My hair was still short, so I hadn’t done much with it. Instead, I’d gotten a veil. The thing was, I looked beautiful. And I didn’t know what to do with that. Usually, I only felt beautiful when Liam was looking at me.
Maybe in this moment I was seeing what he always saw.
I turned to Kelsie and nodded. “I’m ready.”
My dad offered his hand as my bridesmaids—Ariadne, my childhood friend Emma, a friend from my old journalism job named Mercedes, and of course Kelsie—started to walk down the aisle. Kelsie winked at me just before she walked down, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
I really hoped she hadn’t planned anything crazy for the reception.
Then it was my turn. I tried to remember how to breathe.
The music swelled and the doors opened and suddenly it was all falling away. I didn’t see the people in their pews, or the groomsmen, or anyone except for Liam.
I wished I had a camera, so that I could take a picture of his face and preserve it forever. He loves me, I thought. I already knew that, of course. But it was like I could see it written so plainly on his face, shining in his eyes.
I hoped that he could see how much I loved him back.
The reception was a lot more raucous than the ceremony.
My parents turned in early. They were blown away by Liam and the life that he had given me, more than they could ever have hoped for their only child, their baby girl. And Liam had admittedly spoiled them with trips out, presents, reservations to whatever restaurant they wanted. He even took them to a baseball game. But at the end of the day, my parents were used to quiet nights in, and so they left shortly after the first few dances. Liam’s mom stayed for a little longer. Apparently, she’d been the party girl of her college back in the day.
The rest of our friends saw no reason for the party to end. We were at the beach, it was gorgeous, and it was summer. The open bar might have helped, too.
After what felt like hours, when my feet were starting to hurt and my sides ached from laughing, Liam came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I immediately leaned back into him, resting against his warm, solid body.
“You’re going to have to put this into the biography,” he pointed out.
Having thought long and hard about it after that first conversation with Liam, I was becoming a biographer. My first big client was Liam, my now-husband. I was excited to share his story with the world, and I’d also gotten a spate of other offers after everyone had heard Liam sing my praises.
There was also the added benefit of our meetings about the biography turning into quickies at his office. His office desk had been defiled more times that I could remember.
“Don’t you think it would be rather arrogant of me?” I asked in response to his question. “I’d be talking all about how my husband fell in love with me.”
“You can leave it out if it makes you uncomfortable,” Liam replied. “I kind of just feel like making sure the whole world knows that you’re mine, and I love you.”
“I’m pretty sure the amount of jewelry you’ve given me has already proven that.”
Liam chuckled. “You about ready to go?”
I nodded. Time to start sending the guests packing.
Everyone was gracious about heading out, but I frowned when I couldn’t find Kelsie. Where was she?
I heard familiar laughter and I followed the sound up the beach toward Liam’s house—our house. The laughter turned into a moan and I froze, torn between propriety and curiosity.
There, in the shadows, up against the outside wall of the house, were two figures. One was tall, dark, and handsome, and the other had very familiar red hair.
Jason and Kelsie.
I grinned, turning away. Good on Kelsie. I wasn’t trying to predict anything, but I’d figured that if she and Jason wanted to finally try a serious relationship, they would make a fantastic couple. Their personalities were just dissimilar enough to balance one another out, and they’d always gotten along well when Liam and I had them over for dinner or went out for drinks.
There was a guest room in our house for a reason. Both Jason and Kelsie knew where it was—I figured they’d find it when they were ready.
I helped get the other guests to the taxis, the waitstaff already stacking chairs and clearing glasses. Liam was standing at the edge, supervising.
“I’m ready,” I told him, walking up to him.
“Good.” He smiled at me. “I was thinking we could spend the night on the Avalon. It could be just like our first night together.”
Although we hadn’t gotten together until a bit afterwards, that first night had been the one that had gotten both of us hooked. I smiled at him even more widely, feeling myself melt inside all over again. “Yes, please.”
Liam held out his hand to me, and as always, I took it.
The End
Baby Bet
Ana Sparks & Layla Valentine
Up next, we have a girl who wants a baby more than anything, and two gorgeous studs who want nothing more than to help her out!
Baby Bet is up next!
Copyright 2018 by Ana Sparks and Layla Valentine
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the explicit written permission of the author.
All characters depicted in this fictional work are consenting adults, of at least eighteen years of age. Any resemblance to persons living or deceased, particular businesses, events, or exact locations are entirely coincidental.
Prologue
Violet
2006
“Oh, come to the window, fair Violet!”
The voice pulled me from my vanity, where I was just finishing up my mascara, and to the double windows looking down into the front yard. Pushing the cracked one open, I looked down and found about what I’d expected: my best friend, Sean, holding a rose and grinning.
My own smile tugged at my lips, and I felt a blush heat up my cheeks.
“Are you supposed to be quoting someone?” I called down.
