Risking Her Heart: A Contemporary Romance Novel
Page 27
“Ask me anything. I’m an open book with you.”
Livvie smiled. “What’s Mr. Birkshire’s first name?”
She looked at Drake and then at Mr. Birkshire. He was laughing, and so was Veronica, but Drake looked relieved. He glanced at Mr. Birkshire, who nodded.
“Mr. Birkshire’s real name is Paul Galliger. But when he gave me this place and came to work for me, he said he wanted to change his name, just as he was changing his life. So he came up with Mr. Birkshire.”
“I thought the name sounded snooty and ridiculous enough. It was perfect,” Mr. Birkshire said.
Livvie was beaming. “You’re all perfect.” She hugged Drake and then hugged all of them. This was her idea of a perfect ending, even though her and Drake’s story was only just beginning.
Between living her dream as a writer and finding the love of her life, she truly had it all. And all because of a winning raffle ticket. Life was about choices and taking chances. For the first time in Livvie’s life, she had succeeded at both. And now, since she thought about it, so had Drake.
Epilogue
As Livvie held her three-month-old baby girl in her arms, she smiled. One day, when Haley was older, Livvie would tell her daughter the story about how she met her dad. She hoped Haley would find it as romantic as Livvie did. As she was rocking the sleeping baby in her arms, she looked around at the renovations she’d done to their bedroom. The night they’d agreed to the new terms in their relationship, Drake had demanded that she move in. And she had wanted the same. He’d ordered a moving truck to pack all her things at her house in LA and drive them all here. The room needed more of a feminine feel, so Drake had allowed her to add her special touches. She remembered feeling so nervous, as if it was a test to see if the new terms in their relationship would work. She’d changed all the bedding, and she’d ordered a different dresser. And to her surprise, Drake had loved it. He said that now when he looked around the room, he wouldn’t have to remember the lonely times.
They’d waited six months before they told the world they were engaged, which was the right decision. Livvie had made sure in those six months that his PR team put out articles about him being a good guy and not a guy who hurt famous women. Drake didn’t care, but Livvie did.
And Drake used those six months to strengthen his security team, which was smart. From the moment the news spread, which was exactly at the six-month mark, there’d been a media frenzy. They parked on the bottom of the hill, and helicopters flew overhead. When they saw all of this, Drake had kissed the top of her head and thanked her. He’d said he was glad they had waited the six months in order to prepare better for this moment. And Livvie understood the need for a bodyguard. They’d received a few letters from people wanting to kidnap her for money. But she felt safe…Drake made her feel safe. And when they fought, it wasn’t a big deal, because they were both in it for the long haul.
“Hi, beautiful.” Drake walked into the bedroom and gently closed the door. He walked over to Livvie and kissed her on the forehead. “My angel is sleeping?”
Livvie smiled. “For now,” she said softly.
“Are your parents still coming tomorrow? I think the airports have reopened.”
It was snowing hard in New York. Her parents were supposed to have arrived a few days ago, but a blizzard had hit New York. She hoped they would move here. At the wedding, Drake had pulled them aside and had promised to build them a house on his property. There was so much empty land. And the moment her parents met him, they had adored him, but her mom thought it would be smart if she and Livvie’s father stayed in New York for the first few years of Livvie’s marriage, so she could enjoy her husband without her parents around. Even Veronica stayed away, although Livvie had a feeling she was seeing a new man. In the end, Veronica had decided she didn’t want a book to be written about her, as she was afraid of how the media would interpret Drake’s childhood. Livvie agreed with her.
Drake began caressing Livvie’s hair, which jarred her out of her thoughts.
“Yes, the airport has just opened up, and they’re flying out first thing tomorrow.”
“Then we’ll be able to give them the good news in person.”
Livvie looked into Drake’s magnificent green eyes. She would never tire of that. “What is it?”
He stopped caressing her hair and took a newspaper out of his back pocket to show it to her.
When she saw the article, she whispered and yelled at the same time.
“Oh, my God.” Tears welled up in her eyes when she read that her story of Blake and Haley had made it to the New York Times bestsellers list. She’d named her daughter Haley, too, because if it weren’t for Drake, the character of Haley never would have been written. And if it weren’t for Drake, Haley would never have been born.
Drake bent down to meet her at eye level. He kissed her gently on the lips and then kissed his baby girl, who had the same color green eyes as her daddy did.
“Congratulations, beautiful,” he said while kissing Livvie again.
“Thank you so much,” she whispered, feeling elated.
Drake’s eyes darkened and filled with unmistakable desire.
“Why don’t you put our sleepy little girl in her crib, and we can celebrate properly?”
“Naked?” Livvie said innocently.
“Always,” Drake said as he gently lifted Haley from Livvie’s lap. As he placed her in the crib by their bed, Livvie felt as if she was the luckiest woman in the world. A fact that had been confirmed the day she won the raffle ticket.
Once the baby was sleeping soundly, Drake turned toward her. “Now take off your clothes quickly. I’m going to make you come so hard and so many times that you’ll barely remember your name.”
Livvie smiled as she drew her tank top over her head. She would always remember her name: Olivia Morganthal.
As Drake became impatient, he pulled up her skirt and ripped off her panties, and she became even luckier.
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Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading about Livvie and Drake. I absolutely loved writing about them. When I started writing about Livvie, I was remembering all the unavailable men I had dated, even though the male characters are nothing like the men I had been with. And then I thought of my friends who have also dated unavailable men. It’s so easy to find them and so challenging to release them. I’m sure most women can relate! I feel I healed as Livvie healed, so I’d like to thank her for helping me. Hopefully, if you’re a woman dating a commitment-phobe, this book has helped you, too.
I would love to hear if Livvie’s journey has helped you or if you were able to heal from a past relationship through reading this book! Please, send me an email, and let me know!
My website is: www.RochelleKatzman.com
Twitter: twitter.com/Rochellekatzman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RochelleKatzmanAuthor
I can’t wait to hear from you!
Acknowledgements
Writing a romance novel is a huge dream of mine. I’d like to thank the following people who have helped me make it happen. First, I’d like to thank my family for their amazing support, and my mom who listened to me obsess about all the changes I made a week before the book was due in to the publisher. I’d like to thank Jody for reading each chapter and her invaluable critique. Thank you to Keidi Keating, for giving me the confidence to believe in my writing. To Jill N. Noble-Shearer, who is teaching me the craft of writing, to Tom Corson-Knowles, founder of TCK Publishing, who has taken a chance on me. And thank you to my dog, Henry, who has kept me company while I write.
Thank you for making my dream come true!
About the Author
Rochelle Katzman spent her childhood penning stories, and at the age of six, she won two creative writing awards
. When she was twenty-two years old, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in musical theatre from Syracuse University. Rochelle is also an international yoga instructor and a life coach. When she’s not traveling the world teaching workshops or helping women to achieve their dreams, she’s at home writing books. She currently lives in New York, but she’d love to move to a beautiful land filled with ethereal fairies and magical castles. Rochelle enjoys spending time with her dog, Henry, when he’s not eating her favorite shoes.
She’d love to hear from her readers!
Here’s where you can find her:
Website: www.RochelleKatzman.com
Twitter: twitter.com/Rochellekatzman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RochelleKatzmanAuthor
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CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight