by Marie Force
“You don’t have to, Lo,” she says. “All I want to do is sleep. You don’t have to stay.”
“We’ll all get out of your hair,” Scarlett says. To Jace, she adds, “Can I hitch a ride back to town with you?”
“Of course. No problem.” He shakes hands with Blake. “To be continued.”
“Thanks an awful lot for everything tonight, man. If you want the job, it’s all yours after what you did to get me to Honey when she needed me.”
“I want the job, and it was a pleasure. Glad I could help and that I got to meet your friends.” He waggles his eyes at Scarlett, who’s oblivious because she’s hugging Lauren and whispering something to her.
We walk out together, and I follow Lauren to her car.
“Come to my place,” I say to her. “Let me explain.”
“It’s late, Garrett. I’m tired and—”
“Please, Lauren.”
She sighs. “Fine. Okay.”
The greatest feeling of relief I’ve ever experienced floods my system. We’re not out of the woods yet, but at least she’s going to hear me out. “Follow me.”
With a curt nod, she gets in her car and pulls out of the parking lot right behind me. I lead the way back to Marfa and pull into my driveway, opening two of the garage doors so she can drive in next to me.
I close the doors and wait for her to precede me into the house. “You want something to drink?”
“Just some water.”
I pour glasses of ice water for both of us and bring them into the living room, taking the seat next to her on the sofa. “The first thing I want to say is I’m sorry I didn’t tell you why we really went to Austin.”
“I’ve spent the last ten hours trying to understand why you didn’t tell me.”
“Like I said at the hospital, after everything clicked with us, I decided I didn’t want the job after all, but Jerry and his team had gone to so much trouble to arrange everything, I didn’t feel right canceling at the last minute. And then when Wayne showed up and upset you, I thought it would be a good chance to get you away from it all for a few days.”
“Which was nice of you, and I appreciate it, but can you begin to understand how it felt to have someone I don’t know at all fill in the blanks for me?”
“I’m sorry about that. Jerry and I had agreed this would be a social dinner with no business. I didn’t think it would come up.”
“Were you ever going to tell me that you went there for an interview?”
“I was planning to tell you about it on the way home, after I declined their offer.”
“I’m having a hard time understanding why you had the interview in the first place if you didn’t want the job.”
“Like I said earlier, it goes back to what I was doing when my father died.”
“What were you doing?”
“Interviewing with companies just like Jerry’s, places with lots of opportunities and offices around the world.”
In the span of one second, I watch as she puts it all together. “So you’ve been counting down the days until Sierra graduates so you can get back to what you were doing before your dad died?”
“Not the whole time.”
“Oh my God, Garrett.” She bends in half as if in pain, rocking back and forth. “All these years… How could you not tell me you wanted to be somewhere else? What did you think I would say?”
“It’s not like that, Lo. I was only exploring my options.”
“What about your clients here? People like Blake and Honey who depend on you? What were you going to say to them on your way out of town?”
“I would’ve provided for them and my employees. But it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m not going anywhere. I want something different now.” I reach for her hand, which is freezing, so I rub it between both of mine. “Why did you leave me in Austin?”
“I was shocked by what Monica told me. I just needed to get out of there.”
“Without me?”
“I didn’t know what to think. Why hadn’t you told me about the interview? Were you planning to spring a move on me without a care about my life or my business? Do I even know the guy I was engaged to?”
“Past tense? Seriously, Lauren?”
“I don’t know!” She pulls her hand free of my grasp and gets up to pace. “I don’t understand any of this. How could I not know that you’re so unhappy here? Even before this.” She waves her hand between us. “We were together all the time, and I never had any idea that you were dying to be somewhere else.”
“I wasn’t. Not all the time.”
“But most of the time. This is the reason why you never allowed yourself to have a relationship with anyone, because you were planning to leave. It’s why you were so fond of tourists, isn’t it? You were always planning your great escape.”
“Everything is different now. Because of you and us.”
“You want me to believe that you’re prepared to abandon your life plan of more than six years after one week with me?”
“I’m in love with you. I want a life with you. I want that more than I’ve ever wanted anything else.”
“So you say now. What about in a year or two or three when the excitement wears off and real life sets in and you start to feel unfulfilled?”
I get up and go to her, putting my arms around her rigid body. “If I have you in my life and in my bed, I’ll never be unfulfilled. Don’t you get it, Lauren? I wanted all that because my life was so empty, and now it’s full to overflowing because of you. Loving you, being in love with you, has changed everything. The only thing I want now is you. I don’t care where we are or where we live or what else happens as long as I have you.”
I tug her closer, nuzzling her neck and breathing in the scent that’s so uniquely Lauren. “I love you. I want you. I choose you. I didn’t tell you about the interview because I wanted you to have a stress-free getaway. I never wanted you to know that I ever thought about being anywhere but here with you. I just wanted to get you away from here for a few days so you could relax after what happened with Wayne. I’m sorry you were hurt by something I failed to do. I’ll never forgive myself for that.”
Slowly, she begins to yield to me, her body molding to mine in tiny increments.
