She chuckled. “I suppose.”

  I patted her shoulder. “Well, I’m at your mercy every single day at work. If you want a bagel just let me know. If you need anything at all, just ask and I’ll be there.”

  “That’s very sweet, Conrad. But I have a secretary.”

  “The offer still stands.” I put my hands in my pockets and stared at her slightly distended stomach. “And you can take maternity leave whenever you want. I’m sure Dad and I can manage.”

  “We’ve got a long way to go…you’ll be stuck with me for a while.”

  “Just take it easy. We need that baby to come out fat and healthy.”

  “I’m not having a fat baby,” she argued.

  “Are you sure?” I teased. “If its anything like you it’ll definitely eat too much.”

  She swatted my shoulder playfully. “You know what? Now you better bring me a cranberry scone and a hot chocolate tomorrow morning.”

  “Hot chocolate?” I asked. “It’s like a hundred degrees.”

  “Well, I can’t have coffee. It’s either that or nothing. You better bring it to me.”

  Now that she was pregnant I had to be nice to her. Well, at least nicer than I normally was. “Whatever you want, Skye.”

  ***

  After I left the gym I headed home. My bag was over my shoulder as I entered the lobby then took the elevator to my floor. Working out was boring sometimes but I had to stay in great shape to keep my lady around. I already bought her pretty things and treated her like a queen, but being exceptionally good-looking didn’t hurt.

  After I got the door unlocked, I entered my apartment and tossed my bag aside. Then I realized how dark it was. The curtains covered the windows, and a few flickers of light caught my eye.

  My table had a white tablecloth over it. A few white candles glowed on the surface, and there was a small vase of flowers. Plates and glasses were set on the surface, and a full feast was prepared.

  “You’re home.” Lexie appeared out of the kitchen wearing a pink apron. It fit snugly around her and showed her slim waist and curvy hips. Her hair was pulled back slightly, revealing her pretty face and green eyes. Her presence left me speechless and I wasn’t sure why.

  “What’s this?” My voice came out quiet.

  “I wanted to surprise you with dinner. I know you work hard all day.” She approached me with happiness shining bright in her eyes. I’d received that look from her countless times before. It went straight down to my soul and made me feel warm.

  “That was very thoughtful of you.” I spotted the diamond necklace around her throat and the matching earrings. My hands moved to her hips and I kissed the corner of her mouth purposely. “It’s a wonderful surprise.”

  “I made your favorite—filet mignon with mashed potatoes.”

  “Yum.” I was hungry but all I cared about was her. I stared into her eyes and never wanted to look away. An image of her being pregnant suddenly came to me. It bulged out slightly, making a dent in her apron. She waited for me to come home all day, and now that I was here her day was complete.

  I blinked my eyes and the vision evaporated.

  She cupped my face and kissed me softly on the lips. “And I made pie.”

  I smiled involuntarily. “My favorite part of the meal.”

  She pushed my jacket off my shoulders then hung it up. “I hope you’re hungry.”

  “I am.” I grabbed her wrist and yanked her toward me. “But I’d rather have dessert before dinner.”

  She understood my meaning. “You don’t want your food to get cold. And we have the rest of the night for…dessert.”

  ***

  I ate everything on my plate then took a deep breath. “Man, that was good.”

  “I’m glad you liked it.”

  “Your man is definitely full.” I glanced over my shoulder and glanced into the kitchen. “Not that I couldn’t go for some pie too…”

  She chuckled. “I’ll give your stomach a few minutes to settle.” She swirled her wine glass then took a drink.

  I stared at her soft blonde hair and imagined all the times I’d caressed it. No matter how much time I spent with her, I never grew tired of her. She was my other half, the woman that made me a better man. So many emotions were going through me in that moment. And I kept thinking about that last conversation I had with Slade and Theo.

  “What’s on your mind?” she asked. “I can tell there’s a million thoughts going on in there.”

  “Just you…us.”

  “What about us?” she asked playfully.

  “I’m very happy.” That was the only way I knew how to describe it.

  “Me too.” Her eyes brightened in affection. “How was your day?”

  My day had been a blur except for one important event. “Skye is pregnant.”

  “She is?” Her jaw dropped. “Oh my god, that’s great.”

  I smiled when I recalled the conversation I had with her. “She’s really excited about it. Now I’m excited about it…”

  “Awe.” Lexie clapped her hands in excitement. “That is wonderful. Skye and Cayson will have such cute kids.”

  “I’m sure they will.” It was crazy to think my childhood friends and family were having children of their own. Clementine had a son and now Skye would have a child of her own. It made me wonder about my future.

  “After being apart for so long, they deserve something wonderful like this.”

  “I agree.”

  Lexie grabbed the pie from the kitchen and didn’t slice it up and put it on plates. Instead, she sat beside me and handed me a fork. “We both know we’re just going to eat out of the tin.”

  I smiled before I leaned in and kissed her forehead. My lips stayed there for a long time before I turned my attention back to my pie. “You’re right. We always do.”

  ***

  I stood outside the store for a very long time. I leaned against my car and just stared through the window. People passed on the sidewalk, getting to work and other places. I didn’t even notice they were there.

