Epilogue – Lila (2 Years Later)
“Wow, it looks great in here!” My eyes shone brightly as I glanced around the room, drinking everything in. “Jo has done such an amazing job. But then again, she always does.”
We were regulars now at the fundraiser for the orphanage, only now I didn’t attend it as a singer; I was a guest, which I liked just as much. Maybe even more because I didn’t have the nerves to go along with it.
The cancer had taken away a lot of my voice, too much for me to continue with my singing career, but it didn’t bother me. Even when I’d first found out, I didn’t mind too much because I had other things to keep me happy. I had Xander and Sadie, and a future with them.
Plus, it was always Kyle’s dream to make it to fame with music, and he didn’t need me for that anymore. He could do it all alone. I’d done enough. One platinum-selling album was more than enough to keep me happy. Now, I wrote song lyrics for other musicians, which suited me a whole lot better.
“Yeah, doesn’t it feel crazy that this is the first place we met each other?” Xander pulled me closer to him by throwing his arm over my shoulder. “If I hadn’t come here that night, if you weren’t singing, we might never have met. Can you imagine that?”
“I don’t want to!” I exclaimed. “I don’t want to ever picture my life without you. I don’t know where I’d even be now if I didn’t meet you.” Probably still in that crappy apartment, if I even survived the cancer! Maybe without something so solid to fight for, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.
“Is Uncle Kyle up on stage soon?” Sadie tugged on my dress, trying desperately to get my attention. “Mom? Mom?”
“Yes, he’ll be up soon. Come on, let’s go and find our table before Jo comes over here to make a fuss.”
“Oh, my goodness, you’re here!” It was too late: she’d seen us. “Come on, we have a very special table set aside for you guys. You’re our guests of honor.”
“We don’t want you to go to any trouble,” Xander started, in the way that he always did, but of course, Jo wasn’t going to listen. Once she got on a roll about something, that was the end of it. I was kind of with her on this one though. The first year I’d met Xander, he’d paid for a playground at the orphanage. The second year, he’d paid for a library full of books, and this year, he was having a whole new wing built onto the home.
He was slowly transforming it into something incredible, and I was proud of him for it. Maybe we couldn’t adopt all the foster kids, but we could make it better for them. I’d done my part with the money I’d earned by buying new equipment for the place, but it was nothing compared to Xander.
“And, Sadie, you look lovely. That red dress suits you. You look like a princess.”
As Jo and Sadie talked about her outfit, I leaned into Xander and clutched his fingers tightly between mine. “I’m still grateful for everything you did for me, you know? I’ll never forget that you were there for me through all of that awfulness with my health.”
“I’m just glad that you’re much better now.” Of course, I wasn’t totally in the clear, remission wouldn’t be official for three more years, but I was confident things would turn out all right. “I’m so glad that we made it through all of that.”
“Hey.” We both spun around as Kyle slapped us both happily on the back. “It’s good to see you all here, I’ll be much happier up there knowing that you guys are supporting me.”
“Oh, come on, you’re doing just fine with your band; you don’t need us anymore,” I teased playfully, pushing him gently. “But, yes, when you hear the loudest cheer, it’ll be coming from this table.”
“I don’t have the band tonight. It’s just me.”
That took me back a bit. I didn’t ever see Kyle playing on his own anymore – he was so in demand, everyone wanted a piece of him. Maybe he was just going back to his roots, to where he came from.
“Well, that’s good. I still can’t wait to see you.”
“I better go. Jo will be on the warpath looking for me soon. I’ll see you in a bit.”
With that, Kyle raced backstage where he belonged, and I sat back in my seat in the prime position in the audience, where it seemed that I belonged these days. I still couldn’t totally shake off the sense that I didn’t fit in, but with my family by my side, it was growing easier by the second.
***
“And coming up next is Kyle Monrose!”
We all jumped up and cheered, with our table screaming the loudest. I was so proud of my brother. As he walked out onto the stage, he looked like he owned the place, which warmed up my chest. He’d grown so much from the shy guy he used to be. He was a successful rock star now, and that was incredible to see.
A hush filled the room as he took his seat, and his fingers moved expertly over the piano keys, transforming the building into a magical scene off some kind of movie set. I held my hands over my heart and beamed brightly as I lost myself in the tune. I was so focused on my emotions that it took me a while to realize that I actually noticed the music... And then Kyle stopped playing...
