Gone Girl
Chapter 60 The VacationA/N The story just flowed for this chapter. I want to remind everyone that it took me a year of writing to write my part of this story. Of course, that was while I was going back to school and working; so, writing wasn't always my first priority. When you aren't publishing the story there is no pressure, you just write when you can. But I was really caught up by this story in that I was driven to write it like I was possessed. Skipping meals and going without sleep just to write. I am just glad to be finally publishing it and so glad that you are enjoying it.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For all your reviews! They are hugged and loved and very appreciated! They really brighten my day and encourage me to write!
This chapter was really for Stephanie and Carlos to come clean, discuss some really important things and grow closer together. Also, to handle a few things and wrap up loose ends.
Chapter Sixty
Monday April 21, 2014 - Day 160
Stephanie POV
Later that afternoon I called my mom and got her chocolate cake recipe. She was shocked that I was baking my own cake, and I was shocked that she used Betty Crocker mix with special additives – sour cream and applesauce to make it so rich and moist. I looked through the pantry, and we didn't have any cake mixes. But I found a container of cocoa and I looked up the cake recipe we had been using and worked to modify it with the sour cream and applesauce instead of milk and butter, but we didn't have either in the house. Plus, there was no powdered sugar to make the frosting. I made a quick shopping list and while Julie was doing her homework I was going to run out and go shopping.
Carlos insisted on coming with me because he said he knew where the local Publix was, and that it was the best grocery store to go to. He said they have the best meat, dairy and produce in the local area. I strapped on two guns and met him at the front door.
Here in Florida, Carlos drives a Porsche Panamera Hybrid. Partially because the Hybrid is better for the Miami air. Less pollution as he didn't want big ugly clouds of pollution hanging in the air here like it does in New Jersey and because it has the biggest backseat for Julie. Until she was 10 years old, he would only let her ride in the backseat, because they said it was safer for small kids in the backseat.
I was impressed, but not surprised that he researched those things and asked him how long he'd had the Panamera. He laughed and told me that there was an old fellow Ranger who sold it to him cheap. I knew he'd had quite a few Porsches in the past several years. Two of which I had destroyed. Then while we were driving, I brought up Julie's concerns.
"Carlos, we weren't in any hurry to get married because we both – and at least I thought there were going to be some major legal hiccups before we could. Mostly that I would have to be legally resurrected and maybe get arrested. But now all of that has been resolved. We still have to deal with the car owner, but all I got for all my craziness was two tickets – which you said you would pay. But you don't have to. I have plenty of money to pay the tickets," I offered, knowing that it was easing his guilt to pay them for me. "I just have to say that I have plenty of money to pay them and you are going to have to take care of the car owner and that is going to be plenty expensive all by itself." I ended, knowing he would never give me the tickets back so I could pay them.
"Babe, I wasn't hiding it from you, but I met with the owner of that car and got him all taken care of," he told me.
"You did? When?" I was shocked he hadn't said anything about the guy being back in the country or calling him or anything. Here he was saying it was a done deal.
"Friday, when I was gone to New York all day. I met with him and we had a long talk and he agreed not to press charges if I agreed to help him get a new car." He pulled out his phone and showed me a picture of an older man smiling so big in front of a beautiful Lamborghini.
"Is this him?" I asked staring wide eyed at the photo. He looked so happy and it must have cost Carlos a fortune.
"Yes, that's him and I helped him get that car at a reduced price and he is very thankful. His wife invited us to come to dinner in the next month," Carlos admitted.
I hated to ask but I had to know. "How much did the car cost you?" I felt sheepish asking but this was a cost that I ran up that he was willingly paying.
"Well, Babe, you know I would have paid any amount to keep you out of jail. You know that right?" He was trying to prepare me it must have cost him a bundle if he wasn't telling me outright.
"Yeah," I did know, and I knew he felt responsible. But it was our plan to steal a high-end car and drive it off the bridge. At the time we were just looking for a car that was fast enough to do what we needed it to do, we didn't look at how expensive the car was.
"And you know his car was four-years-old and worth about $120,000." Only worth $120,000? I knew it had some miles on it, but honestly, I didn't look that closely.
