Romantically Perfect: A Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy (Perfectly Imperfect Love Series Book 3)

by S. E. Rose

  “Well, I’m just glad to see him doing well. I brought a folder. Let’s go over some of his work real quick,” I offer, pulling out a folder similar to the ones I made for each student in my class. For the next ten minutes, I go over Trevor’s latest assignments.

  “And, that’s about it. Do you have any questions for me?” I ask her when I finish.

  She shakes her head. “No.”

  “Good. Then, there are a few items I wanted to go over with you,” Caris says.

  Melissa’s eyes widen. “I can’t repay the money right now. But—”

  Caris raises her hand, cutting Melissa off mid-sentence. “Melissa, that’s not what I wanted to talk about. As I said yesterday, I covered the money and Trevor’s yardwork will more than make up for that.” She pauses reaching over and placing a hand on Melissa’s. “I feel just awful. I didn’t know your mom was sick or that Mike left. I know you’re a proud woman and would never think to ask for help, but I also feel guilty that I didn’t see the signs and didn’t ask you. I should have done that.”

  “There’s no way you would have known,” Melissa offers in a quiet voice.

  “Well, we want to correct that. Your family is an important part of our community. Your mom was always good about volunteering up at the school even when she spent nights working a night shift at the hospital. And your dad helped build some of the best places in town. Hell, when you were a teenager, you babysat half the parents of kindergarten kids.”

  Melissa smiles a little at that.

  “We want to help you.”

  “I appreciate that, Caris. I do. But I’m figuring it out.”

  “Melissa, I need help in the main office. I know you have office skills and if I hire you on contract, temporarily to start with, I can get you working in a few weeks. Would you be interested?”

  “Really?”

  Caris nods. “It’s a little unorthodox how it’ll work out, but basically you’ll be with our temp firm we contract with and they have agreed to place you with our school. I hope you don’t mind, but I had an old resume of yours on file from a few years ago when you applied for the assistant position in my office.”

  “Caris, I…I don’t know what to say. Of course, I don’t mind. And yes, I’ll take it.”

  Caris smiles. “There are also a few other things. I did my best to keep things under wraps, but obviously, I had to explain to the Banneker Children’s Charity what happened, and some other people got wind of it. Can I have you come out to the porch for a moment?”

  Melissa looks from Caris to me and back to Caris. “Uh, OK.”

  I grin at Caris as we stand and walk out front. Garrett and Chrissy are standing in the driveway, leaning against the new van. A new wheelchair sits next to Garrett, and it’s filled with bags of clothes and groceries.

  “W-what is all this?” Melissa asks. I watch as her eyes widen further when she sees her landlord standing next to Garrett.

  “As I said, some folks found out and wanted to help. Kent Moore and some players from his team got the local dealership to donate this van to you. It’s been fitted with pedals on the wheel so you can drive it with your hands. It’s also got a ramp and place for you to set that new wheelchair, which folds up easily and is very lightweight. Some parents donated some clothes. Banneker Children’s Charity bought you two weeks' worth of groceries, that’s just a few days' worth there, but there’s a gift card inside the bag. There’s a prepaid gas card in your glove compartment. And your landlord, Mr. Fisher, agreed to make some handicap modifications on this property. You’ll have ramps here and in the garage. And the doorframes for your room, bathroom, and kitchen will be widened to allow for easier access with your chair.”

  “I…what?” Melissa says, her voice trembling with emotion. “I-I don’t understand.”

  Caris leans down. “Your family has been through a lot. We’re also gonna help your mom move in here from her apartment. We can get someone to take her to her chemo appointments. Mrs. Moore has promised to stop by a few times a week to check on her as well.”

  “Really?” Melissa asks, her eyes welling with tears.

  “Really,” Caris says.

  “But…this is…a lot.”

  Caris laughs. “It’s just the things you need. Nothing more.”

  “I-I don’t know how to repay you all. I can’t just accept all of this.”

