My Chance (Chance #2) (17 page)

I shrugged. “I guess. I mean, yeah, I wanted to write a romance novel, but I have you, and that’s even better. You didn’t ruin it. You are it.” I sat next to him and stared at the notebook and then at Alex.

“Can’t you still write it?”

“I suppose I could. I really never knew if I could actually do it or not. It isn’t important anymore.”

“You know, I never did read the other pages.” He looked at me and raised his brow.

“Can you not? Or at least not in front of me?” The thought of anything that I wrote in my journal made me uncomfortable, especially if he read it while he was with me.

“Okay. I don’t need to. I still feel badly that I only read the beginning. I didn’t read how I’m the love of your life and best lover in the entire world.”

I glanced up, and he smirked at me. “You don’t have to read it because you already know that. I tell you all the time.” I rested my head on his shoulder.

He tossed the book on the floor, shoved the note in his pocket, and kissed me. “I want to hear it again.”

I pulled back and looked into his eyes. “You’re the love of my life and the best lover. Now shut up and make love to me.”

His kisses lingered, his touch was slow, and he made me crazy for him. His fingers moved in and out of me, and I lifted my hips. He stared at where his fingers were and gently blew on me. I was ready to lose it. He glanced at me, smiled, and threw me a wink. I laid my head back and enjoyed everything he was doing to me. Before I knew it, he was inside me. His arms supported him, and my hands went into his hair. I needed his lips on mine. We made love like we never have. He consumed my body with his and took his time savoring me. Neither of us said a word because we knew what the other needed. It was the most satisfying thing in the world.

I was woken by soft kisses trailing across my shoulder blades. I smiled and tilted my head back to see my man. He swept my hair around my neck so I could see him.

He kissed my cheek. “Good morning, beautiful.”

I snuggled into his arms. “Good morning. I could get used to waking up like this.”

“Then move in with me.”

I turned to face him. My eyes went right to his bare chest and then looked into his eyes. “What did you say?”

“I said move in with me. We’re going to be married soon, and we spend every night together, so why not? We should decide where we’re going to live after we’re married anyways. What do you think? Would you want to live in my apartment, yours, or a house?”

“I haven’t really thought about it. I guess your place. It’s closer to the club and it’s much nicer than mine. You would probably be more comfortable there.”

“I’m comfortable wherever you are. What about the house idea?”

“I don’t know. Maybe when we start a family. But then you’ll be farther away from work, and I won’t see you as much, especially with your hours.” I pictured myself in a house with kids and no husband around. I didn’t like that at all. “I want to be where you are, so whatever is easier.”

He rested his hand on my head and played with my hair. “We don’t have to decide that now, but will you move in with me?”

I nodded, and he devoured my mouth. It was as if we were starving and needed each other more than air. I didn’t know how to explain what I felt when I was with him except for safe. I knew that he’d be with me whenever I needed him, as I’d be for him, and that he loved me.

We broke apart, and he rubbed his nose on mine. “You make me so happy. I can’t wait to have you with me every day for the rest of my life. You just made me a very happy man… again.”

He rolled me over and was lying on top of me when his cell phone rang. I shifted to let him get it off the nightstand. He ignored it and kissed my neck. Then “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” played on my phone, indicating as call from Julie.

“That’s Julie. I need to get that.”

Alex moaned and rolled off me. He grabbed his phone, which had started ringing again, and looked at the screen. “Shit, it’s Brett.”

I grabbed my phone, got out of bed, and took it into the kitchen. I pushed the green button. “Hi, Jules.” I tried to sound perky, but I had a feeling that would be a wasted effort.

She sniffled. “Aub… rey… it’s… o… ver.” She was trying to catch her breath between each syllable.

“Sweetie, what are you talking about?” It had to be Brett. I didn’t even know why I asked.

“It’s Brett… We… b-bro-broke… up… We…” Julie was sobbing, which was very un-Julie like.

