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WHEN I PULLED INTO Bianca’s driveway, she at once appeared at her front door. I quickly dabbed at the warm tears on my cheeks before I grabbed my mobile phone and made my way up to her.
When I reached her, I could no longer control the tears that were threatening to bucket from my eyes after my goodbye with Daniel. She frowned and glared restlessly at me before she placed her arms around me.
I rested my head on her shoulders and sobbed violently as I recalled the events of the past two days, specifically Daniel choosing Lucy over me.
“Ally?”
I stepped back and wiped the tears from my eyes.
“Let’s go inside ...” Bianca grabbed my hand and pulled me into her cottage.
I followed her to the dining room and pulled out an empty chair. She sat down beside me and placed both her hands on mine.
“First thing. Can you come with me at eleven? I’m going to look at a cottage down by the river. Michael is showing it to me and I just don’t want to be alone with him.”
“You’re moving?”
“Well, now comes the story ... but first, will you?”
“Of course, I will, Ally. What’s going on?”
“You know I’ve been seeing Mark, the detective? Sort of.”
“Yeah, well ... not really seeing, just screwing ...”
I giggled through the tears. Trust Bianca and her total lack of tact to force a snicker out of me.
“Yes. Just like that. Anyways, he framed Michael and Lily for the fire at the museum and then he planted drugs in Michael’s apartment ...”
“Are you shitting me?”
“They were both arrested on Friday night ... and would only have been able to get a bail hearing on Monday morning.”
“Michael and Lily? Why would he frame them?”
“Yep. I’m not really sure, but from what I gathered, he was annoyed at Michael for wanting me back. So anyways, on Saturday, Daniel took me to see an attorney friend of his and it turns out, he knew all about Mark and his reputation.”
“You mean, he’s a dirty cop?”
I nodded, still shocked and dumbfounded by the events that unfolded. The more it played out in my mind, the more it felt as though I was watching a horribly scripted and badly produced crime show. I was enormously embarrassed and ashamed by the fact that I was involved with a man like Mark.
“Anyway, we sort of had a plan to get him to confess to at least planting the drugs that night. Damon had me invite him for dinner at The Red Velvet after placing a recording device on my phone.”
Bianca stared at me, her mouth wide open. From the expression on her face, I was sure that Bianca’s brain was unable to formulate much other than the shock I was exposing her to. I took a deep breath before I even attempted to inform her of what happened next.
“Daniel took me back to my apartment after the lawyer’s meeting, and then Mark showed up wholly unexpectedly later that evening, before our date. He knew, Bianca. I don’t know how, and I don’t know exactly what he knew, but he knew ... he knew I was up to something.”
“He knew about the sting?”
‘Sting?’
I chuckled again. It reminded me of how dramatic Bianca could be which was typical of the artist in her.
“Daniel hid outside my bedroom window at the fire escape and then, Mark began attacking me.”
“Mark began attacking you?”
“Yep. He pinned me down on my bed, ripped off my blouse and when I fought back, he slapped me across my face. He then admitted to framing Michael and Lily. Luckily Daniel started recording his confession from his mobile phone. As though in slow motion, there was just chaos all around me. Daniel slipped back in when Mark hit me. They were in a struggle, a gun shot went off, and now ... Mark’s dead.”
“Holy shit, Ally!”
“Daniel shot Mark?”
“Yes, but not intentionally. Mark drew his weapon and wanted to shoot Daniel which ended with them struggling for the gun. It’s such a long story, but that’s why I can’t go back to my apartment ... his dead body was laying on my bedroom floor. The last thing he did was laugh about it ...”
“You can stay here ...”
“This is a one bedroomed place, Bianca.”
“I mean ... we could make it work?”
“That’s okay. Daniel has offered to let me stay for as long as I want to ...”
“Uhm ...”
“No, we’re not like that anymore. He’s seeing Lucy and she is going to be staying over while I’m there. Daniel has made it very clear that he wants Lucy, not me.”
“Daniel has fallen for you Ally, not Lucy.”
“You’re wrong, I asked him for another chance and ... he chose Lucy ...”
“That’s cold ... but also, I don’t believe he meant it ...”
