every single day,” Mike
said. “I can’t imagine what it was like for you. You lost your
family and then me . . . To lose your
mom . . .”
“ It was the baby that
really did me in.”
“ What baby?”
“ Before I tell you, I want
you to be clear: I left Wes. I left the ring, the beach condo,
everything. I don’t want to be with him. Tomorrow, Wes is going to
say he loved me enough to encourage me to sort out my life. My
publicist talked him into it as a way for him to save face. He can
be vicious if he’s humiliated.”
“ But that’s not
true?”
“ No, that’s not true. I
left him a note saying I was leaving. I don’t know why I said that
at the airport. It’s like my soul spoke the truth — I wanted to
come home to my husband,” Valerie said. “I was just one of Wes’s
women, one in a long line of trophy brides.”
“ Why would you want that?”
Mike asked. His voice held hurt and confusion.
“ It’s safe. I don’t have
to risk . . .”
“ Losing again.” Mike
finished her sentence. He settled her back against him and kissed
her head.
“ I want to be here with
you. This is my choice and my choice alone. It’s been a long time
since I’ve made my own choice . . . It feels
good . . . right.”
“ What about the meeting
tomorrow?” Mike asked. “Jake said you have
a . . .”
“ The meeting got me off my
ass yesterday. I’ve wanted to come a million times, a billion
times. I’ve wanted to beg you like I did when we were kids. I just
never had the courage.”
“ And now?”
“ I want to see if we can
make it work. I mean . . . if you
. . .”
“ There’s nothing in this
world I want more than to be your husband every single day,” Mike
said. “But Val, what baby? How . . .?”
He didn’t know how to ask
the question. He knew she wasn’t pregnant with his
child.
Valerie turned again to
look at him. He looked away when her eyes filled with
tears.
“ We were pregnant — you
and me. I didn’t tell you because I wanted to be sure. Remember you
asked me if my breasts were bigger or if I’d gained
weight?”
Mike nodded. “Your body
changed. I could see it in the photos.”
“ Couple days after Mom
died, I lost the baby.”
“ Oh, Val,” Mike said. He
gathered her close. She nestled her head on his shoulder. “Oh
God . . .”
For the first time since
that awful month in Hollywood, Mike cried. Lying together in the
bath, he cried for himself and her. He cried for their baby. Then
in jerky unplanned sentences, he told her about the days and nights
he was dead to the world.
When the bath water
cooled, they migrated to soft blankets in front of the fireplace.
With his head on her lap, he told her about the one thing that got
him through — the unbreakable love in his heart for Valerie, for
her.
When the sun peaked over
the horizon, Mike slipped Val’s original wedding ring from her
right hand. His eyes held the question, which she answered with a
nod. He slipped the ring where it belonged, on her left ring
finger.
And they began
again.
~~~~~~~~
Jill woke when the early
morning light hit her eyes. Stretching in Jacob’s comfortable bed,
she smiled. The sheets smelled like Jacob. She turned toward the
warm body next to her to find Sarah. Sarah licked her face and Jill
laughed. Hearing the odd sound that woke her, she sat up to see
what was going on.
She wandered across the
open loft toward the sound. Passing the sagging couch, she saw
Jacob sitting at his round dining table. Wearing only his white
boxer briefs, he spoke quietly into a Bluetooth device connected to
a cell phone. He was also texting someone on his Blackberry. The
sound that had woken her was his fingers blazing across his
Blackberry keys.
Unsure of what to do, she
stopped walking. Her eyes darted across his muscular legs, flat
belly, and round, muscular shoulders. Her hand moved instinctivey
to hold the rising heat in her belly while her eyes settled on the
dark line
said. “I can’t imagine what it was like for you. You lost your
family and then me . . . To lose your
mom . . .”
“ It was the baby that
really did me in.”
“ What baby?”
“ Before I tell you, I want
you to be clear: I left Wes. I left the ring, the beach condo,
everything. I don’t want to be with him. Tomorrow, Wes is going to
say he loved me enough to encourage me to sort out my life. My
publicist talked him into it as a way for him to save face. He can
be vicious if he’s humiliated.”
“ But that’s not
true?”
“ No, that’s not true. I
left him a note saying I was leaving. I don’t know why I said that
at the airport. It’s like my soul spoke the truth — I wanted to
come home to my husband,” Valerie said. “I was just one of Wes’s
women, one in a long line of trophy brides.”
“ Why would you want that?”
Mike asked. His voice held hurt and confusion.
“ It’s safe. I don’t have
to risk . . .”
“ Losing again.” Mike
finished her sentence. He settled her back against him and kissed
her head.
“ I want to be here with
you. This is my choice and my choice alone. It’s been a long time
since I’ve made my own choice . . . It feels
good . . . right.”
“ What about the meeting
tomorrow?” Mike asked. “Jake said you have
a . . .”
“ The meeting got me off my
ass yesterday. I’ve wanted to come a million times, a billion
times. I’ve wanted to beg you like I did when we were kids. I just
never had the courage.”
“ And now?”
“ I want to see if we can
make it work. I mean . . . if you
. . .”
“ There’s nothing in this
world I want more than to be your husband every single day,” Mike
said. “But Val, what baby? How . . .?”
He didn’t know how to ask
the question. He knew she wasn’t pregnant with his
child.
Valerie turned again to
look at him. He looked away when her eyes filled with
tears.
“ We were pregnant — you
and me. I didn’t tell you because I wanted to be sure. Remember you
asked me if my breasts were bigger or if I’d gained
weight?”
Mike nodded. “Your body
changed. I could see it in the photos.”
“ Couple days after Mom
died, I lost the baby.”
“ Oh, Val,” Mike said. He
gathered her close. She nestled her head on his shoulder. “Oh
God . . .”
For the first time since
that awful month in Hollywood, Mike cried. Lying together in the
bath, he cried for himself and her. He cried for their baby. Then
in jerky unplanned sentences, he told her about the days and nights
he was dead to the world.
When the bath water
cooled, they migrated to soft blankets in front of the fireplace.
With his head on her lap, he told her about the one thing that got
him through — the unbreakable love in his heart for Valerie, for
her.
When the sun peaked over
the horizon, Mike slipped Val’s original wedding ring from her
right hand. His eyes held the question, which she answered with a
nod. He slipped the ring where it belonged, on her left ring
finger.
And they began
again.
~~~~~~~~
Jill woke when the early
morning light hit her eyes. Stretching in Jacob’s comfortable bed,
she smiled. The sheets smelled like Jacob. She turned toward the
warm body next to her to find Sarah. Sarah licked her face and Jill
laughed. Hearing the odd sound that woke her, she sat up to see
what was going on.
She wandered across the
open loft toward the sound. Passing the sagging couch, she saw
Jacob sitting at his round dining table. Wearing only his white
boxer briefs, he spoke quietly into a Bluetooth device connected to
a cell phone. He was also texting someone on his Blackberry. The
sound that had woken her was his fingers blazing across his
Blackberry keys.
Unsure of what to do, she
stopped walking. Her eyes darted across his muscular legs, flat
belly, and round, muscular shoulders. Her hand moved instinctivey
to hold the rising heat in her belly while her eyes settled on the
dark line
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