by Marie Hall
When I finally came up for air, the room buzzed with the sound of applause.
Laughing, I swatted him with my bouquet of rust-orange-colored roses.
The day was perfect. The reception was even better—they’d erected a tent in the park, stringing white lights everywhere. It was like a fairy tale when the sun set and the world became aglow with candlelight and Christmas lights. Honeysuckle drifted in on the breeze.
Alex claimed me for the first dance.
“You look hot tonight, lotus,” he whispered in my ear, his hot breath fanning the shell of my ear and making me shiver with anticipation for tonight.
“I swear, that wedding was amazing.” I leaned into him.
“Yeah?”
“Mmm.” I nodded, twining my finger through the ends of his hair. “Yup, made me have thoughts.”
His chest rumbled as he said, “Oh yeah? What kind of thoughts?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Thoughts. Silly thoughts.”
His warm hand glided up my nude back. Liliana had chosen the perfect maid of honor gown. The front was modest, high on the neck, sleeveless, and fell down to mid-calf, but it was the back that popped, completely open to just above the line of my butt. The silk felt wicked against my hot skin and I moved closer into Alex, wrapping my arm around his neck.
“Thoughts like maybe doing this someday?” he asked with a quirked brow.
I smiled. “Maybe.”
He frowned. “Together, right?”
How could he even doubt it? “Well, I don’t know, babe. Tor was looking mighty fine in his—”
With a growl he pulled me hard against him and took my mouth, shutting me up with a flick of his tongue. I purred deep in the back of my throat, the laughter turning sultry and exciting as he played my body, bringing me to life and making my nerves string tight.
When I came up for air I must have looked slightly dazed, because he was wearing a very satisfied smirk.
“Yeah, I thought so,” he said.
Bringing his forehead to mine, I rubbed our heads together. “I love you, cowboy.”
“I love you too, Misaki. Forever.”
Epilogue
Alex
Six months later
My doorbell rang. I was still getting used to the fact that I now lived by myself and couldn’t expect Ryan or Lili to answer the door for me. I’d been in my new apartment for a few months, but some days it was still hard to believe I’d finally severed the umbilical cord.
“Coming!” I yelled and tossed the damp facecloth to the bathroom sink, then shut off the water.
I smelled oranges before I even opened the door. Zoe was dressed in black from head to toe and carrying a white calla lily. This was the most somber clothing I’d ever seen her in. The dress came to her knees, and her hair was long and hanging past her shoulders.
Her big, beautiful honey eyes were looking at me, and the shivers I always got whenever she did it stole across my body. Free of any makeup, she was just as beautiful to me now as when she went complete rockabilly chic.
“You ready?” she asked.
Clenching my jaw, I nodded and tossed the undershirt I’d been planning to wear onto the couch. “I don’t know, I was thinking maybe we should just hang out here, put the bed to good use, and…”
Fingers trailing along my newly smoothed cheek, she shook her head. “Nice try, Romeo. But you know what the doctor said.”
Hanging my head, I shook it. “Yup, I know what she said. God, I hate that woman.”
“Yeah, about as much as you hate me.”
“Very true.” Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my keys from off the hook on the wall and shoved them into my pocket. “Well. How do I look?”
I held out my hands, and they were definitely shaking.
“Beautiful.” She smiled.
“I love you, Zo.”
Kissing the tip of my nose, she nodded. “I know, baby. I know. And I love you too.”
The drive to John’s grave felt way too fast. I kept praying we would hit at least one stoplight on the way there, but literally every light was green.
“Your mom said she’ll meet us there.” Zoe turned to glance at me.
I nodded because it was just too hard to speak right now.
“I’m proud of you, you know.”
My brows twitched. “For what?”
“For facing your fears. For being a great man. For going back to school. I’m proud of you, Alexander Donovan. Should I continue?”
