One Chance (The One Series: Novella #4) (5 page)

He showed up a couple hours later. I had already changed into his University of Chicago t-shirt and a pair of baggy sweatpants. Certainly not my best look, but at least I was comfortable.

“What’s wrong?” he asked the second he saw my face. I was ashamed to admit that I had been crying for the last hour but my swollen eyes gave me away.

“Cat’s out of the bag,” I said, stepping back to let him in. I had an open bottle of wine waiting for me in the living room and I headed there without giving William a proper greeting. “I’m the office slut. Just like I predicted.”

“What do you mean? How did people find out?” William stripped off his coat and threw it over a chair.

I flopped onto the couch and took a big gulp of wine. “Dan. He’s friends with Tara and he has a big mouth.”

“Shit, Livy.” William sat next to me and gave me a long look. “Was it terrible for you?”

I shrugged and took another drink. “I survived.”

“What can I do?” He looked so desperate to help but there was nothing he could do.
This was the path we had chosen- the path
I
had chosen.

I put
down the wine bottle now that it was empty and thought for a second. Eventually, I just shook my head. “Hold me?” It was the only thing I could think of that would make things better.

William slid over until he could put his arms around me. As I snuggled close to him and burrowed into his arms, I was able to forget for a minute about the name-calling and hateful looks. All that mattered was that I still had William and somehow I knew we would find a way to make it work.

He let me feel sorry for myself for exactly fifteen minutes. Then he launched into a tirade about one of our clients at work. I knew he was trying to take my mind off things and I was grateful for the distraction. He held my feet in his lap, gently working the sore muscles in my arches.

“So our client is part of the royal family in Italy? That sounds made up.” I hadn’t even known that Italy still had a royal family.

“Old royalty. A distant ancestor was a Pope, or a Cardinal. Something like that. Honesty, I don’t really know. But the oldest son was just caught with a mistress.” William’s hands moved from my feet up to my calves. “An older mistress. Like twenty years older.”

“No way.”
I laughed. Who would’ve thought this day would end with me and William gossiping like old ladies? “So when are you going to Italy?”

“Two days.”

“Two days?” That was way too soon for my liking.

William shrugged. “It’s an urgent matter. You can come with me if you want.”

“Not happening.” People at work already hated me. Using the job as an excuse to follow William to Italy would make things a million times worse. “Just don’t fall in love with some Italian princess while you’re gone.”

“Fine.”
Now his hands were over my knees and still heading north. “We should go to Rome soon though. You would like it. It’s more romantic than Florence, if you ask me.”

“I’m sure I would
love it.” I was sure I would love any place if I went with William.

I had been pretty sure I knew where William was headed
with his hands but he threw me a curveball when his hands left my body and he said very quietly, “I heard you met with Mark from Palmroil.”

I felt like slapping myself in the forehead. How could I have forgotte
n about that meeting? Of course William had found out and now, because he hadn’t heard it from me, he could only assume the worst.

“Yes, we met for lunch. He wanted to thank me for the work I did on the oil spill campaign.” I saw that William somehow already knew the full story so I plowed ahead. “He offered me a job.”

William nodded slowly. “I suspected as much. Was it a good offer?”

“It was.” No sense in lying now. “But I didn’t take it.”

“You didn’t say no either though, right?” William sounded resigned.

“That’s true.” I pulled my legs away from his lap and sat up straight. “I have to at least consider it, William. Gravity doesn’t have a future for me. Not now that everyone knows about us.”

“We can make it work,” he said, but he didn’t put much heart into it.

“I’m not saying I’m definitely taking it. I’m just saying I didn’t say no yet.” I took his hand. “I was going to talk to you about it. I promise. It honestly slipped my mind with everything that has happened these past few days.”

“The job is in D.C.?” His eyes were unnervingly calm. I had no way to tell what he was really thinking.

“Yes. I would have to move.” If I had to be completely honest, the relocation was the number one reason I hadn’t said yes. I loved living in Chicago, and I didn’t want a long distance relationship.

William leaned back and closed his eyes. “I’m not going to tell you what to do, Livy. You’re an adult and you can make your own decisions. You need to do what’s best for you.”

“Would you really be okay with me moving to D.C.?” I had expected him to at least put up a small fight, or tell me how much he would miss me.

“If it would make you happy, then I would find a way to deal with it.” William opened his eyes and smiled. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

My heart literally jumped in my chest. He had the most amazing smile and I couldn’t help myself. I curled up in his lap and we made out like teenagers. I didn’t think I would ever get tired of kissing William Connor, but I also wanted more of him. I removed his belt and worked on his button and zipper. He helped me slip his pants down just enough, and his penis already stood at
rigid attention. I appreciated his eagerness. As skillfully as possible, I slipped out of my sweatpants and underwear.

Sitting astride William, I removed a condom from his pants pocket and took my time pulling it over his erection. Moving forward slightly, I grazed against him, looking deep into his eyes as I moved. When he smiled at me, I fell in love with him all over again.

I spread my legs as I lowered myself, wanting to feel him in my core. William’s hands moved under my shirt, holding me firmly at my sides. As I moved over him, my hair fell over my face and William reached up to tuck it behind my ear.

“I want to see you,” he explained. William did see me- he saw more of me than anyone ever had. For the first time, that didn’t scare me.

I let William set the pace, moving me up and down with his strong hands. He moved me slow at first, letting me feel the full length of him inside me. Then his speed picked up until I was being guided by the forces in my body. He let go and his hands clutched the couch as I rode him hard and quick, my breath coming out in tiny gasps. I made sure that he came first, his release inside me setting off my own orgasm. As it rippled inside me and around him, we held each other and struggled to catch our breaths.