"Oh, I thought it was worth a lot more than that." I knew those cars cost $200,000, so I thought his car cost that much.
"It had over 56,000 miles on it and blue book value was $115,500, but his was in really good condition. If he found the right buyer, he probably could have gotten $130,000 for it."
I could tell that he was justifying this for me, and he was trying to minimalize the amount that he'd had to pay to keep the guy from pressing charges against me.
"Okay, so how much did it cost you to buy him this car? I mean, this is a brand-new Lamborghini that had to cost a lot more than $130,000." I was practically demanding because he seemed to be dancing around the amount.
"$500,000," he boldly pronounced.
"Oh my God! Y-you b-bought h-him a f-f-f-five-h-hundred t-t-thousand d-dollar car?" I was shocked almost speechless. Well I was sputtering in shock. I couldn't believe that me driving off the bridge had cost him that much and that he would pay that much to keep me out of jail. I didn't know how but I had to pay him back for all the money he spent.
"No Babe, take a breath." He could tell I was practically hyperventilating over this. "It only cost me $100,000, he paid the rest and the taxes. Plus, it may cost me even less than that. He has offered to send me the insurance check which will probably be $50,000 or $60,000. So, I'm getting away with nothing. Your legal fees if he tried to press charges would be much more than that."
I took a deep breath and tried to get ahold of myself. So, he only paid $100,000. It's still a lot of money, but it was a lot less than $500,000 and I know he won't let me pay him back, because he feels like it is his obligation to get me out of my legal troubles. That is a lot less than I thought it would cost him, and if he gets the insurance check it is cut in half. My mind was just running away with itself and he turned to me.
"Babe." He reached across the center console to take my hand. "It is my pleasure to get you out of trouble and this guy, Ocalli, is over the moon happy. That Lamborghini is his dream car. It was a $600,000 car that I got a special deal on because I know the manager. He got his dream car for $400,000 and he is happy, even thrilled that you stole his car. It worked out well for everyone." He turned and looked at me and said in his deep voice.
"Babe, if you hadn't taken Julie, my attorneys would have paid a two-million-dollar ransom to get her back. And I wouldn't have minded. I would pay more than that to save Julie. The problem is that it would have been for nothing because Ron was paying those guys to kill her. So, it would have been two million dollars; and she would have been dead. There is no amount of money I wouldn't pay to save her life. Paying your tickets and $100,000 is a small price to pay to save Julie's life." He looked over at me and his voice thickened as he got caught up with emotion. "I owe you more than I could ever pay you back for dropping everything and going to save Julie. She is the best thing I have done with my life and you took care of her as if she were just as precious to you."
"She is my daughter, just as much as she is yours. Not biologically but emotionally she is mine and I would do anything for her."
"Babe, that makes me love you even more. I love you so much I don't know how it is all contained in my body, because the love I feel for you seems bigger than me and you. It feels as big as a mountain of love and no matter what it will never go away. It will never diminish as the years pass; it will only grow stronger." He smiled at me and I was taken aback that this beautiful man inside and out, loved me as much, needed me as much as I needed him.
Then he changed the subject on me.
"Babe, we've never discussed it but now that you are legally alive you need to open some investing accounts and bank accounts, so you can transfer all the money Anton gave you out of the accounts he set up," Carlos said definitively.
"Why?" I was honestly curious. I hadn't planned on moving any of the money. I was just going to use the debit cards places where I only had to use the pin number and not show an ID.
"You need to get all that money into your legal name, so you can invest it or do whatever you want with it. While we are down here in Miami is a good time to do it because nobody knows you here. So first you need to go as Stephanie Plum and open accounts at a national bank like Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, or SunTrust. Then you dress up as your different ID's and go to the different banks and wire the money to your new account. This way, the money is in your name only and Anton can't decide to take it away from you. Plus, I don't want to burn the fake ID's. They're good quality and if needed they could be useful."
I'm sure I looked shocked because it had never crossed my mind that Anton would take the money, he gave me back. But I guess since I was sleeping with the enemy, he might just decide to do that. So, Ranger took me to Chase, and we opened a new Stephanie Plum bank account. I ordered checks for it and got a new debit card as well as wiring instructions to transfer money to this account. While I was waiting for the bank associate to set everything up, I went through my wallet and noticed that two of my debit cards from my other accounts (ones that Anton had put my money in) were also Chase accounts.
