Lost in Time (Forever and Always #20) (10 page)

I growled then guided her to the couch, to
move through her slickness. I lifted up her apron then combined my
body with hers. It felt so good to be inside her. She was warm and
wet, just like she always was. I panted while I moved into her,
looking at her beautiful face while she moaned for me. After I
pushed her to her climax, I joined her, feeling the heat in my
lower stomach.

I rested my forehead on hers. “Make sure you
wash that before you cook again.”

“Why?” she said playfully. “It can be our
dirty little secret.”

“I like that.”

Having my best friend as my wife was the best
thing in the world. After I got laid with other women, I ran to her
and spent the day with her. But now I was already with her. It was
exactly as a perfect relationship should be.

Instead of getting up to shower upstairs or
helping her in the kitchen, I lay beside her and snuggled with her
on the couch. We talked about work and other random things. At one
point, she made me laugh so hard that I cried. Dinner forgotten and
everything else off my mind, I just concentrated on her. I wasn’t
looking forward to leaving her the following morning so I tried to
forget about it.

Leaving her was always hard, but every time I
had to say goodbye it got worse. With my bag over my shoulder, I
said goodbye to her on the doorstep. She put on a brave face for me
but I knew she was just as upset about me leaving.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said firmly. “Mike is less than a
mile away and he’s always home. He’s there if I need him.”

I nodded. “Okay.” There was nothing left for
me to do but leave.

“I’ll see you when you get back.” She gave me
a peck on the lips then stepped away.

“I’ll be eight hours ahead of you, so our
schedules won’t line up very often.”

“That’s okay. It’s only for two days.”

“But call me if you need anything. I don’t
care what time it is.”

“You got some pics of me to hold you over?”
she asked playfully.

I smiled. “I have enough to fill a hard
drive.”

“Good. Then you’ll have plenty of material to
keep you entertained.”

She always tried to make bad situations
easier. She reminded me of my father in that way. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

I kissed her forehead before I finally turned
around and got into my car. She stayed on the doorstep, a smile on
her face. After a deep sigh, I turned on the engine and drove away,
seeing her wave to me in the rearview mirror. The pain in my chest
was unnecessary but I couldn’t help it. I felt like an ass for
leaving her, but I had to do this.

When I got to the airport, Cortland was
already there. “You ready for this?”

Aris approached from her corner of the
terminal. “You’re going to love Paris?”

Cortland’s eyes were as big as his head.

I hated the sound of her sultry voice. I
hated how she tried to act sexy all the time. She was anything but.
“Let’s just get this over with.”

She eyed Cortland. “Excuse me? Who are
you?”

“Mr. Preston’s associate,” he explained,
finally regaining his composure.

Judging the irritated look in her eyes, she
wasn’t thrilled about his presence.

Like I gave a shit.
“Let’s go. I need
a drink.”

Chapter 7

Scarlet

I kept a brave face so Sean wouldn’t feel bad
for leaving, but in reality I was sad to see him go. It was only
for two days, but it was still hard to be apart from him. His
possessiveness and obsession drove me crazy, but honestly, I was
just as head-over-heels in love with him. I just hid it better.

I went on about my day like usual, but when I
prepared dinner, I realized I would be the only one eating it.
Instead of cooking, I decided to make a sandwich. Sean wouldn’t be
there to eat the leftovers anyway.

I was starting to get used to my stomach as
my pregnancy progressed. I tried not to let the changes to my body
make me depressed. Sean seemed to love me just the same even if I
wasn’t as small as I used to be. And after I had the baby, I
wouldn’t be the same. But I had a feeling Sean wouldn’t care. He’d
knock me up all over again.

My phone rang and I jumped from my seat,
hoping it was my husband. When I saw Monnique’s name, I was
disappointed. After a sigh, I answered it. “Hey.”

“Hey. How are you holding up?”

Did she know Sean was gone? News traveled
fast.
“I’ve been better.”

“Yeah, it’s hard. Do you need anything?”

“No, I’m okay.”

