Devotion (Indecision Duet Book 2)

by Brittany Fuller

  “What are you talking about?” She tries to fake innocence.

  “You know exactly what I am talking about. Say it! I want to hear you say it! The baby is not mine!”

  “Noah,” she says as she tries to settle me. “You heard the doctor. You saw the results. The baby is yours. You have a responsibility..”

  “Like hell I do!” I say to her. “I heard Eddie, Becky. I heard you two. Your dad paid to set me up. Paid to give you what you wanted. A father for your child because Eddie will never give that to you. Damnit, Becky. That is low - even for you!”

  Her eyes well over with tears, and although it is strange to see any kind of emotion coming from such a cold woman, I continue. “Just tell me one thing,” I say. “Why me? You could have set up any guy, any looser that you wanted. Why’d you pick me?”

  A few tears fall over and roll down her cheeks. At first, I am afraid she won’t answer. That she will keep up this facade and never admit the horrible truth I just overheard. But I keep firm. I don’t break, and slowly I see her mask fall. “Because,” she whispers. “I knew you’d always be there. I knew if the baby was yours, you’d never leave. You’d always stay.”

  “Say it, Becky!” I demand. “I want to hear you say it.”

  She cries a little at first. Then stiffens and stands straight with a defiance I am not sure will break. She honestly has me believing for a moment she won’t. That she will hold me hostage in this world for the rest of my life. With a truth we both know, but a fake test she will forever hold over my head. But then she softens. She looks at me for the first time defeated, and I know I’ve finally won.

  “The baby is not yours, Noah,” she whispers.

  That’s all I need. Those few words and I am free. Free of her and the life she wanted to drag me into. Free of the past and all the bullshit that came with it. I am free! Free to make my own choices for my future. And I know exactly where that future is going to be. I turn to leave and grab my keys out of my pocket. Swinging the door to my truck open, I stop momentarily and look back at Becky, a shell of a person I once knew. She cries a little but releases me with a look of recognition. A knowledge that she can’t hold me any longer, and damn if it doesn’t feel great to be set free.

  Evelyn

  Rolling onto my back, my body stretches out in the cool sheets as I feel a delicious ache in all the right places from the night before. After unpacking into our small little apartment, Noah and I had ordered pizza and opened a bottle of wine. Nothing fancy, but something just perfect to start our life off together in our own little place in Bardstown. After our second glass, what started as a stolen kiss while cleaning up the kitchen turned into a full-blown escapade on the counter, up against the cabinets and ending on the floor. I smile as I remember the things he whispered in my ear and feel desire building inside me as I run my hand across my bare stomach under the sheets. In a post-sexual haze, we had made our way to the bedroom and collapsed undressed on the bed. After lazily whispering in the dark for a while, Noah’s hands found my body once again and didn’t waste time feeling every inch of my skin over and over again for hours.

  I hear a cabinet close in the front of the apartment and soon smell coffee brewing. Reluctantly, I pull myself from the covers and grab a robe from a nearby box marked “clothes.” Shoving my feet in some warm slippers, I start padding my way down the hallway and try not to think about all the boxes I am passing that will need to be unpacked, broken down and somehow discarded. I round the corner and see Noah sitting at the little kitchen table we bought earlier in the week. His eyes break from the newspaper he is reading and he smiles at me across the room as he lifts his coffee cup to his mouth.

  “Good morning gorgeous!” He says.

  “Hello handsome,” I smile back. “You made me coffee?”

  He smiles as he looks back at the newspaper in his hand and continues reading. I walk over to the fridge, pull out the coffee creamer and pour myself a cup. Walking to the table to sit with him, I grab my phone off the counter and start searching through online sites for a local furniture place we can buy a few things this weekend. I am still lost in my Google search when Noah breaks the silence.

  “Well hell!” I hear him say. I look up and notice he is still reading the newspaper. Ignoring his comment, I go back to what I was doing as I already know what is in the newspaper, having written it myself.

