If You Love Me

by Anna Kristell

  “If he ever does you wrong, call me. You have my number. I won’t change it, just in case.”

  She smiled. “I wish you the best of luck. I hope you find your true love.”

  He stood up and so did she. As she started to walk him out, he stopped her. Leaning over, he kissed the top of her head. “Take care, Ashley.”

  “Goodbye, Ross.”

  “Goodbye, sweet thing.” And he was gone. Closure, after all these years, finally.

  Ashley sat on the couch and took a deep breath. Years ago she would have been dancing around the room had Ross said those words to her. Now it didn’t matter at all. She knew what she wanted. And tomorrow night she would have Adam back come hell or high water.

  She got ready for bed. Once she was settled under the blankets, she picked up her cell and typed out a text message to Adam.

  “Tomorrow night…”

  When she heard the ping on her phone signifying a reply, she smiled as she read his words. “I love you, Mrs. Brant. Sleep tight.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Ashley slept late the next morning, allowing herself the luxury of lounging in bed. When she finally got up, she had a leisurely breakfast of toast, juice, and coffee, before cleaning the house. Wanting everything to be perfect for Adam’s return, she took care of duties she’d neglected in his absence. She was certain that after tonight her husband would be back home where he belonged, in her life, and in her bed. At least she hoped he would be.

  As the afternoon wore on, she began to get more nervous about what lay ahead. Going over in her mind the things she wanted to say to Adam, she felt a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. By the time she stepped into the bathtub of lavender bubbles she’d prepared in an effort to calm her nerves, her hands were shaking.

  Ashley, for heaven’s sake, calm down. This is Adam, your husband, the man who loves you. It’s going to be okay.

  She sank into the warm, bubbly water. Forcing herself to relax, she lay back and closed her eyes. By the time her bath was finished, her nerves had calmed enough for her to get ready for her night with Adam.

  After dressing with care, she brushed her long, dark hair, deciding to wear it up. As she put her diamond studs in her ears, she nodded in approval as her reflection smiled back at her in the mirror. When the doorbell rang, she glanced at the dainty watch on her wrist. Right on time, she thought as she grabbed her jacket and purse and headed for the door.

  “You could have used your key. This is your house, you know,” she teased as she breathlessly answered the door.

  “And miss seeing you out of breath, panting for me?” he replied with a wickedly sexy grin.

  “Devil,” she said as he helped her into her jacket.

  He took her hand as they walked to his car. She was grateful he’d driven his Camry instead of Dillon’s truck. She wasn’t sure she’d have been able to climb into the truck in her dress.

  “You look…hot…” he said as he buckled his seat belt.

  “Thank you. You don’t look too shabby yourself,” she replied with a smile. She allowed her gaze to scan his body. In khakis and a forest green shirt, she had to admit he looked good. Green had always been a good color for him. The soft brown leather jacket was the perfect addition.

  He drove downtown and parked in one of the numerous parking garages. “The steak house okay with you?”

  “Perfect,” she replied, not really caring where they ate as long as they were together.

  He’d made reservations so they didn’t have to wait long before being shown to a corner table. Adam ordered a bottle of wine and after the waiter had poured it, he took a sip before holding his glass up in a toast. “To our new beginning,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

  “To us,” she agreed.

  The dinner was delicious, the wine perfect, and the conversation stimulating. As they waited for dessert, Adam grew serious. “We need to talk.”

  “Yes, we do.”

  “I want you to make a list of all the things you’d change about me if you could. I’ll do the same for you.”

  She looked at him in surprise. “Okay, I think I have some paper and a pen in my bag.”

  They worked for several minutes. “Do you want to read what I wrote now?”

  “You go first. Hand me the paper.” He took it from her and carefully opened it. He looked at it for a minute and didn’t say anything. When he looked up, he grinned. “Ashley, did you understand your task?”

  “I understood it perfectly, Adam. The things I’d change about you are on the paper.”

  “Did you use invisible ink?” he teased.

  The waiter brought their dessert so the conversation ended until the man walked away. Ashley took a bite of cheesecake. “This is heavenly. Try it, Adam.”

  He looked at her with a grin and took a bite. “Explain, please.”

  She looked at him for a long moment before replying. “There’s not one thing I’d change about you. You’re perfect just the way you are.”

  “But all the arguments, baby. There was plenty you were annoyed at me about.”

