Charlie guffaws. “You have an overactive imagination.” He’s leaned against the counter, feasting on a sandwich now.
“Vivian is the poster child for prim and proper. There’s no way she’d go for that type of man. But still, it’d be funny…” I stuff the last grilled cheese into my mouth.
He nods. “Yeah, it’d be funny…”
Silence falls over us. We turn to each other and our eyes connect. And just like that, the quiet turns electric, full of delicious tension and unspoken lust.
Without breaking eye contact, I push the empty plate aside. I chuckle under my breath. “That’s why we can’t go anywhere these days.”
“Why’s that?” His tongue darts across his lips.
That little gesture is a spark that lights up the hollow of my belly. “You give me that look and all I want to do is to get beneath you.”
He comes closer and his arm loops around my waist. “You’re just a dirty girl, aren’t you? Can’t get enough of my body.”
I stand from my seat, more than ready to play along. “No, I can’t get enough of your body.” My fingers find the back of his head and I pull him down closer for a kiss. His breathing quickens and I trail my lips down his jawline to the drumming pulse in his throat.
And down and down and down.
My tongue traces the salty flesh of his torso. The virile scent rising off of his skin only goads me, making me ravenous for a taste of him. He groans when I drop to my knees and his fingers lose themselves in my hair as I lick the skin along his waistband. I look up at him and I grin, feeling sexy and happy and in love. Enjoying the power I have over him.
I want him so badly that my fingers are nearly shaking as I unbutton his fly and pull his black dress pants down past his tight ass.
“Damn, Nova.” The words are breathy and heavy with want. “Your mouth feels so good on me. So hot and wet, baby. Fuck.” His knees weaken ever-so-slightly and he props himself against the counter for support.
Allowing his eyes to drift shut, he yanks on my hair and I hiss. And just as I’m about to rip his pants all the way down his legs, I hear the tinny sound of metal hitting the terra cotta floor tile. My attention moves to where a small ornamented band is spinning on the floor like a dreidel.
A dreidel covered in diamonds.
I fall back onto my haunches and gasp. My fingers cover my gaping mouth. My eyes dart to his face. “Charlie…”
His eyes open. For a split-second, he takes in my shocked expression before his dazed stare lands on the ring lying at his feet. “Fuck,” he swears under his breath.
“Oh my god.” I’m still on my knees, still staring up at him.
He drops down in front of me and snatches up the cluster of diamonds. “This is not how this was supposed to happen,” he says defensively. “This is not how this was supposed to happen.”
Now, we’re both on our knees, facing each other. Moving quickly, he shoves the ring back into his pocket almost like he’s wishing he could turn back time and make me un-see the ring.
I’m practically dry-heaving. I reach out and cradle his cheeks in my hands. “Charlie?”
“I had a whole thing planned out—”
“That ring is for me?”
“We were supposed to go to the restaurant—”
“You want to marry me?”
“And after dinner, the waiter was going to come with a tray of biscotti—”
“You want me to be your wife?”
“And the ring was going to be right in the middle and I’d get down on one knee—”
“Yes! Yes, baby! The answer is yes!” I’m doing a really bad job of being gracious and classy about this. I’m just so overwhelmed by love. I can’t contain it. I dot ecstatic kisses all over his face.
“Nova!”
I freeze—we both do—but the tears keep streaming down my face. With a soft smile, he brushes them off my cheeks.
“I had the whole thing planned out…” He bites down on that delicious bottom lip.
I laugh softly, waiting. Using up my entire patience reserve in that moment.
He takes both of my hands in his and looks through my eyes, into the depths of my soul. “Nova, you know that you’re everything to me. You’re my best friend, you’re my lover, you’re the woman I want to spend my whole damn life with. I want you to know how much I love you. I want the world to know how much I love you. So tell me, Butterfly, will you make me that happiest man alive? Will you marry me?”
My whole chest rises and my face threatens to tear in half with my wide smile. “Yes, Charlie…It’s you for me. Only you. I’ll be yours forever.”
