The Road To Forgiveness Read online

  He leans in and kisses me gently on the forehead, “I do, wife.”

  I take a sip of my sparkling cider and toast to our future. We spend the rest of the afternoon eating and drinking. Roger takes a few pictures so that we can always remember this wonderful occasion. I want to tell Sebastian I don’t need pictures, I will always remember this moment. It the moment Sebastian gave me my life back.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I’m sitting on the king size bed in the master suite of Sebastian’s yacht, waiting for him to finish talking with Roger. We had a wonderful afternoon, laughing and dancing, but I’m ready to be with my husband… alone. I have the music on low and I’m still in the white sundress I got married in.

  To Sebastian. My husband.

  It still doesn’t feel real that he is mine. My therapist is going to have a field day when she finds out. I’m supposed to be taking every aspect of my life slowly. What she doesn’t realize is this is slow to me. I wouldn’t have married Sebastian if I weren’t absolutely sure I was ready.

  Sebastian is taking longer than I expected so I decide to undress with out him. As I start to slide my zipper down the side of my dress I hear the door open behind me. I turn my head to see Sebastian walk in with the most euphoric look on his face.

  “Are you getting undressed without me?”

  “You were taking too long.”

  He shakes his head in disapproval, “That simply won’t do. A husband is supposed to undress his wife on their wedding night.”

  I look him up and down before turning my head away from him, “Then you should come over here and do your job.”

  I stand there, unmoving, waiting for him to come over. I feel him press his body into mine before his hand moves over mine and slowly unzips my dress. I let my dress fall to the floor and I step out of the material. Sebastian’s hands move over my body, slowly. He is taking his time with every touch. I can feel him begin to stir against my back.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he says against my ear as he lowers his mouth to kiss my shoulder. “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

  I turn around to face him. I look into his blue eyes for courage, “I’m the lucky one. I don’t deserve a man like you. I thought men like you were a myth and I realized today, that it’s partly true. Men like you are a myth because you are the only one who truly exists. There is no other man like you and I am so lucky to have somehow fooled you into loving me. I’m so happy to be your wife and I hope to make you happy, forever.”

  I lift up on the balls of my feet to plant a kiss on the exposed area of Sebastian’s chest. He lowers his head so that we can kiss properly. The minute our lips touch I am lost in Sebastian. All my worries are gone and I am just here, in this moment, ready to consummate our marriage.

  Sebastian walks me backwards until I feel the back of my legs hit the mattress. I break away from the kiss to lower myself on the bed. I look up at my husband with anticipation.

  Sebastian quickly takes his shirt off and throws it on the floor. He then removes his shorts and joins me on the bed. We don’t rush things. Sebastian takes his time, kissing every inch of my body before removing the two small pieces of material left covering me. I reciprocate, wanting to feel every inch of Sebastian. I remove his boxers and lower my mouth onto his erection before he can protest.

  I can feel him harden inside my mouth as I lick the head of his cock before sucking him inside me. He tastes great. Screw the food cravings; all I am craving right now is Sebastian.

  Sebastian rises up onto his elbows, “Mia… Fuck that feels good. You’ve got to stop, baby.”

  I ignore his plea as I take his cock deep into my mouth. My hand grabs the base of him and I move my mouth in unison with my hand. I feel him throb underneath me and I get so much joy knowing I am giving pleasure to my husband. Before I can get him to come, I feel Sebastian move under me and lift me up under my arms.

  He moves me up his body and takes my mouth with his. I don’t protest as Sebastian kisses me hungrily. He flips me over so my back is on the mattress and I open my eyes to see him hover over me.

  “Let me know if I hurt you,” He says huskily as his hands move to lift my legs up and over his hips. I can feel his cock tease my entrance before he moves into me slowly. I let out a long moan of ecstasy as my head falls back onto the mattress. Sebastian slowly pulls out until only the head of his cock is inside me, and then he thrusts back in. He continues this slow torture until my body starts to tremble and I’m ready to come.

