by Emma York
We walked off the beach together, me with a towel wrapped around my shoulders. It was warm in the sunshine but I was glad to change into my usual suit when I got back to the hire car. “Not worried someone will see you?” she asked as I slipped off my swimming shorts.
“I don’t care,” I replied. “Let them look. I just care about what you think.”
“I think you better get dressed before I jump on you here and we both get arrested.”
“That reminds me. Did anything come of you being arrested?”
“You mean for attacking my landlord? He dropped the assault charges after evicting me.”
“About that.”
“Yep.”
“I might have bought his building. If you want to move back in, you can.”
“When did you do that?”
“A couple of months back. I was planning to let you stay rent free but I heard you’d already moved elsewhere. The landlord didn’t know where.”
“Because I didn’t tell him.”
We climbed into the car together and she gave me directions to the vacation home. It was on the cliff top, overlooking the castle and the harbor. We got there in ten minutes, pulling up in the space outside. “This is it?” I asked. “My daughter’s in there?”
“Want to come and meet her.”
The door was unlocked. Jodie walked in first. I followed her, my heart soaring as I heard the sound of giggling coming from the back garden. “Hello,” Jodie shouted out. “Where’s my little girl? There’s someone I want her to meet.”
Annie’s mom was sitting on a blanket next to a blow up paddling pool. Splashing around inside was the most beautiful sight, all golden curls and cheeky grin as she looked up at me and waved.
I waved back, unable to move. “Come on,” Jodie said, taking my hand. “Come and say hello.”
“What are you doing here?” Annie’s mom asked.
“Missed her,” she replied. “This is Mr Stempel.”
“Nick,” I said, holding out my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Rebecca.”
“Nick is Dora’s father.”
Rebecca looked at me closely. “I see. Well, you’ll want a coffee then.”
She got up and walked into the house, leaving me and Jodie to sit with our little girl.
That was a memory that never left me. I might have missed out on the beginning of her life but I vowed in that moment to never miss another second of it. We sat splashing together, Jodie and Dora flicking water up at my face and giggling together.
“Move in with me,” I said, wiping the water from my face for the sixth time.
“What?” Jodie asked, sounding shocked.
“Move in with me. Both of you.”
“Are you serious?”
I nodded. “Never been more serious about anything in my life. I was an idiot to let you go last time, I’m never doing it again. I love you, Jodie. I can’t believe I almost lost the chance at a life with you. Please say you’ll move in with me.”
“Let me think about it,” she said, pausing for a second before grinning. “Of course we’ll move in with you.”
Rebecca reappeared with drinks on a tray. “You three look happy.”
“I’ve got good news and bad,” Jodie said to her. “Which do you want first?”
“Give me the bad news.”
“I won’t be able to enjoy your bacon sandwiches for breakfast anymore.”
“Why not? I thought you liked them.”
“That’s the good news. I’m going to move in with Nick and that also means you get your garage back. I’ll shift my stuff out of it and you can park off the street again.”
They talked and I played with Dora, marvelling at her pudgy little fingers and that infectious grin she gave me every time she looked up. “Nice to meet you,” I said, shaking the tiny hand she offered me. “Maybe don’t splash me aga…” My words were cut off by a faceful of water as the three of them all laughed at me.
A couple of days later we were up in the attic at my place. We’d traveled back a day before Rebecca. Jodie had said it was best to do it this way and I’d reluctantly agreed. It gave us time to collect her things and shift them across. I offered to hire people to do it but she wanted to do it herself. I helped load her boxes into the van while she said an emotional goodbye to Annie. “We’ll still be working together,” she said. “It’s not a real goodbye.”
“I’ll miss you,” Annie replied before pointing at me. “You better look after her.”
“I intend to,” I said, picking up the next box and carrying it out of the garage.
Once the van was loaded, I got us to my place and then we divided things into piles. The least important went up in the attic and that’s where we ended up, shifting stuff around to make room for it all.
“What is all this?” she asked, dipping her hand into one of the boxes she'd just moved.
“My family’s past,” I replied. “One day I’ll go through it all and sort it. Why? What have you found?”
