April looked gorgeously happy as she shrugged. "He convinced me he really wanted to get married. He has to clean the house and do all the laundry and cooking for the next six months to prove it, but when he agreed to that, I knew he was serious." She rolled her eyes. "These boys are so wimpy. He was terrified of being a father, of figuring out how to balance family and work. When I told him I was afraid too, it was like everything got better, because we could find our answers together and admit our fears to each other." She caught Travis's eye across the room and smiled at him. "It won't be easy, but we'll make it."
Some of the heaviness left my shoulders. I was so happy for her. Real happiness, not that mixed stuff that's laced with jealousy and resentment. This was such a better feeling…until I noticed my mom watching me.
The procession started before she could approach me.
It didn't make me feel any better. I knew I was still going to have to deal with her.
I avoided every member of my family until we were sitting down for dinner. I was at the table with the bridal party, which included Ray and Noah. My parents were at another table, thankfully.
How could Lindsey have seated me next to Noah? I nodded at him as he sat down. "Where's Van?" he asked.
I ignored the empty seat next to me. "Not here."
"The relationship didn't survive last night, huh?"
"What do you care?"
He slung his arms over the back of my chair and leaned toward me. "Seeing you with him last night made me realize what a mistake I'd made not fighting for you. I talked to Ray and your parents, and told them I wasn't going to stay away from you."
I glanced at Ray, who was watching us, but his expression wasn't hostile. It was resigned.
"Shannon, look at me."
I returned my gaze to Noah. "I know you were with Van on the rebound because I hurt you, and I am so sorry for that. I was wrong. You were right, but I'm here now." He took my hand. "Give me another chance."
"Shannon."
I looked up to find my mom and dad standing over us. I swallowed and pulled my hand out of Noah's. "Hi." My brain kicked on then, and I grabbed for my purse and fished my acceptance letter out of it. Handed it to my mom and waited.
She unfolded it and they both read it. The most amazing glow of happiness lit up my mom's face. "Oh, Shannon. I can't believe it. You're going to law school."
My dad beamed and clapped me on the shoulder. "Well done."
"I'm turning it down."
They stared at me, their faces turning to stone.
"I need to follow my own dream." I swallowed deeply and became aware that the entire table was listening. "I'm going to find a job in events. Not doing events for a law firm. Events for the sake of doing events. It's what I like, and it's what I'm good at." My words stuck in my throat, and I had to clear my throat before continuing. "I'm going to live for myself. I hope you can be happy for me and proud of me, but if you can't, I'm not going to try to please you anymore, and I'm not going to worry about it."
Noah squeezed my knee, and I wanted to punch him. Interesting. A few days ago, I would definitely not have had that reaction, but Van had changed everything for me. Sigh.
My mom and dad looked at each other, then back at me. It was my mom who spoke. "We're sorry, Shannon. I had no idea how you felt."
I lifted my chin and tried not to care about what she thought about me.
"We wanted you to be a success," she added.
"I was."
My mom raised her eyebrow.
"Except for the getting fired thing," I admitted. "Other than that, I was great at my job, and I'll be great at my next one."
"And you'll try not to get fired?"
I rolled my eyes. "See what you think of me? How insulting is that?"
My dad patted my shoulder. It was slightly awkward, but genuine, making my throat tighten. "Whatever you want to do is okay."
My mom looked rather ill, but she echoed his sentiment. "You're more important than your job."
"Really?" It wasn't much, but it was a start. "You won't pressure me anymore to be a lawyer or get a graduate degree?"
"What about event management?" she brightened. "An MBA in marketing might be helpful."
"Mom."
She grimaced. "I'm sorry." She knelt down and took my hand, staring intently into my eyes. "Shannon McCormick, you listen to me because I'm saying this only once. I love you, and I'm proud of you. If I pressure you to accomplish more, it's only because I know you're so talented you can do anything you want. But it's not my place to push my dreams onto you." She fiddled with my bracelet. "My parents wanted me to take over their business. You know what it was?"
I shook my head. My mom never talked about her parents, who had died long ago.
"They owned a restaurant. It had been in the family for three generations. As their only child, I was expected to take over. I became a lawyer instead, left town, and never went back." She tightened her grip. "I never realized I was doing the same thing to you."
My mom had a history? A family? Sensitivity? Stunned didn't even begin to describe how I felt.
"I'm so sorry, Shannon. Please know that I will do everything in my power not to repeat the past, but if I do, say something. Don't sit there being miserable until you can't take it anymore and you walk away forever, like I did. Tell me."
"You're not easy to tell things like that to."
She met my gaze. "Somehow, I think you're strong enough to handle it."
Yes, I supposed I was. "Okay."
She smiled and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. "Just don't do it at a party in front of other people screaming at the top of your lungs, okay?"
I grinned. "Maybe. I'll try. Remind me if I forget okay?"
"Funny girl." She squeezed my hands. "I love you."
Was that the first time she'd said those words to me in my adult life? I was pretty sure it was. I didn't even know how to say them back, but I decided to try, because we'd probably never have another moment like this again. "I love you, too, Mom."
"What about me?"
