“Well, some things are earth-shattering, like, you know, falling in love.” Her lashes bat, and I narrow my eyes at her.
“Okay, hopeless romantic, let’s go back to watching zombies dominate the earth and stuffing our faces with junk food and wine.”
“Fine, I’ll let it go for now,” she jokes. “In all seriousness, aside from the burying yourself in work, you do seem happy and freer. You’ve always been strong, and someone as petty as Rachel and her slaps of hate were never going to shatter that strength.”
“You’re too sweet, you know that? If I didn’t know you so well, I’d think you wanted something from me.”
“I have my moments, and if you ever disclose this side of me to anyone, I’ll turn you into a zombie myself and stake you for my own personal pleasure.”
“Rude, but I totally get it.”
I almost lost sight of who I am these last several months, but I’m slowly getting back to my old self, and Esperanza Ayala is more than the woman she stooped down to. I’m just happy I found her again before I lost her completely.
I can joke, but I do know everything has a reason, and if something is meant to be, it’ll always find a way. Always.
32
Sterling
“Aren’t you supposed to be on vacation?” a sweet voice teases me.
Looking over my shoulder, I give the gorgeous young woman leaning against the open doorway to my bedroom a wide grin, an innocent look plastered on my face. “I am on vacation.”
“Yes, you are, but you’re working.” She moves toward me, her movements fluid and relaxed, and takes the dossier I was reading from my fingertips. Her lips are turned down in a pout, but her sky blue eyes are twinkling. “Don’t make me tell mormor,” she threatens playfully.
“Vera, my darling kusin, if you so much as breathe a word of this to my mother, I’ll tell your mother what a little bråkmakare you’ve been,” I challenge in return.
“Me, a troublemaker?” Her gaze widens guilelessly, but I know better.
I can’t help the sardonic rise of my brow. “Yes, you.” I rub my hand over my jaw and tap my chin thoughtfully. “Come to think of it, does she know you’re the one who changed the wiper fluid on her friend’s car? The same wiper fluid that ruined her new Valentino dress?”
“That was an accident! I thought it was Maximilian’s car!” she defends quickly, horror causing her cheeks to flush hotly.
“Doesn’t matter. If you breathe a word of this to anyone, I’m coming clean with your information. Not only to your mom, but I’ll tell Max you like him.”
“You wouldn’t!” She doesn’t even deny it, and I try and fail to hide my smile.
Little does she know, I’ll never air out her little secret. If he so much as looks at her sideways, I’ll be burying him in a remote corner of the grounds. Of course, I don’t tell her that.
“I would. Do we have a deal?” My outstretched hand is grabbed faster than I can blink, my large palm dwarfing her slender one, and we shake on it. “Smart girl.”
“Well, you’re a smart man. I’m learning a lot from you, kusin. Good to know you’re ruthless in getting what you want. I want to be like you one day.”
“Don’t worry, bråkmakare, it runs in the family. You’re still young, but I can already tell you won’t have any problems doing the same. You just have to want something badly enough.”
Vera huffs in agreement, a pleased smile on her face, and I reach out to tug a long lock of her dark hair. She rolls her eyes, but I know she loves having me around. I’ve been in Sweden for a couple weeks now and have been enjoying it immensely, my eighteen-year-old cousin being part of the reason why. She’s got a good head on her shoulders, and if I had any siblings of my own, I’d want them to be just like her.
“What were you looking at anyway?” She starts to flip through the file she took. “Oh, are you thinking of expanding to Stockholm?” she asks excitedly. She’s very business-minded and has been hounding me to let her visit so she can see what I do at work.
I gently pry the folder from her and nod. “I am. I always wanted a location in my mother’s home country, and it’ll give me an excuse to visit more than I do now. The economy has been booming the last few years, so I think it’s time for me to take advantage. I couldn’t resist reading this when it came in.” She’s clearly interested, but I change the subject. Work can wait. “But more on that later. Let’s go eat.”
