Complete Me - eBook

Do you ever know someone completely…

Three men—confident, admired, intensely cherished, and respected.

The women who love them, different in so many ways—a mother, an eccentric, and a wife all deeply connected by the men they adore.

They think they’re complete.

The truth is harder.

The past reveals all, secrets unveiled, and a wedding for all ages sees everyone feeling solace. 

This generational story is filled with heartache, but every story needs a happy ending to complete us…

Mike

It’s funny, when I used to hear lovers talk about how their partner completed them, I always thought it was a bunch of bullshit. I also never thought I’d turn into one of those people. You see, this all started nearly three years ago. Well, let’s be honest, Callie and I truly began when we were about sixteen years old, but I’ve digressed.

Three years ago, I finally got what I’ve been waiting for my entire life. The return of love and affection from my lifelong sweetheart, Callie. It was at Aiden and Jeni’s wedding where the ball really started rolling, which has landed me where I am right now.

Where’s that you ask?

Well, I’m standing here waiting for my sweetheart and absolutely shitting myself.

What if she says no?

What if she doesn’t want a second chance at marriage—with me?

What if this all blows up in my face, and she decides that she doesn’t want to be with me anymore?

I’ll lose the love of my life. And if I lose Callie again, I lose everything.

Goddammit, I’m freaking out.

Hold it together, old man!

I know Aiden indicated she’d say yes, but I’ve never asked a woman to marry me before.

What if I do it wrong or it’s not romantic enough?

Exhaling forcefully, I try to expel all my overactive thoughts while rubbing the back of my neck. As I wait, my mind wanders back to when I first thought of asking for Callie’s hand. I’d been thinking about it for, well, my entire life. But if the truth be told, it was mainly for a couple of weeks before Aiden and Jeni’s wedding.

At their reception, I noticed they’d disappeared, so I went looking for them. Their guests were starting to wonder where they were. I knew they’d be off somewhere enjoying some alone time, but I’d built up the courage to ask Aiden, and I needed to do it then and there otherwise I’d probably back out or be shit out of luck.

Aiden has a funny way of showing his approval of my love for his mother—sometimes he’s ecstatic about it, and other times, it’s like he’s trying to make me think he isn’t happy about our relationship. I think mostly he’s stirring the pot, but I can never tell.

Searching for Aiden and Jeni, I found them in the first place I looked—they were sharing a moment alone as I thought they would be. I didn’t really want to interrupt, but I’d grown some balls and decided it was now or never.

I cleared my throat to gain their attention as they were locked in a steamy embrace. I couldn’t hide my smirk when Aiden took his lips from Jeni’s and turned around to glare at me.

“Sorry to interrupt, but your guests are wondering where you both escaped to,” I questioned, and Aiden chuckled. He reached for Jeni’s hand and went to leave. My stomach was in knots, and honestly, I felt like I needed to be physically ill, but like I said, it was now or never.

Callie means everything to me, so I took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Before you go, Aiden, I wanted to ask you something if you have a moment?” I asked with conviction even though I felt like I was going to pass out—Aiden’s approval meant absolutely everything to me.

“Sure, Mike, fire away,” Aiden said, with a gigantic smile beaming across his face, which immediately eased the tension.

I gulped in some air and needed to do something with my hands because I couldn’t stop fidgeting, so I straightened my tie and cleared my throat. I don’t think I’d ever been that nervous in my life. If Aiden didn’t give his blessing, well, I didn’t know what I would’ve done.

I took in a deep breath and let it all come out as quickly as I could. “Okay, so here goes… Callie is the love of my life, she always has been. I was forced to take a back seat when her parents shut me out, and I wasn’t allowed to see her. Then your father came along…” I paused for a few reflective seconds. “I’ve loved Callie from afar, and I never thought I’d have the opportunity to be with her. I won’t let another minute go by where I’m without her.  Aiden…  Callie means everything to me. She always has and always will…” I inhaled deeply preparing myself, “…I guess what I’m trying to say is… Aiden… do I have your blessing to ask Callie to marry me?” I questioned, and somehow had the courage to keep eye contact with Aiden the entire time.

He smiled so wide, making me instantly relax, and before I knew what was happening, Aiden lunged and embraced me tightly. I laughed and hugged him back. The relief I felt at that moment was immeasurable.

Aiden was happy.

I thought maybe it was too soon after Niall’s untimely death to be asking this question.

At least it looked like Aiden approved, and that made me the happiest man on earth.

“Mike, I’m so happy for you both. You’ve no idea. Could this day get any better? Of course, you can marry Mom. And thank you for asking. Although you didn’t need to. I absolutely give you both my blessing, and I know Bree and Killian will too. They love you just as much as I do,” Aiden said as he let me go.