While we were there Carlos wired one million dollars to a New York businessman that he said had a hot business opportunity. He said that the guy needed five million dollars and his men had already sent the guy three million, so he was giving him some of the rest of the cash he needed. He says it was a great opportunity because in three to six months his one million dollars will triple.
Triple his money? In just a few months? I knew nothing about investing or business. In fact, I had never had more than $15,000 at once before and that was after one week of bringing in three medium bond skips and several lower bond skips. But what did I do with the money? Nothing. I just spent it and I didn't have any of it anymore.
I had gotten better once I was working at RangeMan and had a regular paycheck to save some of my money. Which really helped when Julie called me for help. I know I can be frugal, but I still always spent all the money I had.
What were my plans with this money? I didn't really have any. I was still getting used to the amount and wrapping my head around the idea that I was a millionaire. But if I did what I always did and just spent the money; I would have nothing of it in a few years. Carlos has built himself up to be a millionaire in a short time by investing and handling his money wisely. I felt confident that he would always have money. I needed to learn from him and do what he did.
I knew he was rich, and he would give me money, but I felt better knowing I had money of my own and I didn't have to go to him, like a teenager asking for an allowance. I wanted to be smart with my money and if this investment was good enough for him to wire the guy one million dollars; he must have a lot of confidence that it will pay off. I wanted to be like him and always have my own money to spend.
I wanted to triple my money, too. I looked through my ID's, three of the seven accounts had dark straight hair close to what I had now. Looking closely, you could see that the hair in the pictures was black, but I thought it was close enough. We went to another Chase bank and I wired four hundred fifty thousand dollars of my own money to the guy. Then I closed the account and wired the rest of the money to my new Stephanie Plum account.
Then we went to SunTrust and I wired another four hundred fifty thousand dollars to the guy. I closed this account and wired the rest to me. Then we went to a Citibank and I closed the account and wired the whole one hundred sixty-six thousand dollars to the guy. In total, I'd wired the guy over one million dollars. Carlos contacted the guy, alerting him to a new investor. I was thrilled to be taking an active approach to my future. It was crazy but I felt like a suave investor. If it just grew a little bit, I would be thrilled but double or triple? Like, I just turned one million into two! The seeds Anton gave me; I was going to plant them and let them grow.
While we were driving, Carlos explained that this New York businessman was the one selling that car to raise capital. Carlos had contacted him and found out what he was getting money for and offered to let him come pitch the business opportunity to his men. Tank researched the guy and he was worth thirty million but had recently gotten married and bought a huge expensive place in the city, and his and her Lamborghini's – funny thing the Lambo he was selling was hers. Any way he blew all this money to impress his wife, and then this great opportunity came along, and he had no cash. So, he was raising money and if it paid off - the money would triple or more.
As we drove, I wondered how Anton opened these accounts and got debit cards for them? Because I just spent the morning opening new accounts and had to show photo ID and sign for all of them. I guess it was just one of his trademark secrets that I might never know. But I was doubly grateful for all this money, and if I stuck with Carlos, he would help me grow it, so I would never have to worry about money ever again.
Then we got to the grocery store and as we walked up and down the aisles together it felt so normal and natural for us to be together like this. A calm came over me, my heart, my soul that I felt would always be there. A peace that I only found with him; I was home.
Carlos got a call and he didn't try to hide from me who it was. He showed me his phone and it was Affordable Airconditioning Repair and I recognized it as Ron's business.
"Hello?" He didn't seem to know who was calling.
"Hi Rachel." He seemed irritated that she was calling him so soon after dealing with her. But he was quiet for long minutes, as I wondered what she was saying to him. After a few minutes, he started walking through the grocery store so we could finish our shopping.
Was she calling to bitch at him some more over him getting custody of Julie? To complain about the unfairness of the situation. To ask him for more money since we all knew she had none? To tell him to take his deal and go to hell? I didn't know, but he had a serious look on his face, and he was listening closely to what she was saying. Whatever she was saying was taking a long time, so she was obviously trying to convince him of something.
