by Donna Hill
“Listen to me. I can give you anything you want. Anything!”
“Anything but you, Terrance. Nothing has changed, least of all you. You’re still the same self-centered, egotistical man I knew twenty-odd years ago. The great reconciliation would have won you all the votes you needed. You knew that when you sought me out.” She tossed her head back and laughed an empty, nasty sound. She looked him square in the eye. “Not with my help.” She pushed back from the table. “Tomorrow morning, I’m going into town to the court office and file the papers. Don’t even try to stop it or I’ll make sure that everyone who cares will know what you tried to pull…and how you failed. I wonder what your voters will think of you then.” She spun away.
Terrance leaped up. “You owe me!”
Ann Marie whirled toward him, her face a hard mask of determination, each word laid out one by one like a poker player with the winning hand. “I don’t owe you shit!” She stormed inside, slamming the door so hard it rattled on its hinges.
She ran up to her room and started tossing her belonging in her suitcases as fast as her hands could move. She had to get out of there before she exploded. Idiot. You stupid fool. You should have known better. But once again, you let that thing that he does to your heart and body cloud your mind. It was over now. Finally and forever over.
Ann Marie spent the next week making sure that all the paperwork was properly filed and that Terrance was officially served. The lawyer she’d secured assured her that he would handle everything in her absence. Since she was not interested in any property and there were no custody issues, he was confident that the process would now be a speedy one.
With that behind her Ann Marie prepared to go home. It had taken her the better part of her adult life to finally see and accept Terrance for who and what he was and to let him go—exorcize him from her spirit.
She was finally free. And whether Sterling was waiting for her return was important but she knew she would survive even if he wasn’t. She finally realized that she had been unable to receive and accept real love because she’d never allowed herself to love who she was, to bloom fully into the woman that deserved to be cared about totally. She’d been trapped and stymied by a fantasy. But she’d seen through it and she was ready to step out into the real world—come what may.
Chapter 26
“You’re looking mighty happy today,” Elizabeth said as Barbara breezed into the spa.
“I am happy.” She plopped down on the stool and dropped her backpack at her feet. She propped her elbows on the counter. “Wil and I talked. About everything, and we’re going to make it work.”
Elizabeth beamed. “Oh girl, I am so glad for you. How often do we get a chance to rekindle our one true love?”
“I know. And to think I was really going to marry Michael.” She shook her head. “It’s not that I didn’t really care about him,” she qualified, “but there was always something nagging me in the back of my mind.”
“Best to find out now than after you say I do.”
“You know that’s right.”
“At some point you are going to have to formally introduce him to us for the final seal of approval,” she said with a raised brow.
“Definitely. But I want to give us some time first.” She looked around. “Business is booming as usual, I see.”
“That’s for sure, and now with the Pause Man contest in full force we’re at capacity. I had to actually turn a few men away.”
“Who would have thought things would turn out so well.”
“As a matter of fact Stephanie is supposed to bring Terri Wells over this evening before we close to pick up the applications from the entries we’re received.”
“Great, I’m eager to meet her. Stephanie talks about her like she’s the second coming.”
They laughed.
“Wonder how Ann Marie is making out,” Elizabeth said.
“I haven’t heard a word from her since she left.”
“Me neither. She should be coming home either tonight or tomorrow.”
“I sure wish I could have been a fly on the wall.”
“You and me both. Anyway, how many do I have for today?”
Elizabeth checked the schedule. “Just one. Kayla and Sheryl are doing an excellent job. We’ve gotten a lot of compliments from the guys.”
“Any feedback from them on how the clients like the new Carol’s Daughter products?”
“Actually, what I did was design a comment card. I’ve been giving them to everyone who goes in for a massage.” She reached beneath the desk and pulled out a box and deposited it on the desk “This is just the first box.”
Barbara’s eyes widened. “Wow.” She fished around in the box. “All good I hope.”
“From the ones that I went through, they seem to really like it.”
“Looks like Stephanie hit another homerun in hooking up with Terri and getting the products in here.”
“Yep.”
“Well,” Barbara stood and stretched, “I’d better get myself settled.” She grinned at Elizabeth. “Wil and I are planning a late dinner,” she said in a conspiratorial whisper.
Elizabeth winked. “Don’t forget to eat…dinner that is.”
Barbara waved her hand and chuckled. “You are so bad.”
The first thing Ann Marie did when she returned to her condo was to locate the phone number that Raquel had given to her. She sat down on the side of the bed, picked up the phone and dialed. Raquel answered just as her machine kicked in.
“Hi, Mom. You’re back. Hang on a sec. Let me turn off the machine.” There was a series of clicks. “Okay. Sorry about that. So, how did it go?”
Ann Marie took her time and told Raquel everything that had transpired while she was under Terrance’s spell, right up to the minute the spell was broken.
“I…don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry.”
“Nothing for you to be sorry about. Me and your dad are both grown ups. One thing…I kept you from your father for years, for my own reasons and that was wrong. No matter what, he’s still your father and if you want to work on a relationship with him don’t let what happened between him and me stop you.”
“I think all I wanted all these years was just to know. I felt as if there was a missing link in my life and if I found my father it would make everything better.”
“And now?”
She breathed heavily. “Funny thing about that old saying…”
“What’s that?”
“Be careful what you wish for.”
They both laughed softly in perfect understanding.
“Hey, why don’t you stop by my new place? I’ll fix dinner.”
“Can I take a rain check? Maybe tomorrow night. There’s something I need to take care of.”
