Dream Lover

by Aubrey Wright

  What she had in mind, I had no idea.

  “Uh, Noah?” asked Theo, regarding me with a skeptical expression as if this was something that I’d planned.

  “Hey!” shouted Pepper as she attempted to climb on stage.

  The house music totally stopped, and the entire place was silent as Pepper struggled to get up on stage. I knew I needed to cover for her.

  “Hit it!” I said, turning to the boys.

  “You serious?” asked Will.

  “Go!” I said.

  Will shrugged, then clacked his sticks together to the beat of “Permission to Love.” After a few seconds of the intro drum beat, the kick bass thundering through the gym, the rest of the guys went into it.

  Pepper had…clearly underestimated the amount of effort the process was going to take. Little grunts and other struggle sounds filled the air as she tried to heave her skinny body over the edge, ones I could barely hear over the instruments.

  Whatever exercise routine she was doing to stay in such good shape, it sure wasn’t giving her much in the way of upper body strength.

  “Uh, let me help you out,” I said, running over to her.

  Once at her side, I squatted down and helped her up. And though the circumstances were strange, I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t feel really, really good to feel her skin on mine. But I shook off the feeling as I helped her to her feet, remembering what had been going on between Pepper and me, and that there was a non-insignificant chance that she’d rushed the stage to cut me down in my prime.

  But Pepper wasn’t crazy—there was that. And more than anything, she looked like she was under some serious stress.

  Whatever was going on, all eyes were on us. It was some strange flip of what we’d been doing that first night, when I’d pulled her up on stage and pressed her body close. Fucked up as it might’ve sounded, that night was playing like a damn movie in my head.

  But Pepper didn’t look like she was having a good time like that night. Nah, if anything, she looked like she was about to faint.

  “What is it?” I asked, speaking loudly enough that I could hear her over the music, but not loud enough for the audience

  She closed her eyes, took a breath, and spoke. “You really thought it was my idea?”

  “Huh?”

  “The leak!” she said. “You really thought I’d screw you over like that? You’re as dumb as you are sexy, you know that?”

  “OK,” I said, waving my hand in front of my face. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I know everything.”

  Shit. By “know everything” I figured this meant she’d somehow become even more convinced that whatever she thought had happened between me and Moira was true. My stomach tensed at that moment more than it had before the first time I went on stage with the guys all those years ago. I knew I should’ve been furious at her for what she did, and her at me for what she thought I’d done, but I just couldn’t bring myself to feel it.

  There was something about her.

  But there were more important things to deal with at that moment. I focused on the moment, looking into Pepper’s glittering green eyes.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  I scanned the crowd for Moira but saw neither hide nor hair of the girl.

  “I mean…I know about the leak,” she said

  “Yeah,” I said. “I know what you think you know.”

  “No,” she said. “I know that it’s all made up—and I know who leaked it. It was Moira!”

  I was totally taken aback—no idea what to say. On stage but totally speechless. “What?” I finally stammered out.

  “Moira made those awful details up and then leaked the book for publicity. And then she got drunk and slipped up and told me. And…”

  And now there was the other matter. She took another deep breath and went on. Everyone was still watching, the letters “W,” “T,” and “F” as good as spelled out in neon lights above their heads.

  “If she lied about that, I’ve got a good mind to think that the…other thing I saw was a lie, too. Am I right?”

  I didn’t hesitate for a second before speaking. “You’re right,” I said. “She made a move and you came in at the exact wrong second.”

  She said nothing. And that was good, because I had more to say.

  “Cheating on you? No fucking way. Pepper, ever since the moment I laid eyes on you it was like every other woman on the planet vanished. That’s why I pulled you up on stage that night, because I didn’t know who you were, but I did know that you had be in my life. And it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

  I looked around, seeing that the crowd was watching, the boys were watching, and hell, even Sophia and the crew were watching from one of the doors leading backstage. I’d been on stage more times than I could count, but at that moment I was sure I was giving the performance of a lifetime.

  “And even now,” I went on, “when I saw you climbing up on the stage ready to say whatever was on your mind, all I could think about was how gorgeous you were, how I didn’t care about anything else but doing whatever it took to get you back. And now that you’re standing here in front of me, all I can think about is how much it’d break my heart to lose you again.”

  I had to say it. It was how I felt, and it was what she needed hear. “I love you, Pepper. Never said this about a girl before, and part of me wondered if I ever would. But I do. And if you want to throw my love away, that’s your choice. But if you want it, it’s here for you to take.”

  And that was it, there was nothing else to say. I realized at that moment the danger of declaring your love—once it was out, there was nothing else you could do. You couldn’t force someone to love you back, right?

  The air in the place was still. Everyone there waited for whatever Pepper was going to say next.

  The look on her face made me realize that she’d made her choice.

