Cherished

  “I’ll say, Jessie. It’s been over a month. What about the postcard you sent to your dad? You said you’d met someone.”

  She started shaking her head again as she began crying harder. “No…oh god, no. I didn’t mean it like that, Scott. I didn’t mean that I’d found someone else. It’s just…Trey was here because his fiancée had left him at the altar, and we started up a friendship. We both helped each other forget the hurt for a little while.”

  I felt the tears burning my eyes, and I did everything I could to hold them back. “How did he help you forget the hurt, Jessie? Did you go for walks along the beach? Or maybe romantic dinners out each night? What about a little bit of dancing under the stars? That should have been you and me, Jessie, not you and him.”

  The moment she looked into my eyes, I knew she felt more for this guy than she was admitting. I felt sick when I saw that look on her face. I turned and headed toward the car.

  “Scott, stop!”

  I kept going, but then Lark grabbed my arm to stop me.

  “Dude, if you leave, make sure you know what you’re walking away from.”

  I shook my head and went to move again when I heard Jessie trying to say something through her crying.

  “Scott, I’m…I’m…pregnant.”

  I stopped dead in my tracks. What? Pregnant? Oh. My. God.

  My legs started to buckle out from underneath me. Lark reached out and grabbed me as I tried to get my legs to work.

  “Scott…oh my god!” Jessie called out.

  I felt my legs go out, and Lark slowly let me go down to the ground.

  She’s pregnant. With my child or…

  Jessie ran up to me and dropped to her knees. “Scott, are you okay?”

  I looked into her eyes, and I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore. “Is…is it his baby or…or mine?” I asked.

  The look on her face turned to one of pure shock, and then it was replaced with sadness. My whole world just stopped with that look, and all I wanted to do was sleep. I was so tired all of a sudden.

  I’m so damn tired.

  The moment Scott asked me if the baby was his or Trey’s, I wanted to throw up. He thinks I’ve been sleeping with Trey. Oh god. Then, the guilt of letting Trey kiss me and touch me swept over my whole body, and I was pretty sure Scott noticed it as well.

  I shook my head as I felt a tear roll down my face. I tried to talk between my sobs. “It’s your baby, Scott. I never…I never slept with Trey. I couldn’t do that because…because I love you, Scott. I’ve always loved you, and I’ll always love you. Even when I thought you had cheated with Chelsea…I couldn’t. I love you too much.”

  I watched his face for any emotions of believing me. Oh god…please believe me.

  “Is that why you called me? Because you found out you are pregnant?” Scott asked.

  I watched the tears rolling down his face. Oh. My. God. His heart has been broken, and it’s all my fault because I ran away.

  You left him. You killed him.

  “No! I called you before I found out. I called you because it hit me all at once…I knew it wasn’t you with Chelsea. I was planning on coming home in a few days, but everything just kind of all clicked, and I had to talk to you. The second time I called you…” I thought about the two pregnancy tests that were still in my back pocket. I smiled and said, “I still didn’t know. I just needed to hear your voice…to tell you how sorry I was for leaving…to say I love you.”

  Scott looked at me, confused. “When did you find out you’re pregnant?”

  I smiled and peeked up at Scott’s friend. “Um…”

  “Shit,” Scott said as he started to stand up.

  He reached his hand down and helped me up. The moment his hand touched mine, I felt that familiar feeling zip through my body. I instantly wanted him. I just wanted him to hold me and then slowly make love to me.

  “I’m sorry…Jessie, this is Lark Williams. He’s my best friend from college and the reason I was able to get here to you so fast,” Scott said as he introduced me to his friend.

  I looked Lark up and down. He was a bit taller than Scott and had messy light brown hair. I smiled and held out my hand. He took it and kissed the back of it while giving me a smile I was sure melted many hearts.

  “You’ve had my boy here in knots for the past month, darling.”

  My smile faded, and I felt like I was going to throw up. I quickly looked at Scott. He was smiling at me with the goofiest smile on his face, and I couldn’t help but giggle.

