My voice trails off when I see Wes standing in the doorway to our bedroom, leaning against the door, looking impossibly handsome in his navy-blue suit with no tie and a devilish smirk.
“I know I’m late. You can stop staring at me in judgment,” I say with a huff from my place on the floor.
He gives a slight shake of his head. “You’re beautiful, you know that?” His tone is deep and sincere.
I sit back on my heels and tilt my head. Throwing my hands in the air, I look at myself, mussing up my dress while I look haphazardly for a shoe. “I’m a mess. My dress could probably use a steam, my makeup is twelve hours old, and I’m sure my hair is stringy in the back.” I lift up my hand to show the one black heel. “And I only have one shoe.”
Wes doesn’t move. “And still, you’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Why do you love me so much?”
“Probably because you’re such a pain in my ass.”
His comment makes me laugh. I don’t know why really. Maybe it’s because it was preceded by him telling me how beautiful I am. Only a man like Wesley Knight can love the way he does. He adores my perks and my flaws.
“I love you.”
“You should,” he says with a raised brow.
He’s right. I do. I love this man hard. Not only has he opened up his heart, but he’s also opened his home to me, never making me feel like a visitor or just a girlfriend.
“I love you too.”
I pout a little because his words are so sweet.
Of course, that nice tone turns to a serious growl as he says, “Now, we’re both late.”
I turn my head and see my missing shoe. “Found it! We’re good. Let’s go!”
Standing up, I slide my shoes on and take a peek in the mirror. I look good but not great. Turning to my dresser, I grab my brush and start putting makeup in a bag when I feel warm hands on my arms, pulling me back.
Wes’s lips are on my neck as he sucks lightly on my skin, sending chills down my spine, straight to my core.
“What happened to us being late?” I muse as I fall into his chest.
“You look too good in this dress. I need to get you out of it.” His hands grip the fabric and raise it up to my waist.
“The party starts in twenty minutes, and it’ll take thirty minutes to drive to the restaurant.”
“Chad and Nicole will still be engaged when we get there.” He spins me around, and my hands rest on his broad chest and splay along the open-collared shirt. “You did get home from work late.”
“I did,” I pant as his hand moves inside my panties, touching the sensitive bud.
“And you couldn’t find your shoes.” He slides a finger inside and makes that come-hither motion that drives me wild.
I throw my head back and agree with my man by moaning out his name.
“Plus, I’m a selfish prick who desperately needs to make love to his woman.”
My ass is lifted onto the dresser, and his pants are undone in rapid time. His cock is buried so deep in me that my eyes roll to the back of my head, and I revel in the sensation of feeling him bare. We recently decided to let my birth control be the only means of protection between us, which was a big move. Having this intimacy has only made us feel like we’re closer than we’ve ever been.
He rolls his hips, and the movement makes my orgasm climb higher. I snake a hand around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. My breathing is too heavy, so I have to part and rest my forehead against his.
We hiss out sweet curses and repeat over and over how much we love each other.
When we’re done, we are more than fashionably late.
“To the happy couple!” my dad cheers from his table at Chad and Nicole’s engagement dinner.
We clink glasses and drink, watching as my brother and his bride-to-be kiss for the room of family and friends.
I get up and make my way over to them. Chad’s hair has grown out since his buzz cut and is brushed back stylishly. Nicole looks as beautiful as ever in a sweetheart neckline with a beautiful sapphire diamond on her finger.
“I can’t believe you two are getting married!” I cry as I hug them both. I might even have a few tears in the corners of my eyes. “It’s not even the wedding, and I’m getting all starry-eyed.”
“Just make sure you pack some tissues. I am planning the most romantic wedding ever.” She beams, which has Chad smiling.
“As long as there’s lots of booze and a great DJ, then I’m happy. Other than that, anything you want.” He lays a hand on her waist and pulls her in for a kiss.
I’m about to make one of my signature comments about how gross they are when they kiss, but it actually doesn’t bother me at all. Hasn’t for a while. I’ve just been so used to making the remarks that it’s become habit.
“I’m really happy for you guys.”
“You know, you could be next,” Nicole states suggestively with a waggle of her brows.
“They have time,” he groans.
“Babe, they’ve been dating nearly as long as we have,” she says.
“She’s younger.”
“By just a year. Wes is our age,” she defends, and I hold my hands up.
“You two can stop right there. This is your day and your year. Enjoy your engagement and don’t worry about anyone trying to steal your thunder. Today is your moment. Bask in it. You have a very, very, very long time until you have to worry about me and Wes.”
“Did I hear my name?” Wes strolls up beside me and puts his arm around my shoulders.
Nicole chimes in, “We were just talking about the possibility of you and Stacey getting engaged someday—”
“To which I replied that they have a crazy-long time to wait until something like that,” I add.
Wes shrugs in agreement. “Squid is right.”
I roll my eyes and let out a huff.
Wes laughs and pulls me away. “If you two will excuse us, I think she’s about to read me the riot act.”
We move away from Chad and Nicole to where he spins me around to face him.
“I hate that nickname.”
“But you love me.” He grips my waist and pulls me toward him. “Dance with me.”
There’s music in the restaurant from a piano player sitting in the corner. He’s playing a ballad I know well. An old Rod Stewart song.
“No one’s dancing,” I say.
He takes my hand and lifts it against his chest. “When have we been ones to go with what everyone else is doing?”
With a laugh-like growl, I give in and dance with my man. We’re the only ones dancing, which has my mom beaming at us from her place at her table. She taps my dad’s shoulder to get his attention. They’re pointing at us now and looking happy.
