Snapshot (Lessons in Love Book 2)

I never thought a suit would be my type, but watching my husband all put together in his nice button-down, business slacks, and a matching tie kind of has my stomach flipping. I stare at him in the backseat of our ride, blinking heavily as a wave of desire rushes through me.

“What?” he asks, studying my face.

I flutter my eyelashes at him. “Nothing,” I mumble.

He exhales and sets his phone aside. “Len, we’ll get you a car. When Denny gets back, she’ll call our usual dealer and have them bring some options over. And I know you don’t like being chauffeured around, but I like to work on the commutes. Maybe it means I can get out of the office five minutes faster and home to you.”

I place my hand on his thigh. “It’s not a problem, Mr. Hessler.”

He smirks. “You only call me that when you want rough sex.”

“Look at you, reading between the lines this morning.” My hand creeps up an inch higher.

Joe clears his throat from the front seat. “Sir, we’re here. Right up front.” I look out the window to see the grand entrance to the Hessler Group corporate headquarters. It looks more like a palace made from glass windows than a corporate office.

“Thanks, Joe,” Dex says, “Throw the hazards on. We need a minute. Also, I’d recommend you close the partition now.”

Laughing, Joe presses a button, and the partition automatically closes. When I asked Joe if we could switch from a limousine to a less ostentatious car, I wasn’t expecting an upgrade. The outside of the SUV looks somewhat normal, but the inside of this luxury stretch Escalade looks like a swanky lounge. There are even swiveling trays that pull out to set up a laptop or tablet. I’m assuming it’s so Dex can complete private meetings while he’s traveling, but it bothers me his schedule is packed so tight that he can’t just sit down and relax for a fifteen-minute commute. Every second of his day is accounted for.

“My insatiable, kinky wife, I thought I handled you thoroughly last night. At this point, I’m going to have to start bringing in mechanical support.”

I laugh. “I guess happiness makes me horny.” I kiss his cheek.

“As much as I’d love to pull your panties to the side and fuck you senseless in this car right now”—he turns his wrist—“I have a video conference in twelve minutes.”

“I thought that meeting you’re dragging me to isn’t until ten-thirty.”

He chuckles. “I’m not dragging you to anything. The weekly leadership meeting is technically the CEO’s meeting. Your meeting, baby.”

I roll my eyes. “Dex, everyone knows you’re the one who’s actually in charge. Don’t patronize me.”

Hooking his finger under my chin, he turns my face so he can hold my gaze. “Today, I’m announcing to the executive team that we’re moving forward with the ‘Once in a Lifetime’ idea for Luxe Cruises. We’re going to start in-house fundraising for a mega-marketing plan. Our CFO has already assessed the numbers, and if everything goes off without a hitch, this endeavor could save a division and a lot of jobs. I want you to wrap your head around that.”

I raise my brow. “Around what?”

“This idea is going to save jobs, create opportunities, and benefit a lot of charities. Everything has a trickle effect. Not only can it change the industry, but ideas like this can also change a lot of people’s lives for the better. Your idea.”

“Is it, though? Because I don’t know how to navigate the business stuff. Just because I said a concert in the middle of the ocean would be cool doesn’t make me a business mogul. This isn’t my wheelhouse and I’m trying to be a help, not a hindrance. I honestly think it’s best in these meetings that I sit back and let the professionals do their thing. They’ll probably like me more if I don’t get in the way.”

“I don’t care how you got here. You’re here.” Dex shakes his head. “Be loud. Lean in. Take your seat at the head of the table. I want the whole room to know when my wife speaks, it’s time to sit down and listen. You have what most people in this industry don’t. Better priorities. You have so much more potential than you realize. You know what Grandma used to tell me?”

“What?”

“You can teach numbers, but you can’t teach heart.” He touches his lips to mine. “You’ve already got all the stuff you need. The team is going to love you, I promise.”

I hike up my new business pencil skirt and climb on Dex’s lap.

“Woman,” he says, looking at his watch again. “What’d I just say? Meeting in now eight minutes. I have to get to my office.”

I stroke against his growing bulge. “Can you skip it?” I whisper-growl in my most seductive voice.

“No. It’s with Peak Publications. A personal vendetta, if you will.”

“What do you mean?”

His eyes narrow. “I don’t take kindly to people fucking with my wife. I’m going to buy the company and then fire Kat. Then, I’m going to call up all my new publication partners and blackball her from the entire industry. When I’m done with Kat, she won’t even be allowed to publish on a Reddit forum.”

An uncomfortable pang flashes through my body. Yes, I’m furious. I was taken advantage of, manipulated, and bullied. The petty side of me wants revenge and to see her suffer. But what would that really get me? She hurt me. I hurt her. Then we’re just all hurting… Not to mention, I made a promise to my dad.

“How much are you buying the company for?”

Dex raises his brows. “A substantial amount. Suddenly, you’re interested in numbers?”

“I just want to know how much revenge is worth to you?”

He nods, wrapping his arms around me, then rubbing the small of my back. “Don’t you want a man who defends you?”

I shake my head. “No, I want a man who tells me to rise above. I’m not interested in petty games. Let Kat spew her poison. Let the world judge and laugh. I realized after everything my dad went through, it’s usually the most miserable, insecure people who have the loudest opinions and want the biggest say in other people’s lives.” I shake my head. “Let’s not be those people. Let Kat learn her own lessons. It’ll catch up to her one day and I want no part of it. I want bigger and better things than revenge.”

“Such as?”

