Epilogue
Eleven months later
Anna
“Are you nervous?” I ask him. Nick smiles down at me as we walk in.
“More than you know,” he mutters.
I don’t have a chance to decrypt his comment before the doors fling open, and we’re walking into the lobby of the theatre. I look around, stunned by how perfectly his vision has come together. My heart swells with pride at just being able to be a part of this.
“So many people are here,” I mumble, feeling a little overwhelmed.
Compared to Nick, my involvement was minimal, but this is my first real project since graduating. I’m so nervous to see what kind of reception it’s going to get. I glance around at the clusters of people, whispering, pointing, and I feel sick. Nick chuckles and leans over to give me a kiss.
“Welcome to my life. The worst few moments in the world are those while you wait to see how a project has been received.”
He smiles at a passing couple, while I roll my eyes. He keeps saying this was a joint effort, but I know what my abilities are and they certainly didn’t extend to this. They will one day, but for now, I’m happy learning from someone who I know can teach me so much.
Two men dressed in expensive suits walk over to us. They talk to Nick as though they know him. I listen in on the conversation and catch that they’re from New York. From the way they're speaking, I think he studied with them in college.
“You should come up. We’ve got some massive projects coming up,” one of the men says. He glances around. “If this is the kind of thing you're capable of, then you’re wasted in a place like this is.”
Nick's grip on my waist tightens. They glance at me as if noticing me for the first time.
“And who's your lovely companion?” The younger of the two men asks.
“This is my girlfriend, Anna,” Nick says. “She also happens to be my associate.” Nick turns to me. “This is Simon, and that is Daniel. We all studied together many years ago.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say with a grin, shaking both their hands.
“Associate? You managed to find someone beautiful and talented to work with who is willing to put up with you at home, too?” Simon muses. “I’m jealous. But seriously, you should both consider it. There’s plenty of work for the both of you. It would challenge you, and it could really help your career take off,” he adds, addressing Nick, and then me with that last point.
I’m flattered that he thinks that and I’m about to respond when out of nowhere, a small pair of arms wrap around my waist, nearly knocking me off balance. I laugh and hug Milly back, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.
“I told you the silver dress was prettier than the blue one,” she says.
“I chose it because you said it was the one,” I say, whispering in her ear.
We’d spent the day together getting ready for tonight, complete with manicures and spa treatments. I’d narrowed down my outfit to two dresses, but I couldn’t decide, so I had left it up to Milly. It had been a fun day, just the three of us. Myself, Milly and Mandy.
Speaking of Mandy.
I look up just as she and my dad walk through the door. I wave, and they walk over to us. The two men have left us alone, but in the back of my mind, I keep thinking about what they said. As much as I love my life here with Nick, there is a limit to how far I can push my career in such a small town.
“I'm glad you made it,” I say with a smile, kissing Mandy on the cheek, and then Dad.
“I wouldn't miss this for the world,” she smiles.
“I was worried the little one wasn’t going to give you a choice,” I say. “Isn’t massage a natural inducer?” I joke.
I run my hand over her growing bump and laugh. A shiver moves down my spine. I still can't believe I'm going to have a little sister in less than six weeks. She’d had a pretty smooth pregnancy to date, but just hearing her talk about the stretch marks, the morning sickness and everything else that went with being pregnant was enough to put me off having kids for life. I glance up at Nick, who smiles at me, taking my hand. Thank God, my relationship comes with an instant family.
“I’ll remember that,” Dad jokes. He rests his hand on her stomach, and I smile. “I also hear that sex is a natural inducer,” he murmurs. I groan and make a face, trying to push that mental image out of my head. Dad just laughs while Mandy flushes and hits him with her purse. “And on that note, we might go get a drink.” Dad grins.
I watch them, unable to keep the smile off my face as they move toward the bar. Things have been really good—over the last few months in particular. We’re almost back to some sort of normal, which is a place I never thought we’d get to again.
I glance around as Kayla calls my name and see her walking in with her boyfriend. At least, I think he’s her boyfriend, considering I’ve never met him. That, and he looks like someone she's supposed to be babysitting. They’ve been officially together for six months now, but because he’s away at college, he’d only been in town once, while Nick and I were away.
I walk over to her, trying to keep the smirk off my face, but it’s no use. She scowls like she knows exactly what I’m thinking. Her eyes narrow, as if she's waiting for me to say something about how young he looks, and God, do I want to.
“Good to see you,” I say, kissing her on the cheek. “How old did you say he is?” I whisper in her ear as I hug her. “Twelve?”
“Shut it. You know full well he’s nineteen,” she growls back. “And before you ask—yes, I've seen his ID.”
“Are you sure it’s real?” I whisper with a smirk on my face.
Jason looks around, oblivious to our little conversation. He seems like a lovely guy, but damn, he looks young.
