Chapter 16 – Love at First Sight: From Stranger to Soulmate

Since the nightof the reception when Natalie put him in his place and he realized how much of an ass he’d been, the awkwardness between them faded. They grew steadily closer, talking more when he was home from the office and working towards building a more solid relationship. The kiss they shared that night on the bridge, before she made them fall into the water, was the last one they’d had so far, and he was anxious for another one.

“Are you listening to me at all?” Billy said, tapping Vincent’s desk with his pen.

“Sorry. I’m distracted.”

“I can tell. She’s really gotten under your skin, hasn’t she?”

Vincent smiled, folding his arms over his stomach as he leaned back in his chair. “Isn’t that what most wives should do to their husbands?”

Billy frowned, but then a smirk broke out across his face. “It is nice to see you so happy,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry, what was that?’

“You heard me, you asshole. Don’t push it.”

“Only because you wanted me to divorce her,” he added.

“Yeah, well, we didn’t know who she was.”

“Speaking of which,” Vincent asked as he sat back up, “did you get the background check? I assumed there was nothing bad, which is why you neglected to tell me.”

Billy nodded as he reached into his briefcase on the floor and drew out a few papers. “Nothing, really. She has no record, never been in trouble. The only thing mentioned on Natalie Jenkins at all are her commendations for graduating Texas A&M with honors and the car accident before that.”

“This is the accident?” Vincent’s hand hesitated before he flipped open the file folder. A few times, he’d tried to get her to open up about it, but she must be used to that from other people. She was a master at avoiding his questions and changing the subject before he even realized what had happened. “Did you read it?”

“Regrettably,” he muttered. “You might want a glass of whiskey when you read it.” He checked his watch and tucked the rest of his papers away. “I have to get downtown and set up for your talk tonight. You’re still good to go?”

“Yeah. I told Natalie she could sit this one out.”

“You sure? She’s been a hit so far, by the way. I’m not sure if you saw the paper the day after your reception. That shot of you two in the water is all over social media. People love her,” Billy announced loudly, throwing his arms up in the air. “If she wasn’t your wife, I’d have to kiss her for saving your sorry butt that night.”

Vincent bobbed his head in agreement. “See you tonight, man.”

Billy left the office, and Vincent was left with all the information the man had gathered on Natalie Jenkins. In all the times they spoke, she never mentioned her time in school or what she taught as a professor, and he was too caught up with all this election campaign crap to think of asking. He opened the folder and skimmed the first page of her background report. There was nothing of concern on her, so he set that page aside and turned to the next. Billy had made a note of her two degrees, a Bachelors and Masters, but didn’t say what they were for. After that was the accident report, news articles, and pictures from the paper, and Vincent nearly lost it. His mouth fell open as he found the image of her car after it rolled six times down the hill and landed at the bottom in a creek. The next article reported what happened and the injuries suffered by the victim, by his Natalie.

The injury to her head was severe, but it was what he read after that nearly made him throw the folder aside and rush home to see her. The car caught fire while she was still inside, and the rescuers struggled to get her out. Her entire back, the upper part of her buttocks, the backs of her arms to her elbows, and part of her neck suffered severe burns. She was in the hospital for a very, very long time. It was a miracle she managed to graduate with honors for her masters, albeit a semester behind.

“Now that is not the look I like to see on my son’s face.” Doris walked into his office and rested her hand on his cheek. “What’s wrong? You look like you’re going to be sick.”

“It’s nothing,” Vincent muttered and tried to close the folder, but Doris was too fast and turned it to face her. “Mother, don’t. It’s not pleasant.”

She shushed him, and he watched her eyes widen as she skimmed through the words. “My, this happened to Natalie? That sweet girl? Good Lord, no wonder she has that look of defeat in her eyes sometimes.”

“What do you mean?” He thought she’d been happy since the reception.

“Every now and then, there’s a glimmer, but I think being around you is helping her as much as you being around her is returning my happy son to me. Now, when are you two coming over for dinner?”

“I was going to call you,” Vincent said as he tucked the folder away. His gut twisted and his hands itched to hold Natalie close to assure himself she was safe and sound. The burn scars…he thought about their time together and realized he’d never seen her back, and she never wore shirts that didn’t cover her arms to her elbows.

“Call me about what?” Doris walked around his office and picked up a mint from the bowl on the corner of his desk. “Vinnie?”

“Huh? Sorry, right. I was going to call you to invite you over for dinner. Natalie is one hell of a cook. She said she wouldn’t mind having more people to cook for,” he explained.

“Do I get to bring a date?” she asked with a wink.

“If you must. I’m sure Natalie won’t mind.”

Doris crossed her legs and leaned on the front of her son’s desk. “So you and the website wife are getting along then? Nothing I need to be worried about?”

“If you’re trying to ask if we’ve had sex yet, the answer is no,” Vincent grumbled. “And please, for all the love you have for me, do not mention grandkids at dinner. We’re taking this slow, remember? We only met two weeks ago, after all.”

“Eh, if it’s meant to be it’ll happen.”

Vincent checked the clock on his desk. Four more hours before he would leave for the day and then another two before he would actually get home and see Natalie. She’d offered to come tonight, but she had gone to the last few functions and meet and greets with him. The actual events weren’t the problem, it was the car trips that were getting to her. For two years, she said she was maybe in the car once a month. Her sister was able to get groceries for her, and most other things, she ordered online. He wanted her by his side, but pushing her to the point of tearing down what stability she had was not his intention. His mind rushed back to the accident report and he stood up from his desk.

“Where are you going?” Doris asked.

“I am taking a half day because I feel like it,” Vincent told her. “Dinner tomorrow night?”

“I think that will be perfect. We’ll see you at seven.” Doris winked at her son as she left his office first, humming happily under her breath.

“Whatever you’re thinking, Mother, just stop it.”

“I’m thinking about that night with you two on the bridge and the whiskey bottle they found floating through the garden later,” she mused. “I’m curious is all. Very curious.”

Vincent’s cheeks heated, but it was the growing want in his lower belly for a woman who cared about him and his career as much as he was beginning to care for her. Today, things would change. He wanted to know more about her and would take the time to do it the right way. After he told his assistant he was leaving early, he drove to the local flower shop and sought the help of the young florist there.

“Good afternoon, sir, what can I help you with today?” the woman asked cheerfully.

“Yes, I’m hoping to put together a bouquet for my wife…something different.”

“I think I can help with that. What type of woman is she?”

Vincent froze, licking his lips nervously as he tried to think of how to describe Natalie. “Well, she’s beautiful, even though she doesn’t know it,” he started, and the woman nodded, moving slowly through the shop with him following. “She’s strong—stronger than me—and she makes me…I’m sorry, that’s probably inappropriate.”

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