The Allure of Dean Harper
Page 20
“What about you?” she asked.
“I’m happy if you’re happy.”
She rolled her eyes at my cheesy comment and then held up the champagne. “Should I pop it open?”
“I have something to ask you first,” I said, feeling the weight of the ring in my pocket.
She rubbed her lips together to contain her grin. “I think I already know what it is.”
“Do you?”
She nodded. “I found something in your pants the other week when I was doing laundry.”
“Lily—”
She smiled and kissed me.
“And guess what?” she continued.
“What?”
“I already tried it on.”
I shook my head, surprised that she’d been able to keep the secret as long as she had.
“Did you?”
She nodded, not the least bit ashamed. “And I might have also sent a photo of it to Jo.”
I laughed. I shouldn’t have been surprised. This was Lily after all. “Well then I guess I don’t even have to ask you then?”
Her eyes widened with the fire I’d grown to love. “You'd better ask me, Dean Harper.”
I shrugged, trying to play it off. “Nah. I think I’ll wait for a better moment. Maybe I’ll plan something next month? Or maybe next spring when the trees look nice in Central Park?”
She fumed at the idea of waiting that long. “Please don’t make me wait.”
I shook my head. “This can’t be our story. We can’t get engaged in the back of our restaurant.”
Her head fell to my chest and she rocked it back and forth. “No! I want this story. This, right here.”
I already had the ring in the palm of my hand. There was no way I’d wait another minute.
“Lily Noelle Black.”
She smiled and I could feel her body shake with excitement.
“Would you do me the honor…”
Her big eyes stared up at me with unabashed expectation.
“…of opening that champagne? I’m parched from my plane ride.”
“DEAN!”
She slapped my chest and tried to move off my lap. I’d teased her too much and she wasn’t going to let me get away with it. Too bad for her, I already had her hand in mine and the ring was poised at the end of her finger, ready to rest in its rightful place.
“Marry me, Lily. Marry me. There’s no one in the world better suited than the two of us. I can’t promise that we won’t fight—you know I’d be lying if I did—but I promise that no one will ever love you more than I do.”
She laughed and nodded over and over again as I slid the ring onto her finger.
“You’re going to drive me insane, I already know it,” she said.
I smiled.
“You know…most people just say yes.”
She narrowed her eyes and slipped her hands to either side of my cheeks. I knew she was about to kiss me and I inhaled just before her lips brushed mine.
“Yeah well, we aren’t most people.”
The End
Acknowledgements
This book is for my loyal readers, the brave few who have been with me from the very beginning. Over the last two years, you all have completely changed my life. I cannot thank you enough.
All my love,
Rachel
OTHER BOOKS BY R.S.GREY:
READ ABOUT JOSEPHINE AND JULIAN’S LOVE STORY IN:
THE ALLURE OF JULIAN LEFRAY
ADULT ROMANCE
From: JosephineKeller@LLDesigns.com
To: LilyNBlack@gmail.com
Subject: Justin Timberlake Nudes!
Lily, you predictable perv. I knew you’d open this email faster if I tempted you with a glimpse of JT's “PP”. Well, put your pants back on and grab some bubbly because I have much better news to share.
I GOT A JOB!
As of tomorrow, I’ll be the new executive assistant at Lorena Lefray Designs. I am SO excited, but there’s one itty bitty problem: I won’t be Lorena’s assistant. I’ll be working for her older brother, Julian.
I know what you're thinking- "But Jo, what’s the problem?"
Google him. Now. He’s the man in the fitted navy suit whose face reminds you that there’s hope yet for this cruel, ugly world. Keep scrolling…Do you see those dimples? Yup. That’s the Julian Lefray I will be reporting to tomorrow morning.
Lord, help us all...
XO,
Jo
SCORING WILDER
USA TODAY BESTSELLER
NEW ADULT SPORTS ROMANCE
What started out as a joke--seduce Coach Wilder--soon became a goal she had to score.
With Olympic tryouts on the horizon, the last thing nineteen-year-old Kinsley Bryant needs to add to her plate is Liam Wilder. He's a professional soccer player, America's favorite bad-boy, and has all the qualities of a skilled panty-dropper.
