Ever After (24 page)

I smiled as I said “of course I don’t mind. I’ve never been one to draw attention to myself, you know that.”

“Oh, do I,” he said. “Do I ever. But, it don’t matter. All eyes are going to be on you anyhow, because you are absolutely stunningly gorgeous. Especially with that pregnancy glow on that beautiful face of yours.”

“It sure is better to have a pregnancy glow than having a green face from all the morning sickness. I don’t know how my mother went through that so many times. No wonder she was always drunk.” And then I smiled and laughed, and Jack laughed along.

“Oh, lord, Loretta was a drunk, but it wasn’t because of having morning sickness so many different times. But, Scotty, I have to say – it’s truly a miracle how she’s managed to turn it all around. I never thought that she would be such a hotty, either.”

I lifted up my left hand and crossed my fingers. Then I went over to the nightstand and knocked on it. “May my mother keep to her sobriety for the rest of her years. It’s such a great thing actually having a real mother in my life, you just can’t believe it.”

“Oh, I can just imagine. Anyhow, Scotty, the ceremony is just about to start, so I need to line up so that I can strut down that aisle. You’ll be right behind me, of course.”

“Of course,” I said, and I took a deep breath and grabbed ahold of my bouquet. I heard the music playing, and Jack and I went to the door that opened into our cliffside altar. As I stood there in the doorway, and the music was playing, I could hear the ocean roaring in the distance. Birds were circling
overhead, and the weather couldn’t have been better. I was thinking about how lucky I was just to be there, after all that I had went through. How I never, in my wildest dreams, would have thought, just a year ago, that I would be at this point. Healthy, happy and whole. Not just marrying the man of my dreams, but also feeling emotionally and mentally on the top of the world. It was through Nick’s love and a lot of therapy that I had managed to get to this point, and I was so grateful.

So very grateful.

Jack and Robin took their place at the front of the altar and waited for me.

The bridal march filled the air, and I took a deep breath and headed towards the altar, where my future, in the person of Nick, stood, gazing at me with absolute love and adoration in his eyes.

The ceremony was about to begin.

As was my new life.

Chapter 33

The ceremony was gorgeous, of course. In this setting, how could it not be? It was on the beach, right in front of the Hamptons vacation home that Nick had bought several months before, as an early wedding present to me. Nick was indescribably gorgeous, even moreso than he had ever been. My heart was pounding out of my chest as I stood in front of the altar, and the minister was reciting his words. I looked down, and my hands were shaking, and when I gave him my vows, I was barely able to croak out the words.

“Nick,” I said, “it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that you saved me. I was such a lost person before I met you. So afraid of my own shadow. I never thought that I could find a man who would love me unconditionally, but now I know that I have finally found him. You took me into your arms and into your home, and you showed me what love truly is. And my life hasn’t been the same since. So, I vow to honor you, love you and take care of you as long as we both shall live.”

Nick beamed as I was saying those words, and then he started reciting his vows to me. “Scotty James,” he said, “you say that I saved you. But I really think that it’s the other way around. I never knew what love was until I met you. When you came along it was as if I suddenly found the piece of me that was missing all along. Now that you’re in my life forever, I have that missing piece, and my life had never felt so complete. I also vow to honor you, love you, protect you and care for you as long as we both shall live.”

Then both of us looked at the minister and he pronounced us husband and wife. Nick’s entire face lit up as he kissed me passionately, and everybody started clapping. We raised our joined hands to the crowd and then walked back down the aisle as all of our guests blew bubbles. I realized that there were tears in my eyes, of course. But I was surprised to see that there were tears in Nick’s eyes, too.

We all headed to the reception, which was outdoors and featured a menu of anything and everything you could think of. Shrimp, lobster tails, filet mignon, prime rib….these were the main courses, and they were all served with a side of different veggies and various kinds of potatoes.

The night flew by in a whirlwind. I finally got to meet Ryan’s wife, Iris, and his little daughter, Dalilah. Iris was really a great person. Very down to earth and unpretentious. She wasn’t nearly as beautiful as her stunning husband, but, then again, not many women would be. Besides, she more than made up for it with her personality. She treated me like an old girlfriend, as she gave me a hug when she first met me, and exclaimed about how she had heard so much about me that she felt that she and I were sisters from another mother.

