What Happened After Vegas? (Unexpected Love #2) (4 page)

Rachel
looked into his eyes as he spoke.

"I
made sure she had a place to live and everything she needed while we
went through a divorce. As soon as the signatures were on the paper,
she married my friend. They lasted five years and had a child
together. That was it for me. I put every moment of my time into
making something of myself. I dated over the years, but I have never
opened myself up to the thought of love, marriage, or family. It took
me a long time to build my firm. I have rules in my company, and they
are to be followed. I'm not a mean boss. I'm laid back and very
supportive of family situations. I want the people who work for me to
be able to see their spouses and children. I do not tolerate lying at
my firm or in my life. I have never intended on getting married again
or falling in love. That's not for me. I will never let anyone take
advantage of me again. I see why you feel the way you do about love
and getting hurt. I completely agree with you. But at the same time,
the thought of never seeing you again feels awful. I can't tell you
why I feel that way. I just do."

They
both remained silent in each other's arms. Rachel finally broke the
silence.

"Thank
you for telling me that. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I can't
imagine anyone treating you that way. You are a good man, Cliff.
That's what scares me. I don't want a shitty man. I just mean, I'm
afraid that one day I'll open my eyes and you won't be who I thought
you were. I know that's not fair to you. You didn't do anything
wrong. I've felt things this week I never felt with him. It hurt me
when I found them together. It hurt even worse when I saw how evil he
could be. How could someone I trusted and thought cared about me be
so damn horrible? The things I've already felt with you are so much
stronger than the things I felt after years with him. I know better
than to open my heart to you. If he could break my heart, I know that
you could ruin me, Cliff. I can't let that happen."

"I'm
nothing like that piece of shit," he said. "I promise you
that."

"I
didn't mean you were. I'm sorry," she said.

"Do
not be sorry for telling me how you feel. I like that about you.
You're willing to be honest with me. That is so refreshing. I know
that the smart thing for me to do is to walk away from you. I don't
want to feel the things I do. You're not like anyone I've ever spent
time with before. You are such a good person. I care about you
already. I know that I need to move on, but I can't. I want to get to
know you better. I want to see what you're like after spending a day
at school. You talk about it with such passion. I can tell you care
about those kids. There is so much to still learn about you. Please,
don't ever not tell me something because you don't want to hurt my
feelings. Honesty means more to me than anything."

"How's
your sister?" Rachel asked.

She
knew it was none of her business, but she had to ask.

"Fine,
I guess. I'm not sure. I haven't talked to her since Monday," he
answered.

"I
feel bad that you fired her. I actually feel bad for him too. How
messed up is that?"

"It's
not messed up at all. You're a good person. They were both so
unbelievably wrong, but you don't want to see them without jobs. That
just makes you better than them. I have rules about relationships
between employees. It's not that there can't be any, but they all
know that it needs to be on record. What if he did something to piss
her off? She could file a report against him for sexual misconduct.
My firm would have to deal with that. It's not happening. They could
have had it put on the record, but they chose not to. It has nothing
to do with who either of them are. They broke company policy. That
was their choice. I would have fired anyone who did that. My firm is
a great one to work for. There are so many lawyers willing to follow
a few simple rules to work for me. Those weren't two of them. He's
called me twice since Monday. I explained to him that he broke
policy. He doesn't think the rules apply to him and my sister. He's
promised me that he isn't speaking to her anymore. I think he thinks
she told me. I let him know not to call me again."

"You
won't really make sure he doesn't work again, will you? Can you do
that?" she asked.

"I
could if I really wanted to. My firm is huge, and I have connections
at all of the firms around here. I've worked very hard to make those
connections. If it weren't for that, I would probably kick his ass.
She's to damn young to be doing that shit. I told him to stay away
from her, and he seems to be doing it. I guess I wouldn't really know
if he wasn't though. I don't care to follow her around. She put
herself in that position in the first place."

"I just want to
move on from him. He has messed with my life in every way he could
think of. Hopefully they will both find new jobs and be happy,"
she said.

"How
can you feel bad for her, Rachel? She knew he was married."

"That's
true. I don't think that makes her a good person. I would never want
to be her friend. That makes being with you that much crazier, but
try telling my heart that. She wasn't the one that was married
though. He was the one that cheated. It doesn't make me like her any
more. It just wasn't her responsibility to be faithful. He's not a
good man. I learned that very quickly when I left. After this week, I
know it ten times more than I did before. If she wants him, she can
have him."

"Don't
say that. He will never be around my family. What if he had gotten
her pregnant or something? I'd have to go to jail and risk
everything."

"That
would never happen," she said. "He doesn't want kids."

"Do
you want kids?" Cliff asked.

"I
used to," she said. "I always thought I would have two
kids. He told me we needed to wait until he was settled in his career
so I could stay home with them. It was never the right time. When I
filed for divorce, he told me he never wanted kids. I was heartbroken
at the time. Looking back, I'm glad I never had a child with him. I
can't imagine how he would have been. Do you like kids?"

