by Laney Powell
Meeting my family had been interesting. My dad barely bothered beyond civility, and my mom was a cross between angry and embarrassed. But Serena had ignored all the undercurrents, and both of my parents had told me they liked her. Not that it mattered in the end, but it was nice to hear.
About two months after we’d started dating, she asked me to come over to her place for dinner. It wasn’t quite ready when I got there, so she poured me a glass of wine, and told me to sit at the counter at the island while she finished. As much as Serena loved me to cook breakfast for her, she didn’t want anyone in her way while she was in the kitchen.
I watched her work. She was smooth and fluid in her movements, her pleasure in what she did obvious. People had been worried when she took over from Dave and Carla, but they were wrong to worry. Serena was perfect for the bakery, perfect for Milltown.
Perfect for me. It had only been two months, but I was as sure as I’d ever been. I knew this was the one. Serena wasn’t there—or maybe, she was, but she was nervous, and I needed to give her time. She wasn’t going anywhere. Neither was I. We had plenty of time.
“I’ve been thinking,” Serena said, interrupting my thoughts.
“About?” I watched her even more carefully. She wasn’t putting off any signs of danger.
“I think you should move in,” she said, never taking her eyes off the stove. “You’re here all the time. It makes sense.”
Setting down my wine glass, I was behind her and wrapping her in my arms, cooking be damned. “You sure about this?” I breathed in her ear.
She reached around and squeezed my ass. “Absolutely,” she said.
I laughed. “Sealed with a grope?”
We fed each other that night, barely finishing dinner before racing to the room and tearing each other’s clothes off.
The next day, I had my stuff packed up and hauled into her apartment. I’d been there ever since. In addition to all the other pluses, I enjoyed walking the couple of blocks to work.
But now it was time to take things further. I showered at the station and headed over to help her close up.
“Hey,” she said, looking up as I came in. Her hair had escaped from her messy bun, which still made my insides clench, and she pushed it out of her face. “You’re just in time to drag the outside tables in.”
“Your wish is my command,” I said.
Twenty minutes later, she finished up in the kitchen. “You want to order something? I have no more inspiration for food.”
We ordered Chinese and I waited on the food while she showered. By the time she was done, the food had come.
“Thank God! I’m starving,” Serena said as she sat at the island counter next to me.
“You want chopsticks?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said, holding out her hand.
I handed her a pair I’d already taken out for her, letting the ring I’d put on one of them slide down and bump her hand as she took them.
Serena stilled, looking at the chopsticks. “What’s this?” she whispered.
“I love you. You love me. I want to marry you. Say yes, so we can eat,” I said, like my heart wasn’t ready to pound right out of my chest.
Her eyes glittered and a tear rolled down out of one. “I love you so much,” she said.
“Is that a yes?” I asked.
“Yes!” Serena shouted as she reached across to kiss me.
“You sure?” I asked between kisses.
“Trust me—” she said, and then clapped her hand over her mouth.
That’s when I knew whatever shit had held her back was done, gone, over. She’d started to use the words that nearly cost us our chance together without even thinking about it.
“I do,” I said, and kissed her again.
When we got back to dinner, it was stone cold. It was the best Chinese delivery I’d ever had.
Happy Fourth of July! Welcome to Milltown, Co, population 15,000, where the only things hotter than the annual fireworks show are the men in uniform looking for love. Join the authors of Flirt Club in The Fireworks Series of stories that celebrate summertime, BBQs, and all things that end with a bang!
Where will you be when the fireworks go off?
Her Captain’s Deck by Dee Ellis
Her Declaration of Independence by Poppy Parkes
Her Firecracker by Laney Powell
Her Hot Shot by Alexx Andria
Her Massive Missile by Amelia Wilde
Her Private Party by Alexis Adaire
Her Roman Candle by Fiona Starr
Her Smokin’ Firefighter by Tracy Lorraine
Her True Blue by Sierra Hill
Her Yankee Doodle Daddy by Rebecca Gallo
Flirt Club is your home for flirty, dirty, romance collaborations from all of your favorite best-selling romance authors.
We’re excited to give our readers exactly what they want on a monthly (or more!) basis.
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The Spar Island Girls
This story, along with the others that I’ve done with this amazing group of authors, is part of a series of my own called the Spar Island Girls. This is a group of girls that grew up in Bristol, Rhode Island. Off of the city, there’s a little set of islands that are always shifting—there’s more of them exposed at low tide. They’re more land spits in Mt. Bay than islands. But people like to go out there and hang out for the day, and that’s what my Spar Island girls do.
Their parents were all friends growing up, and they would take their boats out and go hang out for the day. Even though most of the girls have moved away, they have never forgotten those friendships.
And there you have it—the Spar Island Girls. Look for them as me and my author besties keep bringing you our delicious collaborations!
Meet Casey in His Naughty Nurse. Part of The Halloween Honeys stories. (Spar Island #1)
Head to a holiday dinner with Nadia in Hot Apple Pie. Part of the Second Helpings Short Stories. (Spar Island #2)
Follow Cate in Naughty or Nice. Part of the Santa’s Coming Short Stories. (Spar Island #3)
Find the start of something new with Annalise in Snow Job. Part of the Resolution Pact Short Stories. (Spar Island #4)
Look for Nat’s grand scheme in Dear Shy Guy. Part of the Matchmaker Series (Spar Island #5)
Follow Jyn as she finds what she never knew she wanted in Forever Mine. Part of the Ireland Forever Short Stories. (Spar Island #6)
Meet Harper, who is going to find all that she dreams of in Mr. Black. Part of the Mr. Billionaire Short Stories. (Spar Island #7)
Go on a wild adventure with Lyssa in Spring Break Delish. Part of the Spring Breakers Short Stories (Spar Island #8)
Meet Elspeth as she takes charge of her destiny in His Buttercup. Part of the May Flowers Series. (Spar Island #9)
Follow Mallory as she learns all is not what she thinks in Three Weddings and Forever. Part of the Wedding Season Series. (Spar Island #10)
See how Serena mends a broken heart and life in Her Firecracker. (Spar Island #11)
Follow Pris as she risks it all for love in Spar Island #12…
There are more coming!
Xoxo
Laney
I'm a Midwestern lady, living life in the Rocky Mountains. I adore strong men with hearts of gold (even if that gold may be a bit imperfect) and that's what drives me to write the stories about them. The longer I do the romance gig, the more firefighter calendar pics I seems to collect. That's normal, right?
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The Spar Island Girls
His Naughty Nurse (The Halloween Honeys)
Hot Apple Pie (Second Helpings Short Story)
Naughty or Nice (Santa’s Coming Short Story)
Snow Job (Resolution Pact Short Story)
Dear Shy Guy (The Matchmaker Series)
Forever Mine (Ireland Forever Short Story)
Mr. Black (A Mr. Billionaire Short Story)
Spring Break Delight (A Spring Break Short Story)
His Buttercup (The May Flower Series)
Three Weddings and Forever (The Wedding Season Series)
Her Firecracker (The Fireworks Series)
Affair With The Billionaire
Episode One
Episode Two
Episode Three
Episode Four
Episode Five