The One and Only: A Single Mom Second Chance Romance (Heart of Hope) Read online

  “Cade!” I cried out as he bit my nipple and a rush of wetness slid out of me. “I’m—I can’t stand—”

  Cade stood up straight and took me in his arms, gently laying me down on the floor of the gazebo. “There you go, sweetheart,” he assured me. He kissed my cheek, softly and with tenderness. I smiled at this affection but then he smirked, and his voice changed. “Now let’s really have some fun with you.”

  Kissing my breasts and moving down to my navel, he finally tugged the lower half of my bathing suit out of the way to get to where I was aching and absolutely wet for him. “I said I’d taste every inch of you,” he said, his tone dark with desire, “And I meant it.”

  I cried out as Cade licked between my legs, his tongue lapping up the wetness dripping from me and increasing the pleasure I was already full of, to the point of bursting. I knew that it wouldn’t be long before I came now. His hands held my hips down, so that all I could do was shiver and slither on floor, my back arching upward with each stroke of his tongue on me. I wanted his cock inside of me now, but his mouth was just so damn good, knowing exactly where to kiss and lick, where to curl against my clit and drive me wild.

  Cade was relentless as well, but he was determined to make me cum first. Often, he would tease me, eating me out or fingering me until I was on the brink, and then he would pull away, so that I would literally be begging him to fuck me. But that wasn’t the case now. He kept going, twisting his tongue inside of me, until I could no longer make sense of the words coming out of my mouth. I could only whimper as the pleasure coursed through me at his touch.

  I came with a rush, blackness overcoming me and making me blind for a split moment, until the blood slowly came back to my head. Cade had been devouring me like I was giving him the finest-tasting ambrosia—his hands firm on my thighs, grounding me and preventing me from floating away in a wave of pleasure. At that moment, I felt such a rush of love for him, for taking care of me in this way every time. This love was reflected in him as well.

  As Cade climbed up my body to kiss me, his cock rock hard, I knew in my very bones that he was my one and only. We were going to make love in this gazebo once again, and again and again, for the rest of our lives.

  He was the only man I was ever going to love.

  1

  Cade

  It had been almost ten years since I’d last been in the Park. The area where I’d grown up.

  Being back was a bit dizzying, to be honest. I didn’t realize how much I had missed the place where I’d spent most of my childhood, not until I was back. For the last few years, most of my time had been spent in D.C. with my family. I had good reason to leave back then, but….

  It had been almost a decade now. Surely, I was the only one who still cared about the past. I’d been unable to shake it, to repress it or leave it behind. It haunted me every day like a ghost. Everyone else seemed to have moved on, but I was the only one who didn’t.

  Maybe it is a good thing to be back, I told myself. It would probably give me some closure finally. I would see that the past really was the past. I could see how much had changed in the town and then I could move on, at last.

  Not that I’d be happy with moving on. Oh no. To be truly happy, I needed to be in love with my fiancé. However, the mere idea made my stomach churn. You’d think that we were past the idea of arranged marriages in the 21st century, but clearly, my parents were not. Not that they had been so crass as to openly arrange my marriage. You see, they just told me that this alliance would be best for me and then pressured me every waking moment until I caved in to them.

  As I drove down to the Park, I wondered what my life would have been like if I’d had the guts to do what I wanted, and what Mom and Dad—especially Dad—wanted for me.

  I suppose I would never know.

  As the lake house appeared in view, I had the sudden feeling like being punched in the gut. I hadn’t been back here in ten years, not since the last time with….

  Laura.

  She was the reason I’d avoided Detroit all these years. The girl I’d left, abandoned, even though I knew that me leaving town was the best thing for her. After all, I had to protect her and keep her away from my parents. But God, it hurt to see the lake house and remember the good times we’d both had here—the one and only time I had truly ever been in love. She wasn’t some blue-blooded girl that my parents had chosen for me. She was the person I’d chosen, the person I wanted to be with.

