“I love you too,” I whisper. His face breaks into a smile and he drops his hands to my bottom. He hoists me up and I wrap my legs around his waist.
We don’t say anything, because there isn’t anything to be said. He crushes his lips against mine as he carries me towards the bedroom. He lays me down onto the bed and presses his weight on top of me. I tangle my fingers into his hair and pull his kiss into me. My legs are still wrapped around his waist like I’m afraid to let go.
He runs his hand up my shirt and I shiver as his fingers leave a trail of sparks on my skin. The space between my legs is a ball of electricity, and I can feel his shaft pulsing against me.
We tear at each other’s clothes, at each other’s bodies. I kiss anything I come in contact with. I touch everything that my hands can reach, gripping and scratching and squeezing every part of his body. He groans as he devours me, covering my entire body with kisses. He moves to my hip and lays a kiss on it before looking up at me.
“I love this mole on your hip,” he tells me.
I laugh. “Why?”
He shrugs and laughs with me. “I don’t know. When I was sitting in that motel thinking my life was over, I was imagining you and all I wanted to do was kiss this mole.”
“You’re a weirdo,” I laugh, running my fingers through his hair. I smile and he dips his head back towards my hip, kissing my mole one more time.
The frantic energy between us slows down and our touch becomes tender. It’s like we’re learning each other’s bodies for the first time all over again, running our hands over each other’s bodies and trailing kisses behind them. His lips taste sweeter than I remember, and his body feels stronger and smoother than before.
When he enters me, I feel complete. He fills me up until my back arches and my lips fall open. He dips his head and bites my bottom lip as he pushes himself into me. Pain and pleasure mix as I cry out and let myself be carried away by bliss.
Our bodies dissolve into each other and we become one. We move together, moan together, kiss together, touch together, until I don’t know where he ends and I begin. Our hearts beat as one.
When he comes, I come, and when I come, he comes. Our climax is like I’ve never felt before. Both bodies contract and arch and moan together and I feel his orgasm as viscerally as I feel my own. He’s mine, and I’m his.
It’s not until our heartbeats return to normal and my head is resting on his chest and I take a deep breath and feel like myself again. I run my fingers over and back across his chest as he strokes my hair.
“I love you,” I whisper. My heart is beating in my chest and I feel the love of our child in my stomach. I open my mouth to tell him but nothing comes out. He wraps his arm around me and squeezes me closer.
“Let’s have a baby,” he whispers. I lift my head and look up at him, frowning slightly.
“What?”
“Let’s have a baby. I know it’s early, and I know we just got away from my family, but Sam, you’re the one for me. I want to be with you forever and I want to have a child with you. I don’t see the point in waiting. If you want to, obviously. I can wait.” He bites his lip. “I don’t know why I said that. Fuck, you probably think I’m a weirdo,” he laughs. “I’m sorry. I just love you so fucking much.”
I laugh. “Well yes, I do think you’re a weirdo. But that’s beside the point.” We stare at each other for a few moments and I take a deep breath.
“What if I told you we are going to have a baby?”
He smiles. “I don’t mean eventually, Sam. I mean let’s have one soon. Let’s have one now. Get off the pill and let’s start trying.”
I shake my head. “I don’t mean eventually either.” He frowns slightly and I smile gently. I have to whisper the words that have been on my mind ever since Jess and I went to the doctor.
“I’m pregnant, Dean.”
His jaw drops open and his eyes widen. Suddenly a smile breaks out across his face and he starts laughing.
“What! No. Really?” I nod and he laughs again. “Why didn’t you tell me!”
“I didn’t want your parents to use it against you or me, and then I was afraid you’d freak out.” I smile. “So you’re happy?”
“Happy? I’m fucking ecstatic! Sam! We’re going to be parents! I’m going to be a dad!”
I laugh as he wraps his arms around me and turns me onto my back. He dips his lips towards mine and kisses me so tenderly that I can feel the love radiating between us.
He pulls back and stares into my eyes, smiling as he runs his hand over my stomach. I smile and put my hand over his. I still can’t quite believe that we’re here, together. I still can’t quite believe that I’m this lucky. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him one more time. He nuzzles my nose with his and I laugh.
He’s mine, and I’m his. This is what happiness feels like.
Epilogue
Samantha
My hands are shaking as I tear open the envelope. I pull out the letter and scan my eyes over it before letting out a sigh and smiling at Dean.
“I’m officially divorced.”
He smiles triumphantly and wraps his arms around me. “Good. I can make an honest woman out of you now.”
“Not so fast,” I laugh. “I’m not going to jump into another marriage without some serious thought.”
“I can wait,” he says, running his fingers over my growing belly. He kisses me gently and then pulls away and claps his hands together. “We should celebrate!”
I nod and he grabs a couple glasses. “Sparkling apple juice for you, wine for me,” he says with a grin. I clink my glass against his and take a sip before tilting my head to the side.
“How did you get Ronnie to agree to the new terms? What did you say to him? He gave me everything in the settlement, way more than half.”