"I applaud you Rachel," Carlos finally said. "It seems like you are taking the right steps. I'm going to get a lawyer and an office manager over there to see what they can straighten out. I want to talk to your sponsor or the AA leader. I want confirmation of this and weekly check-ups. If you still have good employees who can do the work and are willing to work; I will help you get this up and running."
He was quiet for another few minutes.
"I'll have someone there to meet you at eight-thirty tomorrow morning, and I'll have an attorney call you tonight. So, you know where you stand. But, as I understand Florida law, you inherit everything: the company and the debt. If it's still running: you have work coming in and you have employees that can do the work; then your best bet is to keep it going. Have your sponsor call me tonight. I'm not giving you any money till I know you are dry."
He was quiet for several minutes longer and then disconnected. He then made two calls in quick succession. One to a Florida attorney to call and counsel Rachel, and one to his Florida office manager to spend part of his day tomorrow getting Rachel's business sorted out.
Then he looked at me and started to explain. "Seems like Ron's death was not the end of his business. Most of his employees have been showing up to work and doing their jobs. New work orders have still been coming in and being scheduled, as well as checks and electronic payments. But since Ron handled all the money, nobody else was on the bank account. Friday, Rachel took his death certificate to the bank, and got her name added to the bank account. She deposited all the checks that have come in and paid all the employees for the last three weeks in cash until the new checks she has ordered come in. She even took out Ron's usual pay, so she has money to pay her bills. It seems that Ron took the retirement money, but he didn't bankrupt the business. I'm sending Raphael, the RangeMan Miami office manager, over tomorrow to sort through the office and get Rachel set up. If the business is viable, and she can run it; that will be the best thing for her and the kids."
He turned to me. "Honestly, I figured Ron was so desperate for money that he had bankrupted the business, but all Rachel can find is one loan for about $30,000 that she says is half paid off and has reasonable payments."
I was surprised. I knew that Ron owned his own air conditioning company, but I didn't know more than that. I had seen his paychecks and he was making good money from the business. I'd bet that Rachel didn't know about the credit cards yet, but maybe she could file for bankruptcy; seeing as how they were only in his name. I didn't know if she would automatically get the debt, or if they would have to come after her. But I didn't think that was the first issue.
"What about her drinking problem?" I wondered because it had been a problem for months.
"The assistant manager got in her face and asked her about how drunk she was on Friday. She realized that if she were going to do this; she would have to get sober. Supposedly, she went to an AA meeting on Friday, and everyday over the weekend, and has been sober since. I want to talk to her sponsor, and of course Raphael will be watching for signs of alcohol use as well. According to her: Ron's assistant manager and his secretary came to the house on Friday. They had a bunch of checks but no way to deposit them and no way to get paid. Ron handled all the money and only he did payroll. So, she pulled herself together, realized there was over $16,000 in checks, and had never checked the business bank account. She just assumed there was no money left. When she went to the bank, they put her on the account and there was over $20,000 in the account. She withdrew cash and paid everyone their wages. He has 10 employees that she had to pay three weeks' worth of wages to and when she was done there was about $8,000 left. She paid herself Ron's usual paycheck for the past two weeks, and realized that she doesn't know anything about air conditioning. But she can take phone calls, schedule service calls, deposit checks and do payroll, so she thinks she can take over the business."
"That would be great if she can do it." I wanted to be supportive. I believed that Rachel was a good person who got sucked into doing something bad. Maybe there were some redeemable qualities, and she could pull herself together for Olivia's and Ronnie's sake. They were completely dependent on her, and so were those ten hardworking employees who have hung in there. And at some point, in the future, she could be there for Julie, because as hurt as she was, I knew she really loved her mom.
After we left the baking isle, Carlos said he wanted some cilantro, so we headed to produce. I was going to buy a lot of produce, but he stopped me saying Gloria – his housekeeper – stocks a lot of produce because when he comes down that is mostly what he eats. So, we headed to check out and when it came time to pay, I asked if I could try my debit card, because it was one I had never used, and I wanted to see if it would work. He obliged, and sure enough there was at least enough money in there to buy our groceries.
