Take a Chance (12 page)

Willow

After asking Simon to take me to Asher’s florist and to go to the cemetery where Olivia is buried, I am the happiest I have ever felt in my entire life. Pulling up next to a row of beautiful headstones, we get out. I hold the roses in my hand as Asher takes my other, and he leads me over to her grave.

Placing the yellow roses on the top of her
grave stone, I bend over and clean away fallen leaves. I run my hand over the inscription on the headstone, “Olivia Wellington, beloved wife, daughter and sister. May you rest in peace for eternity.” In a soft whisper so Asher can’t hear, I say, “Thank you Olivia, for everything, I will love him with all of my heart, I won’t let you down. Rest in peace knowing he is loved with every fiber of my being.” Standing, I squeeze Asher’s hand and walk back to the car.

Asher stays behind for a few minutes, I can see he’s talking to her, and with a kiss on his hand
, he places it just over her name, smiles, and walks back over to me. Giving him a hug, we get back in the car and head home.

Returning to Asher’s
house, everything has been picked up off the floors, and put back where it belongs.

“So, my fiancé
, what should we do for the rest of the day? We could stay in and order take-out if you’re tired or go out to celebrate. We have so much to celebrate today.”

Grabbing his hand
, I say, “I have something else in mind first.” Leading him to his bedroom, he leans me against the wall kissing down my neck. With a moan, I pull his shirt over his head. I reach for his fly, unzipping it as we walk to the bed. Gently, he pulls my shirt over my head and tosses it on the floor. Slowly, he removes the white bandage from just under my collarbone, revealing the small stitches. He gently kisses just below them. Stepping out of his pants and boxer briefs, I turn him around and push him on the bed. He lands with a few soft bounces.

Lying on top of him
, I kiss his lips and his jaw, I love the feeling of his stubble on my lips. Trailing my lips down his chest and hard stomach to his oh so happy trail, I take him in my mouth, I love the smell and taste of him that is only Asher.

He moans my name as he fists my hair in his hand. As he starts to tense he pulls me up to kiss my mouth, rolling me on m
y back. Hitching both my legs over his shoulders, he takes me in his mouth. Inhaling deeply, he inserts two fingers while rolling his tongue, as I move beneath him. Pulling him up by his hair to my mouth, I can taste myself on his lips and tongue. Gently, he fills me, loving me like only he can. “Come with me, Willow.” At his words, I come undone, a powerful orgasm rips through me, followed immediately by another less intense one. He stills with his own release, whispering my name in my ear.

L
ying in our ‘morning position,’ he’s absently drawing circles on my arm. “That was nice what you did today for Olivia.”

“I wanted to, I owe her so much. From helping you pick up the pieces and sh
owing you the way to love again. For showing me the man that I know you are. She will always be a part of both our lives.”

Lucy jumps on the bed reminding us that it’s dinner time. Getting dressed
, we make our way downstairs. “So, in or out? You feel well enough to go out and celebrate?”

“I do
, but nothing fancy. How about we just go to the deli for sandwiches and soup?”

“That sound like a wonderful idea.”

Grabbing our coats, the evenings are so cold in the winter, my pink diamond engagement ring sparkles in the light. The symbol of an engagement ring in itself is a powerful statement of love and commitment. But adding in the fact that it’s pink brings an even deeper meaning. Smiling down at my hand, he places a kiss over the ring. “Are you ready to go?”

After dinn
er Asher heads to his home office to check e-mails and messages. I had a thought earlier, but I need to talk to Ava about it. Picking up my cell phone, I dial her number.

“Hey future sister-in-law, how’s it going?”
she asks.

“I like the sound of that, everything is just fine. Listen
I wanted to ask your opinion about something. Asher told me you packed up all of the photos of Olivia and him and had them put in storage. Do you think it’s possible you could get me a few? I think after everything that’s happened, he’s ready to have a few in the house again. She is a big part of both of our lives. I’m not sure if he would do it on his own, he might think it would hurt my feelings. But I want to bring her back in this house.”

“Willow, I think that’s a wonderful idea, I know just the ones to get too. I’ll go tomorrow after work and get them to you as soon as I can.”

“Thanks Ava, and don’t mention it to him, OK?”

“Sure thing, I’ll see you soon, bye.”

Feeling good about the plan, I head into his office. It’s getting late. He’s sitting at his desk typing on his laptop. He lifts his eyes and watches me walk in. Standing in front of him without a word, I take his hand and lead him in the bedroom.

Asher

I wake up
with my fiancé in my arms Monday morning, knowing she is cancer free. All is right in the world. There’s just one other thing that would make me happy and that’s to give Willow back her mom. As per our usual, we ride into work together with a kiss and a lunch date, I drop her off on her floor. Heading to my office her mother’s file stares at me. I know I can’t call her again, the next step taken has to come from Willow.

