HaileyI was bummed when Terran announced he had plans for the day. I had thought he said he was free for the weekend, but maybe I had been wrong. I wasn’t going to dwell on it. I wasn’t going to panic and worry he was pulling away from me. He had asked me to marry him. I needed to give him his space and be comfortable with it. He wasn’t out galivanting around. The man was used to being single, and if I crowded him, I would only push him away.I couldn’t be upset with Terran for not wanting to spend the afternoon with me. I mean, I was pretty excited to meet up with Mandy and tell her all the details. The picture I had sent her of the ring last night had been blurry and not very flattering. I wanted to show her the ring in all its splendor. I still couldn’t stop looking at it. Every time I moved my hand a certain way, it caught my eye. I wanted to sit and stare at it all day and dream about my man.I called Mandy after leaving Terran’s to see if she wanted to hang out. We didn’t actua
Hailey“I do.”I saw her face light up. “I’m thinking barefoot, a white flowing bohemian-style dress on the beach at sunset.”I was impressed. “That actually sounds like a really good idea. I think you missed your calling.”“Okay, let’s go shopping for the perfect dress,” I said, excited about the idea.We visited several boutiques, but nothing was fitting in with Mandy’s vision. I was leaving it to her. This was her shoot. I was just the model.“Stop!” she said as we walked by a thrift store specializing in vintage goods.I stopped to look at the window where she had stopped moving.“That one?” I asked, looking at the gauzy dress that looked like it was a turn of the century nightgown.She nodded. “That has to be the one.”I shrugged. “All right, let’s see if it’s my size.”We went inside the shop, and the nice saleswoman pulled the dress out of the display window, handing it to me to try on. I loved the way it felt in my hand. It was so lightweight and breezy. It was perfect for a b
TerranI could hear her softly breathing and knew she was still sound asleep. It was early. I woke up before I needed to. I couldn’t sleep. There was a lot that I had planned for the day. It was a nervous energy that had me wide awake with the rising sun, something I was not normally prone to.I carefully rolled out of bed and padded out to the living room in nothing but my underwear. I started some coffee and sat down at the breakfast bar with my laptop, ready to start my day. I sipped coffee and clicked on the email from my attorney first. I looked at the time and saw it had been sent about ten minutes ago.“Damn,” I muttered, wondering if he got up that early every day.I quickly read the brief email, asking if there were any updates to my situation. I grinned, thinking about the update, and decided it would be best to call and tell him instead. I took my coffee out to the balcony, carefully closing the doors behind me. I didn’t need Hailey overhearing my conversation.I called Jim
TerranI stepped into the hot shower, trying to wash away that cloak of guilt that wouldn’t go away. I had hoped to avoid a public announcement in order to save Hailey the embarrassment when I broke it off in the next couple of months. She clearly was in it to win it and had staked her claim in a very public way. That didn’t sit right with me. I had a feeling the announcement was more of a bragging than a sharing. She wanted everyone to know she had snared herself a wealthy man.I shut off the water, my anger quickly pushing away the feeling of guilt that had plagued me earlier. I wished she could be the woman who she claimed to be. That was the woman I was in love with if I was being honest with myself. The superficial Hailey, the one I was convinced was under that perfect veneer, that was the Hailey I would dump once I got my inheritance.I dressed and grabbed my briefcase, stuffing my laptop inside before heading for the door. I didn’t stop to kiss her goodbye. If I did, she’d prob
HaileyI stretched my legs and rolled over to feel for Terran’s body. He wasn’t in bed. I sat up, rubbing my eyes and looking at the clock on the table. It was almost eight. He said he had an early day and had probably already left. I was bummed he didn’t bother kissing me goodbye but told myself I couldn’t let the little things bother me.I threw on the T-shirt he had given me last night to wear to bed. I had opted to sleep naked. I loved the way his skin felt next to mine and wanted to feel every inch of his warm body against me. I walked out to the kitchen and saw his used coffee mug sitting on the breakfast bar. I picked it up, rinsed it, and put it in the dishwasher before making myself a cup. I didn’t have anything to do today and decided to take my time exploring his place. It seemed like anytime we were at his house, our time was spent in his bedroom.With my coffee in hand, I drifted out to the living room, walking to the mantle over the gas fireplace to check out the framed
HaileyI smiled and dove right into the script after stating my name. When I was finished, I looked at them, waiting for some kind of response.“Just a moment please,” the only male at the table said, holding up a finger.I stood on the X, waiting to hear how miserable I had been, doing my best not to appear nervous.The guy turned to face the cameraman. “Johnny, replay that for us. Hailey, can you stand off to the side please?”I nodded and moved out of the way. My face appeared on the screens, and a second later, I heard my voice coming over the speakers mounted on the wall. I cringed, thinking my voice sounded a little dull. I should have used more enthusiasm, I realized, noticing my hair looked a bit wild as well. This was part of the learning process, I reminded myself. I could pick my brief audition apart all day long.When the short scene was over, the man was nodding his head. “Go ahead and have a seat in the waiting area if you will. It shouldn’t be long.”I nodded my head. “
TerranI had just wrapped up a client meeting and was putting together some notes about the account when Lena buzzed me.“Yes?” I asked.“You have a call from Jim, your attorney.”“Thanks, go ahead and put him through,” I told her, anxious to hear what he had found out from Bob.I had been waiting for two days to find out when I’d be getting the company signed over to me completely. Jim had told me Bob was out of his office for a couple days, and he would let me know as soon as he heard something. It couldn’t come soon enough.“Jim, how’s it going?” I asked.“We need to meet,” he said in a gruff voice.“I’m busy today. I can check with Lena and let you know when I’m available.”“No, this is urgent,” he said, his voice tight. “I need to see you right away.”“What’s going on?” I asked, irritated by his evasiveness.“When can you be here?” he replied, not answering my question.I sighed. “Give me thirty minutes at least.”“Hurry up, this is serious,” he said before hanging up the phone.
