by Frankie Love
“I trusted you. I loved you.”
“Love. Not loved. This is still me and this is still you. A fucking certificate doesn’t change anything.”
“Yes, it does. A certificate changes everything.” Alice shakes her head, tears streaming down her face.
Her mom sees that something is happening and rushes over, but Alice just pushes her away before walking through the crowd.
And then she’s gone out the door.
“Don’t you dare go after her, you fucking asshole,” Peter warns me.
“You don’t understand,” I try to explain. “It isn’t like that. It’s a whole legal mess––”
But her dad raises a hand to cut me off, shaking his head at me.
I can’t stand around and justify anything to these men.
I just need to find Alice.
I need to explain.
The concierge won’t tell me what her room number is.
Her family certainly won’t either.
She doesn’t answer her phone. Doesn’t respond to my texts.
I try knocking on random doors at the hotel, but the manager tells me I have to stop waking up guests or I’ll be kicked out.
I don’t want that to happen. I figure I can stand in the lobby until she comes out of her room because eventually, she has to leave this place.
In the meantime, I pull out my phone and punch in a number.
“Hello, Aiden?” Lewis, my lawyer, is on the phone.
Thank God he picked up, it’s certainly not office hours.
“Hey, it’s an emergency.”
“What kind?”
“I need to settle with Sheila. Tonight. Tomorrow. Just as soon as fucking possible.” The line is silent for a few minutes too long. “Lewis? You still there?”
He coughs. “You sure you’re thinking straight? We’ve been fighting her on this for two years, Aiden.”
“I’m sure.”
“She’s asking for 15 million and a monthly stipend for the next five years.”
“I know. I don’t care. Give her whatever she wants. Fifteen million isn’t even a third of what I own. And I need this done in the next twelve hours. Less, if it’s possible. Find her, get her to sign. Send me the contract.”
I get him the hotel information, tell him where he can fax documents--knowing how essential it is that we get this taken care of before it’s too late.
Fearing it already is too late.
He gives a low whistle. “Why the change of heart?”
I run my hand over my beard. “I met someone.”
“Must be someone pretty special.”
“More than special. I met the woman who is my soulmate. My heart. My everything.”
No more games.
No more make-believe.
No.
I need Alice as mine, no matter what it costs.
Chapter Fifteen
I turn off my phone, lock my door, and take a long hot shower.
This can’t be happening.
I fell in love with a married man.
How could he have done this to me? And how could I have been so blind, so stupid, so naïve?
The part that hurts the most is that it was my father and Peter who told me. Not Aiden. It also means they were right and I was wrong. Aiden isn’t the man for me after all.”
Aiden, who had plenty of chances, to be honest with me.
As I wash away the day, the shower masks the tears that continue to pour from my eyes, I try to make sense of Sheila and Aiden.
Remembering their conversation at the bar, none of it makes sense.
She was engaged. Was throwing it in Aiden’s face. And Aiden wasn’t having any of it.
I wrap myself in a towel, trying to decide how to proceed. I crawl under the blankets, so exhausted, and I close my eyes, telling myself it will just be for a few minutes. I’ve been taking family photos, getting hair and makeup done, played a piece, made love with Aiden... confessed my love to Aiden. Ugh. I roll to my stomach, burying my face in the pillow. It’s all too much for one day.
I wake up to someone knocking on my door. Shouting at me. “Alice, open the door. It’s your mother and father. We mean it, open up.”
Groaning, I roll over, looking at the alarm clock, and I’m shocked to see it’s eleven am. I must have really been worn out . I can’t remember sleeping in like this.
“Alice,” my dad calls. “Open the door or we will ask the manager--”
“I’m coming,” I call, standing and reaching for a bathrobe. Cinching the belt at my waist I let down my hair and reach for the doorknob. My feet hit a manila envelope that has been slid under the door.
I lean over for it and then open the door for my parents.
They push right in.
“Alice, we need to talk,” Dad says.
“I know, just...give me a second okay?”
They sit down in the armchairs in my room, and I sit on the edge of my bed opening the manila folder.
“Oh, you haven’t read it yet?” Mom asks.
“Read what?”
Mom and Dad exchange a look I don’t recognize.
Apology?
“Open the envelope, Alice,” Dad says.
I do. When I slide out a stack of papers, my lips push forward as I try to register what I’m holding.
Flipping through the stack, my heart stops.
“What...?” I blink back tears, holding a divorce settlement dated this morning. A settlement Aiden gave Sheila for fifteen million dollars.
Holy crap. Aiden is loaded.
“Dad... Aiden isn’t... married?”
“I’m sorry, Alice,” my dad says. “I didn’t know the details. I let Peter...”
“We didn’t realize his intentions,” Mom adds.
“Intentions?” I look at her, so confused. “Why do you care? You have acted like Aiden doesn’t matter since the moment I mentioned him. Now you find out he is a millionaire and he is good enough for me? Good enough for you to come here and pretend like we have a relationship?”
Mom’s eyes fill with tears. “I’m sorry, Alice. I know I’ve made a mess of things.”