  “Well, I guess I have a lot of making up to do, don’t I?” I smiled at Scott, and then I turned to look at Lark.

  When I glimpsed back at Scott, the look in his eyes caused my stomach to drop. He was looking at me with nothing but pure love…and his eyes were saying how much he wanted me.

  Lark started laughing as he slapped Scott on the back. “I think you need to gather up your girl’s things and bring her back to the house.”

  I looked between Scott and Lark. House? What house? Whose house?

  Lark whispered something into Scott’s ear, and the smile that spread across Scott’s face made me weak in the knees.

  “Baby, how fast can you pack up your stuff?”

  I let out a chuckle. “Um…ten minutes? I have to check out though.”

  “I’ll check out for you. Do you need help getting your stuff?”

  I shook my head, and I felt my stomach dip when I thought about Trey. I needed to find him and say good-bye just in case I didn’t see him before I left. For some reason, the thought of leaving Trey made me feel sad. We’d grown close as friends, and I was going to miss him.

  Scott reached up and ran his knuckles down the side of my face. My face was on fire where his hand touched, and the love just poured into my body.

  “You want to stay in your cabana?” Scott asked.

  The image of Trey lying on top of me in the bed flashed through my mind. “No. No…I want to go somewhere else. I don’t want to stay in there.”

  Scott looked at me with a questioning look, but then he gave me a weak smile. “Okay, baby. We’ll meet you back here in ten minutes?”

  I nodded. “Give me fifteen.”

  I reached up and brushed my lips against Scott’s. He put his hand behind my neck and pulled me in closer as he deepened the kiss. I let out a small moan.

  God, I’ve missed him so much.

  Scott pulled back slightly and smiled against my lips. “God, I’ve missed you so damn much.”

  He put his forehead against mine, and I felt the sting of tears building in my eyes again.

  I pulled back and grinned. “I’ll go as fast as I can.”

  I took a few steps back and turned. As I quickly made my way back to the cabana, my heart was pounding in my chest. I had to tell Scott about what had happened between Trey and me. I have to.

  I lifted my fingers and gently rubbed them against my lips. They were still tingling from Scott’s kiss. I smiled as I thought about being with him, making love to him again after being away for so long.

  I rounded a tree and saw Trey sitting on the steps to my cabana. He jumped up when he saw me.

  “What happened?” he asked as he walked up to me.

  He went to take me into his arms, but I put my hand up to stop him.

  “Trey, please…I have to go pack up my things, but I’m so glad you’re here. I wanted to say thank you so much for being such an amazing friend and for helping me these last few weeks.”

  Trey’s whole body slumped. “So, that’s it? He comes here, and you’re just going to leave with him? Just like that, and what we had stops?”

  My whole body started shaking. “Yes! Trey, I love Scott. I’ve never been dishonest with you about my feelings, especially my feelings toward you.”

  Trey ran his hand through his hair as he shook his head. “I see how you look at me, Jessie. You say you only want to be friends, but I know you care about me more than that.”

  I felt heat move up into
my face. “Trey—”

  “No. I waited for you. You asked for time, and I gave you time. I stayed away from my family and waited. I waited for you to get over that prick, and then he just swoops in here and takes you from me.”

  The anger I was feeling surprised me. “What? I didn’t ask you to stay here! I didn’t keep you away from anyone. I told you I love him, and yes…yes, he can swoop in here because we love each other, and we’re having a baby together. He isn’t taking me from you because I was never yours in the first place. I’ve always been his.”

  Trey gave me a weak smile. “You got that right.” He turned and started to walk away.

  I couldn’t let him leave like this. “Trey, wait, please.”

  He kept walking.

  “Trey!”

  He stopped and slowly turned around. I walked up to him, and I did the one thing I knew I shouldn’t do. I reached up and brushed my lips against his. It started off as a simple, innocent kiss, but Trey attempted to turn it into a more passionate one before I pushed him away.

