“That’s exactly what scares me,” she said. “It’s coming too easy.”
He burst out laughing. “You have a short memory,” he said. “Do you want me to list what’s gone wrong?”
“No, I guess you’re right.”
“We’ve paid our dues. Actually, you’ve paid them, but I was right there alongside you. I think the idiom a bright future applies to us.”
“I love you, Mark,” Kendall said. “I had really given up on love until you came along.”
He pushed the table away, holding on to their glasses.
“What are you doing?”
He stood up then, digging in his rear pocket, and dropped to his knee.
“Mark!” she cried as he pulled a small black velvet-covered box out of his pocket. Her hands flew to her face as she began to weep, knowing what was coming.
“Kendall, you are the love of my life. I’ve loved you since I was a kid. Will you marry me?”
“Yes!”
Arms around Mark’s neck, Kendall held him, crying for all she was worth.
“Hold your hand out, knucklehead,” he said, laughing, flicking a tear off his cheek.
She did as he asked and held her left hand out, and he slipped a lovely diamond on her finger.
“My tuition for next year,” he said, laughing. “I’m glad you got me a job.”
“Paid tuition is a benefit after you’ve been there for three months,” she said, wiping her face with a paper napkin.
Holding out her hand, she loved the way the ring looked on her finger. “Let’s go show your mom and grandma,” she said. “I’m ready to show the world. As a matter of fact, we’re going to have an engagement party.”
“We are?” Mark asked, surprised. “That’s really over the top for you, isn’t it?”
“It is, but I’m ready. I’m done resisting you. Now it’s all about letting everyone know the cougar is in love.”
“We are definitely in love,” he said, handing Kendall her lemonade.
They clinked glasses and leaned in to for a kiss.
“To us!”
The End
From Suzanne
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#1 Pam of Babylon Always FREE! Long Island housewife Pam Smith is called to the hospital after her husband Jack suffers a heart attack on the train from Manhattan, but someone else arrives first.
#2 Don’t You Forget About Me Three women discover they share more than Jack’s love.
#3 Dream Lover A gritty, realistic portrait of the aftermath of deceit, more pieces of the puzzle come together.
#4 Prayers for the Dying Pam makes startling revelations about herself, and the others.
#5 Family Dynamics Heartbreak and devastation move toward triumph in the fifth installation.
#6 The Tao of Pam Pam is at a crossroad which will take her to the next phase of her life, if she chooses the right path.
#7 In Memoriam Pam endures life at the beach with remarkable strength. But don’t be too impressed; history does have a way of repeating itself.
We’re Just Friends: Short Story Prequel to #8 A short story meant to fill in details after Book #7
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Julie Hsu: Short Story Prequel to #10 Julie Hsu comes back on the scene at the end of Save the Date, Book #9.
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#11 Beach Spirits Pam wrestles with spirits, living and dead as the past haunts her.
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Gladys and Ed’s Big Adventure Short Story Prequel to #14 Pam’s Adventures in Babylon
Beautiful Heartbreaker A Pam of Babylon Novella Don’t look now, but Jack Smith is right behind you,” Marian whispered. A flush of pleasure cruised through Genevieve’s body, but later, she thought it might have been a warning.
#14 Pam’s Adventures in Babylon Life at the beach takes on a new twist as Pam embraces the children Jack left behind. The triad of Lisa, Allison, and Ryan grows closer, then further apart when Ryan’s lust gets out of control.
#15 Second Chance Just when life settles down to a dull roar for those people whom Pam holds closest to her heart, the pendulum swings in the opposite direction and everyone is tossed into the air. Who will they hold on to as they fall back to earth?
#16 If I Ever Leave You After Randy leaves for Greece and another Adventure Trek season, family demands on Pam make an impromptu trip to the Greek Islands to meet up with him more appealing.
#17 Touch Me When We’re Dancing Everyone is dancing right before chaos strikes.
