Whoops, hollers, and applause drowned out the gasps from Hector and me. What the hell did he mean his mate? There was no way he was going to get me to stay on with him and help him snow over the American public.
“And that’s what brings me to my biggest announcement. You’ve heard it all professionally and, now, personally. I want to introduce the public to the person I love most in this world. The one who has been with me through everything life has thrown at me and never once left my side. My partner. My one true love. My fiancé…if he’ll have me.”
He’ll have me? Oh shit. Holy mother of God.
Beside me Hector’s eyes were huge and filled to the brim with tears. They spilled over the moment Tony’s hand came out, reaching for him. “Hector Chavez. I love you, I’ll always love you. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. This business, my family name is nothing if you don’t share it with me.”
And that was when Tony got down on one knee and opened a red velvet box. A slim gold band was inside. “Be mine forever. Marry me. Legally. Take my name. Build a family with me.”
The entire room was dead silent. Not even a whisper could be heard.
“Get off the ground,” Hector pulled Tony up from his knees. “My man kneels for no one. He stands proud as I do for him. I’d be honored to marry you, to take the Fasano name.”
Tony smiled huge, pulled Hector to his side and turned to the audience. Pictures were flashing like crazy. The noise level reached a dull roar as the finality of what was taking place hit home. Anthony Fasano, boxer, businessman, family man, had just come out of the closet and asked his longtime boyfriend to marry him, take his name, and have babies with him.
Holy shitballs! This was an epic moment. I stood there and scanned every member of Tony’s family. Starting from the left side with Giavanna and her husband.
“Giavanna, do you accept Hector as my fiancé and as your future brother-in-law?”
She smiled wide and nodded. “Yes,” her voice sounded horse, but I could hear the emotion within it.
“Isabella, do you accept Hector as part of your family?”
“I do, always have. And I’m so happy for you,” she turned and sobbed into her husband’s neck.
“Sophia...”
He didn’t even have to finish. “Finally, you came clean,” she said and the crowd laughed. Tony held Hector close as tears streamed down his caramel-colored skin.
“Angie, Do you take Hector as an addition to your family?”
Instead of responding she jumped onto the stage and hugged them both. “I love you, I love you,” she said and kissed each of them on the mouth. Crazy Italian’s and their mouth kissing. Then she whispered something to each of them. Two pairs of eyes widened and Tony pulled back. He dropped to his knees pulled his sister in front of him and kissed her belly then placed his large hand over her stomach. The smile he held told everyone around what was happening.
I looked at Mona Fasano as she watched her children. Tears were leaking from her eyes so fast it was as if a faucet had been turned on.
“My sister’s going to have a baby. My sister has been trying for years and is going to have a baby!” Tony screamed to the crowd. Everyone clapped and whistled.
Angie got off the stage, ran over to her husband Rocko and flew into his arms. He caught her and spun her around.
“Ma,” Tony said into the microphone. “Do we have your blessing to make Hector an official part of the family? I know you wanted me to settle down with a good Catholic girl and have grandchildren, but that is not what will make me happy. Hector and I will have those babies, Ma, with a surrogate. We’ve already discussed it.” Hector nodded frantically. “I know this is hard for you to accept. Even when I told you early this week you knew this was coming. It’s always been Hector, Ma.”
Mona nodded and placed her hands over her mouth. The sobs shook her small frame. Tony came down from the platform, Hector close at his heels.
“I love you, Ma. But I love Hector, too. He’s my future and I can’t pretend anymore. I can’t live my life by someone else’s rules and sacrifice mine or Hector’s happiness. It’s not right.”
Mona pulled her son into her arms. “Oh you stupid, stupid boy. I would have understood with time. I understand love. I understand when someone is your whole world. That’s what your father was for me. If that’s what Hector is for you, then nothing anyone thinks or says should stop you from being together. I love you. She pulled back. Both of you.” She cupped Hector’s cheek.
“Now you really will be my boy even though you always have been, haven’t you?”
Hector’s tears fell once more and she wiped them away. “I want my boys to be happy.” Mona said pulling them both into a tight hug.
And that was that. The rest of the night was a celebration. Of Hector and Tony, and Angelina and Rocko finally getting the baby they so wanted. Talking to Angelina later in the evening, I found out that Tony went to each sister’s house this past week and told them individually that he was gay, that he was in love with Hector and was going to ask him to marry him. Apparently, the sisters had suspected all along, but had respected his privacy all these years and kept their opinions to themselves. Then when I came along none of them knew what to think.
Angelina had spent the week with Tony working around the clock to spin this new information into something that wouldn’t tarnish the Fasano name. The PR guru was spreading a “Love comes in all forms” campaign to deflect any naysayers about the restaurant, and the TV show was thrilled with the news. Said their target demographic just expanded. They’d have a different day of the week devoted to each of the five siblings and the mother alone. They were beyond excited about the concept and loved having a day where Tony and Hector cooked together to offer something new to the gay community.