  “Yes!” she shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear. “I love you too!’

  The place went crazy. As in, “fucking batshit.” Pepper rushed over to me, and I wrapped my arms around her, pulled her close and tight. The boys in the band applauded, and Sophia gave me the thumbs-up from backstage.

  It was all I’d ever wanted. I couldn’t believe that after all those years on stage, my most treasured moment wasn’t a legendary performance, but realizing I had the love of a good woman.

  “OK,” I said. “Hope you’ve gotten more comfortable on stage.”

  “After this?” she asked. “Hell, I think I could take your spot.”

  I flashed her a smile before turning to the boys and giving them a nod. Expressions of relief broke out across their faces, right as they went into the lead-up to the big chorus.

  “You ready?” I asked.

  “Hell yeah!” said Theo.

  “Always!” said Will.

  “No doubt!” said Sean.

  Pepper’s girls were front and center, and I called them up. They were there right as the chorus began, and as soon as it was time, I grabbed the mic and went into it. Wild cheers broke out throughout the gym.

  There, my love at my side shaking her booty—an absolutely perfect one, by the way—the crowd going wild, I knew I was giving the performance of my life.

  And there most certainly would be an encore.

  Epilogue

  PEPPER

  Two months later…

  I couldn’t even begin to put into words how nervous I was.

  Noah and Sophia and Mary were seated around the living room of Noah’s apartment, none of them saying a word.

  And they were all doing the same thing—reading.

  The book was done, mostly, and now was the moment of truth. Sure, Noah had been up to date on the work that the writer—the one we’d hired after Moira had been sacked—had been turning in. But this copy was fresh from the editors, and this was the one I’d signed off on. Three copies of Permission to Live: The Noah Mack Story, all ready to go. Just ne
eded the final word of approval.

  Kinda felt like my baby, as weird as that sounded.

  Finally, Mary set down her copy.

  “I’m just skipping over the chapter whenever I see the word ‘groupie,’” she said. “I may be up there in years, but I know what that word means.”

  Noah set down his copy. “Mom,” he said. “We’re just talking about them in passing. Groupies weren’t really my thing. I’m more of a one-woman kind of guy.”

  Noah flashed me a smile, that smile that got me every damn time.

  “Better not have been,” said Mary, raising an eyebrow.

  I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to know!

  “So…” I said. “What do you guys think?”

  A beat of silence passed, and I worried they were all about to let me down gently.

  “I love it,” said Sophia. “Excellent prose. Very Hunter S. Thompson.”

  “Who let you read Hunter S. Thompson?” asked Noah.

  “The public library,” she said with a smile.

  “Remind me to never let you go there again,” said Noah with a joking, wry tone.

  Then he turned his attention to me.

  “Babe,” he said. “You know it’s good. Penrose promoted you, the advanced reviews are killer, and the pre-orders have been already enough to cover my scholarships for the next year.”

  “But you guys,” I said. “You’re the ones I really want to hear it from.”

  Noah set down his copy and stepped over. He placed his hands on my hips and gave me a lovely little half-smile.

  “Oh god,” I said. “You’re going to let me down easy.”

  “No,” he said. “It’s amazing—I love it. And unlike with she-whose-name-will-not-be-spoken, the new writer actually gave me what I asked.”

  His euphemism referred to Moira, of course. Once it’d gotten back to Penrose, it was over for that one. She was kicked off the project, fired, and sued, in that order. Turns out purposefully leaking a manuscript before the release to drum up publicity was in breach of contract—who knew?

  “It’s a little racier than my James Pattersons, but I love it,” said Mary. “You did good, Pepper.”

  Approval from the mom—always welcome.

  “You did good, Pep,” Noah said. “I mean it.”

  I knew he did.

  “Thanks, babe,” I said.

  All that was left to do was kiss.

  “Speaking of racy,” said Sophia, her eyes on her iPad.

  “What?” asked Noah.

  “Remember that cosplayer from the reunion? The one who—”

  Mary and Noah and I all spoke up with no-no-nos.

  Turns out George’s new girl—the one he’d brought to the reunion, the one he’d left me for—wasn’t the most loyal chick there was. During the show she’d scampered away from George, only to be found very, very en flagrante in a supply closet with one of the Lover Boys roadies. One way to get close to the band, huh?

  “Just saying,” said Sophia, expanding a picture that I couldn’t see. “Not really sure you can call it ‘cosplay’ when there’s like, six square inches of fabric. How have you not seen this yet?”

  “Not the social media type, remember?” I asked.

  But in spite of myself, I was more than a little curious.

  “I think that’s enough internet for today,” said Noah, taking the pad away.

  I quickly took it out of his hands. “Yeesh,” I said, looking at the picture. “Reminds me again why I don’t use this site.”

