Circle of Deception 2 (13 page)

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I just don’t want this to change once he gets tired of us again.”

“He never got tired of you. Come here, I want to tell you something.”

“Yeah.”

“Come with me,” Meg motioned, walking towards the study. Melia followed her quietly while Matt continued to play with the children. He never looked away from them until they were all the way out of the room.

“What’s so big that we had to come in here?” Melia questioned.

“You’re my sister, and I love you, which is why I want you to talk to your husband. I know we have been through this, and I know how you feel about things, but...”

“You’re right,” she interrupted. “We should talk, but I wouldn’t know where to start.”

Meg smiled and brushed her hand across Melia’s cheek. “Go tell your husband that you miss him, and you don’t want a divorce. Ask him to come home.”

“We aren’t at that point yet. I just want to make some sense of everything. There are still some problems we can’t just bury.”

“Melia, you’re being a pain.”

“Meg, I love you, but I’m not you. I can’t just sweep everything under the rug. I need time. I have to think things through.”

“I don’t sweep things, I just don’t dwell on the negatives. I’ve learned to live life to the fullest, and I just want that for you.”

Melia reached for her and Meg fell into her arms. “Thank you, Meg, I love you. You’re always here for me, but I need to come to this in my own time.”

“I love you too, and you know I’m here when you want to talk. I just want your life to be happy.”

“It will be again. I just have to figure some things out.”

“Just don’t take too much time, okay?”

“Okay,” Melia smiled.

Meg and Melia made their way out of the study to find Matt and the kids missing from the living room. Melia looked around curiously and Marisol informed her that he had taken the children to play in Allison’s bedroom. Nodding her head graciously, she gathered her purse to leave. Meg saw her to the door and said goodbye, but before she could leave, Matt appeared out of nowhere and tapped her on the shoulder. Turning slowly, her breath caught, witnessing the love in his eyes. “Thanks for bringing her things, Mel. Have a good night off.” Just as he turned away, she called out to him. “Yeah?”

“You have a good night too, Matt.”

“I will,” he kissed her cheek and just like that, he was gone. She watched him disappear up the stairs, and Melia just watched, wishing she could be in his arms that night instead of her big lonely bed.

Chapter Seven

“Melissa, I can’t thank you enough for inviting me,” Vanzetti blushed as they stood outside the door of Meg and Alex’s place. They hadn’t had the lunch date he proposed, but she called him up and invited him to Allison’s party. She was trying her hardest to make sure he knew she wasn’t blowing him off.

Things had just gotten really complicated now that Emilio had discovered that Maria was alive. He had spent the night with them and they all had dinner, drinks, and she honestly meant to reach out, but, the festivities wore on into the wee hours of the morning. She had completely forgotten to call and schedule their date. Although she wanted to spend time with him, she thought it best to keep Vanzetti away from her house until they had a better handle on things. 

When she finally called him up, she heard the excitement in his voice, and her own version of excitement bubbled through. This was going to be the first date she had been on in so long and she had butterflies. She felt like a schoolgirl all over again when the thought of spending time with him emerged. He truly was the perfect catch.

“You don’t have to thank me, handsome. I’m just glad you could make it at such short notice.”

“I would use any excuse to spend time with you.”

He leaned in to kiss her and Marisol answered the door, catching them in an intimate embrace and smiled. “Hello, Mrs. Hanover, Mr. Vanzetti.”

“Rogelio, call me Rogelio,” he smiled.

“I love that name. How is it that you have a name that is part Italian and part Hispanic?”

“My father is Italian, and my mother Hispanic. They just gave me one of each origin.”

“Wow,” Marisol laughed. “Double the temper.”

“And double the passion.”

Marisol nudged Melissa subtly and they shared looks, and Melissa felt her heart flutter. She had been celibate so long, she forgot what it felt like to have your insides melt for something more. She was looking at him until the doorbell rang and broke her thoughts. Marisol brushed past her and swung the door open, and saw the mountain of gifts that arrived for Allison and stepped aside to let the deliverymen through.

“What is all this and who sent them?” Melissa questioned.

Marisol signed for the packages, looked at the name shook her head vehemently. “We have to get these out of here now! Help me hide them.”

“What’s wrong Marisol?”

“They are from Mr. Hanover. He had his lawyer send these over.”

“What is Ben thinking?” Melissa motioned for Rogelio to help them. Before they could successfully clear the room, Allison and Meg came around the corner hand in hand. Allison’s eyes lit up when she saw all the boxes wrapped in bright paper, and Melissa and Marisol’s faces went blank. There was no way they were going to be able to tear her away from her surprises now. Their only hope was that Alex never discovered the source of the gifts.

