by Kally Ash
She stood up, stretching. “I should go. It’s been fun, Ethan. And thanks for not being a dick about the no-sex thing.”
He shrugged, a silly grin on his face. “I’ve had a good time with you, Evangeline. I’ll swing by the club sometime and check out the competition.” He winked at her and she rolled her eyes. Grabbing her purse, she shoved in her phone and turned back to Ethan, who hadn’t moved from the couch.
“Your hosting skills suck,” she told him with a grin, opening up his front door and taking the stairs down to the street. The place was deserted, but give it an hour, and there would be people around, getting a jump on the traffic. The walk home was quiet and she turned ideas over in her head about what she’d say when she saw Beau again.
As soon as she got home, she saw there was a text waiting for her from Natasha. It was only sent two minutes ago, so instead of messaging back, she just called her.
“How many?” her friend asked.
“None. I didn't sleep with him.”
Natasha was silent for a moment, finally saying, “You still love him.”
She opened her mouth to object but knew it to be true. She still loved Beau. She always had, and after this whole fucked-up Lisa situation, she knew she always would.
“What are you going to do?”
“After I get a couple of hours’ sleep, I’m going to go and see him.”
“And how will you get there?”
Evangeline smiled. “You’re going to lend me your driver.”
28
Beau rolled over and looked at his phone. It was almost noon, but he couldn’t seem to find the will to get up. Why would he? His life had changed so much in the last twenty-four hours, and he had no desire to find out what today would hold. John had had a few commiseration beers with him last night when he got home despite the fact it was past two when he got in. This morning though, he had to go to work while Beau hid from the world for just a little longer.
His thoughts drifted to his mother, wondering what she would’ve said about all this. She probably would’ve told him to suck it up and get on with it. Lying around in bed all day wasn’t the way to solve a problem. She would’ve told him to figure out the solution, then fix the damn problem, although her choice of words would’ve been a lot more selective and a lot gentler.
She would’ve been right, of course. Heaving a heavy sigh, he threw the sheet off his body and sat up. Today was going to be shit, but at least he didn’t have to deal with Lisa and her neurosis anymore. Getting up, he went through the motions of getting showered, strolling into the kitchen to get something to eat, wearing only a towel. He was putting the juice back into the fridge when the doorbell rang.
Could it be John? he thought idly, dismissing the idea almost immediately. Nope, that guy worked long hours, plus he had a key for his own damn apartment. He looked down at the towel and shrugged.
Pulling open the door, his breathing simply stopped for a second before his lungs got with the program and began pumping again.
“Vee?” he asked, blinking to make sure he was actually seeing her standing there.
Her eyes drifted down his body, lingering on his hips briefly before finding their way back to his face. “Can I come in?”
He stepped back, watching her walk into John’s living room. She had her back to him when he turned around, and he had no idea what was going through her mind. He cleared his throat and she turned. Her mouth opened, then closed once before she sat down on the couch.
Cautiously, he took the seat next to her, acutely aware that he was only in a towel. He shifted the fabric so it mostly covered him. He watched her curiously... hopefully.
“Man, I suck at this,” she said under her breath.
“Why are you here, Vee?” He finally asked the question he’d been dying to ask her.
“I made a mistake, Beau,” she said, standing up.
He jumped up too, unwilling to let her go. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “Don’t go, Vee.”
She smiled faintly. “I’m not leaving, Beau. I’m trying to find the right words.”
“For what?”
“To apologize for being such a bitch to you. You know, with the whole Lisa thing?”
He nodded. “Okay.”
She stared at him, still hesitant. “Beau, I am so sorry, okay. I made a huge fucking mistake by blaming you for not telling me about Lisa. I get it, okay? We’d just gotten back together, life was amazing and I can understand why you wouldn’t want to fuck that up.”
He smiled, sliding his hands around her waist. Her eyes darkened. “I forgive you.”
“You... What?”
“I forgive you. I missed you so damn much, Vee.”
“I missed you too,” she admitted, her hands wrapping around his biceps. She looked down at his chest, at their tattoo, her fingertips skimming the outline of one wing. “I am so sorry. I know you were just doing the right thing by Lisa. I’m so sorry she made you believe she was pregnant too. That was low.”
All he could do was nod. “I hated the idea that she could be pregnant with my child.”
“But you’ve always wanted kids.”
“Yeah,” he said with a smile. “With you. It’s always been you for me, Vee. Or haven’t I told you that enough already?”
She blew out a breath, her eyes on the tattoo.
Like a phoenix. Perhaps it was a metaphor for both of their lives, only Beau’s metamorphosis happened after the death of his mother. He wanted kids and marriage—the whole thing and, although she wasn’t ready for that right now in her life, she knew she wanted it one day, with him. Always him.
He tilted her chin up, his blue eyes suddenly cautious. “Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”
Licking her lips, she said, “What if I’m not ready for that yet?”
