I moved quickly and pounced on him with renewed energy as I kissed him. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, baby. I should’ve planned a bigger event to ask you and I was going to, but I had the ring, and we were here. It struck me to ask you now.” He gave me a rueful grin as I smiled and wiped at the tear sliding down my cheek. “Can you forgive me?”
“Yes, Cole. I can’t believe this,” I sobbed as he opened the box and pulled out the ring. “I can’t wait to marry you.” He took my shaking hand and slipped the ring on my finger before he rolled me over and stared into my eyes.
“You’re mine, baby. I love every part of you, and I know that I can’t live without you. I am aware that you need to be in my future, now and forever.” I looked from his face to the ring, a band of smaller diamonds that surrounded a bigger stone, though nothing that was gaudy or too big for my smaller hand. It was simple and beautiful and almost more than I felt that I was worthy of in my darker moments.
“It’s beautiful, Cole,” I kept staring at it as the tears slid down my cheeks and wonder filled my heart. “So beautiful.” That was the only day that I skipped school, to stay in bed with him making love before we went out to dinner to celebrate over candlelight with wine.
We got married at a small, quaint church a year later after we graduated, ready to start our new lives. Our families were there; both of our parents with their latest significant others of a few months and seemingly happy. I’d like to think that it was a typical family situation, but deep down I understood that it was far from that. I was happy, though, and my new husband loved me completely and without end, and that I loved him just as much.
Thanks to a bad batch of birth control pills, I surprised Cole with a pregnancy two months after the wedding, and we had something else to adjust to. He took it with stride and hurried in finding us a starter house and working on it daily so it was ready for our new arrival. I was sick through most of the nine months and ended up staying home instead of finding a job, but Cole took that responsibility on and did that for me as well.
We made love every night before we fell asleep together, me with raging hormones thanks to the baby and him with the last hint of energy sometimes. It was sweet and slow sometimes and at other hard and fast. I was insatiable. I needed everything that he could give me.
Our daughter Elena Rose was born in the Fall, and after a long birth, I snuggled her in my arms and looked down at her tiny, beautiful face wrapped in her pink blanket while Cole sat with me on the bed to stare at her with me. We were alone after a long day, and I felt the tears in my eyes as I turned my head to look at him. “She’s so pretty. Isn’t she pretty, Cole?”
“Beautiful, just like you, baby,” Cole told me as he slipped an arm around me and kissed my hair before he pressed his lips gently to her soft forehead.
“She was worth it, all of it,” I declared, finally at peace with everything. I’d heard that before from people and never quite got it, but I wouldn’t trade anything for this moment; for my daughter. Life was going to change drastically, and we’d have a lot to adjust to, but I was confident that I could handle all of that with Cole by my side.
I knew that we could take on the world. We’d already been through so much, all for this. All for her.
Stay with me
PROLOGUE
Brett
I stood up and glanced down at the blonde spread out on the bed as I ran my hand through my hair. She was one of many as I nursed my way through a crazy point in my life and I dressed quietly so I could make my way out of her hotel room without waking her up.
It was another night at another bar, with a different woman. I ordered a cab to the bar that was a few blocks away, too tired to walk to my car now of night. Once I was in the parking lot, I got into my brand-new Range Rover and pushed the button as I took a deep breath.
I had the craziest story of anyone that I knew.
I drove home to my apartment on the water and dropped into bed as I pictured Larisa in my mind. She was a one-night-stand that turned into a stepdaughter briefly after I married her mother after a whirlwind relationship. Rayna, her mom, was gorgeous but once I realized who her daughter was, I regretted my choice. Of course, I ended up sleeping with Larisa again for a short time, who was also sleeping with my son and ultimately ended up with him once the dust settled. They were happily married with a son now, and I divorced Rayna soon after Larisa ended things between us. My ex-wife didn’t seem to have a hard time meeting a new man that had a large bank account before I even moved out of her house, so she was doing fine. They were both doing fine, and I was sleeping with various women to get over the memories of Larisa that I still had. I blamed myself for clinging so tightly to them.