I grinned up at my dad. "You too."
He nodded gruffly. "Same here."
"Excuse me." We turned toward the stage, where the band leader was speaking into the microphone. "Before we start the dinner music, we have a guest who would like to say something."
Lindsey muttered something about unauthorized speakers, and then Van walked up to the microphone. He was wearing a tux, and looked handsome, sexy, and my heart leapt in my chest. I spun toward the stage, everything else fading into the background.
"Hello." His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "This won't take long."
My heart was racing, and I didn't know why. Nothing he could say would change my mind.
"Celeste McCormick, could you come up here, please?"
My mom? He wanted my mom? He was going to beg my mom's forgiveness for being associated with me? My heart sank, the kind of aching pain that seemed to reverberate through every cell in my body.
Her heels tapping smartly on the gorgeous wood floor, my mom walked up to the stage and stood next to Van. "Yes?"
He faced her. "I accepted an offer for employment at your law firm, right?"
"Yes." My mom looked the part of the gorgeous, sophisticated lawyer, and Van looked like he belonged on her arm. He was a lawyer, through and through.
"I apologize, but I must officially decline the position."
I sat up.
My mom looked shocked. "Why?"
"Because I love your daughter. I think it could lead to a conflict of interest if I was working for her mom. I choose her over you."
Noah cursed next to me, and April clapped. All I could do was stare.
A slow smile spread over my mom's face, and she looked at me. "A good choice."
Van waved at the audience. "That's all. Thanks."
He followed my mom off the stage and walked over to me. "Hi."
"You..." I didn't know what to say. I was too
shocked by what he'd done.
"I love you. It doesn't matter to me where I work." He clasped my hands and tugged me to my feet. "I'll spend the rest of my life apologizing to you if that's what it'll take to get you to forgive me."
"Van..." To say I was overwhelmed would be a massive understatement. He'd turned down a job at the most prestigious firm in the city. For me. For me.
"Forgive me," he said, searching my face. "Love me. Be mine."
I grinned and felt the last weight float away from my shoulders. "We're both unemployed now. We'll have to live off breadcrumbs."
"I still have my security guard job, and, of course, my stripping business. Maybe you could join. We could have a couples act. We'd be all the rage."
I entwined my fingers through his. "We should practice a lot in private first."
He smiled. "Agreed."
It was time to put my heart out there. He'd earned it, and it was worth the risk. "Van..."
"What?"
"I love you."
His face lit up.
"But it will take lots of great sex before I'll forgive you."
"In that case, I hope you never forgive me so I have to spend my whole life trying."
I grinned. "That was the best wedding speech I've ever heard." And then some. I was hooked, big time.
And this time, just maybe, I was finally headed in the right direction with my life.
Do you like a little magic with your sass? If so, try my hilarious paranormal romantic comedy series set in New York City, with a quirky and outrageous cast and a heartwarming happily-ever-after. Get started with the Immortally Cursed, the first book in this fun series!
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Do you love dogs as much as you love to laugh? Check out Pawfectly in Love, a quirky, fun romantic comedy involving a slightly neurotic dog trainer, a hunky big city lawyer, and the mischievous pup that brings them together!
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Want to up the suspense factor for your book boyfriend? Don't miss a chance to get up close and personal with former military specialist, Mack Connor, when he shows up in Alaska to play bodyguard to sassy, determined bartender with a killer on her tail. You don't want to miss the sizzling banter, scorching romance, and high-octane danger!
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Sneak Peek: Curse of the Dragon
An Immortally Sexy Novel
"I wish I could give this book more than five stars!" ~Kristy O. (Five-star Amazon Review)
"Laugh out loud funny, sexy, highly imaginative and grippingly suspenseful." ~Jeanne S (Five-star Amazon Review)
* * *
After making a deal with the devil to reclaim her human form, dragon Theresa Nichols discovers the hunky, dangerous P.I. she's fallen for is an ex-dragon slayer who has inadvertently set a team of assassins after her.
Less than forty-five minutes after the attempted assassination, Theresa was still shaking from the incident, and from the realization that Lyman had found her. Her injured wrist was almost healed already, so she didn't bother with wrapping it. Instead, she'd raided Becca's closet for comfort clothes, and had just finished putting on a pair of pale blue sweats and a baby soft tee shirt when someone pounded on Becca's front door. She yelped and dove behind an armchair, her heart thudding.
Oh, God. Lyman?
Someone pounded again, and she realized what she was doing. Dragons didn't hide, not even from other dragons who could kick their ass. Besides, it wasn't as if hiding behind a chair would save her from Lyman. Her only hope was to make him think she was more of an opponent than she was.
She forced herself to stand up, grabbed a nearby lamp, ripped the cord out of the wall and held it over her head. He would kick her ass, but heaven help her, she was going to do her best to damage him before she went down.
Clenching the lamp, she eased toward the door, wishing Becca was back from harvesting souls. She could use a little fireball backup. She peeked through the spy hole, then the lamp fell from her fingers and she yanked the door open. "Zeke? What happened to you?"
