‘Are you sure?’ I asked. ‘Are you really, positively, absolutely—?’
He didn’t let me finish. Cupping my face between his palms, he tilted my head back and kissed me sweetly, softly, silencing me. And then, when an aeon had passed, he said, ‘Tell me what you want. Tell me and I’ll give it to you. Anything.’
‘Take me home,’ I whispered, my heart slowly knitting itself back together, the ache not so painful this time, but sweet. So very sweet. ‘Take me home and love me.’
He smiled the smile he saved just for me. ‘How about I take you home and marry you instead?’
What could I say but yes?
I might have broken into his apartment to steal a necklace, but I’d ended up stealing his heart instead.
And one thing was for sure: he wasn’t getting it back.
EPILOGUE
Damian
I TOOK HER back to Hong Kong and we eloped to Italy the week after that.
She didn’t want a big wedding and neither did I.
Our honeymoon was spent in a villa on the Amalfi coast and it was perfect. All Thea wore for at least a week was the black pearls I’d given her and nothing else.
And, when I wasn’t making her feel special in every way that counted, I helped her figure out the fabulous new business she was going to manage herself. I’d decided to provide her with some capital to make Mr Chen’s reacquisition business a little more legitimate, a little more legal. I had the contacts and the staff to help her out and, though she might lose out on some shadier clients, she’d make up for it in terms of legitimate ones.
More importantly, she could carry out Mr Chen’s legacy but do it her way. On her own terms. And definitely not alone.
But it wasn’t all on me. At night, by the pool in our villa, she got me to share stories about my mother and Morgan, going over my memories of the good times, not the bad. Turned out there were a lot of good times.
There were going to be a lot of good times in the future too, lots of wonderful memories to be created, though I wasn’t naive enough to think that meant there wouldn’t be bad ones as well.
But this time I had her.
We had each other and that made all the difference.
* * *
If you loved Dirty Devil, look out for the other books in Jackie Ashenden’s Billion $ Bastards miniseries
Sexy Beast
Bad Boss
coming soon to Harlequin DARE.
Dare to read more sexy stories! Check out our other Harlequin DARE titles, available now:
The Fling by Stefanie London
A Private Affair by A.C. Arthur
Sweet Temptation by Lauren Hawkeye
Also by Jackie Ashenden
The Knights of Ruin
Ruined
Destroyed
The Kings of Sydney
King’s Price
King’s Rule
King’s Ransom
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The Fling
by Stefanie London
CHAPTER ONE
Drew
“WAIT, YOU’RE SERIOUS about having a rehearsal for the hen’s night?” I stare at my sister’s bridesmaids, each more tanned and manicured than the last. Annaleigh, Sherilee and...crap, what was the third one’s name again? I’ll call her Merrily in my head until I have a chance to ask my sister.
Not that there’s anything merry about her, mind you. She’s staring at me like I’m patient zero. Is it my fishnets? Maybe it’s the fact that I was a little heavy-handed with the eyeliner today and ended up looking less Brigitte Bardot and more stripper-at-the-end-of-a-long-shift.
“Yes. We’re very serious about having a rehearsal for the hen’s night.” Annaleigh exchanges a look with the other two, as though mentally questioning how my twin sister and I share DNA.
Thankfully, Presley isn’t here tonight.
I swear I’d intended to play nice. My twin and I might be chalk and cheese, as my mum always likes to say, but I love Presley. I really do...just not her taste in clothing, men, food, music, home decor or life interests.
Nor her taste in friends, either, it seems.
“This wedding is going to be perfect.” Sherilee tucks a strand of hair behind her ears, revealing a winking stone that’s so big it must be putting strain on her earlobe. It pales in comparison to the one on her finger, however. “Capital P Perfect. That means every event before the wedding will be perfect, too. The bridal shower, the kitchen tea, the dress fittings, the makeup and hair trials, the rehearsal dinner, the Jack and Jill party and the hen’s night.”
“The Jack and what?” My head is spinning.
“The Jack and Jill party.” Merrily sighs as if she thinks I’m a small, dumb animal. “It’s a combined hen’s and buck’s party.”
“In additional to the actual hen’s and buck’s party?”