Monnique kept her silence for a while. I
heard her shuffle some pans before the noise died down. “I actually
called to talk to you about something…”

That wasn’t ominous…
“Okay.”

“I know it’s none of my business, but
Cortland told me Sean was going to keep this information to himself
because he insisted you wouldn’t care, but if this was my husband
I’d want to know.”

Now I was terrified. “Monnique, what are you
saying?”

She sighed. “That woman Sean is working with
asked him to have an affair…”

Say what?

“Obviously, Sean said no. But now he’s going
to London with her so they’re going to be spending time together.
He asked Cortland to come along as a cock block, but…you shouldn’t
be kept in the dark. If I saw the bitch in person, I’d deck her
right in the face.”

Besides being alarmed, I was confused. “Wait.
Who is this woman?”

“She’s the vice president of the company
who’s selling Sean the operation system. She said she wouldn’t give
it to him until he slept with her. Sean walked out, but she came
back and said she changed her mind. Sean doesn’t trust her so he
asked Cortland to come along.”

Wow. I had no idea.
I processed what
she said for several minutes, trying to understand everything.

“You okay?” she asked.

“I’m just…surprised. I had no idea.”

“Sean said he didn’t see the point in telling
you.”

“Clearly…”

“I hope I didn’t put a riff between you two,
but I thought you should know.”

“Thanks.”

“So…are you or mad or anything?”

“No. I’m not sure what I am.”

“If it were Cortland, I’d be pissed.”

I tried to be logical about the whole thing.
“I know Sean wouldn’t work with this woman unless he absolutely had
to. And I appreciate the fact he took Cortland so he wouldn’t be
alone with her. But I trust my husband and know he would never do
anything to betray me or this marriage.”

“That’s not what I was implying. I just don’t
understand why he would keep it from you.”

I knew exactly why he kept it from me. “I
told him I wasn’t jealous when other women hit on him and he was
somewhat hurt by it. Apparently, he thinks I don’t care at
all.”

“Do you? Honestly, I can’t tell.”

“Of course I care,” I said immediately. “But
I’m not worried. I know Sean will keep his hands to himself. I
doubt the girl does anything for him anyway.”

“Wow,” she said. “I admire your faith in
him.”

“I’ve known him for ten years. He’s never
been a cheater.”

“I guess I would feel the same way about
Cortland.”

The idea of a whore throwing herself at my
husband got under my skin but I couldn’t be upset with Sean for
that. It was out of his control. Even without his money, he was the
greatest catch in the world. Plus, he was the most handsome man in
the world. He had the whole package. “Well, I need to do some
laundry before bed. Thanks for calling.”

“Sure. Let me know if you need anything.
Cortland left his car.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

After we hung up, I debated calling Sean. I
wasn’t sure why, but I wanted to talk to him about the situation.
There was a good chance he was with her and wouldn’t feel
comfortable discussing it. I decided to call him anyway.

It immediately went to voicemail. His phone
must be off because of the plane ride. I tried not to jump to
conclusions. I had nothing to worry about. I started a load of
laundry then sat in front of the TV, trying to stay distracted.

You doing okay over there?
It was
Mike.

I’m fine. Thanks for checking.

We have an extra room if you want to stay
with us.

And hear all the crazy stuff that goes on
after dark? No thanks.

I could teach you a few things.

I rolled my eyes.
Good night.

Seriously, you’ll be okay alone?

Seriously.

Call me if you need anything
.

I put down my phone and dug into the bowl of
popcorn I made for myself.

The next morning, I called Sean.

He answered on the second ring. “Hey, baby.
Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Well, that wasn’t
totally true
. “How’s it going?”

“We settled everything this afternoon. I’ll
be coming back with the vice president and we’ll start implementing
it. They want to oversee the beginning to make sure I’m not
illegally selling their product to other people. Legal bogus.”

I noticed that he always referred to her as
the vice president, keeping her sex an identity. “So when are you
coming home?”

“I’ll leave in the morning, well the morning
my time. My plane will land at eight in the morning your time.”

“That was a quick trip.”

“I want to get out of here as soon as
possible,” he said darkly. “How’s it going with you? Taking it
easy?”