He had a scratch on his left cheek, and his beautiful shirt was torn and filthy. His hair was in total disarray, and he looked much more like the bad boy she'd imagined him to be. Delicious. Bastard. How dare he be hot when he'd betrayed her?
He held up his hand for silence and leaned against the door jamb. "First of all, I owe you an apology. You were right about my client. I don't know how it happened, but I screwed up."
At his confirmation, she had to grab the doorframe for balance as the room suddenly tilted. Lyman really was after her. He wanted to find her so badly that he'd hired Zeke to find her.
But how could Lyman still be alive? When she'd gone back to hunt him down after escaping from him, everyone said he'd perished in a fire that had destroyed half the town. A fire that had wiped out her family's holdings, the ones Lyman had usurped for himself.
How much worse had he become in the one hundred and eighty years since she'd last seen him? She pressed her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, trying to keep the nausea at bay.
"T? I apologized."
She dropped her hand, lifted her chin, and gratefully focused on being angry at Zeke, instead of afraid of Lyman. "And what about lying to me? Any apologies for that?"
He rubbed his temples and gave a soft groan. "Part of the job. It's what I do, but it's over now."
"It's not over." She glared at him. "You don't get forgiven just like that."
A muscle ticked in his cheek. "Don't push me tonight, T. I'm on the edge."
"Oh, and I'm not? In case you didn't notice, someone tried to kill me tonight."
The muscle ticked more fiercely. "I noticed." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She could practically feel him willing himself to calm down. He opened his eyes and fastened his deep brown gaze on her. "Who are you?"
She shook her head and started to shut the door. "Leave me alone."
"No." He shoved his way inside, a show of masculine stubbornness that made her want to grab his belt and yank him against her. "I'm extremely expensive, and someone paid me a lot of money to find you. Why?"
"Why should I tell you? So you can betray me to someone else?" She stepped back as he paced the living room, a tightly strung energy rolling off him. Energy that seemed vaguely alarming, but familiar as well.
He came to a stop in front of her. "The betrayal was an accident, and I'm here to fix it. Tell me what's going on."
"Hah!" She tried to shove past him, but he caught her upper arms and held her in front of him. Heat flared in her from his touch, and she had a sudden yearning to throw herself into his arms and beg him to ravage her. She tensed and tried to clear her mind. "Let go of me."
He released her so quickly she stumbled, his face strained.
"For your information," she announced. "I don't make it a habit of trusting my secrets to men who lie to me and set me up to be killed. You lost your chance with me, Zeke, so leave me alone."
He studied her for a long moment. "I can't leave until I get the answer to one question."
"Fine. What's the question?"
"Are you a dragon?"
All her dragon senses flared into self-defense mode, and she eased back from him, her instincts suddenly reacting to him as a threat. "What's it to you?"
He met her gaze for a moment, then her nose was flooded with the most amazing scent of burning pine, of fresh woods, of earth, of melting chocolate. Holy shit. She knew that scent.
She had just enough time to panic, and then her legs gave out and she collapsed in a puddle of ecstasy.
***
Zeke caught Theresa before she hit the ground, cradling her body against him as he swept her up, adrenaline spiking through him as her hot skin burned through his shirt.
"Oh my God," she moaned as she wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled the crook of his neck. "You're a dragon slayer."
"Ex-slayer." He staggered as she ran her fingers through his hair and showered frantic kisses on his throat. Shit. He hadn't meant to hit her that hard with his scent. All he'd wanted was to see if she reacted, since he knew she'd never tell him the truth. But he'd taken her down instead. A total fucking screw-up on his part.
"This explains a lot," she mumbled as she tried to unbutton his shirt. "I knew you couldn't have been good enough at cybersex to make me monogamous. God, you're an asshole." She got his shirt open and pressed her face to his chest, inhaling deeply. "You smell so amazing. You're going to kill me, aren't you? Ooh..."
"No." He made it to the couch and set her down. He tried to pull back, but she clutched at his shoulders, fighting to keep him near. Her eyes were closed, her body arching toward him. Old instincts swirled to the surface, and he had to look away from her exposed throat. She was reacting to his scent exactly as nature intended, setting herself up to be an easy kill.
Except he wasn't going to kill her. "I'm an ex-slayer. Ex." Remember, Zeke? Ex.
"You can't be an ex-slayer. You are or you aren't." She tried to punch him, but she missed and nearly fell off the couch in a sluggish mound of female curves.
"Come on, T." He pulled her back up and held her upright on the couch. "I didn't release that much scent. Help me out here."
"Help you?" She blinked at him, her eyes glazed as she swayed toward him. "Help you kill me?"
"No." He stepped back, clutching his fists against the instincts pushing at him to do what he was born to do. "Help me resist."
"Resist? Hah. You slayers don't resist. You bring us down and kill us. It's impossible for a slayer to change sides." She slid off the couch and rolled onto her back, her fingers reaching for him as she ground her hips into the carpet. "I can't believe you're a slayer." She moaned with distress and desire. "I can't believe I want to have sex with you when I know you're about to kill me!"
One More Kiss (A Too Many Men Romantic Comedy / Chick Lit Novel) Page 29