Gently pressing his lips against my forehead, he took a deep breath that made me smile because it meant he was healthy and whole. “Then I hope you never wake up,” he said, “because I refuse to give you up.”
“Promise?”
“Would I ever lie to you?”
That, at least, I did have an answer for: “No. You wouldn’t.”
He pulled away just enough to look into my eyes, and I was pretty sure he could see everything inside my head and my heart. “No matter what happens, Lissa,” he said, “I love you. Nothing is going to change that.”
And I believed him.
The End
Read more of the Davenport family in the rest of the Simple Love series:
Simplicity – Book 1: Lanna’s Story
Growing Young – Book 2: Catherine’s Story
Bittersweet Brews – Book 3: Matthew’s Story
As Long as You Love Me – Book 5: Brennon’s Story
Free bonus short story: The Hunt of Artemis
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Sneak peek of A Simple Love Story: Book 5
Excerpt from As Long as You Love Me
In general, my life was pretty simple. Simplicity provided room for predictability, and if I could anticipate what might happen, I was never caught off guard. If I was never caught off guard, well, I never got hurt. Logically, it wasn’t the best way to live life, but I had survived the last fifteen years with that philosophy, and I planned to keep it up. Why would I change when it worked? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
“You’re in a mood today.”
I looked up from my computer screen, realizing I had been staring at it for too long and getting lost in thought while the page refreshed. I would have to talk to Jake about our internet problems, because it was really starting to get ridiculous. Eight seconds to load a spreadsheet? At least I was mostly awake now.
“Sorry,” I said and gave Colin Donovan a smile. “Long week.” Long night, more like, but I knew how he would take that.
Stop living such a wild life, he would say, and we would laugh a little because Donovan went out with people even less often than I did, though he had a good reason for staying at home.
He was one of my oldest clients, thankfully, so he’d seen me at my good and bad and simply gave me a half-smile that told me he understood. Donovan was one of the few exceptions to my general rule about never meeting with clients in person. Over the years, he had become one of the most predictable people I knew, so I didn’t have to wonder what he might do or say. He was here because he was going on vacation for the bulk of the summer, just like he did every year. He wanted to make sure I had everything in order with his funds so he didn’t come back any poorer than when he left.
I wanted to stop thinking about Molly, because she was seriously messing with my head and making my job harder than it needed to be. How was it she managed to disrupt my life even when I hadn’t seen her in years? I could still see her as she was in my dream, biting the end of her pencil as she sprawled across my floor and did her quiz. Just like when we were teens.
I took a quick glance at Donovan’s file now that it had loaded, though I already knew it well, and I jumped right into explaining my plans for the next couple of months. It wasn’t anything different from what I’d been doing the last couple of years, and Colin wasn’t any more worried than he usually was. He trusted me to take care of his money, just like all my clients did.
Predictable. Logical. Simple.
Everything my dream last night wasn’t.
“I’ll have my phone on me,” Donovan assured me as he left, though the odds of me needing to call him were slim to none.
Thankfully, the meeting restored a bit of balance to my day, and I had a feeling things would be better from here on out. Now that things were more or less back to normal, I settled more comfortably in my chair and went to work. This, alone in my office with nothing but money and spreadsheets to keep me company, was where I could be completely myself.
As usual, Jake had lunch on my desk almost the instant I realized I was hungry, and I looked up at him wondering how I could have found someone so perfect. “You know me too well,” I said, though I really wanted to tell him he was sent from heaven.
Jake laughed as he grabbed a water bottle from his back pocket and tossed it to me. “Yeah,” he agreed. “I know you’re always hungry.”
“I’m not always…” But I stopped myself because he was right. It was the curse of spending the last couple of years living with the man who was the head chef of one of San Francisco’s most popular restaurants. Steve Evans was a genius on a stove, and he’d had to practice before his restaurant opened. A lot. I had to admit I had gotten used to eating his attempts, which were always amazing, and I definitely missed that perk. My stomach missed it. Weekly family dinners with the Davenports were not enough to curb my cravings for the man’s food.
“Do I pay you enough?” I asked Jake, already knowing the answer.
“Nope,” he said, and then he was out the door and back at his desk.
I’d have to bring that up at the next staff meeting, since I had a feeling I wasn’t the only guy at Bay Bridge Investments who relied heavily on his assistant. I only had so many Warriors tickets to give him before he realized his talents were worth more for him to leave than to stay and help keep my life on a schedule.
The afternoon passed quickly, as it always did, and the stock market didn’t do anything I hadn’t predicted. One company I had invested in on behalf of multiple clients had suddenly dropped in value over the weekend when the CEO was caught siphoning funds, but I had expected that after meeting the guy a month ago and had sold last week. Another stock had soared, a start-up that caught the attention of the internet with a well-made commercial. Again, I had anticipated this the moment I found the video last week and had already purchased a significant number of shares. Work, as always, was gloriously predictable.
