Happily Ever After: A Contemporary Romance Boxed Set

by Piper Rayne

  By the time she comes down the stairs I’m already whipping a batter together. The pantry door opens behind me, and I hear her whispering to Jack while she feeds him breakfast. And when I look back at her my mouth goes dry. She’s not dressed, only wearing a short robe that’s barely shut and nearly spilling off her shoulders.

  She’s looking at me the way I’m looking at her. “I could get used to watching you cook like that,” she says.

  “And what way is that?”

  “Shirtless. Sexy. And I get a nice view of your ass.”

  I turn on the stove and place the skillet on it to heat up before reaching out and catching her by the wrist. “I like this view too.”

  My lips find the space where her shoulder meets her neck, and I savor the little gasp that escapes her. And the way her fingers cling to the belt loops of my jeans. Gathering her hair in one hand, I pull her head to the side so I have better access to her neck and collarbone. Something this simple shouldn’t be this sexy. But it is.

  Ellie’s hands creep up to my ribs, nails gently scraping across my skin. “Mmm, you’re going to have to stop doing that if you don’t want me to drag you back upstairs.”

  “Same with you,” she says, voice breathy and just on the verge of a moan. “I didn’t know someone kissing my neck could make me feel like this.”

  God, she’s so sexy. I have to keep myself still. “Like what?”

  She looks up at me, and I recognize the look from last night. On the edge of pleasure. Her eyes look larger. Dazed and hungry all at once. I could spend hours with her looking at me exactly like that. “Wet,” she says softly. “And like I want you to spread me out on the table and have your way with me.”

  “I can’t say that’s not tempting.”

  Ellie bites her lip and takes a couple steps back so there’s distance between us. “You should make the pancakes.”

  “I should.”

  And so I do.

  Nothing quite like the smell of fresh pancakes to work up an appetite, though I’d still prefer to work up an appetite the more carnal way. But still, this is good, and I have a couple of questions for her. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “What made you change your mind? Up until I kissed you after dinner, I was pretty sure that your mind was made up never to give me the time of day again.”

  She’s quiet for a moment, looking down at the floor. “I told you I used to bar tend in New York. But that’s not what I did for most of the time I was there. I had a…different career.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Marketing and public relations. I was good at it too.”

  I frown, pulling a pancake off the pan and stacking it on the plate I’ve set out to hold them all. “But now you’re here.”

  Slowly, she sighs. “Now I’m here.”

  “Dare I ask what happened?”

  Her smile is sad. “You can ask, but I’m not allowed to tell you. I’ve signed about a dozen non-disclosure agreements that make sure that I can never talk about it ever again. But…it was bad. What I can tell you, is that I lost everything. In a way that makes me not want to trust people anymore.”

  My gut turns cold, and I finish another pancake. “I’m sorry.”

  “It is what it is,” she says.

  I look at her, and she’s not looking at me. “I don’t think that’s true.”

  She tries to smile and fails, her eyes watery. “What do you want me to say? Everything I had in my life is gone. Everyone I knew abandoned me, and I haven’t heard from them in months. And I’m back here now. The town I specifically ran away from because I didn’t want to stay here when I was younger.

  “I love Granny’s,” she says. “I really do. But the bar…and Dorothy. And now Jack, I suppose. They’re literally all I have left.”

  I pull one more pancake off the skillet. “I understand.”

  “So can you also understand why I don’t want that to change? Why I felt like you coming here and offering to make over Granny’s was a threat?”

  Turning off the stove, I lean back against the counter. “Yeah, I can see that. I’m glad you told me. But I swear to you, that’s not what I want to do. I don’t want Granny’s to change. Changing it would take away the magic that made a name for it in the first place. All I want to do is give it the power and polish so that it never goes away.”

  Ellie stares at me, and for the first time when we’ve talked about the deal that’s on the table, she’s not looking at me with disdain or anger. Just…looking at me. “I know.”

