Hook Up (Taking Chances Book 2)

by TC Matson

  “She tell you this?”

  “Yeah, today, right after William declared his love to her.”

  My heart? This fucker stops and falls into the pits of my stomach. “William did what?”

  “She’s been dealing with her feelings alone. All this time she felt she wasn’t good enough because she blamed herself for that prick cheating on her. And she’s petrified to move forward with you because she doesn’t think she’s strong enough to handle the destruction you can cause.”

  “I—”

  “I don’t give a shit what has been happening unless you’re dragging her along to fuck with her head. If that’s the case, my husband will be in a horrible position because he’ll have to bail his wife out of jail for murdering his best friend.”

  “Broo—”

  “But,” she interrupts, “if you feel the same damn way she does, then get off your ass and go to her. And I swear, if you hurt her, I’ll castrate you.”

  I’m not a man who has to be told twice. I’m on my feet. As I pass Brooklyn, I grab her face. “I swear I’m not going to hurt her. I fucking love her.” I kiss her forehead. “Thank you for the verbal kick to the ass.”

  She smiles up at me. “Go.”

  * * *

  I barreled through the city with the laws of the road buried under all my thoughts surrounding Aimee. If she gives William another chance, she’ll wreck me…

  I knock on her door with my heart in my throat, unsure what’s on the other side of the door but positive I’ll not pussy foot anymore. Today, I’m laying it all out for her. She won’t have a single doubt left.

  When she pulls open the door, it’s evident she’s been crying, eyes red with scraps of makeup under them. They widen at the sight of me.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Grabbing her face, I slam a kiss to her mouth, devouring her, claiming her, begging her. She doesn’t fight it and fists the lapels of my jacket, pulling me closer as I back her into the house.

  I break the kiss, keeping her face in my hands. “Don’t go back to him, Aimee. I’d never hurt you, not like he did. You are everything I need in life and everything I’ve ever wanted. I love you, and I’m not tossing it out to fabricate my happiness. I mean it. I cherish the light you shine and crave the smile on your face. Never would I put tears in your eyes unless they’re happy tears. Don’t quit on me because you’re scared. Rely on me, instead. Depend on me to prove to you, to show you without a doubt, you fucking own me.”

  Tears are spilling from the corners of her eyes and I brush them away with my thumbs.

  “I’m not planning on going back to William,” she says. “As he told me what a mistake he made and how much he loved me, all I could think about was you.” Her lips quiver as her voice shakes. “How if you broke me, it would devastate me so much I wouldn’t make it through it. While I stared at a man I used to love, I realized I love you so much deeper and differently. And as he tried to explain himself, all I could think about was how I know you’d never do that to me.”

  I kiss her, passionately pouring everything I have into it. Our tongues dance together as my hands slide down her body and wrap around her waist while hers snake around my neck. I don’t know how long we’ve stood here, declaring how we feel with our lips, but I pull back breathless.

  “I love you,” I say, looking directly into her eyes.

  Her lips pull up and they reach her beautiful blue eyes. “I love you too.”

  EPILOGUE

  One year later…

  I make my way down the stairs and into the living room where Brooklyn and Shyla are not-so-patiently waiting, and their evil eyes give it away.

  “How is it I’m seven months pregnant and I’ve still managed to make it on time to your house?” Brooklyn scoffs with a hint of humor.

  Her pregnancy hormones make her edgy as hell.

  “How many years have we known each other and why are you trying to change me now?” I reply.

  She rolls her eyes. “If it didn’t take me a year to get out of this chair, I’d come kick your ass.”

  “You wouldn’t hit a pregnant woman.”

  Both Shyla’s and Brooklyn’s heads snap up and I grin, devilishly may I add.

  “No shit?” Shyla leaps up. “Are you…” Her eyes drop to my stomach. “Seriously?”

  I bite my lip, excited as hell. “We found out yesterday. I’m ten weeks along. I was supposed to wait, but—”

  “You couldn’t,” my husband chuckles as he sneaks up behind me. He presses a kiss to the side of my head and squeezes my hip. “Guess we’re even. I just told Nathan.”

  “We can’t even do a surprise right,” I laugh.

  “I guess this proves you had an amazing honeymoon?” Brooklyn says, finally getting out of the chair and waddling over to me to throw her arms around my neck.