“Then we wait. We have time.” He skimmed his fingers across her cheekbones, down the side of her neck. Her body reacted just like it always did whenever he was near. “I’ve waited this long for you. As long as I have you by my side, I can wait a little longer.”
She was searching his face for any hint of dishonesty, knowing she wouldn’t find it there. He truly spoke from his heart when it came to her.
“So what now?” she asked.
His replying grin was devilish. “I can think of a few things to do.”
Evangeline sighed, content for the first time in what felt like months rather than a couple of weeks. Wrapped up in Beau’s arms was just where she wanted to be. In true Beau style, he’d made her come at least three times before he let himself join her in the last one; she was still riding the high.
They hadn’t made it to his bedroom. Not even close. They were lying on the living room floor, a cushion under his head, his arm under hers. He was drawing lazy circles on her hip, each whorl getting lower and lower.
“What happened to the guy?”
His question caught her off guard and she stiffened.
“It’s okay, Vee. I’m not mad.”
Propping herself up on her elbow, she studied his face. He didn’t look mad, but she could tell inside he was seething. There was a tightness to his jaw that betrayed him.
“How do you know about him?”
“I saw you together at the club. You looked... happy with him.”
“I hadn’t realized…”
“It was after the blow-up with Lisa. I came back to the club, determined to get you back.”
“What stopped you?”
“Natasha did.”
“Wait, what?”
“Before you get upset with her, she didn’t tell me to leave you alone. She simply said you knew the truth, like I did, about Lisa but you had to be the one to choose; if I loved you, I had to let you make the decision to come back to me.”
Evangeline shook her head. “Natasha is too smart for her own good sometimes.” She lay back down, curling her body into his.
Tentatively, Beau asked, “Please tell me he was the only guy and you didn
’t fuck him.”
She laughed gently, her fingers trailing down his stomach. “And what if I had?”
His teeth clicked together in irritation. “Then I’d have to kill him.”
Looking into his face, she said, “I never slept with him. He turned out to be a guy who was in exactly the same place I was—he’d broken up with his girlfriend too and was struggling to move on.” She paused for dramatic effect. “And he told me to come back and apologize.”
His stormy expression lifted. “I think I like this guy.”
“You would, actually. He runs The Nightingale.” They both fell silent. Vee was lost in her own thoughts for the future, as she was sure Beau was.
“What’s going to happen now?”
He looked down at his hardening cock. “I think we’re ready for round two,” he replied with a grin.
“Not that,” she huffed, although that idea was solid. “I mean, you live here and I live in West Hollywood. I can’t relocate down here, not after I’ve worked so hard to get the club this far.”
“I know, and I wouldn’t expect you to just up and leave.” He sucked in a breath. “There’s nothing keeping me here. I hate my job. I officially have nowhere to live now—I mean John isn’t going to kick me out, but I can’t stay here forever, can I?”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“My mom’s house sold. I have enough cash to buy my own studio apartment close to yours…”
“Beau, I don’t think you should do that.”
He frowned. “Oh, too fast? I can just rent somewhere for a bit, I guess.”
She grinned. “Beau? I’m just fucking with you. We’ve already spent the last four years apart. I don’t want to wait any longer to be with you. You can move in with me.”
“I can move in with you?” he repeated.
“You... don’t want to?”
Framing her face in his hands, he kissed her hard and fast. “Of course I do, Vee. I love you. I want to kiss every night before bed and wake up beside you every morning.”
Smiling, she said, “That’s what I want too.”
They both turned toward the door when they heard a key sliding into the lock.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” said Evangeline, scrambling to find her clothes. The damn things were scattered all over the living room. She glanced at Beau who was still lying on the rug, buck-naked. “Aren’t you going to get dressed?” she hissed.
“Nah, I don’t think so.”
She shimmied into her underwear and held her shirt to her chest just as the door opened and John walked in.
“Fuck!” he yelled, his hand coming up to cover his eyes. He turned around to face the door. “Vee? Is that you? I fucking hope it is otherwise Beau is getting an ass-whooping from me.”
“It’s me, John. Just give me a second.” Pulling on her shirt and her jeans, she gave John the all clear.
He turned back around but covered his eyes again. “Man, I love you, bro, but I don't need to see all that.” He gestured vaguely in the direction of his crotch and Evangeline couldn’t help but laugh. Beau shook his head but dragged the towel over his hips.
“Is that better?”
John peered through his fingers. “Yeah.” He dropped his hands and smiled. “I take it by your various states of undress that you guys have made up?”
Evangeline looked at Beau, seeing the grin plastered onto his face. “Yeah, we did.”
“That’s great!” He walked into the kitchen, reappearing with three glasses and a bottle of whiskey. “We should celebrate.”
Epilogue
Six months later...