Over the last two years, they’ve been very supportive of my and Wes’s relationship. Mom already loved him, and Dad has the most profound trust in my judgment. Chad gives us grief when he can but only when we show affection. I can’t blame him; I’ve been doing the same to him and Nicole. I like to think of it as our way of showing how much we care.
They also haven’t given me too hard of a time about not moving back to Los Angeles. When Wes graduated, he was offered a full-time position at a rehabilitation facility in Berkeley. He’s the associate director and enjoying his new career. Even if I hadn’t gotten a job with the Department of Labor, I would have tried for something near Berkeley because that’s where Wes is.
I look up at him as we dance.
He’s so tall and handsome, those hazel green eyes still working their magic on me, as they have since that day I walked into their apartment and saw him standing there in a towel. His lips draw me in, as they have since that kiss in high school. And his sweet soul is as pure as the moment we met as kids.
When I came to Berkeley, I was on a bit of a relationship will never happen for me kick. Boy, was I wrong. It happened for me within weeks, and I’ve been floating on cloud nine ever since.
“Penny for
your thoughts?” he croons in my ear.
“Just thinking about how mediocre you are,” I say in a mock serious tone.
“This is true. I’m a horrible cook.”
“You are.”
“And I don’t share the remote.”
“Ugh. That you definitely do not.”
He leans in and snuggles in close to my ear, his hot breath warm as he says, “But I don’t steal the covers.”
I lean my head into his and sigh. Wes is definitely a good bedmate.
“And I consider myself your personal shower concierge.” He bites the lobe of my ear.
I smile in agreement. Since our locker-room rendezvous, Wes has made it his personal mission to shower with me at least four times a week—to make sure my back is clean, of course.
“Then, there’s that awful habit of mine of massaging every inch of your body after you come back from a swim at the gym.”
“You’re positively dreadful,” I say with a shiver because a massage by Wes is my new favorite thing.
If he had given me one when we were sneaking around behind Chad’s back, I would have forsaken the entire world and announced my devotion to him in a heartbeat. His hands are magic digits that make me a puddle of goo and wind me up like a wild woman. It’s a talent.
“However, I was hoping you’d keep me around a bit longer. You see, I’ve grown quite fond of you.” He takes my hand and spins me. I follow through and raise a brow.
“How much longer are we thinking?” I ask as our bodies collide again, and we sway to the melody.
He grimaces as he lifts his eyes toward the ceiling in thought. “I don’t know. Say … forever?”
“That’s a long time, Mr. Knight. And quite the commitment.”
The grin on his face crinkles his eyes as he levels his gaze with mine and looks directly at me. “I’m willing to make it.”
My heart jumps straight to my throat at his words. “Really?”
“Don’t look so frightened.” He laughs and kisses my lips. “Not today and not tomorrow. But definitely in the future. I love you, Stacey, and I will for as long as I’m here on this earth. This”—he motions toward the party—“I want all this for us too. And we’ll do it all. Get married, have kids, and prove to everyone that old people can still have crazy-hot sex. We’re just gonna do it in our own time.”
I kiss him back and smile. “I’m in no rush, Wes. I’m not going anywhere. I’m just happy to be yours.”
“I love that you’re mine.”
“So, is this like an engagement to be engaged?” I joke.
He leans his head back and laughs. “It’s better. It’s a promise for eternity. The paper and the jewelry will come later.”
“And the kids.”
“At least three.”
I smile because three sounds like a really good number. “I’m good with that.”
So, there you have it. Who ever knew that the girl who left home to live with her brother would fall in love with his best friend and live happily ever after?
Though I’ve never been able to drop that damn nickname.
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About the Authors
Jeannine Colette
Jeannine Colette combines humor and angst in her sexy, stand-alone romance novels. Her stories feature dynamic heroines, and swoon-worthy heroes, who have to abandon their reality in order to discover themselves . . . and love along the way.
A graduate of Wagner College and the New York Film Academy, Jeannine went on to become a Segment Producer at CBS News and NBC. She left the television industry to focus on her children and pursue a full-time writing career. She lives in New York with her husband, the three tiny people she adores more than life itself, and a rescue pup named Wrigley.
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Lauren Runow
Lauren Runow is the author of multiple Adult Contemporary Romance novels, some more dirty than others. When Lauren isn't writing, you'll find her listening to music, at her local CrossFit, reading, or at the baseball field with her boys. Her only vice is coffee, and she swears it makes her a better mom!
Lauren is a graduate from the Academy of Art in San Francisco and is the founder and co-owner of the community magazine she and her husband publish. She lives in Northern California with her husband and two sons.
You can also stay in touch through the social media links below.
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Acknowledgments
Such a series is quite the undertaking, but we knew we could do it with the help of our wonderful PA, Autumn Gantz with Wordsmith Publicity. We can’t thank you enough for guiding us through and making sure we were on track while we had our heads in each book.
A huge thank you to Chelle Lagoski Northcutt for being our beta reader.
Our books wouldn’t be what they are today without the help of Jovana Shirley with Unforeseen Editing. It blows our minds the things she’s able to spot and make sure the book flows for consistency. We’re so grateful for Allisia Wysong also for helping us with a quick proofread!
And of course, we can never thank our readers enough. Without you guys we wouldn’t be able to follow our dreams and have our daily conversations from different sides of the United States. We found our friendship through books, and get to continue due to your support.
Thank you!
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