An unexpected tear rolled down my cheek and when Bianca wiped it away, she placed her arms firmly around me and hugged me tightly.
“It’s just such a shitty time now. Michael and Lily are getting married within the next few weeks and we have to go back to Damon Kingston’s office tomorrow ... I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow ... it’s just a shitty time.”
“And your birthday is on Friday!”
“Don’t remind me. Thirty-two and as screwed up as ever!”
“Well, I am going to make sure you have a great time. We are going to spend the evening at Joe’s and I want no if’s, and’s or but’s from you. Besides, after all this, you deserve a break from reality.”
I laughed again. I wouldn’t think of denying her an evening out.
“So, tell me about your guy? Fabio is it?”
“Oh man, Ally ... Fabio Balducci. I am in love.”
“And the first fight?”
“Oh. That was no fight. Apparently, the Italians are just loud and passionate. I completely misunderstood.”
Bianca smiled as she rested her chin on her wrist.
“When do I get to meet him?”
“Friday, after your birthday dinner with me ...”
“Oh, I can’t wait! I am sure he is fabulous. Just don’t be like Ally Bradshaw ...”
I lowered my head and shook it. I really knew how to screw things up so badly after my divorce from Michael. First Daniel, then William, then Ryan and here we are ... Mark. No more one-night encounters for me. Even Damon Kingston no longer seemed worth the drama.
‘I am done.’
Bianca poured us each a cup of coffee and when I glanced over at my mobile phone, I noticed a missed call from Daniel. I quickly scrolled down to a new message that had showed up on my screen,
‘Are you okay?’
Daniel. Who else? There was no-one else on God’s green earth that could care as much about how Ally Bradshaw was feeling or how emotionally shattered I was.
‘I’m okay.’
I replied while grinning broadly.
“Let me guess? Daniel?”
I looked up at Bianca who was sipping her coffee.
“The one and only.”
“Drink up. I am dying to see the cottage! We have thirty minutes.”
“Me too. I just never pictured living at the lake on my own. I always thought that Michael and I would someday buy a cottage and raise our children there.”
“Michael will never leave the comforts of the high-rise apartment-living lifestyle and exchange it for gardening.”
Bianca and I both burst out laughing while drinking up the last of our coffee.
WE PULLED UP AT 147 Weeping Willow Drive almost twenty minutes later. True to Michael’s nature, he’s car was parked in the driveway.
I parked beside him and quickly glanced around me. It was quiet, almost eerily quiet, but peaceful and calm. Families were out walking dogs and pushing babies in strollers. Winter was about to show up, still, it seemed as though the manicured lawns and trees were greener than ever before.
“This is great, Ally.”
Bianca glanced up at the two-story cottage.
“Yep. It looks nice.”
Nice? When I spotted Michael and Lily come down the path of the two-story cottage, Bianca and I quickly climbed out the car. I was happy to see that Michael seemed more relaxed than I could ever remember seeing him.
Lily seemed older and oddly sadder, but I assumed her mood and good manners were still stuck in a jail cell somewhere at the precinct.
“Glad you made it.”
Michael kissed me on my cheek before he turned to Bianca,
“Oh, look what the cat dragged in.”
“Michael! Be nice.” Lily was horrified by Michael’s sudden rudeness.
“Not to worry, Lils ... he didn’t specify what kind of cat, I might just have to show him the tiger in me.”
“Stop it, you two. Michael, that was uncalled for.” I was once again confronted with Michael’s egotistical self-centeredness.
Michael and Bianca could never get along. Ever. She hated him, and Michael hated her. When Bianca found out that Michael had cheated on me with Lily, there was no turning back. I was sure that she would someday sneak into his place and bash his brains in with a frying pan.
“Sorry, Ally. Come on, let me show you the cottage.”
Bianca and I both followed Michael and Lily into the cottage. It was empty, but warm and bright. There were many wooden framed windows throughout the house and when we reached the kitchen, my heart just about thumped right out of my chest.
It was beautiful. Old. White. There were wooden counter tops that just so effortlessly complemented the stunning white cupboards. I fell in love with the ceramic kitchen sink and the view of the lake that was visible from the kitchen, to the dining room and right into the living room.
“This is great ...”
