Reality of Love Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Marika Ray

  When her gasps became one continuous moan and a fluttering of pulses added to the sensations coursing through my body, I knew she was close. Thank God. I was right behind her, just barely holding on and hoping she’d take her pleasure before she wrenched mine from me. Gabby bit down on my lip and the added pain short-circuited my brain. I was coming whether I planned to or not. The room spun and I squeezed my eyes shut, not pleased to be losing the sight of an unrestrained Gabby all hot and sweaty atop me. When equilibrium returned, I blinked my eyes and felt Gabby shift on my lap. She curled into the curve of my shoulder and I broke my promise, holding her to me as tightly as I could.

  “I love you, Tesoro,” she whispered against my skin.

  I hit bliss again, this time my heart being the organ to take the trip.

  My heart would forever belong to her.

  “So you’ve decided to work things out?” Natalia, not one for communicating discreetly, asked Kitty and Jasper about their situation the minute we all sat down with drinks in hand in their living room.

  Gabby sat beside me on the love seat, the skirt of her red dress spread out over my leg. I was having a hell of a time concentrating on the conversation at hand, rather than reliving those moments with her in the bedroom when she’d stepped out of that red dress. I could safely say that even if I lived a thousand years with her, she’d never be boring to me. Each expression she made or sound she uttered or word she said was unique and precious.

  “Gabriel has signed his rights away and Jasper has agreed to raise the child as ours.” Kitty nodded her head like the Queen of England. Jasper shifted in his chair and took a long pull from whatever he was drinking.

  “Well, I guess that’s that.” Natalia shrugged, like she didn’t foresee five thousand hurdles ahead of them as a couple raising a baby she’d produced from infidelity. Not that I thought it couldn’t be done, but damn, that was a rough situation for everyone.

  “I’d like to propose a toast.” Lavender raised her glass of cucumber water and we all followed suit, though I doubted any of the rest of us had that beverage choice, besides maybe Kitty, the baby mama. I sure as hell knew Jasper had something stronger. “To all of us, wherever life takes us. The show brought us together, but I hope our friendships last long after.”

  “Here, here!” We all took a sip, agreeing with her. Even though these people were definitely weird and wouldn’t have been my first pick as friends, they’d become important to me. One never knew when you’d need a good hug and Lavender had the best. I didn’t really like to mow my lawn, so maybe having Frank’s herd clear the grass in an eco-friendly manner would be a good idea. John’s fan, the one that now hung in our living room, not only functioned perfectly to cool off the room, but was so unique it was a conversation piece. Lord Jasper unclenched his asshole so much during this reality show, he’d quit reminding us to call him Lord. I’d say that was progress. Natalia and Kitty were still a mystery to me, but I knew Gabby had grown fond of them. All in all, Lavender was right. I knew we’d remain friends.

  Gabby cleared her throat and stood up, surprising me. She rarely took the spotlight in our group functions, preferring to let the others lead the charge into dramaville.

  “On that note, I’d like to talk with you all.” She set her glass of champagne down on the coffee table and I could see the tremor in her hand. Shit. Now I was nervous, wondering what had her shaking.

  She folded her hands together and went on. “I have a confession to make. You see, when the producer for this show called me to be on it, I was in the middle of getting over the breakup of my five-year relationship with Hew, the guy you all saw last week. I had this crazy idea to go on the show and prove how wonderful my life was to get back at him. You know, to show him I was totally over him, right?” I could see Natalia nodding vigorously in support. I wished Gabby had told me what she planned to do tonight so I could have supported her better.

  Gabby laughed, the sound tinged with sadness. “The thing is, needing to throw that in his face showed exactly how much I wasn’t over him. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I hired Rhett to be my fake boyfriend so I could come on the show.” She turned toward me, but wouldn’t look at me.

  I heard the others gasp and whisper, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Gabby, with her pink cheeks and hands twisting with nerves. Confusion dissipated and massive pride filled my chest. She was confessing her grand scheme to everyone, exposing herself in ways she never could have even just a month or two ago. If I hadn’t already loved her, I would have fallen in love with her right then, sheerly for her bravery.