I snort. “You have spent the last year acting like I was an idiot. And now you have a change of heart? Why?”
“Aiden wrote us a letter.” My mom reaches for a paper in her purse and hands it to me. “A letter that changed everything.”
Dear Mr. And Mrs. Camry,
As you can see from the contents of this envelope, I married Ms. Sheila Morgan two years ago. Immediately after which, I discovered her intention of taking my fortune. We entered a two-year legal battle, which I decided to end last night after the truth of my marriage was brought to light.
Yes, in technical terms I am married until this paperwork is filed-- but in my heart, it has been over since the day it began.
The settlement that includes one-third of my fortune is absurd--but what is even more outrageous is the idea that I might lose your daughter’s heart over money.
I love Alice with all that I am. I intend on marrying her, which is why I need to settle with Sheila now.
I ask not only for your daughter’s hand in marriage but also for the chance to get to know you. I know on the surface I may not appear to be the man you imagined for Alice. I am not Peter Gunheight in any way, shape, or form--nor do I want to be.
The only thing I want to be right now is your daughter’s husband. And I want her to be my bride.
--Aiden
I cover my mouth with my hands, my tears dripping all over the letter.
“I need to see him. Talk to him.”
“You can’t let him give his ex the money,” my mom says. “You have to talk him out of it.”
I shake my head. “Mom, don’t you understand it was never about money for me? It was about love. True love. And I love Aiden.” I reach for my phone. When I turn it on I see I’ve missed his calls and texts.
There are a few voicemails. One from him and one--
“Da
d, the symphony called.”
“Before you listen to the message,” Dad says. “I need to tell you something.”
My forehead creases, confused.
My dad looks uncomfortable, not a word that I ever use on him. “I want to talk about what happened after we played at the reception.”
Oh. Meaning when my dad hugged me like he loved me. Like he was proud of me.
“You did so well at the audition, and then yesterday, it was… a moment I’ll never forget.” He runs his hands through his hair, not meeting my eye, and when he does, I see there are tears in his.
“Dad, are you crying?”
He brushes his hand over his eyes and shakes his head. “I know I’ve been intense ... that I’ve pushed you. And I’m sorry, Alice if that has made you hate me.”
“I don’t hate you. I just sometimes wonder if you resent me. Resent me for still playing when you had to quit.”
Dad places a hand on my shoulder. “Alice, no one ever fought for me. For my dream. I never wanted that for you. After you girls were born, and my career as a cellist hadn’t taken off, and I knew there were bills to pay and a mortgage to cover, I knew I needed to step up and get a real job. No one suggested I keep at it until I made it big. No one told me I couldn’t quit.”
I nod, slowly, seeing my father clearly for the first time in my life. “And that’s why you keep pushing me. You don’t want the same thing to happen to me that happened to you.”
“I messed up, of course. And I’m sorry. But I hope you believe my intentions, at least, were good.”
His revelation rocks my world. I’ve spent so long been angry with him. Never once trying to understand him.
“You make sense to me, but I wish you and Mom wouldn’t be so controlling. I feel like I can’t breathe sometimes, Dad.”
“I know. But just like me, she has her reasons for being the person she is.”
I scrunch up my face. “She wants an in with the Gunheight family because they get tickets every year to New York Fashion Week.”
Dad laughs. “Guess we all have our reasons for acting the way we do.”
“I do too, Dad.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m terrified of failing again. Of disappointing everyone. So, I protect myself by keeping everyone in the family at arm’s length.”
“Between you and I, Alice, let’s try something new.”
With that, my Dad pulls me into a hug. We aren’t at arm’s length anymore, Right now, my dad is embracing me.
With my parents’ acceptance of me, and of Aiden, I press play on the voicemail, holding my breath. “Hello, Alice Camry, we know this isn’t customary to do over the phone, but we wanted to call and offer you a spot as fourth chair cellist in the Seattle Symphony.”
My father gasps, my mom reaches for my hand.
I did it.
“I can’t believe it,” I say.
“I can,” Dad says firmly. “I absolutely can.”
I try Aiden’s phone, but he doesn’t answer. But I remember which room he is staying in. The room where we made love yesterday evening. My body is electric with the memory. My skin still tingling from his touch.
I knock on the door. Then pound. When it opens, I try to focus on what I want to say--but then another woman is standing there.
“Can I help you?” It’s housekeeping.
“Is Aiden ... the guest in this room still here?”
“Yes, he hasn’t checked out. But he isn’t here now.”
‘I see, thank you,” I say backing away. I run down the staircase brushing past my relatives who also stayed here after the wedding, only having one goal in mind. Finding Aiden.
I ask at the front desk, look around the lobby. Nothing.
Finally, I head outside, and then, down past the lodge. On the dock, stands a man.
The only man.
My man.
I run toward him. Barrel, really. I run as fast as my little legs will carry me.
“Aiden,” I cry, as I near the dock, my pace not slowing. Desperate to be in his arms.
