by Ava Walsh
She saw Sophie arrive with a glass of red wine in her hand. She was as impeccably dressed as usual and leaned against the door frame. Olivia left Rufus’ side and walked up to her.
“Hey,” she said, trying to get Sophie’s attention. Her friend didn’t look at her, and Olivia felt the resurgence of the wave of guilt she had been trying to keep at bay.
“So the little brat is actually related to me,” Sophie said, dropping her eyes to the floor for a second and then turning to glare at Olivia.
Olivia smiled indulgently and breathed out.
“I’m sorry, Sophie, for keeping this a secret for so long. I just didn’t want anyone to find out,” Olivia said, biting down on her lip. She could understand what Sophie was going through, and that she was feeling betrayed from all directions.
“First of all, you slept with my brother three years ago and didn’t tell me. Then you got pregnant, had a baby and lied to me about whose baby it was.” Sophie had leaned in to whisper to Olivia through clenched teeth. The rest of the family were still cuddling and playing with Maya, slowly bringing her into the living room.
Rufus had given Olivia a look on his way in, but decided to let the two women sort it out amongst themselves.
“I know how it must feel, Sophie. But at the time I thought if I told you the truth, it would be a bigger betrayal. I thought you’d not hate me if you never found out.” Olivia reached for Sophie’s free hand.
“And then you screamed at me, kicked me out of the house and screamed at me some more for actually trying to help you by calling Craig.” Sophie emptied the glass of wine down her throat and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Olivia sighed and licked her lips.
“I’m sorry about all that, Sophie. I hope you’ll forgive me someday soon,” she said with a smile.
“And now you have my brother, you have a kid and you’re going to live happily ever after,” Sophie said. Her lip was quivering slightly. Olivia continued to smile, she was grateful for all this. Grateful for the way her life had turned around. Most of all, she was happy that she still had her friend. That there was still hope that Sophie would forgive her and that things would go back to being the way it was.
“Are you happy for me, Sophie?” Olivia asked, as quietly as possible. Sophie’s hands were in hers again as the two of them stared at each other. Olivia was begging for forgiveness through her eyes, and Sophie looked like she had still not decided whether she was going to forgive her best friend or not.
“Of course I am! I’m so happy for you!” Sophie wailed. Olivia could feel the tears coursing down her cheeks as she rubbed them against Olivia’s shoulder. Olivia held her as she shuddered. Sophie had always been one for drama.
“You have no idea how worried I was for you, and how sad it made me to see your apartment and the two of you alone like that. Now you’re safe with Rufus. As weird as it may be for me, I’m happy you’re in love. And that my brother is in love with you.” Sophie was still crying. Mrs. Frost appeared from the living room to pat Sophie on her back. She was smiling at Olivia.
Olivia blushed and looked away.
“Let's all go in, Sophie. Come in, Olivia. We all have to celebrate properly,” Mrs. Frost said, dragging Sophie by the hand and leading Olivia into the living room.
When she entered she found Maya on the floor, with Mr. Frost passing her new boxes of toys that her grandparents had clearly just bought for her. Maya’s eyes were excited and she was happy, gazing from her toys to her mother and then her father’s face. Rufus was standing behind her, and his face lit up when he saw Olivia walk into the room. Olivia’s mother was on the couch, finally glad to see her daughter happy.
“Now sit down here, Olivia, and tell us everything that we’ve missed about Maya,” Mrs. Frost exclaimed, leading Olivia to the seat next to her mother. She forced Sophie to sit down too, next to Olivia, while she continued to sniffle and dry her tears.
Olivia reached for Sophie’s hands and pressed them tightly, holding on to them on her own lap. She was grateful for Sophie. No matter their differences now, they were still best friends.
“Before that, I have an announcement to make.” Rufus spoke up and all eyes turned to him.
