Sweet
Affection
By
Grace Henderson
Published by Grace Henderson
Copyright © 2014 Grace Henderson
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Never love anybody who treats you like you’re ordinary.
-Oscar Wilde
Chapter One
James
Three things happen when Laurel enters a room.
Number one: my dick gets hard.
No surprise there; I am a hot-blooded male, and those long tanned legs and killer curves turn me back into a horny teenager.
Two: my heart beats a little out of sync.
I don’t get butterflies or any of that girly shit, but yeah, there’s a little stutter. A brief pause, where my brain tells my heart it’s her and my heart replies with a fuck, she’s beautiful kinda moment.
And three, again this is all pretty obvious stuff, my eyes stay fixed on her. No matter what I’m doing, or who else I’m with, they follow her across the room. So it’s no surprise that my friend Cassie is talking to me but once again, I’m not hearing anything that’s coming out her pretty little mouth.
“Hello.” Cassie waves her hand in front of my face, then lets it drop to her side with a huff when I don’t respond.
“God, you’re such a sap. I’m guessing Laurel’s now here. If I’d have known you’d be this whipped by my best friend I’d never have introduced you properly.” She sulks into her cocktail and the satisfied grin transforms my face as I think back to how we met. One night, that was supposed to be a fun, meaningless, never-to-be-repeated hook up, changed everything.
I glance round at the table quickly and notice all the empty seats. I’m sure they were filled a couple of minutes ago.
“Where is everyone?”
My eyes swing back round to find Laurel and I see her now by the bar with Jen and Emma, talking to Ryan.
“They told me they couldn’t take any more of your puppy dog pining. I’ve got to agree.”
I raise an eyebrow and turn my head towards her. The little minx has her thumb pressed against her forehead and is howling with laughter. It’s worth the humiliation to see her smile though.
“Shut up!” I mumble as I steal the sliced apple from the side of her glass. Ryan must have made the girliest drink possible for her, decorated with sugar, fancy fruit and a multi-coloured cocktail umbrella.
“Well you’ve seen the girls clearly, as your girlfriend is with them, and one of Blake’s clients wanted to talk business. He’ll be back in a minute.”
She leans forward and touches my arm to get my full attention. When she has it, she looks back down at the napkin that she’s pulling apart in her hand.
“So, do you know why Laurel called us all here tonight? She said she had some news.” Her voice is quiet. She’s worried. I shake my head then sink down in my chair marginally. I don’t like lying to Cassie, but this isn’t a bad lie and she’ll only have to put up with not knowing for another ten minutes. I know exactly what Laurel wants to announce to everyone because I’ve been involved in it too. It won’t be a huge deal for them but for Laurel, it’s amazing. I think she just wanted to get everyone out to celebrate it because she hasn’t seen them in ages. She’s kind of cut herself off from them while she’s been trying to recover her business. Alex nearly ruined it all.
Cassie sees my hesitancy and gasps.
“Traitor!” She squeals, “You were my friend before hers!”
I close her mouth with my finger underneath her chin.
“You’ll catch flies.” I chuckle and pick up my beer. “My lips are sealed. I know exactly where my bread’s buttered, thanks.”
“That’s, like, code for sex, right?” She taps her finger against her cheek then leans in close. “You know, I’ve heard some of the things you two have done, and I’m pretty open to them too.” She winks and tries to mask the smile on her face but I know it’s only a joke. Still, I love winding her up.
I lean forward and run my tongue over my bottom lip.
“Are you really offering me sex for information?” She drops her eyes to my lips and I laugh inside when I see her frown. I imagine she’s trying to work out what she’d do if this game just got serious.
“Do I really want to know why you’re saying that to my wife, J?” A firm hand grips onto my shoulder and tightens until I think the bone’s going to be crushed. I back away into my own space and hold up my hands in surrender.
“Hey man, she offered. I didn’t say I was gonna accept. You need to control your woman.” The hand leaves my shoulder and I rotate it once to ease the ache.
“Maybe get out the leash and collar,” I direct at Blake, then turn back to Cassie, “I’ve heard some stories about you two as well.” I wink at her as she blinks slowly, shaking her head in denial. I don’t really know anything. Laurel wouldn’t just tell me, and I’d never ask. I think of Cassie like a sister now.
She’s still staring at me, wide-eyed, spluttering, and I shake my head at how gullible she really is. Blake laughs, taking her hand and pulling her into his lap, “He’s just messing with you, sweetheart.” She frowns, and swings her head round to glare harder at me. He kisses her on the temple, placating her for now, and it reminds me why we’re here. Where’s my girl at?
I look back to the bar and she’s not there anymore. I sit up in the chair and crane my neck to try and see past all the bodies standing around chatting. Just when I’m going to get up to find her, I smell her perfume and my dick twitches with excitement.
“Looking for someone?” The sweet voice breathes into my ear. Her hands slide round my neck from behind, grazing my chest, and her soft curves press against my back.