  “Sebastian,” I moan out, as I’m ready to explode.

  “It’s okay, Honey, you can come. I’m going to make you come all night. I own you by name, now I’m going to own your body,” he grunts, as he thrusts hard inside me. His words are my undoing as I shoot over the edge, moaning incoherently.

  Sebastian comes with me. We both hold each other tightly as our orgasms take over. When we both start to come down from the high, Sebastian kisses me softly as he lowers his hand and starts playing with my breasts.

  “I’m ready for round two with my incredibly sexy wife,” he murmurs against my lips.

  We make love all night and into the early morning hours. We only stop to have a quick refueling session involving food and beverages in bed. Sebastian is tender in some moments and rough in others. He’s the perfect combination of sweet and rough for me.

  I finally fall asleep in his arms an hour before the sun rises. The gentle swaying of the yacht with the sound of the ocean’s waves puts me to sleep, ending the most perfect night of my life.

  *****

  We arrive back to Sebastian estate the next evening. Despite getting very little sleep the night before, I am surprisingly well rested. Several members of Sebastian’s staff congratulate us as we walk into his home. After their greetings, they leave us to ourselves for the rest of the night.

  I walk into the kitchen preparing to make a snack. I haven’t eaten in a few hours and my baby girl is letting me know she is hungry. I open the fridge and pull out some lunchmeat, mayonnaise, and a tomato to make a sandwich. Sebastian sits on the stool across from me, watching me.

  “What would you like to do for the rest of the week?”

  I’m confused by his question. “I haven’t really thought about it. I guess I’ll start getting the nursery prepared before I travel back to Georgia next week.

  I’ve been visiting Charlie and my mother once a month since I left Georgia at the end of December. It’s good for me to see them and I usually only stay for a couple days. The truth is, I go to see Miles. Once I started visiting him I couldn’t imagine going too long in-between visits.

  “That’s not what I meant. I mean what should we do for the week? You know, for our honeymoon.”

  I hadn’t really thought about a honeymoon. Last night and this morning was enough of a honeymoon for me.

  “I thought the last twenty-four hours were perfect. I don’t need to go anywhere else. Spending the rest of my life with you is enough. Did you take this week off work?”

  “I did. That is one of the perks of being your own boss. Plus, work is going to get really busy before the baby comes. I want to get a lot of it out of the way so I can take some time off and spend it with you when our little girl arrives.”

  I tilt my head and just look in awe at my thoughtful husband. He really does love me.

  “We can honeymoon here. Spend the next week in bed. This might be our last chance to have a lazy week together. That sounds like a perfect way to start our marriage,” I say to him. I would love to spend a week in bed with Sebastian.

  I finish making my sandwich and start to put the ingredients back in the fridge.

  Sebastian comes up behind me and places a kiss on the back of my head. “You’ve got yourself a deal. A week in bed where I will ravish you,” he says as he bends down and picks me up bridal style.

  The doorbell rings and distracts me from the small fear I have of Sebastian dropping me because I’m the size of a small country now.


  “I’ll get it,” Sebastian yells to no one in particular as he carries me to the front doors of the estate. The doorbell rings again when we are only a few feet from the door.

  “Impatient much?” I mumble into his neck as he opens the door with one hand.

  “Surprise!”

  I turn to see three sets of familiar eyes looking at me. My mother, Charlie, and Jonathon are all at the door. My mother is holding pink balloons and Jonathon is holding a bottle of Sparkling water with four plastic champagne flutes. Charlie stands slightly behind them, holding everyone’s luggage. When I make eye contact with him he just shrugs his shoulders.

  “I can’t believe you all are here,” I squeal in shock.

  My Momma walks though the doors as Sebastian let’s me down gently. She hugs me tightly before releasing me to hug Sebastian.