"I
like them," he said. "When I have events for the firm,
everyone brings their kids. I have a great time with them. When I was
very young, I thought I would have a child one day. After everything
happened with my marriage, I had no interest in ever having children.
I just figured I would enjoy everyone else's. The thought having a
child and not being with them every day is heartbreaking. I could
never do that."

They
lay snuggled together and talked until they drifted off to sleep.

When
Rachel opened her eyes, Cliff had his arm over her and his legs
tangled together with hers. She slept so good and felt so refreshed.
Slowly, she turned in his arms so she could look at him. Was she
making a mistake opening her heart to him, she wondered? There was no
way she wanted to spend fifteen years with someone just to find out
they were a lying asshole again. Her fingers traced the muscles on
his stomach, as she thought about the night before. The way he took
her up against the door was amazing. He made her feel so wanted and
cared for. It was the opposite of the sex they had in Vegas. She
wanted to feel his hands on her again. His mouth felt so good
devouring her.

Jake
had never made her feel loved and cherished in all of the years they
were together. They had sex a few times a week, but it had never been
like it already had with Cliff. He hadn't gone down on her and made
her feel like he couldn't get enough of her. She rarely felt sexy
around him. Cliff made her feel sexy just by looking at her.

She
watched Cliff's chest rise and fall. He looked so peaceful and
adorable. What was he doing to her, she wondered? How could he have
her world turned upside down in only a week? Shit! It had been turned
upside down that first night. She wanted so badly to see where things
could go with him, but she was so afraid to give her heart away
again. He said he didn't want love or kids. She had given up on the
idea of kids years ago. Her class had become her children. She
treated them like her own. As for love, she wasn't sure she was
willing to take that risk, but the thought of walking away and not
giving them a chance made her want to cry.

Rachel
thought about her two choices. She could walk away and hope to be
able to get him out of her mind. If she did that, she would be giving
up on love forever. There would never be another man who could make
her feel so much so fast. Her other option was to open up her heart
and give him a chance. There were so many things that popped into her
mind. His sister was the one she found riding her husband. She would
have to see her if her relationship with Cliff lasted. What if his
sister and Jake stayed together, she wondered? Would she have to see
him at family gatherings? Rachel knew she was getting ahead of
herself. Who knew if she would still be talking to Cliff a month
later. He was such an amazing man and seemed to have a heart of gold.
She couldn't help but wonder if he was being real with her. After
what he told her the night before about his past, she hoped that he
wouldn't be a player. Then again, would a player be honest about
being a jerk? Of course they wouldn't. Rachel knew if she gave Cliff
a chance and he hurt her, it would be ten times harder than it was
with Jake. She wasn't sure she could ever recover from that. Her mind
kept returning to the thought of walking away, and each time she got
a little sadder. She couldn't do it. There was something about him.
He was the one she wanted to be with. Cliff made her feel things she
never knew she could feel. When she was with him, she didn't want the
time to pass. She didn't want to have to leave the warmth of his
arms.

He
opened his eyes and smiled.

"Good
morning, beautiful," he said.

"Good
morning," she said.

There
was no way she wanted to walk away from her second chance at love. He
was that chance.

"What
are you thinking about?" he asked.

"How
amazing you are, and if you're real or not," she said with a
smile.

"I'm
not perfect," he said. "That I can definitely admit.
However, I can promise you that I am an honest man. I would never lie
to you, and I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. I
may do things that irritate you. I will make mistakes. I've been
alone for many years. Every moment has gone into my firm. It has been
my one constant in life. If I screw up, I need you to call me out on
my shit. I'm human like everyone else. I can also promise you that I
am always faithful and protective."

He
leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Go
away with me next weekend," he said.

"What?"
she asked.

"I
have to be in Michigan on Friday for a meeting with a company. Go
with me. I'm flying out Thursday night. We can come back on Sunday.
I'll have to be gone for a few hours Friday, and I'll have to do some
work over the weekend from the hotel. I'll get that done on Friday as
well. I won't do any work on Saturday or Sunday unless there's an
emergency."

"I'm
not sure about that. If I don't go, when are you coming back?"
she asked.

"If
you don't go, I'll be back late Friday," he said. "Have you
ever been to Michigan? We could find a museum to visit or something
else to do."

"That's
an extra plane ticket and two extra nights in a hotel. Not to mention
all of the money for food and things. I can just see you when you get
back Friday."

"Stop
thinking about the money," he said. "I need you to stop. If
I do things, it's because I want to. I want you to go with me."

"I'll
go if I can by my own plane ticket," she said.

Cliff
took a deep breath and released it.

"Absolutely
not," he said sternly with a very serious look.

She
noticed the blues of his eyes darkening. Rachel smiled as the feeling
of butterflies flitted around in her stomach. Knock it off, she
thought. You're not in high school.

"Does
that look always work for you?" she asked.