by Kaylee, Katy
I pulled up the new file Jax had sent me. It was a client interested in our hiring our marketing firm. Yes, marketing. The launch had been ridiculously successful and launched Jax’s star high in the world—which he hated. He hated the fame. He hated the publicity and hated being in the public eye. After the incident with the senator and the many viral video compilations, Vines, and memes, he’d given the fashion industry the big middle finger and walked away from the whole thing.
We were a marketing firm. Jax got to express his creative chops in a new way that allowed him lots of freedom, made us all a ton of money, and he was no longer famous. A few people remembered him, but after a year of laying low and refusing interviews, the world forgot about the bad boy of fashion and moved on to a new target. I liked it that way. I had him all to myself with no other women ogling him all the time.
“Hey, Mommy.” I heard his voice coming down the hall.
I spun around in my chair and saw him rounding the corner with Jacy in his arms. The man was smitten with his daughter. The girl was going to be the most spoiled baby on the planet. She had her daddy wrapped around her finger from the very moment her screaming self entered the world. I got up and opened the door to meet them.
“Hi, sweet baby,” I cooed, kissing my five-month-old daughter on one of her chubby cheeks.
“Are you talking to me or our daughter?” Jax asked, giving me a kiss on the forehead before handing me the baby.
“Both of you. Did the nanny go home for the day?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yep.”
“I got that file you sent,” I said, bouncing Jacy on my hip as I talked.
“Good. Got any ideas?”
I shook my head. “Not yet, but I think we can come up with something amazing. If all your old contacts in the fashion world keep reaching out, we’re going to have to hire another design team. We already have more clients than we can handle.”
He grinned proudly. “Dam—I mean darn straight,” he quickly corrected.
“You’re amazing,” I told him, fiercely proud to call him mine. “You’re brave and smart, and I’m so proud of you for making such a huge change in your world without knowing it would be successful.”
“I knew it would be successful. I had the best marketing manager in the business working for me. I figured I could ride your coattails for a while until I figured out the ropes,” he said nonchalantly.
“I don’t know if I’m the best, but the two of us together are certainly a force to be reckoned with.”
“Speaking of, I have that meeting with Chance in about five minutes. Do you have the final proofs for their campaign launch?” he asked.
“I do,” I said, moving to sit down, putting Jacy on my thigh and continuing to bounce her while I used my free hand to pull up the file. I hit the button to send it to his tablet, then opened the hard copy that I had on the corner of my desk and pushed it to him. “This is it. Do you think Lydia will like it?” I asked nervously.
Jax flipped through the images, nodding his head, reminding so much of that first time when I had done the same for his first campaign launch. “Da—Dang, these are really good. I think Lydia will be impressed.”
“They have to be perfect, not just for Chance’s sake, but Lydia’s as well. I know she wants to get away from being in the front of the camera. Her collaboration with Chance is her chance to get on the design side of things. Chance showed me some of the ideas she has for the female athletic line. He’s thrilled to be partnered with her. Of course, who wouldn’t want to be Lydia Lydon’s partner. She’s pretty much awesome at everything,” I said with a laugh.
He stood up and dropped a kiss on the top of my head before kissing Jacy’s dark curls. She’d inherited my hair color and Jax’s natural curls. She’d also been lucky enough to get her daddy’s green eyes. Jax was sure she was the most beautiful baby on the planet. I had to agree with him.
“How did you get so good at this?” he asked with admiration in his voice as he began to flip through the file again.
“You can thank yourself for that,” I said.
He looked up at me. “Me? I didn’t do this. This is all you.”
I shook my head. “No, because when the whole college nonsense happened, I was more driven than ever. I focused on school. I didn’t go out. I didn’t party. I certainly didn’t date anyone. When I transferred schools, I realized that I had actually made a step in the right direction. Their marketing program was far better. With all the studying and lack of a social life, I managed to pull off some really good grades and earned scholarships. When I first started college, I had planned on getting my associate’s and then finding a job. You changed the course of my future, and look where it led me—right back to you. We had to get through all that to be where we are today.”
He smiled, pointing to his nose. “And without the busted nose, I never would have gotten those modeling jobs. I never would have made the money I needed to start the company, and I never would have gotten the chance to work with you or reunite with you long enough to make that cute little dumpling.”
“Fate. It has a funny way of making things work out, doesn’t it?”
He groaned. “It was a rather dark, twisty, lonely road. I could have done without that part.”
“Ah, but that’s what makes it all the better.”
Jacy grabbed the giant diamond sitting on my ring finger and tried to pull it into her mouth. I gently pulled it away from her. I had told Jax the ring was too big, but he had insisted, claiming my giant belly was a lot to compete with. He wanted the world to know I was his wife and needed a rock that shined bright enough for the folks up at the International Space Station to see. He loved to spoil me.
