“He may not always be right, but he loves you more than his own life, and he would do anything to protect you.”
Tears began to fill my eyes as I looked up to keep them from falling. I walked over to where Denny was standing, and I gave him a hug.
“I love him more than life too,” I whispered in his ear.
Denny kissed me on the cheek and smiled. “Go on and get out of here.”
Smiling back, I turned away and walked down the street to the café where I was meeting Peyton. Upon arrival, I stepped inside and saw her sitting down at a table.
“There you are. What took you so long?” she asked.
“Ugh. I’ve had a bad morning, thanks to my husband,” I said as I dug for my phone in my purse.
“What did he do? He’s too perfect to cause you to have a bad day.”
“Hold on, I need to text him.”
“I just wanted you to know that I don’t think you’re an asshole and I love you.”
Within seconds, a reply from him came through. “I love you too and we’ll talk when I get home. See if Mason can watch Julia tonight and we’ll go out; just the two of us.”
“Elle, what’s wrong? You look like you’re stressed,” Peyton said as she pushed a cup of coffee towards me.
“Connor’s been under a lot of pressure with this trial, and he’s been uptight and irritable lately. I need to do something.”
“What do you want to do?”
I had the idea in my head that if I went to the jail and paid a visit to Ashlyn that maybe we could talk, woman to woman, and I could convince her to change her plea. I know, wishful thinking, but it was worth a try.
“Are you busy tomorrow?” I asked as I looked at Peyton.
“No, why? What are you planning to do?” she asked with knitted eyebrows.
“I want to go to the jail and pay Ashlyn a little visit.”
Peyton’s eyes widened. “Are you fucking crazy?!” she voiced rather loudly.
“Peyton! Keep your voice down!”
“Sorry, but you’re crazy. Connor will kill you, Elle.”
“I’ll handle Connor, and he won’t know anyway. I just want to pay a friendly visit, woman to woman.”
Peyton kept shaking her head. I knew she didn’t agree with me, but she was the only person I could trust.
“Whatever, Ellery. I’ll go with you, but I don’t agree.”
“Thank you.” I smiled.
We got up from our seats and headed to the bridal shop for our fitting. As I saw Peyton step out of the dressing room in her wedding dress, my eyes began to fill with tears. She looked stunning, and it reminded me of the day Connor and I were married. I hated the way we left things, and I needed to stop by Black Enterprises to see him. As the tailor was pinning my dress, I called Mason to check on Julia. I missed her terribly.
“Hello, doll face. If you’re calling about the princess, she’s wonderful. We’re getting ready to go to the park.”
“Hi, Mason. I’m calling to see if you could babysit her tonight while Connor and I go out.”
“Of course I can. I’ll watch her at my place and then Landon can have some Julia time too!”
“Thanks. I’ll be home in a while,” I said as I hung up.
***
I told Peyton we needed to stop at Connor’s office for a minute because I needed to pick something up. She gave me a look of disbelief. I never could pull anything over on her. We stepped off the elevator and headed down the hallway towards Connor’s office. Valerie was sitting at her desk.
“Hi, Ellery.” She smiled as she looked up at me.
“Hi, Valerie. Is he in there?”
“Yes, he is. Do you want me to tell him you’re here?”
“No, I’ll surprise him.”
“He’s in a mood today,” she said.
“I know he is,” I said as I put my hand on the handle. “Peyton, I’ll only be a few minutes.”
I slowly turned the handle and opened the door. Connor was looking down at some papers.
“Valerie, I thought I gave strict instructions that I didn’t want to be bothered,” he said in an irritated tone without looking up.
“Even for your wife?” I smiled.
Connor looked up and a smile lit up his face. He got up from his desk and walked towards me. I subtly locked the office door and met him halfway across the room. As I approached him, he wrapped his arms tightly around me.
“What are you doing here, baby?”
“I just needed to hug you and tell you that I’m sorry for everything that happened today.”
“Baby, there’s no need to apologize. I’m the one who’s sorry,” he said as he rubbed his cheek through my hair. “Where’s Peyton? I thought you had plans with her.”
“She’s waiting outside the office. I told her I’d be quick.” I smiled as I started to unbuckle his belt.
Connor’s smile grew as he looked at me. “Make up sex, eh?”
“You bet, and I can’t wait until tonight,” I said as I unbuttoned his pants, took them down, and pushed him on the couch.
He sat there staring at me as I did a little strip dance. “Oh, God, Elle.”
As I smiled and climbed on top of him, he grabbed my hips and gently eased me down onto him.