by Maci Dillon
“Enjoy your family. I’ll have our attorney contact you to finalize the divorce and settlement. Take anything you want, have it all, I don’t care. I want you out of my life. For good. Both of you.”
Chapter Sixteen
The Unknown
“And we danced, on the brink of an unknown future, to an echo from a vanished past.” ~ John Wyndham
CHLOE
“It’s been five days already, and he’s not even called.” I swallowed like a champ and slammed the glass upside down on the table.
“Yeah, we should steady up the flow of these shots, Chloe. Whatcha think?” Miah played mother hen tonight while Kassidy and Raven had gone rogue with the cocktails.
Hanging out at our local Thursday night haunt, all four of us were officially on holiday until the new year. Tomorrow was reserved solely for nursing our hangovers.
“You’ve texted each other constantly. It’s not like he’s ghosting you,” Kassidy piped up.
“Ugh, I’m being a crybaby, but I miss him.” Slurring my words this early in the night was not a good thing. As if reading my mind, Piper placed a jug of water and four glasses in the center of the table.
“You survived ten years apart, what’s another few weeks?”
True. Christmas is closing in, and he promised to be here.
“Long-distance relationships suck balls,” I added after I sculled a glass of water and cracked open a beer.
“All relationships suck balls,” Raven stated as she raised her cocktail.
“I second that,” Kassidy added and raised her drink to Raven’s. “Hey, didn’t we all agree casual was the way to go, no interfering with our careers? We are girl bosses not to be messed with.”
Miah high-fived Kassidy. “Exactly.”
“I hate you all.” Worst wing bitches ever.
Our favorite juke box song belted out of the stereo system, and men were forgotten entirely.
***
Friday passed in the expected hungover state, which led into Saturday, and I still hadn’t talked to Will on the phone. He promised to call when a plan was in place, or he had an update.
Will was intent on uprooting his life and relocating before we spent the night together. Plans were dependent on the path taken with Amanda. All of this had fallen so perfectly into place as if the love gods had rooted for us the entire time.
But patience was not my strong suit.
I hated not knowing. I liked to have a plan, a distinct how to a road map with every perceivable bump included.
How else would I manage my growing expectations?
When Will messaged the day after we said goodbye in Brisbane, he mentioned he’d spoken with Amanda but provided no further details. I couldn’t help but suspect there was something he wasn’t telling me.
I reminded myself of his promise never to give up on us and believed my patience would be rewarded in the end.
And it was.
A few nights later, he called. I was lying in bed reading when my phone danced around on the covers beside me.
Will’s face flashed on the screen, and any concerns I had immediately disappeared in exchange for the guilt of doubting him.
“All wheels are in motion,” he told me when I queried how the plans were coming along.
“Martha, my office manager, has agreed to continue working with me from her home office, answering calls and looking after the business essentials. Also, I managed to find an agency to help me find a freelancer well-equipped to pump out all the contracts and legal documents we require.”
Business arrangements were one of the hurdles he had to overcome to move to the coast. The other was his wife.
“So this will enable you to work from wherever you are?” I stated excitedly.
“Without a doubt. Technology makes everything more manageable from a distance. I generally only travel for business now if the client requests me on site, or I need to assess the property in person.”
Silently, I fist-pumped the air. My body was buzzed, and my mind was wired.
I wanted to ask where he intended to live, but I hoped he would give up the information freely.
“And what about Amanda? What happened when you visited her?”
My breathing slowed. Not because I was afraid of what he was going to say, but once we had this discussion, everything would be more final.
There was a brief pause.
“Will, what is it?”
“I hoped to discuss this with you in person, Chloe, but I want you to be aware of everything. No secrets between us, no withholding information from each other. That was never us, and I don’t want it to change.”
I didn’t like where this was going.
“I showed up at the house where Amanda had been staying.”
Another pause.
My chest pumped double-time.
“You mentioned she was on the north coast at her mother’s holiday home,” I prompted.
“She had tried to call before I arrived, multiple times. I ignored the calls and drove directly to the house. I wanted to tell her we were over and explain you and I were committed to giving each other a second chance.”
“For fuck’s sake, Will, please spit it out already,” I said and propped myself up in bed with a few pillows.
He sighed. “Let’s say it wasn’t at all what I expected. I arrived to find her with a newborn baby.”
My whole body froze at the mention of a baby. Instantly, I was reminded of our baby. The day we agreed to give our relationship a second chance, while we walked around the city catching each other up on the past ten years, I told him about my miscarriage. It pained me to do so, but we couldn’t start over with secrets between us.
Would it be possible to move forward together if there was a baby involved?
The walls were beginning to crumble around me, the floors breaking apart beneath me.
“Before you go getting any ideas in your head, Chloe, the baby is not mine. One thousand percent. I haven’t seen Amanda since she left our house over ten months ago, and we hadn’t slept together for at least six months before then.”
