“No,” I say emphatically. “Because I didn’t want to even communicate with her. But that’s my fault—I should have put a stop to this when it first started. I spoke to her a couple of days ago, and I told her to stop. You’re the only woman in my life—the only woman I want to be with. Even if you don’t want to talk to me anymore, I still need you to know the truth. That’s not the kind of man I am. Period.”
There’s a moment of silence so long I assume we’re done talking. I turn to head back to my car. Then I hear another crackle.
“I’m unlocking the door.”
My heart lifts.
The door buzzes and pops, and I pull it open. I take the elevator to her floor, and before I can knock, she opens the door.
She’s wearing a sweater that hangs off one shoulder and a pair of leggings that display her curves in a way that makes my mouth water.
“You look gorgeous,” I tell her.
“Why aren’t you at the party?” she asks.
“I went for a little bit. But I got some advice that I needed to fight harder for you. That I fucked up by not doing that.”
She swallows, her eyes glistening. “So why didn’t you?”
I take her hands. “Look, I got my heart broken like you did. I’m scared too. I’ve been in self-preservation mode for so long, that the fight went out of me for a second. But Olivia, if you give me another chance, I promise you I’ll never stop fighting for us.”
A tear escapes one of her eyes. “I owe you an apology too. I should have stayed to hear you out. I just—when you’ve been hurt like that, you don’t think straight, you know?”
I nod. “Yeah. I know.”
“I just—it was like it was all happening all over again.”
I pull her into my arms. “I will never hurt you like that, Olivia. I’ll never do to you what he did. I promise. And I’m sorry it looked that way to you.”
“I’m sorry I walked out on you.” She hugs me back tight. “Can we start over?”
“I would love that,” I say softly.
Olivia looks me in the eye, and I can practically see her gathering her courage. “I—I love you, Matthew Raine.”
My throat tightens. I’ve heard those words before. And before, they were lip service. But now, I know they’re genuine. I can believe her and trust in her, just like she can believe and trust in me. It’s a gift, one I will never squander.
“I love you, Olivia Arnold, and I always will.”
Epilogue
Olivia
Two years later
I close my eyes, listening to the thrashing thunderstorm outside, keeping one ear cocked to the baby monitor to make sure our four-month-old, Sydney Rose, doesn’t wake up. But she sleeps like a rock, thank God, and for some reason, thunderstorms don’t bother her—maybe because she’s a Raine.
Matt nibbles my earlobe. He has me tummy-down in our bed, his front pressed to my back, as he fucks me deep and slow, the pace so deliciously torturous I’ve come twice already—not counting the first orgasm I had while riding his mouth.
I moan softly, circling my hips slowly, rolling them back against him as his thick cock hits something deep inside me.
“That’s it,” he murmurs in my ear. “That’s my good girl. Come for me, baby.”
With a shaking groan, I do that very thing, and he moans in my ear as the rhythmic pulsing of my walls pulls him after me.
“Did we make another baby, Mr. Raine?” I murmur, turning my head to kiss him.
“I’d love that if we did, Mrs. Raine.”
I smile. We had a whirlwind engagement, and then the wedding, with all of our friends in attendance. There was some reservation about how fast our relationship moved, but it was like Matt and I were always meant to be married to each other, always meant to be parents to our beautiful baby girl.
“Would you really?” I ask.
Matt lifts his brows. “Of course, I would. But I’m gone so much, and you’re the one who has to be both of us so often. What I want kind of takes a back seat to what you want.”
“I think I could handle another rug rat,” I say. “You know, have ’em both be young together. Besides, I’ve got wonderful friends to help when I need it, and we have amazing neighbors. Plus, Ellie helps in her own way.” My other baby, my fur baby Ellie, is the puppy we adopted after our engagement. She looks kind of like a lab, but I don’t know what she is, other than an angel on four legs who I love so much. She’s taken to Sydney Rose like they were born to be best friends.
Matt smiles slowly. “So…is that settled? We’re going to try for another baby?”
I roll onto my back and guide his hand to my belly. “Well, here’s a surprise, husband of mine. That baby’s already here.”
His eyes widen. “Liv…really?”
I nod. “I just found out today.”
Matt kisses me deeply. “How did I get so lucky?”
I cup his face. “Probably the same way I did. We were meant to go through a horrible storm so that we could experience the real beauty afterward, together.”
He smiles, glancing out the window. “Rain doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”
I grin back. “Not at all. I love rain. Especially my Raine. Forever.”
“And ever, baby.”
He kisses me again, and I know in my soul I’ll always be safe from the storm with him.
The End
1
Maya Mitchell
“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” my best friend Rae Dawson says hesitantly.
I roll my eyes, even though I know she can’t see me since we’re on the phone. “Trust me, Rae, it was that bad.”
“But you’re so hard on yourself,” she argues. “Plus, you’re really eloquent and smart. I just can’t see you choking.”
I sigh. It’s hard to even rehash my disastrous interview yesterday afternoon, mostly because I’m afraid I’ll start crying again. I walked into the office yesterday morning where I’m a business analyst, feeling confident that the next step up to senior analyst would be mine. I wore a brand-new outfit that made me feel professional and stylish, I felt prepared, I felt like a winner.
And then one minute before I was set to walk into my boss’s office, the bane of my existence, my anxiety disorder, reared its ugly head, and five minutes into the interview, I started having a panic attack.
Needless to say, my startled and concerned boss cut the meeting short and sent me home to take care of myself.
“Taking care of myself” involved me sobbing through my apartment, wearing my most beat up and raggedy sweats, binge-eating and crying some more. The only thing that brought me any kind of comfort was my new rescue pup, Zelda.
“Maya?” Rae says softly.
“Yeah,” I say around the lump in my throat. “Listen, it’s almost time for Zelda’s session. I have to go.”
“Call me later,” Rae says. “I’ll bring wine and junk over tonight.”
I smile a little. “Okay.”