“And this is why you love what you do,” I said to myself.
Around six, I was back to singing that stupid Backstreet Boys song when Jake knocked on my office door, probably to bring in my dinner, so I called out for him to enter and kept singing.
“Interesting choice,” said a man who wasn’t Jake.
I jumped to my feet the moment I recognized Jefferson, one of the partners of our firm. I’d spoken to the guy a few times, but he rarely came down to talk to us brokers because he was too busy building up the company and schmoozing new clients. Unlike me, Jefferson was a people person and loved being out and about, chatting and golfing and going out to lunch with people. Even now, he looked like he’d just come off a coastline cruise, which I’d heard was one of his favorite things. His thick silver hair was windswept and enviable.
“Mr. Jefferson,” I said quickly and held out my hand for him to shake. My office suddenly felt sweltering, and I desperately hoped my hand wasn’t sweaty.
Jefferson’s handshake was firm, and he took to examining my office rather than me as he shook. “How long have you been here, Ashworth?” he asked after a moment.
I had to count back the years to answer Jefferson’s question, so he probably thought I was a bit slow. “Uh, eleven years, sir.”
“Eleven years,” he repeated, his eyebrows high. “That’s a long time.”
I had no idea what he meant by that. “Uh. Yeah. It’s a good company.”
He started wandering my small office, looking at the few things I had on my shelves. Books and files, mainly, but I had a picture of my parents by the door, as well as a photo of Steve and me just after we graduated Stanford next to my little fern that sat in the window. “You like it here?” he asked, touching one of the fern leaves.
“Of course,” I said, though I was a little worried I would start singing out loud again if that song didn’t stop playing in my head. I was so focused on Jefferson being here that I could barely focus on holding my tongue. But was he really asking if I liked my job? I was pre
tty sure I had succeeded in never making anyone suspect that I didn’t. I wanted to be predictable, after all.
“So why haven’t you tried to become a partner?”
Never mind needing to hold my tongue. My words caught in my throat, and I stood there feeling like I was brand new to the company and had no idea what I was doing. Partner? That had been my goal from the beginning, but I figured I was simply mediocre, since no one had ever brought it up with me. Until now, at least. “Sir?” It was the only word that I could think of that wasn’t absolute nonsense.
Jefferson grimaced as he settled in the chair opposite my desk and gestured for me to sit as well. “Janice was right,” he muttered. “You are ridiculously proper, aren’t you?”
The song was playing in my head again, and I got distracted enough that I wasn’t sure what he said at first. “Uh.”
The grimace turned into an amused smile. “Relax, Ashworth. You’re not in trouble.”
I couldn’t remember the next line of the song. And I didn’t know what to say. I tried to take a deep breath, hoping that would knock some sense into me that didn’t involve Nick Carter’s voice, but everything about this impromptu meeting was too confusing. I just ended up giving myself chest pains as I sat there. “I didn’t think I was,” I managed to get out at the same time my head jumped back to the chorus of the song. “I’m just… I’m not sure what you’re getting at. Sir,” I added, for good measure.
Jefferson let out a chuckle and picked up a book I’d left on my desk with the intent to read but had never given myself the time. It had sat there for months. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It was one of Steve’s favorites, but I hadn’t even opened it after he and Lissa gave it to me for my birthday a couple months before.
I was pretty sure they’d just given me the exact copy I already owned, since it had the same mark on the long edge of the pages, but whatever. I wasn’t going to read it anyway.
Even with interesting books, reading made it way too easy to get lost in my thoughts lately. Curse you for throwing off my equilibrium, Lissa. She didn’t even know she’d done it. She was almost as bad as Molly.
And still the Backstreet Boys kept singing.
“Shut up,” I growled under my breath.
“You have the best numbers in the entire company,” Jefferson said, thankfully distracted as he browsed the book. “You’re always here early, always leave late, and I can’t even begin to tell you how many potential clients have heard about you and want you as their broker.”
The office temperature rose again. “Oh,” I said, which sounded ridiculous but was a whole lot better than any of the crooning lyrics running through my head. I decided I should probably say something else, though. “Uh, thank you.”
“Which brings me back to the question: Why haven’t you tried to make partner?”
Did he really expect me to have an answer to that? Because I didn’t. Yes, I wanted to become a partner and have some say in the workings of the firm. Yes, I worked harder than I should in the hopes my efforts would be noticed. But did he want me to say that? To tell him that he and the other company head had spent the last eleven years basically unaware that I existed? How about I guilt you into giving me the job?
He looked up at me, making eye contact for the first time. He looked older than I remembered, though I was pretty sure he couldn’t have been more than fifty. Only fifteen years at most separated us, but I felt like we were worlds apart. Kort Jefferson knew exactly what he was doing with his life and what he wanted to have happen and how to reach his goals without worrying about stepping on other people’s toes or saying the wrong things. He was confident and charismatic and had everything he could possibly want.