  “I had a feeling you’d say that,” Caris states. “So, here’s my plan. Banneker Children’s Charity needs a volunteer to help them with intake forms. It’s only for a few hours a week, but I told them I might be able to talk you into helping.”

  “Yes, of course, I will,” she says adamantly.

  “Good. Then, that’s settled. Shall we go check out your new car?”

  Garrett

  I haven’t felt this proud in a long time. I’m proud of everyone here. And I’m most proud of Melissa for accepting these gifts. It can’t be easy to take donations, but she did it with grace and a resolve to give back when she can.

  I watch as her three kids crawl around the inside of the van exploring it as though it was their new treehouse. Melissa and I chat for a minute or two about Trevor and things that we can do to help him transition to the fifth grade next year.

  Once we finish our chat, I walk over and stand next to Di. “I think maybe they like it.”

  Di giggles. “I think maybe you’re right.”

  I want so badly to pull her into my arms and kiss the ever-loving fuck out of her right now, but that will have to wait for a few more days.

  “I should probably go,” I murmur as I notice a few others bidding their farewells.

  “Me too,” she says with a sigh. She glances up at me, and I just hope that I’m not too late. That the magic between us hasn’t gone away.

  “Well, have a good Thanksgiving,” I say as I stuff my hands in my pockets.

  “I will. It’s pretty low-key at my parents’ house.”

  “Low-key and your parents’ house seem like an oxymoron,” I state.

  She laughs. “I know, right? But it seriously is just our immediate family. I’m actually looking forward to decorating my apartment for the holidays on Friday. I might even go buy a tree.”

  “So early?” I ask.

  She shrugs. “I like the holidays; there’s something romantic about it.”

  I fight the grin that threatens to break out across my face because I already know this about her. She talks about the romanticness of the holidays every year, every year up till now I would roll my eyes, but this year, it’s different.

  “Well, enjoy.”

  “Thanks. What are you doing for the holidays?” she asks.

  “I’m celebrating with my family up in PA.”

  “That’ll be nice.”

  “Yeah, it’ll be good to see my nieces and everyone.”

  “Well, have a good week,” she says as she goes to hug the Larsons goodbye.

  I stand and watch her as she walks home. The next seventy-two hours may be the longest in my life.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Di

  I sink onto my sofa and admire the twinkling lights on my tree as I sip hot chocolate. It’s perfect. After an uneventful Thanksgiving, complete with Ashton wearing a turkey hat, I’m still digesting the food and wanting to lie around in my tryptophan sleepiness.

  I curl my legs beneath me and am just about to settle in with a book when my phone pings.

  Garrett: Hey.

  Me: Hey.

  Garrett: Could you go check your balcony?

  Me: Huh?

  Garrett: Just go check your balcony.

  Me: OK?

  I set my mug down and walk to my balcony which is now shimmering with little lights along with a few of the trees in the small courtyard. Opening the door a crack, I glance around but don’t see anything.

  I’m about to go back inside when I hear Garrett’s voice.

  “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls,

  Fo
r stony limits cannot hold love out.”

  I freeze at the familiar line from Romeo and Juliet. I look around, confused. “Garrett?” I call out into the courtyard. It’s cold, and I wrap my arms around myself as I continue to search for him in the dimly lit space.

  A movement to the right of my iron-gated balcony makes me jump until I see it’s Garrett.

  “What in the name of holiness are you doing?” I whisper-yell as I walk over toward him. As I approach, I see he’s standing on a ladder and has a bouquet of roses in his hand. At that very moment, it begins to snow. I shiver, glancing up before looking back at him.

  “Diana, hear me out before you say another word,” he commands.

  I still and cross my arms, waiting for whatever his explanation is.

  “I was an ass.”

  “Ix-nay on the ursing-cay,” I hear Lanie whisper in pig Latin, a way of speaking we used a lot as children. I lean over the deck and find that all my siblings are standing around the holly tree.