  A few months after we professed our love for one another, Cody and Nathan wanted a rematch at volleyball for an attempt to redeem themselves. Shyla and Brady showed up to watch. Before we could get started, Cody dropped to his knee and proposed. He said he wanted to do it there because that’s when he met the woman he knew was going to be his wife one day.

  Three months ago, I walked down the aisle to my future smiling back at me in the courtyard of Tampa Towers in Florida where right after, he swept me away to the same vacation house where we started.

  Life with Cody has been great. I married my best friend. He makes me laugh and smile daily. And if by chance we do actually have an argument, he shuts me up with a kiss…every single time. I quit wasting time doubting everything. It was pointless because he proved to me just how important I was to him and how much he wanted me in his life.

  No more doubts. No more lies. No more hiding that my husband owns my heart and soul just as much as I own his.

  I, Aimee Shaefer, am glad to have met my match because without him, I wouldn’t have anything I deserve.

  Thank you for reading Hook Up.

  Please consider leaving a review.

  Coming Soon

  Remember Declan? Well, his story is next!

  Slip Up is coming soon. Keep flipping for a sneak peek.

  Sneak Peek of Slip Up

  Chapter 1

  Amelia

  A light purring snore pulls me from a terrific sleep and I titter under my breath. Kirsten only snores when she gets trashed, and God were we trashed last night. Thinking of it only causes my head to throb harder and my stomach roil. My phone chimes on the nightstand beside the bed and quietly, so I don’t wake her, I grab it knowing it has to be my mother.

  Kirsten: Good morning, you sexy bitch, you. Are you awake or still sleeping from an all-night screw fest with Mr. Hottie?

  My breath catches in my throat and I jerk my head over my shoulder to the very handsome man beside me.

  Declan…

  In his slumber, his face is relaxed. A dark stubble covers his strong jaw that I swear must’ve been carved from granite. His lips are full and succulent. His left arm is tossed over his head as his right rests across his stomach. On it, stretched across the entirety of his forearm, is a tattoo. The only thing I’m able to really make out is a skull in the background and a magnifying glass blowing up a checkered flag.

  The sheet drapes across his flat stomach, leaving me a muscular chest to ogle. I peek under the covers to see my naked body and the beginning of his… and slam my eyes closed, gripping the thin fabric against my chest.

  Memories begin to waltz in—incredible sex, the sounds he made, the way he made me feel—then the quiet ache between my legs begins to pulse. He filled me with complete satisfaction. Biting my lip, I fight the smile the thoughts stir in me.

  He shifts, and my heart leaps into my throat. I’ve never had a one-night stand. What am I supposed to do? Act casual? Like the best sex in the universe didn’t just happen to me? Own it? That would probably be the more sensible thing, but instead, I panic and close my eyes pretending to be asleep.

  The bed shuffles sligh
tly as I hear him stretch and exhale. There’s a faint scraping noise like he’s dragged something across the nightstand and then… “What the fuck?”

  Great. He doesn’t remember me. I should have figured this part out with Kirsten before going through with my bucket list. Yes. A one-night stand is—was—on it. I wanted to feel the excitement, no strings attached, no pressures, no fears, and no insecurities. I wanted to put it all out there for just one night. Call me wild…

  Gently, he grabs my left hand, sliding his fingers under mine to spread them out. “Shit. Amelia?”

  He remembers my name. My heart does a flutter and I’m scared he can hear it. Pretending to stir for the first time, I stretch out.

  “Hmmm?” My eyes open to a set of piercing pale mink brown eyes immersed in concern.

  “Do you remember last night?”

  Do I remember? Hell yes I do and my body feels the reminders. Even from the depths of our drunken night, I remember eating fruit, dancing, entering the hotel room and screwing like newlyweds. “Parts,” I say, trying not to sound overzealous about our night together.

  Calm and collected… I’ve got this.

  “Which parts?” he asks.

  He’s going to make me say sex. Isn’t he? There goes calm and collected out the window and in waltzes the awkwardness.

  He lets out a breath and grabs my hand, lifting it to my face. “What’re the chances of you remembering us getting married?”

  I shoot straight up. “Do what?” I shriek, glancing to the platinum diamond-studded wedding band on my finger.

  He holds his hand up and wiggles his fingers before handing me a frame. Our wedding license. We framed our fricking wedding license? How drunk were we?

  “Oh, hell,” I mutter.

  He pushes off the bed, not worried at all about covering up his naked body, and heads to the bathroom. His body is toned and tanned, his back sculpted, his ass taut and then it disappears.

