New Beginnings (Forever and Always #15)
Page 1
New Beginnings
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious or used fictitiously. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher or author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
Copyright © 2014 by E. L. Todd
All Rights Reserved
ISBN-13: 978-1497369122
ISBN-10: 1497369126
New Beginnings
Book fifteen of the Forever and Always Series
E. L. Todd
1
Mike
All the shattered pieces of my life fused back together, returning my life to what it had been before. All the bitterness and anger disappeared the moment I felt her stomach. I didn’t want to push her away anymore. I didn’t want to think about those months where I haunted the streets as a ghost. Because they were gone.
“What the hell is this?” Cassandra picked up the small machine on the second nightstand. She turned it on and heard the quiet and constant noise.
“A white noise machine.”
She looked at me like I was crazy. “Which is…?”
“It’s a machine that makes a constant noise. It helps me sleep. You always make these beautiful sighs during the night, and I couldn’t stand the silence.”
She pulled the plug out of the wall. “Well, those days are over.” She dumped it in the trash.
I smiled. “Yes, they are.” She opened her bag and shoved some of her clothes into the closet. Now it wasn’t half empty anymore. The sight made me want to cry in happiness. I hated being without her for as long as I did. It was hell.
“What?” She turned around and spotted the look.
“Nothing.”
She sauntered back to me and wrapped her arms around me. “Do you mind if I share the closet with you—just for a little while?”
I gripped her tightly, like she was a balloon that might fly away. “You can have the whole damn thing.”
“No. I want to share.” She gave me a playful look, the same one she used to give me on a daily basis.
“I’m glad that’s changed,” I teased. “It’ll be nice to have room for my stuff—not just yours.”
“Well, wait until we get all my stuff from the apartment. We’re going to need a bigger house than Sean and Scarlet just for my shoes.” She returned to her bag then pulled out the shirt she took from me. Just by glancing at it, I could tell how used it was. It aged several years.
She caught my look. “I wore it every day.”
“Looks like you need a new one.”
“No. I have you.”
She made me melt all over again.
A knock on the door shattered my moment. It was probably Sean and Scarlet, trying to talk some sense into me. Little did they know that was unnecessary. Cassandra slept in my arms last night, and my hand automatically rested on her stomach. I was obsessed with that thing. “I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t take too long.” She gave me another playful look.
I was about to abandon the door and take her again at the foot of the bed. But I restrained myself and headed to the door. I opened it without checking the peephole, wanting to get rid of this person as quickly as possible.
Laura stood in a trench coat, her make up heavy and her hair done. “It’s been awhile.”
Alarm flooded through me. “What are you doing here?”
“Do I really need to explain?” She opened the waistcoat, showing me the slutty lingerie she wore.
I automatically closed my eyes and held up my hand, feeling like I was cheating on Cassandra just by looking. “Stop.”
“What?” She stilled held it open.
I shoved her jacket closed so her tits wouldn’t hang out.
“Mike, what’s wrong?”
“Shh,” I hissed. “Keep your voice down.” I crowded her and stepped out of the apartment, closing the door behind me. “Go!”
“Excuse me? What the hell is your problem? You haven’t called me in almost a week.”
“I never said we were in a relationship,” I snapped. “And I don’t want to sleep with you anymore.”
“Why?” She sounded offended, hurt.
“Cassandra and I are back together. And the last thing I need is for her to see you.”
Laura didn’t look happy. “And you just weren’t going to tell me?”
“We just got back together, like, twelve hours ago. But I don’t owe you a damn thing, Laura. I made it clear you meant nothing to me—repeatedly.”
“You really are an asshole,” she snapped. “A head’s up would have been nice.”
“I’m sorry, okay? I just didn’t think you were going to show up on my doorstep half naked.” Her jacket was still open and it was annoying me. “Now just go. We’ll talk about this later.”
I heard the door open behind me. “Did you order a pizza?” She stilled when she saw Laura, standing in front of me, her open jacket revealing her bra and thong.
My heart was beating a million miles a minute. I glared at Laura then nodded to her jacket. She closed it quickly, hiding everything from view.
Cassandra stared at her but didn’t say anything.
“Baby, I’ll be there in a second,” I whispered.
“This is the girl you were seeing?” The edge was in her voice.
“Yes,” I admitted with shame.
Cassandra came closer to her, staring her down. “Mike is mine. Whatever the two of you had before is done. Now get out of here and offer your services to someone else, because my man isn’t interested in anything you have to sell.”
Laura’s eyes widened then she glared back at Cassandra. But she still kept her mouth shut.
“Now go,” Cassandra commanded. “I better not see you anywhere near him again. That pretty hair of yours might not look so nice in between my nails.”