“That’s it, baby. Come to me. Hold on to me. I’ll never let you go.” I feel dampness against my face and draw back to look down at her. I die inside at the sight of her tears, knowing I caused them.
“C-could I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Did it ever occur to you that I might be willing to move to Austin if you got a job there that you’re excited about?”
I stare down at her, stunned by the question. “No. That never occurred to me. I know how hard you’ve worked to build Bloomsbury and how much you love your friends and your life here. I’d never ask you to give any of that up for me.”
“What if I was willing to do that for you if it’s what would make you happy?”
“I don’t need it, Lo. I have a wonderful, thriving business here with clients who rely on me as well as a woman I love and want to marry. My mom is here. My siblings are around at various times during the year. And my friends are here. While I was busy running my father’s business, I found a life that works for me. The headhunter and the interview were leftover relics from an old dream. One that died a long time ago without me realizing it.”
“I want to believe everything you’re saying, but I’m afraid.”
“Tell me why.”
“I’d never want to hold you back from being everything you ever dreamed of being. Someday you’d resent me for that.”
“You’re not holding me back. Your love gave me the courage to trade one dream for an even better one. What would I do in Austin without you? I wouldn’t last a month if I couldn’t see your gorgeous face and kiss your sweet lips every day. You’ve got me completely addicted to you.”
“You’re one thousand percent sure this is what you want?”
<
br /> “I’m one hundred million percent sure.” Tipping my head to the side, I bring my lips down on hers, sliding them back and forth until I feel her yield to me, the breath escaping from her in an unsteady hitch. “I love you with my whole heart and soul, Lauren, and I have since the day Bruce the Dick made you cry. Tell me you still love me.”
“I do. Of course, I do.”
“Where’s your ring?”
“In my purse.”
“Go get it.” Even though I never want to let her go, I release her so she can cross the room to the counter where she left her purse. She returns to me with the ring in hand and holds it up for me to see.
I take it from her and slide it back on her finger where it belongs. “Promise you’ll never run away from me again. No matter what, run to me, not away.”
“I promise.”
“And I promise to never again give you reason to want to run.” I wrap my arms around her and lift her into my embrace, carrying her to bed as the sun begins to peek through the blinds. Thank God we’re both off on Sundays, or I’d have to miss work again to spend the day with my fiancée. The greatest thrill of my life is making love to her with no secrets left between us, and our future together laid out before us like a dream come true.
Epilogue
“Who decided that babies have to wear frilly dresses to be christened?” Blake asks, curling his lip with distaste at the lacy outfit his son is currently wearing. “My son does not wear dresses. Even to church.”
“It was Gran’s,” Honey says, pacifying him with a smile. “I’m going to change him now that we’re home.”
“Thank God. I need a beer. Who’s in?”
Matt, Jace, Brock and I follow him to the bar that’s been set up in the dining room for the party to celebrate Wyatt’s christening. Lauren and I are his godparents, which turned out to be far more thrilling than I would’ve expected before I stood up in church and promised to be an important person in his new life.
Because Matt’s arms are full of a squirming baby Grace, I open his beer and hand it to him.
“Thanks, pal,” he says.
Honey comes into the dining room with Wyatt changed into a cute red polo shirt and khaki shorts and hands him to his father.
“Now that’s more like it, my little man. I won’t let Mommy do anything like that to you again. Don’t worry.”
“You are far too macho for your own good, Blake Dempsey,” Honey says over her shoulder as she heads for the kitchen.
“I’m with you,” Jace says. “The dress was a little much.”
In two months, he’s become part of our tribe and has completely transformed Blake’s business with his construction management expertise. Not to mention the significant chemistry we’ve witnessed between him and Scarlett, which neither of them is talking about—not to us anyway.
“The christening gown has been in Gran’s family for generations,” Blake says with a long-suffering sigh. “It was important to Honey that he wear it, but I’m glad to see him out of it, too.”
“He’s cute no matter what he wears,” I say with godfatherly pride.
“Isn’t he?” Blake beams at his son with what can only be called unfettered joy. Honey and the baby have made him so damned happy.
We enjoy a feast of barbecue and all the fixings to celebrate Wyatt’s baptism. Lauren sits beside me, her leg snug against mine while my hand rests on her thigh. I can’t sit this close to her and not touch her. In the last few months, we’ve sold my house and moved me into hers. She was more attached to hers than I was to mine, so it was a no-brainer for me. Whatever she wants. In fact, if she had any idea how enslaved I am to her, I’d be in even bigger trouble than I already am where she’s concerned.
Ironically, since I took the option of leaving town off the table, my business has grown even more, thanks in large part to Jerry Dutton, who convinced me to consult for him on an informal basis. That takes me to Austin about once a month to do work I truly enjoy with a man who’s become a friend. Funny how life works itself out, isn’t it?
More than anything, my relationship with Lauren has made my life complete in ways I never could’ve imagined. Knowing she belongs to me and I belong to her is really and truly the only thing I need to be happy.
