Reasonable Doubt (1-3)

by Whitney Gracia Williams

  “I want you to have this now. I think I’ve been very patient regarding this matter, so—”

  “Yes.” I let his hands go. “I say yes…Can I open it?”

  He smiled. “Sure.”

  I took one last deep breath before opening the box, before pulling out the—

  “Earrings?” I asked, trying to keep a smile on my face as I looked over the sparkling diamond pointe slippers.

  “Yes.” He nodded, smiling. “You mentioned wanting some of those two weeks ago, so I figured with your news about the baby…”

  I tuned the rest of his sentence out and stared at the jewelry.

  “Do you not like them?” He tilted my chin up.

  “Yes, but I…I thought…” There were tears welling in my eyes. “Yes…Yes, I like them very much, Andrew.”

  He raised his eyebrow. “Why does it look like you’re about to cry?”

  “I’m not…” I stood up. “Can you please excuse me for a minute?”

  I didn’t wait for him to respond. I walked away and grabbed the elbow of a waiter, asking where the restroom was.

  Rushing in that direction as quickly as I could, I checked all of the stalls before releasing a pent up, “Is he serious?!” cry. Then I let the rest of the tears fall down my face.

  I should’ve known better…

  I shook my head, knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to finish tonight’s dinner without showing my emotions. I immediately pulled out my phone and started to type a message for him, but he walked through the doors.

  “This is the women’s restroom,” I said. “Get out. Now.”

  “So you can send me an email?” He smirked.

  “Yes. So I can send you an email.” I stepped back. “I’m almost finished with what I have to say, so if you could just—”

  “Why are you crying, Aubrey?” He stepped toward me, making me step backward until I was pressed against the wall. “Was it something I said?”

  “I’m about to have your baby, Andrew. We’re going to be parents…”

  “I’m aware.” He glanced at my stomach and wiped tears from my eyes. “Although I’m pretty sure your hormones shouldn’t be affected this quickly if you’re only a few weeks pregnant.”

  “Are you ever going to propose?” I couldn’t hold that question back anymore. “It’s been six years…”

  “I don’t recall setting a time frame.”

  “You said after I was settled with my career and…” I sighed as he wiped away another stream of tears. “I just want to know if it’s a yes or a no so I won’t get my hopes up again…If you don’t plan on ever marrying me because of your past, because you think I’ll hurt you like Ava did, or you just have no desire in ever committing to me for the long-term, I just need you to tell me right now so I can—”

  I stopped talking once I felt him slipping a ring onto my finger.

  “You only had to wait twenty more minutes.” He kissed my forehead, and I looked down at the ring—gasping once I held it in front of my face.

  It was a massive princess cut design that featured small bits of blue sapphire around the platinum band. And along the setting that held the main jewel in place, a line of intertwined “As” glimmered beneath the light.

  I looked at him in utter shock. “You were going to propose to me here?”

  “No.” He kissed my lips. “On the roof.”

  Silence.

  “Were you going to get down on one knee?” Another tear fell past my cheeks.

  He nodded.

  “In front of other people?”

  He nodded again.

  “Can you still do that?”

  “Why would I?”

  “For memories sake.”

  “You already said yes.”

  “I know, but I can temporarily take the ring off so I can still hear whatever you were going to say.” I twisted it around my finger, but he stopped me.

  “If you take the ring off, I’m going to assume that your answer is no…” He glared at me. “But since I know you’ll never let it go if I don’t actually say the words, I’ll say them for memories sake.” He grabbed my hand and led me out of the restroom and up a set of steps.

  Opening the doors ahead of us, he pulled me through the outdoor section of the restaurant, where patrons sat underneath a white heated canopy. He walked me over to the ledge and placed his jacket over my shoulders before picking me up and setting me atop a cold stone.

  Then he looked over his shoulder, at the diners who were now eyeing us suspiciously as he got down on one knee.

  “Do you want the edited or the non-edited version?” He looked into my eyes.

