Page 63 of Just Desserts

"You're supposed to be off today, let Trevor do his job." I replied quickly and heard Sully's exasperated sigh.

"ANYWAY. The reason I called is slightly less exciting. There's been some movement with Isla's ex and I wanted to give you a heads up."

"What did that jackass do now?" I sighed, leaning back against the counter. I was enjoying my time with Isla and I didn't want anything to ruin that.

"He moved in with the viper." Sully replied.

"Really? I thought things ended with them?" I said.

Sully had been keeping tabs on Alyssa and she hadn't been to Jonathan's house in a while. We knew Jonathan was at home since he hadn't gone into work for over a week.

"Well it looks like they're starting back up again. His house sold, he got rid of all the furniture, packed up his shit and dragged his drunk ass to her place. With the amount of luggage he brought with him, it would appear the lucky couple has reunited."

"Is this good news or bad news?" I asked, honestly confused how to feel about it.

"Not sure yet. Good news is the house sold so Isla will get her half and that's one less tie to Jonathan. Those two shits living together though? I can't help but assume there will be an upcoming implosion. Lets just make sure your girl is far from it."

"Okay. Thanks again man, I'm sorry you had to work on yourday off"

"Don't be, was happy to have something to do. Look there's no reason to tell Isla right now we don't even know if he's gonna last the night there without Alyssa kicking him out or killing him. I just wanted to give you a heads up. With them in the same place now it will be easier to keep an eye on them."

"Yeah, you're right. Okay thanks again Sully."

"Of course, now go see to your girl, tell her that I'll be personally insulted if you're not sent in with some treats for me this week." I laughed at his blatant guilt trip but knew he wasn't kidding. Sully was addicted to all things chocolate and especially loved Isla's brownies.

"Will do. Later Sully." We hung up and I gathered the popcorn along with a fresh soda for Isla. I put everything on the coffee table before sitting back down on the couch, dragging Isla's feet into my lap. She looked up at me and smiled when she saw the snacks.

"Is Sully OK?" She asked, her eyes filling with warmth.

"Yep all good. He was calling to see if a certain baker we know would grant his wish for brownies at the office this week." Isla giggled as she sat up reaching for the popcorn bag and adjusted herself so she was against my side.

"That can be arranged. I have to come by tomorrow anyway so we can start planning for the Gala. Are you sure you're okay with hosting it? I know Grams is hard to say no to."

"I think it's a great idea. You're Grams is a hoot so I would do it for her regardless but I'm happy to host it and love that we get to plan it together. I mean, it only makes sense to plan the party with my favorite person." I gave her a cheesy smile and she slapped my chest. I grabbed her hand and kissed it beforepulling her back into my side.

If only Isla knew, I would do just about anything for her. She wasn't just my person, she was my everything. I was hoping I would be able to tell her soon enough because I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep it to myself. I was hopelessly, undeniably in love with Isla Graham, and I had never been happier.

Chapter 44

Jonathan

Since that day on the courthouse steps, when I watched Isla leap into her new life without me, things had only gotten worse. My realtor had found a buyer for the house and I had to get packed and moved out by the first of the month. I had done nothing to prepare and instead used the last of my vacation days to take time off, wandering around the house drowning my sorrows.

I would stop and stare at photos, wondering how we could get so far from the happy couple featured in the frames. The ones at home were unharmed and that almost made them more difficult to look at. Even though she replaced them all back in my office, Alyssa had ruined those photos with her half ass cleaning attempt.

All of the pictures had rolled up inside the expensive Waterford frames, curling in on themselves as if ashamed to be seen in my space. Another example of Alyssa tainting something that was once beautiful, I trashed them all after the court date anyway. I had no idea what to do about Alyssa, but I couldn't bring myself to ask my parents to let me stay with them.

Especially since I wasn't sure if they were gonna force the issue of paying them back for the mortgage. Hoping to stay under their radar I had caved and accepted that I would indeed have to succumb to Alyssa. After all the damage she's done, she owes me this. I just needed a place to stay and nothing more, I toldmyself, drowning the last of this bottle.

The next few days passed in a haze of alcohol and emotional fits. I vaguely remember throwing clothes into my suitcases but when it came to packing up the personal effects in the house I crumbled each time. I would find a picture or a souvenir from a trip and all of my mistakes would come rushing through me, bringing me to my knees. The fact that Isla didn't want any of this, that she would be okay with everything in this house going to the dump shattered me.

I took a suitcase and threw a blanket on the bottom then I filled it with photos, trinkets, anything and everything I could find that would remind me of Isla, keep the memories of our love alive. A bottle of perfume she left behind, the robe she wore every night when she did her silly skin care routine.

Photos, jewelry, snow globes, even an old college sweatshirt, all were remnants of our life together. Faster than I realized, the case was stacked to the brim with tokens of my marriage, of a lifetime that ended too quickly. I had no one to blame but myself, and Alyssa. I closed my eyes, slumping to the ground next to the open suitcase.

In a last bid to gain some control over my life, I managed to arrange for an estate sale so I could get some money back from everything in the house. I didn't have a place of my own, and I had no desire to bring anything from my life with Isla into Alyssa's apartment. On the day of the estate sale, I locked myself in my empty office having moved all the furniture to the main level of the house for people to view. I couldn't be down there, watching random people, potential happy couples taking the items and living the life I threw away.

Instead, I chose to sit alone with a bottle and my suitcase of Isla memorabilia. I held back sobs, as I went through it all. Nine years reduced to one suitcase. Now more than ever it wasclear to me that Isla was the love of my life, that we had the type of great love people write novels and poems about, she was everything I wanted and more. The deeper that knowledge sunk into me, the more evident her disregard became.

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