“Yes,” all three of them say at once with identical, exasperated tones.
“And you’re organising it, along with the best man,” Annaleigh says. “I’ve passed on your email address, so you should hear from him soon. All the events have been divided up. You’ve got the Jack and Jill, and the presentation for the rehearsal dinner. I’ve got...”
Oh, boy. I’ve already tuned out the droning list of tasks that lie ahead of me.
I look longingly at my beer, which sits untouched, condensation gathering on the glass, next to three flutes of prosecco. I feel like being the first to reach for the booze will be seen as a sign of weakness, like flinching in a fight. But man, I could use a drink right now.
I pictur
e my sister’s sweet face, with her silvery-blue eyes so similar to mine—sans stripper makeup, of course—and tell myself to get my shit together. Do it for Presley! I’m an adult and I deal with snotty people all the time at work. I’m a flight attendant, after all. I can totally manage this.
When Annaleigh pauses to take a breath, I put on my brightest smile. It doesn’t crack any of the icy facades in front of me. “How do you all know Presley?”
“We work together,” Merrily replies.
“Oh, right.” I nod. Finally, something I know. “At the Wentworth Department Store.”
“Head office,” Sherilee adds. “I’m in the communications team, Annaleigh works with Presley in training and Pauline is in recruitment.”
Pauline. I make a mental note to remember Merrily’s real name this time.
“Sounds fun,” I say benignly. There’s a beat of silence and I shift in my seat.
“Presley told us that you go by your middle name, right?” Annaleigh asks, as though she’s trying to keep the conversation from stalling completely. “We’re having T-shirts printed for the hen’s night. Would you prefer Melanie or Drew?”
“Drew.”
Melanie might be the name on my birth certificate and passport, but I’ve always been Drew to my family and friends. I got my middle name from my Uncle Andrew. It’s a weird quirk of our family. Presley is the same; her real first name is Anne, but no one calls her that.
“Why don’t you use your real name?” Pauline asks.
I shrug. “It’s kind of...basic.”
She frowns. “My sister’s name is Melanie.”
An awkward silence descends over the group, burrowing under my skin. But the moment Sherilee opens her mouth and begins to discuss the best type of napkin origami for rehearsal dinner table settings, I question my stance on silence.
An hour later, things have not improved. I’m learning that weddings are serious business, with Google spreadsheets and accountabilities and brainstorming sessions and rehearsals and dress rehearsals. I wouldn’t be shocked if one of them asked me to set a SMART goal for how I want the wedding to go.
And it’s not even my damn wedding!
Better live vicariously while you can, Little Miss Not-Marriage-Material.
I shake off my snarky inner voice and concentrate on my second beer. Not only did I cave and reach for my drink before any of them even glanced at their prosecco, but I’m currently entering the stage of the evening where my verbal filter clocks out.
And unfiltered Drew is not for the faint of heart.
“So, games for the hen’s night. We’re thinking something fun, like a quiz on how well we know Presley.” Pauline taps a Montblanc pen against her chin. “Maybe some wedding-related trivia.”
“And pass the parcel.” Annaleigh claps her hands together. “We could include fun wedding things, like a garter and a pen for signing the guest book.”
“Or condoms.” The comment slips out before I can check in with my brain. See? Unfiltered. “You know, for the...wedding night.”
Sherilee laughs awkwardly and moves her pen as if she’s writing it down, but I can see that no ink is being wasted on my suggestion.
“I saw this cute take on pin the tail on the donkey,” Pauline says. “But you had to pin the kiss marks on a picture of Ryan Gosling. Fun, right?”
This suggestion is met with a round of appreciative oohs. I went to a hen party once where we had to pin something on a poster of a hot, half-naked guy...and it wasn’t a kiss. But I get the impression that games involving photorealistic male appendages also wouldn’t make the cut for Presley’s capital P Perfect hen’s night.
Stop snarking. Now.
“What about a goodbye singleton treasure hunt?” I suggest. “A friend of mine did that last year and it was really fun.”
“Sounds interesting.” Annaleigh drums her nails against the tabletop. “How does it work?”
