HOT MEN: A Contemporary Romance Box Set

by Ashlee Price

  Beverly said, “Not too single, I hope.” Margaret walked up to her and they shared a long, sexy kiss.

  Margaret turned to John and broke out in another round of laughter. “One… last… time…” She went on laughing at John, kicking him when he was down. “By the way, your kid’s a dud, a real loser.”

  I said, “You’re a terrible person.”

  She just waved me off. “And you’re a little whore!”

  “Oye, listen up,” Langdon said, “apologize.”

  Margaret stood there, one brow raised. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Apologize to my fiancée.”

  I said, “Your—? Oh, Langdon.”

  But Margaret and Beverly just turned for the door. “See you back in Australia, hot shot… when we’re liquidating your assets.”

  “Or trying to beat the rap.”

  “Beat the—?” They stopped and turned. Beverly said to Margaret, “What rap, what’s he talking about?”

  “Nothing,” she muttered, “he’s bluffing. What’re you, rigged for sound there, Outback?”

  “I’m a dignitary,” Langdon said, “for the United Nations an’ all. It’s mostly ceremonial, but it does mean that you may have committed crimes against the financial holdings of the Australian government.” Beverly and Margaret shared a long, slow glance as Langdon went on, “Anyway, it’ll take a while to sort out. I’m sure you won’t mind.”

  “Don’t try to intimidate us, Kangaroo Jack. We’ll have all the money we need to lawyer circles around you. Maybe you should start thinking about getting a good public defender.”

  Langdon asked, “You’ve got money? What money?”

  “AussieGarb,” Margaret said. “It’s ours now, and I’ll burn that motherfucker right to the ground to crush you if I have to. I spun the great John Alister on his heels. What makes you think a rube like you and this over-the-hill cheerleader can do any better?”

  “Maybe because I still control AussieGarb,” Langdon said. I turned my attention to him to hear more. I was relieved, I was surprised, but I was also confused. Langdon explained to the room, “When Sheryl here told me about RicTel, I made a few calls back home. Swapped my board of directors out, to the very last man and woman.”

  Beverly repeated, “You… you swapped them out?”

  “With my janitorial staff, matter of fact.” Trying not to break out in incredulous laughter, I held a hand to my mouth as Langdon went on, “I hope they cleaned up before taking their various… meetings with you when you…” Langdon looked at me. “How did she put it?”

  “‘Sealed the deal’, I believe.”

  “Right,” Langdon said. “Well, I can tell ya, that’s better treatment than they usually get, by a long shot.”

  Margaret and Beverly exchanged a wide-eyed look, mouths dropping open. “Your janitorial staff?”

  I enjoyed saying, “And that would make your proxies worthless.”

  John added, “It also means that whatever stock you bought through RicTel is far short of a controlling position.”

  “And with all this scandal,” Langdon said, “our stock’s through the floor. It’ll be back, I don’t doubt that, but not in time to be any good to you.”

  “And that’s a shame,” John said, his voice assuming some shadow of the strength he’d had only an hour before. “Because I’m filing for divorce on the grounds of adultery, financial abuse, child abuse—”

  “I never touched that little brat.”

  “I know, never a hug or a kiss or a cuddle. Never heard of psychological abuse? You’ll have plenty of time to read up on it where you’re going.”

  “That’s right,” I said. “And now that John’s turned the tables on you, his reputation’ll be fine and Alister Fashions should go exactly as before.”

  “Better,” John said, sneering at Margaret. “A lot better.”

  Margaret turned her attention to me, her eyes glowing with increasing rage, jaws locking, teeth gritted, cheeks huffing, fingers clawing. “You… little… bitch!”

  She jumped at me, too fast for Langdon to stop her. And even in that flash of violence, I could see Beverly hit Langdon hard in the face, see his head snapping to the side. By then Margaret was already on me, reaching to claw out my eyes, pull my hair, wrap her hands around my neck and wring the very life out of me.