Dean glances towards me and smiles sadly. When it came time to file the divorce papers for real, Dean called Ronnie’s lawyer. During the final meeting he took Ronnie aside and got a whole new set of papers drawn up. I don’t know what they said to each other, but I do know that Ronnie came back like a dog with a tail between his legs.
Dean takes another sip of wine and shrugs.
“I told him that my mother wouldn’t protect him anymore. She obviously told him to get lost. He believed me.”
“I still can’t believe he was working for her,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s like a bad dream. The whole thing. From the moment I found out he wasn’t being faithful to the final signature on those papers. Just a bad dream.”
“But now,” Dean says, running his fingers down my cheek and back towards my hair. “Now it’s like winning the lottery.”
I smile and tilt my head up towards him. He kisses me and I can taste the wine on his lips. I stare into his eyes and feel nothing but love and happiness overflowing in my heart. I run a hand over my stomach and look down at it before taking another sip of sparkling apple juice.
“I don’t know how I got so lucky,” I breathe. He kisses me softly until his phone rings to interrupt us. He looks down at the screen and makes a noise.
“Hey Pat, how did it go? Uh huh, great! That’s great! Okay. Yep, talk to you later.” He ends the call and looks at me, eyes shining.
“The kids loved the clown school. Apparently Margaret asked him if he could do it once a week. Pat was over the moon, he’s been wanting to have a partnership like this ever since I met him.”
I grin and wrap my arms around Dean.
“Thank you for making it work,” I say. “I couldn’t have convinced Margaret to give it a chance without your help. It’ll be such a good addition to the program.”
Dean shrugs. He looks at me curiously and then opens his mouth and then closing it again before speaking.
“I was thinking,” he says slowly. “Since my family gave me access to the trust fund again, I have all this money. We’ve really struck a chord with the kids. What if we expanded the organization? We could try to get some federal funding and pu
t some real money into the programs and get multiple locations in the city. We could get Pat and Margaret involved and make something real out of this. Have regular clown school classes in addition to all the programs you have already.”
My eyes widen and I stare at Dean. “You mean you’d stop the investment banking?”
Dean nods. “Go full-time clown,” he says with a grin. “There’s so much potential to do good things here. Those kids love you, they love Margaret, and they love the clown classes. There are thousands more kids that could benefit from it. We could do it, Sam. We could make something great out of this.”
I throw my arms around Dean and laugh as he swings me around. If my heart felt full before, it feels like it’s absolutely about to burst. I stare at his face and shake my head.
“You never stop surprising me,” I say in amazement.
Dean shrugs and turns towards the counter. When he turns back around he’s got a big red nose on. He jumps up and spreads his palms wide with a big smile on his face and I can’t help but laugh.
“Full-time clown,” he says with a laugh. “Get used to it.”
“Wouldn’t want it any other way,” I reply as I wrap my arms around him again. I give his big red nose a squeeze before pressing my lips to his and once again tasting the sweetness of his kiss.
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xox Lilian
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Part I
Book 1: Lie To Me
1
Madeline
“Madeline! My office, now!”
I glance up from my desk and sigh. Barry isn’t in a good mood. We’re mobilizing to the new construction site next month, and there are a million things to do. I click ‘save’ on my computer and stand up. My environmental report will have to wait. I turn towards Barry’s office and try to keep my face neutral.
Our project director, Barry Atkins, is a middle-aged, gruff-looking man with a big pot-belly. He’s hunched over at his desk, squinting at his computer when I walk into his office. His eyebrows are knitted together and he’s stroking his thick mustache with one hand as he scrolls down the screen with the other.
“Read this,” he barks without looking up. I take a few steps to walk around his desk and look at his screen with him. It’s an email forwarded on from our community liaison manager at the project site.
Town Hall Meeting
All residents of Lang Creek County are invited to the Town Hall Meeting at Lang Creek Community Centre, this Friday at 7:00pm. The construction of the Williamson Luxury Hotel on Lang Creek Mountain will be discussed. Please attend for any and all questions and comments.
Lang Creek Town Council
Barry glances at me and I take a deep breath. He shakes his head.
“The pushback we’ve been getting from the community is getting worse. They don’t want this hotel to be built. I need you to go to Lang Creek and be the company representative for this town hall meeting.”
I make a choking, gurgling sound before taking a deep breath.
“Barry, with all due respect, I have three applications to make to state and federal environmental agencies that need to be in by the end of next week. I don’t have time to go down there, not now. If I don’t get these submitted, we won’t be able to start on time. Wouldn’t it be better for one of the project engineers to go?”
“Who, Patrick? Glen? They’ll make things worse! They’d go in there like they were ordering some workers around on site. No, we need someone with finesse.” He looks at me and softens his voice. “We need you. You’re the environmental engineer on this project and you’re in the best position to put the community’s mind at ease. We need to win their hearts and minds. Put a presentation together, and make sure you mention all our sustainability initiatives. Talk about that other project you worked on—the rehabilitation of the old mine site.”