“Yeah, my hot girlfriend. You seen her?”
She slaps me on the chest, pouting, and pulls her hands away.
“Ass.” She flings at me over shoulder, but before she can get too far away I turn her and bend to grab the back of her thighs, then throw her over my shoulder.
“James,” She squeals, “Put me down.”
“Nope.”
“You always do this.” She whines, laughing and squirming under my grip. “It’s so embarrassing.”
I look around at the people in the bar staring at us. They’ll probably all just think she’s had too much to drink. That makes me laugh.
“Put me down. Now.” She says indignantly, using her serious voice. But I don’t know why she bothers ‘cause it won’t change anything.
She groans in frustration and stops squirming when I slap her butt, so I know she’s given up. I take long strides through the crowd of people, who all part when they see us, and make a mental note to do this again the next time the bar’s packed. We’ll get our drinks a hell of a lot quicker. Ryan’s serving a customer and pauses, shaking his head in amusement when he sees us coming. Six months ago, I wanted to punch him for kissing her, but now that’s all behind us, I think I kinda like him.
I lower Laurel and place her on the bar, so she’s sitting in front of me. She adjusts her skirt underneath her and pushes at my ch
est.
“I’m not a little kid. I can walk, you know?”
“I know. Just wanted to have you in my arms.”
I see the hint of a smile and know exactly when I’m forgiven.
“Kiss ass.” She huffs.
“If you insist.” I duck my head and try and push her skirt up at the side.
“Don’t you dare!” She squeals again, fighting my hands to keep her skirt decently covering her.
“Do you two ever stop?” Ryan cuts in and leans his hands on the other side of the bar.
Laurel swats my hand away and leans her head back to kiss Ryan’s cheek. It doesn’t even bother me now. He was a good friend to her, especially when I was being a dick, so I’m just grateful he was around when she needed someone.
“What’s this news then?” He asks, putting together our drinks without us needing to ask for them.
“Come over in five minutes. I’ll tell you then.”
He puts the glasses down on the coasters next to us and salutes as he carries on serving customers.
Laurel flinches, then reaches down and takes off her shoes, “I tried in the name of Sophia Webster, but I can’t wear these any more. They hurt too much.”
I look down at the sticky floor and don’t like where this is headed. “You can’t walk barefoot in here. It’s dirty and there might be broken glass or something.”
“I’ll be fine.”
I turn around and bend my knees.
“Hop on, babe. I’m not risking you getting hurt.” I don’t let her think about objecting. My hands reach back and I grab her thighs, pulling them towards me.
She scoots closer herself and climbs on my back with another squeal. Her hands grip tightly round my neck, and she moves her head forward, resting her cheek against mine.
“Oh.” She stops me with a tight clench of her thighs round my waist. “I forgot the drinks.”
I walk backwards and bend slightly so she can get them, then carry her towards our table.
“Did you tell anyone?” She asks nervously. I told her yesterday when we got confirmation, that it was her news to tell, but I guess that wasn’t enough.
“Cassie was worried. She asked me if I knew what it was.”
My reply does nothing to put her mind at ease.
“What did you tell her?” Her voice is uncertain, obviously she’s thinking I let it slip.
“That you were pregnant, and we were so fucking happy about it.” I wince, totally expecting the shriek that bursts directly into my ear.
“Oh. My. God. Please tell me you’re joking!”
I laugh and bend over, my whole body shaking. She climbs off my back right next to the chair, placing the glasses on the table, ignoring the others.
“Babe, you need to be careful in your condition.” I reach out to her stomach and she glares down at my hand before slapping it away.
“Jerk.”
I grab her hand, kissing her knuckles and wear the same lopsided grin that’s got me off the hook numerous times in the last six months.
“But you love me, right?”
I pull her into me, one hand on her waist, and one hand cupping the back of her neck as I rub my thumb over her cheek.
“A ‘can’t live without me, wanna fuck me every minute of the damn day’ kinda love, right?”
I brush my lips slowly over hers. Once. Twice. Everything else gets drowned out. She tastes like wine and cherries, her lip gloss fusing my lips against hers like glue. She sways and grabs hold of my arms to steady herself, a soft moan getting lost in my mouth as I continue exploring hers.
“I guess you really don’t ever stop.” Ryan’s timing is perfect. Just perfect.
Laurel pulls away quickly and her cheeks flush pink but she just shrugs it off and turns in my arms to the rest of our friends.
“I really appreciate you all coming. I’ve missed you all so much the past couple of months. I know I’ve been a shit friend.” I rest my hand on her hip when I hear the shake in her voice. Not having seen them much has obviously got to her more than I thought.
Jen shakes her head and reaches out to squeeze her hand. “We all know what you went through with that bitch, Alex. We understand. We’d never judge you for wanting to get Proposals sorted out.”
“Laurel,” Cassie moans, “We love you. But I have all sorts running through my mind now. Especially as that one wouldn’t tell me anything.” She points her finger directly at me, and narrows her eyes into tiny slits. This is one of those damn scary ‘if looks could kill’ moments.