“It is with great sadness that I must inform you all that I have to go back to Chicago. I can’t delay it anymore, sadly, if I still want to keep my contract.” Rufus looked around the room, while his mother and Sophie gasped.
“What about Olivia? What about Maya?” Mrs. Frost threw the questions at him, while Olivia felt her hands itching in Sophie’s. She was glad she was holding her friend’s hands. She couldn’t have borne this news alone. Rufus was going to have to leave again. What did he want to do about this new development in his life?
“They’re coming with me, of course. If Olivia will agree to marry me.” Rufus turned to her with a smile, while Sophie shrieked. Sophie jumped off the couch and rushed to hug her brother, while Olivia and Rufus stared at each other.
“I’m going to be a Maid of Honor!” Sophie was shrieking, as she jumped over to hug her mother.
“Olivia?” Rufus asked, as he stepped closer to her. Olivia breathed out slowly, expecting the tears to gush down her cheeks any moment now. Maya was looking at her too, sensing the tension in the room.
“Of course I’ll marry you, Rufus,” Olivia said, and laughed when the room erupted in joy. Her mother hugged her, Mr. and Mrs. Frost came over to hug her as well. Sophie grabbed her hand again and held it there, while Rufus bent down on his knee and slipped a ring onto her finger.
Olivia didn’t look at the ring or stop to admire it. She wanted his arms around her shoulders instead.
Rufus and Olivia kissed, for the first time in front of other people, and she felt like she could stay in his arms forever. Maya was clapping too, joining in the celebration, and Olivia watched as Rufus went over to pick his daughter up. He looked like a man who didn’t know what to do with the joy he was experiencing, a proud father.
“She has his eyes, and his hair…no, your hair,” Sophie said beside her and Olivia turned to look at her with a laugh.
“I should have seen it years ago when she was born.” She added and Olivia bit down on her lip. “I don’t know how you managed to keep it a secret for so long, but now it’s all out in the open. You’re marrying your dream man.” Sophie hugged her friend again and Olivia laughed.
“I’m marrying everyone’s dream man.”
*****
THE END
Bonus Book 31: Seduced by the Billionaire Shifter
By: Eliza Moon
Description
A BBW breaking away from her ex-boyfriend PLUS a sexy billionaire shifter with a secret PLUS a dangerous enemy who is after revenge!
Quinn Astley is a curvaceous blonde trying desperately to release the grip of her possessive ex-boyfriend Mike. Heading into court Quinn expects to win her case but what she doesn’t expect is to meet the sexy law firm director who comes to witness her case.
Derek is charming, rich, and devilishly sexy. Having inherited the law firm after his parents’ death, he has become a rich and successful man early in life. But he has a dark secret that he needs to keep and a dangerous enemy on his heels...
Finding her full figure too tantalizing to stay away from, Derek’s self control is put to the test in this steamy romance. Is Quinn ready to accept the man that Derek is behind the perfectly poised firm director he is on the outside?
Will they escape their enemy? Find out now!
Chapter 1
It was a Tuesday morning just after her second cup of coffee that Quinn Astley discovered a life-altering secret that blurred the line between what is real and what is fantasy.
Being a hard worker her entire life, it was no surprise that the curvaceous blonde found herself in a well-paid real estate job right out of college. She had studied business at the University of Waterloo in Ontario and always had a knack for attracting people and finding good qualities in the worst situations. At the age of t
wenty-six, Quinn had been in the real estate world for three years, steadily rising in sales as well as ability.
That's where Michael Biers was concerned. Quinn had been seeing Mike for about a year when she came to the conclusion that he only hoped to live off of her earnings and do nothing in the way of work for himself. In all honesty, though, he was good looking--classically handsome. That's what originally drew Quinn's eye, but she needed more than that selfish neediness in a man. Depth, determination, a loving persona, power, were the adjectives swishing around in her mind when she chose to end things with Mike and move on. None of those words ever seemed to suit Mike. Loud, excessive and arrogant maybe did a better job.
