Now, she needed to make enough money to fund the books for the library and hopefully get several tablets. She walked toward the entrance and stepped out in front of the volunteers that had gathered.
She clapped her hands together. “I want to thank each and every one of you for all the help in bringing this carnival from a simple idea to a masterful event. I couldn’t have done it without every single one of you. So thank you.” She turned to the ticket booth, then gave Bev the nod.
Bev in a red blazer with gold buttons over a pair of black pants stepped forward. She took her black top hat off and motioned toward the entrance. “The carnival is officially open! Man your stations!”
Bev and Joan’s husbands, decked out in full clown makeup and costume honked horns and like kids being set free, bounced into the gym.
Shay, wearing a red and white polka dot apron, squeezed Sophie’s hand as she passed. “You did awesome.”
Sophie smiled her appreciation at the kind words.
A strong arm wrapped around her stomach. “You did it.” Drake’s breath brushed across her ear, sending a jolt through her system. It would be wrong to run off for a quickie right now, but when she turned in his arms, his blue eyes looking at her as if she was the only person around, it was hard not to grab his hand and drag him off to the janitor’s closet.
Over the last two months, after Drake had finally forgiven himself for Walt, they’d gotten really good at getting creative. Each time was a new adventure and even more passion, two things Sophie loved.
“We did it,” she said. Drake had been instrumental in setting the carnival up. With Grayson now taking on some of his patients, Drake had extra time and had become a proud PTA dad. He was in talks to host another event for the spring to help raise money to fund a new art program. Sophie already happily volunteered. “Where’s Charlotte?”
“She ditched me again for Travis.”
Sophie laughed at the jealousy that flashed in his eyes. “I’m sure she’ll come find you when she runs out of money.”
He tickled her sides, and she let out a squeal. “Very funny.”
“Look how happy you two are,” Terry said. Sophie almost didn’t recognize her at first without her signature heels. Though her leopard print sneakers had a bit of a platform. She wore a black jogging suit with leopard print accents. Walt came up behind her, a scowl on his face and running sneakers on his feet.
Drake stepped around Sophie and shook Walt’s hand, patting him on the back. “How you doing, Walt?”
“I’d be better if this one would get off my damn case. If she makes me eat one more salad, I swear to all that is holy I’m going to run away.”
“I’d like to see you try,” Terry said. “You can barely even make a few laps around the track.”
Sophie stifled a laugh as warmth spread through her heart. It was great to see those two back to their usual antics, and even more great to see Walt out and about. He’d been taking it slow, which was understandable, but Terry was ready to whip him into shape.
“She does it because she cares,” Sophie said.
Walt grumbled something and shuffled away. Terry rolled her eyes and patted Drake’s hand. She didn’t say anything, but Sophie caught a glance between the two that seemed to have said a lot without words.
Drake wrapped his arm around Sophie and pulled her toward the ticket booth. “Let’s go to the carnival. I’ll even pay for you to get your face painted.”
She stopped and glared at him. “Absolutely not. I’m still missing skin from the last time.”
With a laugh, he kissed her head. “Then at least let me win you a stuffed animal.”
“Tell you what. You can win me a stuffed animal, only if I can give it to Charlotte.”
His lips captured hers. “Deal, or I can win two.”
“Confident, are we?”
“With you at my side, I can’t lose.”
“Confident and a sweet talker. I like it.”
“How much?” he asked, his breath tickling her ear.
She looked up at him, a wicked glint in his eyes. “I’ll show you later.” She patted his chest. “First you need to win two stuffed animals.” He smacked his hands together and headed right to the ring toss.
A few hours later, Sophie took her notebook and went around getting a tally of sales to see if they met their goal. Drake was outside with Charlotte and Travis, who wanted to go see the firetruck that the department had set up at the school entrance for the kids to checkout and teach a bit of fire safety in the process.
“Sophie?” Sophie’s head shot up from her notebook and she smiled at Bex.
“Hey Bex, enjoying the carnival?”
“I really am. I’ve been in LA for the last couple of weeks finishing up my next movie, so it’s nice to be back here.”
“Let’s see if you say that once the snow moves in.”
“Locked up in the house with Chase.” Her lip quirked at the corner. “Sounds like a good time.”
Sophie laughed.
Bex leaned toward her, lowering her voice. “I was hoping I could talk to you about something.”
“Sure what is it?”
***
Sophie handed Joan the envelope with the tally and stepped back. Everyone stood around the stage, waiting to find out if they met their goal.
“The official total for this event is. Drum roll, please!” The crowd patted out a drum roll on their thighs as Joan opened the envelope. She glanced at the number and her eyes bulged out of her head. “This can’t be right,” she said, showing the paper to Bev.
Bev grabbed her chest and waved Sophie over.
“What’s the problem, ladies?” Sophie asked.
“Is this…” Joan stuttered on her words. “Is this right, or did you accidentally add another zero in there?”
“Nope, it’s right.”