Arm in arm, we head toward the garden to join my aunt and uncle for dinner. We feast on crayfish and good conversation as we soak in the warmth of the setting sun, the sounds of our laughter and the tinkling of fine china adding to the already gorgeous backdrop of manicured, green lawns and clusters of vibrant, blooming flowers. It’s not until later, when I’m alone in my bedroom, that my mind wanders to the one person I still can’t help but think about.
Perrie.
An ache spreads through me at how things played out between us. I’ve had time to think of things from her perspective, and I can’t say I blame her for how she reacted. She hurt me when she turned me down, but as I lie here and stare up at the tray ceiling, I realize my stress over everything going on at the time colored my initial response. I was done, emotionally drained, and didn’t fight for her. It wasn’t my right to do so at the time, but now…
Now, we’re both single and have had time to be apart. Vera’s words from earlier in the evening come back to me. I’m feeling a lot more like myself, and I’m no longer held back by the burdens of doubt and uncertainty that were plaguing me before. A plan starts to formulate, and I smile in the dark room as it takes root and gives me a renewed sense of purpose. I’ll be back in the States in two weeks, and I think it’s finally time to go get my girl; God knows I want her badly enough.
Time to show her just how ruthless I can be.
I stalk purposefully away from my car and up the walkway leading to Perrie’s front door. My plane landed half an hour ago, and I didn’t waste time making my way over here. It’s been a long time without her, and I’m impatient to remedy that problem. I’m only a few steps away from my car when I spot Blake in front of me, heading to her own car. Her eyes widen when she catches sight of me, and to my surprise, she gives me a genuine smile.
“It’s about time!” she shouts. “Go get her, Sterling.”
“I plan on it.”
“Thank God,” she exclaims as we get closer. A few steps are now separating us on the narrow sidewalk. “She’s back to her normal, happy, boss bitch self. Now that you’re both single, you can bring out the best in each other.”
I smile in agreement, hopeful that this’ll bode well for me. I don’t break my stride as we pass each other with a smile and a fist bump, and before I know it, I’m in front of her door. I don’t waste time in knocking, and she flings it open.
“What’d you forget now, Bl—” Her words stall when she sees it’s me standing here, not her friend. “What are you doing here?”
She doesn’t sound bitter, merely curious, and the hand she impertinently places on her hip makes me smile.
“I’m here for you.” I don’t mince words, which seems to catch her off guard further, but she doesn’t hesitate with her response.
“What if I don’t want you here?”
“Then you’d be lying.” I step closer to the door until we’re toe to toe.
Her hip cocks out, and her head tilts back on a laugh. “Wow, cocky much?”
“Among other things,” I admit. “But it’s true. If it’s not, tell me, and I’ll leave.”
She gazes up at me, fear and longing shining from her eyes, and breathes in deeply before she whispers, “It might be true, but who says it’ll work out? Do we really deserve a happy ending after what we did?”
“I say it’ll work out. We deserve a happy ending, Perrie.” My arms lift to grip the top of her door frame so I don’t run them all over her. I need to say what I came here to say first. “We’re human, and while we admittedly did some fucked up things,
it brought us together. I know, deep down, we won’t do that to each other. If you believe we’ll work out too, nothing can stop us.”
Her head bobs once in acknowledgement as she gnaws on her lip.
“I don’t want to rehash all the ugliness, but I can’t bring myself to ever regret it. You told me before you wanted me—the real me—and that you were already on the road to loving me.” I move one hand and thump it over my chest in a fist. “I’m here to tell you I feel the same. If you’re not ready, I’ll leave, but not for good. I’ll wait for you because you are worth it. You’re worth everything, and I’ll do what it takes to prove how much I want you in my life.”
I wait, breathless, as she thinks. Time stretches slowly as her eyes travel over me, and my heartbeat pounds painfully when she finally speaks.