Sweet and Sassy: The Best Kind of Romance – 9 sweet and sassy romance novels by 9 authors.
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Brenda and Larry – A trip to the emergency room leads to a whirlwind romance for Philadelphia law student Brenda and ER physician Larry. Head over heels in love with Brenda, nothing can disturb the love he has for her, not even a dark secret from her past.
Oscar and Lisa - Oscar’s determination not to rush into love, hoping that taking their time will make it last causes Lisa to have second thoughts. Will waiting for that perfect moment to take their relationship to the next level ever come, or does fate have other ideas?
The Bride Wore Leather: The Sequel to Oscar and Lisa Lisa stood on her toes to reach Oscar’s lips. Muscle memory clicked in, remembering how perfectly their mouths fit together, the line of their bodies melding. The only thing they didn’t know is what total intimacy would be like, because Oscar had been too afraid. But he wasn’t afraid now.
The Greeks of Beaubien Street is the First book in The Greektown Stories.
The Donut Shop Murder A prequel to the series. Four days before Thanksgiving, the dead body of a paralegal is found dumped on a residential street in Midtown Detroit.
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A Greektown Wedding After Christmas was over, the family could finally focus on other things, like love!
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Perfect for Him . Perfect for Him is a tale of two lovers whose lifetime romance sustains them, as an unwanted ending looms in the near future.
Alice’s Summertime Adventure
We meet Alice Bradshaw when she is at a crossroad.
Someone Like You
Life gets in the way as upstate NY sisters, Marley and Abigail cling to each other and their young children.
The Savant of Chelsea
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Gracefully, Like a Living Thing: The Sequel to The Savant of Chelsea
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The Liberation of Ravenna Morton Captures the small-town dynamic of a family’s private secrets being exposed to the world.
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Mend Me Mend My Heart A sweet, clean story. Charlotte Baker, a thirty something widow raising two children, is holding on to the memory of her late husband, Steve. The idea of dating again has never crossed her mind, until she takes a fall at the cemetery where Steve is buried which brings the handsome caretaker to her rescue.
Mistletoe Fantasy
Pleasure Your Fantasies Series, Book 1
Stacy Eaton
This book is dedicated to the fans of the Celebration Series.
Chapter One
Reba
I released a hefty sigh as I dropped my stage persona and passed through the garnet velvet curtain for the final time that night. I was always thankful when my dancing shift ended. It wasn’t that I hated to dance, I did enjoy it—kinda—okay, sometimes. The money was good—like, seriously damned good. That was what had enticed me to do it in the first place. I sure as hell wasn’t a fan of strutting my stuff on the runway for the exclusive clientele. Of course, if there was any place where I had to be a dancer, I was glad that it was at Pleasure Your Fantasies and that Quinn Monroe was my boss.
I leaned against the wall with one shoulder and unhooked my five-inch platform heels as I pondered my sexy-as-sin elusive boss. Mr. Quinton Monroe ran a tight ship. He demanded respect, not only from his employees and his clients, but he expected his clients to have the utmost respect for his employees, especially for his dancers.
Mr. Monroe also required his employees to be professional and take care of themselves, both mentally and physically. He didn’t allow employees with emotional issues or bad habits to remain, unless they received help or kicked the habits. He’d give them a chance because he was a fair man, but if they couldn’t deal with therapy or the process of getting clean or—god forbid—remaining that way, then he kicked their asses to the curb. He had more important things to do, and I didn’t blame him.
All the employees knew the score when hired: They signed contracts that gave explicit instructions on what would happen should they be found to have emotional or substance abuse issues. They not only signed one when they were hired, but then they signed it again once they were found to have a problem. In my opinion, Mr. Monroe was being extremely generous.