“Looks like music.” She flicked through the pages in her hand. “Is this what I think it is?”
I glanced down. “I think that was the tail end of a symphony. My great grandparents knew a few composers.”
“This is the end of Schubert’s Symphony Number Eight. It’s the most famous unfinished symphony in the world.”
“That’s nice. Now put it back.”
“Put it back. Why?”
“Because that’s not what we came up here for.”
She put the paper back in the box before looking at me. “What did we come up here for?”
“To find something.”
“Did we? And what was it?”
“Oh, here it is.”
I grabbed hold of her and pulled her top off, leaving her gasping as I wrenched at my shirt, impatient to be rid of it.
“I thought we were making room for my stuff,” she said as I undid her bra.
“There’s plenty of time for that.” I tugged at her nipples, feeling them stiffen almost at once. “First I need to do something else.”
“What?”
“This.”
I pushed her down onto her back, undoing my zipper a second later and reaching inside. Straddling her chest, I thrust my cock straight into her mouth before she could say another word.
Her eyes closed as she choked on my length. Pulling back a second later, I let her take a quick breath before shoving myself in again. “That feels so good,” I said, sliding my hips back again.
I kissed my way down her body after coming too close to orgasm just from the warm wetness of her mouth. Moving down, I eased her clothes from her as my lips traced down her legs to her ankles.
Once she was naked, I pushed her knees apart, stroking her thighs, teasing her until she begged for more. Dipping my tongue into her, I was rewarded by that sound I knew so well, her gasp of surprise and joy.
I circled her clit, holding her legs in place with my hands, not letting her escape until I was done.
My cock throbbed with need and much as I wanted her to come on my tongue, I had to be inside her.
I climbed up her body, looking down into her eyes. “I love you,” I said, kissing her softly.
“I love you too,” she replied. “Now stop teasing me!”
“You asked for it,” I said, easing myself into her.
“Yes I did.” She lunged up and kissed me, her legs wrapping around my back at the same time.
I slid all the way into her, rocking gently back and forth, losing myself completely in the moment, feeling that connection to her that completed me.
We rolled sideways until she was on top of me, riding me in the way she knew I loved to see, teasing me by slowing for a minute before picking up speed.
Glancing down, I could see my cock vanishing into her and the sight brought me close to the edge. “Come in me,” she said. “I want to feel it.”
“Come for me,” I replied, reaching down and teasing her clit. “Do i
t.”
She reached the edge first, slamming down onto my length and letting out a scream. “I’m coming!”
The sight tipped me past the point of no return and I spurted up into her, my climax washing over my body as she slumped against me, panting slowly, her heart thudding so strongly I could feel it in my chest.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” she asked in a quiet voice when her breathing had returned to normal.
“I think so,” I said, stroking her hair slowly. “Now I just need to do whatever it takes to keep it.”
EPILOGUE - JODIE
One year later
“What’s this?”
I wasn’t expecting him to hand me anything. Where had he even hidden it? We’d walked all the way up Mount Cragger to sit at the very peak. The sun had just set and the full moon was already playing on the water of the lake far below. “Just like Flambert would have seen it,” Nick said. “Kind of pretty, isn’t it?”
“Breathtaking,” I replied.
“I’ve got something for you.”
He handed over a folded piece of paper.
“What’s this?”
“A copy of your original contract with a couple of the terms changed.”
“Okay, explain.”
He looked at me, his face somehow even more handsome in the moonlight. The hint of gray at his temples was still visible and it made him look distinguished. “When Senior went to jail, his practice was put into liquidation. I helped clear out his office, gave me a chance to find this.”
“So he’s in jail then?”
“I thought you didn’t want to talk about it.”
“I do now.”
“Okay, well he didn’t just con me or you. He had all sorts of schemes on the go and they all caught up with him when he screwed over Gwyneth and she let the cat out of the bag.”
“I see.”
“Gwyneth came good in the end though. She even spotted the dodgy share deal Vanessa had on the go. Remember her?”
“The woman at the auction? The toothpaste heiress.”
“She lost a fortune when it came out. Had to marry another toothpaste guy but rumour has it his tube is empty if you see what I mean?”