  I pull her to her feet from where she’s sitting and kiss her. She tastes sweet like toothpaste from when she snuck to the bathroom before coming down here, and the way she melts against my body is everything that I’ve wanted. And it’s not enough. I back her against the wall, peeling her robe further off her shoulders.

  That same feeling that I had in my chest this morning rises again. This thing between us is more than either of us anticipated. It’s real and deep, and I want to know just how far down it goes. I hope she feels the same.

  Her robe falls apart, and there’s nothing underneath it. I groan against her lips, reaching out to touch her, explore her while my body keeps her against the wall. “You can wear this robe anytime.”

  Ellie smiles. “Even while at the bar?”

  “You wouldn’t believe the number of tips that you’d get, but I think I’d rather you didn’t do that.”

  “So I can’t wear it anytime then.”

  “Anytime with me,” I clarify.

  A smirk tugs at her lips. “I didn’t take you for the jealous type.”

  I slip a hand behind her neck and tilt her head back so she has to look at me. “Depends,” I say. “Do you want me to be jealous?”

  Her chest rises against mine a little faster. “I don’t know if that’s the right word. I just miss—”

  She cuts herself off, but she’s still looking at me, desperately.

  “You can’t tell me.”

  Ellie shakes her head no.

  “Okay, then let me ask you. What happened to you…it had something to do with someone you were with?”

  Her eyes slide away from me, and she nods once.

  “And he abandoned you too. Or worse, was the cause of it. You don’t have to tell me which.”

  She nods again.

  Anger flares in my chest, a deep protective instinct rising to protect this woman even though we haven’t known each other long. No wonder she looked so nervous last night. The last person she was with shattered her. I can see it in her eyes.

  Slowly, I tighten my fingers on the back of her neck, pulling her gaze back to mine. She doesn’t want to look at me. “I see you, Ellie.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “Yes,” I say. “You do.”

  She swallows and blinks away tears that she doesn’t want me to see. But she doesn’t need to hide from me. Because Ellie Thompson has done more than get under my skin. She’s drawn me in, and as far as I’m concerned, there’s no going back. I will follow this as far as it goes. And I’m not sure I’m ready to admit how far I actually want it to go.

  “I see you. And I want you to be mine. Just mine. I’m not going to walk away unless you tell me to.” I take a breath and close my eyes for a moment. “If you want me to walk away from Granny’s, I’ll do it. I’ll still help you however I can. But we don’t have to do this. I don’t care about it. As long as I don’t have to walk away from you.”

  I kiss her again, hard, showing her exactly how much I mean what I’m saying. This wasn’t what I expected when I drove into Devil’s Hood, Arizona, but I’m so fucking glad that I did because I can’t imagine not knowing her now. Even the way she’s fought me. I admire it, because she’s fighting for what she loves.

  Reaching down, I lift her off the ground and wrap her lips around my waist so we’re at a more even height, still pressing her against the wall. Fuck, I wish I hadn’t put pants on so I could be insi
de her.

  Ellie wraps her arms around my neck and throws herself into the kiss. Our tongues tangle together and all I want to do is stay like this. Dive deeper into this feeling. “Has anyone told you that you’re a good kisser, Cinnamon?”

  “That’s not my new nickname.”

  “I don’t know, I kind of like it.”

  She laughs. “You want to be constantly reminded of the time you almost killed me?”

  “More like I want to be constantly reminded of the first time we had sex.”

  A breathy moan escapes her as I rock my hips into her. “Before we go there—and we’re one-hundred percent going there, I want to eat some of those pancakes, because they smell amazing.”

  “We can do that. And maybe I can lick some syrup in off you in the process.”

  Ellie laughs, and it’s a gorgeous, open sound. I love how at ease it is. “And one other thing. Thank you for telling me that you’d walk away. That’s what I needed to hear. If you’re willing to walk away, then all of this means more to you than money.”

  “It was never about money.”

