by Amali Rose
“Stop it,” Lulu demands. “There are children here,” she chastises us, nodding pointedly at Juliette and Caleb.
“Huh?” Caleb looks up from his Spiderman book.
“Nothing, sweetheart.” Charlie leans over and kisses his head, earning her another grin.
I sit back and observe everyone laughing and teasing around the table and it’s like watching my heart beat outside of my body.
Ten years ago, my life changed irrevocably. It hasn’t always been easy, but when I look at the family we’ve created, I know that every single moment of battle and redemption has been worth it and—
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
“Tallulah!”
THE END.
I hope you enjoyed Dating the DILF! Please consider taking a few minutes to leave a review.
And be sure to keep reading for an excerpt from my book Fling to Forever, book one in the Finding Forever Series!
Amali Rose is an Australian author, and former blogger, who released her debut novella in 2017.
A self-confessed bookworm, her love affair with the written word began as a child, with The Magic Faraway Tree. Her tastes have grown and evolved over the years, and after stumbling into the indie community a few years ago, she discovered her passion for romance with a side of smut.
When not reading or writing Amali enjoys baking, yoga, cheesy pop music & Netflix marathons; and believes strongly that pink, puppies and chocolate make the world a better place!
You can find Amali here:
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SNEAK PEEK
of Book 1 In the Finding Forever Series
PROLOGUE
2003
My head feels foggy as I watch my father from my cross-legged position on the floor where I’m sitting, still trying to make sense of everything that has happened tonight.
“Skylah?”
I blink once. Twice.
“Skylah.” My father’s voice is louder, more insistent this time, and I see him crouched down in front of me. He’s holding my hands in his, but I can’t seem to feel them. The sense of security that normally follows his touch has vanished.
“Honey, this is for the best, you’ll see. Your mom and I have been so unhappy. We need this.”
As the words leave his mouth, I hear a glass smash on the tiled floor, just outside the bedroom door, and hear my mother’s footsteps fade away as she rushes down the hall.
Sighing, my father stands up, his broad shoulders slightly hunched, and a look of frustration crosses his face. Closing his eyes, he takes a breath and seems to regroup as the sound of his phone buzzing with a text fills the air.
Looking down and pulling up the message, a slow smile lights his face, all sense of frustration gone.
It’s her, I realize with horror and I feel a single tear escape. Brushing it away furiously before he can notice, I watch as he slides his phone in his back pocket and resumes packing with a renewed vigour.
Moments later, he zips his suitcase closed and approaches me.
“C’mon, honey, walk me out,” Dad says, holding his hand out to me. I take it hesitantly. There’s no way I can stop this so refusing seems petty, and I allow him to lead me to the front door.
“I’ll call when I get home, okay?”
Home. This is your home, I want to scream. Here with me and Mom! But I don’t. I nod mutely and let him draw me into a tight hug. All too soon, he pulls away and with a last brush of his hand across my cheek, he turns and walks out the door. I watch him make his way down the front path, hop into his car, gun the engine and drive off down the street. The hand I had raised to wave goodbye, drops quickly back down to my side. There’s no point. He never looked back.
CHAPTER ONE
“Ugh, shit.” The words fall from my lips as I trip over the cushion left on the floor with all the grace of a stumbling hippopotamus. Okay, maybe that last glass of wine wasn’t the smartest idea I’ve ever had. As I pull myself up I search for my kindle and sigh in relief as I spot it safe on the couch. I reach down and pick it up as I make my way to my bedroom, ready to curl up and enjoy my latest book boyfriend and this wine buzz I have going on.
After getting ready for bed I am snug and settled, devouring the filthy words on the screen with the enthusiasm of someone who has clearly not enjoyed any sexy times in a ridiculously long while. As my eyes eat up the words, my hand unconsciously smooths its way down my body, seeking relief from the tension pulsing in my core. As my fingers slide through the wetness, I groan softly. Grazing my clit lightly, a shiver escapes me. I am so worked up it’s only a matter of minutes before my teasing fingertips have worked their magic and I am moaning my release.
I sigh as I roll over thinking how too many of my nights are ending this way. I’ve almost forgotten what it feels like to have an actual guy touch me, and frankly, I’m ready to give myself the “it’s not you, it’s me speech”. I think about the advice my best friend Cassidy gave me the other day; online dating. I mean there’s no shame in it these days, right? We’re all busy, it’s a perfectly respectable way to meet people. And it works. I’ve seen the testimonials and surely, they wouldn’t lie. Right?