  Memories of that summer were forever stuck in my mind—like a splash of bright color in the monochrome world that was my life in D.C. Ten years ago, after our graduation, when my parents had gone out of town, I’d gotten to spend many days with Laura without having to hide our relationship from anyone, even our friends.

  These memories were why I didn’t want to be back because I knew that being here would only bring me pain. But Mom had insisted on us using the lake house as the location for the wedding. She’d said it would be the perfect backdrop for the wedding photographs, which I could only presume I’d see in the press the next day. After all, this media attention kind of comes with the territory when your mother is a famous actress, and your father is a member of Congress.

  It will only help your prospects of getting elected!

  Me getting elected to Congress was all that mattered to my parents, especially Dad. Mom didn’t care about the ways as long as I did become famous and would carry on the family legacy.

  As I parked the car and got out, the lake house seemed to stare back at me in disapproval. Mom wanted a huge event here, which I wouldn’t have minded as long as the guests were people I actually cared about and the bride was someone I loved with all my heart. I had no problem going the extra mile for a woman I loved. But this wedding wasn’t about my fiancée—who I didn’t even love—or me. It was about my mother and our family name.

  I walked up to the front door and immediately realized that it was a mistake to come back. My stupid brain wouldn’t just let go of the decade-old memories of Laura—I swore I could smell her in the house when I entered. I could hear the walls being filled with her laughter. It was like her scent and memory had somehow lingered in the lake house even after all these years.

  My heart thumped painfully in my chest as I walked through the house to make sure that everything was in order for the wedding. Every room reminded me of her.

  The kitchen was where we made whatever crazy concoction struck our fancy, eating everything from pizza to s’mores. On the kitchen island I’d drizzled melted chocolate on her skin and licked it off clean. And then, each night, we’d be in a different bedroom just for the fun of it. We’d had sex on my parents’ bed as a special “fuck you” and in the huge tub in their bathroom, with the water running cool over our warm bodies heating with pleasure. The jacuzzi on the back porch was where we would soak ourselves for hours in the evening and the gazebo was where I’d fucked her under the hot summer sun, fresh out of the lake.

  In the living room was the couch where we’d stayed up far too late at night watching scary movies, Laura clinging to me but insisting that she wasn’t afraid and wanted to watch until the end. In the basement was the pool table where Laura had taken to the game like a duck to water and ended up kicking my ass by the end of the night.

  Every inch of this house was full of memories of her. Of us. Of the last time that I had been really, truly happy.

  I hated myself, hated those memories for reminding me of who I could’ve been if my life had been different—if I had done things differently. I could keep telling myself that I had been a scared kid back then, that I’d been unsure of myself, that it’s sometimes hard to stand up to your parents. But all of this just felt like a flimsy excuse for my cowardice.

  The last time I’d been here, I’d been in love. Now the lake house would be a place where I’d have to marry a woman I didn’t love, a woman I barely even knew. To me, having the wedding here seemed like a mockery of all that I’d ever had with Laura, all that I’d ev
er thought of myself. All that I’d ever wanted to do in life.

  My phone rang, startling me, and I was glad that I wasn’t holding it, or I would’ve dropped it. I yanked the phone out of my pocket. Ah, crap! I sighed as I saw that it was Paula, my assistant.

  “Hey, Paula, how’re we looking?” I asked.

  “Um…” I could hear her holding in a sigh. “Your mother’s flight was delayed, sir. I’m sorry to tell you this, but she’s already made an appointment with a local event planner….”

  “What?” I didn’t know about any appointments, but Mom had made one already? Were any decisions about this wedding being taken by me, or the bride? The way she was running the whole thing, you’d think that it was Mom was getting married.

  “I know, sir, I know,” Paula said, her voice slightly strained, but keeping calm. “She didn’t tell me as well and I’d heard nothing from her team about this until now. I believe her intention was to have the meeting without you or spring it on you at the last minute.”