TerranI scoffed. “How exactly are you going to do that? I guarantee if you ask her if we’re getting married, she’s going to say yes.”Lance grinned. It was an evil grin that actually made me very nervous. “Are you sure about that?”I nodded. “Yes, I am. She’ll show you the ring and tell you the story of how I proposed.”Lance shook his head. “You didn’t even know this woman three months ago, and now you’re ready to marry her after being a bachelor your entire adult life. No judge is going to believe that, especially with your reputation. You’ve never had a relationship.”“No one can tell me what’s in my heart. And seriously, are you stalking me? Why the hell are you so interested in my love life?” Lance burst into laughter. “You don’t love her. You don’t love anybody. All you want is the money, so you concocted this little scheme to get it. It’s the oldest trick in the book, but I’m not going to let you get away with it.”“Empty threats, as usual,” I said. “I don’t know why you came
HaileyI laughed nervously. “A whirlwind, really. I was doing the modeling thing one day, and the next, I got the call I had landed this part. I am so grateful to my husband for putting me in touch with Gabriel, my agent. It was like everything fell into place at the exact right time.”“What is this foundation I’ve heard you are working with?” she asked from the preselected questions Gabriel had given her.I smiled. “It’s a foundation to help those kids who tend to fall through the cracks in the foster care system. So many kids are on the streets today because there is a shortage of quality foster homes that are capable of dealing with some of the issues kids are facing.”She smiled and nodded her head. “You were never in the system?”I shook my head. “No. My mother raised me by herself, working two jobs to keep a roof over our heads. It wasn’t easy. I hated how much she struggled, but she taught me that life isn’t about how much you have or what your zip code is. She taught me love i
HaileyOne Year LaterI was more than a little nervous as I sat in the chair assigned to us in the second row. Terran put his hand on my knee and squeezed. I looked at him and smiled. When Gabriel had called to tell me I had been nominated for best actress in a feature film, I had nearly passed out. Our film had barely met the deadline to be nominated for anything.“You look absolutely stunning,” Terran said, staring at me with eyes full of love.“Thank you,” I said, smoothing down the long fitted black gown I was wearing. Terran had bought me a new diamond necklace to go with the dress. My hair was piled on my head in a fancy updo, leaving my neck exposed and the necklace fully visible. I loved telling everyone on the red carpet that asked that my husband had given it to me as a gift for my nomination. I had made more than one of the female reporters green with envy.“You’ve got this,” Terran whispered in my ear.“I’m freaking out,” I gushed, my finger twirling the wedding ring on my
HaileyI had my legs spread wide, his knees clamping down on my bent knee when I moved to close my legs, hoping to rub them hard enough together to get the relief I was absolutely desperate to have. His hand slowly moved over my stomach, stopping to rest on my pubic bone, inches away from where I needed him to be.I whimpered in frustration.“Shh, I’m here,” he whispered.I felt a tear slip down my cheek. I loved him so much. He had my body taut as a bow by simply loving me and worshiping my body. When his index finger slid down my center, spreading my pussy lips, I cried out in earnest. It was the lightest touch over my clit that sent me over the edge. My body arched off the bed as a violent, earth-shattering climax tumbled me into a place with a million shooting stars overhead. I felt as if I had been electrocuted, every muscle in my body tensing as his finger slid inside me.He held me while I moaned and spasmed against him. When my body finally spiraled downward, he climbed on top
HaileyI was happier than I had ever been in my life, riding a high that just seemed to be getting better and better.“I’m going to jump in the shower,” I told him, heading toward his bedroom.It had been a long, busy day, and I was ready to unwind with the love of my life and a good bottle of wine. But first, I wanted to feel clean. I stripped off my jeans before turning on the hot water of his magnificent shower that was big enough to hold a small party in. The jets on the sides and the rainfall shower head made it a very enjoyable experience to shower in his bathroom. I thought about the house we had just visited and regretted not checking out the shower situation closer. I had been so overwhelmed by everything else, the shower slipped my mind.I stripped out of my clothes and stepped under the hot water, letting it cascade over my body. Suddenly, the room was filled with beautiful jazz music. I grinned, knowing that had been Terran. A few seconds later, I felt a cool blast of air