So the ties were cut and Quinn focused in on her job, which always made her happy. Hard work came naturally to her and it had a way of elevating her spirits to know there would be a reward to her toils over the long run. The right guy was out there somewhere; she just didn’t know where to look. The previous evening she had seen a meme of prince charming stuck in a tree and it had made her snicker.
Tuesday morning came and Quinn rolled out of bed, pulling on her floral robe as she shuffled down the hall to the kitchen. The robe had lately become her new favorite article of clothing. Found on the discount rack at Addition Elle a few weeks before, the vibrant colors on the black base of the robe simply called out to her so she took it to the changing room and slipped it on over her full frame. The robe hugged her body in all the right places and although trying on clothes in stores often made her nauseous, Quinn turned and looked at herself in the slim mirror and smiled at her assets. She did have a lot going for her. Her golden hair fell in loose tidy waves to her ribcage and her green eyes shone brightly in response to the vibrant colors of the robe. Her hips were wide with muscular legs to support them and she had a voluptuous torso topped with beautifully round breasts. The robe made her feel empowered as she stood in front of the mirror. For the first time in months, Quinn left the changing room eager to purchase what she had just tried on.
Coffee was brewing. Hugging herself as the coffee dripped through the filter and into her cup, good thoughts filled Quinn’s mind as they often did this time of day. But today, she was due in court by noon. Mike had moved out over a month ago and had taken his things with him. But Quinn could tell he was not ready to move on.
A few weeks prior to the break-up Mike had begun to be more possessive of her. A jealous rage seemed to grow within him and she just couldn’t take it anymore. Between his lack of desire to pave a path for himself and his newfound jealous behavior, Quinn had had enough. It took some time for Mike to find a place of his own and he had to crash on her couch for an extended couple of weeks. Once he had finally gotten out of her apartment and off of her couch, the calls began. Along with the emails, the texts, and the late night (unexpected) visits. After a solid week of this, Quinn called the cops for a restraining order to be placed on Mike. It didn’t work.
One night, in a drunken stupor, Mike stumbled up to her door and when she refused him entry, he lost all manners of self-control. Grabbing the baseball bat the little boy down the hall had left on the front lawn, he smashed the headlights and rear windows of Quinn's brand new Mitsubishi. He tore apart the seat covers, rounded up all her personal belongings and threw them into the street in a heap. For fear of being attacked, Quinn called the police and, looking out the window, witnessed all her personal items being set afire. Included in these things now burned to ashes were Quinn's Italian leather jacket and personal documents which would seriously cost her to have replaced.
Now, here she was preparing for the court date set by the judge. She was preparing to sue the bastard for breaking his restraining order, the damage done to her car and the destruction of personal items, each of which had been appraised over the past few days.
It was a quarter past eleven when the coffee had run dry and her robe had been replaced with a crisp black pantsuit and red tank top. She really looked like a million bucks. Red was always Quinn’s color. If her case wasn’t strong enough to win, her style was definitely enough to distract and provoke the judge in defense of it.
While tightening her seatbelt as best as she could, she rolled out of the driveway and onto the road. The next few hours were going to be brutal. Upon arrival at the court building, Quinn was greeted by a kind gentleman in a grey suit who escorted her to the main lobby where she was to grab an elevator up to her courtroom. On the second floor, the elevator came to a stop and in stepped Derek Harting.
Looking up from her phone just in time to see the handsome stranger step aboard the elevator, Quinn couldn’t help but stare. If she had not felt her mouth water suddenly, she was sure she would have continued to stare the entire ride. Pulling her jaw back up from the floor, she put on a sweet smile and looked away embarrassed.
Dear God! She thought to herself as he smiled back in her direction.
Quinn had seen and known many a handsome man before, but this guy had it all! Dark hair swept back over a sturdy brow, a smile whiter than freshly fallen snow, and piercing grey eyes that buried themselves deep within the spirit of anyone who dared to look at them.
