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Authors: Emma Delaney
Love of a Lifetime
Love
Of
A Lifetime
by
Emma Delaney
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
Love of a Lifetime
Emma Delaney
Copyright © 2012
Cover photo by: Copyright © Lisa A
Electronic Publication Date:
11/15/2012
All rights reserved
. This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission from the publisher.
Carla Bradshaw stood in front of the mirror checking her reflection one last time as she waited for her husband, Bill, to pick her up for their date. Ever since he started his own law practice their relationship had become all but nonexistent. If it weren’t for the fact that he crawled into their bed in the middle of the night she might think that she was single once again.
She knew it would be a rough road to travel, Billy starting his own practice, but she never dreamed she would lose her husband in the process. Lately she was beginning to wonder if he distanced himself from her on purpose.
Last month he had agreed to take her to
Stella Maris
for her birthday and tonight was the night. She didn’t exactly want to spend her twenty-sixth birthday talking about the troubles in their marriage, but since he was never around anymore she had to grab opportunities when they arose.
Grabbing her lip gloss out of her makeup bag, she dabbed it on her lips until they shined evenly. She was never much for wearing makeup, but Billy has always loved her lips, liked watching them as she spoke, so she played them up as much as possible.
The color she chose was a berry red and complimented her red hair and green eyes. There was nothing she could do to hide the smattering of freckles across her nose and she learned long ago not to even try. Her husband had always sworn that he found them attractive, but as she stood there recognizing all her flaws she couldn’t help but question that attraction.
She couldn’t remember the last time they made love. Three months ago?
Four?
Five?
What red blooded man went that long without having sex, especially when he had a willing woman at home waiting for him?
She would never have thought that Billy would be the type of man to warm another woman’s bed, but he obviously wasn’t fulfilling those needs with her. Her heart ached at the thought. She loved him with everything she had inside her. Living without him would leave her a broken, empty woman.
Tonight she would find out what her future held for her. Asking him outright if he wanted a divorce wasn’t quite the approach she wanted to take, but Billy was a direct man and appreciated when people cut straight to the chase.
Plumping the bodice of her dress, she bent forward slightly while
shimmying
her breasts to give herself a little more cleavage. Hopefully, if the night went according to plan, they would
clear the air between them and spend the rest of the night setting the sheets on fire. Speaking of sheets….
Carla grabbed Billy’s favorite scent from her body mists and headed towards the bed. She pulled back the covers and lightly sprayed the pillows and sheets before spraying herself.
He had told her once that this particular scent smelled of passion and sex and that it never failed to heat his blood.
Well, she would use every advantage she had tonight to get some attention from him. She had needs that had been left unfulfilled as well and she ached to be in her husband’s arms once again. Leaving the sheets folded down for easy access, Carla headed towards the kitchen to pull out Billy’s favorite wine to chill while they were out.
After all her tasks were complete, she looked at the time. Six forty-five. He would be home in fifteen minutes. She wasn’t sure what time he made the reservations for, but she figured it would probably be shortly after seven.
Not wanting to wrinkle her dress, but not wanting to stand around for the next few minutes, Carla carefully positioned herself on the couch to wait comfortably. She had hoped she wouldn’t have to wait long before she saw his handsome face walk through the door, but an hour later he still hadn’t arrived home.
Incensed, she picked up the phone and dialed his cell. He answered on the fourth ring.
“Hey, honey.” A throng of voices could be heard in the background.
“Where are you?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m having a couple of drinks with some business associates down at The Lounge.”
“Drinks.”
She sneered. “What about our date?”
The silence at the end of line confirmed what she had been dreading. He had forgotten their plans. Once again she was the least of his priorities.
“Date, of course. Sorry, honey. Could we do it some other time? You understand how busy I’ve been.” He pleaded.
“Understand?” She asked incredulously. “No, I don’t understand. I don’t
understand
how my husband thinks it’s alright to ignore his wife on her birthday. I don’t
understand
how I can be so unimportant to you.”
“Come on now Carla, you’re being a bit dramatic don’t you think? Give me a chance to make it up to you. We’ll go out this weekend, okay?
Wherever you want to go.”