“It’s kind of like The Amazing Race but for all the things you would do when you were single. You get a point for each item—get a guy’s phone number, dance on a table, do a shot with a dirty name.”
“Actually, that sounds super fun.” Annaleigh looks at me, surprised.
Phew. Maybe I won’t disappoint Presley after all.
“We could have a scaling point system. The more difficult the item, the higher the point value. And we could have tie-breaker activities in case two people have the same amount of points.” Sherilee’s eyes widen. “I’ll make a spreadsheet.”
I decide it’s a good idea to end on a high note. I’ve provided one useful suggestion—which did get written down, thank you very much—so that means I can now make a graceful-ish exit. Well, as graceful as is possible after a couple of beers while wearing platforms.
“Ladies, as much as I am thoroughly enjoying myself right now, I’ve got an early start tomorrow,” I announce. “Can we wrap this up?”
“Sure.” Annaleigh looks as relieved as I feel. “Sherilee is our resident note taker, so she’ll send the minutes out. If you could review them and respond within twenty-four hours, that would be great.”
I nod, swallowing my growing desire to murder my sister. “Absolutely. I will definitely read every single word. Even the footnotes.”
At this, Sherilee perks up. “Usually nobody reads my footnotes.”
Sarcasm is a foreign language, I see. Lord help me. I down the remainder of my beer and rest the empty pint glass on the bar with a thunk. “Happy to be the first.”
“And the best man will email you tomorrow,” Annaleigh reminds me. “If you don’t hear from him, let me know.”
I climb down from my bar stool and bid them a good night. The bar’s clientele mirrors my sister’s friends—suits and pencil skirts, perfectly highlighted hair. Pearls, diamonds, Louboutins. Presley would fit right in. I decide to text her as I walk.
DREW: I love you more than anyone else on earth.
PRES: Wow. That bad, huh?
DREW: Where do you find these people?
PRES: They’re my friends, D. Be nice. I know they’re a little intense.
DREW: Ya think?
PRES: They mean well.
Debatable. I got some hella strong Regina George vibes tonight, but I vowed I would not let my personal shit interfere with my sister’s big day. That means no snarking at her friends.
DREW: How long til this is all over? ;)
PRES: Three weeks. And trust me, I want this done as much as you do.
Unlikely, but I’ll let her have it. I might look like the lovechild of Debbie Harry and Wednesday Addams, but inside I’m a big ball of mush when it comes to my sister. Nothing will get between us. Not even email minutes with footnotes.
PRES: And don’t do that thing where you shut everyone out before they have a chance to get to know you. You might make a friend!
Three hearts punctuate my sister’s text. If ever there was physical evidence of the difference between us, this is it. Shaking my head, I continue down Clarendon Street toward my temporary residence in South Melbourne. 21 Love Street is the most ridiculous name for an apartment building, even one as swanky as this. But I’m grateful to have the cushy place to stay until the wedding is over.
And truthfully, the people here do seem nice. It’s been so long since I lived in Melbourne that I don’t have many contacts in this city—and the one friend I do have is away and letting me crash in her apartment. My friends are scattered all over the world, a product of working as a flight attendant all my adult life. Do a stint in Dubai and another in Singapore and one more in London and you’ll end up with a globally fragmented social circle.
But that suits me fine. I make do wherever I go, and my colleagues are always up for some fun when they’re in town.
I enter the building, marvelling as I usually do at the foyer’s softly glowing chandelier that
manages to somehow not be tacky. A couple of velvet chairs are dotted around and some pretty art hangs on the main wall.
Capital P Perfect!
I stifle a laugh and head to the elevators. The concierge desk is empty, with a sign stating they’re currently “on patrol.” That’s been happening a lot ever since they found out a crime ring was operating out of this building last week. Yeah, that happened. Doesn’t bother me, though. I enjoy a little excitement in my life.
I tap my foot, waiting while the elevator does its thing. But it’s taking forever. Five minutes pass. Then ten. The concierge still hasn’t returned to his post. Grumbling, I head toward the service stairwell and start making my way up.
Copyright © 2020 by Stefanie Little
ISBN-13: 9781488061967
Dirty Devil
Copyright © 2020 by Jackie Ashenden
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