He moved toward the microphone and grabbed it tightly between his fingers. “This music isn’t as good without a singer, is it?” My heartrate kicked up a notch, and I glanced around the room, trying to work out what the hell was going on. Was this planned, or was Kyle having some kind of breakdown? “Now, I don’t think I can do it alone, and there’s only one person I want up here with me.” He paused for dramatic effect, and I sucked in and held my breath. “My sister, Lila.”
The spotlight fell on me, and my face heated up with shame. I’d sung a little bit since I’d recovered from the treatment, but only to practice the lyrics of my songs, not in front of anyone. I glanced desperately toward Xander, hoping for an escape, but he simply sent me an encouraging grin.
“Come on up, Lila; we haven’t heard you sing this song in years. It’s for the kids, so you can’t say no.”
Damn it; he was right. If I turned his offer down now, then I would look like I was mean. I had to do this, for the children. Even if it sounded like shit, it wouldn’t matter, surely?
Nerves coursed through me as I slowly moved myself into a standing position. I kept my eyes on the floor, so I didn’t freak out. I wasn’t used to be center of attention – I certainly hadn’t been for a very long time – and it felt unnerving now, especially because I wasn’t expecting it.
Then I moved my feet as quickly as I could manage and got up onto the stage. I kept my eyes closed as I stood up by the mic, trying to get that feeling of power coursing back through my body. It used to come naturally, but now it’d been too long. Still, I sucked in a deep breath, and as my cue came along, my voice burst out into song...
Okay, so maybe I didn’t sound as great as I used to, but it didn’t seem to matter. Everyone burst into such loud cheers that I could barely be heard anyway. When I finally worked up the courage to open my eyes again, I could see Sadie and Xander screaming the loudest.
We practically took the roof off, the screams lasted much longer than the song, but it seemed like the surprises weren’t going to end there. Without me even realizing, Sadie and Xander had joined me up on stage, and he’d taken his position up by the microphone. I tried to grab him, to pull him back to me, but he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Thank you everyone for such a warm welcome,” Xander boomed in a commanding way, bringing silence back into the room. “I have an announcement to make about the future of Kyle Monrose.”
I glanced toward my brother, but even he looked confused now. He had no idea about what was about to happen. “I would like to gift him with his own recording company and a million dollars to get him started.”
“What the...” My question was lost in the noise, everyone was cheering too loudly for me to be heard. Kyle’s face was ashen, but he looked happy, too, like his whole life was finally coming together...which I supposed it was.
I pulled Kyle in for a big, celebratory hug, so happy that he was getting what he wanted. If anyone in the world deserved it, it was him.
But it seemed that Xander wasn’t done. He took the mic off the stand and moved it down to Sadie, who spoke loudly and confidently as if she belonged on the stage. “Mommy?” she asked, turning around to look at me. “Will you marry Daddy?”
My heart stopped, the room spun, and dizziness filled my mind. Is this really happening? Of course, I’d been dreaming about Xander making if official for a very long time, but now that it was becoming real, it felt a little crazy.
“I...”
Xander took the microphone, and he knelt on one knee, proving that this was real after all. “Lila Monrose, you crashed into my life in this very room, turning everything on its head. I wasn’t expecting it, but I don’t think you were, either, and that made it even more special.” He smiled that gorgeous grin at me, and my heart melted. “And ever since then, we’ve built a life for ourselves. We have our home, our careers, our lovely, amazing daughter—”
“That’s me!” Sadie yelled, causing everyone to giggle.
“We should have done this a very long time ago, but the time seems right now. I want you to be my wife. I want to spend the rest of my life making you the happiest woman alive, so... what do you say?”
What do I say? I already knew what I wanted to say, but I had to catch my breath first. I needed to ensure that I answered the most important question of my life in the best way possible.
“Of course,” I gasped as tears filled my eyes. “Of course, I want to be your wife.”
Xander stood up and pulled me close to him, while sliding the most incredible diamond ring onto my finger. As he kissed me lightly, showing me his passion and love for me in a socially appropriate way, the room went wild. People yelled and cheered, showing their happiness for me... for us.
“I love you,” I murmured into his mouth. “Forever and always.”
“I love you, too,” Xander agreed with me. “You and Sadie. I’m the luckiest son of a bitch around. I get to keep you two forever.”
Forever...
