by J. S. Cooper
“Well…” A banging on the door interrupted Blake, and I groaned.
“Oh no, you don’t suppose Nosey Parker is back?”
“Oh, Maggie, only you could make friends with a crotchety old lady.”
“She’s no friend of mine.” The banging continued, and Blake jumped up to open the door.
“Blake?” Gayle’s voice poured into the room, and I pulled the sheets up quickly. “Maggie?” Gayle stood in the entryway to my door blinked rapidly. “You guys made up, huh?”
“Yes,” Blake chuckled. “Let me guess: Maggie sent you a melodramatic email, and you rushed here to save her.”
I felt myself going red at his words. It did seem like I always needed to be rescued.
“Something like that.” Gayle frowned at me.
“Gayle, I am sooo sorry.” I offered her a hopeful smile, and she rolled her eyes.
“Uh huh.” And then she grinned. “It’s okay. Ben came as well, so we’re going to have a romantic week together.”
“Oh, Gayle.” I wriggled my eyebrows at her and she laughed.
“You shush, Maggie.” She laughed. “I’m going to go and tell Ben I didn’t find you in here sobbing your eyes out.”
“Thanks for coming, Gayle.” My eyes welled up with tears. “It means a lot to me.”
“Of course, Mags. Breakfast tomorrow?”
“Yes. On me.” I groaned inwardly at my words and bit my lip in worry as Gayle left and Blake closed the door.
“What’s wrong, my dear?”
“I can’t afford to buy anyone breakfast tomorrow,” I mumbled under my breath.
“What, Maggie?” He frowned as he walked up to me. “I’m not sure what you just said.”
“I can’t afford to buy breakfast tomorrow.” I looked down, embarrassed.
“Oh no.” Blake sat next to me and grabbed my hands. “Are you having money problems, Maggie?”
I nodded, embarrassed. “Kinda.”
“Can I help?”
“No.” My words came out louder than I wanted to. “No, but thanks,” I said softly. I could not take money from him, not after everything that had gone on already.
“Maggie.” He looked pained as he paused. “We do really need to have a serious conversation. What’s going on with the book?”
“I started a new one.” I paused. “One I think is pretty good.”
“Really?” He looked at me in doubt. “I feel like you’ve started so many books and nothing has ever really come of it.”
“I don’t blame you for not believing me,” I sighed.
“Will you read some of it to me?”
“Really?” I looked at him in surprise.
“Yes. Really.” He smiled. “I told you I have some contacts in the industry. I want to help you get a publishing deal, Maggie. I want you to be making money.”
“Hold on.” I grabbed my iPad off of the nightstand. “Let me read it to you. Promise to be honest.”
“I promise.” He leaned back in the bed, and I opened the app and started reading. “Soul Mates, by Maggie Lane.” I cleared my throat, and Blake nodded his head encouragingly. “Chapter One.” I smiled self-consciously and began.
I’ve always believed in soul mates. I just haven’t met mine yet. I’ve never even been in love. People tell me that at 18, I have the rest of my life to wait. But I don’t want to wait the rest of my life. I don’t even want to wait five more years. I’m ready now. Ready for the moment when my eyes meet his and I feel as if he has seen my soul and me his. I already know his voice and his name. Well, to be honest I know his voice, not his name. I made up the name to match the voice. But as the years have passed, I have a hard time remembering exactly what he sounds like.
People used to think I was crazy. I suppose you’re just asking for that label when you tell someone you are hearing voices in your head. Only it’s just one person I ever hear, and that’s him. We used to talk every day when I was 15, but when I got sent away, he stopped. I thought what they were saying was true, that the meds had taken away my craziness. And they released me. They said I started hearing the voice because my father had died. That it was my subconscious finding a way for me to survive. They told me that I imagined my father talking to me so I would think he was still alive. I knew better than to correct them. I never heard my father’s voice. It was his. It was Jacob’s.