“What about Gwyneth? Is she not in prison?”
“Nope, she cut a deal. Testified against Senior and in return got to go free.”
“So free to dupe someone else out of a million or two?”
“Not quite. She’s gone to work for Tomlinson’s foundation in Ghana. Wanted to make amends.”
I looked out at the lake again. None of that seemed to matter anymore. All that mattered was I was sitting next to my husband. I went to hold his hand and realised I was still holding the contract. “Why are you giving me this?”
“Because I want one week with you where you have to remain silent about what happens and do everything I say.”
“Any particular reason?”
“One, I thought it would be fun. Two, I know everything about you and I know you’re ovulating and I want to give Dora a sibling. Three, you’re so busy with your tour company I know this is the only way to get a whole week with you all to myself.”
“When you put it like that,” I said with a smile. “How can I refuse?”
I dropped Dora off with Annie the next morning.
Annie had her own place at last. Since the Flambert and the Dickens manuscript went on display visitor numbers had gone up so much she’d been promoted to head of outreach, earning enough extra to buy her own place.
“So how was Mount Cragger?” she asked.
“Wonderful as ever,” I replied, lifting Dora out of the car and watching her toddle over to the house.
“She’s growing up fast,” Annie said, looking down at her. “How’s my favourite little girl?”
“Frozen?” Dora replied.
“All right. We’ll put it on in a minute. Say bye to Mummy first.”
“Frozen,” Dora said with a wave, taking herself off inside.
“Definitely going to miss me,” I said with a smile.
“A whole week with your husband. What are you going to do?”
“I can’t say,” I said. “Terms of the contract.”
“Then you better get going. Isn’t that his car?”
I turned around to find Michael pulling up in the Bentley. “Why am I not surprised?” I said. “See you in a week.”
I headed for the car. “Good morning, Michael. Should I ask how you knew I was here?”
“Mr Stempel,” we said in unison as I climbed into the back.
He drove me to the house while I thought about how I’d felt the last time I did this. Seven days silent. Not sharing with anyone what happens. I felt nervous like last time. The nerves were tempered with the joy of knowing we were married with a daughter who loved us both.
Last time I had no idea what was going to happen and I would never have guessed that I would end up madly in love. Then those wasted months apart because we were both too stubborn and too stupid to pick up the phone.
The car pulled up at the house and I climbed out, walking up to the door, half expecting the staff to come and greet me again.
Michael drove away as the door swung open. Nick was waiting for me, beckoning me in.
“One week,” he said, taking my hand. “I suppose I should start by undressing you.”
Behind me, the door slowly closed.
What happened after that? Sorry, the contract still stands. I’m not allowed to tell anyone. I will say a couple of things though. The first day ended in the cinema watching It’s a Wonderful Life together. It was a perfect end to a perfect day.
Dora got the brother she wanted and I got the happy family I wanted. Nick, after everything, finally got the wonderful life he wanted.
END OF BOOK
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Author's Note
I would like to thank all my wonderful ARC readers for their support and suggestions. The idea for this story originally came to me years ago when watching the musical, Annie. I wondered what might happen if a billionaire needed someone innocent (maybe someone a bit like me but shush, don't tell anyone) to stay at his mansion to help a business deal go through.
The idea for the contract came when watching Richard Pryor in Brewster's Millions years later, the deal Monty Brewster is offered not being quite what he expected. I liked the idea of having to keep your reasons for doing something secret and the realisation that money doesn't solve all of life's problems. These two ideas came together over time and eventually merged into Seven Days Silent.
There is no artist called Flambert (that I know of) but the missing end to Edwin Drood is a real mystery. Perhaps there is an ending out there lost in someone's attic. Only time will tell. Keen eyed readers might spot a tiny reference to Ratatouille, one of my favourite Pixar films, and another reference to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emma York is comprised of equal parts daydreams, 80s movie references, and sarcasm. She specializes in steamy but sweet romantic stories. You'll find no cheating or cliffhangers in any of her books so lock the door, settle in, and indulge yourself in the happy ever after you deserve.
