So, we had to win. I couldn’t allow myself to be distracted by whatever Dax might or might not be doing now that Monica Feathers was back in town. I had my life here. Maybe one day he’d be back and a part of it, but for now, my focus was on crushing this tournament.
During the breaks between rounds, my teammates and I talked about all the exciting things happening in our lives—Rob sold his mom’s place after she passed, and he and Lily were renovating a house in…wait for it…the suburbs, even though he’d long ago vowed never to leave Edison Park.
Kelly and Mark were loving life in Galena and were currently starting their first round of in vitro. I was fielding so many calls from her day and night for medical advice, I jokingly sent her a bill for services rendered. She, in response, sent me a case of wine from Rob’s store, which I gladly accepted.
Yessi and Polly had decided, once Olivia turned one, that they really needed to focus more on their own social lives, so they made standing dates each week to hang out with me at trivia and with Polly’s friends for Sunday brunch.
Darius and Monica Feathers stopped by after the eighth round. I stood and gave him a hug. “Congratulations, dad-to-be!” I said.
He beamed and pulled out a chair for his extra-famous wife, and she gracefully glided onto it.
The crowd at our table grew silent, unsure how to behave with a certified diva in our midst.
She spoke quietly, barely above a whisper. “Do you mind if I join your team for the next few rounds?”
My mouth dropped open. “Yes,” I said. “I mean, no. Of course we don’t mind.”
“I heard the next round is music,” she purred. “I think I know quite a bit about that.”
Our team chuckled, and Kelly nudged me hard in the ribs.
She hissed in my ear, “If Monica Feathers thinks the answer is the British Empire, you write down ‘British Empire,’ got it?”
“Got it.” I pecked her on the cheek.
I didn’t get to spend much—if any—time with Monica when I was in Prague visiting Dax, as the two of us kept each other a bit busy. I wasn’t even sure Monica remembered who I was, but after the ninth round, she looked right at me and said, “Dax spoke about you often.”
“Oh really?” I focused on my glass of water, feeling a blush creeping up my neck.
“He said many nice things about you.” She frowned. “He and I spoke one night, and I said, ‘Dax, when are you going to realize you should be with this woman, as I realized I was meant to be with Darius?’” She rubbed her belly. “But he said, ‘I have to go where the music is.’”
“That sounds like him.” I flashed a smile at Lily, showing her I held no hard feelings about her brother. We were fine. We just wanted different things. He was becoming a world-famous musician; I was happily becoming a dog lady, and I’d learned how to play “Für Elise” on the piano…in theory.
“I told Dax,” Monica continued, “the music can be wherever you want it to be. I said, I’m going back to Chicago to have my child and be with my love. Come home with me, I begged him.” She shook her head. “But he said he needed to be free.”
Smiling hard, trying to deny the sour feeling in my gut, I tossed my pen to the table. I knew the next round was about to start, but I couldn’t sit there and listen to this. I had to get up, move around, and settle my head. God, it was fine if Dax wanted to travel around, pursuing his dreams. It was what he was supposed to do. It was what I wanted him to do, for him, for his career. But did everyone have to rub it in my face?
I marched up to the bar. “Hey,” I said to Peter, “can you—”
A head popped up from below the counter. Smiling blue eyes flashed at me, and I nearly fell backward.
“What took you so long to get mad enough to come over here?” he asked. “My sister was supposed to tell you I was planning on traveling around with Taylor Swift, and Monica was supposed to—”
My mouth opened and closed like a fish’s. “What are you doing here?” I asked. “Are you—?” My eyes watered.
“I’m back,” he said.
“You’re back?” My knees wobbled. I didn’t dare believe it. “I… What does that mean?”
“It means that when Monica found out she was pregnant, she started talking about moving back here and working on some projects together in our home base, and I thought that sounded like a great idea.” He flashed me a hopeful smile. “Annie, I’ve missed you so much.”
I was still stuck on logistics. My brain and my heart wouldn’t allow me to fully accept this news. Not yet. “How long have you known about this?”
“Officially, not that long. Unofficially, I started thinking about moving back as soon as you left me in Prague.”
Tears welled up behind my eyelids.
“I should’ve said something,” Dax said nervously. “I shouldn’t have assumed. You’ve probably met someone or moved on.”
“Oh my god, no.” I shook my head. “I’m just wondering what’s taking you so long to come over here and kiss me.”
He ducked out from under the bar, rushed over, and planted a huge kiss on my mouth. My entire body relaxed into his arms. I had been doing fine without Dax, and I would’ve continued to happily enjoy my time with my friends and family, but life would be so much sweeter with him around. We’d never be certain we wouldn’t eventually—boom!—flame out, and there was still a lot we had to discuss, but we’d get to it.
We’d deal with it. Together.
But for now…
“Let’s get out of here,” I said just as Ronald announced the start of the final round of trivia.
“Don’t you want to see this through?” he asked. “You’re about to win the Windy City Championship for the second time in a row. It’s not like you to leave your trivia fate up to everyone else.”
