Easy Kisses

by Kristen Proby

  I don’t know what to do. I yawn again and turn onto my side, enjoying my soft bed after so many nights on Beau’s couch. I don’t want to think anymore. I just want to sleep.

  “The fish sure don’t seem to want to bite today.”

  “We’re even using the good bait,” I reply and grin at my dad. I really don’t care if the fish bite, I just like being out on the river with him. This is our alone time, when the other kids don’t get to come along. He does this with all of us.

  “I guess we won’t have any fish for dinner,” he replies and winks at me. “But that’s okay. It’s a nice day to be on the boat.”

  “Yep,” I reply and set my pole in the holder thingie, then stretch my legs out so they can get some sun while I sip on a Coke.

  “How are you doing, baby girl?”

  “I’m doing just fine,” I reply. “School is hard, but it’s almost summer.”

  “Time sure flies,” he says and sets his pole aside as well so he can turn and look at me. He takes a package of peanut butter cups out of the cooler and hands me one, then munches on his. My dad is a big man. Super tall. I think my brothers will probably be tall like him. “Tell me about your Simon.”

  And suddenly, I’m not a child anymore. I’m a woman, and the poles are gone. But my dad still looks young and full of life, and my heart bursts with love for him.

  “He’s not the one for me,” I reply with a shrug. “I should have known better from the beginning.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because it wasn’t love at first sight.”

  “So?”

  “What do you mean so?” I ask. “You’re the one who always told me to wait for the love at first sight and happily ever after.”

  “You were a child, Charlotte,” he replies with a soft smile. “Of course I would say that to a little girl.”

  “I was waiting for a love like yours and Mama’s. I wanted the perfect love.”

  “Love is never perfect,” he replies and narrows his eyes on me. “Your mother and I loved each other to distraction. I still love her, and while I’m anxious to have her with me again, I’m content to sit in this boat and wait for her to finish what she needs to do with you and the others. But Charly, there was many a day that your mama wanted to beat me over the head with her cast iron pan.”

  “You were wonderful together. You never fought.”

  He tips his head back and laughs. “Oh, darlin’, of course we did. But we tried not to in front of you kids. Maybe that was a disservice to you.” He rubs his hand over his mouth. “There were some hard years in there, especially when the babies were small and I had to work, or chose to work, more than I should have. We fought a lot, and she threatened to leave me.”

  “She what?” I’m shocked.

  “She said I either needed to be a father and help her with you kids, or I could go be married to my empire. And you know, she was right. Scared the shit out of me, though.”

  “Which was probably her goal,” I mutter, utterly shocked that my parents had issues that I didn’t know about.

  “We’re all human, darlin’. We make mistakes. I guess you have to decide if what your Simon did was so bad that you can’t forgive him.”

  “I can forgive him. He explained why it happened, and I believe him. But what if it happens again? And again? I don’t think I could survive it, Daddy.”

  “Seems to me, Simon might be the kind of man who learns lessons after the first time. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have fallen in love with him.”

  I blink at him and nod slowly. “He’s a good man.”

  “And he loves you back.”

  “He says he does.”

  “Do you trust that too?”

  I think about the look in his eyes when he told me he was in love with me, and when he apologized for hurting me. He looked tortured inside.

  “I do.”

  “Well, then I don’t see where the problem is. It’s important to forgive, darlin’. Doesn’t mean you have to forget. If you forget, you didn’t learn anything.”

  “I’ve missed you so much,” I say and climb over the seat to settle next to my dad and lay my head on his shoulder. “I’ve needed this with you.”

  “I’ve missed you too, baby girl. I’m so proud of you and what you’ve done with your business.”

  “You can see it?” I smile up at him, so happy that he knows about Head Over Heels.

  “I can see everything y’all are doing. Expanding is a good idea, and I’m glad you finally realized that I left that money for you to use rather than resent.”

  “I don’t resent it, Daddy. I just… I want to do this on my own.”

  “And you are. But it’s okay to let your old man help you now and again.”

  “Will I see you again?” I ask, afraid that he’ll say no.

  “If you need me,” he says. “I’m always right here, for all of you. But you’re going to be just fine, baby girl. I’m proud of you.”

  I smile and kiss his cheek. “He’s going to be good for me.”

  “You’re good for each other. There will be more good than bad; you just have to adjust your sails and ride through the rough waters to get to the smooth ones.”

  “We’ve all been adjusting our sails since you’ve been gone.”

  “Me too, baby girl. Me too.”

  “I don’t want to go yet.”

  “I’m always right here.”

  ***

  It’s four in the morning and I don’t care. I need to see him right now.

  The woman at the front desk didn’t love the thought of letting me up, but I assured her that he’d want to see me.

  And she seemed like a bit of a romantic, and finally agreed to let me up, as long as I was quiet and didn’t wake the other customers.

  I knock on Simon’s door and wait. He’s usually a light sleeper, but what if he doesn’t hear me? I should have called. I should have waited until morning rather than rushing over here like a crazy woman.

