Epilogue
One Year Later
Cora
"To us." Clay lifted his beer in the air and smiled around the table as we all sat on the patio of the restaurant we'd gathered at.
"To us." We all called out and lifted our beers to hit them against one another.
It'd been a year since we all met on Lake Havasu. A long year. A great year.
Brody wrapped an arm around my shoulders and leaned down to kiss me. I lifted up to meet him halfway, pressing myself against his side and deepening the kiss until we got the usual catcalls. I moved back and smiled at everyone.
"Why are we back here at the lake eating at a restaurant instead of having our own personal chef whip us up something good?" I glanced over at Cindy, who was sitting in Derek's lap. They'd gotten engaged a few months back, much to all of our surprise. Their plans of expanding Derek's parents’ ranch and starting a small restaurant at the front of the property had panned out over the last year, and they were great together.
Clay and Emily had moved in together and were looking at rings, but nothing had been planned just yet. Emily was extremely particular about the idea of what her wedding should look like, which shocked the shit out of all of us, seeing that she was the least likely to act like a bridezilla. They were sitting side by side, reading something on the beer bottle Clay held between them as I glanced their way.
Dedra was already off to dance with a handsome football type, and Daniel wasn't able to join us due to something related to his schooling. He had already started to pull away from the group, but the guys almost seemed to expect it.
I'd taken on the burden of the apartment myself, but I was rarely alone, seeing that the junior high football coach down the road seemed to like the idea of rocking my bed most nights of the week. I glanced up at him to find him watching me like a hawk.
"What?" I smiled and took a quick sip of my beer.
"You. You're what." He glanced around as his smile widened. "This place brings back so many fucking memories. I can't imagine my life without last summer... without you."
He was a different man. One completely committed to me, and if my mom thought my father treated her like a queen, she hadn't seen anything yet. Brody was at my beck and call, no matter what was going on in his own life. We supported each other in a way that made my other friends jealous and left me breathless when I thought about it.
We hadn't talked much about marriage and kids, though I knew our turn was coming up sooner rather than later. It was just the natural progression of things.
"What's for dinner?" Clay stood up and stretched. "You guys wanna order a big platter of ribs and chicken and go out on the patio?"
"Sounds good to me." Derek stood up and wrapped his arm back around Cindy. There was rarely any space between the two of them when they were together. They'd have kids on the way before any of the rest of us, no doubt.
The thought of kids caused my pulse to race. It was a subject that I would be bringing up soon just to figure out exactly what my handsome boyfriend thought of it.
"The baked potato casserole is stupid good, too." Brody picked up a menu and glanced down at it. "And the green beans. Let's just get a family style platter thing and eat until we're stuffed.”
"And then, we can go back to mine and Derek's cabin. I made a few desserts this afternoon before coming up here." Cindy smiled at us, looking far too cute for her own good. She'd put on a few pounds, which actually made her even more attractive.
"Come dance with me." Brody tugged at my arm and I turned, following him onto the dance floor. I wrapped my arms around his waist and smiled up at him.
"I'm glad we get these two weeks. I need it." I pressed a kiss to his chest and snuggled against him as he moved us around the room.
"We can come out here any time you want to, baby. I've been thinking that once you get your license, we could look at building a house out here. A log cabin like we both want." He brushed his lips by the top of my head just before I moved back and looked up at him.
"I would love that. The commute would be a bitch, but I'm thinking we could work something out with my parents to stay with them when we were in the city for cases and meeting with clients."
A thought brushed by my mind.
"Wait. What about your job? You love what you do with those kids." I ran my hands over his strong back and forced myself not to squeeze his butt, though I wanted to so damn bad.
"There are schools out here, too. Did you see that one on the left just before we pulled into town? They're going to have an opening in the fall. I want to apply for it. If you're down with moving out here with me."
"Are you asking me to move in with you? To build a house with you?" Warmth flooded me as my heart skipped a beat in my chest.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm asking." He stopped moving and cupped my face. "I'm so scattered. Building a house together is a little out of order, hmm?"
He turned and winked at someone, catching my attention. I gazed to my right to find Clay walking toward the DJ booth.
"What are you guys doing?" I turned back to find Brody on one knee in the middle of the floor. Our friends crowded around us, and I realized that the trip to the lake hadn't been Clay's doing, but Brody's. The handsome man on his knee before me had pulled everyone together and set everything up for this moment.