I never told her and wouldn’t, but she felt incredible under me, on her knees in front of me and sucking my cock. Larisa was beautiful and one of the women that I wanted more with, but we had too much of an age range between us and we were in different parts of our lives.
That and I knew how much Cole loved her. I saw that when we had our threesome, just once. It was hot, but things changed rapidly after that night, breaking my heart more than I’d ever admit. I’d deal with it for her happiness as well as my son’s.
I just might leave a trail of women behind me as I fucked my way through the pain.
CHAPTER 1
Brett
I showered in the morning, rinsing my hair with the hot water as I closed my eyes. I didn’t drink too much last night knowing that I had to work today but the small amount hit me a lot harder at thirty-nine than it had at the age of twenty-nine.
I had a new assistant starting at work today, replacing one of five years that had a baby and decided to stay home with her new daughter during her maternity leave. This woman was named Amy Norden, and I’d admired her curves from the moment I interviewed her with a few colleagues. She had a stellar resume, and there was no reason not to hire her since the mortgage business was picking up on a weekly basis.
There was also no reason not to hit on her, even though it was inappropriate. I was a good-looking man, and I knew that she’d likely want it as well. Why not spice things up at work? I seemed to lose all my ethics fucking my wife and stepdaughter at the same time, so where was my line? It was only coming up on two years since everything ended and I had a window to keep screwing up.
Besides, I was the CEO. I controlled the company.
I dressed in a crisp white shirt and a pair of my fitted slacks, leaving my green tie around my neck as I ran some product through my hair to keep it controlled to the tousled look that women seemed to enjoy. I always brought a jacket with me in case I met with any clients, but I didn’t wear it in the office. I knotted the tie before I went out to my car and made the short drive to my office. I lived in Colorado when I was still married, which was where Rayna and Larisa lived, working from home or the local office and traveling when needed. Once all of that ended, I made the move back to California and started working in that local office daily again. LA was fast and exciting, keeping me busy and amid dating a lot of women.
I thought back to Colorado as I parked my car in the garage under the building, a place where I cooked dinners and spent time with the family that I had for a fleeting moment. Now I grabbed take-out on the way home or just drank my dinner at a bar, making me shake my head as I got out of the car and draped my jacket over my arm before I headed across the lot to the elevator. I was one of the first ones in the office, and I greeted the few that were already there, getting their computers warmed up and gulping down hot coffee from the Keurig machines in the large break room. I felt the way that the women looked at me with that familiar flush in their cheeks, but I was only interested in my new assistant at this moment. I’d certainly slept with a few of them here since returning, but now I was only focused on one woman.
I turned the corner and saw the curvy brunette standing by the desk that was going to be hers, wearing a pencil skirt and white silk buttoned shirt that many women wore to the office, but she filled it out perfectly. I let my eyes slide down her body to see her black heels with the red bottoms that were so popular and my cock hardened in my pants. Just then, I saw her turn her head and met her deep blue gaze as she raised an eyebrow at me. “Good morning, Miss Norden,” I greeted her as she watched me approach her.
“Call me Amy, since I will be assisting you,” she suggested as her full red lips curved into a scornful smile. I liked her already, and I shifted on my feet to try and hide the evidence of that.
“Call me Brett,” I replied as I opened my office door to set my things down. “I’ll show you around since I need some coffee.” I took her to the break room and showed her everything that we offered employees, making a strong cup of black coffee for myself while she chose to fix a Chai tea latte. I showed her where the restrooms were as well and then we went back to my office, where she sat across from me at my large cherry wood desk. “You have a top-of-the-line Mac at your desk loaded with all of the software that you’ll need. I am also providing you with an iPad for taking any notes as well as other mobile tasks, a cell phone strictly for business as well as access to my business email in case you have to handle any of my communications.” I leaned back before I sipped my coffee, taking in her pale skin and big eyes as I shifted again in my seat. I listed some of the software that we used, and she nodded a few times to indicate that she was familiar with it.