“Yeah! It’s Shakespeare!”
I pressed my palm against my mouth, unable to stop the laughter.
“Hey!” someone called from another house. “Shut up!”
“Get inside,” I hissed at Sean. “Before the neighbors freak out.”
“Yes, m’lady.”
Closing the window, I turned for the door and caught sight of myself in my full-length mirror. It wasn’t the lavish up-do my mom had taken me to get done earlier, or the curve-hugging pink prom dress that caught my attention, though. It was the giant smile on my face.
No one could cheer me up like Sean.
What was I going to do without him?
I swallowed that awful thought down and quickly grabbed my little satin purse. Tonight was supposed to be about fun. We’d never have another chance to be as carefree as we were right then. I might have only been eighteen, but I knew this for a fact. Life would probably get better, sure, but the responsibilities would only grow.
The next day, my whole world would change. But that night was still for the taking.
Sean was already in the living room when I came down, looking amazing in his charcoal suit. His red hair had been brushed to the side, not a strand out of place. The second his green eyes fell on me, fire ignited in my stomach.
Quickly, I bit my bottom lip and looked down.
We’re just friends, I reminded myself. Nothing more.
“Oh…my…God.” My mom stood in the doorway from the kitchen, shaking her head. “You two look so grown up. I can’t take this.”
“Aw, stop, Mrs. Powers.” Sean grinned. “Violet, tell your mom to stop flirting with me.”
“Ew.” I wrinkled my nose.
My mom attempted to ruffle Sean’s perfect hair, but he slipped under her
arm and stepped out of the way.
“Pictures,” she cooed, plucking her digital camera from the coffee table. “Did you leave enough time to go back to Sean’s so Abigail can get some too?”
Sean and I exchanged a quick look. No way were we trudging all the way back to his house just so his mom could take some pics. We were already fashionably late—wait any longer, and by the time we got to prom it would be over.
“You can just email the ones you take to her, Mrs. Powers,” Sean offered.
“Oh.” Mom frowned slightly. “I can?”
“Yeah,” I quickly said. “Come on, Mom. We need to get going.”
Without warning, Sean wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against his firm chest. I sucked in a quick breath, inhaling his musky scent. It made my head spin and my heart pound.
“Smile, Violet,” Mom said. “You look like a deer caught in headlights.”
I forced my lips open, and let her click for a few seconds.
“Okay, great,” I nearly yelped. “We need to go.”
Without waiting for an answer, I hauled my butt out the door.
Just friends. Just friends.
It was a mantra I had a feeling I’d be repeating to myself a lot that night.
At school, Sean parked at the far end of the lot. We sat silently for a moment, the only sounds our breathing.
“Ready?” he asked.
I turned to him. “It’s just prom.”
Sean shrugged. “Yeah, I know.”
“Are you…are you ready?”
“I’m a little worried I might hurt my back doing the Electric Slide, but other than that, I should be good.”
“No,” I quietly said. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
His usually jovial expression vanished, and the serious look I’d hardly ever seen appeared.
“It’s what I want.”
“I know.”
I just didn’t understand why. Sean had everything he needed in Honolulu. His parents. His friends.
Me.
Why did he need to join the military and possibly go to the other side of the world?
If it was about wanting to help his country out, I understood that, but he’d never talked about going into the service in that way. Whenever he mentioned the Army, it was always about how excited he was to travel and see new places.
I wanted him to do that, but what I wanted even more was for us to do it together. We’d been best friends for four years, and I was terrified that his leaving meant that that would end.
“You’re going to miss graduation.”
I didn’t even know why I said it. Not only was it obvious, it was a shitty thing to point out. Sean knew what he was giving up by leaving. It wasn’t my job to police him.
And yet, it seemed I couldn’t stop trying to do just that.
“Yeah.”
He smiled, but it flickered at the edges. The dark car hid whatever was in his eyes, and I wished desperately for a moment that we could be real. There were so many things I wanted to say…
“Come on. Let’s go have an amazing night.”
He was out of the car and opening my door before I could draw another breath. Looping his arm in mine, we walked across the parking lot and into the gym.
Our last night together.
That’s what this was. Tomorrow, Sean would be reporting to the recruiting station. Who knew when I would see him again?
“Sean!” Connor Houston called, rushing past the beverage table to fist bump. “My man!”
From there on out, it was all about Sean. He’d always been popular, but that night, the entire student body rushed him, asking all about his future life in the military. Stepping away from the scene, I slipped over to the wall. There I stood, staring into a glass of punch, wondering why I was such a chicken.
“Have you seen Sean?” someone asked.
The voice pulled me from my trance, and I looked up to see Jessica Hardy. She flipped her long, dark hair over a shoulder and raised her eyebrows, silently repeating the question.
Oh, yeah. That’s why I’ve been chicken.