"I never in a million years thought that I would find someone powerful enough to make me want to give up my wanton ways and settle down. The moment I laid eyes on you a year ago, I knew without a doubt that you were her. I'd never been so damn scared in my life. Well, except now."
Everyone chuckled as I tried to catch my breath.
"I love you more than words can express, Cora Ross. Marry me and make me the happiest man in the world. You're that woman, baby. The only one I see anymore." His eyes were filled with unshed tears, and I let out a soft sob as I took the ring and shook my head.
"I wouldn't be with anyone else," I mumbled.
He stood up and pulled me into a tight hug. "Good. I'd hate to have to kick some dude’s ass."
We laughed, and he spun me around before letting me slide down his hard body.
"I love you, Cora." He pressed his lips to mine, swallowing my response and overwhelming me completely. He moved back and smiled.
"I love you, too. Only you. Forever."
25 DAYS
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Claire Adams
Chapter One
Chloe
"I honestly have no clue why you're bitching," Seth grumbled as he flopped down on my roommate's bed. "I'd give my left arm to spend Christmas in Aspen.”
"That's a lie and you know it." I turned back to the mirror and ran my brush back through my long blonde hair as I ignored his jab. He had it far better than any of us, seeing that his father had not only paid for everything from the minute he stepped on campus at UCLA, but was willing to pay the school to bend the rules to get him through.
"It's not. I love skiing and snowboarding." He sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. His messy blond hair and regal good looks were the only reason I dated him. Nothing else about us made sense. He was a meathead jock with a bend toward beer and any game on TV, while I was a designer, a swimmer, and hated team sports with a passion.
"I'm talking about you giving up your left arm." I swirled around in my chair and smirked. "You're going to be a big football star, remember?"
"Yep, and you'll be sorry you left me." He shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Speaking of..." I wanted to push the topic of us breaking up, but the last time I did, the poor guy broke down in tears. It was ugly.
"Not this again." He stood and moved toward me. "You know how I feel about us."
"Yeah, but I'm moving on with my life, Seth. I care about you, I really do, but we're headed in separate directions. It's been a great ride, though."
He slid his arms around my waist and snuggled his face against my neck. "It doesn't have to stop, Chloe. Just because you're going to your Dad's for a month doesn't mean shit. You'll come back, and we can just pick back up. Let's just consider it a break for now."
"And, what if you meet someone while I'm gone?" I pushed at his chest, wanting to see his dark blue eyes once more before I ejected him from my life.
He chuckled and touched the side of my face. "Then you're shit out of luck, toots. She's here, and you're not."
I couldn't help but smile. His warped sense of humor was appreciated, but in all honestly, I hoped like hell he would meet someone while I was gone. Breaking his heart seemed impossible, but our time together was over.
His additional year at UCLA was going to be good for him, and I had a battle to fight in the middle of the arctic with my old man. I shivered at the thought of the cold weather before pushing Seth's hand away.
"Alright. Get out. I have to finish packing and catch my flight. I'll see you after Christmas for graduation."
He leaned in and brushed his lips against mine before jogging to the door. "No falling in love while you're gone. I'm going to be a big star one day, and I need a hot blonde beside me. That's you, baby doll." He winked, and I rolled my eyes.
There was no way in hell I was going to be some man's arm candy. I had too many dreams for that drama.
Yeah, our relationship was over. He could call it a break if that helped him.
The door clicked closed, and I got busy finishing my packing for the trip. It had been a good semester for a final semester. My college career was ending six months early because of the classes I picked up the summer before. I was getting weary of studying and drawing designs only to have them downgraded and torn apart piece by piece in the name of education.
I was grateful when the buzzing of my phone pulled me from my thoughts. School had been a bitch, and I was glad to have it done and over with.
"Hello?"
"You all packed up?" It was my sixteen-year-old brother, Parker.
"I am. Are you coming to pick me up at the airport?" I pressed the phone to the side of my face and finished emptying my drawers. The only thing left was a pair of candy panties Seth had bought as a joke for my birthday—or at least I had thought it was a joke until he asked to eat them off of me. I rolled my eyes at the thought.