“What is it you want from me, Sterling Montgomery?” The happiness in her eyes matches the happiness blooming in every facet of her expression, and I can’t do anything but smile at her in return for a moment before I state the obvious.
“I want to be with you, Esperanza Ayala. Only you.”
“Be with me how?” she pushes as she crosses her arms over her chest, a teasing lilt to her voice. “Do you want to be friends with benefits or something?”
“No, I need more from you. Be my girlfriend.”
Her nose wrinkles playfully. “What are we, in high school? Do people still ask that?”
“I didn’t ask.”
“Asshole,” she quips.
“Perrie,” I growl, impatient to finally touch her.
“Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend. Now come and kiss me before I change my mind.”
The words are barely out of her mouth before I sweep her into my arms, cross the threshold into her place, and lay a fierce kiss full of all the desire, affection, and yearning I feel for her on her full, kissable lips. I’ve missed her more than I can say, and as I lift her up and carry her to her bed, I’m hit with the unshakeable feeling that I’ll never let her go. I couldn’t put her in the spotlight before when I was like a lost ship at sea, but I have every intention of doing so now that I’ve found the one woman I want to anchor myself to.
I lay her down and worship every inch of her, raining kisses and words of praise on each part of her mind and body that captivate me. When I finally sink into her tight, welcoming embrace, I make love to her tenderly, fiercely, ruthlessly, and with all the focus she deserves.
It’s not until hours later, when we’re sated and eating tacos in bed between bouts of lovemaking and fucking, that I say the last thing on my mind and in my heart.
“Perrie?”
“Hmm” she hums around a mouthful of taco.
“I love you.”
Needless to say, the tacos are forgotten as we lose and find ourselves in each other repeatedly.
Epilogue
Perrie, six months later
My eyes blink open to the brightly lit space of Sterling’s room, and I stretch out my limbs, smiling as his smell invades my senses.
It’s only been a little more than six months, but it feels like so much longer than that. Life with Sterling has been more, in every sense of the word, and that’s really saying something. We have our own little routines as a couple, but for the most part, every day feels new and fresh and fun, and I really hope this feeling never fades.
I turn on my side, and I’m met with the silent snores and serene face of my boyfriend as he sleeps. A quick glance at the clock lets me know that the alarm will soon be blaring, yelling at us both to get ready for work.
I lean forward, pressing a quick kiss against his lips that’s followed by several others until his icy blue eyes open slowly and his arms reach out for me, gripping either side of my face as he smiles against my lips.
“Morning,” he murmurs.
“Morning,” I whisper back, lips never moving from his. “We have to get up soon.”
“Do we?” he groans quietly.
“Mmhmm, we sure do, and I’d like to be on time for once this week,” I admonish, referring to the fact that we’ve both been at least an hour or two late to our own companies this week. “You’re a bad influence, Mr. Montgomery.”
“Am I?” He lazily smiles at me. “Or are you the bad influence? Who’s really to say?”
“Fair enough.”
He moves to lie on his back, and I waste little time maneuvering my body under the sheets so that my thighs are on either side of his and my hands are resting against his chest, lightly moving along his skin.
“Have I told you lately how much I love you?” I ask quietly, holding his gaze.
His hands find the tops of my thighs. “Only every day.”
“Good, then I’m doing this girlfriend thing right.”
“Did you ever doubt that?” One brow raises.
“No,” I laugh. “You and I both know I’m the best girlfriend ever.”
“Well, I don’t know about ever,” his voice trails off jokingly, and I roll my eyes, bending forward to capture his lips with mine.
“Thanks for taking a chance on me,” I whisper in between kisses. “And forgiving me even when I maybe didn’t deserve it.”
“You made it easy,” is his only response before our bodies are melding as one and his lips are making silent promises against my skin, promises I know he’ll never break.
Sterling, one year later
I didn’t think the last year and a half could be topped in terms of happiness and complete and utter fulfillment, but I was wrong.
