The One Left Behind (The One Series) (33 page)

My mom catches my eye and smiles and winks at me. I smile back at her as a silent thank you for not being over the top. As the night winds down, we all help clean up. Lexi and her mom are the first to head out. My mom makes plans to meet with Catherine for lunch later in the week. As we say our goodbyes, my dad makes plans to meet up with Pierce for a round of golf and I tell my mom I’d meet her for lunch.

I’m hugging my mother goodbye and she whispers in my ear, “I really love him. He’s a good man with a good family and I’m proud of you darling.” This makes me tear up a little bit. I was so nervous that my mom wouldn’t accept Pierce because of Colin. But she does and it makes me love her even more. I say goodbye to my dad and tell him I will call him soon.

We walk in the door and Ali goes straight to her dog bed. She spent all afternoon in the pool and wore herself out. I turn and look at Pierce who has a look in his eye I know all too well.

“So, I believe you owe me something,” he says with a knowing smile.

He stalks towards me, “You cheated,” I say with a pout.

Pierce gives me an innocent look and holds his hands up. “And how did I do that?”

“I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure that one out. I’m telling you it was like we were in the twilight zone. They never act like that when meeting a new guy. Ever.”

“Well, there’s a first for everything. Tell me, will this be your first time having sex on a beach?”

I can feel my cheeks flush and I whisper almost embarrassed, “Yes.”

“Good, me too. I’m glad we can share this together.” He tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

“You’re joking right? I find it hard to believe someone as sexy as you has never had sex on the beach before.” A part of me really doesn’t want the details of his past sexual experiences, but I’m a little curious about this one.

“There are certain things you only do with special people, and I would never want to have sex on a beach with anyone but you. In fact, the thought never crossed my mind, but picturing you under me in the sand is the first time I’ve ever wanted to do it.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” I laugh nervously as Pierce places a gentle kiss on my lips calming me.

We head out the back door and to the beach and make passionate love under the moon and stars. It is a beautiful moment. When we finish up, we go inside to shower and get all the sand off.

“I have sand it all kinds of places. I didn't even know it was possible to get sand here.” I point to a spot on my body.

“I can help you clean up if you would like,” he says with a playful smile.

“You’re insatiable, Charming.” Pierce grins and dries off.

We are lying in bed and Pierce pulls me into his chest. I snuggle closer into him inhaling his fresh, clean scent and feeling the warmth coming off of his body. I always feel secure wrapped up in him like this.

We’re laying in a comfortable silence with Pierce rubbing small circles on my lower back. Suddenly he says, “Addison, let’s move in together. We don’t have to sell our places, but I want to be able to come home to you every night. I don’t care which place we stay at, but I want you to be the last thing I see before I close my eyes and the first thing when I wake up and start my day. You don’t have to give me an answer right away, but please just think about it.”

I don’t need to think about it. I’m falling more and more for Pierce every day. I miss him when I’m not with him. The decision is easy and I answer without hesitation, “Let’s do it. I don’t want to waste any time away from you when I don’t have to.”

Pierce lets out a sigh of relief before his face beams with excitement. He leans in and gives me a sweet kiss. We drift off to sleep and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so content in my life.

IT’S BEEN SIX months since I was in an accident that changed my life. It’s been really hard; hell, it’s still hard sometimes, but I’m doing a lot better. I’ve been doing more constructive things with my time which also means avoiding Brooklyn and Docs in general. I’ve submersed myself in work which is good because I have a big case coming up that I’m currently preparing for. But, most importantly, I’m accepting the friendship part of my relationship with Addison. I hate seeing her with someone else, but sometimes life doesn’t pan out the way you want it. So, here I am, learning to roll with the punches and hoping I can get back up when it’s all said and done.

It’s a little after 7:00 PM on Monday and I’m still stranded at my office. The trial I’m working on starts next week so I need to prepare the best I can. It’s going to be a hard one to win, but as I keep combing through the depositions I feel like my chances are improving.

My door is open and the lights are off except for the lamp on my desk. I have my elbow on my desk with my hand propping up my head for support as I continue to read and highlight things. Out of the corner of my eye I see a blur pass by my door. I look up and no one is there. I look a few seconds longer and see a woman backing up to look in my office. She’s carrying a huge box I’m assuming is filled with cases, but I’ve never seen her before. Is she a new paralegal?

“Hey, I didn’t realize anyone else was still here,” she says.

I’m still looking at her confused since I don’t recognize her when I say, “Yeah, I thought I was the only one left here too.”

She walks into my office and sets the box down with a loud thump. “Phew, that sucker was getting heavy! I’m Charlotte by the way.” She extends her hand out to me so I shake it.

“I’m Colin. I’ve never seen you before. Are you new here?”

“Yeah, I just started today actually. I guess Mr. Wesley Dillon got the old boot so here I am replacing him. And, by the looks of the endless amount of files I keep finding, I’ve got my work cut out for me. Hopefully I can get a continuation on some of these cases or I don’t know how I’ll manage to get caught up.”