Her heart broke in two at that moment. Carla sobbed out a laugh, unable to believe what she was hearing. “No, Bill.” She stated sadly. “Now
you
are the one who doesn’t understand.
This
was your chance to make everything up to me. It was your
last
chance too. Goodbye, Bill”
“No wait, Carla…” She hung up the phone before she could hear any more.
Dialing the number for her friend, Abby, she marched into the bedroom and pulled the suitcase out from under the bed and dropped it on top of the mattress. Opening drawers, Carla blindly grabbed at articles of clothing and tossed them in the direction of the bed.
“Happy Birthday!”
Abby answered.
“Not so happy I’m afraid.” She sniffed.
“What’s up and why are you crying?”
“I’m leaving Bill. If he doesn’t want the burden of having a wife then he can just be single. Can I stay with you for a while? I promise I’ll start looking for an apartment right away.” She sniffed again.
“Of course you can stay with me, but are you sure this is what you want?”
“It’s not like he has been around in the last year anyway.” Sobbing, she admitted. “I just can’t do this anymore Abby.”
“Okay, sweetie.
Come on over, the door is unlocked.”
“Thanks.”
Tossing the phone down, Carla stripped out of her dress and laid it across the bed. Quickly donning jeans and a t-shirt, she closed the lid on the suitcase and headed towards the door. Leaving Bill was the hardest decision she has ever had to make, but to continue on with the way things are while knowing nothing would change would be even worse.
One week later…
Bill walked through his law office doors looking like a tired, beaten man. His hair was disheveled, he had dark rings under his eyes, and his suit was a wrinkled mess. Walking right by his assistant, Atayla, he ignored her cheerful greeting and entered his office.
He hoped to be left alone this morning. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone. With his wife gone he hadn’t been sleeping well and he didn’t have the energy to put up a front any longer.
Closing the door firmly behind him obviously didn’t deliver the message he intended because Atayla stormed in after him spouting off his agenda for the day. He liked the girl, she was a good friend of his, but right now she was the enemy.
She and that group of obnoxious women who are harboring Carla and refusing to tell him where she is.
“Stop glowering at me!” Atayla snapped.
The fact that Atayla felt secure enough to snap at him was enough for him to relax his posture. She really had come a long way over the last few years. When she first started working here, she had left her abusive boyfriend and was trying to make a go of it on her own.
He had hired her as a favor to his wife’s friend, Abby, and he hadn’t been sure she’d work out. The way she tip toed around the office trying not to draw attention to herself, and the way she would cower when a man approached her was a sad, pitiful sight and, unfortunately, not conducive to productivity.
The one thing she had going for her was tenacity. She wouldn’t stop just because there was an obstacle in the way, she would review her options and determine her best way to hurtle it. Watching her
grow
and blossom over the last two years was definitely an amazing sight. He had never regretted hiring her. Until now…
“Tell me where my wife is!” Bill demanded of her.
Sighing in exasperation, Atayla shook her head. “I’m not getting involved. I love you both and I just want to be left out of it.” Compassion showing in her eyes, she looked him over. “If it’s any consolation she’s just as torn up as you are. I told her she needed to talk to you.”
“No, it doesn’t help.” He swiped his hand down his face. “I hate the fact that she is so upset. I hate that I can’t hold her and make everything better.”
Atayla’s heart broke for them both. “Try giving her a call again tonight. If she still refuses to answer, call me and I will tell you where she is. I feel like I’m betraying you both and I hate that, but you two belong together and deserve a chance to make things work.”
Slipping from the office, she left Bill to his own devices. He would either win her back or he wouldn’t. But unless he wanted to lose his wife forever, he had to come up with a plan to prove his love for her was still as strong as ever.
Carla had said she wasn’t important to him anymore. He snorted. What a crock of shit. She was the most important thing in the world to him. He knew he had been spending too much time with his job, but he was finally building up his reputation and his clientele. It was a sacrifice he had to make.
When other lawyers, judges, and prosecutors wanted to rub elbows he was in no position to say no. To say no to them would be career suicide. Maybe he could invite Carla to come along and be a part of his new social circle. The others didn’t bring their wives or husbands to these social events, but he didn’t think it would break any rules of etiquette.
