The Journey Home

  I tried to speak, but nothing came out. He smiled and looked me over from head to toe. “Bella,” he said. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  I glared at him. “What are you doing here, Andre?”

  His smile faded, his eyes turning from happy to angry in an instant. “I came to see if you were done playing house yet. I want you back.”

  I looked behind me, then turned and pushed him on the chest to back him up. I stepped outside and shut the door.

  “Are you kidding me? Really? You have the nerve to show up on my fiancés doorstep and ask me something like that?” I asked. “I love Cale. I’ve always loved him and I will always love him. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m asking you to please leave and never contact me again. I’m happy. Very happy and very much in love.”

  Andre looked over my shoulder. I turned to see Cale standing in the doorway. “I think you heard the lady,” he said. “Leave.”

  Andre stood up taller and smirked at Cale. “I walked away from you once before, Bella, without a fight. I’ve returned to claim what is rightfully mine.” He glanced over to Cale. “Fiancé or not.”

  My mouth dropped open as I stood there in a stupor.

  “I thought maybe all you needed was time, so I gave that to you. I’m tired of waiting. I can give you…” Andre gestured toward Cale. “I can give you what he can’t.”

  I closed my eyes. I couldn’t believe this was happening. When I felt Cale push past me, I knew things were about to turn ugly. I opened my eyes as Cale grabbed Andre and pushed him against the side of the house.

  “You motherfucker,” Cale said. “You have some damn nerve showing up at my house and talking to my fiancée like this. I’m only going to tell you one time—stay the hell away from Maddie. If I so much as see you step a foot onto my property, I will beat your ass all the way back to New York.”

  Andre’s breathing had picked up. I couldn’t move. I finally got my wits together and walked up and grabbed Cale. “Cale, please, just let him go. It’s not worth it.”

  I gave Cale a pleading look. He let go of Andre with a forceful push. He took a few steps back as Andre fixed his ruffed-up jacket.

  “Andre,” I said. “I thought I made it very clear to you about my feelings for Cale.”

  “We had something special, Bella. Do you not remember our time together in Italy?”

  I felt my face flush. I didn’t want Andre talking about us being together in front of Cale. “That’s all in the past. I’m where I belong, Andre. I’m home. I’m in love with Cale; I’ve always been in love with him.”

  He shook his head and looked at Cale and then back to me. His eyes weren’t filled with sadness, but with anger. I don’t think Andre was used to not getting his way.

  He held up his hands and made a face. “Fine. If this is what you really want, Maddison, then I will turn and walk away. Just know that if I leave, this is it.”

  “Oh, for the love of God. Do you not hear what she’s saying, asshole?” Cale shouted.

  I had to admit I never thought I’d deal with Andre again. In that moment, I wondered what I’d ever seen in him in the first place. He was arrogant, conniving, and selfish.

  “Goodbye, Andre.” I said, taking few steps back.

  Slowly shaking his head, Andre said, “Arrivederci, Maddison.” He turned on his heels and walked away.

  I shook my head, turning to Cale. “I swear I haven’t been in contact with him or anything. I have no idea what would make him just show up like that and—”

  Cale quickly kissed me. The kiss was hungry and full of passion. It wasn’t long before we were calling out each other’s names as Cale exploded inside of me. A big part of me wanted to stop taking my birth control, but I knew it would be best if we waited until after the wedding.

  I lay in bed, tangled up in Cale, as I thought about that first night. My mother had said you couldn’t fall in love with someone so quickly, but I knew she was wrong. The feelings I’d experienced that night with Cale were magical, mysterious, and powerful. Something I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to explain. Those same feelings were beginning to stir again, but in a very different way. I felt loved, safe, and needed. For the first time in my life, I started to believe that I had finally found that missing piece. Cale was it. I needed him like I needed the air I breathed. That feeling excited and scared me.

  Cale began to stir as I slowly slipped out from our web of love. I looked down at him and couldn’t help but smile. I loved him, and there is no way I would ever be able to survive a day without him.

