A Complicated Summer of Love (Complicated Love Series #3) (15 page)

Karl pops his head in the door and smiles. “Hey beautiful, are you ready?” Tracy nods and gives me a hug before making her way out. Karl holds the door open for her before he ducks out himself. A few second later Joshua walks in and he looks a bit unsure. He’s standing there, staring straight at me. I love his penetrating gaze and I can feel my heart fluttering frantically. We don’t say a word, we just continue to stare at each other. I’m not sure where to start and I’m not sure he does either, but we have to start talking.

I take a breath. “Tracy reckons I should listen to what you have to say.”

He looks shocked and his eyes widen. “I thought Tracy believed I’d done it by the way she reacted.”

“Yeah.” I’m not good at this at all, and my eyes are welling up again.

How did we get here?

Joshua crosses the room quickly and kneels in front of me. He takes my hand and I let him.

“Darling you have to believe me when I say that I never slept with Maddison. I would never do that to you…I love you and I would never dream of sabotaging our future together.”

“Then why did she tell Brandon?”

He shakes his head and he looks a bit lost. “I have no idea, she thinks she loves me.” He looks me in the eyes and tries to steady his breathing. “Look, I know I should’ve told you, but you were good friends with Maddison and I didn’t want to cause any issues between you two, but I know that was a mistake. She’s been coming on to me at work.”

The tears release and trail down her face, so I wipe them away with my thumbs.

“Coming on to you?”

I nod. “Yeah, she was a good PA and I thought she was a friend too, but I didn’t realize that everything I did she thought there was more to it. To me, I treated her like any other employee so I never saw it coming until she tried to kiss me.”

Annabelle sniffles. “You kissed?”

I swallow hard. “No, it wasn’t like that. She came into my office for a meeting. We were just talking and waiting for the businessmen to show up. She was overly flirty, but I knew what Maddison was like so I didn’t really think anything of it. As we were talking, she kept getting closer and closer until she was standing right in front of me. That’s when the conversation changed. You see, we were just talking about work, but then she started saying that she knew I liked her and that she was bored with waiting around for something to happen. I had no idea what she was talking about, but the next thing I knew…she was kissing me.”

“Did you kiss her back?”

As I was talking, Annabelle diverted her eyes away from mine and I saw more tears flowing down her face, but now she’s staring right at me, waiting for my answer.

“You have to understand that I was caught off guard and I wasn’t really thinking. I pushed her away as soon as I came to my senses, I swear darling.”

Annabelle looks down and doesn’t say anything for a while, then finally she speaks, “Did you have sex with her?”

I shake my head, adamantly. “No that never happened. There was another situation, though.” I stroke her hands. “I came back from a meeting a couple of months ago to find Maddison lying naked on my desk.”

Annabelle stands up abruptly which makes me wobble and fall backward.

“Naked? She was naked in your office?”

I stand up and try to go to her, but she puts her hands up for me to stop.

“Darling, nothing happened. Yeah, she was naked, but I went mad and all I did was grab her clothes and told her to get out. She was furious and threatened me, telling me I’d regret it, but she did leave.”

“Why did you never tell me? You let me invite her on holiday with us and be friends with someone who’s trying to steal my husband.” She sniffles again.

“I’m sorry, darling, I really am. I didn’t know how to tell you, and I didn’t want you to be hurt. I hate to see you cry.” She nods her head and starts sobbing again. I race over and wrap her up in my arms. We stay like that for ages, not speaking. She’s breaking my heart and I’m not sure how to fix how she’s feeling. She pulls away from me and makes her way to the bathroom.

“Annabelle…”

She stops and looks at me. “I just need a bit of time, okay?”

I nod my head and she walks into the bathroom and closes the door. I’m so angry at this whole situation. All I want to do is go and have it out with Maddison, but I’m not sure that walking out now and heading to see her is the best thing to do. Instead, I get undressed and slip into bed. I sit there for a while waiting for Annabelle to come out of the bathroom. I guess she doesn’t want to talk any more tonight. After a while, I lay down on my back. Finally, I hear the door open and glance up to see Annabelle making her way to the bed. She slips in and rolls on her side, facing away from me. She doesn’t say anything at all, so I lay there and lay there, feeling like my future with Annabelle might not end up being the happy life I was hoping it would be.

