by Lauren Runow
“I choose you. I want a life with you. I want you by my side. I want to live this life with you. Fight with you. Make love to you. Create life with you,” he says with a soulful purpose to his words.
I tilt my head, confused and honored at the same time when something dawns on me, making me gasp and cover my mouth in surprise.
My heart stops as everything he said sinks in. That was the speech my hero gave in one of my books before he proposed to the heroine.
I shake my head and look down at the duvet, convinced I’m misreading the situation when I realize the other two lines he recited are from other proposal scenes in my books.
“Jake,” I say, hesitantly. “What are you doing?”
My breath hitches because my heart is racing wildly, surprising me with how badly it wants my hunch to be true.
He sits down on the bed beside me, leans in, and whispers, “I choose you for eternity.”
Our lips meet and I absolutely melt into him.
My lids are still hooded as he pulls back and adds, “Now, get up. I have a day planned for us.”
“But—”
He places his finger over my mouth, silencing me and shaking his head. “Let’s get ready first.”
I fling off the sheets and rush to the bathroom, ready to get dressed for the day, glad I brought a dress I know he loves.
My hair is blown out, and I add a touch of lipstick. Once I have my shoes on, I’m ready to go. I stand by the door with a smile on my face, waiting to see what he says, but he only grabs my hand and leads me out of the room.
After we hop in the car, he heads to the Milwaukee Art Museum as it’s somewhere he said he wanted to see while we were in town. We tour the displays and enjoy the morning of enrichment and each other’s company. I almost forget his reciting of my fictional proposals as we stroll down the halls.
Once we’re walking out of the museum, hand in hand, he turns to me and says, “I am wildly, crazily, passionately in love with you. I don’t just love you. I live for you.”
I smile big as he pauses and holds out his free hand, where I see he has notes written on a tiny piece of paper. I recognize the words to this one immediately. It’s from my friends-to-lovers romance.
When he looks back to me, it’s with a smile when he sees my face, and I know what he’s doing. It doesn’t stop him though.
“You’re the only woman I have ever and will ever love. I lost you once, and I will never lose you again. That’s why I’m not asking; I’m telling you.”
My heart squeezes as I wait for the next words because, in the book, they were, Will you marry me?
He leans in to kiss me sweetly, and when he pulls back, he says, “I’m telling you, I love you.”
I squint my eyes at him, and he lets out a small chuckle before pulling my hand as he steps away and heads back to the car. I play with the hem of my dress and smash my lips, wondering what on earth he’s up to.
He drives to our next place, a cute little diner, where we order at a counter and then make our way to a table in the corner.
I stare at him, waiting for whatever he’s going to say next, but he just goes about with his day, acting like he hasn’t recited two proposals from my books. Nope, he talks about the museum and what he liked the most as well as the signing and how amazed he was with the attendance and how many books I’d sold.
I’m dying here, waiting for him to finish his thought, and I know he’s enjoying keeping me on the line like this.
We eat our food, and I try not to think about what’s going on in his mind, but it’s killing me on the inside.
As we walk to the car after lunch, he stops at my door and pushes me up against it. When he leans down to kiss me, my heart pounds, and my knees go weak. He holds me up, deepening our kiss, and I melt in his arms.
As he pulls back, he places his finger on my cheek as he says, “I never thought love was in the cards for me. The idea of having a partner in life was so foreign to me that I never even considered the option. My life was complete until you came along.”
I smile brightly. This one’s from my single-dad rock-star book.
“You are more than a partner though. You’ve become my other half—the other half of my heart, the other part of my world. My family loves you just as much as I do. You’ve made our family complete, yet there’s still one thing missing.” He pauses, and I look into his eyes as he continues to recite the lines from the book, “Do you know what’s missing?”
“Me taking your name,” I respond. Although, in the book, it actually says, You taking my name, but I wanted to change it up for us.
He shakes his head. “Nope. What’s missing are the ones we love.”
I take a sharp inhale, questioning everything and wondering what’s going on in that head of his.
He opens the car door and nudges me to sit down and pull my feet in.
“Are you trying to torture me?” I finally ask. “Because if you are, you’re succeeding.”
He laughs, kissing me again. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Jake winks, and I let out a huff, crossing my arms over my chest. He closes the door, and when he enters on his side, he starts it and then grabs my hand to hold as he drives to our next destination.
A sign on the road reads, McKinley Beach. When we get out, I see a group of people close to the water, and as we approach them, I realize who’s all here.
Everyone we love.
His entire family is here along with my mom, Charisse, and Melody. Sweet Aubrey runs to me when she sees us from afar.
“Auntie,” she yells as I pick her up.
“Hello, my sweet baby girl. What’s going on here?” I ask as I tickle her tummy and try to get some info out of her.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Charisse says. “She has strict orders not to say anything to you but hello. We knew you’d try to trick her.”