  “Non-edited…”

  “Okay.” He took my right hand and held it in his. “Aubrey…The beginning of our relationship was a lie, a huge fucking lie, but for some odd reason, I couldn’t be happier that that was the case.”

  He paused. “Over the past six years, we’ve dug our way to the truth, and as much as it hurt sometimes, I can honestly say that it was more than worth it.”

  I blushed as the people behind him fell silent, as they strained to hear what he was saying.

  “I wanted to propose to you several years ago, but I didn’t want to hold you back or distract you from focusing on your career, so I bought the ring and decided I would wait until you accomplished everything you wanted, until we could actually enjoy some time together.”

  A woman stood up and put her hand over her heart, mouthing, “Awww…”

  “And even though you get under my skin like no other, and you continue to push me out of my comfort zone…There’s no one I’d rather be with, and there’s nothing I would rather do than fuck your pussy for the rest of my life.”

  There was a collective gasp, a chorus of “What did he just say?”

  “So…” He circled his thumb around my ring. “Will you marry me?”

  I nodded, feeling fresh tears fall down my face as he stood up and pulled me into his arms.

  “Did you really have to say that last line?” I whispered as he claimed my mouth with his.

  “Yes.” He trailed his tongue along my lips. “I want you to be well aware that ring or not, I’m still the same Andrew.”

  “Or Liam…”

  “No, Andrew.” He kissed me again, more passionately this time. “Liam fell in love with the wrong woman…“Andrew” didn’t…”

  **End of Episode 3**

  Acknowledgments

  WHOA. JUST WHOA.

  This is probably going to be one of the most unprofessional author notes ever, but if you know me, you shouldn’t be surprised. LOL.

  Thank you Tamisha Draper for being there for me throughout my entire career—for pushing me to do my best each and every time, and for reminding me what’s most important. I could never do this without you, and even though I’m sure your husband shakes his head at the forty times my name crosses your phone’s screen a day, I’m happy you ignore him and still pick up. You are the best friend a girl could ever ask for, and I couldn’t be more grateful that you’ve stuck by my side through all the good, the bad, and the utterly insane. I love you.

  Tiffany Downs, OMG I’m so happy to have you back again. You are the balance—the perfect balance, and your support, advice, and friendship mean the world to me. Thank you for telling me that my “style” is just “my style” and that it’s okay to be different.

  Alice Tribue, OMG. OMG. THANK YOU for being my anchor in the sea of self-publishing. I had no idea that authors could be friends. No. idea. But I’m so happy to have someone like you who understands my version of crazy, someone who’s there for me through thick and thin, and someone who actually thinks I don’t suck. LOL

  Keshia Langston, you are the most humble and honest author I know and I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to know someone who just “gets” me, you know? #FLY HARD (Or as you would say…#FLYbitch LOL)

  Brooke Cumberland, I’m sure I won’t be winning any “book signing assistant of the year” award
s and that I’m like the worst texter ever (Okay…There has to be someone worse than me…has to be LOL), but I want you to know that your friendship is invaluable to me. You are kind, thoughtful, compassionate, and even though you’re crazy (Yes. You are crazy LOL), I wouldn’t trade you for the world.

  Laura Dunaway, even from afar, even thousands of miles away, I feel your support and love and I can’t thank you enough for being there with me through it all.

  Bobbie Jo Malone Kirby, I’m struggling with the words to write right now because how can I possibly say that I love you more than you’ll ever know? That you believe in me more than I believe in myself, and that you keep me sane through it all? I am so damn happy that you walked into my life last year—still can’t believe how seamlessly everything fell together, and now that you’re here, you’re mine forever and I’m never letting you go.