I chuckled, and it helped ease some of the tension churning in my gut. Zoe could always do that for me. When the world thought I was happy, she knew what I was really going through. That not all my smiles were real, not all my laughs meant joy… but she made me feel hope and strength, and when I was at my lowest, she knew that too.
“I love you, Misaki.”
“I know, cowboy.”
“I want to marry you.”
She laughed. I was always asking, but Zoe wasn’t in any rush to marry. She said we were young and she was happy and so was I and that was good enough for now. But I still planned to ask until she said yes.
“I’ll wear you down someday.”
Her lips twitched and then her face turned serious. “Alex, you are. Trust me. But I want to make sure that when I say I do, it’s forever, and I want you to feel the same way. The day you do, I’ll say yes.”
My little Miss Know It All—if she only knew that was exactly how I felt. But that was the appeal of Zoe, it was never easy with her and that was exactly the way it should be. But I already had a two-year plan in place… wear her down with countless proposals. Then when I graduated and had a chance of actually supporting her without the help of her parents’ money, I would give her a real ring.
“I love you, cowboy,” she said when she parked in the graveyard, close enough that I could see the headstone.
I swallowed hard. I’d driven past the cemetery for months, telling myself over and over that tomorrow I would be ready. Tomorrow I would stop and say what needed to be said. And now that tomorrow was actually here, I wasn’t ready.
“I can’t do this.” I shook my head.
Grabbing my hand, she kissed my knuckles. From the corner of my eye I spotted my mom, dressed in a dark gray dress and walking toward the car with a grim face.
“Yes, you can. And you know why?”
I lifted my brow. “Why?”
“Because I’m here, and I’m never leaving. Got that?”
Brushing my finger over her chin, I nodded. “Got it, sexy.”
“Good, now let’s go and get this over with.”
Ten minutes later I was staring down at the grave and the words still weren’t coming. My mother rubbed my back.
“Baby, maybe it’ll be easier if Zoe and I walk off a distance, leave you alone to speak your thoughts. Sound good?”
Earnest blue eyes smiled up at me, and I nodded.
With a tender squeeze to my wrist, Zoe slipped her arm through Mom’s, and they slowly wandered off.
The morning was bright, birds were chirping and singing in the pines, and the last place I wanted to be was here. But I hadn’t gone to the funeral and Doc said I needed to do this; that part of letting it all go was just letting it go.
Staring at the gray headstone, I just shook my head, not sure I bought that convoluted reasoning. “I don’t know what to say to you that hasn’t already been said.”
I swallowed hard, throat burning as wetness gathered in the corners of my eyes. A muscle in my jaw was clenched, but I was here to face it and dammit, I would.
“I still don’t forgive you and probably never will. I hate you so much, John.” I sniffed, letting the tears fall unchecked. “Hated you for what you did. For robbing me of a childhood, for robbing Ryan, for leaving me without a dad and,” I said and slapped my chest, “I hate you most for that. Because I wanted you. I needed you. I loved you and you betrayed me. You. Hurt. Me.”
The sobs wracked me and it took a second for me to gat
her myself enough to speak again. Growling, clearing my throat, I shook my head and stared up at the blue, blue sky and knew I’d never come back again, so I would tell him the one truth I’d never spoken to a soul.
“I lied when I said I hated you, you know. Even after everything, when you died and I thought I wouldn’t care…” I sucked in several long breaths. “I did. I… cared and it fucking hurt. You screwed me, even in the end.”
Furiously wiping my palms down my face, I chuckled but it lacked mirth. “So yup, there you go. There’s the truth.”
It felt like a terrible way to end it. I should have at least been able to say something nice, but that was it. I tossed the calla lily on the grave, then turned my back on my dad for the last time and searched for Zoe.
They hadn’t traveled very far, only about ten yards away, and they’d probably heard everything I’d said, but she just opened her arms to me and I took her in mine and everything was right with the world again.
Mom and I were mending our relationship—it wasn’t perfect, but it was a start.
“Lunch tomorrow?” Mom asked and I nodded.
