Happily Ever Laughter: older man, quirky younger woman romance (HEA Book 3)

by Haley Travis

The excitement in her eyes makes my skin prickle. “And this is going to be on TV?”

  “Yep. It’s a local station, and it will be online as well.”

  “Wow.”

  She stares out across the lookout, even though most of the hills and forest are so dark we can only make out waves and hints of blues and greens.

  I love the sound of her giggle when she snaps back to attention. “The other gals in my Wednesday night book club have all had giant news lately. Promotions and projects and new boyfriends. Finally I’ll have something huge to share too.”

  Leaning forward, I kiss her temple. “Tell me, sweetheart, which is the bigger news — the weird creative job, or the weird new boyfriend?”

  Instead of answering, she places her soft mouth against mine.

  Our first kiss was full of passion and fire. This one feels different. She believes in us. She can feel this pull between us. That we are already real and solid.

  When she pulls back, she smiles naughtily. “Even though the boyfriend news is a much bigger deal, I’m going to lead with the TV show, or they’ll never listen to anything else.”

  “I’ve already warned my roommates about you,” I tell her with a grin.

  “Warned?” she asks, with that beautiful raised eyebrow.

  “You know…that you are the incredible new woman in my life, and they might see you around when I make you dinner, or if you stay over sometime.”

  I wish the light was brighter, as I’m fairly certain she’s blushing slightly. “For the record, I won’t be rushing things in that department at all,” I say quickly. “It’s not like that. I just want to spend infinite amounts of time with you.”

  She nods thoughtfully, and grows quiet.

  If I’ve offended her already, I’ll kick myself. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “No, it’s actually perfect that you said that.” Her hand slips from the back of my neck to rest on my chest. “I dated a guy in college for a few months, and when we finally went a little further...it was terrible.”

  Tanis can plainly see from the look of horror on my face that I’m thinking the worst. “No – nothing like that. It was just uncomfortable and embarrassing. Nothing felt natural.” Her hand grips my t-shirt. “I’m already comfortable with you. I already know that I’ll be able to relax...when it counts.”

  My heart lurches forward in my chest as if it’s trying to touch her. I’m so thrilled that she’s opening up to me like this.

  “Trust me, baby,” I say as I slide my fingertips along the back of her ear, “when you decide the time is right, I’m going to do everything in my power to make you completely comfortable. Everything will be up to you, okay?”

  Damn, that smile of hers always goes straight to the quickly-tightening area in my jeans that I’m desperately trying to keep under control right now.

  “I already know that we have more spark than I ever thought possible. I’m not worried in the slightest,” she says.

  “Great,” I say brightly, starting to stand up. “Because there’s an air mattress in the back of the van.”

  Her head falls back as she laughs so loudly it echoes all around us. “I swear, Felix, if I were a first date kind of girl, I probably would.”

  I drop to one knee and grab her hands. “Tell me, sweetheart. What kind of girl are you?”

  Her head tilts back and forth, considering. “I don’t know yet. We’ll have to find out together.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ~ Tanis ~

  As I walk into Henry’s coffee shop, the smile I gave him is three times its usual size, and he notices immediately. “Tanis, how are you this evening?” he asks, grabbing my favorite blue mug and pouring my usual hazelnut coffee.

  “Absolutely great. And you?”

  Henry gives me a very strange glance as he leans forward and slides my mug across the counter. “I’ve been seeing that look recently from Claire and Diana. You’ve found someone, haven’t you?”

  I have to force myself to stop giggling so that I can pick up the coffee without splashing. “Not just amazing coffee, but psychic powers too. You’re a great guy, Henry.”

  He grins as he drops my cash into the till. “I assume you’re three minutes late so that you can make your dramatic entrance before your big news,” he chuckles.

  Seeing Henry every week was like having an uncle, in a way. I don’t have any real uncles, but I’d like to think that they are supposed to be slightly teasing, a little over protective, and steady as a rock. Like Henry.

  “There she is,” Elizabeth says as I join the table packed with my best friends. “You just missed the saga of Becca having to find a new manicurist.”

  Becca points at her with a sharp hot pink nail, much shorter than her usual talons. Her overly dramatic pout was ridiculous.

  As I sit down and take a sip of coffee, Diana looks at me oddly. “You have news.”

  Claire laughs brightly. “How the heck do you always know?”

  “She’s smiling differently, but seems a bit jittery.”

  “Knock it off,” I mutter.

  “Come on,” Claire begs. “Tell us what’s up.”

  I’m already grinning. “Okay, so you guys know how I’ve always wanted to work on creative projects, and make something that I can put out into the world?”

  “Yes,” Elizabeth says eagerly. “Did you find something?”

