“She said she’d leave her fiancé if I’d take her back.”
My mouth drops open. Closing my eyes, I start to rub my temples. When I open them again, I say, “That sounds like more than nothing, Dalton.”
“It was nothing to me.”
Just like that… my heart is his again.
There’s something about a man who has the ability to knock you off your feet with only a few sweet words. I throw myself on him, holding him tight. With my cheek pressed to his chest, I say, “Last night you told a room full of people that you love me.”
I feel him tense, his hands trying to push me away. I embrace him even tighter until his arms wrap around me and he’s holding me just as tight.
“I do,” he whispers.
My smile returns. His words are not direct, but the message is loud and clear.
“When you fly away, remember to leave a forwarding address.” ~Johnny Outlaw
We didn’t get the answers about the drugs like we wanted, but I made the decision to trust Dalton, so that’s what I did. Despite the tabloids announcing he and his ex were ‘Secretly dating,’ ‘Caught in the Act at her Reception,’ and ‘Married,’ I stuck by him.
Although negative press sucks, Dalton leaving me sucks more. “Four weeks,” he says, holding my hand. With a smile on his face, he leans down and kisses me. “You can come anytime. I’ll fly you to wherever we are in the world.” He backs up with a deep breath, exhales, and says, “Goodb—”
My finger goes to his lips, and I say, “No goodbyes.”
“No goodbyes.” With a little arrogant smile playing on his mouth, he turns and leaves, shutting the door behind him.
I sit down on the couch and turn on the TV, pretending that my whole world isn’t turned upside down again. I click it off, unsettled in my own skin. The truth is my world is turned upside down and it takes too much effort to pretend it isn’t.
My phone rings and seeing Dalton’s name on the screen makes me smile. I answer quickly, “Hi.”
“I miss you already. Does that make me a pussy?”
“Not in my book. It makes you charming.”
“I wasn’t charming before?” he asks with a chuckle.
“I never said that. Anyway, I like when you say sweet things to me.”
“Holliday,” he says, the laughter gone from his voice. “I owe you for all the shit that happened.”
“No—”
“Please just let me say this.” He pauses, then says, “Thank you for being there and staying.”
I could make a big deal about it and torture him by going over it again, but I don’t for two reasons. One, because I believe him. And two, because I don’t want to rehash the negative. I’m liking the here and now too much to ruin it. So I say, “You’re welcome,” and leave it at that.
When Tracy arrives for work, she brings coffee, just another reason I love her so much. We sit on the patio, enjoying the nice day while working on the schedule.
“I’ve got a fitting tomorrow,” she says. “You can still come, right? I want a second set of eyes that I trust.”
“Of course. Can’t wait.”
“And we chose our baker and caterer. Deposits have been paid. How’s your dress shopping coming along?”
Looking at her, I lower my sunglasses. “Not great…”
“You haven’t shopped yet, have you?”
“Dalton was here.”
“Well he’s gone, so get your ass in gear.”
“Hey,” I say, “I wasn’t just sitting around—”
She points at me accusingly. “Oh I know you weren’t ‘sitting’ around.’ You two do it like rabbits.”
Cocking my eyebrow, I shrug. “I’d love to deny that,” I say, then giggle. “But you’re right. My sex life has never been better.” I shuffle some papers around, realizing I forgot to sign them yesterday. “But besides the sex, I actually did get some work done. I finished all the cards and after I sign this document, I’m all caught up.”
“Well, let’s keep it that way. I hate being behind. We have some busy weeks ahead, so you might have to squeeze some more work than usual in between the sex sessions. I need that pretty head of yours in the game. Fully in the game.”
It seemed so simple, in theory, to stay on top of things… until I had lunch with Rochelle a few days later for a mid-week get together. We sit and chat while Neil is content with toys on the table. It’s good to talk to someone who understands the crazy life that Dalton leads. But we mostly talk about our lives because I have a feeling most people don’t ask about her life much at all. This vibrant, intelligent woman probably gets overlooked in the shadow of her famous partner. I refuse to do the same.