That sounded good to me. I could just picture us, saying our vows on some beach somewhere, with Sadie at our feet in some beautiful dress. Maybe by the time we got married, we would have another adopted child, or one of our own. The possibilities were endless.
We had our whole lives ahead of us, and anything could happen...
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BILLIONAIRE DOCTOR
By Alexa Davis
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 © 2016 Alexa Davis
Chapter One
Matthew
Early Thursday Morning – Early June
“Hello there, Mr. Smith.” I smiled brightly as one of my favorite patients entered my consult. “How are you feeling today?”
“Oh, not so good,” he shot back quickly. “I’ve had this cough for three weeks, my throat hurts like hell, and it’s affecting my bad back.”
I only half listened as he rattled off his list of symptoms, knowing it wouldn’t be anything serious. Mr. Smith had a great personality, and as a person, I got along with him, but as he descended further and further into old age, he started to develop that hypochondria many people seemed to get.
I was convinced it wasn't even about seeing the doctor, not really. I felt like a lot of it was the social aspect of hanging around in the waiting room. I almost wanted to create some kind of club for them all, anywhere but the hospital, just to give me the time I needed to see people who really needed me.
“Okay, well, let me just do some checks. Why don't you tell me how your writing is going while I take your blood pressure and run an ECG?”
I set about to work as he told me all about the book he was working on, the one he was certain would be the next bestseller. I made agreeable noises wherever needed, but I didn’t have to fully listen because he’d told me about it a million times before.
“Of course, if I’d won the lottery last night, I wouldn’t need to be fussing about with this book now, would I?”
I laughed along, but the thought of that sort of cash really tugged at my heartstrings. I always brought a ticket with the hope of being able to sort out my finances, but so far, I’d had no luck.
I didn’t harbor dreams of a jobless future with endless luxuries at my disposal. I didn’t think about holidays and mansions and God knows what else. All I wanted to do was to pay off my debts because they were dragging me down. They felt endless, like they would be with me for the rest of my life, and I really wanted to shake them off.
They had started in medical school because I’d had to fund a lot of it with credit. My parents didn’t have a lot of money themselves, and I didn’t want to pressure them and leave them in debt because of my damn dream. So, I told them I would work through college to fund myself, and that was what I thought I would do.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out like that.
I tried, I did, but it just wasn't possible. I had too much course work, too many hours in placement, and I had stop and get a loan instead – a massive loan no one knew about but me.
I thought that all would be okay when I became a fully-qualified doctor. I was under the illusion that I would be making plenty of money and that I’d be able to easily put all my problems behind me, but again, my thoughts were wrong.
As soon as I started working, I found out that a lot of people didn’t have the insurance or money to pay for treatments, and I couldn't stand that. It made me angry, so I stopped charging the full amount to those who were struggling, pushing myself further into debt.
Now that I’d started that, I couldn't seem to stop. With every person, my heart kept growing bigger and bigger, and I kept giving and giving – even though I really couldn't afford it.
“Yeah, would be nice,” I said in a joking tone of voice. “I can’t imagine it.”
“Well, no one has claimed it yet – it could be you!” he laughed loudly. “Can you imagine it? You could spend the rest of your life travelling the world, getting to see what the rest of the world has to offer. It’s no good spending your entire life in Florence or even Oregon! There’s so much more out there.”
I didn’t know if this was supposed to be a dig or not, but it certainly felt like it.
I had chosen to spend my entire life in the town I grew up in, however small it was, apart from the time when I was in college. But I liked it. It was my home; it was the only place I truly felt comfortable and I didn’t want to go anywhere else. I didn’t feel like I needed to know what was out there in the rest of the world. I had everything I needed right where I had always been. I had my good job, my friends, my family, there were plenty of women that were keen to get in my pants... What more could I need?
Luckily, before I had time to answer that, Terri, the nurse, entered the room in a flurry of perfume and beauty. I sent her a sly, flirtatious smile as she handed me some paperwork, and I could instantly see that familiar spark floating behind her big, blue eyes. She was one of the hottest women I’d ever laid my eyes upon, and somehow, I’d gotten lucky enough to land a sweet friends-with-benefits deal with her.
“Thank you,” I muttered as she swung her long, blonde hair around. “I’ll see you after the appointment to discuss bloodwork, okay?”