  Natasha Gentile, thank you for being the crazy, nonstop emailing, nonstop *shut up Whitney and finish this book* person that you are. You’re awesome inside and out, and I just might see you in Montreal soon…

  Natasha Tomic, I’m utterly speechless at the amount of love and support you’ve shown to me and this series, for the magical strings you managed to pull while you were in NOLA back in May (THANK YOU), and for the heart filled messages you sent me when things were in disarray. I can’t seem to find the proper phrasing that says, “I heart you big, I think you’re incredible, and I’ll never ever forget all you’ve done for me,” so I will leave it at this…and then re-upload this book with the proper phrasing LOL

  Nicole Blanchard, thank you for the teasers that saved my book. Literally. You have no idea how critical those were for RD1, and I’m so honored that you stepped in to be my PR/PA during this series when things were getting bigger than I could’ve ever imagined. THANK YOU.

  Kimberly Brower, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for reading this book over and over and helping me smooth out all of the flaws while I was losing my mind. You have no idea how much that means to me! You kept me sane during a very stressful time period, and I will never, ever forget that.

  Thank you to all my friends, new and old, that I’ve made so far—Kimberly Kimball (You’re going to kick ass this September, don’t’ worry), Stephanie Locke (I can’t wait to meet you in St Louis, in person), Michelle Kannan (Did you catch your name in this? LOL), Lisa Pantano Kane (Thank you for reading everything, and I’m serious about that beta gig lol), & Lauren Blakely (You are my role model and you seriously inspire me more than you’ll ever know…).

  Thank you to every single blogger who promoted the hell out of this series and made it as successful as it became—to list a few, Milasy & Lisa at The Rockstars of Romance, Jenny & Gitte at TotallyBooked, Christine at Shh Mom’s Reading, Nadine Colling at Hook Me Up Book Blog, Michelle Cole at The Blushing Reader Blog, Lori Economos at Sinfully Sexy, Tara and Tracie at Halos and Horns, Alison East at Three Chicks and Their Books, Hetty Rasmussen at BestSellers and BestStellars, Christine Cheff at Unhinged Book Blog, Miranda and Amie at Red Cheeks Reads, Cara Arthur at A Book Whore’s Obsession, and COUNTLESS more! (Okay, now seriously…I *am* a scatter brain, so if I left you out, it wasn’t intentional (I promise!), and since I self-published this, I can definitely add your name/blog and re-upload this book. LOL But seriously, though just tell me…)

  Thank you to Evelyn Guy for the final proofing as always.

  Thank you A MILLION TIMES OVER to Erik Gevers for stepping in to do the formatting. (Sometimes it’s better to let a professional handle it LOL)

  Thank you to my mother, LaFrancine Maria, for being there for me every step of the way, for making sure I keep everything in perspective, and for believing in everything I do. I LOVE YOU.

  Last, and NEVER EVER least, THANK YOUUUUU to the best readers ever! You have made this Southern girl’s dreams come true and I owe you everything! Yes, this is the last book for Aubrey & Andrew. Yes, I am known to change my mind but I think this one is sticking LOL. And no, no, no, I will not update their lives on my blog…just kidding. I totally will. I love you more than you’ll ever know, and am grateful to have you aboard the F.L.Y. crew…

  F.L.Y. (Fucking Love You)

  Whit

  Dear Incredible Reader,

  (Before you read this…Did you read the extended epilogue at the end of RD3? YES…It’s there...Go back and read that before this LOL)

  When I began working on this series, I was terrified. I’d never written in the erotica genre before, and I was still learning about the romance genre as a whole. Gone were my days of reading Orwell, Didion, and Baldwin; they’d been replaced with the likes of awesome authors who specialized in steamy stories that sent shivers up and down my spine.

  So, quite naturally, it took me a while to understand the difference between contemporary romance and erotica. And when I was putting the final touches on Reasonable Doubt 3, I realized that the ending was falling back into my former terrain.

  The scenes that showed Aubrey & Andrew in the future were a tad bit too contemporary. Okay, they were sappy…LOL But since there was no real “flow” to those scenes, and I felt like they might have led you into thinking that there would be an RD4 (I promised you a trilogy), I decided to simply end it with their HEA.

  Now that their story is complete though, and a quite a few readers have asked about those scenes, the deleted glimpses of their future follow this letter.

