I decided that when we get back to New York, I’m going to call that artist and ask him to do it. After all, I know you wouldn’t have a problem with a strange man staring at me for six or seven hours a day while I’m fully nak*d in front of him, posing.”I took in a sharp breath. “You know what? Let’s just forget about that painting. I have the real thing right here and that’s all I need.” I smiled as I leaned down and kissed her lips. There was no way I was going to let that happen.Isabella I paced back and forth, trying to comfort Julia as she screamed her head off at three o’clock in the morning. I bounced her, walked her around the penthouse, sat down, rocked her in the rocking chair, and nothing soothed her. I even gave her gas drops, thinking she was gassy, but that didn’t help either. Richard came up behind me in the living room and took her from me.“What’s wrong, Julia?Daddy is here. I rolled my eyes because sometimes he thought he was the cure-all where she was concerned. W
“When did these flowers come?” he asked.“I don’t know. They were delivered when I was out with Anita.Richard pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed it. “Mason, it’s Richard . Were you here when the flowers for Isabella were delivered? I see. Thank you,” he said as he hung up.“He said that when he and Julia got home from the park, they were outside the door.”“Richard , I thought they were from you along with the text messages. Now you’re scaring me,” I said as my bottom lip started to quiver.“Why the hell would I send you text messages from a restricted number?”“I thought you were playing with me.”He sighed as he paced around the kitchen, running his hands through his hair. “These aren’t from me!” he yelled.I couldn’t stand there and be yelled at anymore. I didn’t know what was going on, so I took off up the stairs and went into my bedroom. After I locked the door, I threw myself on the bed, scared and shaking that someone, other than my husband, was saying those things to
“Yeah, I remember,” he said with a confused look.“They weren’t from me,” I chimed in.Mason shifted in his seat as he stared at me. “Who were they from?”“We don’t know,” Isabella said as she kissed Julia on the head.“Oh my God, the roses. They weren’t from you either?”As I sipped my coffee, I shook my head. “No, they weren’t. It seems that someone has taken a great interest in my wife.”Mason looked at Isabella , got up from his seat, and gave her a hug. “I’m so sorry, Isabella . What can I do?”“I have a detective working on it, but I’m hiring a bodyguard for you and Julia. Isabella will have her own, just until we find out who’s behind this.”My phone rang and, as I pulled it from my pocket, I saw Paul was calling. “Hello, Paul.”“Good morning, Richard. I have two guys lined up as security if you want to interview them. We can be at your place in about fifteen minutes.”“Sounds good; we’ll be here,” I said as I hung up. “Paul is on his way over with two men he wants me to interv
That doesn’t explain why the man was holding his crotch like that. Who does that in a public place?” Richard asked.“He has testicular cancer, and I know he’s frequently in pain. So that’s probably why he was doing that. Why are you asking about him anyway?”“Someone’s been sending text messages and flowers to my wife. The texts are sex related and when I saw this picture, I automatically assumed it was him.”“Couldn’t be him,” Vinnie said. “Did I mention that he’s gay?”Richard looked at me with a disappointed expression. I thought for sure it was the lighting man, and this would finally be over. A beep came from my purse, which alerted me that I had a text message. As I fumbled for it, I took out my phone and there was a text from him.“I stare at your picture and imagine what it would be like to f**k you and hear you moan. I think about you all day, and I can’t stop. Your smile drives me insane and your mouth around my c*ck is what I crave and desire.”My panicked face gave it away
It was our pleasure, Phil. You know you’re always welcome here.”He drank part of his drink, set it on the table, and then announced he had to leave. Richard showed him to the door and gave him the money for the pizza.“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Richard said as he shut the door.He turned around and looked at me as I walked over to him and collapsed in his arms.“I’m tired. I think I’ll go take a hot bath,” I said.“Okay, baby. I’ll be up in a while. I have some papers I need to go over and then I’m going to call Detective James.”When I reached the top of the stairs, I stopped in the nursery to check on Julia. She was sound asleep. I started the bath water, poured a capful of bubble bath, and stepped into the tub. As I lay back, I slowly closed my eyes and took in a deep relaxing breath. All I wanted to do was escape into a world where it was only the three of us. As I was dreaming about my alternate world, Richard walked into the bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub.“Are you enjoy
As Richard let go of the doors and they started to close, he stuck his hand in between them to stop them from closing, stepped out, and hugged me.“I don’t want to go, Isabella.”“Honey, it’s only for one night. You said yourself not to worry. What’s going on?”“Nothing. I just hate being away from you,” he said as he kissed my head.“I hate being away from you too, but you have to go. Now come on. Put your big boy pants on and go; you’re making things harder,” I said as I broke our embrace and patted him on the chest.“No, Isabella , you’re the one making things harder.” He winked as he looked down at the bulge in his pants.“Get out of here, Jones.” I laughed as he stepped onto the elevator.A couple of hours had passed, and I took a nap. It had been forever since I took a nap without having to worry if Julia was going to wake up. I took the stairs down to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator for a bottle of water. After checking my phone to see if I had any messages, I walked in
“Because he damn well got close enough! What the fuck, Richard ? You didn’t think I deserved to know what the hell you and your boys were planning. This is my life, my f**king life, and you should’ve included me,” I screamed as I broke down and fell to my knees.“Isabella , please try to understand,” he said as he kneeled down in front of me.“Understand what?!” I screamed. “I need time away from you so I can think.”“Don’t say that, Isabella. Please, don’t say that,” he begged as a tear fell from his eye.I got up from the floor and wiped my eyes. “You keep things from me, even though you promise you won’t. I need time away from you because if I don’t get it, I will hurt you.”“Baby, please!” he yelled as I tore up the stairs.I slammed the bedroom door shut and locked it. I took a suitcase from the closet and started throwing some clothes in it. When I was packed, I called a cab and took my suitcase downstairs. Richard was sitting on the couch with his face buried in his hands. When
Julia screeched and then looked at me and put her hand on my face. She knew I was sad, and I could tell how much she missed Richard. I sat down with her and let her run her hands through the sand. The beach, the ocean, and the sunset, would become as special to her as it was to me.“He misses you, and he’s not doing good,” I heard a voice say behind me.I turned around and saw Denny standing a few feet away from us. I smiled and held out my hand for him to sit next to me.“What are you doing here? Should you even be here?” I asked as I kissed him on the cheek.“I’m fine. Dana drove. She’s in the house, talking to Mason. I don’t want to talk about me. How are you doing?”“I’m okay,” I said as I looked out into the ocean water.“No, you’re not. I know you, Isabella, and you miss him just as much as he misses you.”“I’m so mad at him, Denny. How could he do that to me? How many times do I have to tell him not to keep things from me before it sinks into that thick head of his?”Denny smil