Epilogue
Nova
Four years later…
The biggest, cheesiest grin spills across my face as the stucco house at the end of the block comes into view. My two favorite people in the world are sitting on the front porch, sipping imaginary tea and wearing their matching rhinestone tiaras.
My heart aches. It’s so full of love.
The sound of the concrete curb catching my fender is my reminder to watch where the hell I'm going. This is exactly why Charlie doesn’t trust me with carpool duty.
I throw my SUV into park and my little girl’s face lights up when she sees the vehicle. “Momma!”
My handsome husband follows her gaze and he scoops her up into his big, tattooed arms, rising to his feet. I can’t jump out of the damn car fast enough. As I hustle up the walkway with my travel bag in my hand, Charlie moves down the stairs, meeting me halfway.
“Hey there, gorgeous,” he says as Madalyn climbs out of his arms, into mine. Charlie grabs my bag.
“Hello there, handsome.” I lean in and press my lips to his. I instantly feel fire in the pit of my belly. It’s still there, alive and strong as ever.
I grin at my little girl. “It looks like I’m just in time for tea, huh?”
“Yes, Mummy. You are! We’re having Earl Gray today!”
Charlie throws an arm around me and squeezes as the three of us walk toward our home. I laugh. “My favorite!”
After a week of meetings and work in New York, it’s good to be back in this quiet little suburb with my family. I couldn’t wait to get back to them.
At the top of the stairs, Madalyn wiggles for me to put her down. She tears open the screen door. “I’ll go get you a teacup.”
“Hurry up,” I tell her. “I could really use a warm drink right now!” Giggling, she disappears inside. I drop into one of the little pink chairs at the little pink table on the porch. Charlie does the same.
He reaches up and adjusts the silly plastic crown on his head. “How was New York?”
“Amazing,” I say. “Lori set a release date for the Love Bugs movie. And I finally finished recording the album. And my record label started talking about a tour, maybe.”
The pride in his eyes warms me right up. “I’m so happy for you, Butterfly.” He reaches out and touches my face. “I knew you could do it.”
I drag my chair closer to his and lean my head on his shoulder. He’s been my biggest cheerleader from day one. His faith in me is what made all this possible.
“And what were you two up to while I was gone?” He’s so good with Madalyn. The two of them have a blast on the rare occasion that I have to travel for work.
“Well, I cashed the final Silverberry check yesterday.” He chuckles. “It didn’t bounce so it looks like we’re gonna be able to pay the mortgage on this big, new house this month.”
I roll my eyes. He’s still mad at my mom for convincing us to buy a five-bedroom. He says we don’t need it. I say we do because we’re gonna fill this sucker up with babies.
He smiles as he keeps talking. “Anyway, I’m so glad that monster project is done with. As for my other smaller projects, I let my team deal with it so I could spend the week at home with Madalyn.”
“Oh really? That’s sweet, babe. It must have been nice to just relax.”
He chuffs. “Relax? The girl put me to wo
rk immediately. She demanded that I renovate her dollhouse and since I’m a general contractor by trade, daddy couldn’t say no. You should see the size of that thing. My daughter is more demanding than any of my paying clients.”
I laugh. “Oh boy!”
Charlie is such a good dad. I would have never guessed that he could be so devoted to his family. Madalyn and I are the luckiest girls to have him. He’s surpassed all of my expectations in every department. Life is good. So good.
“Everything’s working out, huh?” I kiss his cheek.
“Everything is working out.”
I can’t believe that I was so afraid to do this. Not too long ago, the future scared me so much that I was nearly paralyzed, making choices out of fear. But in the past three years, all my dreams have come true. It all started with my decision to take a chance on love.
Madalyn pops out of the house and sets a teacup and saucer in front of me. She places a crown on my head and then takes her seat. My chatty little girl tells me all about her week with daddy as she pours me an overflowing cup of imaginary tea.