Terran“It’s okay. If I had been honest from the start, I could have saved us a lot of heartache. It was never about the money for me. I wanted you, and I wanted to keep the company intact, even if that meant I had to step away from it.”She nodded her head, fresh tears welling in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I should have believed you. I’m so glad you came back and made me listen. I love you.”“I love you, and I would have walked through fire to get you back.”“I’m so glad you did.”“Thank you for showing me this. You’ve really opened my eyes. I think we can do a lot more good together. I want to do more of this.”She was smiling. “Good, because I plan on giving a large chunk of my salary for the movie to charity. I think we should decide where it goes together.”“What about here?” I asked.She burst into laughter. “I think that check you gave them is going to go a long way. There are plenty of other charities and organizations that are desperate for funding.”“Maybe we could start a founda
TerranI took her hand in mine as we walked into the bank. I had her sit on one of the chairs in the center of the lobby while I spoke with one of the people sitting at an open desk. I rejoined Hailey, who was nervously looking around the huge bank with big black columns supporting the ridiculously high ceiling.“What are we doing here?” she asked.I smiled. “You’ll find out soon enough.”It wasn’t long before a man wearing an expensive suit was striding across the marble floor toward where we were sitting.“Mr. Maddox, it’s good to see you. I’m Con Steven, the manager here. I understand you have some business you need to take care of?”I stood and shook his hand. “I do. This is my fiancée Hailey Hollis.”He shook Hailey’s hand and then led the way to his office. We sat down in the chairs opposite his desk. He tapped on his keyboard, pulling up my account.“Okay, I see you have a large deposit made recently. What can I help you with?”“I would like to have a cashier’s check drawn up f
HaileyWe talked with each of the kids for a little while before it was time for them to have their outside time. When Mandy left to take the kids to the playground, Terran turned to look at me. “That was crazy.”I laughed, picking up scattered crayons and scraps of paper. “It usually is.”“They all know you, and love you,” he said with awe.“I like to come by and help out. Mandy has a lot of kids to contend with, and with budget cuts, she doesn’t have a lot of help. I come in when I can. It lightens the load so the other aides and caregivers can focus on other stuff.” He was nodding his head. “I see.”“Terran, I brought you here because I wanted to show you why I’m so passionate about giving money to charities. This place is funded by the government, but that barely keeps the doors open and the lights on. They have to fight to get every dollar they can. I know it’s like that for a lot of other organizations.”He nodded his head. “I’m not opposed to giving money to charity. Not at al
HaileyI wasn’t surprised to feel the bed empty beside me. We’d stayed at his house last night, as usual. We’d gone straight to bed, both of us tired after a long few days. Terran had tossed and turned all night. I had a feeling he was a lot more anxious about giving away the money than he was letting on. I had to assuage my own guilt. I walked into the living room to find him pacing the floor, his phone next to his ear as he talked about his schedule for the day.When he hung up, I smiled at him. He smiled back, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes as it normally did.“You didn’t sleep very well,” I said, walking to him to kiss him good morning.He shook his head. “No, I didn’t. I have a lot on my mind.”I nodded my head in understanding. “Was that the office?”“Yes. I was clearing my schedule for the day. I still need to do a conference call, but the rest can be taken care of from home. What about you?” “I’m free. I mean, I’m supposed to be learning my lines, but I don’t have to be
Terran“I mean, I would not blame you for wanting to keep some or all of the money for our own future. I know you’re a genuine person. You don’t have to prove anything to me. It’s a lot of money to give away.” There was a skeptical look in her eye. “Are you saying that because you don’t want to give it away?”I shrugged a shoulder. “I won’t lie that I haven’t thought about what I could do with that money. I could expand the company, set up trust funds for every one of the seven children we’re going to have.” I winked, trying to make her laugh.“You don’t want to give the money to charity?” she asked.“I’m not saying that at all.”“But you’re regretting telling me you would?”I shook my head. I could see the wheels turning in her head. She was jumping to conclusions and letting the thoughts run away. I could see the anger and hurt in her eyes, and I grabbed her hand again.“Hailey, I regret nothing. I told you I would give it away if that was what you wanted. I will do anything to mak