“Stick it up your ass,” Kayla mutters, pulling away.
Jason raises his eyebrows at her, and she flushes. I grin because it's good to see that she’s still the queen of inappropriate comments.
Nick’s arms curl around my waist. I grin as he kisses my neck, the aroma of aftershave unmistakably his. He takes my hand and kisses it, spinning me into his arms.
“I was wondering where you went,” he says.
His eyes dart over to Dan, who nods. I frown at both of them, confused. Something is going on, but I'm not sure what. If my father and Nick are in on something together, then I'm not sure I’m going to like whatever it is.
“Time for a speech,” he grins.
He walks me over to the front of the stage where the director of the theatre is in the middle of his speech. I eye Nick suspiciously. This might be my first project, but I’m pretty sure that nobody really cares enough to hear from the designer.
The next thing I know, Nick is standing on the stage. He puts his hand out, motioning for me to join him. I'm confused as fuck, but I take it. He helps me up onto the stage as the director’s sentence trails off into nothing. I flush, feeling both embarrassed and sorry for the guy. Nick motions for the microphone and of course the director hands it over.
“I figured that this is as good a place as any to do this. See, I met this girl who kind of means the world to me. She's funny, sweet, caring… She’s basically that someone I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Someone in the crowd lets out a whistle. I’m pretty sure it was Kayla. My heart races as I focus on Nick. He fumbles in his pocket. I swallow, feeling sick and excited at the same time—like I’m going to pass out. When he gets down on one knee, I lose it. The tears start flowing, leaving me a blubbering mess.
“I guess what I’m trying to ask you is, will you marry me?”
My eyes widen. I can't believe this is happening, and here of all places.
He stares up at me, while I glance out at the sea of faces. Most of them I don’t recognize, but the few important ones are there, like my dad, Mandy, Kayla, Max and Milly. Even Shirley is here to witness this.
“Uh, so, are you going to answer me?” he asks nervously.
My eyes widen. I’ve been standing there, lost in thought, making him sweat to hear me say yes.
“Of course, I will,” I whisper.
I lean down and kiss him as he slides the stunning single cut diamond ring along my finger. It’s a perfect fit. A cheer erupts from the crowd as he stands up, sweeping me into his arms. He flushes and hands the microphone back to the theatre director, muttering an apology.
“Sorry to hijack your reopening,” he mumbles.
We move off the stage and walk over to where Dad, Mandy, Kayla and the kids are waiting. They all admire my ring, while I stand there, still in shock.
How did I not see this coming?
I glance at Dad and Mandy suspiciously. “You two obviously knew,” I say.
Mandy squeals, examining the ring yet again.
“It looks even better on your finger.”
I raise my eyebrows at Nick. “You showed them? Exactly how long have you been planning this?”
“Just a little while,” he says, his eyes sparkling. “And yes, I showed them. I had to get your father's permission, after all.”
I smile at Dad. “And you’re good with this?”
He shrugs. “I always wanted Nick to find someone who deserved him, but I guess you’ll do.” Laughing, I throw my arms around his neck and kiss him on the cheek. “Don’t start crying all over my suit,” he mutters, embarrassed.
“Ha.” I narrow my eyes. “In a few weeks, my tears will be the least of your worries. You won’t be able to leave the house without baby vomit all over you. Or worse.”
He groans. “And I thought I was over all that.”
I watch Mandy nudge him and playfully narrow her eyes, then I look around, a feeling of happiness rushing through me. Only a few months ago, I never would’ve thought that this was possible, but I guess it just goes to show you that you can never really predict how things are going to work out.
“Happy?” Nick murmurs in my ear, trailing soft kisses down my neck.
My heart races. I feel like I’m going to cry again but in the best kind of way. I turn around and kiss him, not bothered who’s watching. Someone yells at us to get a room, but I’m not really listening.
“Happy doesn’t begin to cover it,” I grin.
It doesn’t matter how hard life gets because often, it’s the things you have to work for the hardest that are really worth it in the end. Falling in love with my Dad’s best friend definitely complicated things, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Because he’s my anaconda.
I CAN EXPLAIN (Awkward Love #2)
COMING 12th JAN 2018
(ALL books in the Awkward Love series are COMPLETE standalones).
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Standing on the balcony, outside my boss’s apartment, wearing only my underwear?
Not how I expected to start my Saturday morning.
I guess I should’ve thought harder about going home with my sexy new gym instructor, especially since I had no idea the guy was married.
When he pushed me outside five seconds before his wife walked through the door, I jumped one balcony over. I thought it would be less embarrassing for a total stranger to find me than his wife.
That was a smart move.
So here I am, wearing next to nothing and freezing my ass off, staring through the living room window at my young, sexy, and very intimidating boss, Chase Winston.
I have two choices: I can sit here and try to think of another way out of this and risk dying of hypothermia. Or I can suck it up and knock on that window.