And I…
“You seem like a good kid,” he said, his eyebrows pulling together as my silence continued, “but you can’t be afraid to go for what you want. Initiative is more powerful than most people realize.”
“Yes,” I said a little too quickly. Smooth. “I mean, I’ll keep that in mind.”
He smiled a bit as he rose to his feet and gave my office another little examination. “You aren’t big into stuff, are you, Ashworth?” he said.
“I don’t see the point of holding onto things,” I said without hesitation. That I did have a response for, though I kept the second half to myself: Everything inevitably goes away. I had learned that lesson early on in life.
My comment made his smile widen, and he said, “Sounds like you found the right business,” as he headed for the door. “Money never hangs around for long. I’ll see you around, Ashworth.”
It was for that exact reason I had become a stock broker. Compared to dealing with people, the stock market was blissfully predictable.
As soon as Jefferson was gone, the last couple of minutes seemed to rush into me and knock me down into my chair. Had he just said…? I had pretty much decided becoming a partner was out of the question, which was fine. I knew my place, and I was good at what I did. Not everyone could claim that. But Jefferson seemed to want me doing more, which was so far from what I expected that I felt pretty dizzy as I sat there.
Or maybe that was because I was hungry.
Reaching across my relatively empty desk, I tapped the intercom button on my phone and said, “Jake?”
“Dinner’s on its way, Brennon,” he replied immediately.
I definitely didn’t pay the kid enough. And until he started working for me three years earlier, I hadn’t realized just how valuable it was to have an assistant who recognized the benefit of predictability, just like I had.
Without really meaning to, I muttered some lyrics out loud, though the song was long gone, replaced with a million questions I didn’t have answers for.
And I really didn’t like that.
About the Author
Dana LeCheminant has been telling stories since she was old enough to know what stories were. After spending most of her childhood reading everything she could get her hands on, she eventually realized she could write her own books too, and since then she always has plots brewing and characters clamoring to be next to have their stories told. A lover of all things outdoors, she finds inspiration while hiking the remote Utah backcountry and cruising down rivers. Until her endless imagination runs dry, she will always have another story to tell.
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For more of Dana’s books, visit lecheminantbooks.com
Books By This Author
Simplicity
Wealthy Lanna Davenport has the perfect life—and she hates it.
She’s never fit the mold of upper class “princess” and would rather spend her life painting than let her overbearing mother parade her around for the eligible bachelors of her social circle…even if those suitors include Adam Munroe, the son of California’s most famous art dealer. When a handsome new gardener, Luke, turns up and shows her there’s more to art than putting color on canvas, Lanna eagerly starts to explore a world outside of what she’s been allowed to know.
But the surprisingly down-to-earth Adam makes it easy to be part of her own world and still be her unconventional self. As she grows closer to Adam but is tempted by the freedom Luke can offer, Lanna is faced with the first choice she’s ever made for herself:
Does she stay true to herself in the life she’s known, or does she paint beyond the canvas of her past and leave it all behind?
Simplicity acts as a standalone sweet billionaire romance.
Growing Young
When party girl Catherine Davenport was sent to stay with her cousins for Christmas, she didn’t count on getting stuck with an irritating, antisocial soldier.
Catherine’s stubborn independence leads her from a bad vacation in Lake Tahoe to the middle of an art heist, and she winds up trapped in a cabin. But she’s not the only one hiding, and the wounded Green Beret inside is just as icy as the blizzard that traps them both.
To stay safe and sane in the raging storm, Catherine has to rely
on her wits and reluctantly trust the young and handsome soldier, Seth. He in turn slowly warms up to his unwanted houseguest despite his best efforts. Catherine keeps his nightmares at bay, and Seth can see past her masks, and the emotional walls they’ve both put up begin crumbling. But the longer they’re together, the more they start to realize the dangers waiting for them outside are more related than they thought, and the storm—and their growing attraction—is the least of their worries.
Growing Young is a sweet billionaire romance about learning to love yourself and trust the people who care about you.
Book 2 of the Simple Love Stories - a standalone novel with returning character cameos
Bittersweet Brews
Matthew Davenport isn’t used to being disliked.
Indie Fierro is the first person in a long time who can’t seem to stand him, and that’s driving him crazy. Under normal circumstances he would take the hint and leave the young coffee shop owner alone, but he’s the only thing standing between her and a couple of loan shark goons who have been harassing her, so he keeps coming back day after day and hoping she doesn’t get annoyed with him enough to throw him out.
Stepping away from someone in need is not in his nature.
Protecting Indie’s shop turns into a mission to bring some happiness into her stressful life, and next thing he knows he’s head over heels for her. But until he can convince her to open up to him about what’s really going on in her life, the pair of them could end up deeper in trouble than either of them can get out of again. And Matthew is not one to accept failure as an option.
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