I feel like shit, having to tell Annabelle what her asshole of a husband has been up to. As soon as I confronted Joshua, I stormed out and made my way back here to Maddison and Lily’s bungalow. I didn’t want to go back to mine as I wasn’t sure if Karl and Joshua would be there, so I’ve made myself comfortable on Maddison and Lily’s couch. This night has been a nightmare and I can’t believe how it’s turned out. I think Lily will be upset if she sees me here in the morning, but to be honest, I don’t give a fuck with everything else that’s going on. She’s just going to have to deal with the fact that Maddison and I are friends.

Maddison needs me at the moment with everything she’s going through. I’m still mad that she used me, but I think in some small way I was using her too. I was using her to get over Lily, so I can’t be mad at her for that. She has a broken heart, and I have love for a woman that doesn’t seem to even want to be near me half the time, so I know how it feels and what she’s going through. I’m glad to be going home tomorrow, but I’m not looking forward to the morning when everyone will come face-to-face for the first time. I sigh and try to get some sleep. I think I’m going to have to be fully refreshed for the day ahead to cope with the fallout from the revelations that was today.

FRIDAY

“What the hell are you doing here on the couch?” I jerk awake to see Lily hovering over me. She looks annoyed and has her hands placed firmly on her hips. “Did Maddison kick you out of bed?” She clicks her tongue and laughs before she makes her way into the kitchen. I hear the kettle go on. I get off the couch and stretch the kinks from my body.

“I’ll have a coffee if you’re making one?” She looks over and scowls before getting two mugs out of the cupboard. I smile and sit on one of the breakfast stools. “In case you’re wondering, I didn’t sleep with Maddison last night.”

She doesn’t look at me but continues making our drinks.

“I’m not bothered what you do.”

I laugh and that earns me a glare from her.

“Okay, Lily. Yep, you’re not bothered at all,” I say sarcastically.

“I’m not. You’re single and I’m single. We can both do what we want when we want.” She smiles and pours the hot water into our mugs. What she’s just stated isn’t sitting right with me. I don’t wish to think about her with anyone else.

Why does she have to be like this?

I hear a groan behind me and turn to see Maddison has made it out of her room. She walks to the couch and literally falls down across it.

“Uh…I feel so bad.”

I chuckle. “Well, you did drink a lot last night. You have a flight to catch at mid-day?”

She groans. “Uh, don’t remind me.” She puts her arm over her eyes.

Lily doesn’t offer her a drink, but she places mine in front of me. “I’m going to head to my room and start packing.” She glances at Maddison before smirking. “I can see why you didn’t get any last night,” she whispers with that grin plastered on her face. She goes to walk away, but I grab her arm and pull her back to me.

“I don’t want Maddison,” I whisper and notice that she shivers from my breath as I graze her ear. “I wouldn’t have slept with her last night because it’s not her I want.” Lily’s eyes lock with mine and she lets out a little gasp. She jerks her arms out of my hold and rushes to her bedroom before slamming the door.

“Oh, for God’s sake! Uh. My head is pounding and I don’t appreciate that bitch slamming doors,” Maddison says. I go over and sit down on the coffee table. I need to tell her what happened last night after I put her to bed.

“Look Maddison…I need to tell you something.”

She looks at me, furrowing her brow. “What is it? Oh I know, was I a complete mess last night?”

I shake my head. “No, you were fine but you told me some things.”

“Uh, what things?”

“I wasn’t sure if you actually wanted to tell me, but you told me about you and Joshua.”

She looks confused, so she sits up slowly and she kind of looks funny with her mascara all around her eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re getting at.” She studies me.

“I know you and Joshua had a thing. You told me last night about when you kissed and slept with him. You’re in love with him…I know you are, but you need to know that he’s used you and made you look stupid.” I grab her hands. “I was so angry when you told me that I put you to bed and went to have it out with Joshua. I called him out on it and I kind of…well, punched him.”

She begins laughing and I don’t understand what’s so funny. “You punched him…for me?”

I nod. “Also, you should know that Annabelle knows.”

She stops laughing immediately and just stares at me. She stands up and wraps her arms around my neck before sitting on my lap.

“I can’t believe you did that for me. You're right, he has used me and I feel so heartbroken by what he’s done to me. I believed everything he said. I’m such an idiot.” She looks away from me.

