“Hey, sweet pea,” I say, when Naomi comes and stands next to me. She’s still all teary-eyed because I just shared my plans with her.
“Hey, Daddy. Did you ask her?”
“Not yet. Remember, we’re a team. I was waiting for you.”
“I’m here now. You can ask her,” she waves a little finger at Everly.
Her blessings elicit a round of laughter.
“Thank you, ma’am,” I smile.
She giggles.
I pull my attention away from my daughter and lock eyes with the woman I can’t live without. “Precious, since I know how much you love Christmas, I couldn’t think of a better time to do this.”
Callum steps forward and hands me a small red box. I slide it inside the pocket of my jacket.
“Oh, my God, you knew?” Everly pants.
He simply winks at her.
I take her hands into mine.
“Everly Reed Bickford-Smith, you’re my everything. I don’t want to wake up another day without you nestled in my arms. I don’t want you to just move in. I want you to stand by me as my wife. Will you marry me?”
“Yes, yes, yes! I can’t think of anything I’d want more.”
“You’ve made me the happiest man. I love you, precious.”
“I love you, Holt.”
I stand up and take her lips in a tender kiss before pulling away from her and getting back down on one knee.
“Your turn,” I tell Naomi.
“What if she says no, Daddy?”
That wasn’t part of the program.
Tears pool in my daughter’s eyes.
“You should ask her, she might surprise you,” I nudge with a wink.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m positive, Naomi.”
“Okay.” Her big beautiful blue eyes move away from mine. “Everly, I love you. You’re the bestest. Will you be my mummy?”
Everly is crying so hard, she’s practically hyperventilating.
She’s unable to speak.
She’s waving her hands at a furious pace in front of her face. As if that’s enough to dry the tsunami of tears.
“Oh, no, Daddy,” Naomi panics.
“I think she needs a minute,” I whisper.
Everly lowers herself to her knees and grabs Naomi in her arms.
“Sweet Naomi,” she chokes. “I love you too. I would be the happiest and luckiest woman in the world to be your mommy. So to answer your question, yes, I want to be your mommy with all my heart.”
“You do?”
“Other than your father, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Will you be Luna’s mummy too?”
Everly and I laugh.
You have to leave it to a five-year-old to derail a perfectly laid out plan.
“Of course, you’re a team.”
My child’s happy blue eyes sparkle. “She said yes, Daddy,” Naomi jumps up-and-down. She comes to a dead stop and frowns.
“What is it, sweet pea?”
“I’m going to have a mummy.” It’s almost as if it’s only now it’s sinking in. “I won’t be different anymore. I’m going to be like all the other little girls.”
Shit.
I didn’t see that coming.
Her words tug at my heart. Unable to hold back, my eyes mist and soon tears roll down my cheeks.
“Don’t cry, Daddy,” she says, bringing her tiny little hands to my face to wipe my tears away. “I have a mummy and so does Luna. And now, we have a big family.”
There isn’t a dry eye in the room.
It takes Everly a few long seconds to find her composure.
“As for you, Holt Alexander Christensen,” Everly says, meeting my gaze. “There are no words to express how much I love you. I’ve had this dream so many times—”
“It’s as real as it gets, precious. We belong together.”
“We belong together,” she repeats.
“We belong together!” Naomi shouts, shaking her tiny fist in the air.
There’s a collective round of laughter.
This kid is stealing the show.
“Sweet pea, you interrupted Everly.”
“Sorry, Daddy. Sorry, Mummy,” she grins. “My mummy.”
The sheer excitement and blissful joy on her face is indescribable.
Everly starts crying again.
“Holt,” she hiccups. “Waking up next to you would be a gift I’d cherish every single day of my life.”
Delight and pride pulse through me.
She’s all mine.
Gently, I lift her face to mine and drop a soft kiss against her lips before wiping away her tears. “Let me make it official.”
“Gosh, there’s more?”
“Precious, I haven’t slipped the ring on your finger yet,” I tell her, taking hold of her left hand.
“Of course. I’m so emotional, I’m not even thinking straight.”
I help her up and pull the ring out.
“Together forever,” I say.
“Together forever!” Naomi shouts.
It was supposed to be Everly’s line, but Naomi usurped her moment.
You got to love her excitement.
“Together forever,” Everly says.
“Soon-to-be Mrs. Christensen said yes!” I shout lifting her hand up in the air.
Friend and family clap and holler.
When the cheers settle, my daughter speaks.
“Mummy. Daddy.”
“Yes, Naomi,” Everly and I say in unison.
“Hmmm.” She scrunches her nose and purses her lips.
“What is it?” I ask, smoothing the frown creasing her brow with my thumb.