  “Ohmygod, is it your video things you’re always shooting?” Becca asks.

  “Yes!” I shriek. “There’s a TV show that needs some bits for between performances. I’m doing the video, and another guy is doing music for them. Nothing is final yet, but it sounds like it’s a big rush, so they’ll probably just go with whatever we give them.”

  “That’s incredible,” Diana says, reaching out to squeeze my arm. “We’re so happy for you.”

  Then she cocks her head to the left. “So tell us the rest now.”

  Looking around the table, four pairs of eyes are absolutely riveted on me. Instead of feeling put on the spot, I’m weirdly excited. “The guy who is doing the music for the videos with me, it’s his project really. And, um, I guess we’re going out.”

  Claire squeals, clapping her hands, and over her shoulder I can see Henry laughing.

  “Tell us everything,” Becca insists.

  I quickly give them the rundown on Felix, from how gorgeous he is to the way he makes me feel like the only woman in the world. They are all incredibly impressed at the effort he went to for our first date.

  “That’s a time when creativity is really important,” Elizabeth says knowingly. “It’s not a guy’s job to entertain you at all times, but the first few dates should be special and interesting.”

  “It was certainly ‘interesting’ to find out that my video animations are going to be broadcast on a show.” I take another sip of coffee. “I still can’t believe it, to be honest.”

  “That’s amazing,” Diana says. “And maybe now that you’ve got the confidence of this one behind you, you’ll try bigger projects.”

  “Maybe,” I nod.

  Even though it feels a bit awkward, I’ve been forcing myself to be more open with my friends.

  “I’ve been terrified of putting myself out there, and it took something accidental to actually get my work out in front of other people, but yes — once I have a little more confidence and at least one project in my portfolio, I’ll probably look for a lot more of them.”

  “And I’ll bet Felix can help you with that,” Claire says with that saucy smile that borders on pushy. Ever since she fell in love with Shane, she wants the same for all of us. It’s lovely that she wants us all to be as happy as she is, but I hope she’s not getting obsessive.

  “The thing is, I’m still pretty new to the whole dating thing,” I say slowly. “And...I don’t know how long these things are supposed to take...”

  “I knew after seeing Milo twice,” Diana says.

  “I knew from the
second I woke up in the store room here with Shane taking care of me that he was absolutely the one,” Claire chimes in.

  There’s no way to explain the unearthly magical tingle I got the second I met Felix. The first time that we touched. The first second he kissed me.

  “Don’t get flustered,” Becca says quickly. “Everyone goes at their own speed. Just keep your eyes open, and if he treats you like a goddess, stay with him.”

  “Thank you guys for all being so supportive,” I say. “It really means a lot to me.”

  “That’s why we’re here,” Elizabeth says. “Well, that, and occasionally reading books,” she adds pointedly.

  “Geez, and here I thought you were here for the fabulous coffee and my sparkling personality,” Henry laughs as he wipes down the table beside us.

  Elizabeth is always the expert at getting us back on track. As we discuss this week’s book, I even have some insight now into the way the main character seemed so absolutely obsessed with their vision of what the world should be.

  In the past two days, I’ve learned a bit about obsession. Both my deep craving to be an artist of any sort, and Felix’s focus on, well, making sure that I’m his.

  That’s a thought that makes me shudder so hard that I hope none of the other girls notice.

  As always, our book discussion also covers everyone’s lives, from our romances to our work, to the personal side projects. Being surrounded by such interesting women once a week is always a great energy boost.

  By the time I walk home, my mind is buzzing with positive energy. As I enter my apartment, the urge to shoot some clips is overwhelming.

  Grabbing my camera, I look around the space, but everything interesting has been shot a dozen times already.

  Wait.

  That’s before I had a purpose for these clips.

  Felix said that they need something behind the logo at the beginning of the show. That means instead of having a focal point, they’ll need more of a background sort of vibe.

  Within minutes, a purple sheet is tacked across the wall, flowing down across my kitchen table to create a seamless backdrop. My plants are arranged with the tallest in the back. I set up a small fan and the leaves sway and dance just enough for them to look lively.

  Time passes unnoticed as I arrange and tweak and shoot a video, then zips by as I animate and manipulate the clip. I figure one full minute of background will give them more than enough.

  It’s quarter to midnight when I send Felix a link to a fifteen second preview clip in my cloud drive. I barely have time to brush my teeth and wash my face before the phone rings.

  “Hello?”

  “Sweetheart, this is absolutely magical,” Felix says. “You have outdone yourself.”

  “You think they’ll like it?”

  “I’m absolutely positive they will. And listen – I have a video chat with Gretchen, the client, tomorrow morning at ten. You’re probably at work then, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, and I’ll be in a meeting.”

