Annihilate Him, Volume 3
Page 24
“To Cutter,” Alex said. “Having our friend back with us tonight is something that has touched all of us so deeply, the emotions are palpable. I felt them when he first came into the living room, but most of all, I hope that you felt them, Cutter. Again, all of us want to thank you for all that you did that day on that island before everything went wrong. We honor you for it, we thank you for it, and we also thank God that you’re back.” Alex lifted his drink. “Cheers to you, Cutter. And thank you.”
“Cheers!” everyone said.
“Speech!” Daniella cried out.
He turned to look at her. “A speech? I wasn’t prepared for that, but I’m up for it, because I also have a few things to say. First, when I look back, there’s nothing I would have done differently. Tank and I have a job to do. We take our jobs seriously. I’m just glad that I was given a second chance so that I could be here with all of you tonight, and so I could get on with my work at Wenn. And second? You may have been happy to see me when I first walked in here, but I can tell you from my heart that I was just as happy to see all of you.”
“I can’t take it anymore!” Daniella said to him as she dropped down onto one knee. “Marry me!”
I saw Blackwell’s head roll back before I returned my attention to Daniella.
“Please, Cutter—don’t you see? We’re meant for each other. We’re perfect for each other. I love you, and I know that this can work between us!”
“She’s become unhinged,” I heard Blackwell say. “Somebody throw a drink on her. Or a blanket. Somebody do something.”
“I heard that, mother, and to hell with it,” Daniella said. “I don’t care if Cutter knows the truth, because I am in love with him. I came here tonight hoping that he’d be here, and the fact that he is says it all to me.” She looked at him. “We belong together. You have to see that, even if some people—like my mother and sister, for instance—refuse to see any of it.”
“Daniella,” Tank said quietly. “You should know that Cutter has a girlfriend now.”
And Daniella, stricken by the news, just stared openly at Tank. “He has a what?”
“A girlfriend,” Cutter said.
“Since when? And why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “She was one of my nurses. We became close during my recovery, and we’ve been seeing each other for a couple of weeks now.”
“Oh!” she said. “Just a couple of weeks? Well, that’s perfect! What are a couple of weeks when it comes to the beginnings of any relationship? Nothing. You hardly even know her at this point, so dump her. Be with me.”
“I can’t,” Cutter said. “I hope you understand.”
“Daniella, get the hell off that floor,” Blackwell said. “Have some self-respect, for God’s sake.”
“Fine!” Daniella said with resolve in her voice as she struggled to stand up. “Cutter can have his girlfriend! So, it was never meant to be between us! It’s a tragedy, but whatevs! I can handle it. Somebody hand me another martini. I need one, if only to get through the rest of the night.”
“You’ve already had your share of martinis,” Blackwell said. “Clearly.”
“Give one to me now!”
“Anything to shut you up,” Blackwell said between gritted teeth. When she turned to look around her, a server was right at her side with a fresh set of martinis held out to her on a silver platter. “Well, you’re here by no accident,” Blackwell said to the young woman. “But thank you for understanding the situation and for being so attentive to it. Now, if you also could bring me a Xanax the size of my head so I can shove it down her throat, I will tip you personally myself.”
When the girl’s lips started to part in bewilderment, Blackwell said, “It’s just a joke, darling—her third martini will either do the trick, or it will send her even further off the tracks. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. At the very least, I can sense that dinner is on the cusp, so once Jennifer fills up the room with whatever she has to say, we will be able to get some food into my daughter’s stomach to balance out the booze she’s already drank.”
“What Jennifer’s about to say isn’t insignificant, Barbara,” Alex said.
At that, she just looked at him—and then at me. “So, what does she have to say?” she asked. “And why do I feel as if I’m about to be ambushed by the news? Why do I feel as if I’m suddenly out of the loop?”
“Because you are,” I said. “But for all of the right reasons.”
I looked at Alex.
“Are you sure you’re ready to do this, Mr. Wenn?”
“I am so ready for this, Mrs. Wenn.”