“Not for a while,” I answered, setting my untouched punch on the plastic table.
“Oh.” Pouting, she walked away, perfect ass swinging in her skin-tight dress.
All the girls would be looking for Sean that night. Our coming to prom together didn’t mean much of anything.
Over the past four years, Sean had probably dated no less than fifteen girls—some at our high school and some at others, and even a couple in college.
No joke, Sean was a grade-A player.
Maybe that was why I’d always kept things platonic. Being his girlfriend meant I would just become another flavor of the moment. But as his best friend, I really meant something to him.
Or at least, I had. Come the next morning, everything would change.
“Hey.”
He’d come out of nowhere, creeping up while I’d been lost in thought. I took Sean in, doing my best to engrave the sight of him into my memory. For the rest of my life, I wanted to remember him as he was right then: hands in his pockets, wearing a playful, half-smile. My Sean.
A new song started, something slow and sweet.
“Let’s dance.”
He took my hand in his, not waiting for a response. With hardly any effort, he pulled me into his arms. Just like at my house, the close proximity robbed me of my senses. I was limp putty, moldable to his will.
His hand loosely holding mine, Sean guided me to the center of the dance floor. Couples swayed on all sides of us, their arms locked tight around each other. With my heart thudding in the base of my throat, I awkwardly looped my own arms around Sean’s neck.
He smiled down at me. “This is nice.”
“Yeah,” I thickly replied, unable to look at him for more than a second.
Without warning, he pulled me closer to him, planting my face against his broad shoulder.
“Just relax,” he whispered, his breath kissing my ear.
A shiver ran straight down my back. With another exhale, I let it all go. The tension. The worry. Closing my eyes, I sank into the moment. There was just me and Sean, dancing into forever.
“Hey, Violet.”
“Mm-hmm?” I murmured, lifting my face to look at him.
Sean’s irises were big, his lips soft-looking and perfect.
“This is nice. I’m really…I’m really going to miss you.”
Tears instantly filled my eyes, but I blinked them back. “I’ll miss you too.”
“Get a load of them.” He nodded at something over my shoulder.
Next to us, Katie Weaver and Clem Takahashi had stopped dancing to profusely make out. The sight made heat fill my body, and I turned back to Sean with my face ducked.
“Guess they’re having a good time,” he whispered.
“Yeah.”
I forced myself to look at Sean. His eyes were trained on my face, his lips parted just the smallest amount.
I swallowed hard. Somehow, despite the fear barreling through me, I didn’t look away. Could it be that… Was Sean…?
No. He didn’t want to kiss me. We were friends, nothing else.
Unless…
His face moved slightly toward mine, and I sucked in a breath. Licking my lips, I parted them, ready for whatever was to come.
Suddenly, the slow song ended, and an upbeat dance tune filled the gym. Sean stopped moving toward me, and he smiled instead.
“Nice segue,” he cracked.
“Yeah.”
I had to drop my face again, afraid he would see the disappointment there.
“Eddie has a flask. Want to go outside?”
“Sure.”
I let myself be guided along once more, shoving my own wants and needs under the rug—something I was good at.
Hours later, as we stood under my porch light, the dread I’d felt earlier returned.
“This is it,” I dully said.
“Yeah.” Sea
n nodded, lips tight.
“What time are you going to the recruiting spot tomorrow?”
“Eight a.m.”
I tried to say ‘cool’, but the word died somewhere in my throat.
“I’ll be back to visit as soon as I can. I just don’t know when that will be. But I can write to you as soon as basic training is over.”
“Okay.” My voice cracked on the simple response.
Sean swallowed hard, and though the light was poor, I thought I saw his eyes glisten.
I searched for something to say to make him stay longer, but failed. It was past midnight. I had a curfew. And he had a life to live—one that no longer included me.
“Goodbye, Violet.”
Sean squeezed my hand lightly and stepped back, holding onto my fingers for as long as he could.
I stayed where I was, watching as he climbed into his beat-up sedan and backed out of my driveway. His headlights swept across the lawn, and all I saw was his dark figure as he drove down the street and out of my world.
For a long, long time, I stood still, frozen in one spot.
Had I made a mistake? Should I have told Sean how I felt about him?
Maybe things could have been different between us. We had a connection he didn’t with all those other girls.
But it didn’t matter now. I’d let him slip away. He’d be back for visits, but I wasn’t naive. Things would be different. I might never get the chance to tell him how I felt.
Now, there was nothing to do but learn to live with that.
Chapter 1
Sean
Eleven Years Later
Thick, fluffy clouds roll across a blue sky, and the palm trees along the avenue point upward, eager to remind everyone that they don’t belong downtown. They’re free, wild.
Power Play - A MFMMM Reverse Harem Billionaire Romance (You Can't Resist a Bad Boy Book 6) Page 18