  “Trey, please…I love him more than life itself.” I looked up into his eyes.

  He reached down and wiped away the tears rolling down my face.

  “I’ll let you go…but only because I’ve fallen in love with you, Jess. You’ll always hold a special place in my heart—always. Good-bye, love.”

  He took a step back and gave me that smile of his. Then, he turned and walked away. I watched him for a few seconds before I quickly ran into my cabana.

  I looked around at all the things Trey and I had collected throughout our time here on the island. I didn’t need…or want any of it. I reached for my bag and quickly put all my clothes in there. I walked over to the bed and reached under it. I grabbed my shoebox and put it into my bag. I looked around and saw the shell that Trey had bought me sitting on the table. I picked it up. I thought back to the day when we had gone on the tour of the ruins and how much fun we’d had. Trey had found this shell in one of the stores we had gone through. He’d bought two, one for me and one for him.

  When you look at this seashell, you’ll always think of me and our time here in Belize, love.

  I gently set it back down on the table. I looked over at the bed and closed my eyes. Please don’t let Scott hate me. Please, God. Please let him forgive me.

  I put my hand on my stomach and forced the tears to stop. After going into the bathroom, I quickly wiped my face, and then I splashed some water on it. I fixed my hair into a ponytail, and then I went back into the bedroom to grab my bag. I left the room and headed back to the lobby of the hotel.

  I didn’t look back once. I just wanted to forget that the last five weeks had ever happened. What happened on this island was going to stay on this island.

  I was going home with Scott, and we were going to have a baby together. Trey would always have a special place in my heart, but my heart belonged to Scott.

  Forever.

  I slowly sank down on the sofa and let out a long breath. I turned my head and looked down the hall at Josh sneaking out of the babies’ bedroom. When he turned and saw me, the smile that spread across his face instantly caused me to giggle.

  I think Josh had more fun today than Libby and Will did.

  He walked into the living room, and after he sat down, he pulled my legs over his lap. He took off my shoes and began massaging my feet.

  “Ah…god, that feels so good.” I threw my head back.

  Just Josh touching me felt like heaven.

  We sat there for a few minutes without saying anything. I finally looked at him and smiled. He smiled back and gave me a wink.

  “I think Libs and Will had fun on their first Christmas today. Don’t you? I mean, they didn’t really know what was going on, but with all the shit Mom and Dad bought for them, I think their little minds were very stimulated.” Josh said with a chuckle.

  I smiled as I slid my right leg up and began moving my foot across his lap. I slowly licked my lips. “I know something that needs to be…stimulated.”

  The look in Josh’s eyes dropped my stomach in an instant. He pushed my legs off of him, and then he crawled over and began kissing me.

  “Jesus, Heather. You drive me insane with lust, do you know that?”

  I smiled as I nodded. “I have surprise number two.”

  Josh pulled back and looked at me funny. “What?”

  “Do you remember the first time you ever tied me up? I told you that I had two surprises for you.”

  He slowly smiled. “Oh yeah…the first one was my parents moving here. I totally forgot about the second surprise. What is it?”

  I bit down on my lip, thinking back to that day when Josh and I had played a bit more. He’d tied me up, and he’d even let me tie him up once. I’d had this gift since then, and it had taken everything I had to keep it until Christmas.

  “It’s upstairs,” I said.

  He reached over and pulled my lip out from my teeth. Then, he leaned over and kissed me so sweetly.

  “One more present for me, huh?” Josh raised his eyebrows up and down.

  I let out a small laugh. “Yep!” I said, popping the P.

  Josh slowly stood and then reached down for my hand. He pulled me up and into his arms, and he began kissing my neck.

  “I’ve got one more present for you, too, baby,” he whispered against my neck.

  My heart started pounding. Ah…the things he does to my body. I can’t even control it anymore. I’m absolutely his…body and soul.

  “You want your present first? Or do you want to give me mine?” he asked with such a breathy voice.

  The sound of it practically made me tell him to have his way with me right then and there.

