Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
It was true. But did I dare say the words out loud. He’d hurt me. Could I give him another chance?
I turned within the circle and studied his face. I stared deep into the green depths of his eyes and I saw…love.
My next words came from my heart. “I never stopped loving you, Nick. But you have a lot to atone for. I’ve already forgiven you because I needed to be able to heal, but I’m cautious. If you hurt me again, say goodbye to your balls.”
He chuckled. “Deal.” He cupped my face and gave me a long deep kiss which I returned enthusiastically. Finally when he pulled away, he rubbed my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “I’m not settling for less than forever.”
For the first time in a long time a new emotion swelled within my heart: Hope. I didn’t know what would happen between Nick and me. We’d been through much and had hurt each other but in the end, I believed this was where we were meant to be, with each other.
Epilogue
Nick
So much had happened within the last year. Dr. Laski’s trial took place over the course of a three weeks, and he was found guilty of a plethora of charges including 15 counts of illegal dispensing of controlled substances. He’d also been stripped of his license, and in my mind, Kenny had gotten the justice he deserved. He had been sentenced to 30 years.
My mother was one of the patients that was called as state’s witness against him. She was cut a deal for her testimony, probation. Of course without my help to buy herself a top lawyer, she had to make do with what she could afford. I’d stopped funding her lifestyle, so apparently she’d taken out a mortgage on the house that had already been paid off. But because she didn’t work, she couldn’t afford the payments, and it had gone into foreclosure.
She had come to my office in a demented raged demanding I pay up, but I had the police called to remove her from my building. Apparently that violated her probation, so she was sentences to prison for a six months. It was my understanding that it was a minimum-security facility, but I knew it would be hell to her.
I had a restraining order taken out on her for when she got out. I was dead serious when I said that I never wanted to see her again.
Things with Frankie and me had started out a bit rocky. I was frustrated because she wanted to take things slower than I wanted. I wanted her to move in with me, but she wasn’t ready. Plus, she didn’t want to leave her brother to fend for himself. I’d even offered to let Adam stay with us if that helped, but she’d declined.
I think what really helped us make a breakthrough was couples’ therapy. I knew that Frankie still loved me, but regaining her trust wasn’t easy. We worked through it and finally, we made it to a place of bliss. I loved that woman more than life and hated that at one time I could have ever doubted the kind of woman she was. And our love grew stronger every day.
It took a while for Adam to warm up to me, and I understood the hostility. I’d hurt his sister. It took a while before he even spoke a full sentence to me. But now we’d settled into an easy friendship. He gotten a decent job in IT while still taking some college courses.
Not wanted to rely on Frankie any longer, he found his own place with a couple roommates and seemed to be doing well. He had even started dating. Frankie was quite proud of him. With Adam on his own, I finally convinced Frankie to move in with me.
I couldn’t be happier. We laughed and loved and sometimes fought, but we always made up.
Which brought us to this moment. I looked at the GPS on my phone to make sure I was in the right location. The little villa with its narrow roads had barely legible road signs which were all in French.
“I think you have to turn down this road.” Frankie was at my side trying to figure out the GPS as well.
It took us several wrong turns and some added frustration, but we finally arrived at our destination according to the map. The house we pulled up to was a modest family home. There were balls and children’s toys on the lawn. My heart skipped a beat as I parked.
I was frozen for a moment. This was it.
Frankie slid her hands in mine. “You got this, babe. I’m right here for you.”
I looked down at them. Her left ring finger had a three-karat, canary yellow, princess-cut diamond engagement ring. Frankie had cried when I’d proposed and given it to her. I loved seeing it on her hand because it meant that our commitment to each other would be formalized.