Chapter 1

I’m Ellen Thornton, née Cassidy. I’m a successful divorce attorney that has made a pretty good living off of other people’s marriage misery. I met my wonderful husband, Jim, in my office as he signed the divorce papers. His ex wife had traded up for rainbows and unicorns offered by another man. The moment my eyes met Jim’s, my heart was his. He was unaware and my legal duty was to represent his wife in the divorce, so I watched from afar as this marriage went the way of so many.

They had been married fifteen years and he loved her. I saw the hurt in his eyes as he signed the papers on the lines I had marked. Angela had rushed into this divorce with her eyes closed and I told her as much. Even so much, as telling her, it’s not too late to undo the damage you’ve done. But her new man was forcing the issue to get into her panties as he had a number of other women in her office. She had been the lone hold out, refusing his advances until the pressure was too much. She finally caved to his attention.

During the final waiting period, I didn’t act on my strong feelings for her soon-to-be Ex. I really gave her every opportunity to reconcile and put her family back together. After a few months, it was obvious my client was still in the honeymoon stage with her new lover so I called Jim and asked if he would meet me. We had a few lunch dates but I still saw that he was hurting over the loss of his family and would be for sometime.

Just as his divorce became final, Jim called me and asked me to dinner. I said yes before he even finished his sentence. As we dined, I excused myself and went to the restroom. When I returned, I saw a woman with her back to me as I approached our table. It was Angela. She was talking to Jim and grinning like a shit eating dog as she was reporting her happy life to him. I turned and said, “Miss me, Sweet Lips” and gave him a kiss. I thought Angela was going to faint as she recognized me. I said hello and reminded her that I had warned her of the consequences of her actions Then I blew her off by telling her to excuse us as I had plans for this handsome man.

Angie was trying to recoup her senses and be polite but I knew she was seething under that facade. She went back to her table where her new man was seated. They watched us as I slipped my shoe off and caressed Jims’s leg with my stocking clad toes under his pants leg. I could see Angie and her man talking. She saw my foot play and soon they left without eating.

Well, I did have plans for Mr. Thornton and executed those plans over and over til the wee hours of the morning. I awoke full of Jim’s semen. I had sex with a number of men in my life and might even have been considered a slut at one time but it was different with Jim. I was in love. When he awoke, I was sitting on the bed looking at him. I told him I could get used to this.

Jim and I were together when we weren’t working or he had a function with his daughters. I think Jim saw us as just Friends with Benefits as we fucked like bunnies hard and often. I did my best to hide my feelings even telling him that I wasn’t marriage material, still trying to see if he was interested in reconciling with his wife. After several months, Angela saw her paramour for what he is and had apparently unceremoniously dumped what she thought was the love of her life. Not so much on his part. Apparently there were reports of infidelity on his part and the little STD he had bestowed upon her.

Angela pulled out all the stops to get Jim back. She persuaded Jim to begin dating her again and he eventually moved back into the house with his family trying to make it work. I sadly supported his effort to put the life he knew back together. I loved him with all my heart but his happiness was more important if being back with his family gave that to him.

I watched from a distance as Jim tried to put his family back together. Angela found that Jim was not the same man she married after her betrayal. Something was lost and they didn’t seem to be able to get it back. Eight months later, he moved out and I was knocking on his door.

Jim opened the door to his apartment. I said, “Jim, Remember? Just as I said, I’m knocking on your door.”

He said, “As I recall, I told you to not come knocking unless you were committed.”

I told him I loved him and that I had been with no other man since we met. I was his if he wanted me.

He said, “Excuse me but I still I don’t hear an answer.”

At first, I didn’t understand.

He said, “On the plane that day. I asked you to marry me.”

Those words were the ones I had longed to hear.