At noon she knocks on
my door bringing in lunch that Charlotte has picked up for us. Placing the food out on the table, she takes a seat. Standing, I slide the file across the desk in front of her. I know I could be treading on dangerous ground here, but I think she’s ready. I know her mom wants to talk to her, she wants to see her.

“What’s this?”
she says, taking the file in her hand, but not opening it.

“That is the information I got on your mother. I don’t want to push you, but when I talked to her, she told me she had looked for you and she want
s to talk to you. She wants to see you. Sweetheart, I know you were afraid of being rejected but by everything she said, it sounds like she has been waiting a long time for this.”

“She did?”

“Yes, sweetheart. She’s remarried and after you left she put herself through college just like you did. She owns her own hair salon. She made me promise I would call her back by the end of last week.” Making my way over to her, I pick up the file and hand it to her.

“I would never give you this if I didn’t think it
would end well, think about it please. Let’s eat lunch.”

I can see she’s nervous
. “I didn’t tell her anything about you. Only that you were safe and OK.”

“I promise I will think about it, thank you.”

“Alright, let’s talk about something happier. When would you like to get married? I know weddings take a while to plan, but I would like to get married sooner rather than later. What do you think?”

“I would love that, we don’t have to have a large wedding, actually I woul
d rather it be small, just your immediate family. How about this summer? I’ve always dreamed about having a beach wedding.”

“
That sounds perfect, you know my mom and sisters will be all over helping us plan it.”

“I w
ouldn’t want it any other way.”

Finishing lunch, I kiss her and hand her the file
. Walking her to the elevator kissing her one more time, I head back to my office. The rest of the day is filled with busy meetings and conference calls.

Willow

Heading back to my desk, I poke my head in Amelia’s office. Ava is sitting in a chair across from Amelia.

“Come on in
, Willow. How was lunch with Asher?” Amelia asks.

“It was great
, thank you.”

“Here
, these are for you.” Ava hands me a small box. I take a seat next to Ava placing the box in my lap.

“Asher and I have decided on a summer beach wedding. What do you guys think?”

Ava squeals with glee. “I know the perfect place! Alki Beach is beautiful in the summer. You have to let us help you plan the wedding.”

“I would love that, nothing too big. We want it small
, just immediate family.”

“That sounds perfect, I’m going to go right now and make a f
ew phone calls.” Leaning over to whisper in my ear, she says, “In the box, Willow, I picked a few photos that I know mean a lot to Asher. Are you sure you want to see them?”

Smiling up at Ava
, I say, “Yes, I really do.” Squeezing her hand, she says her goodbyes.

Getting back to my desk
, I place the box on the file Asher gave to me. Opening the lid I pull out the small stack of glossy 8x10 photos, with a smile on my face, I thumb through each of them. There are some that look like they are from prom or homecoming, some candid shots and a few from their wedding. One in particular catches my eye. I gently run my finger over the image. They are so in love, so happy. They are both looking in each other’s eyes with huge smiles on their face. Olivia has on a beautiful wedding gown, and Asher looks handsome in a tux with a yellow tie. Held in her hands is a stunning arrangement of yellow roses wrapped in a silky yellow ribbon. This is the one. This is the photo I want to give to Asher. The one I want him to bring back into his home. Placing the photos back in the box, my mother’s file is calling to me to open it.

Taking the file and opening it
, there really isn’t much information there, but the phone number burns a hole in my retinas. Without even thinking, I grab my phone and dial the number.

“Hello?
” The familiar voice is soothing in my ear.

With a whisper I wasn’t even sure she could hear
, I say, “Mom?”

I hear her gasp and softly crying
, “Willow, is that you?”

“Yes, M
om, it’s me.”

We talk
on the phone for nearly an hour. Amelia never came out to interrupt me. We talked about everything. About me going to college, being diagnosed with cancer, meeting Asher and finally getting engaged. She tells me about her getting her degree and the salon. She tells me all about her husband and everything in between.

Talking with my m
om was easy, and she seems like such a different person. We exchange all our phone numbers and contact information, with the promise to talk again tomorrow. We want to make plans to get together sometime soon. Hanging up the phone, I am so at peace. My heart is completely put back together now, the final piece being that my mom and I are speaking again.

After asking Amelia if I could take the rest of th
e day off, I text Asher and tell him I will see him at home. Of course, he gave me the third degree calling me instantly on my office phone, making sure I was feeling fine and nothing was wrong. After telling him I called and talked to my mom, and everything was perfect, I just needed to get some errands done. After repeatedly assuring him everything was fine, I grab the box and my purse and head downstairs. Simon takes me to a frame shop, I have a few photos framed, but the one from their wedding, I choose to have put in a crystal frame.

