Mid Life Love: At Last (2 page)

“Thank you.” She scoffed and walked away.

I plopped down in my chair, happy that the unnecessary magazine interview was over. I opened a drawer to shut off my voice recorder and caught a glimpse of my digital photo-book. Scrolling across its screen, I smiled at the pictures Claire and I had taken of Caroline and Ashley last month.

Over the past eight months, I’d realized that I finally had everything I could possibly want—
almost
everything I could possibly want.

Claire and I had grown closer than ever and she’d finally learned to accept our relationship and be comfortable with it. Sure, she still frustrated the shit out of me from time to time—but not because of insecurities or being seen in public together.

It was mainly because she’d agreed to move into my house, but not before turning it into a damn renovation project that never seemed to end.

She was always finding something new to tweak, some part of the house that could be “done better.” If I didn’t love her so much, I would’ve put a stop to it a long time ago—like the time she shattered the windshield of my Bugatti while installing new lights in the garage.

“Mr. Statham?” Angela’s voice bounced off my walls.

“Yes?”

“Corey and...Miss Gracen are here to see you.”

I looked at my watch. There was no way Claire had left her company this early—surprise weekend getaway or not. I always had to personally drag her out of there at the end of the day.

“Send them in please.” I looked towards the door and watched as Corey held the door open for...Ashley.

I smiled. “Yes, Ashley?”

“Can I have fifty more dollars? I forgot to account for a few things...”

“A few things like
what
?” I handed her a hundred. “Is that the only reason you came by?”

“No, not really. I was wondering how long you and my mom were going to be gone this weekend...”

“Why?”

“No reason.” She put on her best poker face—something she’d definitely inherited from Claire. “I just thought I’d stop by to ask. That’s all.”

“We’ll be back on Tuesday...”

“Good to know!” She clapped. “Have a safe trip!”

“The house is under state of the art surveillance.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Only two cars are allowed through the gate within the same four hours unless I have the key, and I’ve already alerted my security team to check the property
every hour
to make sure no extra guests arrive while we’re gone.”

Her jaw dropped. “I thought we were
friends
, Jonathan.” She shook her head. “You and I have history...”

I laughed. “We do have history. I still haven’t told your mother about the last secret pool party you had on my yacht, her crashed Audi, or last weekend when you and Caroline came home at four o’ clock in the morning. Would you like me to?”

“
No
.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you later...It was nice seeing you again, Corey.” She gave us both a hug before walking out of my office.

“How do you tell them apart again?” Corey sat down at my desk. “I could’ve sworn she was
Caroline
.”

“Instincts I guess. Are we all set on the CS account?”

He nodded. “The shipment should get here within an hour. I’ll sign for it and have Greg bring it up. You made an appointment with me so I could tell you that?”

“No...” I looked at the only photo on my desk, the one of Claire and Hayley playing Scrabble. “I need you to find out who Hayley is dating.”

“What?”

“Claire slipped up and said something to me about it yesterday...She and Hayley are apparently BFFs now and they’re keeping secrets from me. I need to know who this man is so I can kill him.”

Corey blinked. “
Kill
him?”

“Yes.” I balled my fists. “Not
literally
kill him. I just want a few words.”

“Right...” Corey cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. “Well, I um...I already screened the guy.”

“Great. What’s his name?”

He sighed. “Um...”

“Mr. Statham?” Angela called over the intercom again.

“Yes?”

“Miss Gracen is on line one.”

“One second, Corey.” I picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hey...” Claire’s voice was faint.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing...I just decided to leave work early today.”

“Was there a
fire
?”

“No...” She laughed. “I was ripped off a couple hours ago. The man I’m seeing stopped by and he just...”

“He just
what
?”

“He left without giving me what I wanted. And to think, I purposely avoided his phone calls all day so he would get the hint. He usually doesn’t back down so easily...”

I smiled. “You’re at home?”

“Not yet. I’m leaving my office now. But as soon as I get there, I’m going to take a nice, long shower to get ready for this weekend.”

“Don’t leave. I’ll come get you.” I hung up and sent Angela an email, canceling the rest of my day. Then I looked up at Corey. “Remind me to ask you about Hayley’s asshole boyfriend when I get back.”

––––––––

“O
h my goddd...Ohhh myyy—Oh my god...Jonathannn...” Claire moaned as I gripped her hips and moved her back and forth. “I....I...” She shut her eyes and cried out, louder and louder.

I watched as she let go the same moment I did, as she sucked in breath after breath and collapsed against my chest.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of taking the scenic route with you...” I rubbed my hands against her bare back. “Are you okay?”

“Yes...” She murmured and nodded her head, still breathing heavily.

I waited until she completely calmed down before pulling her up and helping her back into her dress. I ran my fingers through her hair and sighed as I pushed one of her clips back into place.

“You seem tense...” she whispered. “Are you okay?”

“What makes you think I’m not okay?”

“Because you’re making the face you always make when something’s bothering you...Is it the CS account?”

I raised my eyebrow.

“I eavesdropped a few nights ago...You were talking on the phone in bed and I couldn’t sleep.”

“Hmmm. Well, yes, it
is
the CS account. Would you like to offer your advice on landing the biggest deal I’ve ever pursued?”

“Sure.” She sat in my lap. “How much is it worth?”

“Why is that always your first question?” I laughed as she scrunched her face in anticipation of an answer. “It’s worth more than my entire company.
A lot
more...I would be twice as rich if I landed it.”

Her eyes widened. “What happens if you don’t land it?”

“I guess I would have to figure something else out...You want to come back to Statham Industries to help me if that happens?”

“Please.” She rolled her eyes. “Can I have a hint about where we’re going this weekend?”