The words rushed out of his mouth, and it took a second for me to grasp what he was saying.
He is not the father.
Will did not have a baby with Amanda.
“Chloe, did you hear what I said?”
“Yes, yes,” I whispered.
Over the next half hour, Will recounted his visit with Amanda until I understood everything he did about the situation. The news saddened me. I was upset for him and angry at her for betraying him. Despite everything, he never cheated on her.
Will, on the other hand, is convinced it’s a blessing in disguise.
He cut all ties with her and never has to worry about her showing up in his life again.
Our silver lining.
They had already consulted with a solicitor to manage their divorce, and Amanda agreed on splitting the assets the way Will suggested.
Our happily ever after was coming together.
My heart was filled with happiness.
We made plans for the holidays and continued to talk at least once a day on FaceTime.
While there was still no talk of when Will might move down permanently, I had hope. It was only early days.
For now, I focused on seeing him on Christmas Eve.
Chapter Seventeen
Full of Surprises
“We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery.” ~ H. G. Wells
CHLOE
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I yelled. I scrambled out of bed to round up the troops, pulled on my Eeyore cotton sleep shorts, and threw on a tank top I found on my floor. I barged into the kitchen, a force to be reckoned with.
“They canceled our fucking penthouse booking. The day before we’re due to arrive.” Panic mode set in, my chest tightened, and my breathing became labored. I clutched at my chest and took in a few deep breaths.<
br />
“Oh?” Piper popped her head up at my yelling and pulled her reading glasses down her nose so she looked over the frame at me.
“Oh? What do you mean, oh? Am I the only one alarmed at the fact we now have nowhere to spend the holidays?”
Raven walked in from the balcony.
“Aren’t you the one who always says things happen for a reason?”
I stared at my friends like they’d all lost their fucking minds.
Mine held on by only a few threads at this point.
Kassidy pounded down the hallway in search of coffee. It was late in the morning for her.
“OMG, did you go out and get laid last night? You look like ass,” I joked. She side-eyed me with contempt.
What are friends for if not to give early morning compliments like this?
“A real lady never tells.” She smirks. “Not before coffee, anyhow.” Flicking the switch on the kettle, she held up a cup in my direction.
“Abso-fuckin-lutely. Please. Give me all the caffeine and top it with a few nips of rum for safe measure.”
“What’s with all the drama, anyway? What did I miss?”
“I woke to an email advising our penthouse reservation has been canceled due to a double-booking. It’s the best damn penthouse on the coast.” In our price range, anyway.
This late in the race, we wouldn’t even find a piece of dirt to roll our swags out on, let alone another room to fit all five of us.
We booked the penthouse for ten days from Christmas Eve. Will and I would have a night together before Raven, Kassidy, and Miah arrived. They would leave on Boxing Day, and we would have the week to ourselves. On New Year’s Eve, the others would join us for a cocktail party.
It was too early in the day to feel this deflated.
“Sure sucks balls.” Kassidy was still half asleep and concentrating on her next caffeine hit, but Raven and Piper? I had no clue why they didn’t view this as any less than an absolute clusterfuck.
I stood with my hands on my hips and scanned the apartment. Piper continued to read one of her smut novels, Raven soaked up the morning sun and the ocean view from the balcony while Kassidy stared blankly at the jug, watching it boil.
What the fuck was going on here?
“Okay, great. Christmas is canceled. Everyone happy now?” I blurted out.
Raven laughed. She fucking laughed.
She entered the dining room and chuckled away like a fucking schoolgirl on crack.
“Chill out, baby cakes. There has obviously been an error. Go get dressed, and we’ll take a drive over there to give ‘em some lip and sort it out.”
Finally, my friend has arrived.
“Good idea. I’ll send them an email to warn them we’re coming.”
“Suit yourself. I have a few things to do this morning so let’s leave here within the hour?”
“Sure.”
Thanking Kassidy for the coffee, we both sat at the breakfast bar on our phones. I responded to the email with my best professional voice and requested a review of the situation. I may have also pleaded with them to choose us.
Okay, I begged.
Desperately.
***
“I’m sorry, but it’s not good enough. We even paid in full when we booked.”
The longer I stood glaring at the receptionist, the more irritated I became.
“I understand, Miss Lee, and we assure you, your money will be refunded in full.”
I seek help from Raven, pulled her toward me, and snapped her attention away from her phone. “What the hell are you doing on your phone? You’re supposed help me resolve this bullshit matter.”
“Sorry.”
The reception phone rang, and the woman dived on it, clearly happy for the opportunity to escape this situation.
“May we please speak with your manager?” I requested when the call ended.
The middle-aged woman smiled like she’d popped a sour candy into her mouth.
“The owner of the penthouse suite is currently in the building. If you’d like to speak to him directly, I will arrange it for you.”
Now she tells me. This woman was as disinterested in my dilemma as my friends were.