The front door opens with
Asher’s worried voice, “Sweetheart, I’m home.”

“In the family room
,” I call. Placing his coat and briefcase on the couch, he walks over to me with a hug and a kiss.

“You’re sure you
’re OK. It isn’t like you to leave by yourself, your mom didn’t upset you did she?”

“No, I told you everything went perfect. I told her I would call her again tomorrow and we want to make plans to get together.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea. I’ll make arrangements to fly her and her husband out as soon as they can.”

“Thank you
, I can’t wait to see her again, but the reason I came home early is I have something I wanted to give you.” Handing him a wrapped box with a yellow ribbon on it, he takes it with a smile. Sitting on the couch he touches the yellow ribbon. Gently, he opens the box with a small gasp.

“I w
anted to bring Olivia back home. This is her home as much as it is yours. She belongs here.”

Holding the crystal frame in both hands, he touches Olivia’s face with a smile on his lips.

“Willow, thank you, I don’t know what to say.”

Tak
ing the photo out of his hands, I place it on the mantle above the fireplace.

“Y
ou don’t have to say anything.” Walking back over to him, I wrap him in a tight hug.

There were five in all that I had framed.
The crystal one has its rightful place on the mantle, and the other four, I hung on the walls throughout his house.

Asher

Having Willow bring the photos of Olivia back into the house meant so much to me. To k
now that Willow is confident in our love and to not be upset by my past love with Olivia is beyond anything I ever thought possible. Every day, she surprises me and makes me so proud of her. She took the next step with her mother, and it makes me so happy that she will have her mom back in her life. Pulling out of her hug, I look into her eyes.

“Move in with me?”

“What?” She asks surprised.

“You spend all your time here anyway, Lucy loves it here
and we’re getting married in a few months. Move in with me.”

“Are you sure? You might not like me anymore after we live together for a while. I might want to get married first
, so you can’t get rid of me so easily.”

“Don’t be silly, I g
rew up with two sisters and my mom, there’s nothing you can do that would make me love you less. Oh wait, does that mean you’ll cook chili with noodles?”

I swat him on the arm and
say, “Yes, I would love to move in with you. We would love to move in with you. And yes, I’m still going to cook my chili with noodles.”

“Good
, it’s settled, tomorrow we’ll hire movers and get you all moved in.”

“We can wait until
next weekend, there’s no rush, and I’ll still stay here in the meantime. It will take me some time to go through my things, most of its trash, but you can help me start to sort through everything this weekend.”

“
OK, it’s a plan. Now what’s for dinner, woman? I’m starving.”

After finishing dinner and cleaning up the dishes
, I found Willow sleeping on the couch. Gently lifting her, I carried her to bed, to our bed. Covering her, then turning to leave, she whispers, “Asher, don’t go, stay with me.”

I remove my pants and shirt and cuddle
up behind her in our ‘night time position’, lacing our fingers together she sighs deeply.

“What’s wrong
, sweetheart?”

“Absolutely nothing.
I was just thinking how quickly my life has changed. I’m cancer free, I have an amazing fiancé, and I have my mom back in my life. And I’m moving in with you. Life just has a way of righting itself. All my life I thought I had the worst luck, turns out all the good was just waiting for this moment in my life. I’m just so happy.”

“I’m glad you’re happy, I feel the same way.” She rolls over
, and I tuck her head under my chin and hold her tight. She runs her hand down my chest over my hip bone and down my thigh. Goosebumps break out all over my body. She reaches under my boxers, and takes me in her hand, and I moan. Rolling her onto her back, I take her mouth in a slow tangle of lips and tongue. Lacing her fingers in mine, I bring them to the side of her head. I trail kisses down her neck to her left breast.

The stitches are healing nicely and have started to dissolve. Gently
, I kiss on top of them and say, “So beautiful.” Trailing farther down to the scars on her left breast, I whisper, “Every inch of you is so beautiful.” She gasps with pleasure, I love showing her how much I love her, scars and all. She’s mine, so beautiful. Still holding her, fingers laced in mine, I position myself over her and enter her slowly.

She calls out my name as I
begin to move slowly, then slightly faster. Lifting her right leg and placing it on my shoulder, she moans with the sensation of the new position. I can see the look on her face, she’s close. Leaning down to take her nipple in my mouth, she shudders and clenches around me with her release. I follow shortly after with my own powerful orgasm.

Carrying her to the shower, I gently wash her beautiful red hair and the rest of her body. She returns the favor massaging my scalp with s
hampoo and slides her soapy hands all over my body.

Lying in bed in ‘our nighttime position’
, we quickly fall asleep pressed together and happily sated.