“Can you start having babies right now? Maybe I can be a big sister by Christmas.”
A loud roar of laughter rumbles the bakery.
This kid.
It was Noni and I for the longest time.
Then came her faithful companion, Luna.
My precious Everly completes us in so many ways.
Our family is getting bigger, but I want more.
I suspect my beautiful fiancée will need some time to get used to her new role. Secretly, I can’t wait to start a family with her.
And They Lived Happily Ever After!
Who’s The Next Bad Boy Stud
In The Series?
I’m furiously writing Jace’s sizzling hot romance. It’s an incredible enemies-to-lovers romance that will keep you turning the pages. In the meantime, I have another phenomenal romance for you.
The whole idea for the Bad Boy Studs series started with Holt Christensen. I introduce him in Delectably British. Read this passion-filled, enemies-to-lovers second chance romance for a sneak peek.
“The passion, the drama, the characters
were all incredible!” —Jamie Leigh
Get it now > Delectably British
Scarlett’s Book Banter!
Dear Sexy Reader,
Oof.
Are you still all emotional over that ending?
I cried so hard when I wrote the epilogue, I gave myself a headache.
My proudest moment is when my editor—married with adult kids—sent me an email to let me know he cried ugly.
Every time I edited that part, I cried.
I think it’s Naomi.
In fact, as I’m writing this, I went back and re-read the epilogue for the nth time and you guessed it, I’m still crying.
When I wrote Holt, I was going through a very emotional time as an indie author. I was questioning myself a lot at the time. I know they say we each have our journey, but at the time I felt like I was falling way behind in so many aspects of this self-publishing business gig compared to many of my fellow authors who seemed to crush it every step of the way.
I spent way too much time trying to figure out where I had gone wrong. Eventually, I just moved on... and Holt’s romance emerged.
Maybe I carried those doubts with me when I wrote the emotion
al ending of Holt’s story.
I think writing this book mended my heart and gave me the confidence to push forward.
Thank you for still being on this ride with me. I appreciate it. It means a lot to me that you’re still engaged with this series.
Holt and Everly’s romance was sweet and sinful.
I so loved Ainsley.
I’m still struggling to remember when I made the decision to kick off the book by flashing back to the 80s, but that was crazy fun. The whole book was a blast to read during the editing stage.
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for another single dad.
You’re going to love single dad Jace’s enemies to lover’s romance.
I’m still furiously writing his sizzling hot romance, but in the meantime, I have another phenomenal romance for you.
The whole idea for the Bad Boy Studs series started with Holt Christensen.
I introduce him in Delectably British.
Read this passion-filled enemies to lovers second chance romance for a sneak peek.
Barrett is steadfast and opinionated.
Charlie knows how to push Barrett’s buttons.
In other words, you won’t get enough of Barrett and Charlie.
Get it now > Delectably British
That’s it for me.
I’m diving right back into the next book.
Much love,
Scarlett Avery
P.S. Reviews make my heart sing!
P.P.S. I keep writing because of your hunger for my stories. Thank you for your fervor, love, and loyalty. I’m humbled and incredibly grateful. Without you, there’s very little reason to keep coming up with new stories.
P.P.P.S. For access to an EXCLUSIVE Secret Chapter go to the next page!
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Sneak Peak of Delectably British
CHAPTER 1
Barrett
Wow. It's almost nine o'clock.
“Do you want another vesper martini, sir?”
I lift my eyes from my iPhone and up to the smiling waitress. She’s hunched over in an exaggerated way, displaying her tits. It seems like she’s revealing far more now than when I got here.
“Caroline, is that right?” I ask.
“Yes, sir.” She’s eager.
“I’ll gladly have another one. After all, no one does a martini like the Connaught,” I smile.
“I like strawberry daiquiris, but our high-roller clients love our martinis,” she flirts. “Shaken, not stirred.”
“Yes, please. I know the bartenders at the Connaught Hotel have a penchant for the quietly stirred, never shaken martini, but I like mine à la James Bond.”
“Anything to eat?”
Now that she mentions it, it dawns on me that I haven't eaten since noon. I’m famished.
“Actually, yes. It seems that the person I'm supposed to meet has been delayed.” She does little to hide her disappointment. “I’ll also order the steak frites with truffle mayonnaise. No ketchup.”
“Of course. I’ll be right back with your food.”
“Thank you.”
There are loads of hotel bars in London suitable for a meeting, but the Coburg located inside the Connaught Hotel is the only spot in the city to have their own dedicated martini trolley. It’s no wonder their martinis are the pinnacle of drinks.
As the waiter—I now know as Brian—rolls the trolley towards me, my phone rings. He quirks an eyebrow, but I nod encouraging him to keep on his mission.