Overall, love had won out against all odds and the family would end up being stronger for it.
***
The next morning bright and early, I dragged my stuff out to the elevator. I thought back to the night before. The evening had been beautiful, ending with everyone excited about the possibilities, the company doing better than ever, the Fasano family growing exponentially and the talk of new adventures aplenty. Tony had even come clean about my involvement but left out the part about me being an escort. Instead, he used the term friend. After a month of sharing life with these guys, that’s exactly what they were. My friends.
I set the note next to a fresh bottle of Jamison Irish Whiskey I’d picked up at the liquor store yesterday during my walk. I leaned forward and kissed the spot near my name and reread it once more.
Tony & Hector,
I leave you today with happiness in my heart and tears in my eyes. Knowing the two of you has opened my eyes to the fullness life has to offer if you only allow yourself to take the risks. You did, Tony, and now your life will forever be full. Maybe in the future I’ll be able to do the same. Thank you for showing me what bravery looks like.
Hector, I will miss our talks, movie dates, and having you dress me. I always look better when you pick out my clothes
Thank you both for sharing your lives with me. I couldn’t be happier for the both of you. Keep me posted, and I expect a wedding invitation.
Your friend in all things,
~Mia
It was true. I learned a lot from Tony and Hector. To not be afraid, to never let another person choose what my happiness looks like. I would take that knowledge with me through the rest of my journey, and let it guide me to the right path. For now, the path was taking me on a jet airplane to one Mason Murphy of Boston, Massachusetts.
Mia’s journey continues in April (Calendar Girl).
EXCERPT FROM APRIL: CALENDAR GIRL (BOOK 4)
“Well hey there sweet thang,” were the first words out of his sexy assed mouth. Too bad the words, along with the way his eyes traced over me sent my temperate rising…and n
ot in a good way. Mason Murphy leaned against a limo. He had aviator sunglasses, coppery brown hair and a smirk that probably melted panties of all his baseball fans. Fortunately for me, I’d been around several hotter than hot men the last few months and wasn’t impressed.
I held out my hand. He pursed his lips, pushed his glasses on top of his head gracing me with stunning green eyes. They were as dark as emeralds and just as pretty.
“What, no kiss?”
I narrowed my brows, cocked a hip and crossed my arms over one another. “Seriously? You’re going with that?”
His head shot back and he pulled his glasses off his head than proceeded to dangle the end of one side in his mouth. Again, he looked me up and down. “Feisty. I like a girl that’s a bit of a challenge.”
I closed my eyes blinked several times to see if I was still asleep from the Benadryl I’d taken on the plane. Flying always made me jittery. Nothing like what I was feeling right now though. “You’re a real piece of work aren’t you?”
His eyes opened wide and a huge grin slipped across his distractingly well sculpted face. High cheekbones, a little dent at the chin and those sparkling eyes looking wicked.
He moved close to me hung an arm around my neck and kissed the side of my temple. It took everything I had not to turn and plant one on him…a punch to the face that is.
“You’re going to remove your arm from me and back away. Have you no manners?”
Mason planted his feet in front of me and leaned close as if to whisper. “I know what you are and I’m totally okay with it. Very, very okay with it. We’re going to have some fun together.”
I pushed his chest enough to get him out of my face. “Look Mr. Murphy…”
“Mr. Murphy,” he said in a mocking tone. “Ooh, I like that.”
Sucking in a breath I clenched down on my teeth. If I bit my tongue I may have bit it straight in half with how much this guy was irritating me.
“What I was trying to say before you interrupted me was that you’ve got the wrong idea about me. I’m an escort. Meaning, I escort you to things. Provide you with companionship in a friendly manner.”
Again he got close, grabbed my hips and slammed them against his. “I can’t wait to get more friendly with you,” he rubbed his pelvis against mine. I could just barely feel the outline of something coming to life.
I sighed. Full on letting it all go and pushed him away again. “Just take my bags.”
He whistled at the driver. Yes, whistled at him. Like a fucking dog. He may as well have said, “Come here boy, good driver.” I cringed and removed myself from his grasp.
“Don’t worry baby, you’ll get into the swing of things,” he mock swung a baseball bat. I on the other hand rolled my eyes and opened the limo door crawling in. He maneuvered his long body into the spacious vehicle and clapped his hands. “Want a drink?”
I’m pretty sure I looked at him as if he’d grown a tail. “It’s not even Noon.”
He shrugged. “It is somewhere in the world,” he said followed by a saucy wink. Mason pulled out a bottle of champagne. His tongue came out and wet his full bottom lip. The space between my legs took notice instantly, twinging delightfully. I shook my head and crossed my legs. He was a bastard yet I couldn’t help that he was a good looking one. Mason Murphy was tall, probably six feet or so, had a body that could grace magazines and did, often. The muscles in his biceps bulged delectably and his quads flexed as he shoved the bottle between his legs and twisted the top off with a plop. No foam. Pretty good, I’ll give him that.