“A family. A future. Our happily ever after. I want Dottie to be proud of us.”

His eyes shift down and to the left. For a moment, it’s just the sound of our breathing and muted chatter outside the car window as Hessler Group employees make their way into the building. “You remind me so much of her,” Dex finally says.

“Your grandma?”

Dex shakes his head. “My mom. What I remember of her, anyway.” He touches my cheek, then my lips. “Okay, my sweet wife. What do you want me to do?”

“Don’t buy Peak. Take the money and donate it to something that can help people. Let some good come out of all this.”

Dex nods. “You got it. Pick a cause. I’ll sign a check to whomever you want, baby.”

I kiss his forehead before climbing off his lap.

“Wait, now that my next meeting is canceled…” He grips the bulge in his pants. “Come here.”

Bridging my hips, I smooth out my skirt. “Well, now I have important work to do. I need to go research some charities before my next meeting.”

He rolls his eyes. “It can wait.”

I open the passenger door then wink over my shoulder. “Have your people call my people, Mr. Hessler. We’ll try to pencil you in for this afternoon.”

He’s still chuckling as I exit the car.

I almost forgot about Dottie’s letters. Last week was such a shitstorm that the cream-colored box completely slipped my mind until I returned to her office—my new office—and saw the box sitting where I left it last Monday.

The mystery calls me. Dex…with Jacob’s eyes. Could it be? I need a picture of Dex’s mother. The snapshot of Dottie and Jacob together isn’t enough. Of course, they were lovers…but did they produce a child? Is Dex a Hessler…or Hayes? And does he know? It’s a delicate line to toe. I’m not sure if Dottie was keeping secrets from her family or if Dex is keeping secrets from me. There’d be no need. My love is not remotely conditional on Dex’s last name. If I had it my way, Dex and I would’ve professed our feelings, dated for a while, then got married. I could picture us raising our children in his beautiful Vegas home. Meager to him, but still much too much for me. I’d love to invite my parents over for Sunday barbeques and open up the gate that separates Dex’s yard from Finn’s. That’s my happily ever after. Me and my family. Everybody safe.

Looking at the clock, I have exactly twenty minutes before I’m needed in the grand conference room on the third floor of the campus. Dex’s morning is filled with meetings and reports, but he promised he’d meet me there five minutes early.

With time to kill, I open the first letter on top of the pile.

I was expecting sweet love notes between long-lost friends and lovers. But the first few lines leave me speechless as I realize what a can of worms I’ve opened.

Dear Jacob,

This stack of letters is growing tall, and I’m worried I’ll never find you in time to give them to you. Where in the world are you?

I hope from the bottom of my heart, you’re faring better than I am right now.

I’m struggling with forgiveness.

Harrison had an affair. Apparently, it was a few months after our wedding. More than anything, I’m numb. I wanted to be so angry at him for being unfaithful, but haven’t I been, too? In matters of the heart, I’m just as much of a cheater as Harrison is. My mind is always on you. My heart, still yours.

I thought after some time with Harrison my feelings for you would fade. But it was the opposite. Now that Melody’s here, I feel more tethered to you than ever before, even though I can’t see you or touch you…you’re more real to me than ever.

The woman Harrison slept with…he said it was simply physical. If you want to know the truth about it, we didn’t even consummate our marriage until after Melody was born. He was so scared of a miscarriage. He barely let me walk on my own while I was pregnant with her. So here Harrison was, treating his pregnant wife like a princess while he worked out his primal urges with another woman.

But that’s not all Harrison confessed to this morning. That affair produced a child to a mother who is not fit to be a mother.

Harrison’s parents were furious. They begged me not to make a fuss. Their reputation as American royalty is far more important than actual lives, of course. Apparently, they handled it. From what I understand, the payout was substantial. They paid her to essentially disappear from our lives. Harrison’s indiscretion erased with a hefty deposit.

With the scandal handled, I’m the only wildcard. I suppose I could ruin him if I wanted to, but what good would that do? Maybe I’m supposed to feel brokenhearted, but I suppose I’m not because my heart is safe and sound with you, wherever you are.

If I’m being honest…my mind is on the baby. From the timing, it’d be near Melody’s age. Harrison wants nothing to do with the child…

That innocent little baby deserves a mother who cares and a father who protects it.

What life did we choose, Jacob? We thought we were giving Melody the life she deserved. We chose wrong. She deserved us…together. Parents who loved each other. Poor, happy, and madly in love. That’s what we should’ve given our daughter.

See, when I told you I was struggling with forgiveness…it wasn’t about Harrison. It was about me. That’s why my life is so complicated, Jacob. It’s because I’m living the wrong one.

And I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive myself.

-Dottie

P.S. Love doesn’t seem like a big enough word, but I love you. Always.

I reread the letter two more times to make sure I didn’t miss anything. My heart is racing as my brain connects the dots and fills in the half-drawn picture. Flipping through the letters, I’m frustrated to learn that Dottie didn’t date any of these. All the envelopes are unmarked.

I open a few more and read manically, trying to gather more context—anything to contradict what I read first. But the rest of the letters are a little less scandalous. Some of the envelopes include Polaroids with captions. Melody’s first time at the zoo. Melody’s first spelling bee. Melody’s first car. Melody, six months pregnant. Basically, this box is a memoir. Dottie trying to document parenthood and save a piece of his family for him. A snapshot of the life they were supposed to have together.

She never got a chance to send these. Jacob missed everything.

He died never knowing how much she still loved him.