Beau trailed his fingers down Evangeline’s bare side, skimming over her hip before making the return trip. They were in her bed—their bed—hiding away from responsibilities just for a little while longer. They both had to be at work in an hour, Evangeline at Temptation and him at The Nightingale. His boss turned out to be the guy Vee had almost hooked up with before they got back together. He probably should hate the guy for laying a hand on her, but he was also grateful to him for so much. He’d been the one to talk sense into his girl when he thought everything was lost. He was also the guy who gave him a job only two days after arriving to live in West Hollywood with Vee.
She’d insisted that he didn’t have to find a job so soon, but he wanted to get his life back on track as soon as possible. It had been derailed for too long already. Looking down the line of her body, he stared at the tattoo on her ankle, then at the same design on his chest.
Like a phoenix from the ashes.
They’d both risen and become the people he truly believed they should be, and they’d done it together.
“What are you thinking about?” Vee murmured.
“Just life, I guess.”
“That sounds serious.”
He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Everything in my world is finally right. I’m just wondering why I let you go in the first place. My mom’s illness and death would’ve been easier to take with you by my side.”
“You have me now, Beau. Always.”
That’s what he wanted. He’d always toyed with the idea of marriage with her. Hell, he wanted it all—marriage, a house, the two-point-five kids and a dog—and he wanted it now, but every time he thought about bringing it up, he hesitated. What if she wasn’t ready for all that? She’d built her career from nothing and to ask her to give it all up for him would be incredibly selfish.
“What are you really thinking about?” she asked again, propping herself up on her elbow to look at him.
He focused on her face and drew in a breath. “Marriage,” he said, waiting for the fallout. He held on to her a little tighter just in case she tried to walk away and avoid talking about it at all.
Her brows rose. “Marriage?”
He turned his head, trying to brush his words away. “It’s a stupid idea.”
Forcing him to look at her, she said, “It’s not a stupid idea. I’ve been waiting for you to talk about this for months now.”
She had? “You have?”
“Of course I have. We’re not getting any younger, you know,” she told him with a gentle smile. “I’ve known I wanted to be with you and only you since we started dating all those years ago. Sure, things got a little rocky in the middle there, but we’re still here, aren’t we?”
He nodded. “Yes, we are. But what about your job?”
“What about it?”
“What if we have kids?”
She shrugged. “We just won’t think about starting a family yet. Let’s just get the first step out of the way, okay?”
“Evangeline Webster, are you asking to marry me?”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Are you accepting my proposal?”
The joy that bubbled up inside him could hardly be contained. He kissed her, their tongues dueling, his hands in her hair.
“Did we just get engaged?” he asked against her mouth, kissing her jaw and working his way lower.
She gasped when he bit down on her shoulder. “I think we did, yeah.”
He pulled away, smiling like he’d just won first prize. “Good, because I have something for you.”
Getting up, he disappeared into the walk-in closet, reappearing with a red velvet box. He handed it to her, then sat down on the edge of the mattress. Vee was looking between him and the box, her expression caught somewhere between awe and undiluted giddy joy.
“Open it, Vee. Please.”
She sucked in a breath and opened the box revealing the ring he’d purchased for her as soon as the sale of his mom’s house had gone through. This was before he knew he’d get her back. It was only blind hope he was clinging to, but it was enough.
They were meant to be together.
He watched for her reaction, but her face remained a mask of indifference he couldn’t quite read.
“Vee? Say something. Please.”
Her gaze lifted and he was stunned to see tears standing in her eyes. He
let out a little omph when she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.
“It’s beautiful, Beau. It’s more than that though; it’s perfect because you picked it out for me.” Taking the princess-cut red diamond ring from the box, she slid it onto her finger and just stared at it for a moment.
“I got the red diamond because I figured fire was our thing,” he told her, wiping the tears away with his fingertips.
“Fire is definitely our thing.” She beamed at him, looking all the more beautiful because he was seeing the real Evangeline—the one she rarely let anybody see. She’d grown from a girl trying to protect herself, to a woman who trusted him enough to let her guard down, and for that he would be forever grateful.
“We’re getting married,” he said and hearing the words out loud like that made him think about how happy his mom would be if she were still here with them.
“We’re getting married,” she repeated. “Finally.”
Other Books by Kally Ash
Tempt Series
Tempt Me
Tease Me
Taste Me
(March 9, 2020)
Standalone Books
Yours for the Taking
(May 9, 2020)
Collections & Anthologies
Take Me To Bed
(Feb 25, 2020)
The Romance Collaborative
Taking The Fall
(Aug 4, 2020)
About the Author
Kally Ash is a contemporary romance author whose passions include curling up with a good book, devouring chocolate and getting kitty cuddles. Tempt Me is her debut novel, and the first book in a three book series. Some of her unicorn authors include Sawyer Bennett, Elizabeth Hayley and Haley Jenner.
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