  But my training came instantly to my aid and my nerves reacted in a split second without my conscious decision. There was no time to think, only to act. I grabbed Margaret’s arm and spun, using her own reckless momentum to help hurl her over my shoulder. She flew fast and easy, legs splayed before she crashed into the cocktail cart, decanters spilling, glass shelves crashing beneath her.

  I turned to see Langdon holding Beverly from behind, his hands pinning her forearms in front of her. He said, “Take it easy, you wildcat.”

  “I’ll give you wildcat, you bush-league bushman!” Beverly leaned forward a bit, then threw her head back, hoping to smash the back of her skull into Langdon’s beautiful face. But he ducked the move, and she merely thudded harmlessly against his massive shoulder.

  “Hey,” I said. Beverly turned to me. “Stay away from my man!” With that and my fast, hard right cross, Beverly went limp in Langdon’s arms. “Jesus,” I muttered, “maybe I really am Batgirl!”

  Several uniformed security guards ran in.

  “On time as usual,” John said, standing at his position behind his desk.

  One security guard drew his gun and held it shakily on Langdon even as he addressed John. “What’s going on here, sir?”

  I looked at that gun, the frightened hand, the possible tragedy about to unfold right in front of me. Even at that late hour, after having rescued so much of what had seemed lost, we were still just a hair’s breadth away from a misunderstanding that would take Langdon’s life and ruin my own forever. The bitter coldness of the irony shot through me in a panicked shiver.

  I looked at John Alister and I could see that he was instantly aware of the position the spinning wheel of fate had put him in. In that moment he held all of our fates in his frail, sweat-slicked hands. He could push the frightened security guard’s buttons and incite a shooting. With Langdon down, he could ally with his wife and her girlfriend and make me out to be a liar or a criminal, and my own life would be over there and then.

  John looked at me, then at his wife and her accomplice, groaning on the floor.

  “Stand down,” John said, “it’s not him, it’s those two, my wife and her friend there.”

  The security guard looked at Langdon. His gun was shaking in his hands. “Oh, um, sorry, sir.”

  “No worries, mate… long as you don’t shoot, eh?”

  The guard looked down at the gun in his hands. “Oh, right.” He holstered it, then pulled out a pair of handcuffs and bent down to Margaret, cuffing her hands behind her back while two other guards secured Beverly in the same way.

  “Hey, you can’t cuff me like this,” Margaret said, “you’re not real police!”

  “They’re on the way,” the security guard said, leading them out.

  Margaret turned and hissed at me. “I’m going to kill you someday, I swear it!”

  I said, “You’ll have to get in line,” as they dragged the women out. I turned and fell into Langdon’s arms, which he wrapped around me with new urgency and strength. We both knew how close we’d come to losing each other, to losing everything we’d fought so hard for. But luck and love had seen us through, and it was a moment to be relished, indulged, celebrated.

  Langdon said to me, “Sorry I didn’t tell you about the janitor switch, luv. Nothin’ personal. Wasn’t that I didn’t trust ya.”

  “You had to play things close to the chest. I understand.”

  “And when it comes to your chest,” Langdon said with a little grin, “the closer the better!”

  John approached us. “I… I don’t know what to say. I’m… I’m so ashamed.”

  “No reason to be,” Langdon said. “You know
what they say: ‘Behind every woman there’s a great man, it’s true. But she has a hand in every downfall too.’”

  John and I shared a chuckle. I said, “I hadn’t heard that.”

  “I’ve lived it,” John said. A sad silence filled the office. “Attempted murder, that’s going to ruin me.”

  Langdon said, “What attempted murder?”

  “My wife, the gun to her head?”

  Langdon just shook his head as if he had no idea what John was talking about. I was ready to follow Langdon’s lead, then and for the rest of my life. “I didn’t see that,” I said, “I didn’t see anything like that.”

  Langdon said, “Neither of us did, whatever claims those two may make.”

  I added, “Guess it would be our word against theirs.”

  John smiled, realizing what we were telling him, that we would help him cover up his mistake so he could preserve his life, so that Bailey could have a father and someday a mother worthy of her. John said only, “Thank you,” because those two words said it all with a simple beauty no other words could match.