Surely, this was not happening. This was not my reality.
“Please, it would be appreciated. Thank you.” I shared my most poignant smile of the day with her.
She reached for the phone and mumbled under her breath. At this point, I was seething. Raven clutched my upper arm to diffuse my focus.
“Hello, sir. The guest whose reservation of your suite was canceled today would like to discuss the situation with you. Yes, sir, I’ll send her up now.”
When she hung up the receiver, her lips curled into a bittersweet smile as she handed me the swipe card. “Straight to the top,” she directed and pointed toward the elevator across the lobby.
This place is like the Grinch’s palace. No fucking Christmas cheer was found anywhere. My holiday spirit had weakened, cracks appeared, and patience threatened to burst through them.
Almost at the elevator, Raven lagged behind, buried in her phone again.
Seriously?
“Raven,” I whisper yelled and summoned her with my hands.
She glanced up in surprise. “Oh, right behind you,” she answered and tucked her attention-seeking device in the pocket of her dress.
The elevator pinged, and the doors opened. We were already inside the penthouse itself. Wow.
The view was spectacular. I had dreamed of staying here for years.
The view through the floor-to-ceiling windows expanded across the wraparound balcony and out over the golden sands and crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean.
Heaven.
Raven pushed me out of the elevator as the doors began to close on us.
The fuck?
I turned around to cast her a what-the-fuck glare, and she grinned like a fucking cloud nine Care Bear from inside the elevator. With a parting wave, the doors closed, and the cart began its descent.
My first thought was, “I’m gonna end up on a milk carton.”
This day couldn’t get any fucking worse.
“Hello, little one.”
My heels spun on the slate tiles in the direction of his voice.
“Will?” I shrieked.
In a bright-colored pair of boardshorts, naked from the hips up, he stood before and held an envelope and bottle of bubbly.
I ran to him and launched myself into his arms. “What the fuck, Will? How?”
Luckily, his reaction time was quick enough to place the items on the countertop because I wasn’t slowing down.
Trust me. This was no dirty-dancing move. There was nothing elegant or sexy about it. My only goal was to be wrapped up safely in his arms.
I plowed into him so hard my boobs almost snapped off and rolled across the room. But fuck if I cared.
I flung my arms around his neck and let him take all my weight as he whisked me off the floor.
Our lips collided in a desperate kiss as if our next breath was powered by the lust-fueled energy created by our lips.
Seconds later, Will threw me down on the enormous leather lounge. “Welcome home, little one,” he panted and slipped his hand beneath my top, pushing it over my head.
He growled at the sight of my breasts and released them from their confines with a talented flick of the front clip.
Best. Booby. Trap. Ever.
I was quick to strip him of his shorts while he lavished my tits. “I’ve missed you so fucking much,” he moaned while he sucked and nibbled my nipples.
His free hand worked my skirt up to my waist, and he let out a guttural moan as he pushed my panties to the side to run his finger through my wetness.
“You’re dripping wet, baby.”
Will sat back momentarily and kneeled to rip my thong down my legs. I followed his gaze, and his eyes darkened. Fuck! I want to be this man’s only meal for all eternity.
As he dropped his head, he inha
led deeply and licked me slowly from top to bottom and back again and traced a figure eight over my clit until my body shuddered around him. I pushed his head down and secured him between my thighs. Moments later, I rode his face and chased my next climax.
I quivered beneath him, and my mind surged. This was going to be my life for the next ten fucking days.
Merry-fucking-Christmas to me.
“Oh fuck!” My eyes fell back in my head as the ascent to carnal pleasure commenced again.
“Little one, I fucking need your pussy wrapped around me.” He stalked up and over my body until the head of his cock was rubbing my clit.
“Yes, Will. I need you, too. Always need you.”
He kissed me again.
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that, beautiful.”
Will pushed inside of me, and euphoria took over.
***
Once our breathing returned to normal, Will proposed to give me a tour of our home.
Home.
“Wait, does this mean...” I glanced around the suite and collected my thoughts. “Was this all a ploy to get me down here because you arrived earlier than expected? Our reservation hasn’t truly been canceled, has it?” I queried.
Pieces of the puzzled morning slowly fell into place in my mind.
My brain was a fog of confusion and sexual satisfaction.
Will laughed at me as he pulled on his shorts. I stood up and rolled my skirt down my thighs about to fix my girls back into my bra.
“There’s no need for clothes, is there?” Will smiled wickedly.
He’s right. We’re sky-high on the Gold Coast, not a soul in sight. I didn’t bother to find my thong and tossed my bra to the side. I did throw on my tank top, though, only because I needed to focus, and with both of us being naked, it would be an impossible feat.
“So, this is home for the next ten days, yeah?” He still hadn’t answered my question.
Will placed his fingers over my lips, silencing me.
“Before I explain, let me give you the grand tour.”
I nodded and willed him to lead me anywhere he wanted to go.
