True

by Grace, Gwendolyn

  “What are you about to do?” Macy questions as she pulls into my driveway and shifts her car into park.

  “Who me?” I answer with mock innocence.

  “You are up to something. I can see it in your face.”

  I pull my bottom lip in and shrug.

  “Ok, will you at least tell me how he was in the morning? I am dying to know.”

  I burst out laughing and shake my head.

  “No way, Mace. I do not kiss and tell.”

  “Oh, but he is so hot! Doesn’t he remind you of that Ian guy from the vampire show, except with brown eyes?” I laugh even harder.

  “Good night, Mace.” I call over my shoulder. “Drive safe. Text me when you get home.”

  I hear Macy grumble something about me being no fun and how much I needed to get laid before I closed the car door.

  Once inside I stripped off my clothes and showered. Refreshed, I pick up my phone and type.

  ME: I want you. Come over now if you feel the same way.

  I held my breath as I waited for a response but after several minutes none came. Maybe he wasn’t going to come.

  I dress in a cami and panties before crawling under my covers. Just as I felt my eyelids begin to close, I heard light knocking on the front door.

  I rush down the stairs with my heart hammering in my chest. Excitement and nervousness control every nerve in my body because I want this so badly and I am tired of suppressing these feelings.

  I check the peephole to make sure it was him, and I restrain myself from doing a quick happy dance.

  Be cool, Court.

  I swing the door open, and I am immediately swept into his arms. He lifts me against his tall frame as our lips collide. He closes the door behind him and twists the lock before he wraps both of my legs around his waist while carrying me upstairs. We stumble and stop a few times during the way as we tear off each other's clothes. We finally make it to my room where he throws me down on the bed and begins to devour one of my hard nipples with his mouth.

  “God, you are delicious. I’ve been aching to have you for so long.”

  I grabbed hold of the side of his face and brought his mouth back to mine.

  “I’ll never get enough of this mouth.” He crushes his lips on mine and thrust his tongue inside stroking a fire inside me with every touch.”

  He pulls back to look me in the eyes. “I want you to know that this means something to me. Not just tonight but where we go from here. I want you to be mine.”

  “But --” He shakes his head and puts a finger against my lips.

  “Mine.”

  “And you’re mine.” I reply. He beamed down at me, and I knew I was about to give him all of me based on that smile alone.

  “I’ve been yours for a while.”

  I was about to speak again but he halted my words with another all-consuming kiss. There was no time for foreplay. I wanted him inside of me now. Feeling my urgency, he wastes no time entering me. I cried out as he filled me completely and slammed into me again and again. I made sure to meet him at every thrust. I couldn't get enough of the feel of him. I grab his firm behind as I pull him even closer as if it were possible to take him into my entire body so that we formed one person. It was the most perfect and intense experience of my life.

  When we were both finally satiated, we lay together on our sides staring at one another without speaking before we fall asleep, still joined.

  *****

  I woke feeling deliciously tender in my lady bits and still wrapped in his arms. I am relieved to find that he is still here. He loves me. He’d said it last night multiple times. Was this really happening?

  “Morning.” He murmurs sleepily as he kisses the top of my head.

  “Morning.”

  “Morning!” I hear Macy call from downstairs. “We’re hooome.”

  My heart lurches. I totally forgot that she was dropping the girls off. “Be down in a second!” I call loud enough for her to hear. I hope.

  Uh-oh, the girls. I didn’t think about them and how they would react to seeing us like this. I wanted to explain things to them, and I certainly didn’t need them rushing in here and finding us naked. Awkward.

  “Well, it looks like we’ll both have to go downstairs. Together. Are you okay with it happening like this?”

  “Definitely.” He grins before poking a finger in my side, causing me to squirm and giggle. He chuckles down at me. “Well, hurry up. Let’s go.”

  We both get out of bed. I put on a robe, and he pulls on his jeans and shirt from last night. We descend the stairs hand in hand. I feel like I am floating the whole way, my heart feels so free and whole. I am confident in my choice. It was the kind of happiness I never thought I would feel again.

  “Good morning, girls! Did you have a good time with Uncle Judd and Jasmine?” I ask as we round the corner.

  “Yes.” Both girls mumble from the couch as they pull their eyes away from morning cartoons to look at me. That’s when they notice us.

  “Daddy!” Both girls jump up and run to Alex with a million questions.

  The biggest question from them, “Are we a family again?”

  And our answer, “Yes and we always will be.”

  My mind goes back to Rita's words:

  “In my opinion, what you and Alex have is something worth saving but you have to give him the space he needs to come to that conclusion on his own.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Present.

  I seriously have the best sister in the world. Once she recovered from the shock of seeing Alex and I together, she was adamant about taking the girls back to her place for another night. She insisted that we could use the time to catch up. As much as we loved our children we were grateful for the offer. We still had a lot of things to discuss.

  We are lying in bed, snuggling close to each other, neither of us knowing where to start. Alex was the first to speak.