  “In my experience, it’s always about that.”

  I shake my head. “Not for me. I have enough money. I will never let that get in the way of something good. Something like this.”

  She smiles. “And that’s what convinced me. I’ll do it. I’ll let Dorothy sign the deal.”

  Shock rolls through me. “Really?”

  “Really. But first. Pancakes.”

  I set her down and grab her a plate with pancakes along with the syrup and hand them over, my cock growing hard with the sound she makes tasting them. “They’re so good,” she says. “Aren’t you going to eat some?”

  I shake my head. “Nope.”

  “Why not? Allergic to something you put in them?”

  A laugh bursts out of me. “No, I’m just not hungry for pancakes.” I look at her, drawing my wow up and down her half-naked form. “I have something much sweeter than syrup I want to have for breakfast.”

  Ellie blushes, but she doesn’t tell me no. And I could be imagining it, but I think she starts to eat a little bit faster.

  13

  Ellie

  The next month is an absolute whirlwind. Brandon and I hash out the details of the contract, and once I see the details, I acknowledge that it’s really not that bad, and now that Brandon and I are…doing whatever it is we’re doing, negotiations are a lot more fun.

  But contracts are contracts, and it takes forever to get everything finalized. That’s not to say that we don’t have a good time. We work on the formula that we’re going to bottle. The sauce at Granny’s isn’t something that’s ever been written down. So there’s a fair amount of testing and tasting in my kitchen.

  Which of course leads to other kinds of tasting—Brandon’s favorite kind of tasting, or so he tells me.

  We work on the ideas for renovating Granny’s, though it’s less of a renovation and more of a polish. Fixing things that have long needed like creaky floors and cracks in the booths. There’s a spot on the roof that needs fixing and we can get all new equipment and expand our bar. But on the whole it’s staying the same. Same feel, same place. Just a better version of itself.

  On the whole the biggest change is an updated logo which will be reflected with a large neon sign announcing our presence—part of the appeal, Brandon tells me, and it will help the out-of-towners find the place rather than wandering around Devil’s Hood, bothering the townsfolk, and constantly asking the way to Granny’s.

  There are lunches with Jenna—who completely approves of me and Brandon—rebuilding our friendship. I meet her daughter Hope, and I think I’m a little bit in love with her already. I never really thought about kids when I was in New York. My life didn’t fit with them, and I didn’t allow them to. But now it’s different. Now I could see myself starting a family.

  And me…I find myself healing little by little.

  Even though things with Chris fell apart not that long ago, looking back, it seems like our relationship had been over for far longer than I wanted to admit. Especially given everything that happened.

  And being with Brandon is like a breath of fresh air. It’s easy, spending time with him. He likes the things that I like, and there never seems to be a shortage of things for us to talk about. And no shortage of the time we spend in bed.

  He spends more nights at my house than he doesn’t now, and I keep telling him that he doesn’t need to pay for one anymore. Which leads to him silencing me with a kiss, or with something else, and distracting me until I forget. He doesn’t want to move too fast with me and wants a place to retreat in case I need time. Which is sweet, but all I do is crave him right now.

  His scent, his taste, the pleasure that he selflessly offers. And just the way he holds me. I hadn’t realized how much I missed simple things like that. Things that Chris dismissed entirely as beneath him or unnecessary to our relationship.

  Brandon and Jack have bonded too, with my little kitten almost preferring that Brandon feed him, since he sneaks him treats. I swear that he’s going to make Jack a fat cat by the time he’s a year old.

  But a month later, it’s time. The contract is in my hands and all it needs is my grandmother’s signature. I’ve been so busy getting everything ready that it’s been a while since I’ve actually seen her. I need to make sure that I’m better about that. She’s the most independent woman I know, and she would deny the fact that I need to dote on her, but I still want to.

  Unlike normal, she doesn’t peek out the window when I drive up. That’s weird. She knows that I’m coming.