“Julie, honey, where are you? Are you home?”

“N-no, I’m in my c-car.”

She’s driving?
“Pull over, and I’ll come to you. Where are you?”

“I was on my… on my way to your place.”

“Please be careful. I’ll put coffee on, okay?”

Alex walked out of the bedroom, totally dressed, and looked at me. He heard me say, “No, he’s leaving. Don’t worry about it.” Julie ended the call. I looked at my phone and felt horrible.

Alex drew me in close. “Brett sounds awful. I’m going to his place. I gather Julie is coming here?”

“Yeah, she sounds devastated. I should have kept my mouth closed.”

“Don’t take the blame for this. Brett doesn’t blame you. He’d have had to tell her at some point. Let’s help our friends try to work through this and meet up later. We should start getting you packed.”

“Can we do it after Thanksgiving?”

He kissed the top of my head. “Whatever you want, but not too long after that, okay? I gotta go and talk to my man.”

After Alex left, I threw on some comfy clothes and started coffee. I decided to make blueberry muffins from a mix. I figured Julie must have called in sick to work, and she’d need comfort food. I needed to call Brian as well. My buzzer rang, and I let Julie in. I could tell she wasn’t in a good place just by looking at her. She had on last night’s makeup, and her mascara was smudged under her eyes. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, and she was wearing yoga pants and a hoodie. I hugged my friend, and she started bawling. I let her get as much of it out of her system as possible before I let her go.

“I can’t believe this,” she said. “I can’t believe I didn’t know he didn’t want to get married again. How could he not tell me?”

“Let’s sit. Want some coffee? I made muffins too. They should be ready soon.” I tried to sound as upbeat as I could.

“I’ll have coffee, sure.” Julie wiped her nose on her sleeve and plopped down on the couch. She grabbed the same throw pillow I had last night, and she just held it.

I poured us coffee. “Okay, talk to me. What happened?” I settled into the sofa.

“I went to his place when I left here last night. Naturally, he wasn’t home from the club yet, so I waited in the lobby since I don’t have a key. When he finally got home, he was excited to see me and mad that I hadn’t called him so he could have the doorman let me in to his place. Anyways, we went upstairs and into his apartment, and he was all over me.”

I nodded.

“So I stopped him and told him I wanted to talk, and he said that he wanted to fuck and then go to sleep. He said ‘fuck.’ Not sex or make love but ‘fuck.’ So, I told him no. I wasn’t in the mood.”

“And then what happened?”

“What do you think? He got angry and asked me what my problem was. I asked him what his was, and he told me that he was tired and had a long day at the club and just wanted to fuck me and go to sleep.”

I braced myself for what was coming next.

“So I told him I’m not his fuck buddy and that I loved him and was hoping to build a life with him. He said his life is as built as it is going to be. He loved me and didn’t consider me a fuck buddy. I was his girlfriend, and that was enough. I told him that wasn’t enough and that I wanted to get married someday.”

“And?”

Julie’s eyes filled up and the tears spilled out. “And he said that… that I should find someone else because that isn’t in the cards for us. I should never expect a proposal from him because there won’t be one. Never, Aubrey. He didn’t say not in the near future or this year or anything like that. He said never!”

“Oh, Jules, I’m sorry. Maybe he was just really tired?” I sucked at these situations.

“If he wasn’t tired then, he’s really tired now. We didn’t sleep; we argued for hours. It was horrible.”

My heart broke for her. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Julie shook her head and wiped away her tears. “No, I’m glad you told me. It’s better to know than not to. I just didn’t expect us to end. I thought he was my forever. I pictured me and you, our gorgeous husbands, and our children growing up together. I guess I was way off base.”

My timer beeped, and I was glad. It gave me a minute to collect my thoughts. I went into the kitchen, took the muffins out of the oven, and put them on a plate with some butter. I walked back into the living room and noticed Julie staring at a bridal magazine on the coffee table. My heart broke.