“I trust them.” I grabbed Dax’s hand and pulled him toward the door, imagining the two of us back at home together, watching rom-coms, cuddling on the couch with Joanne (and now Boo), our bodies entwined beneath the sheets, me listening to him playing the piano at night before bed.
I took one last look back at my friends, heads huddled together as Ronald started the round: musical instruments. “First question,” he said, “what is the name for the part of the piano that covers the keys?”
“Fallboard,” I hissed, trying to telepathically send that answer to my teammates.
Over the din of the crowd, I heard Mark say, loudly, “I think it’s called a drop sheath.”
“Damn it, Mark,” I said through clenched teeth.
“You want to go back there?” Dax asked. “Is your legendary competitive spirit getting fired up?”
I gazed up into his laughing blue eyes. “No,” I said, dragging him out of the bar and away from the competition before I could change my mind. Even if they lost, I’d make sure the rescue organization got the money. Dax was back, and I wasn’t sure what that meant yet, how we’d fit into each other’s lives, or whether or not we’d actually work as a couple. But none of that mattered, not now. We’d take it day by day, until maybe one morning we’d wake up and realize we’d made it to happily ever after.
I smiled up at him. “I’m sure they’ve got it handled.”
Like FREE Books?! Download one of Entangled’s bestselling books here!
Acknowledgments
A huge thanks to my agent Louise Fury for believing in this book and encouraging me to write it as a single POV. I think it works! Thank you to my editor Stacy Abrams for all the great notes, which a lot of the time are “What is she feeling here?” because feelings aren’t just scary for Annie, they’re scary for me, too!
Thank you so much to Hannah Lindsay for catching my mistakes and to Myshala Liddick for her time and patience with this manuscript. I truly appreciate your perspective, and I am so proud of and grateful for Entangled’s commitment to diversity and sensitivity. Th
ank you to everyone at Entangled for all of their publishing support. This is always such a wonderful team to work with!
I want to thank, in no particular order, Cathy Downing, Bernie Henry, Karen Alekna, Jackie Dreffein, LuAnn Baker, Jason Reed, Brittany and Jonah Von Spreeken, Mikey Vanlandingham, Brandy Rodgers, Nick Shannon, and Shannon Campbell. They know what they did, and it was spectacular!
Thanks to my dear friend Annie Martinez, who doesn’t realize she helped with this book, but she should know that when I was asked to change the character’s original first name and had to come up with a new moniker for this badass lady, “Annie” came to mind immediately. Many millions of thanks to another dear friend Amy Henning, who so kindly answered my doctor-related questions on this book and who has been so incredibly supportive of me since book one. You are two of my all-time favorite people, and I can’t wait to hang out in person again soon.
Thank you to my family for their patience, always, and to Bucky for being the cutest and best distraction. I love you all!
About the Author
USA Today bestselling, RITA® nominated author Julie Hammerle writes romantic comedies focused on women over forty. She is the author of Knocked-Up Cinderella and Write Before Christmas, as well as four novels for teens. Before becoming a writer, she studied opera, taught Latin, and blogged about TV shows like American Idol and The Walking Dead. She lives in Chicago with her husband, two kids, and their dog, Bucky.
juliehammerle.com
Looking for more romance?
Entangled brings the laughs.
Back In the Burbs
After a nasty divorce, Mallory’s ready to leave NYC and start over. She decides to live in the house her aunt left her…in the suburbs. First rule of surviving the burbs? There is nothing that YouTube and a glass of wine can’t conquer.
The Rebound Surprise
Carefree bachelor Aniel is the perfect guy to have a rebound fling with after organized and predictable Libby finds her fiancé defiling her linen sheets with the maid. Except, the fine print that says condoms aren’t 100 percent effective is unerringly accurate.
Entangled brings the feels.
The Things We Leave Unfinished
Told in alternating timelines, The Things We Leave Unfinished examines the risks we take for love, the scars too deep to heal, and the endings we can’t bring ourselves to see coming.
Confessions in B-Flat
Essence bestselling author Donna Hill brings us an emotional love story set against the powerful backdrop of the civil rights movement that gripped a nation—a story as timely as it is timeless...
Entangled brings the heat.
Follow Me Darkly
One chance encounter is all it took for Skye to find herself in the middle of a Cinderella story…but self-made billionaire Braden Black is no Prince Charming, and his dark desires are far from his only secret.
The Spinster and the Rake
The marriage game is afoot in this clever blend of My Fair Lady meets Pride and Prejudice with a twist!
Entangled brings the heart.
A Lot Like Love
Sparks start to fly between longtime crushes Sarah and Wes when they begin renovating the B&B her grandmother left her. But what happens when they realize each other’s real reasons for restoring the landmark are at complete odds?
Forever Starts Now
Town misanthrope and diner owner Monroe decides to strike a deal with the hot Australian that just moved to Forever Falls to pretend to be his girlfriend for a price.
Don’t miss any of the
exciting new romances
Entangled has to offer.
Follow @Entangled_Publishing
on Instagram and join us at
Facebook.com/EntangledPublishing
It's Raining Men Page 27