  John gestured toward the door, and Langdon and I both knew we’d have to go with him to the police station. Perhaps the pair would have a press conference afterward.

  Something occurred to me. “Langdon, if you’re a Good Will Ambassador from the United Nations, how did they manage to hold you in jail as long as they did?”

  “Like I said, it’s mostly ceremonial. Y’gotta go outta yer way to get that special treatment, and that’s just not me.”

  Of course, I thought to myself, I should have known better than to ask.

  Langdon said to John, “So, the country, y’think?”

  “Yeah, I… I think it’s time for a simpler life. Bailey deserves better.” He turned to me. “Not that I’m leaving you out in the cold, Sheryl. You’ve earned a good place here. Even if I retire early, that doesn’t mean I don’t still get to make the big decisions. Maybe… you’ll be the one to make those decisions someday.”

  “That’s very tempting,” I said, my eyes and my smile finding Langdon, “but I saw myself leaving New York for a while.”

  Langdon returned my smile, and our eyes locked. “Y’never know what our future’ll hold. I always thought our companies could do well together.”

  I said, “Maybe it was fate or destiny or whatever they call it.”

  Langdon said to me, very softly, “I call it love.”

  Epilogue To Bossman’s List

  We stood on the cliffs of Kalbarri in Western Australia, the spring breeze pushing back the blonde ringlets on either side of my face, demure behind a white veil.

  I looked into Langdon’s eyes. Each one of us was locked on the other. He was almost regal in his tuxedo, long hair tied back, posture proud and perfect. Even the majesty of the craggy cliff side and the gorgeous Indian Ocean couldn’t distract us from each other in that moment of our perfect union.

  Langdon said, “Before I met you, I wasn’t really living. There was a hole in my heart I just couldn’t fill. Now I know you were the only person who could fill that hole and make me complete. I wasn’t really a man till I met you. My life hadn’t really begun. Now we’re only just beginning our lives together. Nothing before you means anything to me. Besides you and your happiness and our children’s and our grandchildren’s, there is nothing. Just you, just me, just us.”

  A joyful tear crept down my cheek. I wanted to look away to hide it, but I just couldn’t turn away from that marvelous face, the face of the man I loved and had always loved and would always love.

  I said to Langdon, “I thought that when we met, I’d been running… running from my past, running through my days, running out the clock, running out of steam, running out of time. I’m just so glad that, really, I wasn’t running away from anything, but toward something… someone… truly amazing. Because what I really wanted… and needed… and couldn’t find until you… was love.”

  Over Langdon’s shoulder, I noticed Ricardo polishing his fingernails on his lapel and then blowing on them in a cute bit of self-congratulations. I had to admit it was a pretty great line, since I stole it from him.

  Our celebrant was a chubby, smiling local judge who smiled broadly without sacrificing any of the dignity of the moment. “I am duly authorized to solemnize this, your marriage, according to the laws of Australia.

  “Before Sheryl and Langdon are joined together in marriage in my presence and in the presence of those your family and friends, I am bound as you know to remind you publicly of the solemn, the serious and binding nature of the relationship into which you are about to enter.”

  I could feel the joy rising up from our guests, our friends and family, and I couldn’t wait to bask in this moment with them, to celebrate our togetherness, the rare moments we’re given to enjoy with one another.

  But that moment was just for us, just for me and Langdon.

  “Marriage as most of us understand it is voluntary and is a full commitment of a man to a woman and a woman to a man. It is made in the deepest sense to the exclusion of all others and is entered into with the desire, hope and firm intention that it will last for life.”

  As we’d rehearsed, I put the ring on his finger, my hands trembling, mind already doubting my memory.

  I said, “I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, Sheryl Francis, take thee, Langdon Cane, to be my lawful wedded husband.” They were the sweetest words I’d ever spoken.

  Langdon took my hand in his, sure and simple as he slid that golden band around my quivering white finger.