“Then let’s tell everyone.” I looked out at our friends. “Yesterday, as we were planning for tonight, Alex took me aside and asked me a question. It was simple on the surface, but difficult for reasons that all of you will know well when I tell you what he asked me. He asked me if we were ready to start a family again. It’s no secret to anyone here that losing our first child has been difficult. But we all have to move forward, don’t we? Even when we feel as if we can’t. So. I’m here to tell all of you—our closest and dearest of friends—that Alex and I plan to move forward and try for another child. My doctor has told me time and again that she sees no reason why I can’t conceive. So? With any luck, expect news that we’re expecting in the very near future.”
As our friends burst into applause, I turned to Alex and caught the emotion on his face before he took me into his arms and kissed me in ways that he’d never kissed me before.
Throughout the past year, we’d been through so much together. There were several times that I thought that I’d felt the bottom of his love for me, which was deeper than any love I’d ever experienced. But now? Now there was a new bottom. As he held me against him, I felt a dampness against my cheek that confirmed just how much I meant to him—just how deeply he did love me—and when I felt that, I held him even closer against me and I said into his ear, “I love you so much, Alex. And I can promise you this—for us, the best is yet to come.”
Many readers have asked, so! ;-)
Here is the reading order for the Annihilate Me series:
Annihilate Me, Vol. 1
Annihilate Me, Vol. 2
Annihilate Me, Vol. 3
Annihilate Me, Vol. 4
Annihilate Me, Holiday
Unleash Me, Vol. 1
Unleash Me, Vol. 2
Unleash Me, Vol. 3
Annihilate Him, Vol. 1
Annihilate Him, Vol. 2
Annihilate Him, Vol. 3
Ignite Me
Annihilate Him: Holiday
A Dangerous Widow
Annihilate Them
Annihilate Them: Holiday
Unleash Me: Wedding
THANK YOU FOR READING the continuation of Alex and Jennifer’s story in Annihilate Him, Vol. 3! I hope that you enjoyed it! And just wait for the hilarity that’s in store for all of you—and maybe not so much for all of them—in Annihilate Him, Holiday.
Two new stand-alone books are also now available: Ignite Me, which is written in the Annihilate Me universe (Blackwell is ALL over this book); and then there’s A Dangerous Widow, which is PURE romantic suspense filled with characters from the Annihilate Me universe. Learn more about them on the next few pages.
Ignite Me will tell the story of Alex’s hunky cousin, Brock Wenn, and what happens to him when he falls for Madison Wells, a gorgeous young woman who just happens to find herself as Barbara Blackwell’s brand new personal assistant. As you can imagine, Blackwell isn’t about to make anything exactly easy for Madison. And since Brock is no Alex—he’s far from being a billionaire—he’ll be struggling to make it in New York just as much as Madison is. So, how will their relationship unfold given the pressures of life, the difficulties of work, and the strong possibilities of love? And with such a white-hot attraction between them from the first moment they meet—which Blackwell recognizes at once?
Good luck with that...
Ignite Me is a stand-alone novel available now wherever ebooks are sold.
Fans of romantic suspense—and the Annihilate Me series, which this book is a part of—might be interested in the stand-alone novel A Dangerous Widow, which tells the challenging love story between Kate Stone and Ben Cade. The description follows.
When they killed her man—she became dangerous.
Five years after her beloved husband's death, Kate Stone suddenly learns that it was no accident. Instead, it was a full-on, calculated, cold-blooded murder.
Enter Ben Cade, the first love of Kate's life—a man she hasn't seen in sixteen years.
Now a former SEAL turned private investigator, Ben agrees to help Kate learn the truth. And just as the love they once shared for each other begins to heat up, chaos ignites as twists, turns, death threats and deceptions abound.
"A Dangerous Widow" is a thrilling, harrowing story of romantic suspense from #1 internationally best-selling author Christina Ross, whose books have sold more than two million copies worldwide.
"A Dangerous Widow" is Christina Ross at her best!
It’s available wherever ebooks are sold.
Can’t wait for my next steamy, suspenseful book? More are coming, and it’s an easy fix! Join me on Facebook here, and especially join my email blast here. There is never any SPAM, and this way, you’ll never miss another book—or the opportunity to receive an ARC to review a book before it goes live to the public.
I LOVE TO HEAR FROM my fans! Please write to me at mailto:christinarossauthor@gmail.com. I hope to hear from you soon!
If you would leave a review of this or any of my books, I’d appreciate it. Reviews are critical to every writer. Please leave even the shortest of reviews. And thank you!
XO,
Christina
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