It was so hard to contain my emotion. The young man in front of me who I couldn’t love any more if I tried, had just given his approval for me to marry his mother. And even though I had no intention of proposing any time soon—it wouldn’t be proper for me to place Callie in that position due to Niall’s recent departure—at least I knew when the time was right, I’d ask Callie to marry me, and nothing would stand in our way.

I held back my tears because grown men don’t cry and looked at Aiden.

“Thank you so much, Aiden. You don’t know what this means to me. You have just made an old man very happy,” I stated and patted Aiden’s arm. “Well, you should probably get back to your reception, everyone is waiting for you.”

Then the beautiful Jeni leaned in and hugged me.

“Thanks, Mike, for everything,” Aiden said, shocking me.

Really, he was thanking me?

I should be thanking him. He gave me the one thing I so desperately craved more than anything, the most significant gift this man could receive—the permission to marry his mother.

“You’re welcome. Oh, and Aiden?”

“Yeah?”

“You have lipstick on your mouth,” I remarked as I walked past them.

Aiden seems to always have Jeni’s lipstick on him. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to tell him to wipe it off. It’s a good thing, I suppose, it proves how utterly in love they are. But, then again, anyone with eyes can tell simply by the way they are with each other. I’m so glad they worked through everything and found their way back because they’re so right for each other.

That was three years ago, and the memory is as fresh now as it was back then. I mean, I am getting on in age, but I’m not senile. Well, not yet. I guess to understand how much I adore Callie, you need to know our story from the very beginning. Back to when we first met…  

THEN

… Callie was fifteen, and I was sixteen. Being from a more impoverished family, my parents were always seen as lower-class people. Back in those days, class meant everything, and my family didn’t even register on the scale because we were that poor. So, I tried to work with my father doing carpentry and odd jobs here and there to help financially.

Being fond of cars and motorbikes, I went along to the dirt bike races when I was in my mid-teens. I found myself being welcomed with open arms into a group of young males, who were seen as poor but had enough money and no sense to race their bikes. They taught me everything I know about engines, and I spent nearly every day with the group of guys I called my brothers.

Douglas was the ‘leader’ of the group, I guess you could say. He had all the girls around him wherever we went. I idolized him as I’d never even held hands with a girl, let alone gone ‘all the way’ with one like he had many times with many different girls—well, so he said, and I had no reason to think otherwise. He told us about this new girl he’d seen at the local park near the barn on old-man Harris’ farm. She was prim and proper and completely not like the other girls Doug would typically go for. He told us he wanted to try his luck with a rich girl.

It was all about sex with him. He didn’t care about the girls. At all. Once he’d had his way with them, they were gone, and he was onto his next conquest. This wasn’t my style, but to keep up with the cool kids, I played along and pretended to be one of them.

We arrived at the park, she was there with a guy who also looked like he had money, and they were having a picnic. It was easy to see he was interested in her, but she really didn’t show any signs of reciprocation other than friendship.

“That’s her, that’s the next chick I’m going to lay,” Doug exclaimed, and I cringed inwardly. Even though I’d never been with a girl, the thought of being with multiple partners simply for the fun of it, and not because you loved them, didn’t sit well or make sense to me. When I went all the way with a girl, it would be because she’s the one I’m meant to be with.

“Hey gorgeous, why not dump the douche and hang with some real men?” Doug called out as we approached.

She smirked, and instantly I was drawn to her—her smile, the way her blonde locks fell over her shoulders—it did things to me that I didn’t even know were possible. I felt a twinge in my pants, but luckily, I kept it under control. She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever laid my eyes on, and for the first time in my life, I actually wanted someone.

“I beg your pardon, I am not a douche, thank you very much. She’s hanging with a real man, not some gutter trash shit like you guys,” her friend chided so smugly, his toffy tone made me want to laugh in his face.

Her smile never faltered, and as our eyes locked, a surge passed through me. I’d never experienced anything like it before. I knew instantly, I could fall in love with her from that moment.

“Thanks, buddy, but we’ll take it from here. Sweetheart, wanna go for a ride on my bike?” Doug asked, and he winked at her.

I didn’t say anything or try to persuade her not to go. Doug wasn’t the type you would try and take a girl from. If you did, you end up bloody and in a ditch somewhere severely beaten. I was young and foolish, but I wasn’t stupid.

She stood, and her friend huffed as she patted down her dress and walked over to Doug. With a smile, she put out her hand for him to shake. “I’m Callie… nice to meet you. This is my friend, Niall,” she announced, as Doug shook her hand.

“I don’t care about your friend. I’m Doug, remember my name, you’ll be screaming it later,” he said, and her eyes widened in shock.

I shook my head slightly, trying to make her see that going with him was a bad idea, but she never noticed.

Doug sat on his bike, and she climbed on behind, holding him tightly around his waist.

God, how I wished she was holding onto me like that.

But she wasn’t.

She would be Doug’s girl now.