  “I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, Langdon Cane, take thee, Sheryl Francis, to be my lawful wedded wife.”

  We looked at each other, and our celebrant glanced at us for a stilted moment before saying, “Well, what’re you waiting for? Have at it!”

  The crowd chuckled, and so did we before going in for that solemn kiss, a moment we’d lived and worked for and almost died for, a moment we’d almost missed, a moment that would become the rest of our lives. His tongue was familiar, warm, loving, greeting mine with a new wonder, a new depth, a love even greater than before.

  Our lips parted and the crowd’s applause rose and fell before the small violin ensemble played us down the aisle as man and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Langdon Cane.

  We dallied for a while with our friends and family before retiring into the nearby castle for our lavish reception. This time I really did feel like a princess.

  My parents were the first to rush up to us. My mother gave me a big hug while my father gave Langdon a hearty handshake.

  “Welcome to the family, Langdon.”

  “Good of ya, sir,” Langdon said. “I’ll try not to let you down.”

  “Just don’t let Sheryl down,” my mother said, “or you’ll have me to contend with.” Langdon offered her a wink and a nod and a little salute. She turned to give me a little kiss. “Don’t stay out here too long, dear, you’ll catch cold.” She faded back with my father, and I glanced at Langdon with a roll of my eyes. He knew what I was thinking, but also how lucky I was to have parents at all. He looked out over the crowd, and I knew he was imagining seeing his own parents there, perhaps even playing out the moment they would have shared had they survived.

  But I also knew what Langdon knew: that then his whole life would have been different, that we probably would never have met, that their sad fate was only one necessary step in a grand plan which had brought us together to forge a family of our own. I’d never met the Canes, but I couldn’t help but imagine that they’d be pleased.

  John and Bailey Alister stopped by on their way inside. Both of them were smiling, almost beaming. They had new color in their complexions, and John seemed to have lost a little weight. He looked more handsome and more healthy than I’d ever seen him before.

  I asked, “How’s life in the country?”

  “Love it!” Bailey was quick to say. “I have a horse of my own! Clip Clop! And I take care of him and
clean him and train him every day.”

  “That’s right,” John said with a warm and loving smile. “And I’m very proud.”

  She smiled. “I’m proud of you too, Daddy.” They hugged, and John turned to me.

  But Bailey looked at me and curled her finger at me to draw me in, in the way I remembered Margaret Alister doing. This time, like the last, I had to respond, so I pulled my dress up a bit and knelt down to Bailey. She threw her arms around my neck and squeezed tight. She not merely kissed me, but jammed her face into my cheek, and I could feel the wetness of a single tear.

  She whispered into my ear, “Thank you.”

  She squeezed tight, and I squeezed even tighter, sharing a big hug with arms a fraction the size of my own.

  “I’m hearing good things about Alister Fashions since you took over, Sheryl.”

  I stood and looked at Langdon. “I’ve had the two best teachers in the business.”

  John chuckled. “You’re the one taking us to school, Sheryl. Your New French Resistance campaign? That was genius, I have to say.”

  Langdon said, “Sheryl’s program is putting veterans to work, raising money for PTSD sufferers and the homeless, and it’s the hottest look in Europe. Rippah!”

  “You know you’re only encouraging her.”

  “That’s just what I want to do.”

  “And that kid Ricardo, he’s a real dynamo, huh? The Powerplay website’s a huge hit. Costs are down, ad revenue’s way up, sales are through the roof. There he is.” Ricardo approached us, looking very dapper in a white suit. John wrapped his arm around Ricardo’s shoulder. “Here’s our boy wonder.”

  A bit confused, Ricardo said, “Is that a cosplay thing? Because, y’know, we could talk.”

  John said, “Just keep working that website.”

  I asked John, “How’re the women in Connecticut?”

  “I’m in no rush,” John said. “It’s time for me to be a better father, and a better man, before I find a better woman.”

  Ricardo fanned his hand in front of his face, feigning a return of the vapors. Shaking his head, he walked away muttering, “Such a waste.”