  Finally, I walked inside and kept my hands in my pockets. Bright rainbows kept flashing me in the eye and making me blind. I walked through the aisles and browsed at the different options.

  “Sir, do you need any help?” the woman at the register asked.

  “I’m just looking. But thank you.” I stopped when I saw a ring that caught my attention. It had a thin white gold band and a large circular diamond in the center. Small diamonds were imbedded into the band.

  She slowly approached me and caught my gaze. “It’s very beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah…” Why was I in here? Why was I looking at this ring? What the hell was I doing?

  “I get a lot of admirers for this ring.”

  “Then why hasn’t anyone bought it?”

  She opened the glass then showed me the price tag.

  “Oh…”

  She smiled. “It’s definitely one of our most expensive rings.”

  It would look great with the other things I bought Lexie. She would be decorated in the finest jewelry. Everyone would know she was mine, and she was spoiled. Every guy would take one look at her and know there was a man behind the scenes taking care of her.

  I couldn’t stop staring at it.

  What the hell was I doing?

  “Would you like to get a closer look?”

  “Uh…” I couldn’t make up my mind. I’d already made the foolish decision to come in here to begin with. “Sure.”

  She placed the ring on the counter in front of me.

  I felt it in my fingertips and examined it. The diamond was the highest quality I’d ever seen. It was flawless, and indefinite rainbows shined in my eyes. When I looked into the diamond, I saw Lexie’s face.

  “So…what do you think?”

  “It’s really nice.”

  “Will you be taking it with you?” She examined my face as she waited for a reaction.

  “Uh…” I couldn’t make a decision.

  “It’s a big purchase.” She grabbed the ring and returned it to the case. “But I’ll put it on hold for you for a few weeks if you change your mind. I can guarantee no one is going to buy it in the meantime anyway.”

  “Well…thanks.” I put my hands in my pockets as I stood there.

  “Whoever you’re shopping around for is a very lucky girl.” She gave me a quick smile before she walked away and attended to another customer.

  I remained in place, my eyes still examining the ring I couldn’t stop thinking about.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lexie

  I just finished a session with a couple I’d been working with for almost a year. They’d made a lot of progress in the right direction, but they’d also had more problems than even I, a therapist, could get them through. I was making notes so I wouldn’t forget anything when my phone buzzed.

  I love you. The message was from Conrad. We hadn’t spoken all day, and the words came out of nowhere. He was sweet at the most unsuspecting times. Sometimes he could be cocky and arrogant, and other times he acted like I was the only thing in the world that mattered to him.

  I love you too.

  He didn’t say anything else after that. And that only made it sweeter.

  I turned back to my work when my phone rang. Assuming it was Conrad, I snatched it. But instead of seeing his name on the screen, I saw my mother’s.

  Ugh, I hated talking to my mother.

  My real hatred was aimed at my slutty sister. I really hated that bitch. When I slapped her across the face, I didn’t feel an ounce of guilt. In fact, it felt amazing. More than likely, that’s why my mom was calling. Macy had tattled on me, and now I had to face the music.

  I took a deep breath before I answered. “Hello, Mom. How are you?”

  “Hey, honey. I hope I’m not calling at a bad time.”

  It’s the middle of the day and I’m obviously at work. But whatever. “No, what’s up?”

  “Your father and I wanted you to come over for dinner tonight.”

  Like I’d ever walk into that snake pit again. “I have plans tonight.” That was a lie but I didn’t care.

  “Do you think you could rearrange some things?”

  Why? Was it important? “Everything alright?”

  “Your father and I just want to sit down and talk to you and your sister—together.”

  That didn’t sound good. “Does she have to be there?”

  “Yes, Lexie. She’s your sister no matter what happens between you.”

  I couldn’t bring Conrad over there again. Macy would probably stick her foot up his pant leg until she reached his crotch. The idea of her trying to take him away from me again just pissed me off. “I’d rather not.”

  Mom grew more aggressive. “That’s not your decision. You will come over tonight and that’s final.”

  I wanted to talk back to her. I wasn’t a child anymore and she couldn’t boss me around. Now I was a grown woman, and had been one for a long time.

  Mom seemed to understand how she just behaved. “Lexie, I’m sorry…can you please come? It would mean a lot to your father and I.”

  How could I deny my mom when she sounded like that? “I guess…”

  “And as much as we love Conrad, please don’t bring him. We just want it to be us.”

  Like I’d bring my man around that bitch anyway. “Okay.”

  “Thank you. I’ll see you then.”

  “Bye, Mom.”

  ***

  The second I walked inside my apartment, Conrad called me. I stopped by the grocery store and I was trying to haul everything inside. It was too difficult to get to the phone so I just let it ring while I made it to the kitchen. After I set my bags down and retrieved the phone, Conrad was calling again.

  “Hey,” I said slightly out of breath.

  “What took you so long?” His voice was deep and slightly full of menace.

  “Putting down the groceries…psychopath.”

  He chuckled into the phone. “I guess I’m a little psycho when it comes to you.”