"Hell, no. Dad won't let me drive in the snow." My brother let out a huff that caused me to smile. Spending the next twenty-five days with my father was going to be a bit torturous, but having Parker beside me would make it all worthwhile.
"So, you're without a car for the whole winter season? That sucks."
"Parents suck." He chuckled. "I'm honestly surprised you agreed to this. I know you hate the cold. What did he offer you?"
I hadn't shared the deal my father laid on the table with anyone, namely because it seemed ridiculous. "Twenty-five days in Aspen with you guys for the seed money for my clothing line."
I zipped up the last bag as my roommate Jessie walked into the dorm room.
"Why twenty-five days?" Parker asked.
"No clue. I think he's hoping that I find my love of the freezing-ass weather and want to stay up there to run his clothing line."
"Or to add to it. It's good, but it ain't great."
"Ain't isn't a word," I corrected him and sat down on my bed as Jessie plopped down next to me, her lips down turned in a frown. We had been together for five years in our dorm room. Leaving her was the hardest part of leaving school without a doubt.
"Leave your grammar in Cali and bring your wicked cooking skills. I'm as thin as a rail, and the ladies seem to like the beefy guys. Help?"
"That I can do. I'll see you soon. Love you."
"Hey," my brother's voice was nothing more than a whisper, making him sound all of eight years old.
"What?"
"I got some new Mortal Kombat games. You're up for an ass whooping, right?"
I laughed loudly. "You're so going down, buddy. Someone needs to teach you how to treat a lady."
"Bring it, old woman." He dropped the call, and I slipped my phone in my back pocket.
The men in my life were comical, if nothing else.
"You all packed?" Jessie released me and stood.
"I am. How about we grab a burger and then hang out on the beach tonight? One last adventure before I head off to the Arctic?"
"It's not that cold, Chloe." She breathed in deeply and looked around the room as if expecting someone to just pop out of the nothingness. "Was Seth here?"
"Yeah, trying to talk me out of going or into taking him with me." I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and stopped by my dresser, grabbing my debit card and slipping it in my pocket. "You smell his cologne?"
"The people in the next room over smell his cologne." She opened the door and moved back, holding it for me. "You think you guys will survive this break?"
"Nope, but he said if he found someone I would be tough out of luck, so hopefully that’s the case. Maybe I’ll find someone, too." I walked to the end of the hall and turned as confetti exploded from the open door just behind us.
Jess laughed as she jogged past me. "You're going to miss all the parties around here. The holidays are so much fun." She pulled her keys from her pocket and held them up. "I'll drive."
Memories assaulted me as we walked to her old Honda. I hadn't been to see my father for Christmas break since coming to Los Angeles five years ago. He had a tradition of spending December through the end of January in Aspen, Colorado, which my brother loved. I hated it. As a kid, I would live in front of the fireplace for two months, waiting for the minute we could rush back to Arizona.
No friends, no family, and nothing but a little brother and bitchy father to keep me company during those times. It left a sour taste in my mouth. The minute I arrived in the warmth of southern California, I was lost to it. No more going to the snowy mountains and pretending to love it. Living a lie was a part of my past. Hopefully.
We got in the car, and Jessie tried to turn on the heat, but I playfully popped her hand back.
"It's perfect here. Don't waste your gas." Her parents were dirt-floor poor, and she'd made it through college on various scholarships and several jobs. I tried to help out where I could, but Jessie Miller was proud, if nothing else.
"It's freezing in here!" She started the car and pulled out into the busy streets that ran up and down the campus.
"Girl, you don't know what freezing is." I glanced toward her as my heart constricted in my chest. "Come with me to Aspen? It's going to be so damn lonely without you."
"What?" She looked over at me and smiled. Her dark chestnut hair was a mess, like it always was. She was warm and loving, the kind of friend that no one deserved and everyone wanted. "No. I'm going to see my parents. My little sisters would never forgive me if I didn't come home for Christmas."
I let out a short sigh and turned to watch the lights of the city grow dim as we headed south to San Diego. It would be a bit of a drive, but it was one the two of us made often.
"You'll have to tell them why I'm not there this year." I crossed my arms over my chest and pulled my legs into the seat with me. "And save me some of your mom's fruitcake."