  “How is that even possible? You’re the cutest couple I’ve ever seen.” Natalia looked ready to stand up and fight it out with her fists.

  “Let her finish, dear,” Lavender interjected, a sly smile on her face.

  Gabby cleared her throat again. “The thing is, Rhett and I fell in love despite the obstacles between us. And because I love him, I don’t want to keep anything a secret anymore, like it’s something dark and dirty. Yes, he’s my ex’s half-brother, but he’s the best man I’ve ever met. He loves me so much he lets me stand on my own two feet and delights in who I am. So, I come to you now, with all my secrets exposed, and let you see who I am as well. I hope you can forgive me for lying to you.”

  She plopped back down on the sofa, her chest heaving. I grabbed her hand and laced our fingers together, squeezing her tight.

  “You’re amazing,” I whispered as I nuzzled behind her ear. She dipped her head, saying nothing, but squeezing me back.

  Kitty broke the stunned silence. “Well, I for one think everyone deserves a second chance. Kudos to you for going after true love no matter the odds. May you have a beautiful relationship.”

  “Thank you, Kitty,” Gabby said softly.

  Natalia shook her finger at us. “I knew there was real chemistry. You cannot fake that.” Her grin turned devilish. “You must fuck like goats.”

  I coughed, nearly choking on my beer. “I’m not sure what that’s like, so I couldn’t possibly answer you, but I think the phrase is ‘fuck like bunnies’.”

  Natalia shook her head, blond hair flying around her head, accent getting thicker as she argued. “No, no. Obviously whoever made this phrase has never seen goats in action.”

  Gabby started shaking next to me, right before a snort-burp broke free. She slapped her free hand over her mouth a little too late. I brought our joined hands to my lips, kissing the back of her hand. See? Everything she did was precious.

  “To Gabby and Rhett.” John lifted his glass and everyone toasted us. Gabby relaxed into me, much calmer now that her secret was out and everyone was so accepting.

  “I knew the goats would get you two.” Frank smirked. “Primal, I tell you. Primal.”

  29

  Gabby

  Relief left me weak, like all my muscles had run a marathon when really, all I did was stand up to my truth and share it with my friends. Over dinner, I relaxed even more as we discussed anything and everything. These people were so crazy in the best way. And really, I was just as crazy as them, so who was I to judge them harshly? I’d had a fake boyfriend on national television, for God’s sake!

  “I have an announcement.” John banged his spoon against this glass while we all chatted over dessert.

  “Oh Lord,” Jasper muttered.

  John smiled. “Nah, don’t panic. This is a good one.” He turned to Rhett sitting next to him and smacked him on the back in that way guys do when they want to show affection but it comes out in the form of physical violence.

  “Rhett and I have inked a deal. I’m now the forty-nine percent owner of Willy Boards. Rhett will be moving his board shaping company into my warehouse space.”

  Rhett took over the announcement. “With the injection of capital from Fantastical, all our boards at Willy will be made with the most high tech materials possible. And I’ll be branching out into T-shirt design as well, taking all the funny sayings I love so much on my shirts an
d giving them a surfing twist. We’ll make our debut splash next summer as one of the sponsors of the Vans US Open of Surfing competition.”

  My jaw dropped. Willy Boards? As in Wilbur? Everett Wilbur O’Donnell? I had no idea he was working on all of that. He’d mentioned Hew offering him a potential investor and I was happy he’d turned him down, but never had he mentioned him and John collaborating. My man was keeping secrets from me.

  “I wanted to surprise you,” Rhett whispered to me, his gaze hopeful. He turned from everyone at the table, the only reaction that mattered to him being mine.

  I grabbed his face and pulled him in roughly, laying a messy kiss on him that got the whoops and hollers going at the table. If I didn’t kiss him I would’ve burst from excitement.

  “I’m so proud of you, Willy,” I said against his lips. He poked me in the ribs. I peppered kisses across his cheeks, forehead, and finally that line of freckles across the bridge of his nose. God, I loved this man.