While I still retain a bit of liquid courage, courtesy of all the wine I drank tonight, I grab my phone and google “most successful dating sites”. It would seem Happily Ever After is the site of choice for all the despera… I mean, hopeful singles out there. I stifle a laugh at the name. I’m not looking for a happily ever after. Just a happily ever orgasm. So, before I lose my nerve, I pull up the website and click on the ‘create an account’ button. Ten minutes later, I have completed my profile and set it loose into the online dating world. My smiling face gazes out at me from the phone screen and I can’t help looking at myself with pity. A sense of dread settles in my stomach as I send out a silent prayer to the dick-pic gods. Please no delfies. Or, you know, at least make them dicks worthy of my admiration. Oh god, what have I done?
* * *
BEEEEEP.
I sigh quietly as I reach to open the microwave and pull out the dinner for one as Cassidy continues her rant in my ear. “Seriously, Skye, I’m not sure how much longer I can stay there. The work is boring as fuck and the people are even worse! How can I be expected to work under those conditions? I’m not getting any sleep at night because I’m falling asleep out of boredom every day!”
I try to hold in a giggle as I listen to Cassidy complain about her job in office administration. Unfortunately, the result is an unattractive snort-giggle that alerts her to my mirth. “Well, I’m glad you find my pain so funny, loser!” she shrieks, and I can feel her glowering through the phone, which causes me to lose any pretence and I burst out laughing.
“It’s work, Cass, it’s not supposed to be fun. It’s just the eight hours we have to get through every day to get to the fun stuff.”
“Speaking of the fun stuff, you wanna go out tonight? Cocktails and tapas?” The change in Cassidy’s voice is immediate and if I didn’t know her so well, would be slightly disconcerting. But after ten years of friendship I am used to her swift mood changes and at times like this, I am grateful for them. Her work diatribes are becoming a daily occurrence.
“I would but I’ve got myself a hot date tonight. Ben and I agreed to chat at 8 o’clock.” I listen as Cassidy whoops loudly on the other end of the phone, mumbles something about sexting and starts to sing “bow chika wow wow.”
I roll my eyes at her outburst, but I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. Cass is my opposite in every way. The yin to my yang, the Scary Spice to my Baby Spice. She is the dark to my light and I couldn’t imagine my life without her. She has also seen me despair over the long list of less than desirable men that have replied to my online profile and encouraged me to persevere.
Cassidy claimed the answer to my sex drought was only a click away, and don’t think she didn’t proclaim her triumph loudly when Ben Mackinnon appeared in my Happily Ever After mailbox. Sexy as hell and, if his messages are anything to go by, sweet, smart and funny; he ticked all my boxes and then some. And I’m not going to lie; the fact that he didn’t send me a dick pic within the first ten minutes had definitely worked in his favor.
“Okay, okay, okay, enough!” I laugh as I cut Cassidy off mid-chika. “I have fifteen minutes to scarf down this meal before it’s B-time so I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”
“B-time? Really? I sincerely worry about your cool cred sometimes, you nerd. But that’s a topic for another day. Later, Skyballs, and remember, two hands on your phone at all times, young lady!”
I groan as Cassidy hangs up on me and I place my phone on the kitchen counter. Tucking a strand of my long brown hair behind my ear, I pick up my fork and dig into my lean cuisine. After a quick glance at the clock I see it’s ten minutes to eight, and feel the butterflies start. Truth be told, I’m completely out of practice with this whole dating thing. My list of exes did nothing to change my mind and convince me that a happily ever after was in my future, and I had forgotten about this complex mix of excitement and fear which left you unsure if you were giddy or nauseous!
Placing my dishes in the dishwasher, I move to the couch and settle in for what I hope will be a long chat. Because chatting to Ben has become the highlight of my day, and while I probably should, I feel absolutely no shame in admitting that. The last month talking to him has been fun and easy; I find myself almost craving the contact with him. He has tried to convince me to meet him in person a handful of times but I’ve resisted. There is safety in where we are now, in the protection that the phone screen affords me. I started this online thing to find someone to have fun with. Someone who can scratch my metaphorical itch anytime it tingles, but the longer I talk to Ben, the more I can see myself falling for him and I can’t let that happen. My head understands this but as my phone dings and my heart begins to pound, it’s clear that my heart might not be on the same page. Ugh, someone needs to give me a stern talking to. I am a twenty-eight-year-old grown woman, not a giddy, giggling preteen. Then again, I haven’t gotten laid in a while, so I give myself a pass.