“Granny, thank you!” Allison screamed, touching the boxes. “Can I open them?”

Melissa shrugged and Rogelio nudged her to take credit for the generous offering. “You’re welcome, sweetheart. I’m sure your mom and dad want to get your party started before you open the gifts.” Melissa bent down to hug her with a confused look on her face that Meg picked up on and developed a puzzled look of her own. When she walked around to see the name on the boxes, she stilled instantly until walked up to whisper in her ear.

“I’m sorry, we tried to hide them, but she came in so suddenly.”

“Rip the name off those boxes now! Alex can’t see who they’re from, he would blow up.”

“Help me,” Marisol motioned and began to take the tags from all the boxes. She and Meg rushed around the boxes in a frenzy trying to remove any shred of evidence that could link them to Ben. They finished just in time for Alex to come bursting in the door with children trailing behind him.

“Baby, what’s this?” Meg asked nervously.

“I decided to go ahead and bring a few kids from school. A party just isn’t a party without guests.” Meg smiled at him and brushed her hand over his cheek. “I know, baby, I’m just a big pushover. I’m no better at being a bad cop than you are.”

“You’re so sweet,” she leaned in, kissing him lightly. “Bring them all out back, everything is set up. Everyone is here.”

“I’m on it.” He looked around and saw all the boxes. “Who robbed the toy store and dropped it on our doorstep?”

Meg ran her hand down his chest and smiled. “Your mother and Rogelio were nice enough to bring these by.”

Alex smiled at the both of them and pulled Melissa into a light embrace. “Well, I thank you, Meg, thanks you, and I’m sure Alli, thanks you, isn’t that right, Alli bear?”

“Thank you, Granny and Mr. Rogelio,” Allison beamed and sprinted off with her group of friends.

“Where is Jordan?” Melissa looked around.

“Out back with Emilio. Let’s get going.”

Walking out to the backyard, they saw all the bounce houses and festivities set up and Melissa grinned. Meg had the yard set up like a personal Neverland, and the kids were all over the place. When Melissa looked over and saw everyone in attendance, she smiled. It had been a while since they were all in the same place, and it made her feel good to see their whole family; well almost. Maria still wasn’t able to attend, and Matt also seemed to be missing in action.

***

“Meg, where is Matt hiding?” This caught Melia’s attention. She had been scanning the yard looking for Matt, but was too embarrassed to ask about his whereabouts. She felt silly looking for the husband that she forced to leave because now all she wanted was to be near him. He had been so sweet with Cienna and very respective of her wishes and keeping to himself just as she had asked, and now she feared he might have really taken her seriously on the divorce front.

The desperation and need she had in the past to control what happened between them was fading, and now she was growing tired of being in her bed alone. She needed the feel of his strong arms around her, his hot kisses on her lips, the tenderness of his touch, and the magnitude of his desire when they made love. The last time he had taken her fully had been three weeks prior, and the interlude on the table hadn’t nearly hit the spot. She didn’t know what it was about him now, but she couldn’t shake him from her thoughts.

Melia sat, twirling her wedding band around thinking to herself quietly. She had taken it off and was now wearing it on a chain. She clutched it tightly and pulled it to her lips, kissing it when Meg approached her. “Matt is upstairs just in case you were wondering.”

“Yeah, thank you. I was trying to figure out...” Melia cut herself off when she noticed that Meg was setting her up. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t even realize she had walked right into an ambush. “Very funny, but yes, I was wondering where he was. Everyone else is here and I just thought it would be nice to all be out here with the kids enjoying the lovely weather.”

“Well, he is in his room if you want to check on him.”

“I don’t think I will. I’ll just wait until he comes down,” she sighed.

“Suit yourself,” Meg huffed and turned to greet Gio and Marco, who were approaching. Melia was still watching the interaction, noting that Gio was looking rather refreshed today. The past few times she had seen him, he looked tired and troubled, but today he was glowing. Both he and Marco seemed to be in good spirits, and it made Meg smile. When he flung his arms around her, she melted into his warm embrace.

“Oh, I missed you. It’s good to see you up and well big brother and Marco, you look fabulous.”

“I missed you too, and thank you for the time off. I really appreciated all you’ve done for me these past few weeks.”

“Yeah Meg, we really needed the extra time,” Marco supplied.

“It was no problem. You’re always here for me, so helping you was a no brainier, but tell me, is everything okay now?”