  (Back at home after accepting Andrew’s proposal in the extended epilogue...)

  Aubrey

  I slowly rolled on top of Andrew, feeling weak after yet another orgasm. “Hi…”

  “Hi.” He rubbed his hands against my bare back and kissed my lips.

  “You owe me a dinner…” I whispered. “A cooked one, not delivered.”

  “You think I’m going to get up and do that right now?”

  “I think you’re going to do whatever I want for the next few months.” I smiled, knowing it was true; I could tell. “Do you prefer a boy or a girl?”

  “No preference.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. What about you?”

  “I’m partial to a girl…”

  “And why is that?”

  “I’ve just always wanted a little girl,” I admitted. “To treat her better than my parents treated me, you know?”

  “So, you’ll cry if it’s a boy?”

  “I’ll cry if he ends up being anything like you.”

  Laughing, he sat up and pulled me with him. He slipped into a pair of sweat pants and helped me into a slip. Then he took my hand and led me into the kitchen, setting me on one of the bar stools.

  I leaned against the countertop as the two of us settled into what had become a routine since we started living together: Contrary to my comment about delivery, Andrew cooked for me whenever I asked. (Of course, there was an oral price that came with it afterwards, but it was one I was more than willing to pay.)

  When my touring schedule became hectic and I only had five hours in between the next show and a rehearsal, dinner had always been waiting for me. And every opening night, he’d sent a boxed entrée along with a bouquet of flowers backstage just in case I wanted to eat right away.

  “What if it is a girl?” He placed a small chicken salad in front of me. “Do you have any names in mind?”

  “Aubrey, but we can spell it with an ‘i’ instead of an ‘ey,’ you know?”

  He rolled his eyes. “That’s not happening.”

  “I was joking.” I plucked a strawberry from my plate. “I was thinking Autumn…”

  “Autumn? Is there a reasoning behind that?”

  “It’s our favorite season,” I said. “It’s also when I fell in love with you, and when you fell in love with me.”

  “I fell in love with you in the winter.”

  “No. You realized that you loved me in the winter. You already loved me in the fall.”

  “I’m pretty sure I didn’t.” He poured me a cup of juice before sitting next to me. “I need to ask you something.”
<
br />   “Since when do you need permission?”

  Cupping my chin, he turned my head so I was facing him. “Do you want a wedding?”

  I nodded, running my finger along my ring for the umpteenth time.

  “Before or after the baby?”

  “Before…”

  ***

  A couple months later …

  Andrew

  I wasn’t sure why Aubrey selected a vineyard in upstate New York for our wedding, but she insisted. We’d toured the venue no less than twenty times per her request, and on every occasion she’d swooned over the acres of lush plants, the small white cottages that stood in the distance, and the massive trees that shaded the area where we would be married.

  One of the biggest benefits of being married here, though, was the unlimited fresh wine that was served at the outdoor bar.

  “Andrew?” A male voice said from behind as I picked up a glass.

  I turned around, finding myself face to face with Aubrey’s father. “Governor Everhart.”

  “Ah, that title has such a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

  I didn’t answer.

  Sipping a glass of wine, he sighed. “I never thought this day was coming, never thought my Aubrey would get married.” He took a longer sip. “To her former boss, no less.”

  I didn’t answer that either.

  “You’re ten years older than Aubrey…” He finally said something that deserved a response.

  “Yes, I am. Are you insinuating something?”

  “Not at all,” he said. “It’s clear that you two are in love…You’d have to be to attend all of those overseas ballet shows without falling asleep.”

  “It’s called being supportive.”

  “I know…Not that it matters now, but I would like to know for sure: Were you two having a relationship while she was your intern at GBH? Did you really just happen to meet again in New York after she quit?”

  “Mr. Everhart…” I set my glass down, tired of playing into the story Aubrey had concocted years ago. “Since you asked me so nicely, I’m going to say this once and only once. Me and your daughter were actually—”