BEN: You there, beautiful?
SKYE: Yep. How was your day?
Riveting, I know. Have I mentioned I’m out of practice?
BEN: Good, busy. One of the systems crashed so we spent the day trying to clean up that shit storm. I hope yours was better?
SKYE: I’m not even going to pretend to understand the computer stuff lol but it sounds like a rough day, so I’m sorry. I almost feel bad telling you that I had a fantastic day, I got a promotion!
As happy as I was about the promotion, it was bittersweet. My boss, Juliet, had informed me that she wanted to take a step back from running Books & Beans, the bookstore slash coffee shop that she owned. So, she was promoting me to manager, and while I was incredibly excited about the chance to have more responsibility, and my mind was bursting with ideas, I was also slightly terrified at the prospect of failing.
BEN: That’s incredible news! We have to celebrate. What about dinner on Friday night?
My hand freezes over the phone keyboard. I’m not ready for this, it’s too soon. I mean, I know that realistically it stopped being too soon about two weeks ago (according to Cassidy “Bow Chika Wow Wow” Jensen, anyway) but I’m not sure I’m ready to take that next step yet. My phone vibrates in my hand, bringing my gaze back to the screen.
BEN: Baby, I’m sorry, I have to go, work just called and they need me back there. I’ll make some reservations for Friday and get back to you, okay? I’m really happy for you.
Well shit. I guess I’m meeting Ben.
Fling to Forever is AVAILABLE NOW!
Finding Forever Series
Fling to Forever
Fighting Chance
Friend Zone
Fallen Hearts
Standalones
Dating the DILF
As always, to every blogger who has ever read, reviewed, shared or supported me in any way, you have my complete gratitude and I will never take it for granted. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
To the person reading this… thank you for taking a chance on my words. I put my heart into every story I write and putting them out there into the world is just as terrifying today as it was with book one! I hope this didn’t disappoint.
Kim, your friendship, support and honesty makes all of this a little bit easier. Thank you!
Antonette and Rachel, thank you for always having my back. I’m lucky to have you both in my life.
To every one of my friends, family and loved ones, who support me and cheer me on, you make me brave and I adore you all for it.
Writing a book can be a very solitary experience, but publishing a book takes a whole team. If you’re lucky, you find a group of people who care about your story as much as you do. I have been so. Incredibly. Lucky.
My alpha/betas: Kim, Rachel, Tamara & Tre, thank you for putting up with my always-behind-schedule-but-even-more-behind-than-normal ass. Your input and honesty helps make me better, and I’m so incredibly thankful to all of you.
Ellie McLove (My Brother’s Editor), thank you for putting up with my inability to meet a deadline or learn where to put a damn comma. Please don’t ever leave me!
Judy Zweifel (Judy’s Proofreading), there is no one I would rather give my manuscript it’s final polish. Thank you for always explaining your changes so I can learn and being prepared to google the Aussie slang that sometimes slips through!
Stacey Blake (Champagne Book Design), thank you for taking my manuscripts and turning them into a real-life book of beauty! I’m so grateful to you.
Ben Ellis (Tall Story Designs), working with you is a joy! Thank you for putting up with my ramblings and somehow turning them into a work of art. My books are made better by your remarkable covers.
Kylie McDermott, Jo Webb and Jeananna Goodall (Give Me Books), you are the most amazing PR team! Your kindness is equal only to your professionalism and I hope we work together on many, many future projects!
Last, but certainly not least, my street team, Amali’s Sinful Sweethearts! Antonette Santillo, Cassy Kubehl, Devon Farrow, Heather Poll, Katrina Haynes, Kristi Smith, Lauren Harwood, Rachel McLean, Tamara Harrington & Tre Talbot. What would I do without you?! Thank you for your constant hard work, support and encouragement. I’m keeping you all forever!!!
Huge love & hugs!
Amali xxx