And Dalilah. She was probably the most amazing child I had ever met. In my life. At just three years old, she had the vocabulary of a teenager. I blinked my eyes in astonishment at her as she made her way to meet me and shake my hand politely.

“Hello,” she said. “I understand that you’re my new aunt Scotty. At least, that’s what my mom and dad tell me. You’re really lucky to be marrying a guy like Uncle Nick.”

I nodded my head, and opened my mouth, but found that nothing came out. I looked over at Iris, and she smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “Dalilah is gifted,” she leaned over and whispered to me. “Don’t worry. She shocks everyone she meets for the first time. But you’ll soon get used to her.”

I crouched down to meet her at her level. She was a beautiful child. She had the delicate features of a little girl, with the beautiful green eyes of her father and the flaming hair of her mother. She had pale skin and rosebud lips and looked just like a porcelain doll. “It’s very nice to meet you, Dalilah,” I said.

She nodded. “Yes. And I guess that you’re going to have one of your own very soon, huh?”

I stood up, feeling just a bit shocked. Nick and I had told nobody yet, except for Jack. And that was only because Jack had butted his nose in when I went to visit him one day, and ended up puking all over his new couch. Otherwise, Jack wouldn’t have known, either.

Iris looked at me with surprise, and then looked back at Dalilah. “What do you mean, Dalilah?”

She pointed at me. “She’s going to have a baby. I can’t believe you can’t see that.”

I grimaced and felt embarrassed. “Iris, yes, Dalilah’s right about that. I’m about four months along. How she knew that, I don’t know, but she’s absolutely correct.”

Iris then hugged me. “Oh, congratulations! I’m so excited for you!”

“Yes, thanks,” I said, “but don’t spread the word around. The last thing I want people to think is that this is a shotgun wedding.”

“Of course,” she said, “but Ryan would never think that, anyhow. How come Nick hasn’t told him about that?”

“Well, we wanted to wait until now to tell people. After the first trimester, you know. Nick was going to tell Ryan tonight.” I looked again at Dalilah, and she was looking at my belly with interest.

“Oh, it’s a little girl,” she said. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

I shook my head. I wasn’t sure if it was a boy or girl yet, because it was still early to tell. But if this beautiful, but odd,
child was correct, then my dream would certainly be coming true. Because I had always dreamed of having a daughter.

Nick came into the room, startling me a little bit. “Come on, Scotty, it’s time for our dance.” He took my hand and led me out into the crowd and onto the dance floor. He held me close as we swayed to the music and I felt my heart pounding thunderously against his chest. I never thought that I could be this happy. I didn’t think that this level of happiness was even possible.

But somehow it was. It was, because I was living it.

I prayed that we would always be this happy.

And, somehow, I knew that we always would be.

Epilogue

Scotty

Six years later

“Olivia Nicole, get your rear-end in here right this second,” I said to my stubborn five-year-old daughter. She had picked up a bad habit that I don’t think that she got from me, and that was procrastinating and perpetually making Nick and me late to everywhere. Well, this was an extra-special occasion, and I wasn’t going to put up with it this time.

“What, mom?” she asked, trudging down the stairs of our Connecticut home.

I took one look at her, in her tattered jeans and t-shirt, and I almost lost it. “What’s up with this nonsense? Why aren’t you dressed?”

“This is stupid,” she said.

“Listen, going to see your Uncle Jack in his very first Broadway starring role is hardly stupid. Now, do I have to get your father in here to light a fire?”

“Alright, I’m going, I’m going,” she said with a roll of her eyes. 

“That’s what I want to hear,” I said. “Now, go.”

I went out onto the porch, where Nick was sitting there on the swing, just listening to us with a smile on his face. “You’re never going to change her. She is who she is.”

I sat down next to him, and put my hand on his leg. “I know that. But, just this once, I’d love for her to actually do something on time and not drag her pretty little feet.”

He put his arm around me, and kissed me on my forehead. “We’ll make the curtain call, I promise. We won’t be late.”

I knew that. The play didn’t start until 8, and it was only 6. But I never knew about traffic going into the city on a Saturday evening, and I’d never forgive myself if I was late to Jack’s starring debut.