I whispered as we walked out of the kitchen. Off to the side of the living room was another room. When I peered in, I noticed that it was some sort of a study, or perhaps, a second living room. The walls were covered in pale bookshelves, with a fireplace in the center of one of the walls. A large window framed the room and took up the entire space of a wall. I could see each and every tree across the river for miles and miles.
I couldn’t help but daydream about the many sunsets I could sit and watch from this room.
“You always said you wanted to start writing, Ally. This could be where you pen your very first book?”
I smiled and nodded. I was at once caught off-guard and surprised that Michael remembered. Long before I left Water Hills, I dreamed of becoming a writer someday. I so desperately wanted to throw myself into a world of books and stories, but Michael teased me relentlessly about it and to the extent that I gave up on my dream.
“Didn’t you say something about I could never make a career out of it?”
Michael curved his head before he turned back to me, “Well, maybe I didn’t know as much as I thought I did.”
Wait. Hang on. What?
I had no response or comeback for him. His reaction threw me for a loop and for just a moment, I couldn’t help but wonder where Michael was, and who was the man standing in his place, impersonating him.
“Ally! You should totally start writing! You could chronicle your ... uhm ... slutty’ness ...”
Bianca whispered while giggling all at the same time.
“Chronicles of the newly-single Ally Bradshaw or, I do not!”
She laughed out loud when she blurted out the title of the so-called book that I was about to write, knowing full well that the latter was in reference to my marriage to Michael. I could feel the heat rush to my face and again, and once more, I felt like a blood red, rotten tomato.
“Whatever.”
We both followed Michael and Lily upstairs. Again, the country theme that began downstairs followed us all the way up into the bedrooms.
“Here are three en-suite bedrooms, each fully fitted with floor to ceiling cupboards.”
I smiled. All I was seeing, was exactly what I wanted and dreamed of for most of my life. Exactly. There was room for my parents and perhaps, a visit from a friend every so often.
Bianca and I walked into the main bedroom, not sure what to expect but hoping for extraordinary. As though the house could hear the whispers of my heart, it obliged and left me standing gob-smacked and again, as though frozen in time in the doorway of what might become my bedroom.
It must have been the most beautiful bedroom I had ever been introduced to in my entire life. It was massive. Enormous. There was another fireplace in the center of a bedroom wall, and a beautiful, expensive, white shaggy carpet fitted from wall to wall.
The window leading out over the river took up the entire wall, with a door opening onto a little balcony. It was beautiful and perfect.
‘This is definitely where I could watch the sun rise.’
On the opposite wall, there was another window, not as big, but big enough to have a view of the front of the house.
“Over here ...”
Michael pressed a button against the wall that opened a hidden door in the corner of the bedroom. I looked at Bianca who looked questioningly back at me. We excitedly followed Michael inside and stepped into a walk-in closet almost the size of the bedroom.
Again, wall to ceiling shelves and hanging space with little cubes designed for a million pairs of shoes. In the center was an island fitted with drawers all the way around. I was stunned. I felt like a princess.
At the end of the closet was an enormous floor to ceiling mirror. We could all four stand side-by-side, and still, we could not fill that mirror. I was in love.
Off to the side of the mirror was an arch leading into another area. I peeked in and noticed a bathroom fitted with a slipper bath in the dead center of the bathroom, and another fire place in a corner.
“The weather drops significantly out here, so these fireplaces are definitely a God-send.” Even though I was sold on the cottage, Michael was still adamant to fulfil his sales pitch.
He was right. Willow County’s winters were brutal with severe snowstorms more often than not. The river was known to freeze over for at least two months in winter and is opened as an ice-skating rink for six weeks during that time.
It was beautiful out here. The trees were lined with Fraser Furs and were all beautifully decorated during Christmas, which as it turns out, was when snow falls were at its heaviest.
“I love it, Michael ... what is this place going for?”
“Like I said, Ally ... it’s a steal and if you want, we can fill out the paperwork right now for you.”
“When can I move in?”
“Well, the moment your mortgage is approved, seven to twenty-one days.”
“I don’t need a mortgage, Michael ... you know that?”