  “Can you believe that!” I hear him exclaim again. But still, I keep my eyes on what I am doing and just sip my coffee. I figure if he really wanted to talk to me about whatever he was reading then he would just come out with it.

  “Come on now! That can’t be right! There is no way! Are you serious?”

  Now he’s got my attention. Especially since there was nothing in the newspaper that important this last week. Completely lost, I put down my cup and phone and look straight at him. He smiles over the top of the newspaper at me, obviously glad he finally caught my attention, and then goes back to his reading.

  “What?” I ask. “What is so interesting you can’t let me finish my coffee before you start getting all worked up over there?”

  “You got to see this!” He says and motions for me to come take a look.

  “I look at newspapers all day every day, Noah! I even put together that one, right there,” I say pointing at him. “I don’t think it is something I haven’t seen. Just tell me, I am still waking up.”

  He looks defeated but continues insisting. “I am serious. Just come on! Come look real quick.”

  Reluctantly I stand and roll my eyes. Taking a few steps towards him, he stands and pushes his chair back as he lays the newspaper on the table and points to where he wants me to look. “Just, please. Look at this.”

  “This?” I ask him as I come closer. He just nods and I look down at the newspaper shaking my head and trying to wrap my brain about what is so important that I have to get up and see it.

  It takes a few seconds for me to glance over it. I am still trying to wrap my brain around the importance of me having to stand and actually take a look when it hits me. There, on the bottom right side of page A 4 is an ad. I look at it and then look at Noah. He smiles at me and nods towards the paper. I see him swallow as he sheepishly says, “What does it say?”

  Glancing back, my heart rate quickens as my brain finally catches up with what I am reading. My name is in an ad, in big bold letters, and right underneath it is four simple words. Will you marry me? My hand flies to my mouth as I gasp once my brain has finally registered what is happening. I turn and see Noah bend down on one knee. Shakily, he takes my hand in his and pulls a black box from his pocket.

  “Evelyn,” his voice shakes as I feel his hand tremble around my fingers. “I’m not a wealthy man, but you make me rich. I’m not sure where my future leads, but I do know one thing - it needs to have you in it. I need to wake up next to you every morning and have you be the last voice I hear at night. With you by my side, I know there is nothing I can’t accomplish. Not if we fight hard enough, because damn it if our love hasn’t been a fight from the start. I can't breathe without you, Ev. The world suffocates me - and my only hope, my only need is to have you beside me. To hold you in my arms and know as long as you are with me, that everything is going to be ok. To devote myself to you, to us, and never lose you again. You’re my lifeline, Ev. I knew it back then, and hell if losing you twice didn’t almost end me. I won’t let you go. Not now, not ever - as long as you’ll have me? Complete me, Ev. Marry me? Stay with me? Be my wife and make me the happiest man to know that you’re mine forever?”

  Tears stream down my face as I take in the man in front of me. And even though it should be easy, even though I knew my answer before he even got down on his knee, it takes me a moment to find my voice. I nod my head a few times as I finally whisper, “Yes!”

  Noah shoots to his feet and grabs my face in his hands. Kissing me gently on the lips, he pulls away and looks me in the eye. “This might not be the classiest way I could’ve done this,
but Darlin’, after all we’ve been through we could use a little corny.”

  I laugh, and he takes my hand in his. Taking the ring out of the box, he slips it on my finger and my heart runs over with joy. Picking my hand up, he kisses where the rock sits and then holds my hand against his heart.

  “Forever. You and me.”

  I nod, as he pulls me close and brings his lips to mine. “Forever with you is my favorite place to be, Mr. Stewart.”

  Thank you for reading Noah & Evelyn’s story. For an alternative ending, and news and updates for upcoming releases, sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/geM2eL. Up next is Rex & Gwen’s story, Reckless! Find out the history behind the madness, and see what happens when upperclass cocky Rex Roberts tries to tame the spit fire classy red head, Gwen Coppola. Will they be able to put the past behind them and finally face the undeniable chemistry they have together, or will the history hidden be too much to uncover once again?

