by Nikki Paris
I turned to see Evan’s ex-girlfriend, Ava, walking through the door. She gave Burke an appreciative stare and tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. I slid my arm around his waist to stake my claim. Not that Burke would even be mildly interested in someone like Ava. “Hi, Ava. It’s uh… been a while.” I smiled.
Ava let out her cute little tinkling laugh and batted her perfect eyelashes. “It has!” She studied my face and pursed her bright red lips. “You are so beautiful now!”
I raised an eyebrow. “Was I a hideous kid or something?”
Burke laughed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Ava’s eyes drifted back over to him. “Hi! I’m Ava, Sienna’s bestie from high school.” She extended her hand with a flirty smile.
Burke shook it. “I’m Burke. I’m Charlie’s.”
I laughed out loud and tugged him a little closer. “You’re just mine? I like that.” He smiled down at me and nodded.
“Wow!” Ava laughed and let her eyes flick up and down Burke’s body. “Nicely done, girl.” Then she turned and glanced around the reception hall that was slowly filling up. “I’m going to go say hi to people, but it was so good to see you!” She walked away with her hips swaying.
Burke watched her, and I glared at him and smacked his arm. “Fucking look away, asshole!”
He laughed out loud and kissed my nose. “I’m teasing you, cutie. It seemed like you were getting a little jealous there. I could feel you getting all tense and fired up.”
I continued to glare.
“Charlie, you know I’m crazy about you, and your brother’s ex-girlfriend is not my type.”
“I know, Burke, but if you ever look at another woman again, even jokingly, you know I’m not above punching you. The Cox kids don’t fuck around with assholes.”
Burke laughed again and followed me to our table. He’d laughed to the point of tears when I told him about punching Simon on Valentine’s Day. “That’s why I love you, cutie.” We took our seats next to Bea, and Tess brought Sophia over.
After dinner, it was time for speeches. I had a whole thing planned, but as Bea finished her words of congratulations for the happy couple, I could feel the lump growing in my throat. My words weren’t going to come out the way I wanted. Hell, I’d be lucky if I got through half of my speech.
My dad should have given the first damn speech. He should have made everyone laugh with an off-color joke and then said something wise to blow us all away.
But it was up to us now.
“Cheers to Evan and Sienna! You two are beautiful together!” Bea held up her champagne glass and handed me the microphone with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She was barely holding it together, too.
I took a deep breath and stood, smoothing my black silk dress. Could I say anything to fill the void our family felt? I knew I couldn’t, so I decided to address it. “There’s a huge hole in this room tonight, and I think we can all feel it. Dad should be here, right?” I exchanged a sad smile with my brother and continued. “We all miss him like crazy. However, I think if he were here, Dad would tell you not to screw this up, Evan. So I’ll say it for him. Son, don’t screw the pooch.” I gave Evan the teasing stare I’d inherited from my father.
Evan laughed and wiped a tear.
“Luckily, you found a woman that will forgive you even when you do. You’re so damn lucky, Evan. Like we’re all in agreement that if you screw up too bad, we’ll keep Sienna and get rid of you.”
The room filled with appreciative laughs, and Evan smiled at me and then Sienna.
“But all jokes aside, I think dad would be proud of you tonight. He would love your bar, dude. He’d be proud of the way you take care of all the girls he left behind, even when you punch your little sister’s boyfriend in the face.” I gave Evan a pointed look as the room filled with chuckles again.
Evan laughed and shook his head and then glanced over at Burke and mouthed, “Sorry…”
“He’d be so proud that you fought for what you wanted and didn’t take the easy road. And he would love the way you love Sienna.” My voice hitched. Shit. I was going to start crying. “And I’m proud of you, too. I’m so grateful to have a big brother that’s got my back and tries to be everything he was raised to be.” A tear slipped down my cheek. I needed to wrap this up before I lost it. “Sienna, I love you. You know that. I’m so happy for you guys.” I passed the microphone to Evan’s best friend, Rob, and sank back into my chair.
Burke’s arm immediately wrapped around me and pulled me to his side. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of my head while I furiously wiped my tears away.
Rob stood and grimaced. “Well… I’m not sure how to follow that.”
The room filled with chuckles again, and I melted into Burke. He had me, and he was all that existed while I worked on composing myself.
After the speeches were over, the dancing started. Everyone stood and started talking and laughing, but I stayed there with my head against Burke’s shoulder, breathing in his warm scent and letting the waves of missing my father ripple through me.
My mom came over and took Tess out to the dance floor, and Burke tipped my chin up to give me a soft kiss. “That was a good speech, cutie.” He swiped a stray tear from my cheek with his thumb and then gave me a deeper kiss. “Come here, come dance with me.” Burke took my hand and led me to the dance floor.
