by Aimie Grey
“You get all kinds of hell from your friends and family for having a girlfriend. If we got married, you’d never hear the end of it.”
“We wouldn’t have to tell anyone.”
“You wouldn’t want me to wear a ring? Stake your claim?” she joked.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a small box and got down on one knee.
“Oh, fuck. You’re actually serious,” she said, biting her lip to keep from laughing. “Only you would propose with your dick hanging out of your pants.”
Ignoring her interruption, I continued, “Julianne Griffith, will you marry me so we can take advantage of the tax breaks?”
“You realize combining our finances legally might make our tax situation worse, right? At best, it would stay the same since we both itemize our deductions and earn way over the limit for everything else.”
“If you ever want me to fuck you again, you need to stop sounding like Finn.”
“Okay, forget about taxes. A prenup is a much bigger pain in the ass than a power of attorney.”
“We could probably skip it. Our incomes are about the same, and California is a community property state.”
“You may not care about protecting your assets, but I—”
“You aren’t going to give me a break, are you?” At least she hadn’t entirely rejected the idea.
“Let me see the ring,” she said, implying the size of the diamond would be the deciding factor.
She gasped as soon as she saw what was in the box. “I know it’s small, but if it were any bigger, it would show when you wore a bikini. If I had it made as big as I wanted to, it would show through most of your dresses. As hot as that would be, no one else gets to even imagine what’s going on down there.” Worried when she didn’t answer, I continued, “It’s platinum, and the diamonds are flawless.”
“It’s perfect.”
“So, what do you say?”
“I won’t marry you for Colton’s sake. There are several other ways we could make that official. My parents only stayed married because of me, and I won’t make the same mistake.”
“Oh.” I had no idea how to proceed from there.
“However, I will marry you to make it easier to inherit your crap when you die.”
“You will?” If her acceptance hadn’t surprised the shit out of me, I would have laughed at her ridiculous answer to my equally ridiculous question.
“Yeah. Don’t worry, I’ll give most of it to Colton. I’m mainly interested in your toy box.” She hiked up her skirt, reminding me of her commando status. “Isn’t it customary for the man to put the ring on the woman?”
“Since when do you care about tradition?”
“Since I decided I want to feel your big fingers try to get that little bar through a tiny hole, millimeters from my clit. Then I want you to use my engagement ring to make me come while a hundred of the most influential people in America are within five hundred feet of us.”
“Can I fuck you again after?”
“Of course. Hurry up.” She didn’t have to tell me twice.
Juli was on the verge of orgasm the entire time I worked on swapping out her jewelry. It was a challenge, but I persevered. By the time I finished, it only took a couple swipes of my tongue to get her to silently scream my name.
While she was still shaking with her release, I laid her on her back, grass stains be damned, and my dick was finally home.
It must have been because we’d both already gotten off, but we took our time, slowly rocking together instead of the frantic fucking we usually engaged in. Looking down at my fiancée’s beautiful smile, I knew everything was just as it should be.
“I don’t love you,” I whispered and then kissed away the single tear that rolled down her cheek.
Taking my head in both of her hands, she pulled my mouth to hers, kissing me with the same slow intensity that consumed the rest of my body. Minutes, or maybe it was hours later, she pulled her lips from mine.
Contentment shone in her beautiful green eyes as she looked up at me. “I don’t love you, too.”
The End
Go back to the beginning.
Strangers meet in a hotel bar. For a few stolen hours, they pretend all is right in their worlds.
Madison Miller is broken. Nearly everyone she’s loved throughout her life has left her. Now, she’s desperate to feel something other than the pain of her most recent loss, even if it’s only for one night.
Sawyer Ramsay is jaded. After witnessing his younger brother marry a woman no one can stand and years of watching his older brother’s disastrous experiences with women, the last thing he wants is a relationship.
Almost a year later, fate will have the strangers crossing paths once more. Can this strong, caring woman with a complicated life convince this disillusioned man to believe in love?
Will passion and desire turn into something strong enough to surmount all of life’s obstacles, or will the fear of heartache and overwhelming responsibility force Madison to accept Sawyer was never to keep?
Get to know Alissa and Carter.
As the daughter of addicts, Alissa Ross is determined to break the cycle for herself and others like her. After years of following a set of carefully laid plans and working a demeaning job to save enough money, her lifelong goal of attending law school is almost within reach.