Joan let out a squeal, and Bev gasped. Joan held the paper up. “It appears that not only did we meet our goal, but we went way beyond our expectations. Not only do we have enough money to restock the library with all new books, but we have enough to supply tablets to every child.”
Murmurs rushed through the crowd before a thunder of applause, and cheers echoed through the gym. Sophie glanced at Bex and smiled. Bex gave her a wink, then slipped her hand into Chase’s and walked away as if she didn’t just make one of the biggest contributions the school had ever seen.
Even without Bex’s anonymous donation they met their goal, but now they were able to do so much more. More than Sophie ever could have imagined that day Bev and Joan had walked into her classroom.
Drake grabbed Sophie as she came off the stage and spun her around. The two stuffed animals he won pressing into her back. “We did it!” he said. “Tablets for every student that’s unbelievable.”
Bex had asked Sophie to keep her donation a secret, and she would, but she didn’t keep anything from Drake. They were a packaged deal and besides if she didn’t tell someone she was going to explode.
“Bex,” she said in a low whisper. “And don’t tell a soul.”
“Wow, that was very generous of her, especially since she doesn’t even have kids and is out of town most of the time.”
“That’s exactly what I had said to her, but she told me one day she and Chase would have kids and they’d be going to this school, and for now her soon to be nephew already attends.”
“Travis,” Drake said with a nod. “That kid.”
“Still jealous of him?” Sophie asked.
He shook his head. “No, I’m happy Charlotte has him as a friend.”
Sophie laughed. “You have at least seven years before you have to worry about boys.”
“Seven! Try fifteen.”
“That girl is going to be lucky I’m around. Someone is going to have to put you in your place.”
Drake’s hand snaked around her waist. “Oh, really! And how do you plan on doing that?”
She pressed up on tiptoe and whispered in his ear. A wicked smi
le curved his lips, and he grabbed her hand.
“Where are we going?” she asked with a laugh.
“Charlotte is going with Travis to get pizza. We have exactly two hours of the house to ourselves.”
“I have to stay behind and clean up.”
“The mess isn’t going anywhere. Besides, everyone is in charge of breaking down their own booths. You’ll have to wait for them to finish, anyway. We’re just killing time.”
Sophie slid her phone out of her pocket and sent a text to Bev, letting her know she was running home to grab something to eat and would be back. She took Drake’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
The drive back to Drake’s felt longer than usual and as soon as the car was in park, Sophie jumped over the console and straddled her handsome doctor.
“My, my someone is impatient,” he said against her mouth before nipping her lip.
“We have two hours,” she said. “Stop wasting time.”
With that, Drake flung the door open, Sophie clinging to his solid frame, as he walked them to the house. Sophie had stopped believing in fairytales, but now with her body wrapped around Drake’s, his hands roaming her curves, she couldn’t not believe in happily ever afters.
She was living hers.
***
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~If you liked this book, keep reading for an excerpt from All Because of You,
Book 1 in the Morgan’s Bay series. ~
All Because of You
Chapter 1
The lights were dimmed in her New York City penthouse, the champagne chilling in the ice bucket, and Olivia Green was stripped down to her newest red lace lingerie set. Her boyfriend, Daniel James III, was just selected to be included in Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and she was ready to celebrate.
She’d had plans to head home to her small town on the eastern end of Long Island to pay her parents a monthly visit, but they understood why she couldn’t make it this month. At least that’s what she convinced herself. The disappointment in Mom’s tone wasn’t exactly coinciding with her words, but Olivia had her own life now, and her parents needed to accept that.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the setting sun casted an orange glow throughout the bedroom. Olivia sprawled out on the California king, and the thousand thread Egyptian cotton rubbed softly against the exposed skin of her curves. She got into different poses and tried to find the sexiest one that showed off just enough of the red lace while still leaving a little to the imagination.
After flopping around like a fish, she finally settled on her side, elbow bent and propping her head up. She draped one leg over the other and angled her body toward the door. According to the alarm clock on her side of the bed, Daniel would be home in five minutes. The man ran on a very calculated schedule that she knew like the back of her hand.
He would come home in five minutes after having drinks with clients, change out of his suit and tie, and head into the home office to go through the emails he didn’t manage to get to during the day. A little shake up in his routine was exactly what he needed. He was bestowed one of the greatest honors as an entrepreneur, and he deserved a night to celebrate.
The sun dipped lower into the horizon, and Daniel still hadn’t come home. Maybe his clients bought him an extra drink. It’s not like he knew she’d be home waiting for him. She thought about texting him, but her phone was in the other room, and it took her so long to get this pose down. Even if the crook of her elbow ached from being stuck in the same position, and her neck stiffened. Beauty was pain… and so was sex appeal, apparently.
They’d both been busy with work that their sex life had fizzled in the last year. It was a far cry from the days when he would take her on his desk after hours at the office when they both would stay later than necessary. She wanted that thrill again, back when she was his intern and before she became his live-in girlfriend, and tonight was the night.