On our way home I tried to bring up Julie's concerns again and started out gently. "Julie really wants us to get married sooner rather than later." I was watching his face, but he wasn't showing much emotion on it, and he wasn't showing any reaction to my declaration. "Actually, I would like to get married sooner rather than later." Again, I was watching his face for a reaction, but he was just watching the traffic, and not reacting to anything I had said. "I want a simple wedding, but something more than a get together in your parent's backyard. In fact, Julie suggested we go down to the clerk's office and get married."
I looked over at him and continued. "I looked it up online and because we are out of state residents, there isn't even a waiting period for us to get a marriage license here in Florida. The problem is our families. I promised your mom and your Abuela that we would get married in front of them. My mom would be mad if I had them there and she wasn't invited. If we just ran off and got married without my parents; they would get over it, but not if your family is there. And honestly. I just want to be married; I don't want the whole zoo and months of planning and preparing. I just want to walk down the aisle with you at the end and say, 'I Do'."
I knew I was running off at the mouth, but I was on a roll and unable to stop my verbal diarrhea. "Julie feels funny calling me mom until we are married and have the same last name. I know she hasn't told you, but she really wants her last name to be the same as ours. While we were on the run all our ID's had matching mother/daughter names. We felt like a family and everyone expected that we were really related. But in New Jersey everyone knows I'm single and don't have any kids. So, they look at her funny when she calls me mom. Even my mother did it. But at the mall a few women who heard her call me mom gave me a hard time, and I didn't realize it, but Julie took it personally. She has been calling me mom for months, and it just made sense, but now she says it doesn't make sense until we really are mother/daughter. It seems to hurt her, that she doesn't feel like she can call me mom, when she feels like I am her mother now."
I hadn't run out of steam, but I felt like I had made my point. Now, I was just watching him to see some kind of reaction. At one point it seemed like hurt flashed across his face, but then he was just blank faced for the rest of my diatribe. "The bottom line is I don't know how to make everybody happy, but Julie and I would like for us to get married while we are on this little vacation. So, we can return as one big happy family." I finished and then I bit my tongue, so I could be quiet long enough for him to think about what I had said and respond.
"You know Tank told me just to take you to Las Vegas and get married," he responded and then he looked over at me.
My eyes opened wide and my mouth hung open. I was surprised at that and I knew it showed on my face.
"Well, his exact words were more like go to Florida for a week or hell go to Las Vegas and get married."
He looked back at me and at this point I had managed to close my mouth, but this was something I had never thought of. Las Vegas was set up for quickie weddings. There would be an aisle for me to walk down and Julie could be my impromptu flower girl or junior bride's maid in whatever dress she had handy; and we could just go get married. "I'm thinking that sounds great and afterwards we could stay and honeymoon in Las Vegas before heading back to Trenton married and a family. All we really need are rings," I said holding up my hand.
"Well…" Carlos started. "I want you to understand that when I married Rachel; I knew we would be divorcing after the baby was born. I was really unattached to the whole thing. I did it to give her and Julie medical benefits and my army benefits. I would have stayed married to her in name only so she could keep getting my army benefits, but I could see that she wanted a real marriage; and I wasn't interested in that. I just wanted to do the right thing and get back out. I wanted her to move on in her life and she did that with Ron. She told me that she really loved him, and she wanted him to be Julie's father. At the time it made sense for me to give up my rights to her, so he could adopt her. Now that he's gone, I get my rights back, and it will be a simple thing to change her name back to Manoso." He looked at me to see if I was listening. He had my full attention. I was sure I looked completely absorbed in what he was saying.
"Because I knew the marriage wasn't going to last, I didn't want to celebrate it with anyone. I didn't even want to let my family know. My mom is really mad because I didn't tell her until after Julie was born. That's when I brought Rachel and Julie to meet them. They wanted to plan our wedding, but Rachel told them we were already married. Then I told them we weren't staying married and my mother became furious. If I had lived locally, she would have given me the silent treatment. It works so well on my sisters, but she knew if she refused to talk to me; I would just go back to the army and have nothing more to do with the family. Over the years she has tried to stay in touch with Rachel. Luckily, Rachel was kind enough to send pictures, and my parents have been down a few times to see Julie, but my mother has never forgiven me. If I get married again, this time to someone she knows I'm in love with, and she and Abuela aren't there to witness it, she'll never forgive me. I will end up avoiding the family and that would be bad for Julie. I want Julie to know what it's like to have a big extended family, especially before she grows up and goes off to start her own family."