I didn’t need the loan. When Max died, my father transferred all his life insurance payouts over to me, some of which paid for the apartment. I just never wanted to spend the rest of Max’s money and other than buying my car, it just sat in the bank gaining interest. I was earning a decent living with the museum and never needed to touch much of Max’s money until I stepped into the cottage in Weeping Willow Drive.
“Would you put the apartment on the market, please?’
“Sure. So, I guess, once you’ve paid, you could be in within seven days.”
“Send me an invoice and I’ll do it tonight. I’d like to move in on Saturday, if you don’t mind arranging it like that?”
“Sure. Would you like me to recommend a moving company?”
“No. I’m not bringing anything from the apartment except for a few personal items. You can sell it furnished. Just check with the detectives on the case whether they can release the apartment, and be sure to arrange for a cleaning crew ...”
“Ooh Ally! New beginnings!”
I sniggered and felt a little superior to Michael. I was his client for a change, and I was the one with the money which meant, I had authority over him, for the first time in my life.
I was excited to begin a whole new chapter without one-night or one-afternoon encounters with strange, sensual men in a beautiful new cottage. That part of my life was over, and I was eager to put it behind me only a few months after it began. I was still Ally Bradshaw – reluctantly single.
“Oh, before I forget ...”
Michael walked up to me and handed me an envelope.
“It’s our wedding invitation. The weekend after next.”
Michael and Lily. Getting married. Wow. It was truly happening. I couldn’t help but feel a slight flutter in my heart.
“I’d be happy to attend, Michael ...”
“It’s for you and a partner ...”
“Thanks.”
When Bianca and I made our way back outside, we turned around and glanced back at the cottage.
“You have one more week off, Ally ... all that furniture shopping.”
“I’ll just get someone ... what do you call those people that buy furniture for you?”
“Interior designer?”
“Yep. That’s it!”
“That, my friend, is not going to happen. Give me your budget, and I’ll have everything sorted by the time you move in on Saturday. I’ll also swing by the apartment and get your personal belongings for you ...”
“You’re too eclectic for me, Bianca. All those colors in your life and your mind ...”
“Sheez, Ally ... just trust me.”
I gazed at Bianca. She knew me well enough to know how to furnish my home. I was so not in the mood for any of the shopping involved, and besides, what was the worst that could happen? Reds. Blues. Greens. I was willing to take that chance.
“Alright. Creams. Greys. Fawn. Light browns. This is a cottage. Oh, and you’d have to get the keys from Michael personally, I’m not going to ...”
I couldn’t help but giggle at the very thought of Bianca biting her lip, holding her tongue and asking Michael for the keys to 147 Weeping Willow Drive.
“Whatever.”
We returned to Bianca’s cottage almost twenty minutes later and spent the remainder of the day slouching around on her living room couches, watching movie after movie.
Bianca would fill bowls of crisps and popcorn, while I would refill our hot chocolate on the hour, every hour. We both must have dosed off in her living room when my phone rang suddenly, breaking the eerie silence and awakening us from what felt like a deep sleep. It was Daniel. My heart smiled and just about skipped a beat.
“Daniel?”
“Hey ... you okay?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“It’s after ten ... I was just checking ...”
“After ten? Really?”
I glanced down at my wrist watch and was suddenly wide awake.
“You haven’t forgotten our meeting with Damon tomorrow?”
“No. Sheez ... I didn’t realize the time. I’m on my way ...”
“Alright. Drive safe.”
Drive safe. My heart.
I gently shook Bianca and when she peeked at me through her sleepy eyes, I smirked, “We fell asleep. I have to go ...”
“Is it morning?”
Bianca. So typical of her to be so completely disoriented.
“No, it’s still today. Just after ten. I must go ... besides, I have to make the payment for the house ...”
“Okay. Drive safe, Ally. Thanks for spending the day with me ... I am going to sleep now.”
“You’ll arrange the keys with Michael, right?”
“Urgh ...”
WHEN I REACHED DANIEL’S apartment six floors up, he was standing in the doorway as I softly tiptoed my way to his front door.
“Daniel?”
“I was worried that something happened ...”
“No. I’m fine. Bianca and I just spent the day watching movies and we both just dosed off ...”
