Stormy Love (Wet & Wild 1)

“Yes, James. I cuss. Get over it.”

“Remember how much you enjoyed having all of that just for the two of us?” he asked.

“I remember you telling me how much I could and could not drink. I also remember you telling me how much I could and could not eat.”

“You know how bad your heartburn gets. I wanted to enjoy you those nights. Not watch you be in pain.”

“To which I always come readily prepared in case it happens,” she said. “But thank you for the partially selfish answer. Maybe a tiger can change its stripes.”

“I didn’t want you hurting on that trip.”

“No, you wanted me portraying a specific facade, even when there was no one around to project it to.”

“Well what about that weekend vacation we took to that hotel you loved so much?”

“The one where you worked the entire time and stood me up on our dinner date that Saturday night?” Kallie asked.

“Come on, Kallie. You know my work is important. It’s what gave us the ability to travel like we did. What about the time I took you to see the pyramids? Or took you to Germany to see your first opera?”

“We flew over the pyramids, we didn’t visit them. And you took me to Germany for a business trip. You pawned the opera off on me as a way to apologize for not telling me it was a business trip before we left,” she said.

“You’re really making this difficult.”

“No, James. You really made this difficult. Our entire relationship was difficult. It was always about you and never about me. Every time your friends called me a ‘gold digger’ or accused me of being after your money, you didn’t defend me.”

“That’s how we joke around, Kallie. Did you not catch onto that?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn't know I was supposed to accept joking at my expense as your fiancé,” she said.

“But when I proposed to you, you said ‘yes.’ In front of my family, your family, and all of those friends who joked around with you.”

“I did.”

“Did you not love me? Did you lie when you accepted my proposal? Did you not understand how hard it was going to be?”

“You’re one to talk about lies, James.”

“Then why did you agree to marry me? Of course we’ve had our trials, sweetheart. No couple is above them. Money buys a lot of things, but an easy relationship isn’t one of them. But you’re worth it. You were worth it to me then and you’re still worth it to me now. I know you took that honeymoon trip. And it’s okay. I know you needed the time to get away and decompress from the absolute dumpster fire that was our wedding day. But I still love you. I never stopped loving you. And I’m an imperfect man, but you’re an imperfect woman.”

“Your tactic to get me back is to tell me I’m just as terrible as you are?” she asked.

“No. It’s to get you to see that that, despite the flaws we both have, we still enjoyed ourselves. Fell in love. Took trips. Remember Spain?”

Kallie got lost in her thoughts when the country tumbled from his lips. Spain had been a wonderful time. One of the first trips they’d ever gone on together. That place still held wonderful memories for her, and she couldn't help the smile that slid across her face.

“There’s my sweetheart,” James said.

“That doesn’t erase all of the damage done,” Kallie said.

“Kallie, look at that smile. I know you feel it. Despite all the crap we went through and all the hurdles we had to jump, we still established an unbreakable bond. You let me into your apartment, Kallie. I never thought I’d see you again, and I’m standing in your apartment. That means there’s something still between us. That you at least want to entertain the existence of me. And I’d like to try and stoke that fire again. To take another chance at us. Don’t throw away our plans, sweetheart. We have the best future ahead of us. Things I’ve planned down the line that will make all the heartache we’ve endured worth it. I swear to you. Just give me a chance.”

Then, her doorbell buzzed again.

“Please don’t answer that,” James said. “Talk to me.”

“And there you are, telling me what to do in my own home,” Kallie said.

She shook her head as she reached for the doorknob. She swung the door open, fully expecting Eris to be standing there. And she was ready for her best friend to sink her jowls into her ex. But again, it wasn’t Eris.