He pulled me into his arms, and we swayed back and forth to some pop love song. When that song ended, Patience by Guns N’ Roses started to play. I glanced up and met Burke’s molten gaze. “It’s our song.” I smiled.
“It is. I asked Sienna to add it to their wedding playlist.” He leaned down to press another soft kiss to my lips. “Do you know how much I love you, Charlie?”
I shrugged and bit my lip, meeting his gaze with a smile. “Is it the forever kind of love, Burke?”
“Yes.”
“Burke?”
Yes?”
“You’re not going to propose to me at my brother’s wedding, are you?”
Burke let out his deep laugh and shook his head. “I would never do something so pedestrian, Charlie.”
I laughed as he spun me in a slow circle. “We can take it slow.”
“Because we’ve got what it takes to make it.”
“Exactly.”
He pulled me closer, and I rested my head against his chest. Tess wandered over to us as the song ended, and an upbeat one started. Burke and I held out our hands to her, and she took them with a smile.
Tess laughed as I twirled her, her soft pink skirt billowing out as she spun.
Nothing would ever entirely swallow up the sting of losing my dad, but these two beautiful people sure as hell dulled the ache. Burke and Tess had me believing in true love and beauty and new beginnings. They showed me that I was strong and hard on my own, but softer and more stable with them.
30
Charlie
Six Months Later
Tess’s giggle rang through the air as I threw a pile of bright orange leaves at her face. She scooped up handfuls of leaves and returned the favor, laughing so hard she was almost wheezing.
Fall leaves used to symbolize death to me. I thought they always would, but I watched Tess’s beautiful smile as they floated through the air around her and wondered if maybe the leaves could mean a new beginning. Maybe the harsh winds that ripped through the trees—tearing them down to nothing—were doing the trees a favor. Maybe those winds were making room for new growth.
Burke’s Subaru pulled up the driveway, and Tess and I turned to smile at him. I gave Tess’s shoulder a light and playful shove. “I’ll race you for the first hug.”
Tess grinned and took off running before I said go. I hung back to let her win and smiled as I watched my sexy man hug his daughter. Burke turned to me next and planted a deep kiss on my lips, sliding his tongue into my mouth. I slid my tongue into his mouth and buried my hands in his hair. It was getting long again. He took control of the kiss for a moment, then passe
d it back to me, until Tess yelled, “Gross! Stop making out!” and pelted us with two handfuls of leaves.
I pulled away from Burke and held up my hands. “Fine! We surrender! No more leaves!”
“Tess, you want hot chocolate? I bought some at the store.” Burke said and turned to open the trunk. He pulled out a few grocery bags, and the three of us headed inside the little house that Burke bought last month.
I’d moved in with him a week ago, and it was the perfect little two-bedroom house for us. It was close enough to Lexi and Scott’s that we got to see Tess on weeknights, too.
“Are Matteo and Jonah still coming for dinner tomorrow night?” Burke asked as we put the groceries away. Tess collapsed on the couch and switched on the TV.
“Yeah, they’re super excited to see the place.” My best friend and his boyfriend both had crushes on my boyfriend. They flirted shamelessly with Burke every time we saw them, and it was hilarious. Burke was such a good sport about it and flirted back just enough to make Matteo and Jonah all giggly.
Burke turned on the oven and started to gather ingredients to make dinner. “Burke, love of my life, please get out of the kitchen.”
He glanced up at me and faked offense. “I haven’t burned anything since last Tuesday.”
“Yep. Let’s keep that winning streak going.” I pulled him in for a quick kiss and pinched his ass. “I made a promise to Tess that I would do the cooking when she’s here.”
“Right.” Burke rubbed his beard. “You guys formed an alliance against me.”
I gave him a serious nod. “Yes, we did.”
◆◆◆
After dinner, Lexi arrived to pick up Tess. She came to the door and made small talk while Tess gathered her things. It was awkward as hell, but we were trying, and we’d always try for Tess. Lexi had started making an honest effort to stick to agreed-upon schedules, and we all worked at never belittling each other in front of Tess.
Did Burke and Lexi still have issues? Absolutely. Did I have my own personal issues with his ex-wife? You bet. But we dealt with it all like grown-ass adults.
Burke and I gave Tess hugs and watched Lexi’s car back down the driveway before heading inside. I grabbed my backpack from the floor and pulled out my laptop to start working on my homework. I’d signed up for a couple of journalism classes this semester, and they were actually holding my attention. I was beginning to think that writing articles might be my jam.
Burke sank down next to me, set my laptop on the coffee table, and pulled me onto his lap. “I have some news.”
“Yeah?” I smiled at him and ran my fingers through his beard.