  “Your husband called me a few days ago to tell me what he had planned and to give me the flight information. I couldn’t believe it. My baby girl was getting married. I told Charlie and called Jonathon and here we are. We stopped to get balloons on our way from the airport. Sebastian has been keeping me updated with text messages. Isn’t he just the sweetest? He wanted us here to celebrate.”

  I look over at my husband as he smiles back at me.

  “You did this?”

  “I know how much you wanted to share this with them. Now you can.”

  I grab him in front of everyone and kiss him hard. I am so in love with this man. He kisses me back just as hard, easily taking control of the kiss. When he lets me go I whisper, “What about your mother? Don’t you want her here?”

  He gently brushes his knuckles over my cheek endearingly,” I called her and told her the news. She said to tell you congratulations and she hopes to meet you soon. That is the best we’ll probably get from her. She is in Europe and has no plans to come back any time soon.”

  I lift my hand to hold his, “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not. All I need is you.”

  I move my head to brush my lips across his knuckles, “All I need is you, too.”

  I loose myself in his eyes. They pierce through me and hold me in place. I stay, unmoving, until Jonathon breaks the moment.

  “Enough with the lovey dovey, sappy crap. I need a drink.”

  He pushes past my mother to give me a hug, and then he hugs Sebastian.

  “I brought this sparkling water stuff for you, since you’re with child, but the adults would like something a little harder. I plan on getting trashed tonight.”

  He walks past us, not waiting for a reply; looking for the liquor stash I’m sure.

  Charlie steps up in his place and pulls me into one of his bare hugs. “Congratulations, Mia. I’m so happy for you. You deserve the best and I believe Sebastian will try to give you that every day of his life.”

  I hold on to him tightly, not wanting him to let me go. I love you, Charlie. Thank you for showing me what a father is. You’ve shown me how to love unconditionally and I’m so glad you’re in my life. Miles didn’t need a father when he had such a good man like you.”

  Tears fall down my eyes as I realize just how true my words are. Charlie is the most amazing man and my mother is so lucky to have found him. We’re all the better for it. I reluctantly let him go and smile up at his teddy bear like face.

  “I see you shaved since the last time I saw you?”

  He lowers his head shyly as he kicks his boots together. “Yeah, well, your mother was complaining that is was getting to rough when we… umm… kissed.”

  It takes me a second to realize what he is insinuating.

  “Gross. What did I tell you about telling me that kind of stuff? Too much information, Charlie. I don’t want to think about you, and my Momma… kissing.”

  We both laugh as we walk further into the house. Sebastian closes the door behind Charlie and we all go in search of Jonathon. We find him in the kitchen, with a bottle of Jack in his hands.

  “Let’s get this celebration started,” Jonathon yells as he throws back a shot of Jack and swallows before anyone can respond. My mother laughs and joins him on the stool next to his. I sit across from them as Sebastian and Charlie take the seats on each side of me.

  “That flight was horrible. The cabin was stuffy, the seats were too small, and there was an older couple going at it, the entire flight,” Jonathon says as he downs another shot. “Mia, just consider yourself lucky that I wasn’t already drunk when I got here.”

  “I thought I flew you in first class?” Sebastian says, slightly upset.

  “Hey, we were the only one’s sitting in first class with you.” Charlie says, now realizing the older couple Jonathon was referring to was him and my mom.

  Ewe.

  “Exactly,” Jonathon replies to Charlie.

  We all laugh uncontrollably at how ridiculous my friend is.

  We spend the night drinking and laughing. I finish the bottle of sparkling water listening to Jonathon tell us about Cameron and him moving in together. I guess Jonathon was okay with change after all. He found a great job in Seattle and starts in a couple weeks. I’m happy for my friend.

  I don’t remember going up to bed or saying goodnight to everyone. I was so tired by the time Sebastian laid me in bed and gently kissed my forehead. I do remember rolling over in his arms when he joined me a few minutes later in bed.

  “Hope,” I mumble into his chest.

  “What’s that Honey?”

