When We Fall

by E. L. Todd

  My life was awesome.

  The second I arrived at my beautiful resort I didn’t think about my former life. As far as I was concerned, it never happened. I used to be a pathetic excuse for a man. My heart was on my sleeve and I stupidly trusted two women not to break my heart.

  Those days were over.

  I finally found my place in the world. And now I was truly happy.

  The three of us went to dinner that night at one of the restaurants at the resort. I’d developed a distinct companionship with each woman. And we somehow functioned as a group. Neither woman was jealous with the other even though they both craved me equally.

  Exotic women were the best.

  We ate quietly together, and Francesca grabbed a piece of bread and placed it into my mouth. Then she gave me a long and sexy kiss. When I pulled away I saw the sparkle in her eyes.

  “Try this.” Ana grabbed my chin and directed my gaze on her. She placed the pasta shell in my mouth.

  “That’s good too.”

  Ana looked satisfied.

  Why the hell had I spent the last four years of my life in monogamous relationships? Stupidest decision I ever made.

  When we finished dinner, I wrapped each arm around their shoulders and walked with them back to the room. My stamina had reached a whole new level since I satisfied two women on a daily basis. I was officially a pro.

  I got the door unlocked and we walked inside. I had an idea of what I wanted to do with both of them, and it involved rope and blindfolds. But when I saw the tall man near the backdoor I realized that wasn’t going to happen. “All I have to do is call security.”

  Dad turned around and gave me an unreadable expression. “See what happens when you do.”

  Instead of being afraid, Francesca and Ana were intrigued. As disgusting as it was, they both found my dad attractive. “Would you like some wine, sir?” Francesca asked as she twirled a strand of hair.

  Dad ignored her. “I’ve packed your things. You’re coming home with me.”

  I spotted the suitcases by the door. “Good job. Maybe you should consider a career change to a bellboy.”

  Dad didn’t look amused. “Say goodbye to your friends. We’re leaving.”

  “Leaving?” Ana asked sadly. “It’s too soon for that.” She approached my dad and extended her hand to touch his arm.

  Dad immediately backed away. “Don’t touch me.” He wasn’t normally this hostile to women. In fact, he was always polite. But it seemed like he despised my two friends.

  Ana pouted her lips. “I don’t bite…”

  “I won’t tell Mom,” I said.

  Now he looked like he might murder me. “If you don’t want a broken face I suggest you knock it off.”

  “What?” I asked. “I wouldn’t blame you. Monogamy is overrated. I say we annul it from our society.”

  “Shut up, Conrad,” he hissed.

  “Hey, I’m just telling you the truth. I bet Mom’s cheated on you at some point—“

  He charged me then threw me hard on the ground. My body collided with the hard tile underneath and I felt my body cringe at the impact. Then he gripped me by the neck and choked me. “Don’t ever say that to me again.” He got in my face, his cheeks red and burning. “Just because Lexie broke your heart doesn’t give you the right to be a dick.”

  I hated her name.

  He released his hold and stepped away.

  “Who’s Lexie?” Francesca asked.

  I coughed into my hand before I slowly rose to my feet. “Nobody.”

  “I’ll drag you out of here if I need to,” Dad threatened. “ I suggest you save us both the time and energy.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” I stood my ground. “I’ll go back to New York when I’m ready. That isn’t now.”

  Dad clenched his jaw in frustration and looked like he wanted to hit me again. “Take a walk with me—alone.”

  “Nah…I’m good.” I stayed by Francesca and Ana. “I prefer their company to yours any day.”

  Dad threatened me with just his gaze. “Now.”

  I sighed and turned to the girls. “He’s not gonna quit. I’ll be right back.”

  Ana wrapped her arms around me and kissed my neck.

  Francesca kissed me on the lips.

  Dad rolled his eyes and looked away.

  “You better be naked when I get back,” I said as I walked to the back door with my father.

  “Consider it done,” Francesca said.

  Dad and I left through the back door and walked passed the pool on the deck. Then we found the path that led down the cliff face to the beach. Neither one of us said anything as we approached the water.

  “You should see it in the daylight,” I said. “It’s unbelievable.”

  “I have.” Dad reached the beach first and walked in the dark.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’ve been here for two weeks.”

  I raised an eyebrow and walked beside him. “You’ve been here for two weeks?”

  “I wanted to keep an eye on you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

  “I guess we have different definitions of fine.” The waves moved gently against the shore. The sailboats and yachts bounced in the water.

  “Dad, you’re seriously cramping my style. You should go home where you belong.”

  “You belong there too, Conrad.”

  “I prefer it here.”

  “This place may be beautiful but it’s empty. There’s nothing for you here.”

  “Other than paradise,” I jabbed.

  “Conrad, PIXEL is practically yours. You need to be responsible and take care of it.”

  “Last time I checked, you were there.”

  “But Sean and I won’t be there much longer.”

  “Whatever,” I said with a sigh. “You’ve been saying that for a year.”

  “Well, things have come up.”

  “And Skye is still there. She can hold down the fort until I feel like coming back.”

  “A pregnant woman?” he asked with disapproval.