“Now sweetness, let’s get a couple things straight.”
I opened my eyes wide, my eyebrows going straight into my hairline. He handed me a glass of champagne. Even though it was barely ten in the morning I took the glass figuring I’d need something to take the edge off my annoyance.
“You were sent here to be my girlfriend. That means, in order to have my fans, prospective sponsors and the media at large believe it, you and I are going to have to get friendly, very quickly. And looking at you…” he licked his lips again as his eyes traced my form from my booted feet up my jean clad legs and stopped directly at my bosom. Pig. “I’m going to enjoy every fucking second of it.”
This guy was going to be challenging. He was smug, sexy as hell, irritating, sexy as hell, downright crass, sexy as hell and immature. Did I forget anything? Oh yeah, sexy as hell.
Purchase April Calendar Girl (Book 4) today!
BOOKS AND COMING SOON BY AUDREY CARLAN
The Falling Series
Angel Falling
London Falling
Justice Falling
Trinity Trilogy
Body (Book 1)
Mind (Book 2)
Soul (Book 3 - Estimated Release 3/29/15)
Calendar Girl Serial
(A twelve month serial. New installments will be released every month throughout 2015)
January (Book 1)
February (Book 2)
March (Book 3)
April (Book 4 - Estimated Release 4/2015)
May (Book 5 - Estimated Release 5/2015)
June (Book 6 - Estimated Release 6/2015)
July (Book 7 - Estimated Release 7/2015)
August (Book 8 - Estimated Release 8/2015)
September (Book 9 - Estimated Release 9/2015)
October (Book 10 - Estimated Release 10/2015)
November (Book 11 - Estimated Release 11/2015)
December (Book 12 - Estimated Release 12/2015)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To my critique partner, Sarah Saunders, you’re like that old song, “If I can’t have you, I don’t want nobody baby.” You remember the one? Any way, you always make me work hard and keep me on track. The characters, the story, the end result is always better because of you. Thank you.
To my editor Ekatarina Sayanova with Red Quill Editing, LLC, for knocking this out in record time, I owe you one, or two, okay possibly even three. I’m so happy I found you. My writing is getting better, even my beta readers have noticed a huge difference based on how little errors they find. You’re wonderful. Red Quill Editing, LLC is presently accepting new clients. (www.redquillediting.net)
Any author knows they aren’t worth their weight unless their story is backed by badass betas. I have the best!
Jeananna Goodall - When I send my chapters to you completely raw, filled with errors, you continue to see through those errors to the story, the characters, and the emotion behind it. I get excited every time I finish a chapter because I know I get to send it to you! Thank you for being my biggest fan.
Ginelle Blanch - It must be tiring to be such a bad ass. Really. No matter how small the error you find it. Blows me away every time. Even after it’s been critiqued, edited, and reviewed you still find the wonky errors in my writing. Almost as if you have a second sense. Like you know what I’m going to screw up and prevent me from sharing that side with the masses. Thank you honey.
Anita Shofner - Every time I review your finds during the beta process I think, how the heck did I miss that! And then I look at the next error and think the same thing. Finally after the tenth one I just chalk it up to the fact that I have awesome women like you with incredible work ethic that are just talented and go with it. My stories are better because of it and I thank you.
Carol Ray - Thank you for being a lovely pre-reader and cheering me all the way through each chapter. Love you lady!
Thank you to the ladies at Give Me Books and Kylie McDermott for spreading this book far and wide into the virtual social world! They do amazing release day blitz and are very affordable. Look them up on Facebook.
To the Audrey Carlan Street Team of wicked hot Angels, together we change the world. One book at a time. BESOS-4-LIFE lovely ladies.
ABOUT AUDREY CARLAN
Audrey Carlan is a multiple times Amazon bestselling author. She lives in the sunny California Valley two hours away from the city, the beach, the mountains and the precious…the vineyards. She has b
een married to the love of her life for over a decade and has two young children that live up to their title of “Monster Madness” on daily basis. When she’s not writing wickedly hot romances, doing yoga, or sipping wine with her “soul sisters”, she can be found with her nose stuck in book or her Kindle. A hot, smutty, romantic book to be exact!
Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated and feeds the soul. You can contact Audrey below:
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorAudreyCarlan
Website: www.audreycarlan.com
Twitter: @AudreyCarlan
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7831156.Audrey_Carlan
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Excerpt from April: Calendar Girl (Book 4)
Books and Coming Soon by Audrey Carlan
Acknowledgements
About Audrey Carlan
March (Calendar Girl #3) Page 10