Second Best, #1

by Noelle Adams

  Sean’s expression cracked slightly, and he grabbed me in another tight hug.

  He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to.

  We’d been together for real for going on two months, and I’d known from that morning we got together, after my sister’s wedding, that both our feelings were real, were lasting.

  I’d known Sean was the love of my life—so much better than my romantic daydreams, so much better than my second best.

  But sometimes you know even more than that.

  Sometimes living in love with someone else reveals truths about the world—truths you never knew before.

  Maybe it was an obvious conclusion, something I should have known all along.

  But there’s knowing something and there’s really understanding it.

  What I had with Sean wouldn’t just make my life happier. It would also make my life harder.

  Loving someone else always does.

  That’s what makes it so good.

  We held on to each other until we reached the counter.

  Then we ordered our cupcakes.

  Epilogue

  FIVE MONTHS LATER, on a Wednesday evening, I left work and walked down the block to a familiar hotel.

  I hadn’t stepped through those doors into the lobby for months now, but Sean had texted me at lunchtime and asked if I’d come over after work.

  I knew why.

  I might pretend not to be sentimental, but I am.

  Today was exactly one year from that first evening we spent together.

  On a Wednesday night.

  In this hotel.

  It was very sweet that he’d remembered.

  The elevator smelled exactly as it always had—that faint combination of expensive aftershave and cleaning products. If the scent had been strong, it would have been unpleasant, but it was just barely there.

  I kind of liked it.

  It evoked all kinds of powerful memories.

  I leaned against the wall of the elevator as it ascended, closing my eyes as I waited. I was actually quite tired this evening. For the past three weeks, I’d been working on a big project. It was a good thing—a definite step up for my career—but I’d had to put in long hours and had stayed awake at night thinking about it.

  I hoped Sean didn’t have plans for some sort of sex marathon tonight.

  I wasn’t sure I was up for it.

  When the elevator made it to the twelfth floor, I stepped off and walked down the hall, pausing in front of the mirror. Today, I wore a dark green skirt suit and a new pair of heels. My hair was as straight and un-tousle-able as ever.

  Love unfortunately didn’t cause one’s hair to turn miraculously sexy.

  Shaking my head at my reflection, I continued to the door for room 1212.

  I knocked.

  After a few seconds, the door swung open, and Sean looked at me over the threshold with an arch of one eyebrow and a little twitch of his mouth. He wore nothing but a pair of soft black sleep pants, and his hair was a bit damp at the edges. He’d obviously just gotten out of the shower.

  “Are you trying to be sexy?” I asked him.

  He frowned. “Trying?”

  I laughed and stepped forward to kiss him as he pushed the door closed.

  He smelled clean and delicious, and his body was warm and hard. He walked me backward into the room as his mouth moved against mine, pulling the strap of my bag off my shoulder and dropping it on the floor as we went.

  “I guess you were anticipating in the shower,” I mumbled as he eased me down onto the bed and moved over me. I was vaguely conscious of the bottle of red wine with two glasses on the table and a white bakery box on a side table, but the only thing I could focus on was Sean.

  “I’ve been anticipating all afternoon.” His shoulders and biceps were tense, but his smile was almost tender as he gazed down on me. His eyebrows drew together slightly. “You look tired.”

  “Thanks a lot.” I pulled him down into another kiss so we wouldn’t lose any momentum. “I’ve been anticipating too.”

  My kiss must have convinced him that I was sufficiently in the mood for sex because he immediately got going. He took off my clothes piece by piece, kissing and caressing the skin he revealed.

  Tired or not, good sex is good sex. By the time he’d stripped me naked, I was very turned on. As he kissed his way down my bare belly, I was squirming beneath him and tugging eagerly at his hair.

  His mouth continued its descent until he was nuzzling between my legs. I gasped and parted my thighs to make room for him. He pleasured me with his mouth until I couldn’t hold still. My back was arching up off the bed, and I was clutching at my knees to hold my legs apart.

  I bit my bottom lip in an attempt to quiet myself down, but it didn’t really work.

  Sean was way too good at this, and he was clearly stretching it out on purpose to extend my pleasure, to make me come even harder.

  He was smiling when my orgasm finally broke and I completely lost control. He always liked it when I was loud.

  As I sprawled out on the bed, flushed and wheezing, he was still smiling as he moved up my body.

  “There’s no reason for you to be smirking that way,” I told him breathlessly.

  “Really?” His green eyes caressed my damp face and naked body with such obvious fondness that my heart melted. Just a little. “You seemed to like what I did to you.”

  “I did,” I told him, hooking my hands around his neck. “But that’s irrelevant.”

  “Irrelevant?”

  “Yes. Smirking will always be obnoxious.”

  He chuckled and kissed me. As he did, he rocked his hips against my middle. He was fully erect, and I loved how he felt pressed up against me—palpable proof of his desire, his need for me.

  I knew from the tension in his body that he wasn’t going to be able to hold out much longer, so I wasn’t surprised when less than a minute had passed and he was pulling his erection out of his waistband and positioning himself at my entrance.