  I nuzzle my head further into his chest. “Hope, I want to name our baby girl Hope.”

  I feel his chest move slowly up and down as his head moves to kiss my forehead.

  “I love the name Hope. Hope Melanie Price,” He says as if trying it out. “I think we have a keeper.”

  I fall asleep knowing my family is whole, under one roof, and Hope Melanie Price will be joining us soon.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It’s the end of summer and I feel like I’m carrying triplets instead of a small little girl. I’m due in a few weeks but I’m miserable. My legs are swollen, I have to pee constantly, and I’m physically exhausted.

  I woke from a restless sleep to the sound of my cell phone going off on the nightstand. I ignore it the first few times but when it starts ringing a fourth time, I moaned in frustration and reach my hand out to grab the phone. I lift it to my ear and pick up with out looking at the caller id.

  “Hello?” I say sleepily into the phone.

  “Mia, darling, I’ve been calling you all morning. Why aren’t you picking up my calls?”

  “Charlie?” I say, still slightly confused on who I am talking to.

  “Yes, Charlie, who else would it be calling you from my phone?”

  My body goes on instant alert. I shoot up in bed and I feel my arms and legs tense. Charlie wouldn’t call me several time in a row unless something was wrong. He isn’t dramatic like my mother. In fact, Charlie hardly ever calls me.

  “Is everything okay? Is it Momma?” I’m beginning to panic and I know I need to settle down.

  I feel Sebastian’s arms encircle me as he grabs the phone from my hands and places it to his ear.

  “Charlie, what is it?”

  I stare at Sebastian as he listens intently to whatever Charlie is telling him on the other end.

  “Uh huh, yes… I had a feeling.”

  He is silent for a long time as Charlie speaks on the other end.

  “I was going to speak to her about it this morning. I didn’t know it was going to hit the news yet.” He pauses again briefly before speaking, “Of course I did. I need her to feel safe and I will do whatever is in my power to make that happen.”

  A few more seconds go by and I can feel my entire body start to shake. I have no idea what they are talking about and it is making me nervous. I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with my mother, leaving me more confused then I was when I first answered the phone.

  Sebastian slowly starts to stroke my belly with his thumb. “I’m going to speak with her today. Thank y
ou for calling. I’m glad everything is taken care of and that you and Melanie know that she will be in safe hands for a long time. I’ll have Mia call you later, okay?”

  He leans down and gently kisses my belly, trying to reassure me at the same time.

  “Goodbye, Charlie,” he says into my cell phone before hanging up and placing it back on the nightstand.

  Sebastian leans into me and kisses me gently on the lips, “Good morning, Honey. Sleep well?”

  “What was that about?” I ask. I’m not going to get the run around from him today.

  “I need coffee, do you want breakfast?”

  He stands up to get dressed but I grab ahold of his arm and pull him back in to bed.

  “What was that phone call about? What has Charlie blowing up my phone until I answer?”

  “He called about Kyle’s case.”

  My body stiffens. I freeze at the sound of his name. Sebastian notices immediately and pulls me into his arms. I rest my head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

  “What about Kyle?” I ask him tentatively, not knowing if I want to know the answer.

  Sebastian caresses my hair, gently dragging his fingers through it while cooing softly into my ear, as if I were a child.

  “The jury deliberated and made a final ruling yesterday. It was televised all over the state of Georgia.”

  I didn’t realize the case was almost over. I was purposely trying not to follow it.

  “And?”

  “…And Kyle Monroe will be a member of the Georgia Department Of Corrections for a very long time.”

  I almost can’t believe his words. I look up to face him and see concern in his eyes.

  “How can that be? The papers… on the news… everyone said the new evidence would set him free.”

  He kisses me softly on my lips, gently soothing away my pain.

  “They were wrong. No one knows for sure with these things. They must have jumped the gun. We got lucky because he had a very smart jury on this case, they new bull shit when they saw it.”