one by one, slowly.
“What about getting to work?” I grinned as his lips covered my neck with nips of sweet kisses. He had said he wanted to run by his office to take care of a few things.
“We’ll head there in a bit. It wouldn’t be right not to help you bring back some of those memories.” His lips grazed against my neck, and I moaned the moment his hand cupped my breast.
And he did help. Oh did he ever.
Considering Cal still had to work, since his full-time job wasn’t helping me try to remember my past—although at times it seemed to be—we headed toward his worksite.
Gravel crunching under the tires made me smile. I hadn’t realized it at first, but there was a comforting feeling that went with that strange noise. I felt my heart stop when I looked up from my notebook. It was familiar—not in a sense that I actually remembered being there, but the smells and sounds of the construction site outside the window gave me an odd sense of familiarity.
Cal pulled up to the trailer building, and I watched a couple of workers start to come toward his truck. Of course I had only enough time to put the cap on my pen and slide my journal into my purse by the time my door was pulled open.
“Why are you laughing?” Cal asked as he helped me out of the truck. My flats hit the gravel and a spray of gray dust immediately dirtied them. I should have worn my sneakers, but I wanted to look a little nicer going to my attorney’s office.
“You.” I stretched onto my tiptoes and kissed his chin. “Did I ever open a door with you around?”
Cal’s cheeks flushed, making me laugh. He looked around and suddenly straightened up as a man approached us. His voice deepened too. “Hey, Derek. How’s everything going?”
“Hey, boss.” The young man turned to me and smiled. “Hey, Andi.”
I smiled back and nodded, knowing I didn’t feel like asking who he was and going through the whole explanation of my amnesia.
“Good. It looks like it’s going to run on schedule. We had a small problem with…”
They continued discussing the construction and what needed to be done as I meandered to the side of the trailer right outside of the construction area. All the red and yellow hats running around made me realize I should stop where I was, outside of the actual construction site. It was a cool day, and even though the smell in the air was of concrete and the city itself, the scent seemed familiar and maybe even a little comforting.
My sight diverted to the flash of orange hard hat that was running toward me. It wasn’t the hat I was staring at, though, and I blushed when I realized I had been staring at the man’s broad chest. His shirt seemed entirely too small for him, and I was pretty sure that was on purpose—especially when I met his green eyes and he smiled like he knew my sight had lingered too long on that area.
“Andi!”
He knew my name, and I realized like before, it could have been because I’d come around there with Cal. At least that was what I hoped, because if I’d also had a fling with this guy, I would need to evaluate what the hell kind of woman I was before.
I pressed a smile and nodded, hoping not to get into too heavy of a conversation with him.
“Have you heard back from Sarina yet?”
Sarina? I hadn’t heard anyone else mention her name except for Mallory, and I quickly remembered what she had said about her. I guess this man fit her profile of boy toys, most definitely.
“No, I haven’t.” It was the truth, although I wasn’t sure if I had before my accident.
“Well, if she calls, tell her I’ve been thinking about her. I can’t imagine doing what she’s doing.”
I looked at him quizzically and was about to ask him what he’d meant by that. Did he know how she hooked up with random men all across Europe?
“Trevor! Get back to work!” the guy who was chatting with Cal yelled out.
I turned to see Cal coming toward me as Trevor waved to me and started running back to where he was working before.
Cal’s strong hands dug into my shoulders, massaging them as if he knew the right way to make me feel better. “Anything?” His question was simple, and usually when I heard it being asked, it would annoy me out of frustration that nothing was coming back to me.
Yet that time I could honestly answer, “Mostly feelings. The smells and the sounds are familiar.”
Cal chuckled. “The smells, huh? It’s probably because it’s a bunch of guys.”
I laughed as I turned toward him. He nodded his head toward the entrance to the trailer, and I followed his lead as he grabbed my hand.
“Hey, Madge.”
The woman seated at the desk briefly looked up at him from behind her glasses. Her gray hair pulled back to a loose ponytail, her lilac cotton sweater hung over her shoulders.
“Cal.” Her voice was strong, so unlike the image she portrayed. “You have some papers to sign. They’re on your desk.” Her eyes flitted to me. “Well, Andi. Look at you!” And that’s the voice I’d expected to hear from her—older and kindly. I smiled immediately. She stood up and came around her desk and toward me, her arms stretched out.
Glancing at Cal, I hugged her back. Cal gave me nothing except a smile as he headed through the doorway leading to the other room.
“Oh, Andi. I heard all the things that have happened to you. Are you all right?”
Smiling, I nodded. “Yes, thank you for asking. I’m doing okay.”
She held my hands and smiled up at me. “Well, good. I’m glad he found you and you’re safe. He was a wreck. Let’s say things around here were all kinds of crazy.”
“That sure has been what it’s felt like to me.” I laughed and then gave her a warm smile as she patted my hand.
“Well, I won’t keep you from him.”
“Thank you,” I said as I squeezed her hand and turned toward what I assumed to be Cal’s office. There was a certain relief from not having to explain anything to her, but then again, I wasn’t exactly sure what she knew of my situation.
When I walked in, there was a large, worn desk facing me. Cal stood behind it reviewing papers and briefly looked up at me. The entire office appeared dark, with its wood paneling, and the faded, worn, burgundy carpet wasn’t helping the dreary appearance either.
“You wanted to redo this place. Judging by your expression, you still feel the same.”
I glanced over and noticed Cal’s smirk before he looked back down to flipping through his papers.
Smiling, I realized I must have been sizing it up, and I had had thoughts about ripping everything out of there and starting over.
Was John out looking for me? Had he been as frantic as Cal had been? Did I care? There were several fleeting moments when I did. It wasn’t that John hadn’t cared for me. It was obvious he had, since he had gone through such great lengths to keep up with all the lies to fool me. What troubled me was wondering how long he was going to keep up the charade? How did he think he would be able to keep all of that from me for so long?
“You’re going to draw blood if you keep biting that lip.” Cal broke my thoughts from across the room. He was sitting and reviewing more papers, but glanced up at me.
Quickly, I released my bottom lip from the tug of my teeth. I hadn’t even realized I’d been doing that, but he was right. A small tinge of copper filled my mouth. My pen had been flying off the page, and when I reviewed what I had written, I slammed the notebook shut. My whole life was now a book of questions.
Clicking my phone on, I decided to contact the detective—only to receive his voicemail. After leaving a brief message, I sat back on the couch, unsure of what to do next.
“Give me a few more moments and we’ll head over to your attorney’s office.”
“Please take your time. I’m sorry you’ve missed so much work over all this nonsense.”
“Nonsense?” Cal stood up and walked to me, crouching down next to me. “Andi, I was a wreck looking for you. I want to help you figure it all out.”
“And find out why I kept my impending divorce from you?” I gave him a teasing smile, even though the subject wasn’t a laughing matter at all.
A side of his mouth quirked up, and I was relieved he took it the same way. “That too.” As he leaned over, the feel of his kiss was soft and sweet, lingering even after he got back up to get back to his work.