  He bent my knees up toward my chest as he entered me, and then he started to thrust.

  I was tight after my first orgasm, and the penetration was full and pleasurable. I gave a little whimper each time he pushed into me, and it matched the rough grunts he was making.

  Our eyes met as we moved urgently together, and I couldn’t look away. There was so much more than lust in Sean’s eyes.

  There was need and knowledge and affection and trust and memory and understanding.

  It was love.

  It was everything I’d ever known about love, and in all these months it had never wavered.

  I knew it never would.

  Sean wasn’t going to last very long, but I didn’t need him to. His fast, hard motion pushed me over the edge, and I came with a strangled sob just before he let go himself. We shook and gasped together until our bodies had relaxed.

  Then we lay tangled up in a sated heap, enjoying the aftermath.

  Sean occasionally pressed a little kiss into my neck.

  After several minutes, he finally pushed himself up, which was good because his weight was starting to get uncomfortable. He held himself up above me on straightened arms and smiled. “You hungry?”

  “God, yes.”

  “You want a steak?”

  “What else?”

  Just for the record, I didn’t eat steak every night. But for our one-year anniversary of our first meeting here in the hotel, what else would I have ordered?

  I went to the bathroom, took a quick shower, and changed into the pajamas I’d brought. Then we lay snuggled up on the bed until room service arrived with our food.

  After we ate and split most of a bottle of wine, I felt perfectly sated, and I had no complaints in the world. I collapsed onto the bed and smiled up at the ceiling.

  Sean was chuckling as he lowered himself beside me. “You look like you feel pretty good.”

  “I do.” I turned my head to meet his gaze. “This was a really goo
d idea. I can’t believe it’s only been a year since our first night together here. It feels like...”

  “A lifetime.”

  That was exactly how I felt too—like we’d always been together. I found the energy to lean over and press my lips against his mouth. “I love you, Sean Doyle.”

  “And I love you too. More than anything.”

  “But don’t think for a minute that this overflow of sappiness has made me fail to notice that box over on that table. You went to the bakery, didn’t you?”

  He laughed softly and reached out to brush my hair back off my face. “Is that what you think?”

  “Yes, that’s what I think. And I’m going to be digging into those cupcakes pretty soon, just so you know.”

  His eyes looked oddly excited, but his face was perfectly composed, with only one corner of his mouth twitching up. “It’s not cupcakes.”

  My lips parted slightly. The truth was, I might have been a little disappointed by this piece of news. “What did you get then?”

  “You better go and find out.”

  With a groan, I rolled off the bed. “This better be good since it required my standing up.”

  I took a few steps over to the side table where the bakery box was sitting.

  I reached down to open the lid.

  I tucked my hair behind my ear since it was blocking my view.

  I looked inside the box.

  I froze.

  “What—” I couldn’t get my voice to work any more than that.

  Inside the box was a miniature wedding cake, beautifully iced and perfectly crafted in four tiny layers.

  There was no other way to describe what I was seeing.

  It was a wedding cake.

  I stared for what felt like forever before I was finally able to blink.

  Then I turned around to find Sean standing right behind me, holding out a beautifully engraved platinum ring with a diamond solitaire.

  “Will you marry me, Ash?” he asked.

  I was still frozen, surprise and joy and so much more crashing together inside me.

  When I didn’t answer, didn’t even move, Sean’s expression changed slightly. His brows drew together. “No?”

  “Yes!” I threw myself into his arms and almost knocked him over.

  My answer much have reassured him because he started to smile again and didn’t really stop smiling for the rest of the evening.

  I didn’t either.

  We ate the little wedding cake, which was delicious. We took a lot of breaks to admire the engagement ring on my finger, and we made sure to save a little piece for Sean to give to his grandmother.

  Then we ended up back in bed.

  We didn’t make love again that night. I was too tired and giggly, and Sean was too happy to care.

  It was the best night of my life. No contenders.

  I’d had a lot of other really good nights with Sean over the past year. So many more that I would always remember. And so many more to come.

  But that first night we met in the hotel, exactly a year ago, when Sean was still mostly a stranger to me. That night had opened up all the rest of them for us.

  So that night was the second best.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE: If you enjoyed this book, you might also enjoy Third Life, which is a loose follow-up of Second Best. Ashley and Sean make brief appearances. You can find an excerpt from Third Life on the following pages.

  If you want to keep up with my new releases and sales, you can sign up for my monthly newsletter.

  If you want book discussion and insider information on my books, you can join my Reader Group on Facebook. Just ask to join and I’ll approve you.

  If you want a complete list of my books, including series and tropes, you can go to my Printable Book List.

  Excerpt from Third Life

  SEVERAL HOURS LATER, I’ve picked out my man. And also a backup in case my first choice doesn’t work out.

  I’m sitting at the bar in the hotel, sipping a glass of prosecco and wearing an outfit I’ve been planning out for weeks. I want to look sexy but also like I’m here for a work function, so I’m wearing a black pencil skirt, a simple top that clings to my breasts but doesn’t look outright provocative, and my only pair of designer heels.