  JACK SAT OPPOSITE me on the floor, watching Lily. Lily was now attempting to crawl.

  Jack sighed. “Dude, she just gets up on all fours and rocks. When is she going to actually move?”

  I smiled and shook my head. As soon as I told Jack on the phone that I thought Lily was about to crawl, he made an excuse to hang up, and the doorbell rang ten minutes later. He always acted like he didn’t care, but he wanted to be here just as much as Monica did for this moment.

  I chuckled and said, “Give her time, she’ll do it.”

  Maddie sat down next to me as Monica joined Jack on the floor. Monica glanced at me and I smiled. She was about to tell Jack she was pregnant. She wanted to do it with all of us there. It meant a lot to her to have Maddie and me there when she told Jack, since we had both been there for them during their rough patch.

  “Here’s a cookie I helped Maddie make,” Monica said as she handed the cookie to Jack. His eyes were focused on Lily, who was staring at him.

  “She’s eyeing me like she knows something’s up.” He said as he titled his head and looked at her. He reached for the cookie and looked down at it.

  He looked up at me and frowned. “I think this one is for you.”

  I snapped my head back in surprise and asked. “Why?”

  He looked away as he said, “It says ‘Congratulations, Daddy.’”

  Maddie grabbed my hand as Monica quickly wiped a tear away. I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Monica?”

  Jack turned to Monica. He dropped the cookie and placed both hands on the sides of her face. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

  Monica let out a small sob and said, “I made that cookie for you.”

  Jack looked down at the cookie before grabbing it. He was about to put it in his mouth when Monica and Maddie called out, “No!”

  Lily startled, then squealed and giggled.

  Jack dropped the cookie again. “Motherfucker. What the hell is wrong with you guys? You scared the shit out of me.” He looked back at Monica and used his thumbs to wipe her tears away. “Monica, why are you…”

  My heart began to beat faster as I looked at Maddie. Her smile was breathtaking and I knew this moment was big for her.

  “Wait,” Jack said. “You made that cookie for me?”

  Monica nodded and whispered, “Yes. I made another one too.”

  She reached behind her and handed him another cookie. Jack read the writing on the cookie out loud. “Miracle baby on board…” His head snapped up. “What? I mean…what does this mean? Does this mean…are you?”

  Monica began crying harder. “I’m two months pregnant. I’d like to think it happened on our honeymoon.”

  I watched as tears began to make their way down Jack’s face as I fought to keep my own tears at bay.

  “Monica! Oh, God.” Jack pulled his wife close and they kissed.

  I glanced to Lily and saw her inching toward the cookie that Jack had dropped. I nudged Maddie and pointed. “Look! Look at Lily!”

  Maddie gasped. “She’s crawling! She’s crawling.”

  Jack and Monica stopped kissing, and Jack practically pushed Monica away. “That’s right, baby girl. Come to Uncle Jack. Come on. Come on.” Jack was clapping his hands as he tried to get Lily to come to him.

  Monica snarled, hitting Jack on the arm. “She’s not a dog, for Pete’s sake.” She grabbed the cookie and held it so Lily could see. Lily laughed, turning toward Monica.


  “What the hell?” Jack yelled. He grabbed the cookie out of Monica’s hand. “Lily, look at what a big girl you are, crawling! Come to Uncle Jack. I have two cookies.”

  “You prick!” Monica shouted. “Give me that cookie.”

  I looked at Maddie who was crying as she watched our daughter crawl for the first time. I glanced back and said, “Lily, Daddy has a cookie.”

  I reached for the cookie Maddie was holding and held it up. Lily stopped and looked at me. She smiled, and all I could see was the two little teeth that had broken through her gums. I couldn’t believe how fast she crawled toward me with those blue eyes sparkling.

  “Hey! That is totally not fair. She was coming to me first. You cheated!” Jack said.

  When Lily crawled up to me and reached for the cookie, I scooped her up and kissed all over her face as she laughed.