  “Get a room, you two!” Natalia shouted with a big grin.

  I released him and smoothed down the top of my dress, flicking my hair behind my back like I was in control of myself once again. Really, I wanted to find an excuse to visit the bathroom with him and drop to my knees to show him how proud I was of him. His eyes heated and he leaned in farther. He must have seen the direction of my thoughts reflected on my face.

  “Get your mind out of the gutter, Ms. Cole.”

  A shiver ran up my spine at his rough whisper. “Then stop talking and looking at me.”

  He grinned, more lecherous than humorous while I took a sip of water. I was all kinds of flustered, calculating in my head how quickly we could leave and how long it would take us to drive home. Which was a shocking train of thought even to me. Rhett brought out a side of me I hadn’t known existed. I’d hoped for it, maybe even dreamed of finding a man who never left my thoughts and turned me on with a simple cock of his eyebrow, but never really thought I’d find him.

  His chair scraped back and he stood, discreetly adjusting himself behind his napkin before tossing it onto the table.

  “Excuse me for a moment.”

  He left the room and I sat frozen, wondering if this was my chance to follow him. Was he trying to provide us with an opportunity? Shit. Natalia was looking at me like she knew what I was thinking. Probably because she’d followed Frank out of the room on a similar mission on more than one occasion.

  I heard a clopping noise behind me before I could make up my mind on what to do. The noise got louder and sounded odder the closer it got, especially when a huffing noise joined in. I swiveled in my chair to find a goat standing directly behind me. Having seen them up close before, I wasn’t scared, but I was certainly shocked to see one in Kitty and Jasper’s house. I didn’t take them for the farm-animal-in-the-house kind of people.

  My gaze dropped down to the name tag dangling on his neck. Buttinsky was back.

  “Why are you so obsessed with me?” I asked him, wide-eyed.

  He stared back at me, not even blinking, which was a bit creepy, I’ll be honest. The kid took one swipe at my ankle with his tongue and now he was showing up everywhere. Could a person take out a restraining order against a goat?

  He lifted his head like he was saying “What’s up, girl” in greeting.

  “I’m sorry, Buttinsky, but I have a man. You and I can never be.”

  Someone at the table snorted, but I didn’t think they grasped the gravity of the situation. Those things had horns and couldn’t even look you straight in the eye. They were unpredictable and while Rhett had me embracing some chaos these days, I didn’t trust these wild animals.

  A throat cleared on the other side of me. A throat that sounded a lot like Rhett. I pivoted slowly, not wanting to startle Buttinsky and risk a seizure again, nor did I want to take both eyes off him for fear of another sneak lick attack. What I saw, though, caused me to forget all about Buttinsky in the blink of an eye.

  Rhett was down on one knee, a super serious expression on his face.

  “What are you doing?” I shout-whispered. I was aware of everyone at the table staring at us, along with the two cameramen set up in the corners of the room recording everything. Rhett’s intent should have been obvious, but in the moment, I was lost. Plus, the goat threw me off. He didn’t really scream romance and proposals, you know?

  “Gabriella Cole. I love everything about you. The way you talk to goats like they can understand you—”

  “Hey! Buttinsky and I have a connection.” Stupidly, I interrupted, still not quite getting through my head the gravity of the situation.

  The wattage of Rhett’s smile increased. “The way you stand up for yourself, the way you stand up for me and to me. Your laugh that sounds like you might need medical assistance. How committed you are to your job. How brave you are in being true to yourself. The friendships you hold so fiercely. The money you have that doesn’t change who you are. And especially the way you keep me laughing every single day. You’re fire and ice, fierce and sweet, all at the same time. I can’t wait to see where you go and what you do in your life.”

  He took a second to breathe and the reality of the situation kicked in. My heart sped up and I felt like I entered a long tunnel where the edges of each sound were blunted and muted. I blinked, Rhett reached over to the side of me, and I saw Buttinsky again like the yeast infection that just wouldn’t go away.

  He bleated at me, his close proximity making the sudden noise quite loud and causing me to jump in my chair.