“No, you’re not. Your great Maddison, and you’re not the one in the wrong here. Joshua is for doing this to you.” She smiles and give me a peck on the lips, then she looks at me before trying to kiss me again. I shake my head and stare at her. She looks hurt that I’ve just rejected her.

“I’m sorry, but you’ve got a lot going on at the moment, and I’m not…” I trail off.

“You’re in love with Lily, aren’t you?”

I can’t deny it anymore so I nod my head. “You deserve so much better than her, you know?” I don’t comment on what she’s just said. She smirks and gets up off my lap. “Well, I’m going to go and pack.” She sashays her ass more than she usually does just because I’m watching her.

“Maddison?” She glances over her shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“What will you do when you’re back in London?”

She giggles. “Oh yeah, well I don’t have a job now, so I guess I’ll stay with some friends for a while until I can find another job. I always bounce back, baby.” She winks and goes to her room. I head back to my room to start packing myself. I can’t wait to put this holiday behind me.

I’m on fucking cloud nine! Finally, Annabelle knows about Joshua and me and I can’t help being very, very happy. Now there’s no reason that we can’t be together because it’s all out in the open. I find it funny that Annabelle thinks we slept together. That never happened obviously, and I can’t really remember telling Brandon, but it’s definitely the icing on the cake. She must be so infuriated with us, but oh well…who cares. As long as Joshua and I can finally be together that’s all that matters to me. I can’t help dreaming about our future together and what it’ll be like. I’d love to buy our own house in London somewhere, and I know that Joshua would make a wonderful father. We could have four children and we have to get a dog. I’ve always wanted one. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been and I can’t wait to turn my dream into a reality.

I woke up this morning to an empty bed and it panicked me, but after searching the bungalow I found her outside sitting at the table.

She’s reading a magazine and she’s already had her breakfast and is now sipping a coffee.

“Hey, darling.” She doesn’t look up.

“Hi,” she whispers. I sit in the seat opposite her and she looks up briefly before turning back to her magazine. “Aren’t you wanting any breakfast? We don’t have long before we need to leave for the airport.” She seems really…normal. I expected her to be angry or hate me, something that would tell me how she’s feeling.

“I’m okay. I’m not really hungry.” She continues reading and I need to blurt out what I have to say. “Look, Annabelle, about what was said last night. I’m sorry about what happened, but I swear that I never slept with her. I wouldn’t do that to you because I love you too much. I’m not sure why she’s saying it and resent her for it. I’m sorry about the other situations too. I should’ve told you about what was happening, but I didn’t want to hurt you and I didn’t know what to do for the best. I was just hoping it would go away, but it kept getting worse and I didn’t know how to handle it. Actually, I handled it extremely poorly and I’m so sorry. You have every right to be angry at me, but please don’t push me away or end our marriage over this. Please, darling…” I’ve no idea what else to say so I sit there and wait for Annabelle’s reaction. She continues reading her magazine for a few minutes before closing it and looking me straight in the eyes. I can’t see any emotion in her eyes and I’m kind of freaking out.

“I don’t believe that you slept with her.”

I relax and let out the breath I’ve been holding.

“I’m hurt by the other events, though, Joshua. I hate to think that she’s had her lips on you and I can’t believe she was naked in your office—”

I cut in before she can continue. “Darling, I wish I could go back in time and stop that kiss from ever happening.”

She puts her hands up and I stop talking. “I know how sorry you are Joshua. I can see it in your eyes, and I like to believe that I know you well enough that you wouldn’t do this to me. I love you, Joshua, and everything we’ve been through to get to where we are now should not be thrown away, because some bitch that I used to think was my friend wants to get her claws into you.” She smiles.

“Okay…What does this mean?” I’m confused as to where we go from here.

“Well…I hate what’s happened and you shouldn’t have put yourself in that position, but I trust you Joshua, and I believe that it didn’t mean anything from your end at least. I’m not going to throw our marriage away over this. I do believe you, but it’s going to take me a bit of time…okay?” I nod my head, happy that I’ve still got her.

“Take as much time as you need, darling. I love you so much…so much.” I lean across the table and take her hand in mine. We smile at each other and I feel like we might actually have a chance now. “I think we better get ready. I still have a bit to pack and I know what you’re like with packing.” She giggles and we head inside to get ready for the long flight back to London.