  I turn to slink away and hear the door open behind me.

  “Charlotte?”

  I bite my lip and spin around and stare at his sleepy, messy haired hotness.

  “Hi.”

  “Come in.” He backs up and I get a good look at him in the glow from the lamp beside the bed. He pulled on shorts, but he’s shirtless. He’s tousled and sexy and his blue eyes are bright, not sleepy at all. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” I reply, surprised that it’s the truth. “I know it’s late, or early, but I didn’t want to wait—”

  “You’re fine. I told you to come anytime. Let’s sit.”

  “Okay.” I nod and follow him into the suite and sit where he gestures on the sofa. He sits across from me on the coffee table and takes my hands in his.

  “You’re cold.” He rubs my hands vigorously.

  “I’m nervous,” I say with a chuckle.

  “Why?”

  “Because this is a big deal.” His gaze whips up to mine.

  “Go on.”

  “I love you, Simon. I think I fell in love with you in Montana, and then when you were here, well, I just… I felt things I never had before. And it scared me. It still scares me.”

  “We’re in agreement there,” he says with a soft smile. His eyes are full of hope and love.

  “I think I had some misguided notions about love,” I continue, thinking of my dream about my dad. “And I think I expected a lot.”

  “You should expect a lot,” he says and squeezes my hand. “When you love someone you should expect everything.”

  “But I can’t expect you to be a mind reader, or to be perfect. Because none of us are perfect.”

  “I’m far from it,” he says. “I’m just a man, Charly. I’m a man who loves you fiercely, and I’m going to fuck up. I can’t promise that I won’t.”

  “But we’ll learn from it when we do,” I interject and revel at the feel of his stubble on my palm as I cup his cheek. “There’s a learning curve involved her
e.”

  “Are you saying that you’re willing to give this a try?”

  “No,” I reply and lean closer when he frowns. “I’m saying that I want to commit myself to you. I’m not a tryer, I’m a doer. We can’t pick it up where we left off, Simon, but we can grow from it and move forward.”

  “That’s more than I deserve and everything that I’d hoped for,” he replies and pulls me into his arms, rocking us back and forth. “God, I missed you, love.”

  “I missed you, too.” He kisses my temple.

  “What made you decide to come here now?” he asks softly.

  I swallow hard. “My dad. I had a great conversation with him.”

  He pulls back to look in my face. “Did you now?”

  I nod. “He likes you.”

  “Savannah thought he might,” he replies and brushes a piece of hair off my cheek.

  “You saw Savannah?”

  He nods.

  “What did she say?”

  “To fight for you.” He grins and kisses me, softly at first, and then more passionately, waking up parts of me that have been asleep for more than a month. “And if you hadn’t shown up here when you did, I was going to come to you in about four hours.”

  “I beat you to it.” I stand and take his hand in mine, leading him toward the bed. “I don’t want to sleep alone anymore.”

  “I don’t have any sleep in mind,” he replies with a wicked smile.

  “Thank goodness.”

  ***

  “You have done an amazing job with this,” Simon says six months later. He’s standing in the middle of Head Over Heels Miami, taking in everything. It’s the night before our grand opening.

  My stomach won’t settle down.

  “I’m nervous,” I admit.

  “Trust me, it’s going to be fantastic. And I’m going to insist that we go back to the condo now.” He takes my hand and kisses my fingers. “It’s almost midnight, you’re exhausted, and I haven’t seen you in days.”

  “That’s an exaggeration.” I roll my eyes, but stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Simon has been in Miami with me for the past month while I put the store together. He helped me when he could, and we bought a condo on the beach to use when we’re in town.

  “Okay, I haven’t seen you much.”

  “After grand opening week, things will slow down a bit. I hired a great team to take the reins.” I smile up at him as we walk through the displays and racks of gorgeous shoes. I decided early on that I didn’t want to live in Miami full time. New Orleans is where my heart is, but we will come often to check in on things. “When do we leave for London?”

  “In about ten days,” he replies. “My parents are anxious to meet you.”

  “Your mom is sweet.” I’ve spoken to her on the phone a few times, and I’m looking forward to meeting her too.

  “She already likes you very much.”

  He leads me outside. The shop is on the boardwalk, nestled amongst designer shops, looking out on the water. Our condo is only a few blocks away.

  But rather than lead me toward home, he pulls me out onto the pier and leans on the railing, looking out into the night. He wraps his arm around me, tucking me against him.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  He doesn’t say anything at first, and finally after a long, silent moment, he turns to me and hugs me close, then pulls back so he can look into my eyes.

  “I don’t know how to answer that question because I’m so much better than okay, I can’t put it into words. You’ve changed my life, Charly.”

  I blink up at him, moved and a little curious about the fierce, almost nervous look in his eyes.

  “I never wanted to need you,” he continues. “It’s a vulnerability that I didn’t think I would ever be comfortable with. I wanted you. I still want you, and I always will.