“Yeah, cutie. Remember that video I posted yesterday of the mahogany epoxy table I just finished?”
Right around the time of Evan and Sienna’s wedding, Burke started a small online store to sell the things he’d crafted from wood. He made little things, like notebooks and crates, but he also made a few larger, custom furniture pieces.
“Yes. That table is beautiful, and we’re keeping it.” I narrowed my eyes. He better not be selling that freaking table. I told him yesterday that I wanted it in our kitchen immediately.
“I’m not selling it. But a store owner did contact me to say she’d like to carry my products in all five of her shops.” Burke had a soft smile on his face like he couldn’t believe this was happening to him.
“Damn!” I grinned and smacked his arm. “That’s amazing!”
“I don’t understand.”
I laughed. “Don’t understand what?”
“How I could live most of my life thinking I didn’t want anything and that nothing wanted me. Now I’m sitting here, and people want the shit I make. And you, cutie…” Burke paused and ran his fingers gently down my cheek.
I tilted my head into his touch. I loved the molten look in his gorgeous green eyes as he pulled a small box from his jacket pocket. It was made from smooth cherrywood with a single red rose burned into the lid.
My heart raced out of control. I wasn’t even twenty-one yet! I wasn’t ready to get married. I mean, Burke was the one, for sure, but marriage?
Burke placed the box in my palm and laughed at my wide eyes. “I’m not asking you to marry me. You’re young, and I already failed at that marriage thing. We have plenty of time to decide if we want to do what society expects of us.” He took my free hand and pressed it to his lips. “What I am saying tonight is that you’re mine, Charlie, fucking forever. You understand that?”
I let out a small sigh of relief. “I understand that, Burke.”
“Good. Open it.”
I opened the lid and pulled out a glossy cherrywood medallion on a silver chain. The bottom half was made from blue, green, and purple epoxy swirled together. “Wow,” I breathed, “this is beautiful.”
“It’s supposed to be the northern lights because they were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen until you walked into ’69 and flashed me those big blue eyes.”
I smiled and bit my lip as he hooked the necklace around my neck and brushed his lips against my collarbone. His hands wrapped gently around my throat. Pressing my lips to his ear, I whispered, “I’m yours, and you’re mine.”
He scooped me up in his arms to carry me to our bedroom, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. “Cutie, I’m gonna tie you up and fuck you until you can’t walk.”
I nipped at his lips and tugged on his hair. “Or maybe I’m going to tie you up and do the fucking.”
Burke laughed and shoved me down on the bed. “Maybe. We’ll have to see what happens, won’t we?”
“Whatever it is, it’s going to be good.”
“That’s right. Because we’re good together.”
“The fucking best.”
A Note From the Author:
Thanks for reading! If you haven’t read the first book in the ’69 Series, check out Evan and Sienna’s story, Sure, Pal. And stay tuned for more books in this series!
Follow me on Instagram and Tik Tok @nikkiparisromance or check out my website https://www.nikkiparis.com to stay updated on my current works in progress.
- Nikki
Books By This Author
Sure, Pal
Sienna
Please excuse me while I go choke on my jealousy. Ava gets everything she wants, including the guy I’ve always loved. But Ava is my best friend, and she’s always been there for me, so despite her faults, I want her to be happy. I should just get over Evan because he’ll never be mine. It doesn’t matter that sometimes he looks at me like he understands my goddamn soul. It doesn’t matter… I can’t have him.
Evan
I take the easy path far too often. I know it. It’s my fatal flaw. I asked out the wrong girl because it was easy, and I just kept dating her because that was easy, too. But it’s the hard things that define us. And it is hard as hell to be in love with your ex-girlfriend’s fiercely loyal best friend. I should get over Sienna because she’ll never be mine. I already messed that up, but I can’t get her out of my head.
Whatever, Jerk
Dani
Danica Lynn Jepson is a failure. That’s right, I said it. I had my shot at life, and I failed. My fame is gone, my money is gone, and the stutter that I spent years in speech therapy trying to control is rearing its ugly head. I think my parents still like me, maybe my best friend, and sometimes my dog, but that’s it. One thing’s for sure; my sexy new neighbor can’t stand me. It’s fine, though, because he’s a jerk and the feeling is mutual.
Connor
Princess Dani is a brat. She and her pretty blonde hair and mind-numbing ass can just go back to wherever they came from. I don’t need her all up in my space, making me think about things I shouldn’t be thinking about. It’s my fault that I lost the love of my life two years ago, and I plan on living in my self-assigned purgatory for the next forever. And just so we’re clear, if I ever did decide to move on, it wouldn’t be with Dani.
Course, Cutie ('69 #2)