"They're going to be hella disappointed." She wrinkled up her nose. "You don't actually like that crap, do you? We all thought you were just being nice. Even Mom thought so."
I laughed, unable to help myself. "I like tart things. It's tart."
"Yes, we know. It will pucker your mouth up like you've sucked on a lemon." She sucked her cheeks in, and I rewarded her with a giggle for her efforts.
"I'm not at all looking forward to this trip. My father and I haven't been close since Mom died."
"Then, maybe now is the time to start working on your relationship with him." She reached out and squeezed my hand. "He's the only parent you have, and he obviously wants time with you, right?"
"I guess. He's forcing it on me. Who does that?"
"Someone who has no other choice." She gave me a knowing look, and I grumbled under my breath, repeating her words like an unruly child.
She laughed and turned onto the freeway, rolling her window down and nodding to mine. "Go ahead and do it. I know you want to."
"Really?" I rolled it down and sat up in my seat. Jessie hated the wind in her hair, but I couldn't think of a better way to live.
"What if all of this was part of the master plan?" she asked.
"What, my Dad dangling a carrot on the end of a string to get me to Aspen for the winter?"
"Yes. What if you meet the man of your dreams and fall madly in love?” She gave me a girlie look, and I gagged dramatically.
"The man of my dreams? He would have to be sexy, sweet, funny, and have a knack for fashion." I shrugged. "Probably not happening — ever. I'll just settle eventually like most people do."
"A knack for fashion?" She laughed and snorted. "What man has a knack for fashion, and while we're on the subject, what the hell is a knack?"
"He exists. I know he does." I shrugged and slipped my hands under my thighs. "My father has a knack for fashion. His ski and snowboard line sells pretty well. With a better color palate to pull from, he could double his profits, but I've told him that until I'm blue in the face."
"So tell him in a different way. Maybe if he sees you in action as a designer yourself, he'll start to respect your opinion a little more. You're still just his little girl. Prove to him that you've grown into an independent woman."
"Why are we talking about my father? Back to the man of my dreams."
She chuckled and nodded. "Yes, continue as you were."
"I want him to be built more like a quarterback than a linebacker, tall, and impossibly handsome."
"So like Seth?"
"Yeah, but brown hair and warm brown eyes. A great laugh, too. Seth's laugh is horrible and seems so fake to me."
"Agreed. He does that shit to get attention. All the football guys do." She tapped the steering wheel as a good song came on the radio. "And he has to like your family."
"Good luck on my Dad, but my brother...yeah. He has to be a good role model, too. Not a drunk or someone who sluts himself out, you know?"
"I think it's okay if he did that in his past, but not now. We're all stupid in our adolescence."
"I wasn't." I gave her a pompous look and stuck my nose in the air.
"You still are like that." She popped me in the shoulder, and I laughed.
I loved a good dark beer and a party as much as the next girl, but sleeping around was out.
"The plan is simple. I'm going to spend December with my Dad, mostly focusing on my little brother, and when it's all over, I'll have a zillion designs drawn up for my clothing line and the money to get rolling on it."
Twenty-five days with my Dad, and the money for my company will be mine. I can do this.
"Then, you'll come back home to us?"
"To you. Yes."
"Not Seth?" Jessie glanced my way.
"Why are you so concerned about Seth?"
"I just think he's a good guy, and you should be careful with his heart. I know he's head over heels for you." She shrugged.
"He wants a trophy wife, Jessie. I'd never be okay with that. I want a partnership with passion. Someone who can support my dreams and still follow their own, too."
"You don't think that's Seth?"
"Not at all. He wants me to support his dreams and smile for the cameras. Ain't happening." I huffed.
"Ain't isn't a word." She laughed and jerked out of my reach as I swatted at her.
"I love you. I'm going to miss you." I squeezed her shoulder as she turned, her eyes full of tears.
"Me, too, but this is going to be amazing for you. I can feel it deep down inside of me."
"And will I return to you after Christmas, oh seer of the future?"
"Absolutely not. You'll be in love and sold on the cold."
"Possibly. Perhaps. Nope, never."
We laughed and enjoyed the silly banter that continued between us through the rest of the night. I would go to Aspen and play my father's absurd games until the time came for me to get back on a plane and return to my life. There was nothing I could possibly find in Colorado that would change my mind.
Not even love.