Sometimes I’m still amazed at how falling in love with her completely changed my life and gave me a whole new set of dreams that are way better than anything I could’ve hoped for if left to my own devices. Together we’re a thousand times more than we were on our own.
We’re getting married in the spring at the Paisano, but that’ll be a formality. We’re already married in all the ways that matter most, and I can’t wait for the forever I get to spend with her. We’ve even asked Blake to build one of the new houses in his development for us. Oh, and another great part of my new life? I take weekends off now so I can spend every possible minute with Lauren.
Life is good and getting better all the time—and it’s all because of the girl I fell in love with in sixth grade.
Did you miss Blake and Honey’s story in Sex Machine? Get it here. And if you LOVED Garrett and Lauren’s story, please leave a review at the retailer of your choice and/or Goodreads to help other readers find this book! After you are finished reading Sex God, join the Sex God Reader Group to discuss the story with others!
And keep reading for a sneak peek at Virtuous, book 1 in Marie’s Quantum Series. Get Virtuous FREE Now!
Thank you for reading Sex God! I hope you loved Garrett and Lauren’s story as much as I loved writing it. Being a writer is weird sometimes. I had no plans to write this book until Garrett started talking to me, demanding I get his funny words on the page and figure out his situation once and for all. I’m enjoying writing in this world of Marfa and West Texas, and I hope to revisit it again in the future when another of the characters starts whispering in my ear.
Make sure you’re on my newsletter mailing list at marieforce.com to never miss a new book, a sale or an appearance in your area.
As always, my thanks to my HTJB team who make it all happen—Julie Cupp, Lisa Cafferty, Holly Sullivan, Isabel Sullivan, Nikki Colquhoun and Cheryl Serra. Thank you to my awesome editorial team of Linda Ingmanson and Joyce Lamb as well as my beta readers, Anne Woodall and Kara Conrad, and my publicist Jessica Estep at InkSlinger PR. I so appreciate all of you!
Special thanks to my readers who follow me wherever the muse decides to take us on this crazy journey. Thank you for your love and support!
xoxo
Marie
Virtuous, Quantum Series, Book 1
Chapter 1
Winter in New York City is dirty business. A nasty, grayish hue hangs over the city from November through late March. During my first winter in the city, I’ve experienced everything from slushy puddles that soak through even the most resilient boots to icy sidewalks to the delightful combo platter of fried onions from vendor carts melding with mystery steam from the underground, creating a smell that defies description.
I love every stinky, icy, frigid inch of it. While others hide out inside, I take to the streets with my dog, Fluff, on a leash. Her full name is Fluff-o-Nutter, but don’t judge me. I was nine when I named her after my favorite food group at the time, and fourteen years later, she’s still my most faithful companion and the one tie to my old life that I brought to my new life. She goes everywhere with me, except school.
I tried to get her in there—once—but was stopped at the door by stone-faced Mrs. Heffernan, who told me school is no place for animals. Even after I swore I’d keep her under my desk and out of the way all day, the answer was still no. She cited health codes and rulebooks, her spittle hitting me under my left eye. Taking Fluff home cost me a personal day, and I swear Mrs. Heffernan still checks under my desk every day when I’m on recess or dismissal duty, just to make sure Fluff isn’t there.
Because I can’t take my twenty-pound baby to school with me, I hired a dog walker to care for her during the day. That’s working out well, exce
pt for the time Fluff bit one of the poodles. The dog walker was irked, but I’m certain poor Fluff was only defending herself. She was quite indignant and put out by the entire incident. I told her she has to behave herself or get stuck inside all day if the dog walker fires us.
Fluff has behaved admirably ever since.
I’m rewarding her good behavior today with a long walk through the Village. The wind is bitingly cold and snow flurries fill the air on this early January day. It’s the kind of bitterly cold New York day that keeps even the hardiest of souls inside, so Fluff and I have Bleecker Street mostly to ourselves.
As I’m still somewhat new to the city, everything about it fascinates the girl from Nebraska. I love the architecture and the chaos as well as the taxicabs and the bikes that zigzag the streets on even the coldest of days. I love the stylish women who put together amazing outfits I’d never conceive of on my own, the handsome men, the diversity, the dreadlocks, the tattoos, the music, the theater, the piercings and the food. I despise the poverty, the homeless sleeping outside, the grime, the graffiti. Overall, I love a whole lot more than I hate.
My roommate made fun of me for weeks when I first arrived because I gave money to every poor person I encountered. She told me I’d be broke before Christmas if I kept that up. So I stopped, but my heart still breaks every time I walk by someone in need, because I wish I could help them all. Most of all, I love that I feel safe here. If you’re someone who worries the city is dangerous, you’ll think that sounds crazy. But when you’ve survived what I have, safety is relative. The way I look at it, for every one person who might hassle you on the street, there’re a hundred good people nearby who’d come to your aid. I take comfort in that.
I window-shop my way from one end of Bleecker to the other, lingering outside Marc Jacobs before the cold forces me on my way. A first-year teacher can only dream about shopping at Marc Jacobs, so there’s no point going inside, not to mention they’d freak about Fluff being in there.
