Wrong Side Girl (The Girl Series Book 1) (30 page)

“I knew it,” Max growled. “I knew she had something to do with Walter Matthews’ death.” His eyes landed on me. I could feel all eyes in the room trained on my face. Cole put his plate aside and pulled me into his side, trying to soothe me. Me? I didn’t know what to think or feel. The magnitude of what Ann’s words and actions entailed astounded me. I felt like I was trapped in some cheap soap opera.

I shook my head in disbelief and sadness. But before I could say or do anything, the doors to the waiting room opened and a doctor strode in.

“George Miller?”

I got up, and so did Cole since he refused to let me go, and braced for the news.

Lizzy

Eight months later.

I giggled as I felt small, soft kisses being traced all over my face. My eyelids fluttered and when they opened, landed on the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with. The man I had been in love with for sixteen years.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Cole murmured as he continued down the side of my neck.

“Good morning, handsome.” I tilted my head to give him better access, feeling his answering grin against my sensitive skin.

“How did my gorgeous wife sleep last night?”

I giggled again. “Your
soon-to-be
wife slept very well for the two or three hours her soon-to-be
husband
let her.” That earned me a chuckle and a quick lip touch, raising goosebumps all over my body. His mouth was close to my collarbone now, one of my most sensitive spots.

“My
very
-soon-to-be wife is too addictive for her own good. That’s why her
very
-soon-to-be husband can’t keep his hands off of her.” His teeth grazed my skin right before he started sucking it lightly into his mouth. My body quivered in anticipation.

“Cole,” I moaned as I arched my body against his, seeking more skin-to-skin contact, my nipples brushing against his hard chest as he kept himself just high enough above to keep our bodies from touching more. He was in a teasing mood, which meant I was in for a treat. Or a torture session, depending on how you looked at it. I smiled to myself, only too ready to play. I wrapped my arms around his back and lightly ran my fingernails from his shoulder blades down to the top of his ass. Cole loved it when I scratched his back. It was one of his triggers.

“You’re a little minx, aren’t you, very-soon-to-be Mrs. Brooks? My minx.”

“That’s right, Mr. Brooks. I am that.”

“A minx?”

“Yes.”

“Mine?”

“Always,” my whisper turned into a long moan when he pulled my nipple deeply into his mouth and circled it with his tongue before he gave the same attention to my other breast. His hands were roaming my sides, the soft touch driving me absolutely insane. God! He made me feel so good. Every time he touched me, my body was craving more. And more and more. His mouth kept working my nipples, going from one to the other, then back again, until I couldn’t take it any longer. I knew what he wanted. He wanted me to beg for it. It turned him on immensely when I begged him for more, begged him to take me.

“Please, Cole. I need more.” I was delirious with want and need and wasn’t too proud to ask for it. At least not with Cole. He had shown me what it felt like to let go, to not be embarrassed of my reactions, to trust that he would give me what I wanted, what I needed, what I craved. He made me feel beautiful and desired and perfect for him. I knew I was absolutely, one hundred percent safe.

Always.

“What do you need, baby? Tell me.” His lips and tongue left my nipple and moved over my ribs down to my belly button, stopped for a quick but sensual nip and dip, then kept moving until they found my clit. “You need this?” The vibrations caused by his voice and the heat from his breath against my clit made my whole body twitch.

“Yes,” I breathed. “No…I need you inside me.” I was panting, my hands gripping his hair tightly.

“Like this?” he asked right before he pushed his tongue inside me. I arched my neck, my body bowing off the bed. “Or like this?” Two fingers entered me, circling, scissoring, pumping, while his mouth went back to my nub. It felt so good I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer. Cole was really good with his mouth and fingers. “Tell me, Liz.”

“I want you,” I whispered. “Please, Cole.”

“You’ve got me. Tell me how you want me.” His lips closed around my clit once more, his tongue flicking, while his fingers kept playing with me. God, I was getting close now. “God, baby, you’re so wet. And you taste so fucking good.” He gave his tongue another turn while his hand spread me wide, opening me to him. My breath hitched. I could feel my muscles tighten, the heat pooling. I was ready to explode.