  Maddie jumped up and clapped and said, “Yay! Look at our big girl!”

  Jack and Monica both stared up at us, smiling. I couldn’t wait for them to experience all of this with their own child. I smiled at Jack as he nodded.

  We spent the rest of the afternoon following Lily around as she crawled everywhere.

  I looked over at Maddie and laughed. “Shit. I think our world just changed in a major way.”

  She giggled and nodded. “I think so too.”

  “MR. BLACKWOOD?”

  I glanced up from my computer to see Katrina, my assistant, smiling at me.

  “Yes?” I watched as she moved toward my desk.

  I was going to have to talk to her about her work attire. It was getting tighter and tighter. I was pretty sure she didn’t have a bra on today—her nipples were showing through her light blouse.

  She stopped at my desk and leaned over. “Mr. Powers needs that presentation to be ready first thing in the morning. He asked me to stay late in case you needed anything.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her, then checked the time. Fuck. It was six-thirty already. I picked up my phone to see that I had a few missed texts from Maddie.

  Maddie: Hey! Are you working late tonight? I haven’t heard from you all afternoon.

  Maddie: You must be busy. Lily and I are going to the park with your mother. Call me.

  Maddie: I’m guessing you’re working late. Just gonna make something for me for dinner. Hope everything is okay.

  I ran my hand through my hair and sighed. I can’t believe I hadn’t even talked to Maddie at all this afternoon. I began typing her back a reply as I talked to Katrina. “Why are you here so late? And why didn’t remind me of the time?”

  “I knew you had this big presentation, so I just assumed you wanted to be alone to work on it. Then Mr. Powers asked me to stay, too. Would you like some dinner?”

  In that moment, my stomach decided to answer for me. Katrina giggled and said, “It’s a good thing I ordered Chinese, isn’t it?”

  I smiled. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

  Me: Hey, baby. I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize it was so late and my damn phone was on silent from a meeting earlier this morning. Your dad is expecting this presentation first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll probably be at least another hour. I’m sorry.

  Maddie: No worries. I’m just glad everything is okay. I was about to call Daddy.

  Me: Why didn’t you call my office number?

  Maddie: I did, twice. Your assistant said she gave you the messages, but that you were working on a big presentation.

  I looked toward my office door. Weird. Katrina never gave me any messages from Maddie.

  Me: I never got any messages. I think Katrina needs to go. She’s still here. Working late.

  Maddie: Really? I called twice, once just a few minutes ago.

  Me: I’ll take care of it. Give me an hour and I’ll be home, baby.

  Maddie: We’ll be waiting. Not sure the princess will be able to hold out that long. Her and Grandma had tons of fun today.

  I smiled as I thought about my mother and Lily playing. My mother had become a new person this year. Something about Lily had changed her, and we had never been closer. My father was happier too.

  I looked up to see Katrina walking in. She had taken her hair down and was holding a bag of food. I had to admit—it smelled heavenly.

  Me: I’m glad they had fun. I’ll try to hurry. I love you, Maddie. More than anything.

  Maddie: I love you! Please hurry. I have something for you.

  Me: I love you, too, baby. I’m counting down the minutes. I’ll be as quick as I can.

  She sent a photo, and I waited for it to load. When it did, I about dropped my phone. Maddie was standing naked in front of her full-length mirror. I licked my lips as I thought about all the dirty things I wanted to do to her tonight.

  Me: Holy shit, Maddie. I’ll wrap this up as fast as I can.

  Maddie: Don’t rush. Just know I’ll be waiting for you.

  Me: I’ll text you when I’m heading home.

  Maddie: K!

  “Dinner’s ready,” Katrina said as she placed everything out on the table, then sat down on the sofa.

  I had a huge office. A conference table and eight chairs were on the left side of my office, and a sofa, coffee table, and two chairs sat on the right side. I got up and walked over to the sofa. I was attempting to think of anything besides Maddie’s naked picture and my rock-hard dick. I grabbed the food and made my way back to my desk.