Well, for however long he wanted her around, anyway.

The look on Niall’s face was priceless. I’ll never forget the horror in his eyes at seeing Callie slide onto the back of Doug’s ride. They took off, and it started something that day.

But it was also known that Callie and Niall were a package deal. She never went out without him, and he never left her side even though he was outraged she was hanging with the local dirt-bike group.

Doug would always vent about how much of a prude Callie was—that she would hold his hand but never did anything else with him and would pull away if he tried. Not being a patient man, Doug grew more petulant as time progressed, but I was secretly hoping it was because whenever we were in the group, Callie’s eyes never left mine, she may have been Doug’s girl, but I had her full attention.

We spoke every now and then when Doug was distracted by a broken engine or some other thing he was focused on, and we started to grow closer.

As Doug was losing interest in Callie, my interest was growing exponentially. Even though Niall was an A-grade loser, we accepted him into the group because Callie wouldn’t come near us without him. She always denied there was any attraction, but I knew for sure that Niall loved her.

I mean, who wouldn’t?

Callie was beautiful, kind, smart, funny, came from a solid background—everything you would wish for in a girl and so much more. Honestly, I was captivated by her. She amazed me every time we spoke.

We had a habit of finding ourselves locked in hour-long conversations in old-man Harris’ barn. Callie loved it in there, said it felt like a home away from home. Although Callie had a wild streak she used to hide from her parents, she was prim and proper most of the time.

Let’s face it, going out with the leader of the dirt-bike group was unheard of in her family’s class of acceptable suitors. That little tidbit of information she hid from her parents. But one day, when Doug turned up at her house, the shit really hit the fan.

Callie’s parents yelled and screamed, banning her from seeing Doug again. It didn’t really matter because Doug was tired of Callie not putting out, so he broke it off with her the next day. I was so relieved but devastated at the same time. We hadn’t gotten to know each other overly well, but in the time we had been together, I knew I wanted to marry her. So, I had a decision to make. I could stay with Doug and the boys who I now called my brothers and never see Callie again, or I could stop being in the gang and stick with Callie and Niall.

It was a no-brainer as far as I was concerned.

Callie’s parents didn’t seem to mind me hanging around. For some reason, they seemed to take pity on me—the kid who was too poor to own anything other than a pushbike. Her parents didn’t see me as any kind of threat, but rather as a friend who’d been there for Niall, and I guess the third wheel.

Niall would talk to me about how one day Callie would see how perfect they are for each other and they would get married at his parents’ mansion over on Burdette Lane. I went along with it as I always thought Callie was way too good for me anyway.

Didn’t stop me from wanting her, though.

One day, Niall was out of town with his parents, Patty and Eleanor, so Callie and I took a walk up to old man Harris’ barn. She surprised me by taking my hand as we walked. In those days, girls never made the first move—that was the guy’s role. I never thought she’d be into me, so I never tried. That’s the thing about Callie, she was never your conventional girl next door. Callie did what she wanted, and no one would stop her.

We made it to the barn, and we climbed up the haystacks to the very top. The barn smelled of stale grass, the tangy, earthy smell agitated my senses, but we sat watching the chickens roam around the barn floor. They pecked at the feed old-man Harris had scattered that morning, and it made for entertaining viewing as they fought against each other for their food. Callie was always in awe of the baby chicks and the way she smiled whenever the new ones would hatch.

It melted my heart.

We were lying on the hay looking up at the wooden ceiling, talking about how Niall and her have grown up together and how he’s kind of like a big brother. She held my hand, and as her thumb slid across the back of my hand, it sent a shiver up my spine. Callie did things to me emotionally and physically—she made me feel and believe in a life I never thought possible. She didn’t care that I came from a poor background. All she cared about was that I was there with her.

I already knew by that stage I wanted to marry her, but at that moment, I felt perhaps she wanted that too. The chemistry was undeniable, and I’m sure we could have set that haystack on fire with the sparks emanating from us.

I rolled on my side so I could look at her. She was so beautiful, and it took every ounce of my strength not to lean in and kiss her. Callie rolled too, so we were facing each other, then she looked into my eyes and my stomach flipped. I’d never felt about anyone the way I felt about Callie. I couldn’t stop myself from touching her, so I swallowed hard and pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and then stopped to caress her cheek. Callie smiled at me, and I swear I exploded—the way she made me feel from a simple gorgeous smile astounded me. Every. Single. Time.

“Callie, you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen,” I said, and she smiled again. I wanted to kiss her so badly, but I’d never kissed a woman before, and had no idea what to do or even how to do it.

Callie was willing me with her eyes, and she looked so delightful. I wanted to smother her with my lips. Mine parted slightly as she licked hers inadvertently, then she moved in closer to me, so close I could smell her beautiful lavender scented hair. My hand caressed her cheek, and I pulled her slowly toward me. I had intended on stopping and asking her if she wanted me to kiss her, but she didn’t give me the opportunity. Instead, she pushed me back down on the hay, leaned over me, and her soft, supple lips met mine for the first time.