* A face that makes girls weep - check.
* Abs that can shred Parmesan cheese (the expensive kind) - check.
* Enough confidence to shift the earth's gravitational pull - double check.
Not to mention Liam is strictly off limits. Forbidden. Her coaches have made that perfectly clear. (i.e. "Score with Coach Wilder anywhere other than the field and you'll be cut from the team faster than you can count his tattoos.") But that just makes him all the more enticing...Besides, Kinsley's already counted the visible ones, and she is not one to leave a project unfinished.
Kinsley tries to play the game her way as they navigate through forbidden territory, but Liam is determined to teach her a whole new definition for the term "team bonding."
THE DUET
ADULT ROMANCE
When 27-year-old pop sensation Brooklyn Heart steps in front of a microphone, her love songs enchant audiences worldwide. But when it comes to her own love life, the only spell she’s under is a dry one.
So when her label slots her for a Grammy performance with the sexy and soulful Jason Monroe, she can’t help but entertain certain fantasies... those in which her G-string gets more play than her guitars'.
Only one problem. Jason is a lyrical lone wolf that isn’t happy about sharing the stage—nor his ranch — with the sassy singer. But while it may seem like a song entitled ‘Jason Monroe Is an Arrogant Ho’ basically writes itself, their label and their millions of fans are expecting recording gold…
They’re expecting The Duet.
THE DESIGN
ADULT ROMANCE
Five minutes until the interview begins.
Fresh on the heels of her college graduation, Cameron Heart has landed an interview at a prestigious architecture firm.
Four minutes until the interview.
She knows she's only there because the owner, Grayson Cole, is her older sister's friend.
Three minutes.
For the last seven years, Grayson has been the most intimidating man Cammie has ever had the pleasure, or displeasure, of being around.
Two Minutes.
But the job opportunity is too good to pass up. So, Cammie will have to ignore the fact that Grayson is handsome enough to have his own national holiday.
One.
After all, she shouldn't feel that way about her new boss. And, he will be her new boss.
...
"I'm not intimidated by you," I said with a confident smile.
"Perhaps we should fix that, Ms. Heart. Close the door."
WITH THIS HEART
NEW ADULT ROMANCE
If someone had told me a year ago that I was about to fall in love, go on an epic road trip, ride a Triceratops, sing on a bar, and lose my virginity, I would have assumed they were on drugs.
Well, that is, until I met Beckham.
Beck was mostly to blame for my recklessness. Gorgeous, clever, undeniably charming Beck barreled into my life as if it were his mission to make sure I never took living for granted. He showed me that there were no boundaries, rules were for the spineless, and a kiss was supposed to happen w
hen I least expected.
Beck was the plot twist that took me by surprise. Two months before I met him, death was knocking at my door. I’d all but given up my last scrap of hope when suddenly I was given a second chance at life. This time around, I wasn’t going to let it slip through my fingers.
We set out on a road trip with nothing to lose and no guarantees of tomorrow.
Our road trip was about young, reckless love. The kind of love that burns bright.
The kind of love that no road-map could bring me back from.
BEHIND HIS LENS
ADULT ROMANCE
Twenty-three year old model Charley Whitlock built a quiet life for herself after disaster struck four years ago. She hides beneath her beautiful mask, never revealing her true self to the world... until she comes face-to-face with her new photographer — sexy, possessive Jude Anderson. It's clear from the first time she meets him that she's playing by his rules. He says jump, she asks how high. He tells her to unzip her cream Dior gown, she knows she has to comply. But what if she wants him to take charge outside of the studio as well?
Jude Anderson has a strict "no model" dating policy. But everything about Charley sets his body on fire.
When a tropical photo shoot in Hawaii forces the stubborn pair into sexually charged situations, their chemistry can no longer be ignored. They’ll have to decide if they’re willing to break their rules and leave the past behind or if they’ll stay consumed by their demons forever. Will Jude persuade Charley to give in to her deepest desires?