I paused and cleared my throat, scared to look up at him. I didn’t want to see a negative reaction on his face. But I couldn’t continue reading the book if he hated it. I didn’t want to deal with how I would feel if he hated the book.
“Aren’t you going to continue?” I looked up as Blake spoke, and I saw a huge grin on his face. “I want to hear more.”
“Are you sure?” I blushed, unsure if he was being honest.
“I love it, Maggie.” His eyes sparkled. “I really really love it.”
“You do?” I grinned back at him, my heart beating fast. “It’s not too sappy for you?”
“I’ll be honest; it’s not something I would normally read, but I think it’s brilliant.”
“You helped to inspire me.” I paused. “It’s a book about soul mates, but one of them is dead.”
“Don’t ruin it.” He laughed.
“Sorry.” I couldn’t get rid of the smile on my face.
“You’re really talented, Maggie. Really talented.”
“Thanks, Blake.” I put my iPad down and kissed him. “If you keep saying nice words like that, I think I’ll have to show you some gratitude.”
“I never say no to gratitude.” He kissed me back, and we lay there laughing. “So I inspired the book?”
“Yes.”
“Because I’m your soul mate?” He lifted my face up so that he could stare into my eyes, and I blushed, nervous and embarrassed. “I think you’re my soul mate too, Maggie.”
“You do?” I couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. I felt like I was in one of my perfectly delicious daydreams.
“Yes.” He grinned. “Heaven knows that I certainly didn’t expect to fall in love with someone like you, but I can’t help myself.”
“Fall in love?” My eyes were as big as saucers. This had to be a dream. He had said the words the night before but I’d been worried he had only said them because we had had sex.
“Yes, my dearest Maggie. How could I not love you?” He traced his fingers down my neck. “You’re incorrigible, goofy, beautiful, funny, and the list goes on.”
“You can keep going on.” I smiled shyly. “And I’ll be beautiful after I lose about 20 pounds.”
“You’re beautiful now, Maggie.” He put his finger to my lips. “Repeat after me.”
“Okay.”
“I am beautiful.”
“I am beautiful.”
“I have a gorgeous body.”
“No, I…”
“Shh, I have a gorgeous body that my boyfriend loves.”
“I have a gorgeous body that my boyfriend loves.”
“I am loved by many.”
“I am loved by many.”
“I am a talented writer.”
“I am an okay writer.”
“I am a brilliant and talented writer. Say it.” He fake-glared at me.
“I’m a pretty talented writer.”
“I guess that will do.” He kissed me again, and I melted against him, feeling the most content I had ever felt in my life. “Promise me you’ll remember that, Maggie.”
“I will.”
“And promise me that you will be disciplined and work on your book until it’s done.”
“I will.”
“No changing it to a YA book, or self-help, or romance, or mystery or whatever. Just write this book and finish it.”
“It kinda is YA romance.” I grinned.
“Just write it, Maggie.”
“Yes, Pops.”
“Shh.” He laughed.
“If you say so, Blakey-Wakey.”
“Shh.” He sat
up and stared at me. “I want to sing a song to you.”
“Oh?”
“It’s one I wrote.” He seemed anxious. “It’s kinda goofy, and I just thought of it in my mind, but I want to sing it to you.”
“Okay.”
He grabbed my hands and held them, and I could feel my heart beating quickly. He cleared his throat a couple of times and started singing:
“There was a girl,
Her name was Maggie
And she filled up my heart to stop it sagging.
I loved her since,
She was a girl
And now she’s a woman,
I love her still.
One thing I’m sure of,
One thing I’ve always known,
Is that I want you in my life for now and evermore.
Say you love me,
Say you want me,
Say you know that we’re meant to be.
There was a girl,
Her name was Maggie,
And she drove me crazier than a drunk a begging.
She lights up my life,
Like a million bulbs
And no blackout
Can stop her glow.
One thing I’m sure of,
One thing I’ve always known,
Is that I want you in my life for now and ever more.
