14 Make My Wish Come True
MAKE MY WISH COME TRUE
Justin
I ’m no closer to choosing what to do now than the beginning of the night. I’ve been staying in the shadows, watching, trying to decide, but the more I see, the more it appears she’s doing just fine without me. Richard seems to have no problem making her laugh, that’s for sure. Who knows, maybe he was simply young and made an immature mistake.
Seeing her laugh at that dick again makes me want to hurt someone, and since the only thing I’ve accomplished tonight is feeling like a stalker, I decide it’s time to bow out gracefully. There’s nothing here for me, and the Dubrees have plenty of security in place with their two bodyguards and my number one on-site.
I’ll make sure Sam knows I’m heading out and then drown my New Year’s sorrows alone. The last time I saw him, he was following Sebastian and Lily out of the room. Those two taking off is a common occurrence from the stories I hear.
I’m still searching twenty minutes later. It feels like I’ve been all over this place without catching sight of anyone when I round the corner and stop short at the scene near the end of the hallway. Richard is there with Lucy, backed up against the wall in a passionate embrace. Fucking great—that’s the last thing I need seared into my brain. But as I turn to backtrack, something catches my eye. The woman’s hair isn’t blonde. What the fuck?
When I’m close enough, I take it upon myself to interrupt. “Hey, man, seems like you’re having a good time tonight.”
Richard leaps back at the sound of my voice, guilty as hell. The woman takes one look at my face and hurries off, leaving the two of us alone.
“Justin. Hey. I didn’t know you were here tonight. Lucy said you guys had called things off.”
“What’s your deal, man? You figure sampling the goods is the best way to get back into Lucy’s good graces? Just like old times, huh?”
“Sometimes shit happens. Lucy’s great, but we don’t have that spark like we used to.” This man-to-man talk isn’t cutting it with me.
“Does she know that, or were you planning on double-dipping? What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her?” My anger is rising, and keeping my temper in check is difficult.
“Come on, man. Lucy and I are just getting reacquainted. Who knows what’ll happen between us?” His shoulders shrug as if it’s no big deal.
“I do, so let me fill you in. You’re going to go in there, say goodbye, and tell Lucy you’re not mature enough for a relationship. Or I can take care of it for you. What’s it going to be?”
“I’ll say goodbye. I didn’t mean any harm. Sorry, man.” Richard raises his arms, palms out in defense.
My head jerks in the direction of the main room. “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to. Hurry up before I change my mind and decide to handle this with my fists.”
Lucy
This New Year’s officially sucks. Eli and his date took off earlier, Sebastian and Lily disappeared thirty minutes ago, and Richard still hasn’t returned from the bathroom. I’m trying to stay positive… Oh, who am I kidding? I am not at all positive. If this is any indication of how my year will go, I may as well tuck my tail between my legs and sneak out.
The waitress arrives with my drink, their specialty: a raspberry gimlet with a fired orange on top. She hands it to me, the orange still flaming. I figure what the hell , and close my eyes, before opening them and blowing out the orange. It’ll take a miracle to make my wish come true. Bottoms up to that.
“Lucy, sorry I was gone so long.” I’m interrupted with half of my drink left.
Lowering my head and moving my glass down, I see a guilty-looking Richard.
Lifting my gimlet in a mock toast, I respond, “No worries, I had company.” I nod towards the drink and smile.
He cringes remorsefully. “Hey, so, I think I’m gonna take off. Thank you for bringing me tonight and introducing me to Sebastian, but I think I’m going to call it a night.” He glances at something over my shoulder and continues, “I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship, and you deserve more than what I can give you. I’m sorry, Lucy.”
What. The. Hell? My eyes narrow when I notice remnants of lipstick around his mouth. How do I continue setting myself up for disappointment? Once a cheater, always a cheater. I should have known better. “Sure. I’m glad you realized that now instead of later. No sense wasting our time.” I can’t help my snarky tone, or how familiar that sounded.
He leans in for a hug that I reluctantly reciprocate. “Happy New Year, Lucy. And for what it’s worth, I hope you find your happy ending. You shouldn’t give up on Justin just yet.” What the actual?
“Uh, where did that come from?” I ask as we pull away.
“It’s just a feeling. Anyway, enjoy the rest of your night. I’ll see you around.”
He walks off as I stand there dumbfounded. I’m so unbelievably lost right now. What did I do to deserve this shit luck? I seem to be in the habit of repelling men at this point.
Since I haven’t been watching the time, I’m surprised when the DJ announces to find a partner for the final countdown to the New Year. Great. I lift my drink in salute, figuring that since I was interrupted last time, there’s no time like the present to drown my sorrows. The crowd begins to shout.
Ten…
Nine…
Eight…
Seven…
Six…
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two…
My drink is suddenly lifted from my hands.
One…
I’m engulfed in two large, strong arms.
“Happy New Year, Lucy.” And then I’m kissed—kissed as if the man is dying of starvation, and my lips are the only sustenance that will save him. I’m completely and utterly ravaged.