  “You’re not even going to take a break and eat with me on the sofa?” Katrina asked.

  I looked over my shoulder at her.

  She licked her lips. “It’s after hours, so I thought we could be a bit more relaxed.”

  I turned away from her. “It may be after hours, but we’re still working.”

  I sat and went through the spreadsheets one more time. Everything was pretty much ready to go for the presentation, and I was just double-checking everything before I finished up. Since Katrina was here, I would send the file to James—Maddie’s dad—and Katrina could send it to everyone else after she got it all in order. James just needed the data ahead of time. He didn’t need it looking all pretty.

  I was so deep into the power point that I didn’t even notice Katrina get up and approach my desk. She placed her hands on my shoulders and I jumped.

  “Relax. Let me take all your tension away, Cale.” She messaged my shoulders and brushed her lips against my neck. “I can relax you in so many ways.”

  I stood and turned to her. “Katrina, I think it’s best if you leave for the evening.”

  She smiled and tilted her head. “Is that what you really want, Cale?”

  “It’s Mr. Blackwood.”

  She bit her lip. “I do like a man who is in control.”

  I stared at her. Was she for real? I picked up my phone called security.

  “Good evening, Mr. Blackwood. Is everything okay?”

  I shook my head as I watched Katrina start unbuttoning her blouse. I held up my hand to stop her. “Yes. I need you to come to my office ASAP and escort Ms. Miller from the building. She is being terminated as of this moment.”

  Katrina’s mouth gaped open as her hands fell to the side. “What? You’re firing me?”

  “Yes sir. Sending up Philip now, Mr. Blackwood.”

  “Thank you.” I hung up the phone and walked to the other side of my desk. Turning to Katrina, I said, “I need you to gather your things. Security will be here any minute to escort you from the building.

  “But…I thought. You’re not interested in me?”

  I ran my hand through my hair and shook my head. “I’m very much in love with my wife, and I’m pretty sure I never gave you any indication otherwise.”

  She quickly began to button her shirt as she headed out of my office, back to her desk. She stopped at my door and turned to me. “I’m uh…I’m sorry. It’s just that most men don’t turn me down. Not even the ones who are happily married.”

  I put my hands in my pockets and looked at her. I felt so sorry for her. She needed to find someone
who'd treat her with enough respect that she wouldn’t feel like she needed to throw herself at men.

  “If a married man slept with you, Katrina, he was not happy in his marriage, and he had zero respect for his wife.”

  She swallowed hard and headed to her desk. I heard Philip walk into the office and ask if she could hand him her badge.

  After Katrina cleaned out her desk and gathered up her items, I walked out as they both made their way to the elevator. She turned to me. “What are you going to say?”

  “I’m going to send HR the letter of resignation that you sent to me.”

  She looked confused, but then it hit her. “Thank you for not…well…you could have said what happened.”

  “Nothing happened, Katrina. Besides, it wouldn’t do you or I any good in spreading it around, would it?”

  She shook her head and slowly turned away. I returned to my office and picked up my phone. My first call was to James, and my second was to Maddie to tell her how much I loved her.

  I LOOKED UP from my book as Cale came into the living room. “Rough day?”

  He nodded and threw his stuff down on the chair. “I had to fire Katrina tonight.”

  I sat up and set my Kindle down. “Oh my gosh, why?”

  Cale sat down and pushed his hands through his hair. Taking a deep, he said, “She came on to me tonight.”

  Anger engulfed my body. “She came on to you? Is that why the bitch didn’t tell you I called?”

  Cale nodded. “I guess.”

  My voice cracked as I said, “What happened?”

  “She didn’t bother to tell me you’d called or even that your dad had called. I was so lost in Power Point that I didn’t realize how time was flying by. She ordered dinner and brought it into my office and sat on my sofa to eat it. I took it to my desk and, the next thing I knew, she was massaging my shoulders and she…well, she came on to me.”