He made way for me to enter, and when he closed the door behind him, I turned back to face him.
“I found a place today ... a cottage at the lake ...”
“Is it safe?”
“It’s quiet. It is so beautiful. I will go so far as to say my dream house. It is exactly the house I thought I’d raise my children in and later, keep my grandchildren for sleepovers.”
“Oh?”
I took his hand and pulled him onto a sofa in his living room.
“It has a beautiful country kitchen. Three bedrooms and a study. I can finally start writing!”
“Writing?”
“I know ... sounds stupid.”
Daniel took my hand and squeezed it, “There’s nothing stupid about that.”
I beamed. Why couldn’t Michael have been more like him?
“So anyway, there are beautiful river views almost all around and the most amazing Christmas trees that line the entire Weeping Willow Drive ... they should have called it Fraser Fur Drive.”
I giggled softly still holding Daniel’s hand.
“Oh, hi Ally ...”
Lucy appeared around the corner with a horrified expression on her face. Daniel immediately let go of my hand and made his way to where she was standing.
“Ally was just telling me about a place she found down by the river.”
“Oh?”
“Yep. I’ll be out of your hair on Saturday.”
“On Saturday? Already?” Why did Daniel look so disappointed?
“Doesn’t it take up to twenty-one days to get a mortgage?”
“I guess ... but I’m ... not taking a mortgage.”
I didn’t know how else to tell Daniel that my beloved brother Max was buying me that house.
“And the apartment?”
“I’ve asked Michael to sell it.”
Daniel nodded before he turned back to Lucy who was dressed in nothing more than one of Daniel’s T-shirts. I cringed and realized that Daniel had probably made love to her only moments before.
“Let’s go to bed.”
Lucy turned away and quickly made her way down the passage and into Daniel’s bedroom.
“There is dinner in the fridge ...”
“I’m okay, thanks.”
When Daniel walked away, I could almost count each and every carved muscle on his back. I was once again, stunned, flabbergasted, amazed, wonderstruck and wholly mesmerized by his physique.
He was like nothing I've ever seen before or ever will ever see again. His body was drool-worthy. His back was sculptured to perfection, instantly giving off the impression that he came out of a Calvin Klein photoshoot.
In the years to come, I know I will never forget the way he looked walking away from me. I just wanted to reach out and touch him. I want to yell out for Daniel to turn around and notice me. Love me. And only me. Instead, I watched him walk away with Lucy, his life-sized Barbie doll. I tiptoed into the guest bedroom and as quietly as I could, I closed the door behind me. Before running a bath, I checked my emails and found the invoice from Michael, which I paid straight away. I was finally the owner of a real home and not an apartment; a beautiful home down by the river, and not a cold, city-dwelling apartment.
The invitation to his wedding peered at me from my handbag. My heart began to flutter again when I pulled it out and slowly opened the envelope.
Michael Bradshaw & Lily Collins cordially invite you to their wedding in Water Hills; blah blah blah.
‘Water Hills? Really?’
I was not quite ready to go back to Water Hills so soon, and secretly wondered if that wasn’t the perfect opportunity to back out of the wedding.
While staring at the wedding invitation, there was a soft knock on my bedroom door. I folded the invitation and placed it back into my handbag. When I opened the bedroom door, my heart just about hammered right out of my chest. It was Daniel.
“I forgot to mention ... Michael has invited me to his wedding ...”
He whispered, careful so that Lily couldn’t hear.
“Are you kidding?”
“He hand-delivered it today. Something about thanking me for helping you with his drama ...”
“Well, you don’t have to go. I’m not even sure I am going to attend. Besides, the drive to Water Hills is ridiculously long.”
I tried to keep my tone down, but I was growing increasingly anxious that Daniel did not attend Michael’s wedding, or meet my parents. Yet.
“I don’t know? I think it would be kinda cool to meet your parents and see where you come from?”
“Ha ha! Funny.”
“Sleep tight. See you in the morning.”
Daniel chuckled into his sleeve as he turned away. I was pretty sure it was as a result of the horrified expression on my face.
“You too ...”
Not really.
I didn’t want him to sleep tight, or well, anything. I wanted him to sleep next to me which obviously meant no sleep at all.
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