Because today, in a small, intimate ceremony on the sandy white beaches of one of my family’s private islands in the Caribbean, Esperanza Ayala became Esperanza Montgomery.
We’re surrounded by close friends and family only, and although the location and venue are the epitome of relaxed luxury, the ceremony itself was simple, real, and filled with so much love. The reception is in full swing, and while there’s still a lot of daylight left, I really want a moment alone with my wife. My eyes dart over the crowd until I find her on the dance floor with Blake, swaying to the music in her beachy wedding dress. Primal satisfaction at knowing she’s finally mine in every way that counts surges through me, and an intense desire to reinforce that she’s mine propels me forward.
“Pardon me, ladies, but may I have a moment alone with my wife?”
Perrie turns to me and loops her arm with mine without hesitation, apparently ready for some alone time as well.
“Hey! You get her for forever. I want a few more minutes with my best friend, mister,” Blake chides. She’s smiling, so I don’t take her seriously, but I answer her anyway.
“Forever will never be enough. This is our day, and I’m whisking her away so I can show her what she has to look forward to for the rest of her days.”
“Oh, I already know what I have to look forward to,” Perrie mutters with a suggestive, enthusiastic look in her eyes. “I’m sure you’ll find something or someone to keep you occupied, Blake. Bye!”
Her friend doesn’t have a chance to respond as we rush away. We barely make it a few steps before a strong hand claps me on the shoulder.
“Sterling, my man, congratulations!”
My eyes are mid-roll, but I smile amiably when I realize it’s Cooper. I turn and hug him close with my free arm, more thankful than ever for our friendship. “Thank you for being my best man, Coop. You’re the brother I never had, and I couldn’t do this without you. Thank you.”
“Stop, you’re going to get me all misty.” He’s joking, but I don’t call him out on the fact that he is looking a little emotional. “It was my honor, brother. I never thought I’d see you settle down, but you chose a worthy woman.”
“Yeah, well, I just had to meet the right woman. I’m just lucky she chose me back.” I squeeze Perrie, who is still pressed to my side. “I’m ready to return the favor for you when it’s your big day.”
Coop shudders playfully. “That day won’t come for a long time, if ever. Now, Perrie,” he says with a glance towa
rd my wife, his signature cheeky smile in place. “You look beautiful. I know you’re both overflowing with happiness, but please get into a fight every once in a while so he and I can shoot the shit over some beers. You can set his ass straight after that.”
Perrie, quick as ever, says, “I’d much rather have angry makeup sex. He can’t do that if he’s calmed down with you.”
“Oh, God, stop!” he cries, clapping his hands over his ears.
“I’m kidding...kind of.” She giggles lightly. “I’ll be sure to keep him on his toes, and I promise you’ll see him just as often as you did before.”
Impatience is starting to eat away at me, so I pull a Perrie and cut the conversation short. “Coop, I love you, I do. But I love my wife, and I need a moment alone with her. We’ll catch up with you later.”
I know he understands what I mean because his boisterous laughter floats after us when we dart away hurriedly. We power through the throng of people and ignore anyone else who tries to stop us for small talk, a trail of laughter and knowing glances following in our wake.
It’s not until we’re in the enclosed bridal canopy tent Perrie used to get ready in that we finally have some privacy. My gaze roams over the well-appointed space, and I settle onto a plush ottoman with my wife in my lap. I run my nose along the exposed skin of her collarbone up to her earlobe, inhaling her familiar cinnamon scent, and place a swift kiss on the tender spot behind her ear. She shivers in response, and I feel myself start to harden as I breathe her in.
“I can’t believe we did it,” she says, giggling as I continue to shower her with kisses.
I humor her need for conversation now because in a few moments, we’ll be doing a lot more doing and a lot less talking.
“I can. Thank you for becoming my wife, wife.” I smile down at her and give her a smacking kiss on the lips.
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