  Sneak Peek at Reckless

  Rex

  “Scotch, neat. Best you have!” I say to the bartender, dropping my carry-on to the floor and slumping down on the stool at the packed airport bar. The only bar in one of the smallest airports I have ever been in. Thanks, Lexington! I pull at the tie around my neck, loosening it finally like I have been wanting to for hours.

  I’m not going to lie and say it wasn’t a nice wedding. After all, it's not every day you stand next to your best friend and wish him luck and happiness and all that bullshit on his wedding day. Evelyn looked gorgeous too. The pair, a perfect match for one another, and shit if I am not damn glad that their endless fighting and running from one another is finally over. For now, at least!

  The bartender pours me my drink, and if I am being honest, I give the bastard a slightly dirty look knowing he didn’t pour enough. Looking up, I glare at him and say, “Make it a double!” He rolls his eyes at me and continues to pour before walking away. Taking the glass, I welcome the flavor as it hits the back of my throat and the liquid starts to warm me inside.

  Who the hell gets married in February! It’s not like Kentucky is located in the damn Carribean. Shit, it snowed yesterday, it snowed today and its bound to snow tomorrow too. In fact, it’s still snowing. I glance at the plane arrivals and takeoffs and worry I might get delayed. I can’t be delayed! I have limited time to get back to the West Coast and meet Michael for some ridiculous meeting between partners about franchising another club. God only knows where. Some days I think about getting out of the club business altogether, but then I head back to Nashville or stop into our original spot in Auburn and it all comes back to me - why I like the fast-paced nightlife too much. I’m not sure I will ever be able to leave it all behind.

  “Shit!” I hear a familiar voice say. An all too familiar voice that always grabs to that damn place deep inside and makes me think of forever afters and crap. Needing the feeling of her closeness, I turn and see Gwen standing a few feet off from me, looking at the takeoff and arrival times I was just glancing at. I cock my head to the side and smile as my eyes run the length of her body.

  Thank you, Evelyn, for picking out those bridesmaid dresses. Damn! The tight red fabric clings to Gwen's curves like a second skin. She puts down her bag, pulls off her coat and I watch as the strap on her shoulder falls down, exposing her skin and making me think of things I shouldn’t. Maybe its the scotch, or maybe its the long self-inflicted sex hiatus I have been experiencing, but damn it if I don’t feel aroused like I always do when I am next to her.

  She pulls the strap back up and huffs a little, stomping her foot, which makes my grin grow wider. I love a feisty firecracker that's for damn sure. Her dark red hair flows down her back and all I can think about is how I want my hands on it. How I want it wrapped around my fist like I want her wrapped around….

  “Excuse me,” I hear her say. “Do you know if this is correct?” She asks the bartender motioning towards the schedule updating at a fast rate now that I glance up and take it in myself.

  “Should be,” he says flippantly, before turning and ringing up a new order.

  I watch as she starts to sulk and think to myself how bad I want to reprimand her for her attitude. Take her over my knee and spank her fine ass before I do things to her I’ve only been fantasizing about for the last 10 years. My mind flashes back to a 16-year-old Gwen, gorgeous and daring as hell in bed. I bet the woman standing in front of me would blow anything sexy little Gwen did back in the day out of the damn water.

  Her eyes meet mine for the first time, and I raise my glass taking a sip of my scotch to keep my mouth busy instead of blurting out any of the naughty as hell thoughts running through my mind. I figure this is about to go one of two ways like always. First, she can blow me off and run that feisty little mouth of hers I want to kiss so badly. Or, her sweet and innocent side might just show up and I’ll have to hide the bulge I already feel growing in my slacks if she comes over and sits with me. She smiles, and hell if carnal need doesn’t almost take over and have me reaching out to do things to her my mind hasn’t even registered yet. She pouts a sexy little pout and sticks her bottom lip out. Shit, I have to rotate around to face the bar and think about my grandmother, count to 10, anything to get that image out of my head.

  I feel her heat before I even have to look. She slides onto the stool next to me, and I wait a minute before turning towards her. When I do, I take another sip of my scotch and wait for her to speak.

