Friends & Lovers Trilogy (42 page)

“
Honey, that just means you
need help, not that you aren’t good enough to handle a relationship
with Rich,” Nicole said. “He’s a good man. I don’t think he’s
afraid of a little work.”

“
Roni,” Kent said, taking
her hand in his. “Rich is the exact opposite of Hank. He’s a man
who believes in family, hard work, and loyalty. He’s the kind of
guy I have always hoped you’d end up with some day.”

Roni looked at her brother with tears in her
eyes. “What if I can’t get over it? And what if I can’t ever have
children?”

“
You will get over it, it
just takes time,” Kent responded. “And the doctor told you that you
might not be able to have children, not that you can’t. As long as
you’re honest with Rich, you guys can handle anything that comes
your way… If that’s what you want.”

Roni nodded and took a deep breath.

“
I’m going to go grab a
shower and get ready for work,” Kent said, kissing his sister on
the forehead, before turning to Nicole and kissing her
lips.

Nicole got up and motioned for Roni to scoot
over and give her room next to her on the couch. Nicole put her arm
around Roni and looked her friend in the eye.

“
Do you want to have a
relationship with Rich? One that’s not just based on sex? Do you
like him?”

Roni was silent for a few seconds as she
processed Nicole’s questions.

“
I do like him.”

“
Well… What do you like
about him?” Nicole prodded.

“
He’s
sweeter than I thought he’d be,” she began. “He’s got a good heart
and he’s smart. He obviously loves his family and his friends, and
would do anything for him. He’s just a really good
person
, ya
know?”

Nicole nodded as she smiled, her eyes
misting over.

“
He’s one of the good
ones,” she agreed.

“
And, of course, he’s
pretty easy on the eyes,” Roni said with a laugh. “My goodness,
that body.”

Nicole laughed along with her, the tension
receding a bit, until Roni stopped laughing and looked at her
friend seriously.

“
He said that he’s falling
in love with me and that he’s not going to give up on me… I don’t
want to hurt him.”

Nicole gave her a hug and pulled back to
look at Roni’s tear stained face.

“
You aren’t responsible for
his feelings; you’re only responsible for how you handle them. All
you can do is be honest and try to take his feelings into
consideration, not matter what you decide to do.”

“
Can you do me a favor,
Nicole?” Roni asked as she chewed on her bottom lip.

“
Anything.”

“
Would you tell Rich that I
need a little time?” She asked. “I know I’ll see him at work, but I
need some time to think about what I want, and I don’t want to have
a serious conversation with him until I do.”

“
Sure, sweetie, I can do
that.” Nicole replied.

“
Thanks.” She smiled at her
friend as Nicole got up and went back into her bedroom to get ready
for the day.

Roni had gotten enough kids signed up to
begin her first class, but she had a few days to prepare before
they would begin training. She needed to take the next two days to
think about what she wanted and how she was going to get it.

She got up and went to Kent’s computer,
logging on under her name. She searched for therapists in the local
area. She figured that was the first place she needed to start.

Epilogue

The first few weeks after the Grand Opening
were better than Rich could ever had imagined or hoped for. He
wasn’t in the black yet, but with the way things were going, he was
confident that he would be within a year.

He was getting more and more local business
owners, like Colin’s dad, contact him about investing.

He’d been floored when he’d walked into his
parents that day and Mr. Grayson had laid a check on the table and
said he’d love to be a part of the center.

Rich didn’t need to accept the money, but he
loved that everyone seemed to want to be involved. It made the Rec
Center more than just his dream, but something that really belonged
to the whole town.

He’d been very busy, which was good since
Nicole had stopped by to talk to him about Roni.

“
She needs some time to
figure out what she wants,” Nicole has explained to him. “She’s got
a lot to work out, and just asks for some space while she
does.”

Of course, he’d agreed. He wanted to be with
Roni, but he needed her to want to be with him too. He’d already
been in a one sided relationship, and was in no hurry to go through
that again.

So, he’d focused solely on his new business,
and had been enjoying every minute of it. He and Jason trained in
the mornings, then he showered and sat down at his desk for a few
hours. Planning event, getting clients signed up for classes, and
working on marketing.

Jason had really become his right-hand man,
and was putting a lot of time and effort into managing the gym. He
already had fifty gym memberships and was running a couple
different weight classes already.

Rich was teaching the youngest class of
kids. It was only once a week, so he had plenty of time to work on
the business, but this was really why he’d had the idea of the Rec
Center in the first place. He loved teaching the kids and seeing
the love of the sport begin to show on their faces.

He was just finishing up his first class
when Alex stopped by to speak with him after her last class of the
evening.

“
Hey, Rich,” Alex said as
she approached, still in her karategi. “I hope I’m not
interrupting.”

“
No, we just finished
class,” Rich responded. “What’s up?”

“
I wanted to ask if you
have time to meet tomorrow. I have some ideas that I wanted to run
by you, and I have time in between my day job and tomorrows class,”
she said.

“
Yeah, that sounds good.
So, around five?” He asked, pausing to wave and say goodbye to a
couple kids that were being picked up by their parents.

“
Perfect,” she said,
turning to leave.

“
Hey, Jason,” Rich yelled,
calling his friend over.

He saw Alex pause as the other man
approached.

“
What’s up, Rich,” Jason
asked as he neared. “Hey, Alex,” he said with a shy
smile.

“
Hi,” she responded,
smiling back prettily.

Hey, man,” Rich started with a twinkle in
his eye. “I know we were supposed to go out for a drink, but I’m
not going to be able to make it. I’ve got some paperwork that can’t
wait.”

“
Okay,” Jason said, a
little puzzled by the statement. “No big deal, we’ll catch up
later.”