His lips move down my jaw and neck to nip my ear. “I’m so sorry, baby. You were right. I was a coward, an ass, an idiot, and everything in between. But most of all, I was scared.” His mouth returns to mine, kissing me again before moving to my other ear. “I’ve decided I’d rather be scared with you than miserable without you. I didn’t realize how empty life was until you came along. I’ve been a shell of a man. And Lucy…?” He looks at me intensely. “With you, I’m whole.”
My mind is a jumbled mess. Between his kisses and words, I’m practically incoherent. “Justin… how… when did you get here?”
“I’ve been here all night, watching you, waiting for a sign to tell me the right thing to do, and it came. You’re meant for me, and I’m meant for you, fuck all the consequences. I’ll grovel as much as it takes for one last chance.” He places his hands on my face, his pleading eyes boring into mine. “Please say yes to coming home with me so I can tell you how wrong I was and show you how right we are together.”
“Yes,” I reply simply, and all I can think is… my wish came true.
Justin
Lucy must’ve been too shell-shocked on the way here to say anything because the entire ride was silent, which is fine by me since there was less chance for her to change her mind before we arrived. I’m unlocking the front door quicker than ever, anxious to get her inside. The need to have Lucy in my space consumes me. Once she’s within my four walls, she’ll be mine. Irrational, I know, but my mind likes to play tricks on me.
Shutting the door, I take her coat and hang it on the coat rack.
“Come on, we can sit in the living room with the fire. Would you like water or wine? I have your favorite white.” I stopped at the store earlier today to get everything Lucy liked. You could say I was hopeful.
“As much as I’d like the wine, I better stick with water for now,” she says as she sits on the couch.
“Be right back.” I flick the switch for the fire before heading towards the kitchen. Just before turning the corner, I stop and look back. “Lucy, thank you for coming. I’m glad you’re here.” Then I continue, not giving her the chance to respond.
After putting two glasses of water on the table and sitting beside her, I take the opportunity to start things off. “Even though I’m dying to have you in my arms again, you deserve to have your questions answered and lay into me all you want for how I ended things… again. I’ll give you as much time as you need—or until my willpower snaps, whichever comes first. And I make no guarantees how long that will take, so you better get going.”
She takes a deep breath and dives right in. “What happened to our different backgrounds being a problem for you? And I thought my ideals were too far off from yours. What changed your mind?”
I release my breath slowly, considering the best way to answer. Honesty is usually the best policy, but I don’t want to throw her dad under the bus simply for my benefit at the risk of making her feel bad. Instead, I start by explaining my behavior from the first time around, all while deliberating what to say about the more recent events.
When I finish explaining where my mind was at after Lily’s kidnapping, she doesn’t hesitate to chime in. “Why didn’t you tell me this right away, or even last week? What if something bad happens at work again, and you end up in a similar situation? I don’t want to be constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for you to disappear.” Her response is warranted.
I can’t resist reaching for her hand. “That’s fair. To answer your question, I didn’t say anything last week because I wanted you to take me back with no excuses. If you gave me a second chance after handling things so poorly, I wanted it to be of your own free will. Look… what both situations boil down to is communication and feelings. I’m not great with either. From the military to owning a security firm, my world has always been black and white.”
“So, how will you be in a relationship that might add some color to your world?”
“The company I’ve built thrives on my leadership, organization, and training. The action was fun for a while, but trust me baby, you’re more fun, I promise. I’ll still take the occasional small job or low-security gig, but I’ll assign my team the rest. That’s what they’re trained for, and I’ll focus more on the business end of things.”
“And my family? Our different upbringings? You insisted that was a deal-breaker a few days ago. That seems pretty black and white to me. What changed?” She’s not making this easy.
“There are differences between us, but they don’t matter to me. I only said those things because you shouldn’t have to choose between me and your family, so I chose for you. I had good intentions but went about it the wrong way again. My good intentions were thrown out the window after enduring this past week without you. I realize your choices shouldn’t be made for you, but it’s important you understand what you’d be giving up.” This is the part I’m absolutely dreading.
“My dad told you, didn’t he? About my trust fund?” She looks down, shaking her head and pulls her hand from mine. “So that’s why they didn’t sound surprised when I told them we broke up. Did you not believe me when I said I don’t want it?”
I grab her hand again. “Lucy, there’s more to it than that. I don’t want you to have any regrets.”
“So it’s okay to regret losing you but not my trust fund?”
“It’s not just your trust fund you’d be losing, sweetheart.” I bring her hand up and softly kiss it. “Your dad made it clear that if we married, they would no longer be a part of your life. I’m not worth a future with no parents.”
“That’s for me to decide. What if you are my future?” Her baby-blue eyes stare at me, full of emotion.
I look up at the ceiling and exhale loudly. “Christ, you have no idea how badly I want that… but you shouldn’t decide tonight. Take some time to think it through. How about this? Let’s start over—date. Get to know each other all over again and see where it goes. What do you think?”
“Well… I guess the third time’s a charm. But I’m telling you now, if it ends up being a strike, you’re out for good this time.”
“I’m going for a home run, baby.”
“Are you running or walking? Because I’m ready to—”
My lips cut her off. That’s enough talking for tonight. I’m sure we have many battles ahead, but for now, I can’t think of a better way to start the new year than burying myself deep inside my woman until I’m etched into her soul, the same way she’s infiltrated mine.