"Babe, my mamma has put up with all my years in the army and the whole mess with Julie with very minimal complaining. She even took it upon herself to get Rachel's contact information, so she could stay in touch with her. She has sent presents and even gone by herself down to Florida to visit with and get to know Julie. What I'm trying to say is my mamma doesn't ask me for a lot, but this is a must in her life. And I don't think she is asking too much to want to share in the joyous moments in my life and celebrate them with me." His shoulders sagged and he added. "But like you, I'd rather just go down to the clerk's office and get it over with. I'm not for the big drawn out months of planning a wedding."
"My dad would never say anything, but I know some of the highlights in his life have been walking his girls down the aisle. I know he would really like to do it when I'm marrying a man I really love, who's not going to turn right around and cheat on me." I looked at him pointedly hoping he would comment on this.
He glanced over at me and smirked. "Babe that is one thing you can count on. I will never cheat on you." He looked back over at me again and said quietly. "You ruined me for all other women. I haven't wanted another woman since the first time we slept together. Even when I was pushing you back to Joe, all I wanted was you."
I looked away from him then and tears pricked my eyes. I wasn't sure I wanted the answer, but I had been wondering for a while. It had been building up inside me and I had to ask. "Why did you do it then? Why did you send me back to Joe?" I took a breath and had to jump in with, "Cause ever since our first time all I've ever wanted was you, but you didn't seem to want that."
He sighed deeply like this was a great weight on his shoulders. "Babe, when I got out of the Army – I wasn't ready to settle down into a boring life. I needed the excitement… the thrill... the challenge that being in Special Forces had offered. So, I signed a contract with the government to do special missions that required my area of expertise. They were willing to pay me a great deal of money to put my life at risk, six times more than I made while in the service. Tank, Lester, and Bobby were ready to start RangeMan, was the perfect set up for me. I could disappear for days, weeks or months at a time while they covered the business. At first, I loved the missions. It fed my need for adrenaline rushes and kept my skills sharp. Some were solo missions but often I was paired with other highly skilled men who were doing it for fun and money. It was a great way to fund RangeMan's start up and bring in money so we could hire more people faster. It's where a large chunk of my money came from. Before I met you, I was going on a mission every other month."
He sighed again and looked at me seriously. "I was with more skilled men, but these were even more dangerous missions and when I signed that contract. I figured I would probably die on one of those missions. I loved you so much that I figured you were better off not getting attached to some guy with a death wish. Well, with death hanging over his head. You needed to be with someone who could offer you a future and children. Not someone that was going to leave you empty and pining for all the years we couldn't have. I didn't want to leave you heartbroken for a love that was taken away too soon. That's not a future I would offer you. Honestly, I never wanted a future before you. I just figured I would die young and not have to worry about a future. RangeMan would go to the core team and my partners. I had accumulated enough that Julie would always be taken care of."
He shook his head. "But now all that's behind me and on this last mission I had a lot of time to think about my future. I had decided that when I got back, if you hadn't married Morelli, I would come and steal you away and offer you a real relationship. I figured we would date for a while and then I'd move you onto seven with me. Eventually we'd get engaged and married." He went silent as if he were thinking of something and I had to ask.
"What changed your mind?" I wondered, because this seemed big, like really big. Cause here we were, already engaged to be married and actually talking about setting a wedding date in the next two weeks and both of us wanting it.
"That phone call with Anton," he said softly. I watched his hands tighten on the steering wheel, knuckles turning white, like it was Anton's neck and he was going to strangle him. He continued angrily, "he made it seem like he had stolen you away from me and was taking you out drinking and dancing and sleeping together every night. In fact, he still keeps alluding to the fact that you invited him to sleep with you. Or that you spent the night together." He looked over at me for confirmation as if I would ever sleep with Anton.