  “Remember that necklace I gave you for Christmas?” I thought it was an odd conversation starter, but I nod anyway.

  “It was from Fire and Ash Designs, right?” I recall the name I saw on the box.

  He nods.

  “Remember when you asked me who Ashley Danielle was?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fire and Ash is her company. Well, Stiller’s wife and Ashley’s company. They design jewelry, and I asked to have the pendant custom made for you.”

  I couldn’t decide how I felt about this information. The name Fire and Ash does make sense, with Stiller’s wife having all that red hair and Ashley being, well, Ash. I guess.

  “There was never anything between me and Ashley. Ever. When you brought up her name, I didn’t know how to better explain my interactions with her without telling you about the gift.”

  “Honestly, Alex. I would have preferred to know. I think it would have made a difference to me at the time.”

  “I realize that now.” He replies. “That’s just one thing on my long lists of regrets this past year.”

  “God, I know. I regret…” He cut me off.

  “Stop. I don’t want to talk about that night anymore. I think we’ve said everything we can about it and I really don’t want to go back there again.”

  “I agree.” I was relieved that he felt that way. I knew that it was something we would never forget but at least I had his forgiveness. “Alex, I felt like we were drifting apart. You hardly ever called when you were away, and it made me feel so unwanted. I hate that it happened to us.”

  “That is also on my list of regrets. There were times where I could have made the effort to call, but I would sometimes decide to put off calling until I found more time to talk, which would never seem to come, or it was so late that I thought you would be sleeping.”

  “You know you can always wake me.”

  “I know. I think there were times when I was just lazy. Other times I was a stubborn ass. I knew how much you wanted me to call and for some sick reason denying you was a way of showing
defiance. It’s a very shitty way to think, and I honestly don’t have a real good excuse. I was so stupid. It never meant that I didn’t love you and that I wasn’t thinking about you. You and the girls are the whole reason I work as hard as I do. It was a tough lesson to learn. I promise you I will never make you feel like that again. With my new position as director, I will hardly ever have to travel, and if I do, things will be a lot different, baby. Please believe me.”

  I did and without hesitation, so I kissed him softly before snuggling in closer while my fingers traced the A & C symbol on his chest. The very same design as the necklace. Last night he let me see it for the first time. He had gotten it the day he came over to the house drunk. It was an impulsive decision and a way to hang on to a piece of us. He said that he created the image himself and took it to Fire and Ash to have it made. Knowing that it was there over his heart this whole time; in the foyer, during mediation, and when he was out jogging, brought tears to my eyes. God, I love him.

  I do feel a little foolish about the way I fixated on there being something between him and Ashley Danielle now that I know there was never any reason to worry. I was bitter and jealous which corrupted my mind and destroyed my ability to make good choices.

  “So what about you and Will?” My eyes widen a bit at the thought of hurting Will. I haven’t even thought of him once.

  “There is no Will and me. I’ll call him later.” He was very good to me, and I don’t want to hurt him. I’ve learned my lesson on breaking hearts, so I vowed to call him tomorrow to end things. I’ll admit that deep down the age difference bothered me. It may not be a big deal to some but for me it was difficult. I thought about him and Kendra and how good they looked together, before the puking of course. I sensed that she had a thing for him. Will may be the right person to straighten her out. Suddenly I wanted that for the both of them.

  “Did you two ever…?” His voice trailed off.

  “No. No. Things never got that far between us.”

  “What about anyone else?” He asks hesitantly.

  “Alex, there hasn't been anyone since you. I might have made some bad decisions, but I have never given that part of myself to anyone but you. Ever.”

  He slid down so that his eyes could meet mine as he considered my words, for truthfulness most likely. I confidently stared right back because I had nothing to hide. He seemed satisfied with what he saw because he pulled me to him for a long, lazy kiss. Our tongues connect slowly as we melted into each other. When he finally released me, I had one last question.

  “Kimmie?” One word asked it all.

  “There is no Kimmie and me. There never really was. She was a great person, but she wanted more from me. At first she claimed to be fine with taking things slow but after a while I just couldn't give her what she wanted.”

  “Did you…?” My voice trails off because I couldn't say the words allowed. He instantly got my meaning.

  “No. No. We never…” He cleared his throat. “I tried but I couldn’t. I know it might hurt to hear this, but I was in a really bad place and all I wanted to do was forget you by losing myself in someone else. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. She eventually became frustrated and took it as personal rejection. I decided that it wasn’t fair to her, so I ended things.”

  “When?”

  “The night I came over and saw you with Will. I didn’t realize until that point that I was only keeping her around to see your reactions. I wanted to make sure you continued to hurt as much as I did. I knew that she bothered you, but I was surprised by your attempt to accept it. If I’m honest, it hurt to think that you didn't care that I’d moved on. Throwing Kimmie in your face didn’t make me feel better. It actually made it worse. Then when I saw you with him that night, my reasons for keeping her didn’t make sense. You weren't sitting at home alone anymore. You were moving on with someone else. The realization that I had made a mistake ending things with you hit me like a ton of bricks that night. The only emotion I allowed myself to feel for so long was anger, and I was exhausted. So I decided to clear my head and my surroundings in order to find peace.”