  “I’ve come to learn that despite what I thought I wanted, I do need you, and the vulnerability is a beautiful thing when it’s with someone you trust.” He kisses my knuckles, and gazes deeply into my eyes. “I need you, Charly, in the most elemental, basic ways. I can’t see myself ever without you. You’ve brought such humor, love, and happiness to my life. I can’t promise that it’ll be a perfect life, but I can promise that I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that it’s a life we’re proud of.”

  He lowers down to one knee and pulls a little blue box out of his pocket, and I’m stunned. It’s hard to breathe. I want to jump up and down and cry like a baby, all at the same time.

  “Please do me the honor of being my wife. Build a life with me, Charlotte.”

  I blink at him for a heartbeat, and finally, I nod vigorously and throw myself into his arms, holding onto each other on the floor of this pier.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes,” I say, surprised to see tearstains on his shirt. “Absolutely yes.”

  “Here, this is for you.” I lean back and gasp at the gorgeous diamond he slides on my finger. It’s twinkling in the starlight. “I hope you like it. If you don’t, you can exchange it.”

  “It’s perfect.” I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on tight. “This is perfect.”

  Epilogue

  ~Beau Boudreaux~

  Three Months Later…

  “Leave it to Charly to have a wedding in London,” I say and scrub my hand over my mouth. “I would never say this to her, but how are we supposed to leave the company for a week? I think Eli will have a nervous breakdown.”

  “It’ll be fine,” Savannah says calmly. We’re in her office, trying to make arrangements so we can all go to London next week. “We have a strong team, and we’re only a phone call away.”

  “Why couldn’t she have just gotten married here?”

  “Because she didn’t want to,” Van says and pats me on the cheek, hard. She’s stronger than she looks.

  Her phone rings with a call from her assistant.

  “Yes?” Van says.

  “There’s a Mallory Adams here to see you.”

  “Oh, great. She can come in.” Van smiles at me. “Mallory and I are going out for lunch.”

  “Is this the Mallory that rents the shop below my apartment?” I ask, just as the woman herself walks through the door.

  “That’s me,” she says with a smile, and my tongue immediately sticks to the roof of my mouth. I always pictured her as a matronly woman, in voodoo witch dresses and long dreadlocks.

  I was wrong.

  Her hair is long and red, in soft curls. Her eyes are wide, and a curious shade between blue and purple. She’s taller than my sisters, but not by much, and she’s curvy in all the right places.

  There’s nothing matronly about her.

  She’s fucking beautiful.

  “Mallory, this is Beau,” Van says with a wicked grin. “Also known as the pain in your ass.”

  “He’s not that bad,” Mallory replies as she approaches the desk. She holds an envelope out to me, and our hands brush as I take it, making her eyes dilate. “I thought I’d drop the rent by, since I was here anyway.”

  “Thank you.”

  Is that my voice?

  “You’re welcome.” She takes a step back and her eyes roam all around my head and shoulders, and she smiles widely. “I like you already, Beau Boudreaux.”

  I raise a brow. “Really?”

  “Mm.” She turns her attention to Van. “Should we go?”

  “Sure.” Van grins and reaches for her bag. “I love what you’ve done with your hair.”

  “Thank you. It was time for a change.”

  Both women walk out of the office, and I still can’t move, struck dumb by the surprise of Mallory Adams.

  I’m going to have to visit her shop in the near future.

  Don’t miss out on Adam’s story in the 1001 Dark Nights novella:

  Easy For Keeps

  (A Boudreaux Novella)

  by Kristen Proby

  Click here to pre-order
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  Adam Spencer loves women. All women. Every shape and size, regardless of hair or eye color, religion or race, he simply enjoys them all. Meeting more than his fair share as the manager and head bartender of The Odyssey, a hot spot in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter, Adam’s comfortable with his lifestyle, and sees no reason to change it. A wife and kids, plus the white picket fence are not in the cards for this confirmed bachelor. Until a beautiful woman, and her sweet princess, literally knock him on his ass.

  Sarah Cox has just moved to New Orleans, having accepted a position as a social worker specializing in at-risk women and children. It’s a demanding, sometimes dangerous job, but Sarah is no shy wallflower. She can handle just about anything that comes at her, even the attentions of one sexy Adam Spencer. Just because he’s charmed her daughter, making her think of magical kingdoms with happily ever after, doesn’t mean that Sarah believes in fairy tales. But the more time she spends with the enchanting man, the more he begins to sway her into believing in forever.

  Even so, when Sarah’s job becomes more dangerous than any of them bargained for, will she be ripped from Adam’s life forever?

  Other Books by Kristen Proby:

  The Boudreaux Series:

  Easy Love and on audio

  Easy Charm and on audio

  Easy Melody and on audio

  Easy For Keeps (pre-order)

  The With Me In Seattle Series:

  Come Away With Me and on audio

  Under the Mistletoe With Me and on audio

  Fight With Me and on audio

  Play With Me and on audio

  Rock With Me and on audio

  Safe With Me and on audio

  Tied With Me and on audio

  Breathe With Me and on audio

  Forever With Me and on audio