He sacrificed so much to be with me.
I should never have doubted him.
“Alice,” he says, his face brightening when he sees me.
But then my foot catches on a plank of wood. My body flies toward him, knocking him off balance, throwing us both into the water with a splash.
I’m underwater, my hands waving, my head pushing upward.
Aiden’s hand is on my waist, pulling me up. We surface, my chest icy, my body frigid. This water is nowhere near as cold as the Alaskan Inlet, but it is far too cold for me without a wetsuit.
“What the hell, woman?” he says, laughing, pushing me out of the water, helping me get up on a dock for the second time.
The first time, I didn’t know who the burly Alaskan man pulling me from the water was. I didn’t know if I should be terrified of his strength and size… but Aiden is the least scary man I’ve ever known. I am his and he is mine and I’d fall into the water every day if it meant my man would rescue me.
I crawl up with his help, and then he pulls himself up after me, his clothes wet and tight on his body, and his biceps easing him onto the dock with a swift movement.
“Aiden,” I gasp, as he pulls off his wet shirt and shoes. “It’s too much, what you did. The letter. The divorce. The money. And I don’t care that you were married. It’s a technicality. I was upset because I thought you didn’t trust me.”
He looks at me like I’m the most precious thing in the world. Like he’d do anything in his power to make sure I’d never break.
We’re both freezing cold, the memory of when we met still fresh in my mind, and he pulls off my sneakers, my sopping wet socks.
“Alice, I would do anything for you. I should have explained more, sooner, but we happened so fast. I’m so sorry.”
“Shh,” I say, wrapping my arms around his bare chest. “Don’t apologize. Just promise me.”
“Promise what? Because Alice, I’ll give you the whole damn world. You already have my heart.”
“I want you to promise that you’ll always save me when I nearly drown.”
“Baby,” he says, pushing away my wet hair. “I’ll catch you when you fall, for the rest of your days. I swear it. I love you.”
“I love you too, Aiden,” I say, pressing my head against his solid chest.
“No more make-believe,” he says.
I grin, my heart expanding; my love for Aiden so pure.
“Be my bride, Alice,” he asks, already knowing that I will say yes.
Epilogue
Ten Years Later
Marrying Alice nine years ago was the best moment of my life.
But seeing her now, walking into baggage claim, where our five-year-old son Matthew and I are waiting for her, with open arms, is just as beautiful a moment. Her face is bright and her smile is big even though she just flew all night after a concert in Berlin.
“I missed my boys,” she says, pulling us into a hug. I kiss her, my desire for her builds and builds whenever she is out of town. “I’m done traveling for a while.” After playing with the Seattle Symphony for three years, her music career took off. Since then she’s played at Carnegie Hall, has since traveled the world with an orchestra, and even recorded an album.
“You feeling okay?” I ask, taking her bag, and pressing my hand to her full belly.
“Tired, and just so happy to see you both.” She leans down and kisses Matthew. “How was fishing with Daddy yesterday?”
“Great. Grandpa even caught a salmon. Daddy took a picture.”
“That’s great, can’t wait to see it.”
“Daddy says I can go again next weekend.”
“Can I come too?”
“Course,” Matthew says. “But will you get sick like Chum?”
I smile at Alice and ruffle Matthew’s hair. ‘Mom’s five months pregnant now. Hopefully, she’s past the morning sickness.”
“Chum ne
ver got past it,” Matthew laughs, and he’s right. Our mutt is twelve now, and in his old age, he seems to have only gotten more nauseous on the water. God knows he fights through it though, wanting to be on the boat every chance he can get.
Several years ago I bought a fleet of boats and started my own fishing business near our home in Anacortes, Washington. We are close enough to Seattle that Alice can get there when she needs to for work, but I’m still close enough to smell the Alaskan ocean water as it travels through the Sound.
In the car, driving home, I hold tightly to Alice’s hand. I look in the rearview mirror and see Matthew sleeping soundly in his booster seat.
You’re right, you know,” she tells me.
“About what?” I ask.
“About being past the morning sickness.”
“I’m so glad.” I squeeze her knee, wishing I could pull over and make love to her on the side of the road. I missed my baby so damn much.
“Yeah, and you know what? I’m in a new phase of the pregnancy now.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? And what’s that?” My cock is immediately hard, remembering the sex dreams she started having mid-way through her pregnancy with Matthew. She’d wake up, horny as hell, and start grinding on me, always wanting more. It was fucking paradise.
She licks her lips. “I spent that entire flight desperate for you... for your fingers in me... getting me off...” She exhales slowly. “See, I’m already hot and bothered.”
“Good thing I got us a sitter tonight then,” I say with a grin.
“Aiden, you know me so well.”
“Since the first day we met, I’ve always known what you needed.”
“It’s true,” she says shaking her head. “There is nothing make-believe about the way you make me feel. That is real.”
I pull her hand to my lips, kissing her soft skin. “We are real.”
The Perfect Old-Fashioned
Mix together –– but not too slowly…
It’s best when there’s instant chemistry!