Charlie and I share a look over her head. He’s so damn handsome, sitting there with his pink tiara. God, I’m so glad I took a chance on him. He’s still my best friend but now, he’s so much more. My life partner. My lover. My husband. He’s the best choice I’ve ever made. Our adventure has taught me fundamental lessons about life.
Everybody is capable of change.
Everybody is capable of love.
And everybody deserves it.
People say, don’t hate the player, hate the game. I’m convinced that they’ve got it all wrong. I say, when you love the player with all your heart, play the fucking game to win!
Charlie and Nova’s Wedding Epilogue
Charlie
"Man, this is the most boring bachelor party I've ever been to. My five-year-old's birthday party was more risqué than this."
Snatching my beer off of the table, I glance over at my best man and grunt. "Like you're one to talk. I distinctly remember you huddled up in the corner like you were taking cover from a bomb every time a stripper would even look your way at your bachelor party." I snort a laugh and then suck down a cold sip.
The strippers had been my idea. A test to see if Leo was really worthy to marry my little sister. Thankfully, he passed with flying colors.
He chuckles deep in his chest. "Dude—have you seen my wife? There's no stripper on the face of this earth that can compete with my Reese Montgomery. Are you surprised that I didn't want anything to do with those other women?"
I nod my head in satisfaction and give him a hard pat in the back. "That, my friend, is the correct answer." I may have given Leo a hard time when I found out about him and my sister but honestly, he's a man head over heels in love. There's no one I trust more to honor and protect Reese.
That's the kind of husband I’ll be for Nova. I won't let her doubt my commitment and loyalty, not for one second. My past and my reputation didn’t exactly make me the poster boy for healthy relationships. I was a player, plain and simple. So, I had to do a lot of fighting to make her mine, to convince her that I could be a stand up guy.
I got lucky. She believed me.
“I won’t do anything to jeopardize the trust I’ve worked so hard to earn. I don’t care if tonight’s supposed to be my last hurrah as a single man. All I can think of is getting my ring on Nova’s finger and claiming her as mine once and for all. There’s not a silicone-inflated boob’s chance in hell I’m fucking that up.
So my bachelor party is at a sushi shop. Sue me.
A feel a big hand come down hard on my shoulder. "Charlie has had enough wild days for a lifetime." Melvin, one of my workers at Hartley Construction, eases himself slowly into the chair next to me and grins. "Did I tell you about the debauchery he was up to at that bachelor party in Vegas that one time?"
Leo nods, a judgmental puff of air erupting from his nostrils. "You told me. The guy was up to no good.”
Oh god, not that story again. I’m not proud of that night. But I think that it was there, in that Sin City hotel room, while I was tied to a chair nearly suffocating in some random woman’s musty cleavage that I first realized that I was in love with Nova. So, I guess the night was a blessing in some small way.
Anyway, thankfully, Leo’s not in the mood to retell the story tonight. “Now look at him—having hosomakis and saki the night before his wedding when he basically has a 24-hour permit to go wild. I’m proud of you man."
"When you find the right woman..." I shrug unapologetically. When you find a woman like Nova Chester, you don't apologize.
But I'm a brand new man. For her.
And tomorrow, I'm going to slide a ring on her finger and make my best friend my wife.
Melvin gapes down at his phone, his eyes bulging in shock.
“What’s going on, man?” Leo asks, looking concerned.
Melvin’s head shoots up and his eyes dart between Leo and me. “Breaking news—Hell has frozen over and pigs were spotted flying over the Arctic.”
Rolling my eyes, I toss a spring roll at him. "Would you ladies quit chitchatting and eat up? I need to get home. I've got a beautiful woman to marry tomorrow and tonight I'm gonna need my beauty rest."
I'm also gonna need to fill my energy reservoir all the way to the top because after that wedding is over, I'm gonna fuck her all night long.”
Nova
"I have a bad feeling," I whisper, gnawing on the corner of my lip as I stare out into the backyard from the kitchen window.