Say you love me,
Say you want me,
Say you know that we’re meant to be.
There was a boy,
His name was Blake,
And he loved that girl, whose name was Maggie.
He loved her pretty much all his life.
And he never stopped, even through all the strife.
What he really wants is for her to be his wife.
Oh say you’ll be his wife.
One thing I’m sure of,
One thing I’ve always known,
Is that I want you in my life for now and ever more.
Say you love me,
Say you want me,
Say you know that we’re meant to be.”
I stared at him with tears in my eyes. “That was beautiful, Blake.”
“Do you love me, Maggie?”
I nodded my head, suddenly shy.
“Can you say the words?”
“I love you, Blake. I’ve always loved you. You’re my everything, and I don’t know what I would do if I lost you. Probably I’d be a huge mess. I want to be more mature. Smarter. Quicker. Nicer. Funnier. I just want to be the best person I can be because of you.”
“Maggie. I just want you to be yourself. Well maybe not completely yourself.” He paused. “I wouldn’t mind if you stopped getting yourself into silly, awkward situations. No dating other goofy men, or pretending to date. And no Bradley Cooper!”
“Okay, no Bradley Cooper.” I laughed. Of course, if Bradley Cooper really came knocking at my door we would have to reexamine that caveat.
“Marry me, Maggie.”
He laughed at my shocked expression. “Be mine. Let me love you and take care of you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
“Oh, Blake, I love you, too. Of course I’ll marry you,” I grinned at him. “On one condition.”
“What’s that?” He looked at me suspiciously, mostly probably wondering what hair-brained scheme I had concocted.
“Let’s get married in Paris, with Gayle and Ben there as witnesses.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, yes.” I kissed him. “I would love that.”
He leaned over and whispered in my ear. “And then we can have our first French kiss.”
I laughed, and he winked at me, and we fell back on the bed and did a lot more than just French kissing!
17
Dear Diary,
I want to apologize that I haven’t written in you in such a long time. So much has happened in the last few months, I still feel like I am living in a real-life Utopia. Blake and I went to Paris and got married in the gardens at Versailles. Gayle and Ben were our witnesses, and we all stuffed our faces with bread, cheese, and wine afterwards. Blake surprised me with a Tiramisu cake as the wedding cake. It was as unconventional as our relationship, which is why I loved it so much.
The biggest news is that Blake quit his job. He’s a writer now too! It turns out that he always wanted to write and that was why he always used to push me to do it. He wished he was doing it himself. We are finishing up my book on soul mates. Yes, we are writing it together, and it’s nearly done. Can you believe it? He’s a good motivator, and I love writing the book with him. You might even see it on the NY Times Bestsellers list in a few months, if it sells well. How great would that be?
When we got back to Los Angeles, Blake and I got a place in Santa Monica, and we go running on the beach every morning. Okay, maybe not every morning but at least twice a week, and guess who we met a few weeks ago on the pier? Bradley Cooper! I thought my heart was going to stop beating, and I was going to faint. I couldn’t believe it was him. But he didn’t even glance at me. I didn’t even have a chance to wink or give him a seductive smile, which I think is just as well. I wouldn’t want to hurt Blake’s feelings by divorcing him if Bradley had asked me to be his.
In other news, Blake and I are expecting. He doesn’t know it as yet, but I figure he’ll be excited. I couldn’t imagine a better dad for my kids than Blake. If they are ever in trouble, Blake will be able to get them out of it. So now I’m thinking of names for the baby. Something cool but not out there. So I might start writing in you again. To keep up with everything going on in this new exciting time. And maybe to jot down plans for the baby, like maybe having her star in a movie or commercial or even having her join the Guinness Book of World Records for being the first talking baby or something.
We’ll see!
FREE BOOK
Thank you for reading The Boyfriend Plan. If you enjoyed it, please leave a review. To receive a FREE Book, please join my mailing list here.