  “Sharing is caring,” she says looking at the glass in my hand. I glance up to meet her eyes as a sultry stare graces her face. “I would love to feel your warm liquid running down the back of my throat.”

  Fuck! My eyes bulge out of my head as I try and regain some sanity after the way she just figuratively knocked me off my stool with her comment. She laughs knowingly and grabs the glass from my hand. When her fingers brush mine, I feel the same spark I felt all those years ago, and know she feels it too by the look in her eyes. She always tries to play innocent and cool, but behind the wall she puts up, I see the insecurity. The hesitance to indulge in this thing between us that neither one of us can deny.

  “Bartender,” I say, motioning over the slightly irritated guy from earlier. He reluctantly strides over and waits for Gwen to finish the huge gulp she’s just taken off my drink. “The lady will have…” I say trailing off, waiting for her to finish.

  “The same,” she says, licking her lips. I have to stop my mind from watching the way she traces her tongue around her full lips, wanting both of them on me, in one place specifically. I raise my glass once she hands it back, motioning I will have one of the same. He fills both glasses and turns to leave. I wait for a moment, trying to think of the next thing to say.

  “Well, it looks like we are family now. I am sure Noah and Evelyn are somewhere over the Atlantic on their way to Italy. It was a nice wedding, don’t you think?” She asks, but my mind is still on her tongue and the tricks she could have that I now have the overwhelming need to experience.

  “Hmmm, I guess. If a winter wedding is what you want. They couldn’t wait for warmer weather, could they?”

  Gwen slumps in the chair next to me. “Don’t I know it. I have to get home for an early meeting tomorrow and it looks like most of the flights are delayed. Damn snow!”

  I chuckle into my glass as I take another sip of scotch. “I know the feeling. Michael called an early meeting tomorrow too. Bastard left right after the reception for an early flight. Something about needing to finalize some things before we meet with more prospective partners tomorrow.”

  Gwen’s eyebrows raise in acknowledgment of my statement as she takes another sip of her drink. I look at the teleprompter in front of us and see my flight is still on time. Actually, it should start boarding in the next 10 minutes, and if I want to make it, this encounter is going to be shorter than I thought. I look back at Gwen and see her face soften, a scared look creeps into her eyes a moment later.

  “I hate airports. I hate flying. Hell, I wonder h
ow they can ever take off with all this snow. Not that it looks like I am going anywhere anytime soon. I’m probably stuck here all night.”

  I watch as she fidgets in her seat. We both look at the t.v. in front of us and get lost in the show we both don’t know anything about. The closeness of her makes it hard to concentrate on anything at all. All I want to do is climb this damn wall we’ve built between the two of us and break through the shitty past we both created when we were young and stupid. She rests her hand a little closer to my right, and I fight the urge to grab it. Hold onto it like a lovesick puppy.

  I look up at the teleprompter again and notice my flight is now boarding. I swallow over a lump rising in my throat as I look back at her hand next to mine on the counter. “What flight do you have?”

  “I was the 10:30 to Santa Anna, but hell, the flights been canceled.”

  I sit with her a moment longer as I try to think through the fog in my brain. Would Michael kill me if I didn’t show up for the meeting he very strictly told me not to miss? Wouldn’t be the first time I was MIA. I try to process the decision I am subconsciously making as I look up at the teleprompter again. Shit, I am about out of time. If I am going to make my flight I better drop all these stupid thoughts and run like mad to my gate.

  She moves her hand a little closer, and time pauses as I crave the contact of her skin. “When is your flight?” She asks me innocently.

  Damn it! Either way, I am a dead man. Might as well surrender now.

  “Mine was canceled too,” I lie, linking my pinky with hers on the counter and watching her silhouette as a look of desire fills her features. Yeah, I feel it too, baby. Hell if I can deny this pull she’s had on me since the damn 10th grade. I pick up her hand and hold it gently on the counter. Still not sure if she will turn on me in an instant and punch me in the face for what I am attempting to do. I wait as my heart races to see where this might take us.