Loving the Enemy
Copyright 2019 Monica Clayton
Published by M.E. Clayton
All Rights Reserved
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This book is a work of fiction. The entire content is a product of the author’s imagination and all names, places, businesses, and incidences are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), places or occurrences, is entirely coincidental
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the express written consent from the author, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Formatting: Smashwords
Cover: Adobe Stock
Warning: This book contains sexual situations and other adult themes. Recommended for 18 years of age and over.
Table of Contents
Author's Note
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Prologue
1. Ramsey Reed
2. Emerson Reed
3. Liam McCellan
4. Roselyn McCellan
5. Deke Marlow
6. Delaney Marlow
7. Ace McIntire
8. Ava McIntire
9. Emerson Reed
10. Ramsey Reed
Epilogue
Author's Final Note
Playlist
About the Author
Other Books
Contact Me
Newsletter Sign-up!
Author’s Note
Facing the Enemy had originally been a standalone work, but due to so many requests, I decided to write Roselyn’s, Liam’s & Deke’s stories, and so, the Enemy Series was born, adding Ava’s story, also. This is the last chapter in their lives.
Just a couple of things before I let you go and get your read on. While I am doing my best to work with better editing and proofreading software, all my books are solo, independent works. I write my books, proofread my books, edit my books, create the covers, etc. I have one beta who gives me feedback on my stories, but other than that, all my books are independent projects.
That being said, I apologize, in advance, for the typos, grammar inconsistencies, or any other mistakes I may make. Since writing is strictly a hobby for me, I haven’t looked for commitments in regard to publishers, editors, etc. My hope is that my stories are enjoyable enough that a few mistakes, here and there, can be overlooked. If not, my books are probably not for you.
Also, I am an avid reader-I mean an AVID reader. I love to read above any other hobby. One of the things about reading that hurts my heart, though, is when I fall in love with a book, but I have to wait for the additional books in the series to be released. Because I feel that disappointment down to my soul, I vowed that if I ever write a series, all books will be published at once. Nope-no waiting over here…LOL. So, if you are reading one of my books, but can’t find any other books on the secondary characters of that book, that means the book is a standalone project.
Now, that being said, if there are enough requests for the secondary characters’ stories, I try to accommodate that. So, it is possible for a series to develop unexpectedly. Should that happen, I will do my best to release the rest of the requested book all at once.
Thank You! You are truly making my dreams come true!
Acknowledgements
The first acknowledgement will always be my husband (unless we ever divorce, then probably not so much after that), but seeing as how I can’t imagine that day ever coming, I can’t ever put myself out there without thanking him for all his love, support and belief in me.
Second, there’s my family; my daughter, my son, my grandchildren, my sister, and my mother. They are the people who love me the most, know me the best, and love me dearly, despite all they know…LOL!
And, of course, there’s Kamala. She insists that I don’t have to thank her in every book, but my love for her and gratitude for all her support and enthusiasm, claims otherwise. She’s the first person (outside my family) that I shared this dream with, and she’s been by my side every step of the way. Kam, you really are the best kind of friend!
And, finally, I’d like to thank everyone who’s purchased, read, reviewed, shared, and supported me and my writing. Thank you so much for helping make this dream a reality and a happy, fun one at that! There are not enough ‘Thank You’s in the world.
Dedication
For everyone who wished Ramsey and Emerson’s story could go on forever –
Thank you, everyone!
Prologue
I’ve been doing this a long time.
I mean, a long, long time.
But I have to say, this is the first time I’ve feared for my life doing this.
Usually, weddings are festive, happy times. I mean, sure, there’s a certain level of stress involved in the planning and organizing of the event, but, overall, the occasion was supposed to be a happy one.
Unless the groom was a sociopath, of course.
When Ramsey Reed had commissioned me to plan an outdoor wedding for his twentieth wedding anniversary, I had almost broken out in hives at the budget I had to work with and the paycheck he had offered.
The catch?
It had to be a secret, surprise wedding.
Secret like CIA-access-secret.
In the same smooth, dark, no-nonsense voice that he had used to offer me the job, he had also informed me that if his bride found out, he’d ruin me and everything I’ve worked hard for my entire life.
Now, any self-respecting person would have balked at his threat and would have told him to go to hell. But that paycheck had been a carrot luring me to all the things I wanted to do that I couldn’t afford right now.
I really whored myself out for his money.
So, I had ignored the threat, delegated all my other clients to my fellow wedding organizers, and worked day, night, and pretty sure some hours in the time travel continuum, to make this wedding happen.