“Hello,” I say picking up.
“Hey, Barrett, it’s me.”
“Holt, mate, are you on your way?”
“I’m sorry it took me so long to reach you. I kept calling your old phone number until it hit me. I had to text your secretary to get your new number since she’s the one who confirmed the meeting for tonight. But as she was at a yoga class, her phone was in her locker.”
“Yeah, those wankers who stole my phone a few days ago in Barcelona can rot in hell. What a bloody nightmare.”
“I can just imagine,” Holt sympathizes.
“If you’re calling me then it isn't good news.”
Holt let’s out a long sigh. “I'm so sorry, buddy. I know you've been waiting for almost an hour—”
“There are worse places in London for me to be waiting than the Connaught,” I laugh. My eyes shoot up to the waiter who’s ceremoniously preparing my martini. He nods his agreement.
“At least I know you aren’t roughing it,” Holt says.
“I love that American expression.”
Brian, aka the master craftsman who prepared my martini, drops it in front of me and I mouth, ‘thank you’, before bringing the glass to my lips.
Bloody hell, this is amazing.
“Perfect,” I mouth.
Satisfied, Brian pushes the trolley away and moves to the next patron.
“No, I’m not,” I say picking up where I left off. “I’m sitting in the Coburg bar with martini in hand and privy to a front-row view of the chic shopping area known as Carlo’s Place. What more can I ask for?”
We both laugh.
“I can’t make it,” Holt cuts to the chase.
“I suspected that much. You did warn me,” I say. “I assume it didn’t work out with the new nursemaid?”
“No, this nanny didn’t even last ten minutes. And now, I have an agitated four-year-old and an angry as fuck dog on my hands. I can't seem to calm either of them down.”
Holt Christensen owns a hugely successful record label with headquarters in New York, LA and here in London. He also happens to be one of my best clients.
“No problem, mate. We can meet at another time.”
“Thanks for being so understanding.”
“Of course. You're doing this alone and you're doing a smashing job of it.”
“It doesn't always feel that way. Most times I feel like I'm failing her,” he confesses.
“I think you're selling yourself short, mate. You're an amazing father, Holt.”
“That means a lot to me, buddy.”
“Dah-deeeeee,” a child wails in the background.
“That’s my cue. Sorry, I have to go. My little princess beckons me.”
“Your daughter comes first. Call me when you can reschedule.”
“Will do.”
I hang up and take a long sip of my drink.
It doesn't take long for the waitress to arrive with my food.
“Here you go, sir,” Caroline says dropping two plates in front of me. “I waited because I didn't want your meal to get cold.”
“How thoughtful of you, Caroline. Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure, sir.” She's just about to say something when a couple sitting at the next table calls for her attention. “I'll be right back… just in case you need something else from me,” she says. With a wide smile and a twinkle in her eye, Caroline walks away.
She's definitely working it. I'm not sure it's for a huge tip or my cock.
I poke into my golden chips and shove a forkful into my mouth. Mmmm. That’s all it takes to unleash my appetite. Within a few minutes, I polish off everything in front of me. I ready myself to order another martini, when a woman who seems to appear out of nowhere plops herself into the seat next to me.
“You busy man.” What the fuck? A blonde wearing far too mu
ch makeup with puffy hair and even puffier breasts coos. “I Evgeniya Elizaveta Zadorozhnaya,” she says with a heavy accent. That's a mouthful.
Since I'm in a good mood, I decide to indulge her.
“You’re Russian?” I ask.
“Yes. You guess.” She seems impressed. I do have my fair share of Anglo- Russian mogul clients to thank for that. “I come here only one year.”
“How do you like London?”
“Hot men. I like.” I guess, my question got lost in translation. “You hot. Very hot. You sexy hot, like a god.” She growls that last part.
“Well, thank you, Evgeniya,” I say.
“You call me Double E. We friends now.” She scoots her chair closer.
“Double E?” I cock an eyebrow.
“Yes. Nickname for girls,” she says lifting her mammoth tits as a gift. No doubt she was born with those… just like she was born a natural blonde.
Did I mention she’s wearing a short and extraordinarily tight sausage-casing-like dress in a screaming shade of bright green that's practically transparent? When I blink, I notice how her nipples are protruding. She notices my reaction and leans into to me.
“You like?” she asks squeezing her tits together. “All men do.” I pull up the corner of my lips. I guess she takes that as an invitation. “We go to restroom and I show you nipples. They long—one inch.” She sticks out her chest even more. Those pointy nipples are threatening to rip that dress. “When I show you, you want to stick in mouth. All men do.”
Torrid Rush: A Single Dad Romance (Bad Boy Studs Book 3) Page 32