  “I’m sorry, but what—”

  “Just wait a gosh darn minute,” Garrett tells me as he turns to my siblings. “Can I just do this without a peanut gallery?”

  “Carry on, then,” Kylie commands, motioning with her hand.

  Garrett turns back to me and now I’m beyond confused.

  “Diana, I was wrong, so wrong. I didn’t believe in love. That was true. But then something happened this fall. I…you made me feel things that I’ve never felt before. I don’t know exactly when or how, but I fell in love with you. Maybe, a part of me always did believe in love, I just didn’t want to admit it. Or maybe, being with you changed my mind. I’m not sure. But I do know that I’ve fallen head over heels in love with you. I don’t want us to not be together anymore. I know love is scary. I know you’ve had relationships that have failed, but I’m willing to try, if you are.”

  He holds out the flowers to me. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

  I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding and put a hand to my chest. “You scared the shit out of me. I thought you were proposing.”

  His eyes widen. “I…I mean, maybe, one day, but I, uh, thought we could maybe date first?” His voice rises on the last word and I fight the smile that threatens to form on my lips.

  I nod to my siblings. “Uh, what’s with the rat pack?”

  “Oh, them? I may have mentioned something to Kylie when she called to tell me I needed to get back together with you.” He glares down at her, and I stifle a laugh. “I was planning that already. Hell, I started planning that the day after Kent’s party.”

  “You did?” I ask as my brain starts to put things together. “Wait. The gifts were from you? The chocolates, flowers, pajamas?”

  He nods.

  I laugh and lean over my balcony. “I told you it was some weirdo ex.”

  My siblings grin sheepishly at me, and I roll my eyes. Garrett clears his throat, and I look back at him.

  “You gonna leave me hanging here?” he asks.

  I walk over to him. “Those for me?” I ask, motioning to the roses.

  He holds them to the side. “That depends on your answer.”

  I grin, no longer able to keep myself from smiling. “I suppose,” I say nonchalantly.

  “You suppose?” he retorts.

  My grin widens nearly splitting my face in two. “Yep.”

  “Get your fine ass over here,” he commands as he pulls on my arm. I fall against him. Our eyes stay locked as we stare at each other, our lips mere centimeters apart, snow falling all around us.

  “I didn’t think you’d want something like this,” I admit.

  “I didn’t before you. But now, I want whatever makes you happy.”

  “You do?” I ask, feeling the tears well in my eyes.

  “I do.”

  “What if a kiss will make me happy?”

  “As the lady wishes,” he answers before pulling me closer and pressing his lips to mine. I hear my siblings cheering in the background, and I laugh against his mouth. “Do you think they’ll leave eventually? ’Cause this could get awkward,” he whispers against my lips.

  “Oh, you have no idea how awkward things can get in this family.”

  He frowns.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you,” I say with another smile as I bring my lips back to his.

  And just like that, I’m rescuing my Prince Charming, who scaled a wall, or ladder, to win me back. It’s not exactly fairy-tale material, but it’s close enough.

  Garrett

  I release Di from my grip and scale over the metal railing of her balcony. We wave to her siblings like we are members of the damned royal family before I pick her up and carry her back inside her apartment.

  She squeals in delight and waves to her siblings before I shut the door with my foot, tossing the bouquet on the kitchen counter.

  “What now?” she asks, looking up at me.

  She looks like a painting. She’s perfect. The lights from her Christmas tree illuminate her just enough for me to see each freckle that dots her face. The blinking lights cast patterns on her golden hair.

  “Now, we have a redo,” I state as I carry her into her bedroom.

  “A redo?” she asks.

  I set her down and look into her eyes. “Yes, a redo.”

  I start unbuttoning my shirt.

  “Ohhh, a ‘redo,’” she states as she stares at me.

  “I want this moment to be romantically perfect,” I say as I let my shirt fall to the ground and reach for the hem of the oversized sweater she’s wearing.

  “Keep saying stuff like that and I will make sure it is,” she whispers with a giggle.

