by Anna Brooks
“Show me, baby.”
He steps back and crosses his arms, scrutinizing my every move. I make a show of bending down to grab my ingredients and laugh when he growls at me. “Lisa,” he warns.
I muddle the mint leaves and lime juice expertly, and when I begin to raise the rum bottle in the air, causing a long stream of clear liquid to fill the glass, Nik kisses my neck and makes me spill.
“Okay, you can do it.”
After I top it with soda water, I throw a mint leaf on top and slide it to the customer in exchange for money. I turn back to Nik, and he holds his hands out so I can cuddle up to his chest, my favorite place to be. His arms tighten around me, and I sigh. I press into him to get closer, and he begins to harden against my belly.
“Woman, knock it off.” He lowers his face to my ear.
A moan of protest vibrates through his chest, and he kisses the top of my head before pushing me away. “Later,” he promises.
“Not soon enough.” I blow a strand of hair out of my face and continue working until Zack comes in for his night shift.
Nik leaves to grab more vodka, and as soon as I finish refilling a pitcher of beer, I wash my hands. “I’ve gotta run to the bathroom. Be right back.” The bar isn’t too crowded yet, so I’m not worried about Zack being able to handle it.
“Yeah. That’s not obvious.”
“What?” I ask innocently.
“I don’t wanna know. Just hurry up.”
I squeeze his arm as I walk past and hurry to the end of the hall then push Nik back into the storage room as he’s walking out. The door shutting puts us in darkness, and I grab onto his shirt.
“Hey,” I whisper.
“Hey, baby.” The clanking of glass sounds behind me as he sets the bottles down and his hands find my lower back. His cool fingertips slide under my shirt and trail up my spine. He reaches my neck and squeezes then tilts me back, his breath heaving against my collarbone. “Did you need something?” Love bites trail across my chest as he pushes me back against the shelves.
“You,” I breathe. “Just need you.”
“You do, huh?” He smiles against the sensitive skin under my ear and nips at my lobe.
I lower my head, grab his face, and bring it up to mine. Even in the dark, his eyes bore into mine and the awe I see staring back at me is something I want to see every day for the rest of my life. I don’t worry about losing him anymore. Instead, I focus on enjoying the moment and living for today, appreciating yesterday, and praying for tomorrow.
“I do.”
“Remember those words, Lisa, because pretty soon you’re going to be saying them to me when I make you my wife.”
“I will,” I whisper, emotion choking my words.
He pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me, crushing me against his chest. “I need you too, baby.”
A pounding on the door makes me jump. “Seriously, you guys?” Meara yells. “That’s a health code violation!”
“We’ll be out in a minute,” Nik shouts back.
“I never pegged you for a minute man, Nik. I’m disappointed.” Her laughter fades, and I can’t help but giggle at her comment.
His chest rumbles. “You women are all trouble.”
“You love us anyways.”
Nik kisses me and instead of the normal heat exchanged between us, nothing but respect and devotion is passed from him to me. “I love you, anyway, baby. Just you. Always.”
We go back to work, and as the night goes on, people come and go. I try not to be too much of a bitch to the skanks who stare at my man from the other side of the bar, but he’s too good to lose; we worked hard to get where we are now, and I’ll be damned if some hootchie thinks she’s gonna flirt with Nik right in front of me.
Meara may be pregnant, but she’s still spunky as hell. “Come dance with me. I love this song!” She pulls my hand and drags me onto the dance floor.
“You’re crazy,” I shout at her.
She just shrugs and jumps up and down and spins in a circle as she laughs and sings along with the song. I try to keep up with her, but I’m too old for this shit. Thank God the music slows, and as I’m getting ready to go back to work, a pair of hands wrap around my stomach from behind.
“Dance with me,” Nik whispers in my ear.
I turn and wrap my arms around his neck. He leans down and rests his forehead on mine, staring into my eyes. When he looks at me like this, like he can’t believe I’m standing in front of him, it makes me feel like the luckiest woman in the world. We don’t really move, just kind of stand there. He sighs and kisses my cheek then begins to sway his hips. We dance in a circle, and as the seconds tick by, my head becomes heavy and I rest it on his chest.