  “A little?” I asked incredulously. I headed to the kitchen and started putting the groceries away.

  “Okay…a lot. Anyway, what are we doing tonight?”

  “Actually, I have plans.” I really didn’t want to spend time with my family. I know everyone said they hated their family, but I actually hated mine.

  “Yeah?” he asked, a little irritated. “You’re going to leave your man home alone tonight?”

  “You got your hand and a jar of Vaseline. You’ll be fine.”

  “But we both know I prefer you.”

  My spine shivered at his words but I pretended they didn’t have any effect on me.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Having dinner with my family…” The words burned my mouth as I said them. “My parents want to talk to Macy and I…probably about what happened.”

  “I can come along for support.”

  “Actually, they asked me not to bring you, not because they dislike you.”

  “You can bring me anyway. You know me, I never listen to anyone.”

  I smiled involuntarily. “You’re right about that. But I should go alone. Mom sounded upset…so I’ll let her get her way this time.”

  “Come over when you’re finished. I’ll give you a nice back rub and let you vent all you want.”

  “Thanks for the offer.”

  His voice turned serious, like he picked up on my unease. “Baby, it’ll be alright. No matter how bad things get you always have me. Don’t forget that.”

  Like I had a thousand times, I melted at his words. Conrad was the only man that could make me fall in love over and over again with every passing day. “I know, Con.”

  “Come over when you’re done.”

  “Okay.”

  “Love you, baby.”

  My voice almost cracked with emotion. “I love you too.”

  ***

  I was on edge the moment I walked in the house. I didn’t want to be there, and I certainly didn’t want to see my sister. Who possessed such evilness to sabotage every relationship I had? She was that pathetic?

  Ugh, I hated her.

  I greeted Mom and Dad quickly and didn’t let our hugs linger. The fact they knew my sister acted like a brat but did nothing about it irritated me. Instead of telling her to grow up and get a real job, they let her get away with anything. If I fell on hard times I knew they wouldn’t offer to help me at all.

  When I reached the table, Macy was there. She glanced my way but didn’t smirk or cast a glare. Then she faced forward again, like she hadn’t seen me at all. I sat in the chair beside me and located the knife next to my plate.

  I might need that later.

  Mom served dinner and we ate quietly. It was tense, like a cloud was hanging over us for the entire meal. I was the only one with a problem so I wondered if the awkwardness was all in my head.

  There wasn’t as much small talk as usual. Mom asked me about work but didn’t seem interested in any of my responses. She looked thinner than the last time I saw her. Her face was less round, and her cheekbones were more noticeable. Dad didn’t look any different. Macy picked at her food without eating much of it. She was always watching her diet obsessively.

  Whatever Mom wanted to talk about would wait until dinner was over. I picked at my food and waited for the time to pass. I just wanted to get this over with so I could go home and be around the person who actually made me happy.

  After the dishes were cleared and coffee was set on the table, Mom cleared her throat. Whatever she wanted to say was obviously difficult for her to get out. I assumed she wanted to talk about the feud between Macy and I, but she looked too grave for that. Maybe there was something else on her mind.

  “This isn’t easy for me to say, girls. I don’t think this is something easy for anyone to say…”

  Shit, what was going on. “Mom, is everything okay?”

  “Are you sick?” Macy asked.

  “No, nothing like that,” Mom said quickly. She stared into her coffee like she couldn’t look us directly in the eye.

  Dad didn’t touch her hand or look at her. His gaze was directed across the room.

  “Your father and I love each other very much…but we think it’s best if we go our separate ways. Both of you are adults so this should be easy to understand. Please understand that we both love you very much and that will never change.”

  What did she say?

  Mom and Dad were getting a divorce.

  What?

  I thought they were happy.

  Weren’t they?

  Macy looked just as speechless. “But…you’ve been together forever.”

  My parents were high school sweethearts. As far as I knew, they’d been in love ever since. But I guess I was wrong.

  “Yes,” Mom said sadly. “But these things run their course.”

  I hadn’t even noticed they were having problems. Last time I was over here everything seemed fine. What happened? Where did it go wrong? “What happened?”

  “Yeah,” Macy said. It was the first time she and I were on the same side of anything.

  Mom shrugged. “Love just dies.”

  Love just dies? She couldn’t mean that.

  “I don’t understand…” Macy gripped the edge of the table. “How can that possibly be true? You guys seemed so happy together.”

  Mom’s eyes watered like she wouldn’t be able to get through the conversation.

  Dad had a stoic expression on his face. His thoughts were unreadable, but it didn’t seem like this conversation was just as painful for him.

  Mom dabbed her eyes with a napkin and choked back the emotion. “These things happen sometimes…”

  “Well, what went wrong?” I asked. “Did you guys fight a lot? You can always see a marriage counselor for this sort of thing. Most of my patients resolve their issues and move forward once they put the effort into it.”

  Mom shook her head. “I’m sorry, honey. But this is the way it has to be.”

  I turned to Dad. “Why haven’t you said anything?”

  “Your mother is a much better talker than I am.” He still wouldn’t meet my gaze.

  There was something else going on here but I couldn’t figure it out.

 

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