Rows of rustic wooden folding chairs are neatly arranged on the back lawn. Pastel pink and yellow balloons hang from the poles of the tent. There’s an arch of wildflowers framing the makeshift altar. Grandma and her husband are out there with Sophia, Charlie’s parents and some of the other guests. We decided that getting married at our new home was the right decision for us. We wanted the ceremony to be personal, special. And yes, it’s all very whimsical and dreamlike. But I’ve got this feeling sitting right in the middle of my belly.
I can sense Reese looking over at me from the kitchen table where she’s sneaking yet another cheese crostini off of the buffet-style spread. "A bad feeling?" Her sister-of-the-groom/best-friend-of-the-bride senses are tingling. It's loud and clear in her voice.
“A shot of adrenaline shoots through me. The hem of my strapless floor-length gypsy-style gown twirls with a flourish as I spin around to face her. Oh god...
"Have you seen Charlie?" I don't think my heart could take it if he didn't show up, if he changed his mind.
I love the man.
I loved him long before I ever realized it . But for so long, I was afraid of my feelings for him. He was such a player. I didn't think he could change. The anxiety deep inside me is sharp and raw. What if he’s gone back to his old ways?”
“That anxiety only worsens when Reese's wide panicked eyes tell me that she has no answer for me.
Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.
I'm about to get stood up to the biggest date of my life...
Nadia shoves a carrot stick into her mouth before her arm comes around my shoulder and she gives me a squeeze. "Relax, my bohemian love child." My sister takes a step back to adjust the crown of wildflowers sitting on my head. "I saw Charlie five minutes ago, pacing in circles under the oak tree by the pool house. He may be green with nerves but he's here. To marry you. This wedding’s gonna happen, babe."
My relief lasts a few seconds but I can't shake the feeling that something is wrong.
“We should have eloped," I whisper, panic rising again. My gaze darts over to the kitchen table where our dwindling feast is spread out. "I'm gonna get rib sauce all over my dress. Why did I choose ribs for dinner?"
My mother swipes a Swedish meatball off of the table as she passes by. "Nova," Cleo says harshly. "Get a hold of yourself. You’re having wedding day jitters. That's all. Take it from someone who’s been married a few times. Don't drive yourself crazy trying to figu
re it out."
Is she right? I give her words a few minutes to bounce around the walls of my mind. Maybe she's right. Everybody has wedding day jitters, right? It's normal.
Deep breaths, Nova...
One hand on my belly, the other on my heart, I suck in a lungful of air and then, I push it out.”
That's it, Nova. Relax.
I hear hurried footsteps entering the room and my heartrate kicks up all over again. Brenton is moving through the doorway with his head hung low and his bottom lip pushed out. Leo and my father stand over him, wearing grim expressions. Oh no...
My entire digestive apparatus jams itself into my windpipe. "What's wrong?" My voice is barely a squeak.
Leo hesitates. His Adam's apple bobs before he speaks. "Nova, I'm afraid we have some bad news..."
That ominous feeling takes hold of my heart again. My knees give out beneath me. Thank goodness I manage to make it into a kitchen chair before I fall flat on my face.
Leo gives Brenton a little nudge and the boy stumbles forward.
His bottom lip trembles. "Aunt Nova, I tied the rings to the string of my balloon—on accident—and they flew away…on accident."
“The meatball my mother had been in the middle of plucking off of the serving tray falls to the floor with a curt, dull thud. I hear Reese's horrified gasp from somewhere over my shoulder. Nadia rushes to my side and squeezes my fingers in a show of support. But I just stand there, frozen, as the news sinks in.
"Nova, I am so so sorry." Leo's hands are clasped in front of him and his brows are scrunched so hard they're virtually touching in the middle. Reese looks equally mortified.
Brenton looks up at me, like he expects me to start yelling at him. "Aunt Nova?" A single tear clings to his bottom lashes.
“And a dam of laughter breaks free. I can't stop laughing. I'm bent over clutching my middle. Loose tendrils of my hair tumble into my face.
The Blue Collar Bachelors Box Set: The Complete Blue Collar Bachelors Series Page 42