“If you move to D.C., we won’t get to do that as often,” William said as I lifted myself off him.

“Maybe not together,” I said, happy that he was finally trying to convince me to stay.

“Funny. You keep that up and I’m taking back my shirt.” He tugged at the t-shirt and I glared at him.

“If you take this shirt back, I’m taking my vagina back. And my boobs.”

William laughed so hard it shook us both. I couldn’t help but laugh along with him. “You should definitely keep the shirt,” he decided. When we fell asleep a couple hours later, I was still wearing his shirt.

Work wasn’t any easier the next couple of days and I began to seriously consider Mark’s offer. I even emailed him with some follow-up questions. William stopped by my office on his way to the airport. He was going to be in Italy for at least a week and I already missed him.

“Livy,” he said, closing the door behind him. “I have something I really need to tell you.”

“You’re not breaking up with me again, are you?” I was only half-joking. “Because that would be a little excessive.”

“Would you please stop predicting our demise?” William tucked his hands into his pockets and looked at the ground. “I came to do the exact opposite actually.”

My eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

“I said that I wouldn’t tell you what to do with your job decision. But I’ve been thinking about it, and I really don’t want you to go.” He looked up at me with wide eyes. “We just found each other, Livy. I’m not sure I could let you go.”

“Are you asking me not to take the job?” If he was, I wasn’t sure what I would do. I wasn’t the type of woman to take orders from a man, but we were a couple now and he deserved a say in how we would spend our relationship.

“No. Yes. I don’t know.” He shrugged helplessly. “I came to
make you a different kind of offer.”

“An indecent one?”
I said with a waggle of my eyebrows.

William sighed in annoyance. “Can you be serious for one minute?”

“Fine.” I made a big deal about checking the time. “One minute of seriousness. Go.”

“Quit.” William said. “Quit your job here, but don’t take the other job.”

I let out a snort. “Well, I didn’t know it was that easy. Such a great idea, William. Why didn’t I think of that? Oh, right. I’m not independently wealthy. I’m also not a hooker, so please don’t offer to pay me not to work and just screw you all the time.”

“That’s not what I’m offering.” William looked away and I had a pretty good idea that was exactly what he was about to offer me. “You can move in with me, just until you find another job in Chicago.
Or for good, whatever you want.”

I felt my face grow hot and I started to yell but William cut me off. “Livy, I have a lot of money. I’m not trying to imply anything by
that, I’m just stating a fact. Let me take care of you. I’m the reason you can’t stay at this job, and I’m the one asking you not to move to D.C. At least let me offer you an alternative.”

When the initial rush of anger had passed, it was replaced by a feeling of gratitude. Yes, William’s offer was a tiny bit condescending, but it came from a good place. He didn’t want me to leave, and he was taking a big leap asking me to stay.

I circled around my desk until I was standing in front of him. “Thank you, but no.” I smoothed down his suit lapels and kissed him on the lips. “This decision needs to be what’s best for both of us, not just you.”

“I know.” He smiled sheepishly. “You can’t blame a guy for trying, can you?”

“Certainly not.” I kissed him again. “But you don’t need to save me, William. I can take care of myself.”

“Trust me, I know. But that’s not going to stop me from looking out for you.” He kissed my cheek. “Just promise me you’ll at least consider my offer. We can talk about it more when I get back from Rome.”

“The answer will still be no,” I said, confidently.

He regarded me carefully. “I have this horrible feeling that if you move to D.C., I’m going to lose you.”

“That will never happen.” I sounded more certain than I felt though. Like William, I was worried about what would happen to us if I took the job. “Have a safe trip. I’ll miss you like crazy.”

“Likewise.”
Another ten minutes of kissing and groping and we finally completed our goodbyes.

Two days later I found myself missing William terribly. If this is what it would be like to move to D.C., I didn’t think I would be able to make it. I kept myself busy by checking in on Bob and the kids. The house was actually in good shape which I quickly learned was because William had paid for a housekeeper to come in three times a week. He had also hunted down a terrific nanny that was keeping the kids well-fed, groomed and properly dressed.
She had taken them for a walk so that Bob and I could talk openly.

“Still no sign of Courtney?” I asked
him over a cold beer.

“Nah.
She cleaned out our joint bank account, too. She’s gone,” Bob said. “I don’t think she’ll ever come back.”

“So what’s your plan?”

“I don’t have a plan.” Bob laughed and sounded very much like his brother. “One day at a time. Keep breathing. Worry about tomorrow when it comes.”

“Do you think that will work?” I wondered what it would be like to be able to focus only on the present.

“It has to. It’s the only way I know how to do this.” He looked at me thoughtfully. “William mentioned that you are considering taking a job in D.C.”

“He told you that?” I was surprised that William had talked about me at all with Bob. They didn’t really have that kind of relationship, but I guess a lot had changed in the last week.

“Are you going to take it?”

“I have no idea.” I was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Bob. He had a calming way about him that reminded me of William. “I don’t want to move, but it’s a great job.”

“I’m surprised William didn’t make you an offer to get you to stay.” Bob took a long drink from his beer.

I sighed. “He did, actually. He wants me to quit my job but stay in Chicago. He said he would take care of things until I find something else. I said no.”

“Sounds like a pretty sweet deal.” Bob chuckled and finished his beer. “I wish someone would make me that offer. Why did you turn him down?”