“
But, hey,” Rich said,
turning to Alex, “If you don’t have any plans, Alex, you should
take my place.”

Alex looked at him, her mouth slightly open
for a minute, before she turned to Jason, “I don’t have any
plans.”

As the realization of what Rich had just
maneuvered set in, Jason’s face got flushed. He shot a look at
Rich, but turned to Alex and asked, “Would you like to have a drink
with me?”

Alex’s face bloomed, causing Jason to smile
broadly back at her.

“
I would love
to.”

Rich shook his head and smiled as he watched
them walk out. Funny how it was so obvious to him that they liked
each other, but they were both utterly clueless.

Rich finished putting away the equipment,
making sure everything was perfect before turning off the lights
and closing up the gym. He was almost to his room when Roni
appeared before him in the hallway.

He stopped and looked at her for a moment,
eager to soak in her beauty and commit every bit of her to memory.
He worried for a moment that she’d come to tell him that she’d
thought things through and still wanted to end it. Rich wasn’t sure
he could take that. The last couple weeks of not being able to hold
her and talk to her intimately, had only strengthened his feelings,
and proven to him that she was the right woman for him.

He could only hope their time apart had the
same effect on Roni.

“
Hey,” she said quietly, a
small smile on her lips.

“
Hi,” Rich responded.
They’d seen each other in passing, and he’d looked in on a couple
of her classes, but this was the first time they’d spoken. It felt
good to hear her voice.

“
Are you busy?” Roni asked
and her voice quivered with nerves.

“
No. I just finished up
with the kids, and was going to grab a salad out of the fridge and
have a beer,” Rich responded. “You want one?”

“
No, I’m okay,” Roni
responded. “But I don’t want to keep you from your
dinner.”

“
It’s fine, Roni,” Rich
said a bit desperately, afraid she’d take any opportunity to turn
around and leave. “We can go talk. I’ll eat later.”

They walked back to his room and sat
down.

“
I really need to get some
furniture in here or something,” Rich said with a laugh. He turned
to look at Roni. He love the way she looked with her hair swept
back in a ponytail and no makeup on.

“
It’s okay,” Roni said,
fidgeting a bit with her hands, as if unsure of how to start.
“First I want to thank you for giving me some time to think these
last few weeks. I needed the time alone to figure out what my next
step needed to be, and I really appreciate you understanding
that.”

“
I’ll give you anything you
need, Roni. All you have to do is ask.”

She smiled at his words,
then took a deep breath and kept talking, “I also want to make sure
you know that
I
know that you’re nothing like Hank.”

Rich took her hand in his and squeezed it
slightly.

“
When I broke down, it was
from a culmination of memories, and the fear I had of commitment. I
never thought you were going to hurt me, I’d just been holding
everything in for so long, that I freaked out. I know you’re a good
man… A great man, really, and I want to make sure you know
that.”

“
Thank you,” Rich said
sincerely, bringing her hand briefly to his lips, before placing it
back in her lap.

“
I’ve been to see a
counselor,” Roni told him. “I’ve had a couple sessions now, and I
think she’s really going to help me a lot. She already has. I told
her about Hank, and I told her about you. She helped me realize
that what happened with my parents and with Hank is not my fault,
and that I do deserve to be happy. I have to be strong and
confident in myself, before I can allow myself to truly be happy
with someone else.”

Rich felt his stomach drop. Did that mean
she was telling him she needed to be alone?

He gave her a moment to compose her
thoughts, hopeful that there was still a chance.

Roni stood before him and placed her hands
on his cheeks, looking into his eyes as she continued, “I know that
I want to be with you. You are everything that I have always
dreamed a man could be, and I have to believe that I deserve the
happiness that I know we will bring each other.”

Rich couldn’t help himself, he had to kiss
her. He stood up swiftly and crushed her to him. He brought his
lips to hers and entered her mouth eagerly, when she opened it for
him. Their tongues danced and Roni moaned lightly, before he pulled
back to look down at her face. He caressed her face with his hands,
smiling at her as he said, “Sorry, I know you weren’t done talking,
but I couldn’t stand not holding you for another second.”

Roni leaned her forehead against him
briefly, happy to be back in his arms again.

“
It may take some time for
me to get to the place I need to be, but I would be humbled and
grateful if you would be there with me for the
duration.”

Rich held her close, kissed
the side of her neck and promised, “I’ll be here, for as long as
you need, and however you need me. I want you to feel comfortable
talking to me and know that you can lean on me whenever you need
to. I plan to be with you for the rest of my life, Roni, and I want
to make sure you know that I love you and you can
always
trust in
me.”

Bonus Endings

Briana & Colin

Briana couldn’t believe Nicole and Kent’s
wedding was already here. It seemed like just yesterday that they
were all friends working at the local bar & grill.

They’d spent the morning being pampered and
primped, a perfect start to a magical day. She, Nicole, and Roni
had been given massages, mani’s, and pedi’s, courtesy of Nicole’s
mother, Kitty.

The woman was a walking nightmare, but
Briana had to admit that she and Nicole’s father were making an
effort to make Nicole’s wedding a dream come true.

They were in the Bridal suite, getting the
finishing touches on their hair and make-up, before putting on
their gowns.

Nicole’s blonde hair was
pulled back into a loose french braid, in order to showcase her
perfectly made up face, and the gorgeous veil that would be pinned
to the back of her hair.

She, Kara, and Roni were wearing their hair
down in fat curls. Their makeup was subtle and pretty. Perfect for
the outdoor wedding that Nicole and Kent had decided on.

The three bridesmaids took turns zipping up
their matching green strapless dresses. They were short with bows
sewn into the skirt with a pink ribbon acting as a belt. They tied
into Nicole’s pink and green themed reception. The dresses were
comfortable and would make dancing easy. Briana absolutely loved
them.