Charlotte has a very bubbly kind of personality. Not overly so that it makes you want to shoot yourself in the face to get away from the ‘bubble headed bleach blonde effect,’ just enough to exude a genuine, fun personality. She’s a very attractive petite thing. She has on some killer heels, but I’d say she’s probably barely five feet tall without them. She has chocolate brown hair that’s cut into one of those angled bobs, and striking light brown eyes. It’s her smile that keeps drawing me in. It’s like a burst of sunshine in my otherwise dreary, mundane day. Her attitude is infectious and I can tell I’m going to like having her around the office. Maybe some of her happiness will rub off on me and I can finally get out of my funk. I’m making progress, but the faster the better.

“So, old man Dillon got canned, huh? What for?” I ask her.

“I’m not completely sure since everyone seems to be tight lipped about it, but the word on the street is it involved some kind of ethics violation,” she shrugs her shoulders. Since she didn’t seem to know any more about it, I dropped the subject.

“Why don’t you have a seat? I could use a break from staring at this deposition anyway,” I say as I gesture to the chair in front of me.

“Actually, I just ordered Chinese food and have way more than I can eat. I just can’t help myself. I take one look at the menu and can’t resist ordering one of everything. So if you’d like to join me in the conference room, you’re more than welcome. You can even bring your deposition with you. I could use the company while I work. Maybe pick your brain a little.”

A small smile spreads across my lips. It is a really foreign gesture to me nowadays, but feels nice. “Sure, I’ll be there in a minute. I’ll run to the break room for something to drink. Would you care for anything?”

“Yeah, that’d be great if you could hunt down some water for me.”

“No problem, see you in a minute.”

“Cool beans.”

She leaves my office and I sit there staring at the empty doorway like a moron for several minutes. She has a way of ramming conversation down your throat with how she rambles about things, but not in a bad way. And the facial gestures and the way she’s so animated are very endearing. Maybe I can make a new friend that would help me get away from the constant reminder of losing Addison. It will be nice to have a different means of handling life that doesn’t involve copious amounts of booze and a dirty girl named Brooklyn. I have a feeling this will be good for me.

With a smile on my face, I go down to grab two bottles of water and head back to the break room. I instantly stop when I walk in.

“Geez, you weren’t kidding. Did you think you were feeding a small army?”

She turns around and puts her hands on her hips in mock irritation. “Look, buddy, if you want to make comments like that then I’ll just eat by myself.” Then an almost embarrassed look crosses her face as her stance relaxes. “I know it seems wasteful, but I always take it home and eat the rest of the leftovers for days.”

I hold up my hands in surrender, “Well don’t let me get in the way of your Chinese food binge and leftover party. I don’t want to deprive you of that.”

She smiles and says, “If anything, you’re doing me a favor by eating some of this. Eating Chinese leftovers for a week straight isn’t as glamorous as I make it out to be.”

“In that case, I’d be happy to join you then.”

“So,” she starts while she finishes chewing her food, “What’s your story? How long have you been working here?”

“I actually just started about seven months ago. Is this your first job out of law school or did you practice somewhere else?”

“I was working at a small, private practice not too far from here for about six months. I applied for the position here, but I guess my spot got taken.” She says this through a pointed glare in my direction.

I playfully look behind me to see if she’s glaring at an intruder. I turn back around and point at myself. “Are you suggesting I stole your position?”

“Eh, take that statement how you want. I’m not pointing any fingers, but if you feel guilty about it, then that’s on you.” She looks down at her plate innocently.

“Ha, you’re something else.” I shake my head at her as I continue to grin and dig back into my food.

We make small talk for a little while more, and surprisingly are able to polish off most of the food. I’m glad I’m able to avoid talking about anything involving my personal life.

“I’m so stuffed you might need to roll me out of here,” she says while patting her flat belly.

I smile at her again, “Are you kidding? I ate more than half of that. I can hear the thread on my buttons straining, begging for mercy.”

She giggles and I decide that I really like that sound. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to appreciate something as small as someone’s laugh.

“I guess we’ll both sit here and be miserable together. Serves us right for being such gluttons,” she says.

“I suppose. This would be a good time to look back over this deposition anyway since it will be physically impossible to get behind the steering wheel of my car and drive home at this point.”

“I’ll stay and keep you company then.”

We both sit there, working in a comfortable silence for the next two hours. When I get home I actually have a smile on my face. Today was very productive. Not only did I get a lot done for my trial next week, but I made a new friend in the process. Maybe Mondays won’t suck as bad anymore.

PIERCE AND I have been living together for a month. We chose to live in his house since it’s bigger, and the move was quick and easy with help from our friends. I am in no rush to sell my condo so Lexi rents it out from me.

We’re going dancing for Colby’s birthday tonight. Damon went all out and rented out the VIP section as well as a limo for all of us to ride in. He knows Colby is under a lot of stress because of his family troubles and he wants to make her birthday extra special. He really loves my best friend and takes care of her, and that’s all I could ask for.

Pierce walks into the bedroom with two drinks. He always looks so handsome and tonight is no exception. He is wearing a pair of dark jeans with a black dress shirt and black shoes. He has his hair styled in a messy sort of way that looks like I just put my hands through it. He hands me my drink and kisses me on the cheek sending shivers down my spine.