"What!? No! Never! I never slept with him!" I practically shouted but then it dawned on me and I had to tell Carlos the truth. "Anton and I never had sex, ever! Nothing even close, but the night before he left on his last trip, I did let him share the king size bed with me." Ranger's hands were starting to turn red. He was gripping the steering wheel so tightly, I thought for a moment maybe we shouldn't talk about this in the car. But then I thought, we had all our first deep discussions in my car so maybe I should just rush and get through the whole thing. So, I continued, "But it was understood that he was to stay on his own side of the bed and not even touch me. When I woke up in the morning he was long gone. Then in Russia two things happened. After you were captured, he insisted on staying in my room with me in case Ivan came looking for the rest of your team. So, once again we shared a bed but, we never even touched all night. Then when we were outside the club, he told me to stop flinching when he touched me, and he talked me into a platonic kiss. It was just a smack of the lips. He said that acting like lovers would be easier if we had at least kissed; and he was right, it did make it smoother to flirt with him and act like I had slept with him. He just kept saying look at him like he was you and pretend he was you so I could stay in character. And that is the full extent of every single thing that has ever happened between Anton and me." I finished hoping Ranger wouldn't just rip the steering wheel out of the car.
He was quiet for a few moments, but his grip loosened, and he seemed to relax and contemplate everything I had told him. "Anton made me crazy that night," he admitted out of nowhere. "You know Louis had to replace the phone on seven because I smashed the handset after talking to Anton. He really made it sound like you two were having some kind of sexual relationship and he was refusing to put you on the phone. Then Louis had to replace my closet door because I kicked it all the way off its hinges," he admitted sheepishly. I noticed normal color coming back into his fingers as he released the stranglehold he'd had. "But it made me realize I had been thinking of you as mine and I talked myself into believing that you took Julie away because you loved me. In my mind, we were going to be a couple when you came home. I already told you this; but I spent two days thinking that I had lost you, and it made me so desperate to have a chance with you. I swore I would do anything to have you again." He took a deep breath and looked out the side window away from me. Then he turned back to me and said. "Let's do it. Let's get married in the next two weeks because honestly I've taken so much time off lately that I'm not going to get more time off till next year."
He looked at me and gave me a heart stopping or was that a heart throbbing smile. I wasn't sure which. I just knew that my heart sped up, and there was thrumming in my ears as spirals of electricity went down my spine before settling in my lower region causing my panties to dampen. Damn, the things this man could do to me. At that moment we pulled into the garage and it seemed like all the hard stuff was behind us.
A/N: So, when I started, I had planned on keeping this whole thing shorter than 20 chapters. So, I kept making them longer and longer trying to keep the numbers down but when I got done with 60, I realized I was going to have several more chapters to do the planning, the bachelorette party and bachelor party, the wedding and the reception. So, we'll just end it right here.
Epilog: They flew to Las Vegas and got married and lived happily ever after.
The End
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Just kidding! 😊 I seriously took a break after this chapter because I had lost my original Beta – my sister Jonelle who demanded to know how many more chapters this thing was going to be and I told her four: Planning, Parties, Wedding and Reception and then Honeymoon. She was going through some serious things in her life and had actually only edited thru chapter 49. But she accepted that, at that point in time; she couldn't keep helping me.
That was when I tried to contact Kadyn through Facebook message and sent her all 20 chapters I'd written. I figured she would give me a clear thumbs up – go for it; or thumbs down – don't post what you've written. I'd hoped she would read what I'd written and give me some feedback. But she didn't even post a yes or a no. I got nothing.
So, I started writing again and the chapters just kept coming and the bachelor and bachelorette parties got crazy and to date I've written eight more chapters - all the way through the wedding. I just have the reception and honeymoon to finish. But I couldn't leave you all high and dry. I just couldn't do that to you, and I couldn't do that to this fabulous story! Wedding and reception coming up.
PS. My daughter says I'm a mean person for doing that. The worst kind of person. But she loves me anyway. Begrudgingly loves me anyway. LOL.
To be continued… next posting this Friday…