If he’d ever get home…
Finally, twenty minutes later—the ice melting, the pretty sun glow gone—the door clicked open, and she perfected her pose. Anticipation swirled in her stomach, and excitement raced through her veins as she waited for him to discover his red laced vixen.
The sound of his keys dropping in the dish by the door echoed through the apartment, followed by a loud thump. Did he walk into something? She resisted the urge to call out and ruin the surprise. She’d spent far too long planning to let it all go up in smoke because he might’ve banged his knee. She would make it all better as soon as he got in here.
Another thump sounded outside the bedroom, and her body shifted in curiosity. Maybe he was drunk, though, that only happened on very rare occasions. Making Forbes 30 Under 30 was a rare occasion. If he was drunk, would he even remember the picture she spent hours trying to create? She would have to make it as memorable as possible.
She lifted, allowing her nipple to peek out over the lace, and shifted forward so her breasts displayed their full potential. The door flew open, and Olivia fixed a smile on her face, but it quickly slipped to a gasp. Daniel’s lips left the topless redhead in his arms whose bare legs were wrapped securely around his waist. Her skirt was pushed up over her thighs.
“Olivia!” His eyes widened, and he dropped the woman to the floor. She hit with a loud and resounding thud.
Shock and anger wagered war in Olivia’s head, and she wasn’t going to sit around and wait for her emotions to work it out. She jumped from the bed, grabbing the comforter and wrapping it around her practically naked body.
“You were supposed to be at your parents,” Daniel choked out, like that would make this okay.
“And you weren’t supposed to be tongue deep into another woman!” She pointed a furious finger at the redhead on the floor.
Tears pricked Olivia’s eyes, and she wished she was strong enough to hold them back, act as if her heart wasn’t breaking into a million pieces, but she was never the strong one. Tears flowed down her cheeks, dripping onto the rounded mounds of her breasts.
“How could you?” she asked.
Daniel scrubbed a hand over his face and the redhead stood, covering herself with her arm. “I’m just going to go.” She hurried to the door and stopped. “Call me,” she said to Daniel, and Olivia stumbled back at the audacity. By the time the shock wore off, the girl was gone.
Olivia stormed to the walk-in closet and reached for an article of clothing from one of the hundreds of hangers. There was no way she was going to have a conversation with her cheating boyfriend in nothing more than a few well-placed pieces of lace. She grabbed a dress and dropped the comforter.
On the other hand. She wanted him to see what he was missing. Six months with a highly sought-after personal trainer had paid off in the way of a sculpted legs and a tight ass. Now he wouldn’t get to enjoy his investment. She stepped out of the closet with the dress in hand. His eyes roamed over the ensemble, and he stepped toward her. Her hand flung up. “Don’t you even think about it.” Did he honestly think that she’d just forget he’d stumbled into their bedroom with another woman?
“I loved you,” she said. “I wanted to marry you.” She foolishly thought that a Tiffany engagement ring was in their near future.
Daniel straightened his sleeves and smirked before meeting her eyes. “Did you honestly think I would marry you?”
His words were a heavy blow to her gut, knocking her back a step. “Yes,” she said and hated the pathetic lilt in her tone.
“Y
ou were my intern.”
Her hands landed on her hips, brushing against the expensive lace of her lingerie. “And now I’m your social media marketing specialist.”
“Only because I couldn’t let word get out that I was messing around with an intern. Do you know how bad that would’ve been for my company? For my reputation?”
“So what? You promoted me, so you could continue screwing me?”
He shrugged. “We were having fun, and I wasn’t ready for it to end.”
“Fun?” she exclaimed. “That’s what’s you’re calling the last two years of our relationship?”
“Look, I know you’re upset.” He reached out to her, and she snatched her arm back. She didn’t want his cheating hands anywhere near her. In fact, she’d given enough of herself, let him see more than his fair share. She yanked the designer dress over her head and let it slip into place.
“CEOs simply can’t date interns. It’s bad for business.”
“But it wasn’t just the job. You let me move in. You publicly called me your girlfriend and told me you loved me. I was your plus one at galas and charity events. I went to your father’s funeral!”
“When it came out that we were together, I needed people to think it was a love match. Why else would I violate my own code of conduct? Making people believe you were the one created less scandal.”
She shook her head. This wasn’t happening. She’d been a pawn in his game the entire time, and she’d foolishly gone along with it? She helped him keep his squeaky-clean reputation while he used her, made her believe in true love and fairytales, all through lies and deception.
He used her. And worst of all, she’d let him.
She was too dumb to look beyond the penthouse apartment, designer clothes, unlimited pool of wealth and five-star accommodations. Oh god, did this make her a prostitute?
Her heart hammered her ribcage, her throat growing impossibly tight as she searched for words to throw in his face. She wanted to hurt him as badly as he hurt her, but words wouldn’t hurt him. Rocks and a beating by a professional MMA fighter maybe, but words he’d wipe off. He was a cutthroat businessman who did what he had to do in order to get the job done. The only way to hurt him was to put a scuff in that clean reputation.
Sweet on Sophie ( (A Red Maple Falls Novel, #11) Page 18