That had slowly become our code over time, and from the way she nodded excitedly, I instantly knew it was game on. Before the day was out, I would be screwing Terri in the nearest, private place we could find. That was one of the best things about her: she was up for anything, anywhere. She might not have been a long-term type of deal, but she was a whole lot of fun.
“Wow.” Mr. Smith gazed at her as she swung her hips out of the room. “That is some woman! You are a lucky man getting to work with her all day, but I guess that’s just one of the perks of being a doctor.”
He laughed loudly at his own joke, and it took all that I had not to smirk at his remark. I couldn't let him know the truth about me and Terri; that needed to stay strictly a secret because if anyone found out about us, we could both be in serious trouble.
“I’m just in this to help people,” I told him with a mock seriousness to my tone. “I don't have time to be worrying about the nurses scurrying around here.” I put all my equipment down and stared him in the eyes. “Right, well, for now, I can’t see anything obvious, but we will go through all your test results and I will call you with them in the next couple of days, okay?”
“Thank you.” Mr. Smith smiled at me before standing up. “I appreciate it.”
We said a quick goodbye, during which time my mind was already onto the next thing. My lunch break was coming up, which meant I didn’t have any more appointments for a short while – except for the one I’d just made with Terri.
Even the thought of her – hot, sweaty, and with those heaving breasts bouncing against me – had my cock standing to attention. She really did make me so damn horny, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on her again.
I quickly found her standing next to the reception desk, talking to one of the women there, and I called her over to me. Normally, I would wait for her to have her conversation finished, but there was something needier about me than usual. I felt like if I didn’t have her right then, I might just die.
But as she walked towards me, she didn’t look quite as fired up as before. In fact, she appeared to be all business, which made my heart sink. I would just have to let her get whatever it was out of her system and do what I could to get her back in the mood – she was usually easy to rile up all over again.
“We have a new patient coming in tomorrow,” she told me in that rapid voice she always used when she discussed work with me. Sometimes it made her difficult to understand, which was just one of the many reasons why we could never become anything serious.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked, discretely grazing my hand along her side, trying to distract her from whatever she was about to say to me. “Okay, sure.”
“We’ll need to transfer the papers. I think she lived here once before... Peggy Baker. I don't know if you recognize that name?”
Peggy Baker.
My heart leapt into my throat at the mere mention of Peggy Baker, but I did what I could to keep it off my face. I was good at keeping my emotions inside, and that came into play right then. Peggy Baker was the mother of the one who got away. She knew me well, and I did her. Seeing her again was going to be incredibly awkward.
“Come with me,” I rasped to Terri, needing her more than ever. I needed to bury myself into her, to distract myself entirely. I couldn't keep thinking about Peggy and Ashlee... Not unless I wanted to drag up a whole range of emotions I was nowhere near ready to deal with.
I pulled her into the janitor’s closet and started kissing her furiously, trying to lose myself in the physical sensations. My mind was struggling now, flickering all over the place, and I needed to shut it the hell down.
Luckily for me, my lips had Terri right back in the mood again, and she panted happily, quickly dipping her hand into my trousers and underwear, pulling me free. I knew that she loved the feel of my cock, and that helped me to forget the rest of the world, if only for a second.
“You’re so big,” she groaned excitedly against my mouth, her breaths becoming raspy with desire. “Fuck, I need you.”
As she stroked me hard and fast, I tugged her breasts free from her uniform and wrapped my teeth lightly around her very familiar nipples, giving them a tug. She was keen on the pleasure, pain thing, and I was happy to indulge in that, too, if it kept her happy. To be honest, as long as I was getting the release I so desperately needed, I was keen to try anything.
She cried out far too loudly, considering we were supposed to be being quiet, and she threw her head back in ecstasy. In the heat of the moment, Terri pressed her back up against the cold wall behind her, practically begging me to take her there and then, which I was happy to do.
She liked it fast and furious – and that was exactly what I needed, so I quickly slammed myself into her and started fucking her so hard that we were practically shaking the whole damn building.
“Oh shit,” she yelled, clawing at my back, digging her nails in so deep that it felt like she could have been drawing blood. “Oh fuck, Matt, you feel fucking amazing.”
As the pleasure burst free from me, concluding our quickie in a fast and timely matter, I felt on top of the world. Was there any better feeling than no-strings-attached fantastic sex? It certainly didn’t feel like it to me. I thought this was the highest that life could get, and I didn’t understand why anyone would want anything more.