  She shook her head. “I decided the night we had that last terrible argument that I was wrong. I had every intention of telling you that and making it up to you the next morning. When I got up and found your note, I was devastated. And when you were so cold to me and wouldn’t talk to me…”

  “Oh, baby, I was so sure you weren’t happy with me. I just knew you were harboring leftover feelings for you-know-who. I thought it was time for me to go. Time to let you make a decision, once and for all. I was so sure you weren’t going to choose me.”

  “That’s probably my fault. I didn’t give you much reason to think otherwise. It was never about Ross, please believe me. I let the everyday world get in the way. I was too stressed out about minor things that, in the grand scheme of things, don’t really matter. I know that now.”

  “And I did the same. I wasn’t the best husband. I had a lot going on at work and when I was at home, I let the pressures of work get in the way of our happiness. I’m so sorry, baby. I never wanted to hurt you.”

  “Whether or not you pick up your clothes or your socks isn’t important. I was putting too much pressure on both of us for everything in our lives to be organized and perfect.”

  “And I was so wrung out by the weekend, I didn’t want to go anywhere. We both let the outside world get in the way of our private time together.”

  “I’ve missed you so much these past few months, Adam. I’ve even missed your dirty socks lying on the bedroom floor,” she said with a giggle.

  “I can throw my socks on the bedroom floor for you when we get home if it’ll help,” he said, chuckling.

  “When we get home. That has a nice ring to it,” she said.

  “Do you want to see what I wrote down?”

  Abruptly coming back to reality, she said hesitantly, “Sure…I guess so…fair is fair. What would you change about me, Adam?”

  He grinned as he handed her the folded piece of paper in his hand.

  She took it from him and slowly unfolded it, the knot in the pit of her stomach growing larger. As she looked at the paper in front of her, she laughed. “So this is what you’d change about me?”

  “You got it, baby, absolutely nothing. I love you just the way you are.”

  Throwing the blank piece of paper on the table, she took his hand. “Finish your cheesecake, or better yet, let’s get to-go boxes. I want to go home, Adam.”

  “No dancing?”

  “We can dance but I want to do it in the privacy of our bedroom.”

  Adam signaled the waiter.

  As they walked outside, Ashley shivered.

  “Cold?” he asked as he put his arm around her.

  “No,” she replied with a devilish grin.

  “Oh, baby, I know that look. I remember it well. I’ll admit I didn’t see it often those last few months we were together but I’m seeing it now. And I know just what to do about it.”

&nb
sp; “Oh, look at the moon. It’s beautiful tonight.”

  “Yes, it is, but not half a beautiful as you. Let’s go home.”

  “I like the sound of that,” she replied with a smile.

  When they arrived at the house, he hung his jacket in the closet. She went into the bedroom to change and he followed.

  “Ash, where are the divorce papers? Do you still have them?”

  She froze. “Why do you want them?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “They’re in the desk in the den.”

  He returned a few minutes later with the papers in his hand. “Follow me.”

  She tied the belt of her satin robe tightly around her waist and did as she was told. When she walked into the den, Adam was standing next to the paper shredder.

  “Want to have a little ceremony?” He fed the paper into the shredder and watched as it disappeared.

  “Oh, Adam, does this mean it’s really, finally over? No divorce?”

  “I called the attorney’s office last week and told them it was off.”

  “Last week? Why didn’t you say something?”

  “I wanted tonight to be special. And we needed to have the conversation we had earlier.”

  She fell into his arms. “Adam, I love you…don’t ever leave me again. If we have a problem, we’ll work it out. I don’t ever want to go to bed angry, ever again.”

  “And we never will. I love you, Ashley Brant.” He kissed her, before he scooped her up into his arms and carried her back to the bedroom.

  The End

  About the Author

  Anna Kristell is a small town gal from southern Indiana with a passion for romance. She has lived in Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas, but returned to Indiana in 2005, where she resides with her husband. An avid romance reader since her teen years, it has always been her dream to create love stories of her own.

  When she is not writing, she can be found at her day job in the billing department of a local community mental health center, reading, traveling, or spending time with family and friends. Anna has a grown daughter and son and three grandchildren.

  You may contact her at:

  http://www.annakristellromance.com and check out her weekly blog articles at http://www.annakristell6.wordpress.com. Anna can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Goodreads.