“There’s a Ms. Dennis here to see you.”
Sterling’s stomach muscles flinched as he listened to his secretary through the speakerphone.
“Should I send her in? She doesn’t have an appointment.”
His jaw clenched. “Send her in.” He adjusted his tie and schooled his expression just as the door opened.
For an unsteady moment, Ann Marie stood stock still in the doorway, uncertain of her reception.
Slowly Sterling stood up. “Come in,” he said, his tone devoid of any emotion Ann Marie lifted her chin and walked inside. She took a seat opposite his desk and rested her purse on her lap.
“You look well,” he said, his voice cool and detached.
“So do you.”
“What can I do for you? More legal advice?”
Ann Marie took the barb in stride. “No, my legal troubles are behind me now.”
The briefest hint of surprise registered in Sterling’s eyes. He cleared his throat. “Glad to hear that,” he said, noncommittal. “Well, since I’m a lawyer and you no longer have legal issues, I’m really not sure what I can do for you.”
“I didn’t sleep with him,” she blurted out, wanting to get this game they were playi
ng out of the way. “My divorce is in process and I’m done—finally.”
“I see.”
She drew in a breath. “I know you don’t understand, but it was something I had to do. I had to get it all out of my system once and for all. So that I could live, Sterling. So that I could love…you.”
He blinked. Turned his head away for a moment then looked at her. “How can you be sure?”
“Because I finally understand what love isn’t.” It’s not a memory or a hope or wishful thinking. It’s about truth and hard times and comfort and being there for each other. It’s about wanting the best for someone else so much that you’re willing to sacrifice yourself to make sure they have it. It’s about realizing that without that person you’re not whole.” She leaned forward, her eyes pleading with him. “I want to be whole.”
Sterling stood up and came around the desk. He stood over her. “Are you sure about this love thing?” Happiness danced in his eyes.
“Very,” she whispered gazing up at him. Her heart hammered in her chest.
He stretched out his hand and pulled her to her feet. With his free hand he pressed the intercom, his eyes never leaving Ann Marie’s face. “Christine, I’ll be out of the office for the rest of the day.” He looked at Ann Marie and in slow motion he lowered his head until his lips burned down on hers. He kissed her long, deep and so very slow, locking her body tightly against his.
He didn’t realize how afraid he was of losing her until this very moment. He’d steeled his emotions, hoping to shut her out fearing that she may not come back, at least not to him. And he didn’t know how he would deal with that. She wasn’t like the other women he’d been with—the hit and runs. She carved out a place for herself in his soul and all those years of running around, playing the field was only preparing him. He’d been unable to find or experience real love before and now he knew why. He’d been saving all his loving for her.
Reluctantly he eased his hold on her, but not fully. He tilted up her chin, letting his gaze roam across her face. Her warm brown skin looked flushed, her eyes sparkling, her lips plump. “Why don’t we go try out this love thing?”
“There’s nothing I’d like better.”
Two weeks later
The hit single He Is, by songstress Heather Headley played in the background.
“Sing it girl,” Stephanie shouted, raising her bottle of beer in the air.
“Pass the chicken,” Elizabeth said, holding out her plate. Barbara forked out two pieces and put them on her plate.
“This was long overdue,” Ann Marie said, leaning back against the couch cushions.
“We sure have a lot to celebrate,” Barbara said, taking a forkful of salad.
Elizabeth held up some papers in her hands. “It’s final! I am officially an unmarried woman. Now Ron and I can sin with smiles on our faces.”
The girls whooped with joy.
“Amen and good riddance,” Ann Marie said. “Mine is on the way. Hopefully by the time me and Sterling get back from Antigua it will be in my mailbox.”
“And when are we going to meet the new…well, old man in your life?” Stephanie asked Barbara.
“Soon, soon. After we get back from our getaway weekend.” She grinned wickedly. “He may be old in age but he sure makes up for it with experience!”
They all slapped five and roared with laughter.
“Well I’m tying up my loose ends too,” Stephanie announced. “I took out the order of protection against my boss and his nutty wife as you know. But…I’m going to go ahead with the sexual harassment suit.” She heaved in a breath. “I need to do it. No matter how it turns out.”
“Good for you!” Barbara said. “And you know we’re behind you one hundred percent.”
“And you’re really going to take on Terri Wells as a partner, huh?” Elizabeth asked.
Stephanie nodded. “I know we will make a great team. And I’ll never have to worry about being sexually harassed again.” She chuckled.
“You think she’ll fit in with our quartet?” Barbara asked, tongue in cheek.
“Can she cook?” Elizabeth asked.
“Can she hold her liquor?” Ann Marie wanted to know.
“Does she have a man is the real question?” Stephanie added.
They all looked at each other.
“We sure have plenty to choose from at Pause,” Barbara said, surprising them by breaking her own cardinal rule.
“You know our new security guard Drew Hawkins ain’t half bad,” Elizabeth said.
“But what about that guy who came in the other day…”
“Chile, hush!”
Barbara sat back and listened to the good-natured banter. Ann Marie had finally found Sterling, the man for her. Elizabeth had bloomed since she left her husband and found Ron. Stephanie was on her way to what was sure to be a booming business with her man Tony by her side. And she had Wil, the love of her life.
Now they were going to open their arms, and possibly their hearts and their secrets, to a newcomer. Only time would tell how it would all turn out. But the ride was worth the price of admission.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5408-8
SAVING ALL MY LOVIN’
Copyright © 2006 by Donna Hill
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