After a long, internal argument with myself, I choose option two.
Here goes nothing…
EXCERPT (Unedited)
“Alana,” Jade frowns, her skin almost cracking under the layers of make-up she has carefully piled onto her face. Two guesses who she’s trying to impress. I chuckle to myself. “Are you listening to me?”
I snap back to attention and nod. “Coffee. Dry-cleaning. Take contracts over to Peterson Walker,” I say, hoping I’ve gotten today’s list right. It was the same as yesterday and the day before, so I’m pretty sure I’m safe.
“Right, well, just don’t stuff it up, okay?” Jade sighs.
I bite my tongue before I say something that would probably get me fired. You forget the sugar in the boss’s coffee one time and it’s the end of the world. Sure, that guy just happens to be Chase Winston, my arrogant, rude, adorably beautiful, attractive asshole of a boss, but still.
I narrow my eyes at Peyton, who is hunched over her computer, trying not to laugh. The second Jade leaves our office, I let loose with a string of obscenities under my breath.
“One time,” I mumble. “I got it right yesterday, didn’t I?”
Peyton giggles. “You’ve been working here how long? You must’ve gotten the man a few hundred coffees. How on earth did you forget something like that?”
I know exactly how I forgot. I blame the sexy barista for making flirty eyes with me. Okay, so it turned out he was making flirty eyes with the dude behind me, but still. I think my defense still stands.
“Never mind,” I growl. “I better go do this before he pops an artery or something.”
There was only one thing worse than being Chase Winston’s Personal Assistant, and that is being one of the junior assistants who answers to his Personal Assistant. At least, I’m guessing it’s worse, because while I’ve never had the pleasure of being his personal assistant, Jade hands off all the shit she doesn’t want to handle, to us. Like getting his coffee. Something I should be able to do right by now.
I’ve been working at Winston Property Development (WPD) for nearly two years, and it’s been two years of pure torture. The only thing that makes it worthwhile, is Peyton, the other junior who works alongside me. Without her to make this whole thing bearable, I’d have left a long time ago. I grab my keys and my bag and walk toward the door, but I just can’t let it go.
“Seriously, did you see the way she looked at me when she told me not to stuff it up?” I huff, stalking back over to Peyton. “Like, god forbid I put two sugars in his damn coffee instead of one. Hey, maybe I should slip some laxatives in there?” I say with an evil grin. “I mean, he walks around like he’s got something lodged up his ass, maybe all he needs is a good, old fashioned clean out.”
“Lanna—”
“No. I don’t care how ridiculously sexy he is,” I say, cutting her off. I was on a roll and not even Peyton was going to stop me. “He’s an asshole to everyone here but Jade, and I bet that’s only because she’s sucking his cock. Not that I wouldn’t go there if he asked me to—”
“Lanna,” Peyton hisses.
“Oh, come on, like you wouldn’t suck his cock too,” I retort, nodding knowingly at her.
We’d had a lengthy discussion about this a few weeks ago at over a bottle of tequila, so I knew exactly what she wanted to do with that ten inches of pure stiff muscle. I chuckle to myself and turn around. My heart literally stops beating. Chase leans against Jade’s desk, a smirk on his face as he stares at me.
Oh, god no.
My heart pounds as I wait for him to react. I cannot believe I just said that. Well, I can believe it, because I say shit like that every day, but not when he’s standing right behind me. It’s like a scene from a really bad movie. With any luck, he’ll drag me outside and throw me on the back of his bike and take me somewhere to have his way with me. Or his office will do just fine.
“Is Jade here?” he asks, directing his question at me.
I shake my head, incapable of speaking. It’s worse that he’s ignoring the obvious issue of my outburst. I’d almost prefer for him to say something. Anything. Almost... He walks over to the door, stopping just as he reaches it. I brace myself.
“Alana?” He asks.
I force myself to meet his steel blue eyes, wishing he didn’t find this so damn amusing.
“Yes?” I whisper, feeling sick.
God, I am so embarrassed.
“While I appreciate your attentiveness to my health, I can assure you that everything is functioning just as it should. Maybe you should focus more on your job and less on things that don’t concern you?” he asks. “Like who is and isn’t sucking my cock.”
He walks out, briskly closing the door behind him.
I sit down on my chair, my eyes wide and breathe out. My heart is still racing, and I’m feeling a mixture of nausea and embarrassment over the whole situation. Peyton rushes over to me, both panicked and trying not to laugh, which under any other circumstance would be a funny combination. I glare at her, which sets her off.
“I’m so sorry,” she giggles, shaking her head. “I swear I’m not laughing at you, but that just made my fucking day.”
“I’m glad I can be a source of amusement for you,” I grumble, my tone sour.
“At least he knows your name now?” she offers, her eyes twinkling.
I scowl at her. I think I preferred it when he didn’t.
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