Jack had the lead part in a Broadway revival of
The Odd Couple.
He had gotten the part of Oscar Madison in the classic play, and the previews were generating raves. I couldn’t be more excited if
I
had actually got the starring part. It was something that he had worked for and dreamed about for years, and it was finally coming true.

I put my head on Nick’s shoulder, and he rubbed my arm absently while we gently rocked back and forth on the swing. “Don’t forget that we’re supposed to pick up Zane and Jacqui and take them into the city, too,” I said. “That would be shitty if we made them late because Miss Thing up there can’t get her act together.”

Jacqui was Zane and Jack’s four-year-old mixed race daughter who they adopted out of the foster care system. I felt a special kinship with her, for obvious reasons – both of us went through foster care. I wasn’t nearly as lucky as her, of course, for she got two wonderful daddies. But, it all worked out for me in the end, so how could I possibly complain?

Nick just laughed a little and shook his head. “My little Scotty, acting like a proud baby sister. Don’t worry, everything’s going to be great.”

I looked at him, and started laughing too. “You’re right. When am I ever going to learn that if you say something, I can take that to the bank?”

It was then that I thought about all that had happened in the six years after our wedding, and how, at every turn, Nick proved that he was always right, no matter how many times I would imagine that he was finally wrong. 

I finished Columbia graduate school as a
Magna Cum Laude
, just as he had predicted for me. I had to admit that I didn’t think it was possible, after all the hell I went through, but I was able to buckle down and really finish with a flourish, despite the fact that I had a newborn at home. Time management was something that I had to really perfect to accomplish that, and perfect it I did. 

I then shot up the ladder at the firm, and quickly became a junior partner. Just as Nick had predicted I would. It helped that I was a part of the design of Chase building, and that particular structure won numerous awards and accolades. The project also established Nick as one of
the
world-class architects and made him even more in demand. It didn’t hurt that he won his second Pritzker for that particular design. There were times when I doubted that the whole thing would come together on time, because it was always on the verge of cost overruns and other such mishaps, but Nick was able to pull it out under budget and ahead of schedule.

Just as he had said he would.

After that building went on to win so many awards and gave the entire firm a certain prestige, even more than it already had, Nick was able to bring in many other projects that were even more high-profile than the Chase project. He was definitely the firm’s biggest rainmaker, much more than Portia had ever been, and he quickly became the most influential and important member of the firm.

But I never felt like I was riding on his coattails. Nick would never let me feel that way. He treated me, professionally, just as he treated every other member of the firm. Which meant that when I would screw up, he would let me know about it. When I did something great, it was the same. By treating me no differently than the other members of
the firm, he was able to quiet any gossip that I was only getting ahead because I was his wife.

Of course, behind closed doors, it was a different thing. We never got tired of each other, surprisingly enough. We had our quarrels, like anybody else, but they were never major, and we always came to an understanding in the end. And our sex life was something that was constantly exciting and engaging for both of us. Even after all these years, we still couldn’t get enough of each other.

But our lives were stressful, what with a very willful young daughter at home, and both of us working long hours. We had to learn how to juggle everything, and somehow put Olivia’s needs first. That was never easy, and I eventually had to start working from home a lot, which wasn’t a problem with the firm at all.

Even so, we were more in love than ever. I was actually able to graduate from therapy after three years, and I found that I had learned so much about myself and how I could truly give Nick everything that he deserved from me as a wife. So, our love was not only grounded in our mutual attraction for each other, which was as white-hot as ever, but also in our mutual adoration and respect for one another. I truly started to appreciate him as being the incredibly rare person that he really was. Because he really was unique – there were so few men that combined the passion, the intellect, the will, and the courage that Nick embodied. Sometimes I thought about all that he went through to protect me, and I would truly be amazed all over again about it.

And there were times when I thought about the alternative. If I had never met him. And I shuddered to think about that. I truly didn’t know what would have become of me, but it wasn’t necessarily good. Because Mr. Lucas would still be alive and preying on young girls. And I probably would be just a shell of myself.

So, I was truly grateful for what we had. And I loved our daughter more than life itself, even if she was sometimes infuriating. Like she was, right at that moment.

She finally came down the stairs, dressed in the slacks and top that I had chosen for her to wear. She looked so much more presentable than what she looked like earlier in her jeans and t-shirt. Her hair was combed, and her face washed.