Laurel looks back at me and smiles, pleased I kept her secret. But what she doesn’t seem to realise yet, is that I’d do anything she asked me to.
“Okay.” She breathes in deeply and looks round at all our best friends sitting at the table.
“I’ve decided to make Proposals a chain of bridal boutiques as it’s been doing so well. I’m opening a store in Manchester in three months, and I’ve put together an opening schedule for the next two years including a flagship store in central London.”
I’m so fucking proud in this moment as I do my own assessment of the faces staring back at us. They’re all wide-eyed looks of excitement, shock and awe. For my girlfriend. I lean forward and kiss the back of her head, and she looks up at me, eyes shining, smile full of hope and possibilities for the future. That’s the look I need to keep on her face. Always.
Laurel
James looks down at me like I’ve just made his whole year. I couldn’t have done it without him. He’s been there the whole time, through tears and tantrums and shitty days. He’s wiped my tears, made me laugh, given me words of encouragement and hour long pep talks. He’s offered advice, put me in touch with any contacts that could help and one of the most important things, he drew up a whole new set of design plans for the Manchester store. We went up to the unit last month, took all the measurements he needed, and talked to some potential shop-fitters. It’s all happened so fast, in a good way, and I have him to thank for that.
I look back when I hear cheers from the table and can’t help laughing when they all get up at the same time and throw their arms around me. That’s five people piling into me and I stumble backwards at the sheer force of it.
Blake ruffles the hair on top of my head, and the girls all kiss my cheek.
“I’m so happy for you.” Cassie says fiercely into my ear, and I pull back and see the tear falling. She’s like a sister to me, and every time she cries, she sets me off too.
“Thanks, chick. For everything.” She gets the meaning in my words. When I found out my mum had cancer, she was by my side constantly with unfaltering support and love. When I drowned myself in alcohol during a particular rough patch, she and Jen sobered me up. After Alex’s deception she put her honeymoon on hold to help James refurbish my wrecked store in secret. I owe her big time, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay her.
Ryan pulls me into his arms and kisses my cheek. “Congratulations, Laurel. You deserve it. I’ll get you a bottle of fizz. On me.” He winks as he walks away and I check back to make sure James was okay with that little encounter but he’s wearing the same reverential expression as he was just before. That’s the look I want to keep on his face. Always.
“I know you’re probably all thinking there wasn’t any need for the dramatics but I just wanted everyone here. Truthfully, I’ve missed you all, and I promise from now on I’ll be a better friend. As soon as the opening’s out the way, things should calm a little.”
Everyone makes their way back to their seats and James sits, pulling me onto his lap. His hand strokes a relaxing trail up and down my spine and I grip onto his hand resting on my thigh.
Blake leans forward, “You’ve done really well, sweetheart. Let me know when you shortlist shop-fitters and I’ll meet with them beforehand if you want?”
I glow under praise like that. It’s not in the slightest bit patronising to me. Blake runs a huge construction company that have their fingers in a whole load of pies.
He took over when his dad retired and it’s just kept growing ever since. If there’s anyone’s advice I’ll take, it’s going to be his.
“Thanks, that’d be great.” I smile over at him. His arms are tightly wrapped round my best friend. I love how he treats her. Like she’s the most precious thing in the world.
“So, are you going to be moving to Manchester?” Jen asks quietly. I turn and see Cassie and Jen’s eyes on me more intently. It didn’t even cross my mind that that’s what they’d think.
“No, sorry ladies. You’re not getting rid of me. I’m hiring a store manager. And it’s only a couple of hours away, so I’ll make, maybe, a few trips up there a month. Depending on sales.” I see the relief flood their faces.
“So, who else has got news? I’m sick of talking about myself.” A waitress comes over with a bottle of champagne, and I turn my head to meet Ryan’s eyes and mouth thank you. He grins and throws another quick wink in my direction. Ryan and I have had a couple of moments of madness in the past year but he’s such a great friend, I’m happy there’s no awkwardness between us.
“Everything’s pretty quiet on the Richards front, isn’t it baby?” Cassie presses a quick kiss to her husband’s cheek. They’re so cute.
“Yep. Nothing to report this time.”
“So when we gonna get some babies round here? I want to be super cool Aunt Laurel. Need to show your little girl how to strut her stuff and work what her mamma gave her so those boys come running.” I wiggle my eyebrows at Blake and he growls loudly.
“You do that Matthews, and I’ll teach your son everything I know about how to get laid.” Cassie rolls her eyes, and I throw my head back laughing. He plays dirty. There’s no way I’d allow my son to be a man-whore like he is. Was.
I take a sip of champagne, and pull James’ arm tighter around me.
“So, I also have a little bit of news.” Em says warily as she leans forward. We all turn our heads and wait for her to carry on. She looks sad, but there’s also a hint of excitement in her eyes.
Sweet Affection (Truth Book 3) Page 1