“Everything is excellent. I have to talk to you all, but for now, let’s just enjoy our girl’s birthday. I can’t believe my Alli bear is six years old now. It seems like we just got her yesterday.”

“I know,” Meg smiled.

“Lele,” Gio turned his attention to her. “Are you going to tell me what’s going through your head regarding Matt?” She went to speak, but they were interrupted by the chatter of the children requesting they join them on the large bounce house slide.

Marco looked to Gio sternly when he agreed to join the children. “Gio, are you sure getting on that slide is the wisest idea?”

“I’ll be fine Marco. My niece wants me to play with her, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’ve already missed so much.”

“Then don’t let me stop you.” Marco smiled and stepped aside.

Meg and Gio made their way to the slide with the kids at their side while Marco looked on. When Maddie and Nathan joined them at the top of the slide, it looked like the picture perfect moment. The only thing that was missing was him; him and Melia. She had wandered off a few minutes previously and was nowhere to be seen.

***

“What are you doing, Melia? Just open the door. No, just go back downstairs. You want to see him. No, you want to wait. You just don’t know what you want.” She he had been standing outside Matt’s room for the past few minutes arguing with herself, and finally decided to just go back to the party before she made a fool of herself. Just as she turned to walk away, the door opened, and he appeared looking sexy as all sin.

“Mel, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

“Yes... I mean no... I...I... was just checking on you. Everyone is downstairs and I noticed you weren’t there.”

Matt chuckled and touched her shoulder. “Thank you for checking on me. I was just making some important calls. I was actually on my way down.”

“Oh, great. Well, I guess we can head down.”

“If you don’t mind, could I speak to you about something? It’s been on my mind for a few days, and I was looking for a good way to bring it up.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

Matt stepped aside and motioned for her to join him. She walked in and he took a seat on the bed, patting the space beside him for her to sit. “Well, I don’t quite know how to discuss this, so I’ll just jump right in. I was thinking of getting a place of my own.”

She swallowed hard and blinked rapidly. “Why do you want to do that?”

He placed his hand on her lap. “I’m trying to respect your wishes by backing off. Although I don’t want to see us end, I can’t keep my life on hold, and I can’t impose on Alex and Meg any longer. I think it’s for the best that I move out. The calls I made were to find a small place for now, and there is a condo for lease on your side of town. I think it would be perfect. I could be closer to Cici, and you could bring her by anytime.”

Melia looked like she had been slapped across the face. She knew she had no right to be angry, but she was. She needed him, they needed to be a family. There was no way that could happen if he was in his own place. That would only push them further apart. She had to end this silly notion of his once and for all.

“No! You can’t get your own place. I won’t allow it.”

Matt huffed and sat up straight. “Melia, what’s going on here? First, you want me to go, so I do. Next, you want a divorce, and I agree to make you happy, and now you’re telling me I can’t get my own place? What kind of game are you playing? You can’t keep jerking me around. Make up your mind, either you want to end us, or you don’t. Which one is it?”

Melia felt her temper rising and she jumped to her feet. “I know what this is about. You want to move out because you want to see other women. I’m not stupid, I know you have needs. I just want you to be man enough to admit it.”

“Yes, Melia, I have needs, and one of them is to be happy. I love you, but I can’t wait forever. You’ve told me that you don’t want me. What am I supposed to do?”

“You’re supposed to fight for me, fight for us.”

“Sweetheart, I’ve fought for us, but you have to get in the ring with me. Love is a two way street, but I’m the only car on the road.”

Dropping her head, she let her guard down. “I love you, Matt, I do, you just hurt me. What you said... it really got next to me.”

“I’m sorry,” he placed his hand on her cheek. “I made a mistake, but I need you, I need Cici.” A single tear rolled down her cheek, and he wiped it away and kissed her cheek. She then turned his head to her and claimed his mouth. It felt so good to feel his lips on hers and this time, it was all her doing. She had kissed him first, and when her hand moved down his chest, he shivered.

“Mel, what are you doing? Are you sure about this?”

She pulled him closer and kissed him with such passion, he had to place his hands on the wall to keep his balance. “Matt, we need this. It’s been so long since you really held me, I need to be in your arms.”

Matt drew her to him and moved his hand to the small of her back. She was wearing a short sundress with thin straps that he lowered and kissed his way across her shoulders. She moaned in his ear, and he dropped down before her and pushed her to the bed in front of them.

Matt had waited to have her willing and ready for him, and now he was going to make the most of it. He moved his hands to her feet and pushed her sandals away one by one and kissed the tip of her toes. He kissed all over her body and she closed her eyes tightly in anticipation.