I smiled and put my arm around her. “There, I knew that you could do it. Now, let’s get moving.”

We all piled into our new SUV, stopping to pick up Zane and Jacqui. Jack and his family still lived just four houses down from our Connecticut home, which had become our full-time residence for the past few years. After Olivia was born, Nick and I decided that it was best that we leave the crowded city and raise her in the more bucolic suburbs. The commute wasn’t so much fun, of course, but it was all worth it, because we were able to have an enormous backyard and we even were able to get a couple of mutts that we rescued from the animal shelter. Sometimes I missed Nick’s loft, and so did he, but this was a much nicer environment for Olivia, and that was really what mattered. That, combined with the fact that Charlotte and April were staying with us more and more, was what prompted the full-time move to the home.

It was around 7:30 when we finally took our seats. My mother was already there, beaming proudly, like Jack was her son. She was there with Max, her new husband. She met him at one of her AA meetings, of all places, and they hit it off from the start. Max was a really good guy. He was a chemical engineer who had been sober for twenty years, so he really was able to help my mother when she felt overwhelmed. For her
part, she had not only stayed on the wagon, but she was as good as her word, in that she got her certification to become a personal trainer, and she had been doing that for the past five years. She built up quite a clientele over the years, for she was able to break into the show business market through Jack’s contacts, so she was able to acquire clients who were actors, actresses and models, which was a never-ending spigot for her fledgling business. Because she was so professionally fulfilled, and now, with Max, personally fulfilled as well, she found staying sober relatively pain-free.

The play proved to be a hit, and Jack got a standing ovation in the end. It seemed to be a role that he was born to play, although I never really thought of him as being the slovenly type. I pictured him more as a Felix than anything, but he really pulled off the role very well. I couldn’t have been prouder of him.

Nick, Olivia and I finally got home around 11 that night. I saw Olivia to her room, and then climbed in next to Nick in our own bed. He kissed me passionately, and we made love, as usual. It was always like the first time with me, for I never stopped getting butterflies, and hoped that I never would.

Afterwards, I laid there, my naked skin next to his, and I listened to his pounding heart. I stroked his chest, and nuzzled my face in his neck, and he laughed a little.

“Nick,” I said to him.

“Yes, my love?” he said.

“Thank you for making my life so complete.”

He smiled and said “I could say the same to you.”

I knew that he could, for we truly were each other’s missing puzzle pieces.

And I thought, for perhaps the millionth time that night, about how truly lucky we were to actually come together as we did. Against all the odds.

We truly were going to be together always.

Ever after.

THE END

Don’t miss the new series which will be out around June, 2014, featuring a grown Dalilah!
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Beautiful Illusions:

Beautiful Illusions - a page-turning, sexy, and very contemporary adult romance novel.

VERY contemporary.

Beautiful Illusions is a Cinderella Romance With a Twist - and what a twist it is!

Attorney Iris Snowe drinks too much, eats too much, and spends too much. Her sex life has been as spectacularly unsuccessful as her law practice, so she spends her evenings
in her tiny apartment watching bad TV, talking to her cat, and rescuing pit bulls.

And her name might be Iris, but it should be Jade. As in jaded, which is how she feels about romance and men in general.

So, when a gorgeous and sexy stranger appears in her law office on Monday morning, after a one-night stand the previous Saturday, she doesn't think that he is coming to see her because he is interested. She just figures that she left something behind in the room and he is enough of a gentleman to deliver it to her.

How wrong she is.

As it turns out, Ryan Gallagher not only looks like a Ralph Lauren model come to life, but is also fabulously wealthy, as he is the son of a prominent billionaire.

In other words, light years out of Iris' league. 

And completely into her, in more ways than one.

And so begins the erotic Cinderella romance of her life, with a man who truly loves her. And oh, if it could just be that simple. But, of course, it's not -the fairy tale is fractured, as it is marred by obsession, jealousy, and dark secrets that Ryan has desperately sought to conceal and repress. It turns out that, behind those magnificent green eyes, lies the memories of a past that nobody should ever have to experience. Nobody.

But when his past becomes his present, his secrets come to light.

And one of those secrets just might be deadly...

This is a full-length novel, approximately 100,000 words.

Story continues in Deeper Illusions, available NOW on Kindle!