“I’m Derek,” he said with a sideways glance.
“Quinn,” she replied and held out a hand to shake.
He took it.
“Are you here for the crazy ex-boyfriend case?” He raised a perfectly shaped brow.
“Mhm, that’s the one, pretty silly huh?” She responded with a little bit of shame.
He looked at her for a moment, concerned he might have offended the pretty girl in the elevator. Quinn, that was her name, so pretty.
“Actually, Quinn, to be perfectly honest with you, I think you are justified in taking him to court and that you have a very strong case against him. I am confident you will do well,” he said finally. What was he thinking? He shouldn’t ever discuss cases like this.
“Thanks,” Quinn replied maybe a bit too quickly, wondering how he knew about her case. “Well, this is my stop, have a good day!” She called as she bolted for the exit.
When she turned to look back at the apparently empty doorway to the elevator, she almost ran headfirst into the hypnotizing man she had just stumbled upon. What is he doing? Following me?
“I’m sitting in on your case Miss...” his voice trailed. He didn’t know her full name.
“Astley, Quinn Astley,” she smiled, saving his need to ask.
“Miss Astley,” he whispered, and shook her hand once again before turning into the courtroom and leaving her alone in the hallway.
Chapter 2
A few moments later Derek found himself turning around and around waiting for the beautiful blonde he had just set eyes on. But he couldn’t see her anywhere in the room.
She had better get a move on, it would be a shame if she were late, he thought mildly concerned. Derek knew that in any perfect courtroom scenario, it was more than simply a matter of being polite to arrive on time or even a little early. It could make or break a case depending on the mood of the judge, and the allegations being made.
Derek’s golden rule to court dates was: twenty minutes early, thirty minutes late. It was something he picked up from when he watched his parents run the law firm and got to see the odd court case. If you arrive twenty minutes early you have time to prepare, to assess your surroundings and to piss. Nothing could be worse than sitting through anything, let alone a legal hearing, being able to focus on nothing but how bad you have to go to the bathroom. The thirty minutes late referred to leaving thirty minutes after the hearing ends. In this time, if your case is won, you may ask questions if you have any. You can take the time to find your lawyer and thank them, hug your family and friends. And if your case loses, console your loved ones, ask more questions, and find out your next steps.
For Derek, success always came at a price. Sure he was now one of the richest men in Toronto and had one of the most powerful law firms out there. But the price of this success? His parents.
When Derek
was young he would love to follow his father to court cases that were gentle enough for his innocence. When he got a little older he started to take courses in law in high school graduating with straight A’s. By the time college rolled around Derek was more than willing to join in on the family business and head to law school after four long years doing an undergrad in English Literature and Business.
Upon completion of law school, Derek's parents made him heir to their firm in the case of their death and began showing him the ropes of more intricate matters of law. By the time he was twenty-six years old Derek was on first name basis with the majority of his father's clients and was continuously assisting his mother in the paperwork for those cases.
That was the year he became a billionaire. At twenty-six years old, already vastly more accomplished than many of his peers from the University of Toronto School of Business, and steadily rising, Derek came face to face with his first major heartbreak.
A car crash caused by a drunk driver at the corner of Queen and Spadina took the lives of both his parents and the future of the law firm fell on his shoulders. The driver was charged and arrested on scene and the trial was held at the courthouse just a few blocks away from the Rachel and Jerry Harting Law Firm. It was the first trial Derek had sat in on since his parents had passed and it quickly became a ritual for him to attend the hearings and trials of those he was responsible for at the firm.
That’s what brought him to the courthouse on Tuesday.
Although it was a smaller case and one he had not been personally involved in himself, the subject of possessive ex-boyfriends always made him nervous. When he heard one of his employees talking about an upcoming case involving a psychotic ex-boyfriend who trashed a woman’s car, he had to know more. He had to make sure he was served his justice if there was any way he could help.