“I need to get going. Daddy will see you in a little bit,” he said, rubbing Jacy’s curls.
“You sure you don’t want to take her in?” I teased.
He scowled. “No. Definitely not. We’ll never get any work done.”
“She’s a good girl.”
“It isn’t her that’s the problem. It’s your d—brother. He can’t focus on anything else when his niece is in the room. He turns into a giant puddle of goo. He ignores me and tickles the baby or talks to her. She’s a distraction that Chance can’t resist. She stays with you for this one,” he said firmly.
“Oh, my pretty girl is just too cute to handle,” I cooed.
“Yes, she is. Are you headed home for the day?” he asked from the door.
“Yep. I’m going to send off a couple emails, and then we’ll be going home to make dinner.”
“Good and open up that bottle of wine we picked up the other day. Let it breathe because after a certain someone goes to bed, I plan on turning her perfect, saintly mother into a debauched sinner,” he said in a low voice.
I covered her ears. “Jax!”
He chuckled and walked away, leaving me feeling more than a little flustered. The man could still turn me on with a single look or a few well-chosen dirty words. We’d made a deal that he wouldn’t cuss in front of the baby, but when we were alone in our room, all bets were off. He’d even gotten me into talking dirty when we were alone in bed or the shower, I thought with a grin.
The man was amazing at everything he did. He was an amazing father, husband, lover and an excellent provider for his family. After he and Chance talked things out, he’d made it clear we were going to be married. I had tried to argue we were rushing into things, but he and Chance had made it clear we were married now or later, but we would be married.
I didn’t regret anything that had happened between us. That deep hurt I had felt only showed me I was capable of deep love. Jax had gone above and beyond to prove to me he would always be loyal and faithful to me and his daughter. I believed him when he said he would never leave us. We were a family. Neither of us had great home lives when we were growing up, which made us more determined than ever to give Jacy everything she needed to grow and thrive in a loving environment.
Chance spent a lot of
time at our house and promised to buy a house in the neighborhood as soon as his line made him wealthy. Jax had offered to loan him the money, but Chance was determined to do it on his own. I didn’t blame him. In fact, I encouraged him to wait until he could do it on his own. It would make the reward all the sweeter.
I closed my laptop and stuffed it in the carrying case. “Are you ready to go home and make some dinner for daddy?” I asked Jacy.
She smiled, a big open-mouthed, drool-filled smile as she clapped her hands together. I took that as a yes.
“Mommy is going to make daddy a special dinner and then maybe, just maybe, we’ll get to work on getting you a little brother or sister,” I told her, knowing she had no idea what I was saying.
She clapped her chubby little hands anyway. I walked to Jax’s office to retrieve the diaper bag before heading toward the elevator. The conference room blinds were open. I couldn’t resist teasing my big brother and stopped in front of the window. Jax had his back to us. I waved, catching Chance’s eye. His eyes lit up when he saw Jacy. I put a finger to my mouth, telling him to be quiet. He nodded and pulled a few funny faces for Jacy before Jax spun around to find us staring through the window. He gave a stern look and pointed for us to leave. I burst into laughter, knowing we had just destroyed Chance’s concentration. Jax was going to pay me back for that one.
I couldn’t wait.
***The End***
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Misunderstood (Excerpt)
DESCRIPTION
Ryder Malloy. Selfish. Arrogant. Self-absorbed. Prick.
An epitome of manliness. Six-foot-three, all hard, chiseled muscle.
My brother’s ex best friend, and my new client.
Four years ago, he took my innocence and left – without a word.
Today, he’s the star quarterback who needs an image makeover,
And I’m his publicist, who doesn’t quite believe him.
Task at hand: Swallow my hate for him and concentrate on the job at hand – making Ryder look like a real life knight in shining armor.
Complications: I’m falling for him all over again.
Well, sleeping with a client is a no-no.
Making out with him on my desk – a bigger no-no!
Making a baby with him?
What was I thinking!
PROLOGUE
Katie
My life was nearly perfect. I’d earned my college degree a month ago and just finished my first week as a marketing assistant at a PR firm in St. Louis, Missouri. I had parents who were proud of me, and a brother I adored was getting married in a week. I had several great friends who were with me now as I entered the bar section of the restaurant we liked to hang out at sometimes.
“Do you think dancing Jack will be here this week?” My friend Jenny asked our other friend Tanya, who’d gone home with a handsome yet awkward dancer last week.
“I wouldn’t mind another go-around with him.” She winked. “What about you, Katie? Think you’ll find your lover boy?”
Both of my friends knew that I was still a virgin. I knew deep down they thought it was scandalous that I was twenty-one years old and never had sex. They were nice enough not to tease me about it, but they’d also made it a goal to have me turn in my V-card ASAP.