“Cole,” I screamed.

Then he was gone, and less than a second later we were face-to-face and his cock was pushing inside, stretching me oh so perfectly. “You’re not coming without me, baby, not today,” he whispered as he held my eyes. “Wrap me up tight.” I did as asked, wrapping both my arms and legs around him, holding him as closely and tightly as possible, while his arms went around my back, pulling me up and into him. “Keep your eyes on mine. I need to see those gorgeous greens when you come for me.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

Then he started moving, slowly at first, and shallow, then faster and deeper. Our eyes stayed connected, both of us completely open and vulnerable as we looked deep into each other’s souls.

It was building again. Quickly. “Cole—”

“I feel it, baby. Your pussy is starting to clamp down on me. God, baby. You have no idea how good you feel. Let go!”

“Come with me.” I held on, needing him to join me.

“I am. Let go, sweetheart,” he ground out through clenched teeth. He increased his thrusts, going deeper, then grinding, then pulling out to the tip and thrusting in again, once, twice, three times. I let go. His eyes grew wide, just like I knew mine did, and he came on a shout of my name while I came gasping his, our eyes staying locked while we joined each other in pure bliss, making this the most perfect pre-wedding sex ever.

Cole

I was standing by the cottage windows, looking out over the water, sipping a cup of coffee. Lizzy was finishing up in the bathroom.

Only a few more hours until she was my wife.

Four to be exact.

It was busy out on the beach where our ceremony would be performed. People were milling about, setting up chairs and arranging flowers. It had been a long time coming and I couldn’t wait to finally give the love of my life my last name.

A lot of things have happened after that night at my parents’ house.

When the doctor told us that George had made it through the surgery and was optimistic towards his recovery, Lizzy and I had gone to the hotel after a quick visit with a still half-unconscious George. We had stayed in town for a few days until Lizzy was reassured enough to go back to Boston and back to work. She had bonded with George. For her, he was just another victim of the games and deceit our families had started, and she had forgiven him. I hadn’t been as forgiving. For me, George had played a big role in that whole scheme, but after seeing the love and adoration in his eyes whenever they were on Liz, and after he had proven that he regretted everything he had done or not done, that he wanted nothing but to get to know her and be a part of her family, I had relented. But not without giving him one last talking-to.

“You hurt her once, you lie to her once, you deceive her once in any way, you’re gone. She’s had enough of that shit in her life and I won’t let her big heart lead her to more pain. You treat her like the diamond she is every time you see her, every time you even think of her. If you don’t, if I get even the slightest inkling that you’re not being true and honest with her, I will make sure that you are gone from her life forever. You understand?”

“I understand. I absolutely do. I have learned my lesson, Cole. You can count on me. I love her like my own daughter, like I should have all those years. There is nothing and no one in this world that could make me hurt her ever again,” George had replied without hesitation.

I still kept my eye on him, but during the past few months I had relaxed somewhat. He was genuinely interested in being Lizzy’s family and I wanted that for her. I knew she needed it, to know she had at least one blood related family member who wasn’t embarrassed by her existence.

George is now back on his feet, his slow recovery being the reason why we had postponed the wedding. Lizzy had wanted him here and I had understood. I’m not gonna lie and say I wasn’t disappointed when she told me, but I had understood. Better yet, I had come up with an idea that would have earned me her eternal love if I hadn’t already owned it.

“I’m sorry, Cole. I want to marry you; everything in me wants to be your wife. But can we wait a few months until George is feeling better so he can come?”

I sighed and hung my head. I wasn’t a patient man, especially when it came to officially making the woman I had loved all my life mine. But I understood her need to wait for George to be able to attend. “How long?” I asked her.

“I don’t know. The doctors say anywhere from six to nine months for him to be back to normal.” Six to nine months would make it anywhere between May and August. My face had split into a wide grin as an idea formed in my mind. “What? Why are you grinning like a crazy loon all of a sudden?”