Damn, it was like the Fourth of July!

My lips were tingling, and my heart was thudding in my chest. Her mouth opened, and my tongue found hers, and despite it being the first kiss either of us had ever had, it was monumentally perfect. I don’t know how long we kissed for, all I knew was the sun was setting in a cacophony of brilliant colors, and I needed to take her home. Otherwise, Bernard would have my kidneys for dinner and trust me you didn’t want to mess with Callie’s father.

Slowly I pulled away from her, and it took everything in me to do so. I was breathing heavily, and I wanted her so badly, but I restrained myself. With a girl like Callie, you didn’t go in all guns-a-blazing and take her straight away. I needed to woo her and make her see why I was the right man for her—not Doug and certainly not Niall—but me.

“I’d better get you home,” I whispered against her lips as we both remained so close, touching each other in every possible way. She frowned, causing me to frown.

Was she unhappy with our first kiss?

Was I too into it and turned her off?

“Hey, did I do something wrong?” I asked.

She shook her head emphatically. “God, no, Mike, you’re perfect. This is perfect... I simply wish it didn’t have to end. Niall will come back tomorrow, and we can’t be this way around him. It would crush him. I have no idea when I’ll be able to be like this again with you,” she lamented, cuddling into my side.

I wrapped my arm around her and held her to me tightly. “Don’t worry, we’ll find a way if it’s what you want.”

Callie looked up at me with desperation in her eyes. “Is it what you want?” she asked, and I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped me.

Her face contorted with hurt, and I shook my head while taking her hands in mine. “Callie, I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life. Since the moment I saw you at the park, I’ve been waiting for our first kiss, and it was perfect in every way. Just like you are,” I told her, meaning absolutely every word. Callie smiled brightly, igniting me inside, and I pulled her to me in a solid embrace. She pulled back and kissed me again, lightly and slowly, teasing me with her caresses.

“Okay, we really better be going, I don’t want you to be late,” I said while standing and putting out my hand for Callie to take. I helped her, and she rubbed down her dress.

“Mike O’Leary, are you scared of my father?” she asked, smirking, and I smirked right back.

“Callie, have you met your father? I’m not scared of him… I am one hundred percent petrified of him.”

She laughed, and I smiled while taking her hand. We walked toward the edge of the haystack.

“Well, at least you’re always honest with me, Mike. I can always count on you to tell me the truth,” she said, making me wonder why she would say something like that.

I guess Niall does make up some pretty outrageous stories. I mean, the guy was all right to hang around with, but he’s definitely pompous, and I wouldn’t be friends with him if it weren’t for Callie.

Climbing down the haystack, I made it to the bottom. She followed down after me, and I averted my eyes when she laughed.

“Mike, keep your eyes down. Don’t you dare look up my dress, mister,” she chided, making me chuckle.

So I turned around and waited for her to jump off the last step. Callie wrapped her arm around my waist, and I turned to look at her. She was glowing, practically radiating beauty, and I couldn’t believe my luck.

“We should make this our place. Where we come… just you and me. No Niall, no parents telling us who we need to be and what we must be doing. This is our place where we can do what we want and be together. Deal?”

I contorted my face, trying to trick Callie into thinking I was having a hard time thinking about the decision.

As if.

She saw right through me and slapped me on the chest. “Michael O’Leary, if you don’t want to be with me, then you’d better get walking right now, mister. Otherwise, it’s you and me for eternity. You got it?”

The goofy smile was back on my face. I took out my pocket knife and walked over to the barn door. Callie’s eyes lit up when she ran up behind me as I started to sculpt a heart in the frame of the door. With my knife, I etched an M + C inside the heart. I even went as far as to engrave little swirls around it—the perks of being a carpenter’s son. I didn’t get to see Callie’s face while I was carving, but I knew she was impressed by the way she stayed wrapped around me looking over my shoulder the entire time.

“Do you mean it, Mike?” she whispered in my ear as I stood back and admired my handiwork.

I turned my face to meet hers, and her eyes were brimming with tears, which caused me to swallow a lump that formed in my throat. My hands reached out, and I held her face while looking into her eyes. “Callie Anne King, of course I mean it. You and me for eternity. And whenever we come here, this symbol will remind us of our first kiss.”

A single tear fell down her cheek as she smiled brightly. I wiped it away with my thumb and leaned in kissing her again tenderly.

We walked home that day, hand in hand, knowing tomorrow would be different. Niall would be back and continuing on his quest to woo her. Their parents would make sure they were together, and I would have to watch from the sidelines.

But I had her heart.

And deep down, I knew I always would.

No matter the outcome.