  “Hush, Buttinsky. She’s mine.” Rhett was messing with his collar, which seemed like a really weird thing to do during a proposal. I mean, I didn’t want to sound like a prima donna, but shouldn’t I have his undivided attention?

  He unclasped something from his neck and brought it in front of me, a black box with twine tied to it. He snapped the lid open and a gorgeous diamond surrounded by tiny red rubies sparkled up at me.

  “Gabby, will you do the honor of marrying me so I can love you forever, take you on adventures, and be your partner for life?”

  My heart wouldn’t stop pounding and sounds were still garbled, but I did hear him speak. The word sank in and my eyes filled with tears. The ring wavered and when I looked up at his face, Rhett looked just like my future. He looked like the kind of man who’d do absolutely everything he promised and more. I couldn’t see us growing old together because with his knack for finding the humor in situations and getting us into new situations, we’d always be young at heart.

  I paused for a second to consider my answer, consulting my head, my heart, and my vagina. Turns out it was unanimous: I better marry that boy before he put that gorgeous ring on some other lucky woman.

  “Yes!” I shouted, because that’s what overwrought women do with all the excitement in the world pounding away in their chests. I grabbed his face and smashed his lips with mine, nearly knocking the ring box out of his hand. What was it about Rhett that made me lose my damn mind?

  Noises happened around us and I didn’t acknowledge a single one, too intent on making sure Rhett knew I was all in. The beard scruff under my hands felt like the perfect place to shower kisses for the rest of my life. The strong arms crushing me to his chest would always catch me, of that I was sure. A part of me was shocked to have finally found the one I wanted by my side always. Another part of me felt like this was all meant to be. A destiny waiting for me to be brave enough—or reckless enough—to grab ahold of in the most unconventional way possible.

  Loud clapping and cheering finally broke through my bubble of happiness. A need for oxygen in my lungs had me contemplating pulling back from Rhett’s lips. A rough and slippery lick across my cheek made me yelp and jump back in a hurry.

  Buttinsky blinked at me, only an inch or two away from my face, clearly unapologetic with his ill-timed affection.

  “Dammit, Buttinsky. That’s disgusting!” I let go of Rhett to swipe at my cheeks.

  Frank and Rhett roared with lau
ghter, enjoying the goat love a little too much if you asked me. Everyone else joined in, even milking a giggle out of me.

  A hand landed on my head, stroking my hair from behind. I was getting dizzy with all the spinning around I was doing. But the equilibrium shift was worth it when I found Lily-Marie, Jameson, and my four godchildren jammed together in the doorway leading to the kitchen, laughing and cheering.

  Lily-Marie wrapped me in a big hug. “Congrats, bestie. Found yourself a good one,” she whispered.

  Tears hit my eyes again. Having my best friend from elementary school witness my proposal was an extra layer of special only one man could have put together. As I hugged her back, I reached out and found Rhett’s hand, grabbing it and refusing to let go.

  30

  Gabby

  Exhaustion made my limbs heavy, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep for a long while. Today had been perfect. The crazy thing was I had a whole lifetime of perfect days waiting for me. And it wasn’t just because of Rhett. It was the self-confidence I’d found when I let go of proving myself to anyone. I was finally free to just be me and to own it. So in a sense, I had to thank Hew for being such an asshole. Without his wandering dick, I might never have gotten to where I was today.

  Not that I’d ever actually thank the asshole. I wasn’t that big of a person yet.

  “Snookums?” Rhett called to me from the back patio.

  I’d gone upstairs to change out of my dress and heels while he fired up the firepit and poured us some wine. Sliding the glass door open, I stepped outside and just stared for a moment, really taking in the sight before me, pinching myself to check if it was real.

  Rhett, with his handsome profile lit by the flames, lounged in a chair, a wine glass in hand, the red in his hair highlighted like a beacon in the night. The backyard of flowers and trees looked like a secret oasis in the moonlight. Even the string of yellow twinkle lights strung under the white trellis patio added to the romantic atmosphere. A perfect night to end a perfect day.