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“I’ll be right back, Champ. Keep an eye on the cake, will you?” Felicity says.
Eli nods and gives her a mock salute.
As the water heats up, I tug off my clothes and walk into the bathroom. It’s going to be a long shower as my muscles are stiff with fatigue and I can barely move my joints.
After attending the Board meetings the entire morning, Dad called and asked that we have lunch together. We spent two hours talking about work, family, and a hundred and one random things. He kept asking about Felicity and wanted to know when we’ll set the date for our wedding.
Sighing, I tip my head back and let the hot spray hit my face and then my shoulders. I trace the scar on my wrist, running my finger upwards across my forearm. I can still remember that day like it happened yesterday.
I push the thought aside and pick up the washcloth. But the meeting with Amelia in the afternoon takes over my mind. She had been furious about Felicity having moved into the house and had screamed profanities, threatening to never let me see Eli again.
For a moment, I feel she’s not doing all of it to protect Eli, but to stop me from having my happiness the way she is. Perhaps she had expected that I’ll be miserable for the rest of my life. I mean, if she couldn’t tolerate me, no woman stands a chance.
I almost opened up to her about the state of my relationship with Felicity. I felt telling her was going to help her understand the situation I’m in. But then, she had been so vindictive and had laid out everything I’d ever done, including the ones I tried my damned best to make up for.
I shake my head, shut off the water and dry myself, then slip on a robe walking into the bedroom, a tad disappointed when I notice that Felicity is nowhere in sight. The door opens and she walks in with two wine glasses and a bottle.
“I meant it when I asked you to join me in the bathroom, Felicity.”
She smirks.
“I assumed you were merely doing that for the audience.”
“Audience? Those people work for me. I don’t have to impress them.”
“I have to. I don’t want anyone spreading silly rumors about me.”
“So, should we go take the shower? I don’t mind washing up again.”
She narrows her eyes and moves to sit on the edge of the bed. Her gaze assesses me slowly, then she pats the space beside her. I sit, it's a bit hot here and I’m regretting taking that hot shower when I should have opted for a cold one.
“So, what happened while I was away?”
“I was painting on the porch, and he came over and started asking questions. It was… it was beautiful, I felt so light, Declan. I had no idea I wanted Eli to like me this much until we started talking… like real talking.”
The sincerity in her green eyes knocks me out without hesitation, I cover her hand splayed on the bed with mine and lean in closer to kiss her ear.
“I saw you two together and I’ve never seen a sight more spellbinding. When Amelia was screaming and making a scene during the private hearing this afternoon, she said Eli was never going to accept you, that he needs to be in an environment he can feel safe in, a home where he’s appreciated. She said a lot of things and I couldn’t defend most of them. I had nothing to say, Felicity, that scared me more than anything in the world.”
Felicity smiles.
“I am sorry that you had to go through the hearing. Now, you don’t have to worry about me and Eli anymore. Just focus on winning the case and everything else will fall in place.”
My gaze sweeps over her face, then the hand that is now interlacing with mine.
One thought that kept me sane all through the day was that, in the end, when all is said and done, I’d be coming home to Felicity.
Since she moved in, I’ve been happier, the nights have been filled with so much love and excitement. And yes, we don’t get intimate, but then, the feel of her arms wrapped around me and the way she snuggles against my body is the most pleasant feeling in the world.
I know it’s not supposed to be foreign to me because I was once married. But the truth is Amelia and I spent more time arguing about my absence than making up for them. She’d nag and cuss at me for hours, then she’ll recoil into a shell I couldn't reach her in. It was always so hard getting her to see things from my perspective-- getting her to believe in me.
And soon, the love we had for each morphed into disgust, then hate, and then nothing. We were just numb, living like total strangers raising a kid together. So, when she filed for divorce, I was… relieved. Sadly so.
Felicity’s gaze seems to linger on my face. I feel a definite pull and the air around us seems to thicken. Now I know the heat that’s been crawling through my body was the whelming need to touch Felicity.
“I know this is totally off the record, but I’ve not stopped thinking about that night at your apartment, Felicity.”
Her reply is a ragged whisper. She becomes tense immediately, her eyes sweeping across my face.