In June, Ivy had fallen off the wagon. If it hadn’t been for Sophia Thayer, an ICU nurse from Celebration Township who had been moonlighting as a dancer, Ivy would have died from a heroin overdose. Sophia had saved her life, and while Mr. Monroe had wanted to fire Ivy that night, he hadn’t. He had not only taken care of her hospital bills but paid for her rehab, too. Two weeks after she returned from rehab, he did a random drug test on her and she failed. She was escorted off the property and banned from ever returning. No one had heard from or seen her since, at least that I was aware of.
A few other dancers had come and gone, and so had other employees from other aspects of the business. One of the bouncers, Al, was let go last month, two kitchen staff before that, and one of the trainers was fired when Mr. Monroe found he was not only using drugs but dealing them to the clients. There wasn’t even a second chance given to that guy.
I yawned as I made my way to the dressing room. Mr. Monroe had a very comprehensive staff that, at my last count, included over fifty people; it might have grown though, I wasn’t sure. He kept his business affairs below a whisper. As far as I knew, only Ty had the boss’s ear and knew the ins and outs of the business. The two of them were obviously thick as thieves, and Ty acted as Mr. Monroe’s bodyguard when needed—not that Mr. Monroe needed a bodyguard. I’d witnessed him take an unruly client down when he’d gotten out of control and no one else was around. Mr. Monroe hadn’t hesitated to put the guy against the wall, and when others had arrived, he’d straightened his coat, adjusted his tie and his cuffs, and then smiled, winked, and walked away as if nothing had happened.
I had a feeling that Mr. Monroe had several other business dealings going on which would explain why he was so well known in this area. When he had opened this club four years ago, many people didn’t think he could make it work, not when the membership was six grand a year, but Mr. Monroe made sure that his club had more than just dancers to entertain members at night. His building housed meeting rooms, places to hold conferences, a gym, a barber, saunas, a pool, several hot tubs, along with massage services, a game room that included pool and poker tables, and the smoking room. Plus, he was currently having a large section of the basement renovated to install a wine cellar for special events.
Mr. Monroe had built a booming business, and I’d heard that he was in the process of working on a similar club for women. I wondered how many of the men who frequented this club would allow their wives or girlfriends to join the sister club.
I gave Ty a sleepy wave as I passed him in the hall outside the dressing room. His husky laughter followed me into the room.
“You look awful tired for just having gotten off the stage. Normally, you look jazzed.” I wanted to curl up and fall asleep at the sound of his deep, mellow voice.
“I’m beat. My neighbors were fighting all day, and I didn’t get any sleep.” I plopped into a chair in front of the mirror and grabbed the makeup remover wipes.
“That sucks. You want me to come over and have a little chat with them?” He came to stand behind me, his wide shoulders filling the mirror, his smile a bit cocky but caring at the same time. His blue eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Thank you, but no thank you. The last time you had a chat with them, they put dog shit in my mailbox.”
His brows slammed down, and he snarled, “You didn’t tell me that.”
I laughed. “Yeah, well, I forgot to mention it. It’s no
t a big deal.”
“Yes, it is. We need to find you a better place to live,” he said as he frowned.
Ty was a sweet guy. He could be forbiddingly menacing when he wanted to be, but he was usually quiet and reserved, and spent more time watching than speaking. When he felt comfortable, he’d open up and talk about anything. I’d grown to look to Ty as a big brother. That’s how he made me feel sometimes, as if he would protect me from any outside threat, but tease or tickle me to death if he had the opportunity.
“I will find another place once I can afford it. You know the deal.” He was the only one around here that I’d confided in.
“Why don’t you do a few more dancing shifts? You get great tips when you dance, much better than waitressing.”
I scrunched my face. “I prefer to serve the drinks, you know that, Ty.”
He laughed and picked up the light blue sweatshirt that hung on the back of my chair and laid it over my shoulders. “Yeah, I know, but you could get out of that place twice as fast if you just did a few more dance shifts a month. Quinn would give them to you if you wanted them. Just say the word and I’ll make it happen.” He snapped his fingers as he flashed a grin at me.
Whispers of Winter: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Romances Page 103