  I grab the contract and head inside. Devil’s Hood, despite its name, is a really safe town, and even though my New York instincts beg her to, she rarely has her door locked. Today is no exception.

  “Grandma?”

  I hear running water. “I’ll be out in a second. Shit.”

  “You okay?”

  “I’m fine.” She curses again.

  Tossing the contract on the table, I head to the back of the house. The bathroom door is open, and my grandmother is picking pills up off the floor. She stands and starts to take them. One after another. More pills than I knew a person could actually be on.

  She looks at me as she knocks back the last one. “What?”

  “Are you okay? Do you need help?”

  “Do I look like I need help?” She asks, raising one eyebrow.

  “No. I mean, maybe. Are you okay though? Are you sick? That’s…a lot of pills.”

  Her face cracks into a smile. “No, I’m not sick. Not like that anyway. I’m just old. This is what you have to look forward to. Take a good look, sweetie, and take advantage of youth while you’re young.”

  “I—” I hesitate. “All right.”

  She puts all the pills out of the way and comes out of the bathroom, and even though she’s shorter than I am, I feel small when she puts her hands on my shoulders. “Ellie, I promise that I am fine. Mostly. But this is life. It’s one of the reasons I called you home. I’m old. I don’t get around like I used to, and all the pills help hold me together.”

  Suddenly I’m emotional. I meant what I said to Brandon in the kitchen that morning. She’s one of the only things that I have left now. And even though I have more now with Brandon, I can’t imagine my life without her. Even imagining it—

  “Hey,” she says. “There’s no need for that. I’m not dying for god’s sake.”

  “I know. I just…I can’t do this without you.”

  She laughs. “You’re not going to. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me.”

  We walk back into the kitchen where she puts the kettle on for tea. “But now do you see why I wanted you to be taken care of?”

  “That’s why you wanted to take Brandon’s deal? In case you die?”

  “Not the only reason, but that’s part of it. You were so…” She comes over and sits at the table with me. “You were so lost whenever we
talked. And even through texts. And I wanted something more for you. Something better. You’re a completely different person since you came home and started working here. It’s like you’ve come back to life.

  “And I saw how lonely you were, and I don’t think you’re very lonely anymore. Are you?”

  I blush, looking out the window. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I hadn’t told her yet about Brandon and I. Part of it is not fully knowing how to tell her that I’m screwing the man that we’re going into business with, and the other part is not wanting to let her know that she was right about him.

  She smirks at me. “Sure you don’t,” she says. “You’re not the only person who talks to me in this town, you know.”

  I open my mouth and close it again. She’s got me there. Brandon and I have been seen together plenty in public since we’re working on the deal. But I hadn’t exactly been careful either about keeping the fact that we’re together on the down low. He likes to surprise me with kisses, and I like being surprised with them. That’s been the cause of a couple of outdoor makeup sessions that weren’t necessarily appropriate. Or private.

  “I should have told you.”

  Grandma rolls her eyes. “Why?”

  “I don’t know, you’re signing a contract with him?”

  She snorts and gets up to pour the water for the tea. “And I practically shoved you at him. It’s not like it was entirely unexpected. I’m glad that he’s making you happy.”

  “He is.”

  “What happened to the guy you were living with?”

  I feel all the blood drain from my face. Someday I hope that I won’t have that reaction whenever Chris is mentioned. Clearly, I’m not there yet. But I clear my throat. “Turns out he wasn’t a good guy.”

  My grandmother isn’t stupid. She takes the hint and moves on. “Let me look through this, shall we? One last pass.”

  “Sure.”

  It’s a relief to focus on something else.

  She reads through the contract slowly, making sure that everything we’ve negotiated is included. Dorothy Thompson took no prisoners when it came to business, and I know that Brandon was impressed with her skills and forcefulness. He’d been incredibly lenient with the contract, but she’d still gotten him and the Wolfe Foods lawyers to cave on some things that I didn’t think would be accepted.