Damn. Cassandra meant business.
Laura walked off without saying a word. Her heels echoed down the hallway as she headed to the elevator.
We walked back inside, and I waited for Cassandra to scream at me, to rip into me. “Baby, I’m sor—”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a hot kiss. “I just wanted to make sure she knew you were taken.” She moved back to the bedroom to unpack her things. The fight I expected didn’t happen. I knew for a fact that any other girl would have flipped the fuck out and ripped her face off. But, classy as always, Cassandra took the higher ground.
I walked back into the bedroom and watched her place her undergarments in my top drawer. “You aren’t mad?”
She didn’t look at me. “I can’t hold anything against you, Mike.”
“I feel like shit, just to let you know.”
“I know you do,” she said simply. “Let’s just forget about it.”
I sighed. “There’s something you should know about that girl.”
“I really don’t care, Mike.” She still didn’t glance at me.
“She’s Janice’s sister…”
She stilled. “Does she know?”
“No. I’d prefer if she didn’t.”
She shook her head gently. “I just hope I don’t run into her again.”
“Well…she’s Janice’s maid of honor. And I have a feeling Janice is going to ask you to be in the wedding when she finds out we’re back together. So, you’ll probably be seeing a lot of her.”
“Great,” she said sarcastically. “Couldn’t you just pick up a whore off the street?”
Ashamed, I kept my silence.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I take that back.”
“No. I was an asshole. I deserve it.”
“No, you don’t, Mike,” she said gently. “You did nothing wrong.”
“I feel like dirt anyway.”
She closed the drawer then came back to me, kissing my chin. “I’ll apologize to her.”
“You don’t need to do that. She’s a smart girl. She’ll understand.”
Her face pressed against my chin and she wrapped her arms around my waist. I could hold her all day. The scent I missed moved into my nostrils. My hand moved through her hair, feeling the silk.
“But there’s something else you should know…”
“What now?” she said with a sigh.
“She works with us too.”
“God, kill me now. What floor?”
“Mine…”
“Damn it, Mike!”
I gripped her waist. “You got nothing to worry about, baby.”
“I know I don’t,” she said defensively. “But I don’t want to see the girl you were fucking every single day. So now I have to see her at work and when I clock out. Ugh.”
“You aren’t going to be working anyway so you aren’t going to have to deal with her.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I assumed you would stay home since you’re pregnant, and then you would be a stay-at-home mom.”
“That’s a joke, right?”
“No…”
She shook her head. “I like working, Mike.”
I was dating a different version of Scarlet. “And that’s fine. But, when you’re big you’re going to go on maternity leave like all women do. And I just assumed you’d want to stay home and raise our own kids. No offense, Cassandra, but your income is negligent.”
“Thanks for being so sensitive about it.” She rolled her eyes.
“I don’t want to fight, baby. I’m just telling you my expectations. If you’re set on working, you can work from home. That wouldn’t be a problem.”
“I’d rather come to the office…”
I gripped her face and forced her gaze on me. “Please trust me, Cassandra. I’m not going to betray you. You’re the only woman in my heart. What I had with Laura was absolutely meaningless, and frankly, pretty damn depressing.”
“I trust you…”
“That means a lot to me.”
“What are the odds Janice’s sister works for your company? How long has she been there?”
“Well, I gave her a job.”
“Why? If she didn’t mean anything to you, why would you do that?”
“Janice and Ryan mean a lot to me. It was a favor to them.”
“She couldn’t get her own job?” she asked incredulously.
“She’s a stripper.”
“Why am I not surprised?” she said sarcastically.
“I gave her a job so she would quit. Ryan and Janice don’t know so I felt compelled to look out for her. Ryan has my respect and loyalty. I’d do anything for him even if he doesn’t know about it.”
“Including fucking her?”
“She’s a grown woman and can make her own decisions. They can’t hold that against me.”
“If she’s a grown woman, she can get her own job,” she snapped.
I knew Cassandra was trying to be mature about this and sweep it under the rug, but she was struggling. I didn’t blame her. I knew I would hate it if she was working with her ex every single day.
“I’m sorry,” she said immediately. “I thought I could be okay with this but I guess I’m not. I can’t stop picturing you with her…”
“I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say. I felt like shit for hurting her. I wish I could take it back. “I can’t fire her but I can move her to a different floor so I won’t see her. But you have nothing to worry about in either case.”
She sighed. “No, leave her be. I’ll get over it.”
“Baby, I really am sorry.” The emotion was in my throat.
“It’s okay.”
“You weren’t with anyone…?”
“I already answered your question.”
“You didn’t go on a date or anything?”