“Yeah. I haven’t done much since you
left.”

“Good. And let Mike know if you need
anything.”
“I know.”

Silence stretched for a while.

“Baby, I hate to be rude but I’m exhausted.
With the time change and lack of sleep, I’m about to fall
apart.”

“I understand,” I said. “Tell Cortland I said
hi.”

Sean breathed into the phone without saying
anything. “You know Cortland is with me…?”

He was feeling me out. “Yeah. Monnique told
me.”

“Oh.” Awkward silence. “What else did she
say?”

“That your client wants to have an affair
with you.” I said it simply and with no emotion.

Sean was squirming over the phone. “So…are
you mad I didn’t tell you?”

“No.”

A long pause ensued. “Are you mad at me in
general…?”

“No.”

His voice changed, becoming hard and bitter.
“So, you don’t care at all?”

“No, I didn’t say that.”

“I’m sorry, but you should be pissed right
now. I went to Paris with some woman that wants to fuck my brains
out and has absolutely no problem with the fact I’m married, and I
didn’t even tell you about it. How can you be okay with this?”

“Because I trust you.”

He cursed over the phone. “You aren’t jealous
or anything? Seriously?”

“You brought Cortland, didn’t you?”

“But the fact I felt the need to bring him
along for protection should be alarming.”

“Well, it’s pretty much impossible to rape a
guy and I can’t see you being easily overpowered, so no, I’m not
jealous.”

He growled. “How can you be so calm about
this?”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t trust you? Is
that what you want? For me to look through your phone when you
aren’t looking and keep tabs on you all the time? Do you want me to
scream at you over the phone for keeping this from me?”

“No,” he snapped. “I just wished you cared at
least a little bit. You don’t want to rip this woman’s head
off?”

“What would that solve?”

He sighed into the phone. “Forget it. I can’t
talk to you about this. You just piss me off.”

“You think she’s the only person who’s going
to want to jump your bones? Believe me, you’ll get a lot of offers
in your lifetime. Why should I waste my time getting upset over
something that I can’t control?”

He hissed into the phone. “You know what?
Forget it. I’m exhausted so I’m going to bed.”

“You’re the one who wanted to argue about me
not arguing with you.”

I knew Sean was livid with me. “Good night,
Scarlet.”

He never called me that. But I knew he would
never hang up on me. He always waited for me to end the call first.
No matter how angry he was, he would never cut me off. “Good
night.”

“I love you.”

I was moved he still said it, but I guess I
wasn’t surprised. “I love you too.”

“I’ll text you when I get on the plane.”

“Okay.”

“Now hang up.”

I ended the call.

Sean texted me like he said he would.

Boarding.

K.

He wouldn’t be home for hours and I knew he
would be tired when he arrived. I made Mexican food for dinner and
put a plate in the refrigerator just in case. I knew he was still
mad at me but I doubted he would fight with me because he’d be too
tired.

Even though I was annoyed with his immature
attitude, I missed him. I decided to text his brother.

Can you take me to the airport?

Sure. Sean’s plane landing?

Yeah. I want to ride back with him in the
car.

I’ll be there in 5.

Thanks.

After Mike picked me up, we drove to the
airport.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

I shrugged. “We’ve been fighting.”

“About what?”

“Some woman wants to sleep with Sean but I
trust him. He gets upset when I don’t get jealous.”

He nodded. “He told me about that. What can I
say? Sean’s a little girl deep inside.”

“I’m not sure why it bothers him so
much.”

“We’ll never know.”

We arrived at the airport then walked to his
terminal. His plane was landing so we waited for the passengers to
leave the plane and walk to the terminal. I hoped surprising him
would put him in a better mood.

I finally spotted Sean walk out with his bag
over his shoulder. Cortland walked beside him and a blonde woman
was on the other side of him. My eyes widened when I saw her. She
was tall and thin. The perfection of her features couldn’t go
unnoticed. She didn’t look like a businesswoman, more like a
Swedish model. A perfect hourglass figure and noticeable breasts,
she turned all the heads in her vicinity.