  “What? She’s carrying a baby inside her. Women do it all the time. She’s not handicapped.”

  “But she shouldn’t be stressed out. She’s worried about you.”

  “Well, Skye worries about everything.”

  He lowered his voice. “Everyone is worried about you.”

  I admitted I missed my friends sometimes. But I tried not to think about it.

  “They want you to come home.”

  “I will…eventually.”

  “You’ve been here long enough.”

  “Dad, get off my case. I’m a grown man and can do whatever the hell I want. I’m not using your money for anything so you have no say in what I do.”

  “But I’m your boss.”

  “You’re my boss at work. I’m not at work right now.”

  “Conrad, it doesn’t matter how old you are or how much money you make. I will always look after you.”

  I kept my eyes glued to the sand in front of me.

  “And now it’s time to come home. I’ve let you have a break long enough.”

  I kept walking and kicked the sand in front of me.

  Dad fell silent and stayed by my side.

  The moonlight guided our way down the beach. There wasn’t any cars on the road or people on the beach. It seemed like there was no one else in the world but the two of us.

  “I’m sorry she did that to you.” His voice came out barely above a whisper. The pain in his words was heavy. Dad didn’t admit to weakness often, if ever.

  “I’m over it.”

  Dad didn’t challenge my statement.

  “I’m glad she said no. Otherwise I would have made the biggest mistake of my life. I’m much happier now.” My chest ached after the words left my lips.

  “Conrad, just because this happened doesn’t mean—”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I stopped walking and openly glared
at him. “Don’t you dare say that bullshit again. It didn’t work with Beatrice and you told me to give it another try with Lexie. Well, I did and she crushed me worse than Beatrice ever did. I was on one knee in a restaurant full of people when she said no and took off. Don’t feed me anymore lies.”

  Dad stared at me with a look full of sorrow.

  “I learned my lesson—twice. I don’t need to learn it a third time.” I started walking again.

  Dad released a deep sigh. “Did she say why?”

  “No, and I couldn’t care less what her reason is.” I hadn’t turned on my phone since I arrived at the airport. I doubt I could turn it on at this point anyway because the battery was probably dead. She may have tried to call me. She may have stopped by my apartment. But it didn’t matter if she did or not. Knowing why she said no wouldn’t change anything. All that mattered was her answer.

  No.

  Dad turned around and headed back up the beach. “Let’s turn in. We shouldn’t wander too far alone.”

  “Like we need to be scared of anything.” I’d like to see someone try to take us down.

  “I know you’re upset but don’t be reckless right now.”

  I didn’t feel like arguing so I stayed quiet.

  When we returned to the resort, we took a different way.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “I want to show you something.”

  “What?”

  “You’ll see.”

  We arrived at a hotel room on the other end of the resort. Dad knocked before he inserted his key inside and got it unlocked.

  “Is this where you’re staying?”

  “Yes.”

  “You got two hot chicks in there?” I grinned like an asshole.

  “I’m going to let that one go since I’m tired of hitting you.” He stepped inside. “Baby, I brought him.”

  I stilled at his words because I knew my mom was there.

  Mom came out of the living room and stopped when she saw me. Pain was written all over her face and her bottom lip trembled slightly when she looked at me.

  I hated seeing that look on her face.

  She walked to me then hugged me harder than she ever had before. “My baby…” She was a foot shorter than me but she made up for her small stature in her strength. She squeezed me tightly like she never wanted to let me go.

  Dad leaned against the wall and didn’t stare directly at us.

  I returned her embrace. It was easy to be a dick to my dad because we had a different kind of relationship. But my mom was different. I always behaved differently around her. I guess there was still some innocence left in me.

  “I’m so sorry, honey.” She kept her face buried in my chest.

  I rubbed her back gently. “It’s okay, Mom.”

  “You didn’t deserve that.”

  “Things happen…” I was numb from the trauma. But I guess she wasn’t.

  “Come home.” She pulled away slightly and looked at me with glistening tears. “I don’t want you to stay here anymore.”

  I couldn’t outright say no like I did to my father. So I stared at her and said nothing.

  “I love you, Conrad.”

  “I love you too, Mom.” My voice came out quiet.

  “There’s someone else here to see you,” Dad said.

  “Who?” I asked, unsure who it might be.

  Dad nodded to the back patio. “He’s outside.”

  Mom finally pulled away. “Go say hi to him. He’s been worried about you.”

  Then I realized who it was. Even though I was broken, there was still a little hope inside me. The fact he was there gave me some joy. I walked past my parents and headed outside.

  Roland was sitting in a chair with his arms resting on his knees. He looked up when he saw me. It took him a moment to take me in before he understood I was real. Wordlessly, he stood up and approached me. He looked me up and down with distinct sadness in his eyes before he hugged me.

  I returned the embrace and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

  Roland didn’t say anything. He didn’t mention Lexie or the proposal from hell. He just hugged me.

  I finally pulled away when I thought it was becoming too intense.

  Roland stared at me, the concern evident in every feature. “Come home, Conrad.”