  The pad chimed as soon as I was done speaking, and the screen was big enough for me to see that it was a message from Will.

  “Shoot,” he said. “We were supposed to go meet the guys and girls like…ten minutes ago.”

  “Guys and girls?” asked Mary.

  “Yes, Mom,” said Noah with a grin. “Men and women hang out together now. As friends.”

  “You know,” said Sophia. “Statistically, at least one of them will get together with another one.”

  Noah and I shared a look.

  “Uh, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Then he turned his attention to me. “You ready to do this, gorgeous?”

  “Oh-so ready, handsome.”

  With that, the two of us said our goodbyes before heading out. It was a perfect LA early evening, the sun wild and orange in the sky, the air perfect and mild, and the love of my life at my side. For a moment, the two of us simply stood outside of his building, taking in the scene of LA at its best.

  I took a step forward, ready to go. But before I could even put my foot on the ground I felt Noah’s arm wrap around my waist. He turned me around gently, looking deep into my eyes as that sexy little smile I loved played on his lips.

  “Come here,” he said.

  He didn’t need to tell me twice. Noah brought his lips to mine, sharing with me a lovely, long, lingering kiss. I was drunk off it right away, feeling so weak in the knees that I found myself pressing up against the car behind me for support. I almost forgot where we were as my thumb hooked into his belt and his hands gripped the soft curves of my hips.

  “Shit,” I said. “Might not be a good idea to make out against some random car.”

  “Not a random car,” he said, nodding over my shoulder.

  I turned to see that he was right—the car wasn’t just any car, but Will’s sports car.

  He chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” he said. “Just thinking about that date we went on and how we got busted in the act.”

  “Before the act,” I corrected with a smile.

  “Yeah,” he said. “About that…”

  Now I was curious. “You have something in mind?” I asked.

  “Maybe,” he said. “We’re running late now, but what do you say for a date retry when we get back? Me and you and the car and no one around to bother us…”

  I smiled, already turned on. “I like where your head’s at,” I said.

  He pulled me in for another long kiss, the world around me melting away.

  “OK,” I said as our lips parted. I placed my hand on the car hood.

  “To be continued.”

  “To be continued,” he confirmed.

  With that, Noah took my hand into his and the two of us were off on the path we’d been on before getting sidetracked.

  “Never thought I’d find a woman like you, you know,” he said. “And now that I have…”

  “Yeah?” I asked.

  “I can’t think about anything other than how lucky I am.”

  He leaned in and kissed me again, this time softly, tenderly, lovingly.

  “I love you, Pepper Barnes.”

  “And I love you, too, Noah Mack.” I grinned. “The Noah Mack.”

  He smirked, raising one finger and wagging it in a jokingly chiding way. “OK,” he said, turning his attention to the city. “You ready?”

  I snuck in one more kiss. “Let’s rock.”

  THE END

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  Boss with Benefits

  Amazon top 30 bestseller

  Introduction

  New apartment, new job, and a smoking hot piece of man candy living next door.

  Rock-hard abs and a chest of steel…

  Only thing missing is his cape.

  Best life ever!

  Until I find out he’s my damn boss.

  Why god, WHY?

  Couldn’t I have figured out he was my boss before our Netflix and chill?

  I try to break it off.


  Laughable.

  Dieting would be easier than staying away from Hotty McHotterson.

  That demanding stare.

  That panty-wetting smile.

  I was screwed the moment he said, “Hey neighbor.”

  The company has a strict policy against dating your boss.

  But what’s the first thing you do when someone says, “Don’t touch”?

  Yeah, exactly…

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  Chapter One

  The late afternoon sun came in on beams through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse apartment, covering the mess of spreadsheets and appointments and chat windows on my two monitors in a harsh glare. It felt like the universe was trying to tell me to call it quits for the day.

  I leaned back in my Italian leather office chair and let out a sigh as I tried to organize my thoughts before organizing them on the computer.

  OK, I thought. Meeting with the board tomorrow—that’s at eleven. Then lunch with Rod Cranston…no, Rich Carter…no…fuck.

  I sat forward, trying to rally my mental faculties and make sense of what was on my screens. But my brain felt like one of those old TV channels back before cable, when programming was over for the day and there was nothing but static and a droning beeeeep.

  My hand shot out by instinct for my cup of coffee. A little caffeine was usually just the thing to get the gears of my brain turning again, but when I grabbed the cup, I was surprised by how light it was. A glance down into its dark interior revealed nothing but a small pool of java at the bottom. I dipped my finger inside.

  Lukewarm. That meant I’d already drunk the coffee without thinking and it hadn’t done me a damn bit of good. I could make more, sure, continue breaking in the custom espresso machine I’d just had shipped in from Florence. But I’d been through this stage of the game enough times to know it’d only make me jittery.