“I have an idea,” I said through my smirk. “A great idea, actually.”

“Uh oh. Do I want to hear it?”

“Yeah. You do. Come here.”

“I am here. I’m sitting right next to you.”

“Closer.” I pulled her onto my lap and cupped her face. “Let me ask you something.” She nodded. “If we wait six to nine months, that would make it the middle of summer. Would you still want a destination wedding or would you like to get married here instead?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really care where we get married, as long as we get married.”

“Thank you for that, baby.” I softly brushed my lips against hers. Then I asked her a question that had her eyes go wide with understanding. “Do you remember the day we first met?” She nodded as tears filled her eyes. I am not embarrassed to say that I had to fight back my own. “It was in the beginning of July, two weeks before your tenth birthday.”

“I know,” she whispered as the first tear started falling. I kissed it away.

“How about we make that date our wedding day?”

“I would love that.” Her tears were now running freely.

“And how about we get married at that beach where we spent our first weekend together?” She had thrown her arms around me at that point, full on crying.

I smiled to myself at that memory and how grateful she had been that night.

George had been delighted, to say the least, that we had postponed the wedding so he could attend. Lizzy and he had spent a lot of time together in the past eight months. Every Sunday, he came to our house for dinner, and they talked many times on the phone during the week or met up for lunch. Through George, Lizzy got to know her father. He showed her photos and shared tons of memories and stories with her from when they grew up together. Something that Lizzy cherished. And George had helped me find the perfect picture of her parents I had framed as her wedding gift. In the picture, her mom was pregnant and her father was holding her from behind, his chin on her shoulder as he nuzzled her neck; her mother’s eyes were closed and she had a small, happy smile on her face. The same smile I see on Lizzy’s face when she is content and happy. The smile I live to see every day. I hoped seeing the picture, seeing her parents this happy, would give her some peace and help her overcome the pain I knew still lingered.

It didn’t take long for Ann to be convicted for attempted murder. It was a clear-cut case and she was serving a life sentence at the Massachusetts Department of Correction in Framingham. She had the possibility of parole, but that wasn’t for another few years. Walter Matthews’ case had also been re-opened. A lot of time had passed and it was doubtful that they would find anything after all these years, but it was worth a shot.

Getting a divorce had been easy and quick for George, especially now that Ann had been convicted. He had sold their house in Ashford and was now working and living in Boston. He was starting over, which couldn’t be easy at his age, but he didn’t seem to care. Just like Lizzy’s father Walter had when he’d decided to go his own way, George had split from his family, and as a result, their business. He was good at his job as an attorney and I had no doubt that he was doing fine. He had even started dating again and was seeing a woman he had met at his new company, a widow with two teenage children. They were attending our wedding together.

Another important development had been the relationship my father and I were starting to build. He was still getting divorced from my mother, though she was putting up a good fight. My father didn’t talk to me about it; in fact, he never even mentioned my mother, but I knew through Max. I also knew that the only contact they had was through their lawyers. I was glad that my father would be rid of her soon. Over the months, I have come to see him in a different light. When he had told me at the hospital that I reminded him a lot of himself when he was in his twenties, I hadn’t quite believed him. How could I? All I had known was this reserved, removed, and indifferent man who never had time for his son. Now though, he made it a point to call me frequently. At first, those phone calls had been somewhat awkward, filled with many uncomfortable silences, but we had gotten over that and were finding our way to an easier and more relaxed father-son relationship. He was here today as well. My mother wasn’t. She hadn’t been invited. After that night, she had phoned me once, which hadn’t gone as she’d undoubtedly planned, a last-ditch effort to pull me to her side. Though she should have expected nothing less. Her shock over Ann trying to kill Liz and shooting George hadn’t lasted long and she had reverted to the cold-hearted bitch I knew her to be. Just like I had expected. That phone call was the last contact I had with my mother, and I didn’t intend to ever speak to her again.