“A friend set me up on a blind date, but as soon as I arrived to the restaurant, I chickened out and went home. I couldn’t go through with it.”
As selfish as it sounded, I was glad there was no one else but me.
“Now we’re even,” she said. “I hurt you and you hurt me. We can move on now.”
“For what its worth, I don’t want to be even.”
Her eyes softened. “I know.”
We left the city and drove into Connecticut. I loved living in the city. There was nowhere else in the world where you could get Chinese food at two in the morning, or discover buildings and places older than many generations. The people were unique, and the characters couldn’t be found anywhere else. But I didn’t want to start a family here.
I held her hand while I drove my Jaguar. Her hand felt perfect in mine, like we were built to accommodate each other in size and soul. I realize I’d have to give up my car now that I was a family man. It definitely wasn’t the safest vehicle to be in since it was a coupe. I couldn’t fit any kids in the back. “I’ll have to get a new car.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Where are we going to put the kids?”
“We can get another one. There’s no reason you can’t keep this just in case you need to get out and get some space from your wife and kids. It’ll help you feel like a free bachelor sometimes.”
I turned to her. “I don’t want to feel like a bachelor. I never want to feel that way again. If my family is home, that’s where I want to be. I’ve been alone my whole life. Believe me, there’s nothing out there.”
She gave me a slight smile then looked out the window.
“If anything, you’re going to want to kick me out of the house because I’ll drive you crazy.”
“Which is why I want to live next door to Sean and Scarlet,” she teased. “You can just go over there when I’m sick of you.”
I smiled. “Look how that worked out.”
She squeezed my hand. “You know I’m kidding, baby.”
The heat from her body radiated through me. “You better be.”
When we arrived at the first house, I immediately didn’t like it. We walked through the kitchen and living room, unimpressed.
“How many bedrooms is it?” I asked.
“Four,” the real estate agent said.
“No. We need six or more.”
Cassandra looked at me with wide eyes. “How many kids do you think we’re going to have?”
“I want guestrooms for company. And I’d like an office.”
She breathed a sigh of relief.
“But I was thinking about…eight.”
“What?” she shrieked.
I laughed, loving how I freaked her out. “Just kidding, baby.”
The real estate agent eyed us. “I have a few other places I can show you. But, I have to be honest. There are a lot of bidders for these homes. It’s unlikely you’ll get it.”
“Even if I pay in cash?” I asked.
His eyes widened. “You mean the down payment?”
“No. The whole thing.”
“Um…I’m sure that would help.”
“Great,” I said. “Problem solved.”
The real estate agent looked at me like I was crazy. “Sorry, what do you do again?”
“I’m the CEO of Logistics Software Company.”
“Oh.” He nodded his head. “Wow. Okay.”
Cassandra glared at me.
“What?” I asked.
“Do you have to throw your money in people’s faces?”
“I wasn’t,” I argued.
She walked off then headed out the door. I watched her ass and immediately felt aroused. I kept thinking about that baby bump. I didn’t know what it was, but it got me excited as hell.
“Sure,” the agent said.
We looked at a few but none of them were the right fit. Cassandra didn’t seem particularly interested in any of them.
“What kind of house do you prefer?” I asked when we were in the car.
She shrugged. “They are all fine.”
“I don’t want you to be indifferent to the house we raise our family in.”
“I’m just not used to this, Mike. My brother and I shared a room until we were ten because there was no room. Then he moved into the garage. All these houses are mansions to me. I guess it’s hard for me to imagine living in any of them.”
I gripped her hand. “I understand.”
“So, you pick.”
“You make all the calls. A house isn’t a home unless the wife adores it.”
She shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind living on the beach…”
I smiled. “Like Sean and Scarlet?”
“But if that’s too much—”
“I can buy you any house you want.”
“I don’t want to be greedy.”
“You aren’t.” I leaned over to her side of the car. “I want you to have the house you want. Thank you for telling me.”
She kissed my chin then the corner of my mouth.
I liked it when she did that. My hand went to her stomach and I felt the small distention. “This really gets me hot.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea. But you somehow look hotter pregnant.”
Her cheeks reddened. “I’m a little self-conscious about it.”
“You shouldn’t be.” I lifted up her shirt and kissed her stomach. “It gets me harder than titanium.”
“Looks like I’m going to get laid a lot.” That playful look was back.
“More than you can handle.” I rubbed her nose with mine then drove to the next house.
We reached a house down the street from Sean’s. We were less than a half a mile apart. As soon as we pulled up to the front, Cassandra’s eyes were wide. A brick wall surrounded the property, and a two story white house stood behind it. The lot itself was almost an acre, and it had a large yard. Plus, it was right on the beach.
“Wow,” Cassandra whispered.