Page 30 of Embracing the Change

“Don’t do stupid shit to fuck up your life to make me talk to you like this.”

Jamie shook his head. “I cannot believe you’re buying into Chloe’s matchmaking maneuvers.”

“Oh yeah. You’re right. When she’s on one of those, we fight. But this one, Dad, this one, I’m with her all the fucking way.” Before Jamie could say a word, Judge continued, “Love you to my soul. Now I’m saying goodbye so I won’t hang up on my stubborn, stupid-ass Dad. Bye, Dad.” But he didn’t hang up, he ordered, “And don’t call Dru. It’ll be a waste of your time. She’s in on this all the way too. Love you. Get your shit together. Have fun. Later.”

And then his son was gone.

An hour and a half later, Jamie was behind the bar in the forward lounge wearing a suit and shirt, no tie, and he’d dismissed the steward because he could make his own damned drink, something he was just getting down to doing when Nora swanned in.

And swanning she did, wearing a long Pucci dress in the usual striking, but arbitrary pattern of that design house, this one in black, burgundy, red, cream, several blues, orange and green. The long sleeves were flared and hung down at least a foot at the back sides of her hands, and the V at the neck was deep and showed cleavage.

Oh, and the jersey material clung to her curves.

Right.

He was disinheriting both of his children.

Her long, thick, rich brown and caramel hair (those were her words to describe the color) was down and floating around her shoulders in waves. And the grace of her gait wasn’t lost on him, nor were the different pair of gold, strappy, high-heeled sandals she’d donned for their evening à deux.

He might not understand the act of murder.

But he was beginning to understand the urge to commit it.

His first wife Belinda had an icy beauty every man, including Jamie, wanted to thaw.

His second wife Rosalind might have had fiery red hair, but she didn’t have the countenance that went with it. She was warm and nurturing, from the moment he met her, to the last words she spoke to him.

Nora was a firebrand. She lived life no-holds-barred. She was rich, and she flaunted it. She had opinions, and she spoke them. She had attitude, and she didn’t dilute it. And if she cared about you, she’d do anything for you if it was within her power, and if it wasn’t, she’d find a way regardless.

As such, with hindsight, Jamie saw that sex with Belinda had been adequate. They were each other’s firsts. They’d been learning. But in the beginning, Belinda was all about pleasing him, rather than being in the moment and letting it wash over them, or better, sweep them away. At the end, she was rarely ever sober, so he couldn’t stomach touching her.

Intimacy with Rosalind was exactly like her personality. It was loving, giving, soft, sweet and on tap all the time. It was about whispers and touches that communicated adoration and complete connection. It had seemed impossible, and he’d often marveled at it, but it was true that nearly every time, their orgasms had been simultaneous.

Sinking inside his wife felt like coming home.

And now, after the kiss they’d shared, Jamie knew sex with Nora would be explosive. It’d be unpredictable. It’d be cat and mouse, or a fight for supremacy. It’d be combustible. It’d be consuming. It’d be heat and fire and the world would melt away. There would be no work. There would be no worries. There would only be Nora.

Jamie and Nora.

He wanted to experience that.

More, so much more it was like an ache, he wanted to give it to her.

But he couldn’t.

After what Belinda put his son through, and what losing Lindy had put all of them through, he couldn’t do it to his children.

Further, Jamie was an honest man, and extended that to himself, so he also knew he couldn’t go through it again.

Love was pain.

His father taught him this important lesson with how he treated Jamie, and his siblings, but mostly with how he saw AJ treat Jamie’s mother.

But he’d tried anyway, and found Belinda, then lost Rosalind.

Both had brought him to his knees.

Worse, the first had nearly destroyed his relationship with his son, and he’d had to watch his daughter lose the most important person in her life.

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