  “And we know how much she loves doing that,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

  “As it is, this planner has great reviews and seems like an excellent choice, your mother does know how to pick the best,” Paula went on. I could hear the clack of the keyboard as she dug in deeper to find out more about the event planner my mother had chosen. “I suggest you go to the meeting in your mother’s place. You’ll have to fly solo but maybe, sir, this could be a chance for you to get some of your opinions on things. See if you can get the planner on your side?”

  Paula didn’t know everything about my family, but she’d have to be blind to have missed how my mother took over everything without consulting my tastes or opinions.

  “Okay. Sounds like a plan.”

  I didn’t want to cancel on the planner because it was probably best that we were getting the ball rolling already. Y’know, might as well get this whole charade over and done with as quickly as possible. I know I shouldn’t be saying this about my own wedding and that I should be excited. But I wasn’t happy or excited for many things.

  Well, anything, in my life, really. This was just par for the course.

  As I ended the call with Paula, I felt a dread in my stomach and deep sorrow. Sometimes, Mom would ask me why I didn’t smile more. She wouldn’t want the truth because she didn’t care that I was unhappy, she just cared about me looking happy. The family image was all that mattered to her.

  No wonder I had been depressed for the last decade! Only one person had ever cared about me. Only one person had ever loved me for me, not because of my family or what favors I could do for them.

  Laura.

  But I had to banish all thoughts of her now. Maybe meeting the event planner would stop me from spiraling further into depression as I thought about my wedding day—the day of my imprisonment. I might be going through with this wedding for the sake of my parents, and the girl might be nice, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be actively involved in the event that would tie me down to someone I didn’t care about.

  But I couldn’t leave without walking down to the lake for one last time.

  I took my time, feeling the grass under my shoes, resisting the urge to take my clothes off and dive right into the water. The lake was pristine and placid, the sun shimmering on the water. If I closed my eyes and listened carefully, I could hear the ghost of splashing and laughter from when Laura and I had taken swims in the lake. Every day that we’d stayed at the lake house had made me feel like a badass, sneaking my secret girlfriend up here. It had felt like a honeymoon. I wished it had been my honeymoon.

  You aren’t a kid anymore, I told myself viciously. Laura could’ve turned into a horrible person, the logical part of my brain told me. We had been eighteen at the time, young and fresh out of high school. We both were immature and inexperienced, and so, Laura could very well have turned into someone I didn’t like, someone I couldn’t stand.

  Deep in my heart though, I knew that this could not be true in any way. My brain could argue with logic, but my heart knew the truth. Nobody knew about her, as I’d kept my pain a secret, but Laura was the one that got away. No, the one that I shoved away. Even if it was for her own sake.

  My phone rang again. For fuck’s sake. I considered throwing it into the lake so that nobody could ever contact me or bother me again, especially right now.

  Oh, fuck! It was Dad. “Hey, Dad!”

  “Cade.” Dad sounded like he was in the middle of doing something important and I had bothered him, even though he was the one who’d called. “I want to set up a meeting with a potential campaign adviser. He’s an up-in-comer on the Beltway.”

  “I’m stuck in Michigan planning the wedding,” I reminded him. I could hear the disappointed silence on the other end of the line, so I quickly added, “Set something up for when I come back to D.C.”

  “Sounds good.” Then suddenly, his tone softened, “I remember my wedding…your mother looked radiant. I know it’s hectic, so let your mother do most of the work and we can get you back here to focus on your campaign work. Trust me when I say that the planning might be a pain in the neck, but it’ll all be worth it when you see your bride walking down the aisle.”

  He hung up before I could reply. He’d always do that. When he was done talking, the conversation would be considered as over. No sense in waiting around exchanging pleasantries.

  But my dad was wrong. It wouldn’t be “worth it” for me in the end. I couldn’t ignore the truth that I simply wasn’t in love with my bride. Seeing her walk down the aisle would not bring out any feelings inside me. Because those feelings were never there.