“We’ll be there.” Zoe smiled and then they hugged before Mom turned and walked back to her car. As we headed to my truck, I spotted a dark sedan parked next to it.
Zoe’s look was tight. “That’s my dad.”
“Zoe.” I shook my head, because there was literally nothing left in me. I hadn’t seen him but in passing every now and again and never talked with him anymore, not since that day at the house. “How’d he know where to find us?”
She winced. “He called me this morning, and I told him where I was going, but I didn’t expect him to show up.”
Thomas was out of the car now, looking as polished as always. His hair was combed back, and he was wearing a shirt and tie with dark slacks.
“What does he want?”
Holding on to my hand, she started toward him. “I’m not sure.”
We didn’t say another word until we stood toe to toe with him.
“Thomas?”
“Dad?”
She and I both spoke in unison.
Thomas looked at her and smiled, then turned toward me.
“I won’t take up too much of your time, I swear, but something’s been bugging me and I told you once I was a straight shooter.” He was looking at me now.
I didn’t say anything to that.
Brushing his hand over his head, Thomas looked around. “This is a horrible place to talk, but I figured this might be the only place we could have this conversation. I’m sorry for what I did to you before. You have to understand that Zoe and Kaori are my world, and I wasn’t sure you were—”
“Good enough.” I snorted. “Yeah, I got that memo.”
“I was wrong, son. And I’m man enough that I can admit that.”
“You were wrong,” Zoe said, smiling first at me then at him. “I love him, Dad. I really do.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah. I know. Look, Alex, I have a feeling you’re going to be in our lives for a while and, believe it or not, I’d like to actually get along. So what do you say?” Holding out his hand, he waited for me to shake it.
I studied it for a moment. Shaking his hand wouldn’t take away what he’d done. He’d taken being the overprotective dad cleaning the shotgun to a whole new level with me. “I love her, Thomas, and I do plan to hang around. Forever, if she’ll have me. I’m going back to school. I’ll be finishing this time, and when I do, she will marry me.”
“Hey.” Zoe poked my ribs. “I haven’t said yes.” She laughed.
“You will.” I winked. “I’ll shake your hand, but it doesn’t take it away.”
I shook it and he nodded.
“Maybe not, son, but it’s a start.” Then, leaning in, he hugged Zoe.
“Love you, Daddy.” She kissed his check as he patted the top of her head.
Turning, he opened his car door. “Sorry about your dad, son.” Then with a sharp nod of his head, he got inside and drove off.
I stared at the car until it disappeared down the hill.
“Told you he wasn’t so bad.” Zoe tugged on my hand.
I snorted. “Jury’s still out. But you know what?” Pulling her into my arms, I stared deep into her eyes.
“What?” she asked in a breathy voice.
“It wouldn’t have mattered if he’d ever done this or not. You’re not getting rid of me now, Zoe Misaki Rose Stone. Ever. You’re mine—”
“And you’re mine too.”
I nodded. “Forever?”
“Oh yeah, cowboy, forever and ever and ever.”
The scent of oranges filled my head as the taste of Zoe filled my heart.
Acknowledgements
Judy, Charity, Jo, and Marisol, you ladies gave me some awesome ‘truths’. To my street teamers—Judy, Raven, Gaele, Jo, Mary, Ginger, and Queen Leanna—who offered to read this book and who were brave enough to let me know what they really didn’t like and when Alex wasn’t acting like the hero he should have been. To my editor extraordinaire, Anne Victory, you’re amazing and I’m so happy to be working with you. My assistant, Grace, who’s really more like a friend, YOU ARE AMAZING. To my husband, thank you honey for being willing to let me type away into the night to finish this book. I love you so much, you are my rock, I hope you always know that. And finally, to my readers… thank you.