  When he shuts the door, I slide out of the bed, wrapping the sheet around myself and hurrying to find my clothes. My shorts and shirt are tossed on opposite ends of the couch, and my bra hangs from a cabinet in the kitchenette. But I can’t find my panties anywhere. Screw it… My dignity will just have to deal.

  I’m dressed, putting the final piece on, when he reappears from the bathroom shirtless in a pair of basketball shorts with my blue boy-short panties dangling from his fingers.

  His lips are pulled into a seductive smirk and his brow is arched. “Found these hanging from the shower head.”

  Fabulous…

  Unable to look at him, I snatch them and shove them into my pocket.

  “Are you hungry? I need breakfast.” As he pulls a black t-shirt over his head, I watch the muscles in his stomach flex.

  “Do you want me to leave?” I ask the floor. So much for the wild, confident, calm, and cool Amelia. I might as well just throw a welcome party for the awkwardness.

  “No. I just need fuel for my brain so we can figure out what the hell happened and what we’re going to do.”

  Fidgeting with my fingernails, I nod.

  “I’m just running downstairs. I’ll be back in few minutes.”

  I watch as the door shuts behind him before grabbing our framed marriage license. I trail my fingers over the edges and then slide across our names, trying hard to remember something from it, willing the memories back, but they don’t come. Shit. Did Elvis marry us? Was Kirsten there?

  Me: I’m awake.

  Kirsten: Soooo how was the sex? Don’t tell me. Save it for the flight!

  Me: I don’t think I did this one-night stand thing right.

  Kirsten: Ohhh, did you put it on him so good he’s in love with you now?

  Kirsten: DON’T TELL ME! I want all the deets for the flight. What time will you be here?

  Me: Give me an hour.

  Kirsten: See your lucky ass then.

  If she were there, I don’t think her texts would be so fun. Maybe she doesn’t remember it?

  What the hell were we thinking?

  The rest of SLIP UP will be coming soon in 2020!

  Books by TC Matson

  THE FIGHTER SERIES

  Blindsided (The Fighter Series #1)

  UnExpected (The Fighter Series #2)

  Awakened (The Fighter Series #3)

  No Holds (The Fighter Series #4)

  No Hesitations (The Fighter Series #5)

  Leveled (The Fighter Series Novella #5.5)

  No Limits (The Fighter Series #6)

  No Control (The Fighter Series #7)

  DEBONAIR SERIES (Standalones)

  Broken Boundaries

  Persuading Perfection

  Seductive Secrets

  STANDALONES

  Open House

  Mistaken Identity

  TAKING CHANCES SERIES (Standalones)

  Set Up

  Hook Up

  Slip Up (Coming in 2020)

  To My Readers

  A special thank you. Without you, I am nothing and my characters sit around and mope. Thank you for taking a chance on me, on my characters, and on my stories.

  Thank you for all your love and support.

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  Acknowledgements

  So… I might have copied, pasted, and adjusted the acknowledgements from Set Up. I mean, nothing has changed. This is still the hardest part of the book and I’m positive I’m going to miss someone.

  I always do.

  Inhale… okay. Here we go.

  To my husband: I loveff you. Thank you for putting up with my long days and my characters taking all the attention you deserve.

  Angela: Who says they have to be written in order? Thank you for that sound advice. Without you, I’d still be sitting here staring at a blinking cursor. You are the best! Love ya, Hooker.

  Amanda: I love that you love me knowing I love making you twitch with my words. Boobie cone. Boobie cone!

  Fran & Megan (the best betas ever!): I adore you both so much. Thank you for pushing me to strive and to always produce my best. And I wholeheartedly appreciate your support, both professionally and personally. Your friendship means a lot to me.

  Ivy Love: Thank you for being you. I’m so glad I threw candy at you. Now you’re stuck with me.

  Carla: You are STILL my favorite pain in the ass.

  To all the bloggers: You are the rockstars. Without you working so diligently and promoting us, our “babies” wouldn’t be loved nearly enough. Because of that, I’m so grateful for you. Thank you.

  To my Bangers: I love the daily laughs, vents, and hotties. Thank you for being a part of my life.

  Exhale… I feel like I missed a lot of important people. If I did, I’m blaming the fact I’m quarantined in my home with 2 kids and a bored eating husband.

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  Copyright © 2019 TC Matson

  Dedication

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek of Slip Up

  Books by TC Matson

  To My Readers

  Connect with TC Matson />
  Acknowledgements