  I knew better than to tell my dad all this, of course. And that I didn’t want to do the campaign. Senator Kirkpatrick wasn’t a man you said no to, which had made him successful but, in my opinion, it had made him a lousy father.

  Keeping my phone back in my pocket, I looked back out over the lake. I didn’t say “goodbye” out loud, but felt it in my heart. I sighed deeply before walking back to my car and driving into town to meet the event planner.

  Ten minutes later, I pulled up in front of a small office building in the downtown area. Entering the ground floor reception area, I rechecked the directory on the wall and there it was, on the second floor—High Point Events. I took a deep breath. Let’s hope that this wedding planner knows what they are doing, so that I can hand it off to them and wash my hands of the entire fucking deal!

  Stepping off the elevator and walking in through the office door, I saw that the space was immaculately decorated and arranged, with ivory-colored couches and coffee tables nestled between numerous floral arrangements and photographs of various brides and grooms on their wedding day adorning the walls. There were various magazines and binders on a bookshelf in a corner of the room, labeled WEDDING, BIRTHDAYS, ENGAGEMENTS and HOLIDAYS. The whole room made me realize—again—that this wedding was really happening, and it wasn’t just a bad dream. I was stuck in a deal that I’d had no part in making.

  Thankfully, there was no one around to see my nervousness. “Hello?” I called out.

  “Be with you in a moment!” a feminine voice responded from one of the rooms behind the reception desk. I tried to peer behind me but all I could see were filing cabinets and decorations hanging from the door frame, no humans. That must be the room where the actual work happened, cluttered with decorations and files, while the reception was kept meticulously clean for clients and visitors.

  “Not a problem,” I replied, lying. I wanted to get this dreaded meeting done with as soon as possible, so that Mom could not add anything further and the event planner locked in everything today itself.

  I walked over to the bookshelf and picked up a magazine with a smiling bride on the cover. Of course! It was full of tips and tricks for picking the perfect wedding destination. Fun. I couldn’t help thinking what a big sham the wedding industry was, with planners and vendors blowing up prices for everything from dresses to cakes, for one damn day. I knew t
hat this annoyance was because of my situation, but I try as I might, I just couldn’t get into a good mood.

  The soft click-clack of heels on the floor alerted me and I turned around to look at the planner. I took a deep breath and put on a smile to seem friendly. After all, this poor woman had nothing to do with my miserable life, but hopefully she’ll understand what a pain wedding planning is and will sympathize with me.

  The magazine slid out of my hands and landed on the floor with a loud whack. My jaw dropped and felt my eyes popping out of their sockets, just like in the cartoons.

  The event planner stood in front of me, her hand outstretched, but the expression on her face also turning from happiness to that of shock. It was the face from my memories, the woman I’d dreamt about for years. The woman I’d loved and lost, the girl who still haunted me. I stared at her, standing in front of me in a body-hugging dress, her curves accentuated like a supermodel’s, the full breasts leaving a lot to be desired in my mind. Her thick, dark auburn hair was carefully pulled back away from her lightly freckled face, the light brown eyes twinkling in surprise and I could feel a flashback of a decade full of memories running through her mind.

  Laura Loomis.

  2

  Laura

  When he turned around, my whole body went numb. For nearly ten years I had done my best to put Cade Kirkpatrick out of my mind. And here he was now, standing in my office.

  Memories from ten years ago flashed in my mind. He was the boy I’d fallen in love with, many summers ago, when we’d graduated from high school and spent the most magical time together at his lake house. That time with him had been perfection, there was nothing that could ever match up to it. As a naïve teenager, I’d fallen for him hard and fast, Cade being the first and only person I’d made love to. And oh, how wonderful it was! Who could imagine that a girl like me, growing up in a trailer park to a single mother, could have a fairy-tale romance with rich, hot, muscular Cade Kirkpatrick, the son of a famous actress and a senator!