He waves his hand and I take a deep breath to try to calm myself down. I know how important this is, but as the only environmental engineer on this project, my plate is already too full.
“Barry, I need help. We’re building this hotel on a Class 1 Nature reserve, and I have seventeen applications that need to be approved. The three going in next week are going to determine whether we can start on time. I can’t—”
Barry swings his eyes up towards me and furrows his brow. I know that look. It’s a look that doesn’t invite discussion. I gulp and then nod, taking a deep breath to steady my voice.
“I’ll get it done,” I say.
Barry nods. “Good. I knew I could count on you.”
He turns back to his computer and I head back towards my desk. I flop down on my chair and look at my computer screen, dejected. I have a half-finished Noise and Vibration Report, plus a to-do list that’s overwhelming to look at. I look around at everyone tapping away on their keyboards and I wonder if they’re as overwhelmed as I am. Now he wants me to put together a presentation and head into the heart of the Appalachian Mountains? I somehow have to win over the Lang Creek County population by Friday? What is our community liaison officer even doing down there!
I’ve worked with Barry for almost five years now, and I know that he’s right. We need to handle the community correctly to save ourselves trouble down the line. But still, sometimes I feel like he relies on me too much. I pull out my Tupperware box from my bag and open it up. Looks like it’ll be another lunch eaten alone at my desk as I rush to finish yet another task.
I haven’t even stuck my fork into the salad leaves when my phone rings. I check the screen and sigh. It’s Cecilia, our community relations manager.
“Hi Cecilia,” I say as I put my fork down and stare blankly at my screen.
“Maddy! Barry told me you’d be leading this town meeting.”
“Not sure about leading it, but I’ll be there.”
“Have you prepared the presentation yet?”
“Cecilia, I just got told I’m going to Lang Creek ten minutes ago. I haven’t even opened up PowerPoint yet.” I can hear the tension in my voice and I try to take a quiet breath.
“Right, right. I’ve been having some issues getting people on board,” she starts. “They’re worried about the hotel construction site to begin with. Then they think it’ll bring in too many tourists and the area will be destroyed.”
I can tell. “I’ll let you know when my presentation is done,” I answer curtly. I hang up the phone and rub my hands over my temples. My lunch looks unappetizing, but I stab it with my fork anyway. I munch on a lettuce leaf before looking at my screen. I open up a blank presentation and take a deep breath. I might as well get started working on this.
2
Aiden
I take a step back and run my eyes over the big pile of neatly stacked firewood. The sweat is beading on my forehead and I can feel it dripping down the center of my back. I unzip the front of my jacket and let the cool air come close to my body. I take a deep breath and nod to myself. This should keep me going for a month at least.
As I’m turning towards the cabin, I hear the crunch of car wheels on the gravel road leading up to my property. My eyebrows knit together and I walk towards the sound, ready to intercept whoever made the long, winding drive up to talk to me. They’re either lost, or something is wrong. I don’t get many visitors that come up just for a chat.
The familiar Lang Creek County Police emblem comes into view on the side of a white pickup truck. I stand at the top of my drive and wait for Sheriff Whittaker to stop the car and get out. He raises his arm towards me as he slams the pickup door closed.
“Aiden! How are you!”
“I’m fine, Bill. What brings you all the way up here?”
“Can’t a man come and see his friend and make sure everything is all right? I haven’t stopped by the garage in a while.”
/> I nod with pursed lips. I don’t like being reminded of work, and I spend as little time there as possible.
Bill walks towards me and extends his hand. I grasp it and we pump our arms up and down before he claps me on the back with his other hand.
“Good to see you’re still alive, friend.”
I nod towards the cabin. “Drink?”
Bill hesitates and points his thumb at his truck. “I haven’t got much time today, Aiden. I’m on duty in town. There’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”
I nod slowly. I can feel that empty feeling in the pit of my stomach when I know there is bad news coming. My mind races to my brothers—did anything happen to them? Surely Bill wouldn’t be in such a good mood if it did? I stare at him until he nods and opens his mouth to speak.
“There’s a town hall meeting this Friday,” he starts.
I shake my head. “Not interested.” I turn towards the cabin and start walking away from Bill. His footsteps crunch as he jogs towards me.
“Aiden, wait! You’ve heard of the new hotel, haven’t you? They’re sending a representative to tell the town about it. We’re going to vote on the construction. Your property runs alongside the hotel grounds for at least four acres. If anyone should have a say, it’s you.”
I stop and turn towards him. “You already know what I think about that hotel, Bill,” I growl. Bill nods and takes another step closer to me. He spreads his palms up towards the sky and pleads with his eyes.
“Aiden, the town is divided. I agree with you, I don’t think the hotel should be there, but what can I do? I’m the Sheriff, for Christ’s sake. I need to be at least somewhat neutral. We need you to speak your mind.”
Knocked Up- The Complete Box Set Page 66