On the happier side of things, all their friends had been in on it, so I had been able to get an idea of his wife’s tastes from, not only Ramsey, but her friends, as well. Ramsey had been able to fill in the blanks on her favorite colors, favorite flower, and things like that. Her friends had provided details about her size, style, and perception of certain things. Anytime I would asked Ramsey what she looked like, he’d just say beautiful. Anytime I would asked him about her frame, he’d just say she was perfect. I wasn’t sure how I would have been able to pull this off if I hadn’t had access to her friends. And, God bless them, they had managed to get me a great picture of her.
From what little I had been able to gather from the groom, he and his wife had gotten married when they had been only eighteen-years-old, and it had been at the courthouse with only their close friends in attendance. He had told me that, while his wife has never mentioned a word in regret about how they had gotten married, he regretted not giving her the wedding of her dreams.
And from what I was also able to gather, this group of friends were tighter than family, and had supported each other through high school, college, getting married as teenagers, becoming parents while going to college, and setting up their businesses and futures. They were the real deal and anyone looking at them could see it. Even though I almost lost my mind a few times organizing this wedding
, standing here today, I could honestly say it’s been the utmost privilege to be a part of this.
As I looked around Casa Romantica in San Clemente, I dared Ramsey Reed to find anything wrong with the setup. My team had really outdone themselves and this was going to be the feather in my wedding portfolio cap.
The front of the cultural center was unadorned. It looked like it did every day. The ruse was that the ad executive friend was playing like she had to come up a new campaign for Casa Romantica, so she needed to check it out, and so, they were just going to make it a girls’ weekend. They had flown in last night, while the men and all their children had flown in immediately afterwards. And were staying at a separate hotel. There were no parents of either the groom or the bride. But as I understood it, we had one mother and stepfather team, but that was it. There was a crapload of children, though; eight boys and three girls, all ranging from the ages of ten through eighteen, but I was assured the older kids would be in charge of the younger ones, so that was one less thing to stress about.
But it wasn’t until you entered through the center and into the back that you saw six months of hard goddamn work. There were different shades of silver (to match the bride’s eyes) and blues (because that was her favorite color) decorating flowers, sashes, and canopy silks.
We were able to get a priest to do the ceremony outside of a church and he had been just as floored as the rest of the Casa Romantica staff had been when he had gotten a look at the back of the cultural center. He was going to recite the original traditional vows for their ceremony, and that had been non-negotiable for Ramsey Reed. He had made it clear that he did not want a modern-day version of those vows. He wanted the unbreakable ones that would tie his wife to him forever-his words, not mine or the priest’s.
I surveyed all our hard work and knew Ramsey Reed’s wife was one lucky woman.
Chapter 1
Ramsey Reed~
I didn’t do nervous.
I didn’t do anxious.
And I stopped doing scared the day my father held me down and sliced my face open, gifting me with the scar I had running over my eye.
But I couldn’t ignore the pounding in my chest as I stared at myself in the full-length mirror in front of me. It wasn’t the first time I’ve ever worn a tux, but it was the first time the occasion mattered this much.
I thought about Emerson and my heart lurched like it always did when I stopped and thought about only her. The feeling of absolute obsession has never gone away or faded in the twenty years that we’ve been married. She was no longer eighteen and has given me two beautiful children, but she was still the same breathtaking, wild girl who turned her back on me the first night I met her.
Emerson will never be just my wife or the mother of my children. She was, and always has been, the very reason I breathe in life every second of every goddamn day.
Don’t get me wrong. I loved my children. Ramsey Jr. and Maddox were my world. But if they were my world, then Emerson was my Universe.
“You look like you’re going to throw up,” Liam chuckled.
I turned from the mirror and flipped him off. “Fuck you, dude,” I replied.
“Uh, not to take sides, or anything-”
“Only because Ava’s not in the room,” Deke snorted.
Ace flipped him off. “Of course, I’ll always take her side, asshole,” he said dryly. Ace turned back to me. “As I was saying,” he continued, “not to take sides or anything, but you do look a little…off.”
“Yeah,” Deke agreed. “And we’re not used to a nervous Ramsey Reed.”
“Hell, even when Emerson had Junior and Mad, you hadn’t seemed nervous like you do now,” Liam added. We were all in my hotel room, all dressed in tuxes, and five minutes away from driving to Casa Romantica for my wedding to Emerson. “I mean, hell, Ramsey, it’s not like she’s not going to marry you.”
“Yeah, you know, on account that you’re already married,” Deke pointed out.
I flipped off my Best Man before telling them the truth. “I’m still not good enough for her,” I admitted.
Ace snorted. “Fuck, dude,” he huffed. “None of us are good enough for any of those women, if we’re sharing feelings here.”
“You guys really suck at this,” I pointed out.