  “You’re my dad’s cheerleader now?” I teased.

  “Something like that,” he said with a shrug. “There’s nothing here but solitude.”

  “I wouldn’t say that…”

  Roland obviously knew about my ladies. “But they can’t give you what we can. Come home.”

  “Come home to what, exactly?” I asked.

  “Your friends and family. It’s going to take longer than a day to get over what happened, but it’ll happen much quicker with us to support you.”

  “I am over it,” I said coldly. “I couldn’t care less about her. I don’t even think about her anymore. As far as I’m concerned, she doesn’t exist.” It was the truth. After I got on that plane I vowed not to think about her. She didn’t deserve my thoughts. She didn’t deserve my time.

  Roland didn’t challenge me. “Then you should come home. Italy is overrated.”

  “Is not,” I said with a laugh. “I know you’re gay and everything but even you would think these chicks are hot.”

  “I’m sure they are. But you can catch tail in New York.”

  “But I love their accents…” My lips stretched in a grin.

  “There are plenty of exotic women in the city.” He patted my shoulder. “I’m not leaving unless you come with me. And everyone told me I better bring you back or not come back at all.”

  “Wow. That’s intense.”

  He shrugged. “It’s a lot of pressure. I have to deliver.”

  “I’ll say…”

  He turned serious. “Conrad, come home with us. We all miss you.”

  It was hard to turn down my best friend. “But when I get back everyone is going to ask me about it…I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “They won’t.”

  “You know them. They’ll be on me quicker—”

  “They won’t,” he repeated. “I promise.”

  Now that my parents and best friend had flown across the world just to bring me back I couldn’t stay here. They would drag me out if I resisted. “Francesca and Ana won’t be too happy…”

  “Well, you have all night to say goodbye.” He winked.

  I chuckled. “True.”

  “So, you’ll leave with us in the morning?”

  “Yep. I guess so.”

  Chapter Five

  Cayson

  I wasn’t the hopeless type of guy. Whenever there was an obstacle in my way, no matter how big, I always found a way to climb over it. And if I couldn’t climb over it, I would either go around or underneath.

  There was always a way.

  But with Skye, it didn’t seem like there was any way to get through to her. I could keep telling her I didn’t do it, but that hard skull of hers was too thick to see reason. How could she be around me and not see how much I adored her? Why on earth would I marry her and pledge my life to her then break every promise a month later?

  It. Didn’t. Make. Sense.

  I was being set up and I was clearly framed. Why couldn’t she just believe me? I wasn’t just her husband. I was her best friend and I’d been her closest confident for her entire life. The second she saw the letter she should have known it was a phony.

  But she didn’t.

  My life was so empty without her and my baby. I went to work then came back to my tiny apartment. I didn’t do anything other than lay in bed and stare at my phone in the hope it would ring. My existence was so meaningless that I even went to work early in the morning because sitting alone above the shop was worse. I could get my own apartment but I didn’t want to commit to anything when there was any possibility that I might come home.

  That seemed more unlikely with every passin
g day.

  If anything, I was the one who should be mad at her. How could she not believe me? She should stand by my side and know in her heart I didn’t do it. Pushing me away and kicking me out of the house was just wrong.

  But what would that solve? If I were mad at her, it wouldn’t get me anywhere. Even though I was an innocent man and had been suffering for no reason at all, I couldn’t afford the high ground.

  I just wanted my family back.

  I was in bed staring at the ceiling when my phone rang. I immediately snatched it in the hope it would be the one person I couldn’t live without. Fortunately, her name was on the screen.

  “Hello?” I answered it immediately like always. I was at her beck and call forever. It didn’t matter what our problems were. I lived my life for this woman. That would never change.

  “Hey.” Her voice was somber like it usually was.

  And then there was silence.

  “Do you have another baby project?” I was eager to be involved in anything related to my son. But I would also do anything to see my wife. Two birds with one stone.

  “No, actually.”

  My skin prickled at her words.

  “I was hoping you could come over for dinner.”

  I sat up so quickly I almost fell back down. She was inviting me to dinner? What did that mean? Had she finally come to her senses? Did she realize I was innocent and she couldn’t live without me? My heart was beating so fast it actually hurt. Could this be it? Was this pain finally over? “I’d love to.”

  “Be here at seven.” She didn’t sound happy or upset. She was difficult to read.

  “I will.”

  The line went dead when she hung up.

  I immediately jumped out of bed and hopped into the shower. Whenever I came home from work, I yanked my clothes off and collapsed on the bed. Now I needed to speed along and get ready quickly.

  After I washed and dried, I pulled on dark jeans and a t-shirt that made my arms look enormous. I even checked my appearance in the mirror, something I hardly ever did. I made sure my hair was perfect and I looked fuckable. I hadn’t had sex in over a month and I was going crazy. I wanted to be with my wife again. Jerking off wasn’t an option because I was too depressed to feel aroused on my own.

  I picked up a bottle of sparkling cider then headed to the house. Every time I drove there I passed her parents’ place. It was unlikely they ever sat at the window and watched the cars drive by, but if they did they would notice I never drove home after work.