I laugh as I hug Charisse and then Melody.
“Have you guys been here the entire time?” I ask Melody.
She shrugs. “We had fun at the hotel pool while you guys were at the signing yesterday.”
I say hello to everyone, giving them all hugs and loving the feeling of family I get from every single person here. When I get to Bobbi, her eyes are brimmed with tears, and they only make me fight back my own.
When I turn back to Jake, it’s to him on his knee, holding out a gorgeous diamond ring.
“Lacey, I’ve read your stories of hopeless people finding love and of people who fought off ideas of ever finding the one. I’ve loved being your muse, but nothing is as good as being by your side. You write some pretty amazing couples, but they will never beat us. Because your heroines will never be you. They’ll never have your charm, your drive, or your love. I’ve enjoyed every second I’ve been with you since the moment you kissed me for a damn TikTok challenge. I knew right then that you were different and exactly what I wanted in my life. So, Lacey Wampo, will you marry me?”
I leap over to him, almost tackling him to the ground, screaming, “Yes!”
Everyone cheers as he stands us up and hugs me tightly.
“I love you, Lacey,” he whispers into my ear as he runs his hand through my hair, holding me tighter to him.
“I love you more,” I say as tears fall down my face. “Thank you for breaking my writer’s block and making my life complete.”
He pulls back and smiles big at me before kissing my lips in front of everyone we love. They hoot and holler in celebration with us for finding each other and a love that will last a lifetime.
Before You Go…
Do you want to keep up with Jeannine and Lauren as well as sign up for a chance to receive a zodiac themed surprise care package in the mail? Sign up below to be entered!
https://bit.ly/2E6A584
The next book in the Falling for the Stars series, CHARMING COWORKER (FALLING FOR A SAGITTARIUS), releases November 23, 2020. Preorder your copy now!
https://amzn.to/35A0UfZ
&n
bsp; Ready to read the books Lacey was writing in Naughty Neighbor? Check out THE SEXTON BROTHERS SERIES—AUSTIN, BRYCE AND TANNER—by Jeannine and Lauren that are out now as a box set and in KU!
https://amzn.to/2QySTjE
Acknowledgments
When we were writing the last book in the Sexton Brothers series, Tanner, Lauren became obsessed with the song Him and I by G-Easy & Halsey, especially because of the music video and how much it reminded her of Tanner and Harper.
In the song there’s a lyric that says, Only one who gets me, I’m a crazy fuckin’ Gemini.
That’s when the idea hit us. Whether you believe it or not, everyone knows their zodiac sign and celebrates their unique characteristics because of it. The idea for twelve books was born and, after we finished the Sexton Brothers and some solo projects, we jumped in, ready to write the books together.
Such a series is quite the undertaking, but we knew we could do it with the help of our wonderful PA, Autumn Gantz with Wordsmith Publicity. We can’t thank you enough for guiding us through and making sure we were on track while we had our heads in each book.
A huge thank you to Wilmari Carrasquillo-Delgado and Chelle Lagoski Northcutt for being our beta readers.
Our books wouldn’t be what they are today without the help of Jovana Shirley with Unforeseen Editing. It blows our minds the things she’s able to spot and make sure the book flows for consistency. We’re so grateful for Allisia Wysong also for helping us with a quick proofread!
And of course, we can never thank our readers enough. Without you guys we wouldn’t be able to follow our dreams and have our daily conversations from different sides of the United States. We found our friendship through books, and get to continue due to your support.
Thank you!
About the Authors
Jeannine Colette
Jeannine Colette is the author of the Abandon Collection – a series of stand-alone novels featuring dynamic heroines who have to abandon their reality in order to discover themselves . . . and love along the way. Each book features a new couple, exciting new city and a rose of a different color.
A graduate of Wagner College and the New York Film Academy, Jeannine went on to become a Segment Producer for television shows on CBS and NBC. She left the television industry to focus on her children and pursue a full-time writing career. She lives in New York with her husband, the three tiny people she adores more than life itself, and a rescue pup named Wrigley.
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Lauren Runow
Lauren Runow is the author of multiple Adult Contemporary Romance novels, some more dirty than others. When Lauren isn't writing, you'll find her listening to music, at her local CrossFit, reading, or at the baseball field with her boys. Her only vice is coffee, and she swears it makes her a better mom!
Lauren is a graduate from the Academy of Art in San Francisco and is the founder and co-owner of the community magazine she and her husband publish. She is a proud Rotarian, helps run a local non-profit kids science museum, and was awarded Woman of the Year from Congressman Garamendi. She lives in Northern California with her husband and two sons.
You can also stay in touch through the social media links below.
www.LaurenRunow.com
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