Alissa believed that love was out of the question for her…that is until the day Carter Smith moves into her apartment building. From their first meeting, there’s an undeniable connection between them, and Alissa slowly begins to trust that it’s okay to hope for happiness in her life. For once everything is looking up, but as she has learned all too well, when something seems too good to be true, it usually is.
Will Alissa be able to trust the man who has everything to gain from destroying the only thing she’s ever wanted, or will she realize it is better never to hope?
LETTER FROM AIMIE
Hey, Everyone,
Long time, no see! I’m not gonna lie and tell you how much I love Thomas and Juli. Well, that isn’t entirely true. I love them now but absolutely despised them for almost a year.
From the moment I published Never to Hope, Juli and Thomas thought it’d be funny to be complete assholes. You see, Thomas’s story had to come next and they knew they had me by the balls. Instead of being helpful, they decided to give me the silent treatment for fifty weeks. Yes, I counted. Once they started talking, though, they refused to shut up. To make up for their assholishness, they kept me laughing for a few months.
If you loved them as much as I do—now, anyway—please consider leaving a review where you purchased this book and/or on Goodreads. Even a sentence or two would make a world of difference.
Poor Finn is begging me to tell his story, but it isn’t his turn yet. Be on the lookout for the next installment coming sometime in 2017, which will feature two of Hollywood’s favorite movie stars. That plan is subject to change if they decide to take after Thomas and Juli and become snobby divas.
Wish me luck!
Love,
Aimie
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As always, it takes a village.
Liz – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I couldn’t do any of this without you. You are my most trusted advisor and one of my closest friends. Thank you for always believing in me (and Thomas) and keeping my head on straight.
Bijou – I love you. Plain and simple. You are the best. Thank you for always listening to my incessant ramblings about T&J. You got more of it than just about everyone else combined. I’m counting down the days until our next date with PK.
Stacey & Abby – In addition to Liz and Bijou, you were the lucky ones who got to listen to me whine, bitch, and otherwise talk non-stop about this story. I was just going on and on a few hours ago about writing this very page. Among a multitude of other things, I love you for it. Special shout-out to Stacey for coming up with “Lord Volde-whore”. That’s probably the best thing in t
his entire book. P.S. I can’t wait to start living the dream next month!
Emily and Shawna – All these years later, you’re still my best friends. I miss seeing you both every day.
Elaine – Thank you for your valuable insight and eye for detail. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and look forward to working with you again.
Chris – I cannot express how honored I am that you chose to share your work with me. You are incredibly talented and one of the most genuinely good people I have ever met.
Judy – Your work is impeccable, and I will never be able to thank you enough for saving my life by squeezing me in at the last minute.
Andrea and Lauren – You guys are the best beta readers in the world, and I love being able to call you my friends.
Laurie & Caroline – I am so grateful for all you’ve done to help me promote this book. You are both insanely good at what you do, and I am so glad to know you.
All of the amazing bloggers out there – Thank you for all of your support. Your friendship means so much to me.
Ann – Keep kicking ass with your writing. If I can do this, you can do it even better! Love you, Sis!
My critique partner, Libby Austin – Tag, you’re it!
I saved the best for last…
My family – I love you more than words can say. You’ve put up with a lot of me hiding away with my computer to finish this project, and I hope I make you proud. That being said, you’d better not be reading this book after I told you not to!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aimie Grey didn’t read a single book until she was in her early thirties. One fateful day, her friend decided to put an end to the madness and shoved a steamy romance novel under Aimie’s nose. After being forced to read one of “those” scenes, Aimie went home and bought the book, and the next one, and the one after that.
In the four years since, Aimie has read close to seven hundred books. Somewhere along the way, she became frustrated with reading repetitive stories revolving around the experienced man seducing the still virginal woman. Aimie decided to take matters into her own hands and wrote her debut full-length novel Never to Keep.
In addition to her day job as Queen of the Geeks (IT boss-lady), and her evening gig as a writer, Aimie’s primary role in life is wife and mother. Aimie lives in the Midwest with her husband and two teenage daughters.
She also thinks she’s funnier than she really is and finds talking about herself in the third person very strange.
I’d love to hear from you!
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