  I looked at him. “Depends. Will your gift lead to mad, passionate sex?”

  Josh’s smile grew bigger. “Will yours?” he asked with the cutest damn smile ever.

  I nodded. “Oh yeah.”

  He tilted his head as he closed one eye and stared at me. “Okay…I’m thinking that we just say to hell with my gift and get straight to your gift, princess.”

  I let out a laugh and shook my head. “No. I want your gift first.”

  He took a step back, and his smile faded for a brief second. He turned and walked over toward the Christmas tree. He reached in and pulled out a small box. I grinned, knowing he must have hidden that there just today. I’d been searching the tree every day since we’d put it up.

  Josh took my hand and led me over to the fireplace. It was slowly going out, but he started to sit down on the floor, so I followed him. When he did things like this, it made me feel like a little girl again.

  “Today was probably one of the best days of my life, Heather. I loved spending Christmas with Gunner, Ellie, Jeff, Ari, and everyone else. Then, we were able to come home and spend time with Mom and Dad.”

  I nodded. “It was the best Christmas of my life. It was our babies’ first Christmas.”

  “It’s not over yet, princess. I knew you would be sad with your mom and dad not here, especially with this being the kids’ first Christmas.”

  I looked away as I felt tears building in my eyes. Josh took his finger and turned my chin toward him.

  “I wanted this gift to mean something for you. I hope you like it, princess.”

  As he handed me the gift, my hands started to shake. I carefully untied the bow and then began to take off the wrapping paper. I looked up into Josh’s eyes every so often, and the love I saw there just seared into my soul.

  I removed the blue velvet box and slowly opened it. I let out a gasp when I saw the necklace. I reached in and took it out. There were three hearts, and each had writing on it. The biggest heart said, Forever in my heart. One of the smaller hearts said, Will, and the other said, Libby. I moved the smaller hearts to see a small round charm with J & H inscribed on it.

  “Look on the back of the one with our initials,” Josh said.

  I turned it over to read, I’ll love you for infinity.
r />   My heart didn’t know whether to be sad or happy. I looked up, and Josh gave me a small smile. He leaned over and kissed my tear-soaked cheek. I tried to talk, but my voice caught in my throat as I gazed into Josh’s eyes.

  How could I love him any more than I do at this very moment?

  “Josh…this is so beautiful, and I don’t even—”

  “Shh…just tell me you like it.”

  I peeked down at the necklace in my hand and then back at him. “I love it. Oh, Josh, it’s so perfect.”

  I threw myself into his arms and started crying. He pulled me onto his lap and held me while I let it all out.

  Today had been so hard for me. It was our first Christmas as a married couple, the kids’ first Christmas, and another Christmas without my parents.

  When I finally settled down, I felt chills running up and down my back from where Josh was moving his hand. I instantly thought of his gift, and I could practically feel myself getting wet. I pulled back and looked at him with the most smoldering look I could muster.

  “What’s wrong, baby? Why are you making that face?”

  I rolled my eyes. Epic fail on the smoldering look, Heather. I let out a laugh. “You want your gift now?”

  “Hell yeah, I do,” Josh said.

  He lifted me out of his lap. We both stood and made our way upstairs. I set my necklace down on the dresser and turned to look at my husband. He was standing there, like a kid waiting to see what Santa had brought him. I grinned at my thought of Santa.

  “Okay, go sit down on the bed and give me a few minutes,” I said with a wink.

  I walked into the closet and opened up my T-shirt drawer. I pulled out the Santa outfit and smiled. I quickly undressed and started to slip on the red thigh-high stockings. The touch of innocence from the black-and-white bows on the top of each stocking made me smile. I pulled on the red silk panties. The small white trim was perfect on them, and I couldn’t believe how sexy they made me feel. Then, I put on the red bustier. The girl at the store had shown me how to get it on without anyone’s help, but it was still a pain in the ass.

  “Heather? What in the hell are you doing in there? Still shopping for it?” Josh called out.