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“Stop thinking about it,” Rose leans over and whispers in my ear… “Especially since what you are thinking is one hundred percent wrong.” I don’t bother justifying myself to her again. Especially since something inside of me is telling me she is right. But at the same time, why else would she have had a key?
The day before yesterday, I was at Nolan’s place since Rose and Nick were at mine. We had just come out of the room for breakfast. Nolan, dominant man that he is, had me leaning against the counter, shirt off, mouth all over me, torturing my nipples and promising to put his mouth on my pussy like I love, and then his doorbell rang.
Like lightning, he put me back in his shirt and behind him while he answers. He turns to me, grumbling something about someone seeing me with flushed skin. I giggle behind my hand but hide the smile when he gives me the naughty look.
The door opens, and I am literally on my toes trying to see around him. Stupid tall Norse God. The door shuts without me seeing who it was, but he has a package in his hand. “For you my lady.” He bows like a man from the past. Giggling, I take the box from his hand and walk back to the counter.
“Do you want me to open it now?” I am dying to see what is inside.
“Yes please.” Giddy and impatient, I open it to find a necklace that matches the earrings and bracelet.
“Oh my gosh. Nolan, it’s beautiful. This must have cost a fortune. The entire set must be worth more than a few hundred.” He shrugs his shoulders and walks over to me. Taking the necklace from the box, he motions for me to spin around and put it around my neck.
“Money means nothing, doll. You are priceless,” he says into my ear, bringing tears to my eyes. Spinning in his arms, I wrap mine around his neck and kiss him.
“I’m in love with you, Nolan. I don’t know why it has taken me so long to say it to you, but it’s true. I love you so much.” My heart feels lighter the moment I release the words. I have not been aware of how much holding it in was weighing on me, but now, having let it go, I can feel the difference. He says nothing at first. He hangs his head and grips my waist so hard I know it is going to leave bruises, and I welcome them. I want his marks on me.
“Jesus, baby. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting on you to say that. But there are things you don’t know. Things I haven’t told you.” Oh no.
“Nolan, you are scaring me. What things?” He shakes his head and looks at me.
“I want to tell you. I want there to be no secrets between us, but once you find out what lengths I have gone…” He doesn’t finish his thought, and I find myself shaking. Something tells me whatever he is going to say could ruin everything. I grip my throat and step back from him, needing space. “I am going to tell you. But first I need to do this.” He walks away and into the bedroom. I turn to follow him when I hear keys in his door. Thinking it’s Nick, I go to open it, and a girl walks in. Not just any girl. No. She is beautiful. Blonde and svelte, wrapped in a pair of jeans that look like she was drawn into them and a tank top.
“Who are you and why do you have a key to Nolan’s place?” I ask her, feeling a bit sick.
“I’m Carmen. He gave me the key. Who are you?” My head is shaking back and forth vigorously, needing to be dreaming this nightmare.
“Oh, God.” My stomach begins to ache; pain, as I have never felt, splits me in two.
“Are you alright?” I hear the girl ask. As if she really cares. Yeah right. I spot my purse on the couch. Without another word, in his t-shirt and my socks, I grab my purse, pull my coat off his rack, steal a pair of boots, and run out the door. I hear what I think is my name being yelled from his mouth, but I don’t stop to see.
Pulling up my app, I order an Uber to meet me a block and a half away and run my way there. Once I am in the apartment, Rose comes out, hair mused and face red. “Cheryl? Cheryl, what's happened?” I shake my head, tears pouring from my face, unable to speak. “I am going to kill him.” She says without me having to say anything. “Listen, why don’t we leave early and go to the signing? We can spend a day in the hotel before the signing, and you can tell me everything.”
That is what we did. We packed all my stuff in record time; luckily I hadn’t unpacked the boxes of books I ordered for it or the banner and table runner. After a few hours of being on the road, I calmed down enough to tell her what happened, expecting indignation and vows of revenge from my best friend, but instead, I was met with disbelief and non-compliance.
The first thing out of her mouth was that I was nuts and looking for a reason to run from him because I was scared of all I am feeling. She told me that she knows for a fact he is in love with me and that he would never hurt me. She said there has to be a logical explanation for what happened. Can you believe her?
I have to admit that I miss him so much my heart hurts. I woke up today not in his arms for the second time, and it felt like I was missing a piece of myself. I kept remembering the way he would hold me and kiss me. How he felt moving inside of me, telling me he was breeding me so I could never leave him. Then I remember he was going to confess something to me before Carmen walked in, and none of the pieces fit.
“Well, at least my books seem to be a success,” I tell Rose, filling up one of my stands.
“Yeah. Who knew clean romance was such a draw?” she asks, making a gagging face. I giggle and shake my head at her. I turn around to grab some more bookmarks, and then Rose calls my name. “Uh, Cheryl, you might want to turn around.”
“Why? What...?” My next question is cut off by about twenty guys, each carrying a bouquet of pink roses in vases come walking toward my table. They set them down surrounding my booth, and I begin to feel butterflies in my stomach. Once the last one moves, I see him, Nolan, dressed in a button-up shirt and slacks. “Nolan what is…” My mom, dad, and brother are all with him, and suddenly, I know what is happening.
Shaking my head and putting my hand to my mouth, I look down at my man on his knees, and I know in my heart everything has been a huge misunderstanding. “Cheryl, my love. My sweet, beautiful doll. The woman who enthralled me from the first phone call with your light wit and idealistic heart, I am in love with you. I know why you ran and though it gutted me to think you felt I would cheat on you, I got it. Carmen is my housekeeper and the wife of one of my clients.” I am so dumb.
“I should have known,” I tell him, feeling so stupid. “But then you started confessing something and didn’t finish, and she walked in, and it sort of felt too good to be true and some crazy coincidence, so I assumed,” I say, spilling it all out.
“I know, baby. I was going to tell you how crazy I have been. I didn’t live here in Maine when we first talked. I was living in Chicago, alone, and recluse. Then I heard your voice and something in me woke up. I felt life and like there was a destiny out there for me. Then I looked up your bio and my soul knew it had met its mate. So I moved, the very next day, and watched you from afar, needing to soak up everything I could about you until we met in person.” Oh my. His confession should scare me, right? I should be calling him a psycho and running away, but knowing the lengths he went to have me; I just feel cherished and loved.
“Nolan.” I touch his cheek, so he knows I am not running anymore.
“I was going to tell you all of it, but I wanted my ring on your finger first so you wouldn’t leave me. Then you left anyway, and I almost lost it, baby. But, I got it together enough to go to your parents and introduce myself. I told your father if he gave me permission to marry you, I would put you before myself in love, honor and protection. So here I am doll, on my knees, telling you I love you so much that when you are not with me I feel bereft, lost. Make me whole baby and marry me.” Oh my God. There are so many emotions going through me like a sandstorm, picking up other emotions and thoughts and questions along its journey, but the one thing I keep landing on is I love him. I am in love with him, and I want nothing more than to marry the love of my life.
“Yes! Yes Nolan, I will marry you.” He slides the ring on my finger, and for the first time, I look at it. “Nolan!” The tears are a real thing now when I see what he chose. “It’s beautiful.” It's a heart-shaped diamond with pink diamonds around it.
“It’s perfect, just like you.” And right here, in front of the people who love me, and him, I kiss my future husband.