Exclusive Excerpt from Dante
My next book is Dante.
Prologue
“Tonight is the night.” Dante’s voice was husky as he unbuttoned his crisp white shirt, slowly. Holy damn, he was hot! “I’m going to do things to you that you’ve only dreamed of.”
“How do you know I’ve dreamed of them?” I said as I stared at his long lithe fingers. “And how do you know I haven’t done them all already?” I winked at him and smiled to myself as he paused with his buttons and gave me a sultry look. I couldn’t help but stare at his tongue as he licked his lips like some hungry wolf that wanted to devour me. I swallowed hard and blushed as I thought about the things his tongue had done to me just a couple of nights before. It was if he knew just where every sensitive spot in my body was. It had been torture stopping him from actual intercourse, but I’d still orgasmed. I couldn’t imagine what he could do with other parts of his body if he could take me on the rollercoaster ride of all roller coaster rides with just his tongue.
“Well, I’ll just have to make sure I find something that is new to you.” He growled and I watched as he threw his shirt on the ground, like some sort of expensive hot male stripper in Vegas. Not some Channing Tatum look alike either (though I wasn’t sure if he had been an expensive stripper or not in the movie; I could just remember him swinging his hips). Dante was way hotter than Channing Tatum; though I would never tell him that. He was perfection in every way. Tall, handsome, sexy, eyes that seemed to pierce into my soul when he gazed at me, a smile that said I want to eat you up, a touch that made promises to my body that I didn’t know if he could deliver. To sum it up, when you looked at him, Dante Vanderbilt was like some sort of Sex God. It almost wasn’t fair. When I looked at him, I thought of rolling around in bed, sheets and legs entwined together. I imagined him gazing at me, like he was now, like I was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen in his life. But I knew for Dante, this was all a game and I knew that I had to take him down a couple of notches.
“No strings attached, right?” His voice was smooth as he stood there and I watched as he took his jeans off. I couldn’t stop myself from gawking at his body. He was now naked from the waist up. He had a smattering of dark chest hair that covered his muscular pecs and ran down to his perfect abs. His skin was a golden olive tan and his hazel eyes shone like devious emeralds in the candle-light. I still couldn’t get over how sometimes his eyes looked so green and at other times looked so brown. He was wearing a pair of white boxer briefs that left nothing to the imagination. He had a huge grin on his face and his teeth looked unnaturally white in the darkness of his room.
I stared at him wondering if I had the guts to go ahead with my plan. It was tricky because while I wanted to bring him down, I was also attracted to him. Very very attracted to him. And I was worried that I would be the one that would pay if everything went wrong. They always say that the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. And I had a feeling that I could definitely be the one that would get burned in this situation. Even though I had planned everything out to go as smoothly as possible. Only I wasn’t quite sure I really had the perfect plan. But right now it didn’t matter. This was a risk I was willing to take.
“Right.” I nodded as I licked my lips slowly, hoping desperately that I looked sexy as I did so. I walked towards him slowly, enjoying the feel of my flowy red dress brushing against my legs as I moved towards him seductively. “No strings attached.” My voice sounded strange to my own ears. I’d never said anything like that before in my life. Had never even thought that I would ever be okay with it. However somehow I had convinced myself that this was the way to go.
“Take your dress off.” He said, his eyes looking darker now as he took a step towards me. His gaze was intense and he suddenly seemed taller, more muscular, more dangerous than he had before. A thrilling exhilarating feeling washed over me. This was the hottest situation that I’d ever been in. “I said now, Sadie.” His voice got deeper and he moved even closer. I stood there feeling like a statue as he leaned in close to me and whispered in my ear, “Take off your dress sexy or I’ll do it for you.” And then I felt his teeth on my earlobe nibbling and pulling it gently, before his lips fell to my neck and he kissed down my neck to my collarbone. My body was on fire and every limb was trembling in sweet anticipation. I could think of nothing, but having him then. Absolutely nothing.