Author’s Note
To say that I obsessed about this book would only be putting it mildly. A Moment was so personal for me and so important to many of you. I’ve received countless emails from readers expressing how the book mirrored their life in so many ways, how they completely understood the guys and just wanted to tell me thank you for being brave enough to write it. Truth is, you guys are the brave ones and I admire all of you. I wanted to put that same love into Right Now, into Alex’s life. Alex and Ryan are completely different people and while sometimes the real truth behind a person you think you know can be a little shocking and sometimes sad, I hope you saw him grow as a person. I knew writing Alex in this book, he wouldn’t be nearly as likeable as he’d been in A Moment. Because that story wasn’t about him. You weren’t privy to “his” world and I debated whether to show the unvarnished version of him. In the end I decided I needed to. Because like I said in A Moment, his father’s crime didn’t just affect Ryan. Alex was also ruined by that crime, just in a different way. He couldn’t relate to people, not in a real way. Only with those he really loved and trusted and his circle was very small. Recovering from something like that doesn’t happen over night, figuring out that certain coping strategies are toxic for you and relearning how to do it “right” isn’t easy, it takes time. Time that you’ll mess up, get back up, think you’re doing it right, and then mess up again. It’s a process and that’s what this was for Alex. A process, he learned he could open himself up, he could trust someone with everything and that it wouldn’t make him weak.
As to John, well, in the real world justice isn’t always served, but I couldn’t let that happen with his character. He may not have gone to jail, but in a way, he did pay for his crime.
And now to the final question that’s been posed to me, will there be another book in this series? At first, the answer would have been no. But now I’ve met Tor and realized I sort of loved that Viking. So yes, the Moments Series will continue.
About Marie Hall
Marie loves books that make you think, or feel something. Preferably both. And while she’s a total girly girl and loves glitter and rainbows, she’s just as happy when she’s writing about the dark underbelly of society. Well, if things like zombies, and vampires, and werewolves, and mermaids existed. (Although she has it on good authority that mermaids do in fact exist, because the internet told her so.)
She’s married to the love of her life, a sexy beast of a caveman who likes to refer to himself as Big Hunk. She has two awesome kids, lives in Hawaii, loves cooking and occasionally has been known to crochet. She also really love
s talking about herself in the third person.
If you’d like to know more about Marie then you can contact her at [email protected] Or, if you’d like to check out her latest offerings go to mariehallwrites.com or mariehallwrites.blogspot.com. If you just want to stop by and say hi, she has a Facebook page and a twitter handle @mariehallwrites, also if you’re interested in really getting to know her and maybe winning some cool prizes from the contests she runs throughout the year, sign up for her newsletter and if you still can’t find ways to contact her then I don’t know what else to do. She does have a pinterest page, but hey… that stuff is kinda boring, just Marie being goofy and posting sexy pics of couples and nails and food stuff… totally boring.
Also, she reads any and all emails and you’ll get a response from her, but if you don’t want to go public with it, she’s cool with that. Slip her a note on the low low and she promises not to blast your thang all around the net. And if you liked the book, leave a review. Please, those things are like gold in her world. Helps other readers to know this book might actually be worth reading.
Marie Hall Books
Kingdom Series (Fairytale Romance)
Her Mad Hatter (Free everywhere! Book 1 based on Alice and the Mad Hatter)
Gerard’s Beauty (Book 2 based on Beauty and the Beast)
Red and Her Wolf (Book 3 based on Little Red Riding Hood)
The Kingdom Collection (Books 1-3 with bonus deleted scenes)
Jinni’s Wish (Book 4, based on Arabian Nights)
Hook’s Pan (Book 5, Based on Peter Pan)
Danika’s Surprise (Book 5.5, novelette and first introduction to the upcoming Dark Princess Series)
Moments Series (NA Contemporary Romance)
A Moment, Book 1 (Ryan and Liliana’s Story)
Right Now, Book 2 (Alex and Zoe’s Story)
Untitled, Book 3 (Tor and Jaime’s Story) Future Release
Night Series (Urban Fantasy)
Crimson Night (Book 1) Available Now
All Hallows Eve (Book 2) Cooming Soon