  Oddly, I understood his explanation. He was hurting and trying to come up with ways to make me feel as bad as he did. What he didn’t realize is that I was punishing myself far worse.

  “It was hard but I had to find a way to let go of all of the hurt and regret. I think you gave me that last night. What we shared felt like making peace with our past.” I admitted.

  “I felt it too. When I walked away, I thought I’d lost you forever until I got your text. God you have no idea how happy it made me to get that.”

  “I didn’t know that I was going to do that until the very moment I sent it. The ocean air reminded me of our wedding and how happy I was that day. I wanted us back.

  “I wanted us back to, baby. I’m really glad you sent that text.”

  “So am I.”

  He pulled me close to his chest. “I love you so much it hurts. The past year has been so hard. Not once did I ever stop loving you or stop wishing every second of the day that things could be different. We both lost our way, and everything spiraled out of control so fast. What I know for sure is that I don’t want to live without you anymore. Let's promise each other that we will never do this again. Whatever it takes to make this work, we'll do it.

  “I promise, Alex. I will do anything for you. I hurt every day that we were apart. I'm never letting you go.” We lay in silence, with our legs entwined while our thoughts roamed.

  “So what happens now?” I ask hesitantly.

  “Whatever we want to happen. We are proof that true love can’t be denied. We were brought back together for a reason, and I don’t want to waste a single minute of our second chance.”

  “Me either.”

  “Good, then the next thing we need to take care of is you becoming my wife again. Another item on the list of things I regret.”

  “Yes, let’s get married,” I agree instantly. “But when?”

  “Today.” His answer causes a jolt of excitement in my chest. “Let's get dressed. In fact put on the dress you wore last night. I really want to rip it off you later.” He gives my behind a smack as he exits the bed. My heart is so full of joy it feels like it could burst. I quickly get out of bed and join him in the shower, and we linger a bit longer than necessary feeling each other up, which eventually leads to hot shower sex. We also decided to work on giving Jordyn a reason to start calling herself “big” with sister being the first name on the list.

  Later that night in Las Vegas, I became Mrs. Alex Turner...again. Macy also didn't mind keeping the girls for just one more night while we enjoyed our honeymoon.

  We stood before each other with our hearts open wide and vowed that nothing will ever pull us apart again. Together we recited words from his proposal to me ten years ago.

  “Our love is true and undeniable. I need you like I need to breathe. Like a puzzle piece that only fits in one place, you are my home, the only place I belong.”

  We now know what it's like to lose each other, and we realize what a gift it is to find our way back.

  I am his, and he is mine.

  Forever.

  My True.

  Kimmie and Justin’s story

  (What? How is that possible?)

  You’ll see…

  Early 2015

  There are so many people to thank! It really took a village to get here and I am so grateful for you all!

  Tony, you are my true and the inspiration behind Alex. After all these years, it’s still you and me, babe.

  My sweet boy, mommy loves you for being so patient while I wrote my “story.”

  My real life “DeeDee”s, Christa & Kat. Thanks for allowing me to share parts of your lives. I couldn’t have made some of that stuff up if I tried. I don’t know where I would be without you. XO

  My family and friends who have known about this book for some time and let me talk non-stop about these characters and even asked questi
ons that prolonged the discussions.

  My editor, whose full name we shall not speak aloud. This was not your type of book but you helped me anyway. Thanks girl! I’ll convert you soon enough.

  My Darlings, Maggie, Maria & Donna for your constant words of encouragement. I heart you girls and I hope you know it!

  My Book Divas and enablers, Trista and Missy. Thanks for being book obsessed with me every day!

  My beta readers, L.A. Cotton, S.K. Fordam, Kat T. Teran, Kingston Westmoreland, Amanda Howell, Jill DePasquale, and Trista Baldwin. Thank you for your valuable feedback! You understood my vision for this story and gave me the push I needed to get there.

  All of my author friends, some new and some old. Thanks for the advice. You are all an inspiration!

  My blogger friends, you are the heart of this industry and the muscle that makes everything go! Sometimes it’s a thankless job but you do it because you love it. I am so appreciative!

  Most importantly, thank you to my readers. I can’t believe I have readers! I hope you loved Alex and Court’s story as much as I loved writing it.

  Oh, and Dave from the real life star 33. A kick-ass band!

  *hugs & kisses*

  -G

  I love music as much as I love books so it’s no surprise that my playlist is enormous!

  These songs were the motivation behind each chapter.

  Chapter One- True Love by P!nk

  Chapter Two- Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran

  Chapter Three- Fall Apart Today by Schuyler Fisk

  Chapter Four- Crash by The Dave Matthews Band