  I chuckle as I toss her sweater to the ground. “You don’t have to do a thing, Di. You’re already perfect.”

  She places her hands on her hips and gives me a cute glare. “Who are you and what have you done with Garrett?”

  I laugh as I work her leggings and underwear down her legs, stopping at her belly to place a kiss just above her hip bone. “Nothing. I should ask you what you did to him.”

  I rise back up and reach behind her to unclasp her bra. I feel like I’m about to unwrap my freaking Christmas gift.

  She reaches up to my face as she lets her bra slip from her shoulders. Touching my jaw, she looks into my eyes. “I hope I didn’t do anything to him because I like him just the way he is.”

  I place my hand over hers and bring it to my lips, laying a kiss on the back of it. “I like you just the way you are, too.”

  She sighs blissfully as she rises to her toes and kisses me. “Then, I guess we are romantically perfect after all.”

  I grin against her lips. She reaches down and begins to unbutton my jeans, pushing them down my legs along with my underwear and socks. She’s back up against my lips a moment later, and I press her to me, feeling her full nakedness.

  I lick her lips, and she sighs again, letting my tongue explore her mouth. She tastes like chocolate. I groan imagining running chocolate all over her body and licking it off. If I was hard before, now I’m a whole new level of erect imagining that.

  I gently lower her onto the bed and kiss my way up her body, pushing her legs apart so I can pay special attention to an area of her body that I want to become very intimately familiar with as soon as possible. She cries out as I kiss and suck at her folds.

  After a moment, she tugs on my hair. “I need you, now,” she whimpers.

  I lazily make my way up her body, spending a few moments lavishing her breasts with my tongue. I tug on one nipple with my teeth and her body shakes beneath me.

  “Please,” she urges, spreading her legs wider and raising her hips. My erection brushes against her wet heat, and I groan from the contact. I let myself slide up and down her folds until the tip of my cock nudges her opening.

  I open my eyes and find hers watching me. We stare at each other as I slowly sink into her. “Perfect,” I whisper again.

  “So perfect,” she corrects me
as I begin to move, needing to feel the friction of our bodies. Our breathing becomes erratic as we each move, countering the other's thrusts with our own. Her body feels like home, and I never want to leave it.

  I can feel her lifting her pelvis, trying to find her release. I grab a pillow from behind her.

  “Here,” I say as I lift her hips with one hand and slide it under her with another. I slide deeper inside her this time, and she moans as I begin to thrust faster and harder. I bring my hand in between us, rubbing that bundle of nerves that I know will push her over the edge.

  Her body tenses and trembles. I don’t stop as I pound into her in a frenzy of need. The moment I feel her orgasm, my balls tighten, and I know I’m just a moment behind her bliss. I move like a madman, seeking my own release, and when it comes…nirvana. I feel everything and nothing. I collapse, keeping myself on my elbows so as not to crush her.

  I roll us over, and she curls against me.

  “That was…perfect,” she says.

  “Good, but next time will be even more perfect.”

  “Not possible,” she mumbles against my chest.

  I laugh. “Totally possible.”

  She crosses her arms over my chest and props her head on top of them, staring up at me. “I was pretty stupid to think I could stop liking you.”

  I push a stray hair off her cheek. “I was pretty stupid to let you think that.”

  She smiles at me. “I’m glad you didn’t give up on me.”

  “Never.”

  “Promise?” she asks, her eyes shine with such hope that it would bring me to my knees if I was standing.

  “I promise, Spidey.”

  “Good.”

  “Now, are you going to share that hot chocolate with me or what?” I ask. She laughs, and I know that I will remember this night forever.

  “Come on, Romeo, let’s go make hot cocoa.” She starts to get up and grabs a robe.

  I pull the robe from her hands. “No clothes. There are plenty of places in here we should christen.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yep. I feel like as your boyfriend, I would be failing my duties if we didn’t break in each and every surface in here.”