  “Damn,” he mutters. “I really wanted you to meet her and be more involved, but maybe on the next one. Okay?”

  “Absolutely.”

  To be honest, I think I’m happy to have him take care of all of the client wrangling. I don’t know how any of that works, and don’t want to mess up his job. Although, I certainly do want to learn at some point so that I can have jobs of my own as soon as possible.

  “I’ll take notes,” Felix says. “I’m going to be preparing the fragments of music all day tomorrow. Can I pick you up after work Friday night? I can show you my studio.”

  The thought of going to his apartment fills me with excitement. I want to see how he lives. I want to see more of his world. “Sure.”

  “Are you going to sleep now, sweetheart?” His dark voice purrs into my ear.

  “Yes.”

  “Let me listen while you get into bed.”

  How on earth is he able to sound so wholesome and so seductive in the same breath? I put the phone on speaker and set it on the nightstand while I turn out the lights and get under the covers.

  “I can’t wait to see you,” he says. “Sweet dreams, gorgeous.”

  “Sweet dreams to you too.”

  Neither of us want to hang up, and we simply listen to each other breathing for a moment.

  “I miss you already,” he whispers. “Honestly, I didn’t know if I’d ever feel this way about anyone, Tanis. I’m so glad that I found you.”

  “To be fair, I spotted you across the bar before you saw me.”

  “Nope. I saw you the second you walked in the door with Jenna. As she walked under the first chandelier, the little crystal reflections sent shards of blue and white across your cheekbones and lips, and I realized I’ve never wanted to kiss a girl so much in my entire life.”

  That shot of pure romance certainly makes up for the fact that we actually met in a bar.

  “It’s funny, I noticed you when you leaned forward and your face was lit by that old fashioned lamp. It was…unusually flattering.”

  His rich chuckle in my ear makes my body tense and relax at the same time. “Was it magic at first sight?”

  “It was...questions,” I admit. “Many large, important questions.”

  “That’s good too, I guess,” he says. “Tanis, I don’t know what you’re looking for in a man, but I hope that I can be that for you. I want to treat you like the precious, incredible soul that you are.”

  Overwhelmed by his honesty, it feels safe to share with him as well.

  “I’ve never had a dream guy. I never thought I’d end up in a relationship. Sure, I casually considered it, in the context of ‘some day’. But I just assumed that I’d be alone forever.”

  “I’m going to destroy those plans of yours,” his low voice rumbles. “I’m going to make sure that you understand that we’re forever.”

  I can’t believe he’s using that word when we’ve not even been together for a week. Yet I know he’s right on some level. Still, it might not quite be smart to trust it completely so soon.

  My hopes are already up so high that it’s terrifying.

  My sudden yawn makes him laugh. “Go to sleep, my sweet girl.”

  “Good night.”

  I set my alarm, then dissolve into a strange dream land of video clips and Felix’s dark eyes smiling at me.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ~ Felix ~

  As always, my video call with Gretchen is lightning fast and super efficient.

  “I love what you’re doing with the theme music,” she says, as she taps her pencil against her ever present yellow legal pad. I’ve only visited her offices a handful of times, but those yellow pads of paper are always absolutely everywhere. It’s funny, she’s still serious even while discussing comedy.

  “The contrast of the raw, fresh new comedians against the interstitials with the old-fashioned, and to be honest wildly out of character music is absolutely perfect,” she says. “And then the exploding and imploding video clips somehow elevate it all to high art.”

  I can see that the slight clicking sound is her fingernails against the handle of her coffee mug. “Nobody here in the office can put their finger on exactly why, but everyone absolutely cracked up. Perhaps because it was so unexpected, and quite frankly, weird.”

  “That’s all that matters,” I say, taking a note that the unexplained is apparently working for me again.

  “Thank goodness you found someone who has a cohesive selection of videos practically ready to go,” she says, cracking a rare smile. “I need all of the pieces for end of day today.”

  My mouth falls open, as I stare at her. Did Gretchen just crack her very first natural joke?

  “I hope that you’re teasing,” I say carefully. “I only have two of the music segments recorded.”

  She frowns slightly, as her angular face tilts. Her hair is scraped back as always into an unmovable bun, as she reaches up to scratch her temple with the end of her pencil.

>   “Gretchen, you know I always deliver,” I said quickly before she can worry too much. “Just give me one more day. Your editors can work on the comedy segments, and I will get you the finished video clips and music at the exact time intervals you requested by midnight tomorrow.”

  She nods, slashing a note on her paper. “Fine. You’re the only person I trust enough to deliver something right at the wire. Plus, you have server access, so we won’t have to fiddle around with that. Just load up the pieces as soon as you’re finished with them, and I’ll let the editors know where to look for them.”