She looked up and gave me a half smile. “I’m supposed to stand up with him at your wedding, and your engagement party is soon. I’m never going to be able to avoid him. You’re my best friend, and he’s Alex’s. If I want to avoid him, I need to avoid you, and I can’t do that.” She wiped a tear away.

I hadn’t thought about our wedding or the party. “I’m so sorry. Do you still want to be my maid of honor?”

“Of course I do!” She shook her head and composed herself. She sat up, reached for a muffin, peeled the top off, and ate. “Wow, these are good. Boxed, right? I know you aren’t a baker.” She laughed.

It was good to hear her laugh even though it was forced. “You know me. If it doesn’t come in a box, it’s not getting baked.”

She nodded, and her lips slightly curled. “You know what? I’ll be fine. I mean, I was fine before, right? I don’t want to dampen this for you, so screw him. If he wants to be a prick, then he can be a prick. I don’t need to pine over him. There are other fish in the sea. I just hadn’t intended on ever having to swim in that water again. I really thought he was the one.”

I shook my head. “No, you don’t have to pine over him. But you should probably let yourself heal and work through this. Maybe you guys can reach a compromise.”

“Screw that. I took the day off, so let’s go out. We can go shopping and then to the White Orchid for drinks. What do you think?”

I was stunned. “You want to go to the club?”

“Yeah, Tuesdays are ladies nights, so why the hell not? I’m not going to wallow. I hope his sorry ass is there so he can see what he’s missing.” She shoved the rest of her muffin in her mouth, finished her coffee, and got up.

I stood too. “Uh, okay, if that’s what you want to do. We can go to the square and walk around and shop. But I need to call work, and I have an appointment with my doctor at two o’clock today. But if you don’t mind waiting, you can come with me and we can go out after that.”

“No need to call work. I told Mark, and he said Brian is out of the office anyways, so it’s cool. I have no problem waiting for you during your appointment.” She kissed my cheek. “Meet me at my place at one, okay? I need to take a nap and then get ready.”

“Sure, whatever you want.”

“See ya, chica!” And with that, Julie was out the door.

I walked back to the couch, grabbed a muffin, and plopped down. What the hell was that? One minute she was a mess, then she was fine. I finished what appeared to be a magic, heart-healing muffin and went back into the kitchen to get another cup of coffee. I heard my phone ring and scurried into my room to retrieve my phone.

I pressed the answer button. “Hi.”

“Hey, baby, how is she?” Alex asked.

I sighed. “I honestly don’t know. I’ve known Julie for a long time, and I’ve never seen her like this. At first, she was devastated, absolutely crushed. Then she flipped. She wants to go shopping and then to the club. What happened with Brett?”

“Apparently his ex-wife got wind of Brett being a partner at the club and filed amended alimony papers to get more money from him. I hooked him up with my attorney.”

Money, it was always about money. That was why I hated it. “Is that why he was so mean to Julie?”

Alex sighed. “I don’t know that he was mean. I don’t think last night was the right time to discuss their future. Before you say it, yes, he should have told her that. I’ll be at the club tonight with Brett. I’m sure he’ll want to fix this. We have an appointment today with Dr. Russo. You didn’t cancel it, did you?”

I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling. “No, I didn’t, but I think I’ll be fine to go on my own. Julie will be with me—in the waiting room of course. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is. You can fill me in when I see you later, or if you need to, you can call me.”

“Okay. I figured Brett would want to fix things. I don’t know if Julie will though. She’s in a mood, and it can go one of two ways. I have a feeling it won’t be in a way that Brett will appreciate. But if he can’t give Julie what she wants, then maybe they should be over.” That thought was nauseating. “Can I stay at your place tonight? I can only imagine what will happen at the club.”

“No, you can stay at our place.”

A smile grew on my face, and it felt so good after the depressing morning. “Thank you.”