“No.” I kissed her lips. I was tempted to have Greg take us on
another
scenic route, but I held back.

For the rest of the ride we slipped into the familiar silence that we’d grown accustomed to sharing—a special silence that no one else could possibly understand.

“Mr. Statham?” Greg’s voice came through the speaker.

“Yes, Greg?”

“We’ve arrived sir.”

The car came to a sudden halt and I adjusted Claire’s straps again.

Greg opened the door and reached for her hand, helping her to step out. Then he directed the other men that were standing nearby to load our bags onto my plane.

I placed my hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Are you sure about flying today?”

“Is this the best way to get there?” she whispered.

I nodded and held her hands. “But there’s always a Plan B. You know that.”

Even though she’d assured me that she was on better terms with her flight phobia, I wasn’t completely sold so I always took precautions. If she looked uncomfortable or hesitant for one second, I called the whole trip off; I’d had to do that four times over the past few months.

“I’m okay,” she said. “I promise.”

I studied her eyes for several seconds more, watching for signs of uncertainty, hints of fear.

When I didn’t see any, I walked her over to the steps and slowly led her up and into the plane. I motioned for her to sit down and pulled out the “Pre-Flight Words” paper that she’d received in therapy.

“I need you to read it aloud, Claire.” I held her hand and waited until she’d recited every word, until she gave me a look of assurance that said she was okay with this.

I nodded at the pilot and sat down in the seat next to her.

“DeLille Chaleur Estate Blanc to drink, Miss Gracen?” The flight attendant checked our seat belts.

“That would be great.” Claire leaned against me.

She fell asleep before the flight attendant returned and didn’t wake up until we stopped at a re-fueling point.

“We’re here?” she asked.

I shook my head and offered her some of my food, but she leaned against me and fell asleep again.

––––––––

“D
id you put something in my dinner yesterday, Jonathan?” Claire rolled across the bed and looked up at me.

“
What
?”

“I’ve never slept like that before...And I remember you carrying me off the plane when it landed.
Did you put something in my food
?”

“No, Claire.” I walked over and kissed her. “It’s called being
tired
. You work all damn day
every day
and we did have sex
twice
before the flight. If I thought I had to drug you to get you to fly, then
you wouldn’t fly
. It was only a ten hour flight.”

She blinked. “I’m sorry...Where are we?”

“Take a look.” I pulled the floor to ceiling drapes open and watched as her eyes took in everything.

We were staying right on the edge of clear blue waters, in the biggest villa the island had to offer. To the left of us was a beach of sprawling white sand and sky high palm trees. And in the distance there were rows of hidden bungalows, tucked beneath miles of lush greenery.

“What’s the name of this place?” She slid the glass door open and stepped out onto the balcony.

“St. Kitts and Nevis.”

“Could you put that in terms that a
non
-billionaire who hasn’t traveled the world can understand?”

I wrapped my arms around her waist and laughed. “Southern Caribbean.”

She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but then she stood on her toes and kissed me, pressing herself against my chest like she wanted to take this further.

“Wait...” I slowly pulled away. “I want to take you down to the other part of the beach. Leave your shoes.”

“Can I change first?”

I nodded and kissed her again before she slipped back into the suite. Leaning against the railing, I looked out into the sunset and shook my head at the couple that was attempting to kayak without a paddle.

I was trying my best to distract myself from the looming CS account, but it was all I could think about.

“I’m ready now.” The sound of Claire’s voice made me turn around and—I stopped.

She was wearing a tightly fitted short white dress that hugged her in all the right places, a dress that flowed with each short gust of wind that blew past us. It was strapless and thin enough to where I could see the bright red bikini she was wearing underneath. 

“You don’t like it?”

“I do.” I reached for her hand and led her down the shore.

We paused ever so often to take in the waves or watch another couple run into the water. We were halfway down the shore when I walked her over to a small clearing that was hidden away from everything else.

I slipped my arm around her waist and sighed.

“You promised me that you weren’t going to do any work while we were on this trip, Jonathan...” She looked up at me.

“I did, and I meant that.”

“Does that promise not cover when I’m
sleeping
?”

“Excuse me?”

“I was going in and out of consciousness when we had that layover. I heard you talking about the CS account again...We could have pushed this trip back if you were
that
worried about the deal. You’ve pushed things back for my projects before.”

“Claire...” I released her hips and shook my head. “There is no CS account.”

“
What
? So what have you been doing for the past eight weeks?” She paled. “Is that—you made up the biggest deal of your career to...to do what?
Why
? Why would you
lie
to me?”

“CS stands for
you
, Claire...It stands for what I want—what I
need
you to be.”

She raised her eyebrow in confusion, shaking her head as if she didn’t understand.

I gently grabbed her hand and got down on one knee. “Claire...” I stopped once she gasped. “I need you to know that there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Nothing. Ever. And I’ve never felt for anyone what I feel for you.” I resisted the urge to stand up and wipe away her tears. “I fell in love with you the moment we stopped at those vacation rental houses in San Fran, the moment I realized whatever it was between us was more than physical. Much more. And I—” I felt her trembling.

“I told myself that no matter how much you frustrated me, no matter how much you tried to deny that you were falling in love with me too, that I would never let you go.”

“Jonathan...” She was crying.

“
This
is the biggest deal of my life and it’s worth much more than my company or any other billion dollar deal that’s come across my desk. And I can’t go another day without knowing.” I pulled the eighteen carat ring out of my pocket. “I want you to be mine—
officially
. I want you to be Claire
Statham
.” I paused for a few seconds. “Claire...Will you marry me?”

“Yes.
Yes
!” She joined me down in the sand as I slipped the ring onto her finger.

I kissed her lips—again and again, wiping all her tears away with my fingertips, stifling her cries with more kisses.