“Well, then, you should have handed out a handbook along with these goddamn tuxedos when you made us your groomsmen, Ram,” Liam said, rolling his eyes. “I’ve never been a groomsman before. All I know is I’m supposed to stand up there next to Deke and Ace while you profess your love to Em.”
“Yeah, we’re not even walking down the aisle with the girls because it’s a surprise,” Deke added.
I looked over at Ace for some help and he just threw his hands up like a coward. “Don’t look at me, man,” he blanched. “I know shit about weddings. I’m lucky Ava married me to begin with.”
I shook my head at my idiot best friends. “You guys really do suck at this,” I repeated.
“Ramsey, Emerson is going to love it,” Deke replied, trying to be a good Best Man. “You’re not exactly the romantic type, so she’s going to really be surprised and really love it.”
“You know, it’s been twenty years and I still panic sometimes,” I said, confessing another dark fear. Liam and Deke nodded, understanding completely, while Ace had been fortunate enough to not have been a witness to mine and Emerson’s high school courtship.
Liam clapped my shoulder. “It’s going to be perfect, Ramsey,” he promised.
“Well, if it’s going to be perfect, we better get going,” Ace pointed out. “The girls are waiting.”
I gave them all a tight nod as they left to go pick up the girls. We had it all planned out, how Emerson would be pulled away from the group, so they could all get dressed and ready. There was a slight chance something could go wrong with our plan because Emerson was a spitfire, but we had to take our chances. It had been the best plan we could come up with.
I turned back towards the mirror and gave myself one last once-over. I meant what I had told the guys. After twenty years, I still wasn’t good enough for Emerson. I didn’t deserve her no matter how much time I spent on my knees in front of her.
Emerson Reed was unlike anyone I’ve ever met, and I was never going to let her go.
Ever.
Chapter 2
Emerson Reed~
“Jesus Christ, woman,” Ava exclaimed as she snatched my phone out of my hand. “You act like you’ve never been away from Ramsey or your kids for a day.”
My brows shot up in surprise. “Because Ace doesn’t blow up your phone if you’re away from him for longer and an hour?”
“She’s got you there,” Delaney chimed in.
Ava balked at Delaney. “Really? Because Deke doesn’t turn into a complete lunatic when you’re not around?”
Roselyn started laughing. “It’s a tie,” she chuckled. “You guys all married lunatics.” All three of our heads swiveled to gawk at Roselyn. Her brows furrowed. “What?”
I pointed my mom finger at her. “You are serious deluded if you think Liam’s not a lunatic, Roselyn.”
“Yeah, that dark blonde hair and those baby blue eyes aren’t fooling anyone,” Ava added.
“Fine,” she conceded. “But he’s the least lunaticy out of all of them.”
Okay.
I had to give her that.
“Maybe,” I relented. “But he’s still a lunatic.”
Ava kindly gave me back my phone, and I dutifully put it back in my purse before asking, “What time did you have to be there for the interview, Roz?”
“At eleven, but I want to get there around ten, or so,” she replied. “I’d like a tour of the grounds before the meeting. You know, get a feel for the place.”
“That sounds good,” I told her. Right now, we were all gathered in my hotel room since I was the last to get ready because, Ava was right, I had been texting Ramsey and the kids all morning.
Before anyone could agree or
disagree, the phone to my suite rang. If it was Ramsey, I’d never hear the end of it. I walked over and answered it. “Hello?”
“Emerson Reed?” asked a polite, professional female voice.
“Yes, this is she,” I answered.
“Oh, yes. Good Morning, Mrs. Reed. This is Clarissa from the hotel Guest Services, and I was hoping you could come down for a few moments, please.”
“Uh, su…sure,” I stuttered. “Is there a problem?”
“Oh, nothing that cannot be resolved quickly, I’m sure,” she replied. “But it seems as if there’s an issue with your credit card, ma’am.”
I laughed.
Not to come off like a rich, entitled bitch, or anything, but there was no way something was wrong with my credit card. “Are you sure?”
I could hear the smile in her voice, so that eased the tension a bit. “Are you aware of any…odd transactions lately that may have caused your credit card company to put a security hold on your card? You’d be surprised how often things that that happen.”
She was right. Ramsey traveled some, so he could have made a purchase somewhere that the credit card company was leery about. “I haven’t,” I told her, “but my husband travels some. Maybe he did.”
“That’s probably it,” she agreed. “Do you mind coming down to the Guest Services area, so we can clear this up?”
“Sure. No problem,” I assured her. “I’ll be down right now.”
I hung up as Roselyn asked, “Is everything okay?”
I turned towards my friends. “There’s an issue with my credit card, go figure,” I told them. “Uhm…”
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