  I’ve got ash-blond hair, gray eyes, and a medium-sized figure—more curvy than slim. I walk several miles every day—mostly to get out of the house so I don’t work constantly—so I’m in decent shape. My legs aren’t superlong, but they’re not bad in heels. Several men looked over when I walked into the bar fifteen minutes ago. No one was drooling over me, but at least a few of them noticed.

  Not that there’s a lot of competition at the moment. There’s only one other woman here alone, and she’s over fifty and working studiously on her laptop, so she’s obviously not looking for company.

  The guy I’ve picked out for myself is wearing khakis and an untucked green shirt. He’s got rumpled brown hair and looks around my age. He’s cute in a geeky way—exactly as I want. He watched me from the beginning when I walked over to the bar and slid onto the stool. And whenever I glance over, I catch him looking again.

  I get no creepy vibes from him at all. He’s sitting by himself with his iPad. When I glance over again, our eyes meet, and I give him a little smile.

  He smiles back, looking pleased and maybe a little surprised.

  This is what I want. Someone who thinks he’s lucked out by being with me. I don’t care if he’s experienced or skillful in bed. I just want him to be nice and kind of cute.

  My stomach twists in excitement. My head buzzes in anticipation.

  This is going to work.

  I’m going to make something happen that I want.

  I have a good feeling about that guy.

  I’m finally going to have sex. Then I can go home with the mission accomplished and start my new life.

  When I look over at the man again with another smile, I can see he’s about to get up to talk to me. I’m so focused on what’s coming that I don’t even notice Richard Steele has come into the bar until he slides onto the stool right beside me.

  My spine stiffens as I stare at him, feeling another wave of bone-deep attraction at the sight of his handsome face, the silver in his thick hair, the little lines beside his eyes and the corners of his agile mouth.

  “Is this seat taken?” he asks, a dry lilt in his voice that manages to convey amusement and intelligence and a conscious self-deprecation.

  I blink. “Oh, uh...” I have no idea what to tell him. I want him to go away. He’s far too much of a distraction for me right now, and he’s way too attractive and sophisticated.

  Even the way he orders a scotch when the bartender comes over to see what he wants is smoother than a normal person.

  He’s going to scare away the cute guy I picked out for tonight.

  I look around Richard’s body at the guy, and I can see the disappointment on his face.

  Shit.

  Richard is going to ruin this for me—by the simple fact of his presence beside me.

  “I’m actually not... not...” I wish I wasn’t tongue-tied. I’m usually a relatively articulate person, but this man is too, too much.

  I almost groan when I see the cute guy start to leave.

  Damn it. Things were going so well until Richard showed up.

  “I’m sorry,” he says with another too-knowing smile. He glances over his shoulder. “Did I get in the way of something you had going on?” He leans closer to me and murmurs, “Let me give you a piece of advice. If a man gets scared away by a little competition, then he’s really not worth your time.”

  I’m suddenly not tongue-tied anymore. I’m annoyed. Something rises inside me at the arrogant presumption of this man like a sleeping dragon roused into battle. “You have absolutely no idea what my time is worth or how I want to spend it.”

  He doesn’t look the slightest bit cowed by my cool tone. “True. But I’m pretty observant. And you were scoping the place
out in a fairly obvious manner. Plus you’re dressed up sexy. I assume you’re looking for someone to spend the night with.”

  My mouth drops open as I momentarily forget about the nerdy guy who is leaving the bar and my long-planned purpose for tonight. My cheeks warm, but my voice is even colder than before. “That’s far beyond presumptuous. And I’m wearing perfectly normal clothes.”

  “They are normal,” he says, the corners of his mouth turning up in a way that’s infuriatingly irresistible. “But they’re also a lot sexier than what you were wearing this afternoon. I bet you don’t wear heels like that very often.”

  “That’s not any of your business.”

  “Of course it’s not my business, but you just said you weren’t dressed sexy, and that’s simply not true.” He leans forward again, far enough to murmur into my ear, “You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  Chills run down my spine at the husky note of his voice. At how much I want to believe what he’s saying.

  But that’s the thing.

  I don’t believe it.

  There’s no way in the world—not any world at any time in any universe—that a man like Richard Steele hasn’t seen a woman sexier than me.

  I’m pretty enough. And I’m sure I could be sexy if given the opportunity.

  But I’m also invisible.

  Something strange is going on here.

  I straighten up on the stool and frown at him. “Okay. You can stop with the act and just tell me what you want.”

  That surprises him. I can see it in the widening of his ridiculously blue eyes and the way he grows still for just a moment. “What I want?”

  “Yes, what you want.” I wave my hand vaguely between us. “Because you’re good. Really good. This... whatever it is... is very well done but too over-the-top to be convincing. So tell me what you want so we can get this finished and I can get back to my evening.”

  I glance over to the opposite corner of the room and see that my backup guy is still there. All isn’t lost if I can just get rid of Richard so I can regain my momentum.

  “What could I possibly want other than your company?” He’s recovered from his surprise. He’s as smooth and dry as fine wine again.