“You never know.” My being a virgin wasn’t a religious or moral decision. Mostly, I’d been so focused on school and getting my career started that I didn’t spend a lot of time dating. The few opportunities I’d had to sleep with a man, I just wasn’t into it. I’d been too nervous or not aroused enough.
As we passed the bar, I scanned the area and my eyes stopped on a familiar face. I had to do a double take because I was sure my eyes were deceiving me. Ryder Malloy couldn’t be sitting by himself in a crowded bar. He was a hometown hero. Second string quarterback for the Nashville Copperheads football team. How was it no one was bothering him for an autograph?
I watched as a middle-aged man approached him.
Ryder looked at him and scowled. The expression was so fierce, the man lifted his hands in surrender and backed away. Ryder downed his shot and waved to the bartender for another.
“Hey, I’ll meet you guys in a minute,” I said to my friend. “I need to check on something.”
Ryder was my brother’s best friend since kindergarten, and so it wasn’t a surprise he was in town. He was my brother’s best man in his upcoming nuptials.
To me, Ryder was the epitome of manliness. He was six-foot-three, all hard, chiseled muscle. He had bronze hair and sapphire eyes, but he didn’t have the pretty boy looks that often went along with light hair and blue eyes. He had a rugged, nearly dangerous look that filled every sexual fantasy I had. Since I first discovered masturbation, he’d been the start and end of every orgasm.
Not that he knew about that. He saw me as Danny’s little sister, and even if I wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been attracted me. He gravitated to model-gorgeous women with great bodies, a type my brother shared.
Me, I was pretty, and I had curves, but more than most men appreciated. Then there were the glasses. Some people could pull off glasses and look pretty, even sexy. I wasn’t one of those people. I just looked like a nerd.
So, while Ryder wouldn’t be the one to pop my cherry, he was a long-time friend and clearly something was up.
As I moved closer, he turned and gave me a scowl.
I smirked. “That won’t work on me Ryder Malloy, so don’t even try.”
The scowl actually deepened. “Did Danny send you?” The slight slur to his words suggested he’d imbibed a few shots.
I frowned, wondering what the heck was up. “No. I’m here with friends. What’s going on?”
“Your brother is a fucking dick.”
I jerked back. “What happened?”
He shook his head and turned back to his drink. He downed it and waved to the bartender. “Another Jack Daniels,” he said ordering another shot of whiskey.
I hopped up on the barstool next to him.
“I’m not in the mood, Katie.”
“Okay. We don’t have to talk about my dickhead brother.” My brother wasn’t a dickhead, and I couldn’t imagine why Ryder would say that unless there was some issue about the business deal they were trying to strike. But I also knew that pushing the subject now would make him back away.
He snorted. “Prick.”
The bartender gave me a look as he set the drink on the counter. “Last one, hotshot.”
Ryder glared at him.
I nodded to the bartender letting him know I’d try to take care of it. Normally, I’d have called Danny, but since he was the source of Ryder’s desire to drink to oblivion, I decided I need to handle it.
Ryder downed the next glass.
“Why don’t we go to my place?”
“I like you, Katie, but—”
“Not for that. It won’t look good if you get photographed completely lit.”
“Fuck ’em.”
“You say that now, but if you get in trouble with the team—” I took a different route. “I got a bottle of Corsaire Ryemageddon for graduation,” I mentioned the Tennessee whiskey that he’d given me.
He narrowed his glassy eyes at me. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Is this a trick?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. If you’re having a fight with Danny, he hasn’t said a word to me.”
“Let her take you home, man. You
don’t want your fans seeing you like this.” The bartender took Ryder’s empty glass.
“Whatever.” Ryder slid from the stool and swayed as he worked to get his legs under him. I put my arm around him, knowing full well if he lost his balance, he’d take us both down.
A busboy trotted up on the other side, ready to help if needed. As it was, once Ryder got out into the humid night and took a breath, he seemed to regain a bit of his composure.
“I’ll just head back to the hotel.”
“Why are you at a hotel?”
Ryder’s mother left when he was little and his father was abusive, so he’d spent a lot of time with my family growing up. So much so, he was like a surrogate son to my parents. Surely, they had a place for him at their house.
“It’s a hassle for your parents. The neighborhood is…”
He didn’t finish, but I knew what he meant. He was a celebrity in our neighborhood, and my mother, being a true southern woman, always felt compelled to feed and entertain when people would show up when Ryder was there.
“Where are you staying?”
He pointed across the street to one of the big-name hotel chains that had gone up along the Interstate over the last ten years.
“Why don’t I take you to my place? I’ll cook you dinner.”
“What about the Corsaire?”
I didn’t plan to really give him more booze, but I smiled. “And that.”
He shrugged and somehow got his large frame into my little Honda Fit, my first purchase after getting hired. I texted my friends that I was helping a friend of Danny’s get home and then drove the twenty-minute route to my apartment complex.