“If I asked you to marry me right now, what would you say?”
My head snaps up at the unexpected question. “I’d say you’re insane.”
“About you, I am.”
He stops moving and digs in his pocket. “Nik …” I breathe.
Without words, he slides a ring on my finger with a square diamond in the center. A very large diamond. It’s simple but beautiful.
“Nik … I …”
“Lisa, I know this is fast, and I know you might not be ready. You don’t have to answer me right now, but I can’t work with you for one second longer without every single fucker who eyes you all night knowing you’re taken.”
I smile. “Why don’t you just piss on me?”
“Because men are visual and if they see a big ass rock on your finger, they’ll get the hint. And if they don’t, then I have a reason to break their eye sockets because clearly—”
“I’ll marry you.”
His frown tilts up one corner at a time and he moistens his lips. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I love the hell out of you, Nik.”
“Damn, baby. I love you too.”
“Just so we’re clear, though—”
“I didn’t only ask you to mark my territory. I asked you because I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to get a house together, I want to have babies with you, and I want to have a life with the woman of my dreams.”
Tears sit at the brim of my eyes and I fight them back from spilling over, but I lose the battle and they slide down my cheeks. “I want that with you, too.”
“Then that’s what you’ll get.”
He wipes the tears off my face then gently presses his lips to mine. “I love you, Lisa. So fuckin’ much.”
“I know.”
He links our pinkies together as we walk off the dance floor and right past the bar.
“Hey, where are you guys going?” Meara yells.
We ignore her and he leads me to the stock room then shuts and locks the door. “You really want to marry me, baby?” Nik asks as he unbuttons my jeans.
“Yes.”
“I’m gonna make you so happy. I promise.”
“You already do.” I moan when his fingers side over my damp panties.
“I’m about to make you really, really happy. There’s just one thing I want from you, the only thing I’ll ever ask of you.”
“What?” I lower my voice at his somber tone.
“Don’t ever fuckin’ forget me again.”
“Never, Nik. That won’t happen again.” I kiss him and grab onto him as hard as I can to try to show him. “When I couldn’t remember, my heart never forgot you.”
“Even if you do, I love you enough for the both of us. I’ll always love you, baby. I loved you when you didn’t like me. I loved you when you didn’t remember me. But I like loving you the best when you love me back.”
Read an excerpt, available now:
GIVE ME THIS
Every second Sunday, I meet my mom and dad for lunch. They decided on a place downtown, and I had to park a couple of blocks away since it’s so crowded this morning. Before I exit my car, I make sure my bruises are covered. I don’t need them to worry.
I’m fully aware that the restaurant is next to his family
’s bar. Every time I drive by it, my stomach drops. My heart speeds up. My hands shake. I have an intuitive reaction just being near a place that holds memories for us. Memories of him.
As I’m walking to the restaurant, I see him. His back is to me as he’s talking to someone outside of Kelly’s Pub, but even blind, I would know who it is. It’s been seventeen years, and I didn’t know what I would feel when I finally saw him again. I don’t really even know what I feel right now. Too much. My breaths falter and my heart shakes. I desperately want to run up to him and bury my face in his neck and smell him, have him hold me and tell me everything is going to be okay. I want things to be like they used to. I want to be fucking happy again.
But when I picture how I left him—the words I so cruelly threw at him and the disappointment I saw on his face—I know I ruined that. I ruined it all.
My feet freeze in place, and I contemplate my next move. I need to be in the restaurant right next door to him, but if I cross the street, he’s still going to see me. I could cancel on my parents, but it’s the only time of the month I can get away from Larry, so I don’t want to miss the few peaceful hours I have.
Screw it—it’s been years. I lower my head and walk by him, his smooth voice nostalgic as he talks to the other man, even though the words are fuzzy to me. I almost trip when he laughs. God, his laugh. It always made me smile; he made me smile. I loved everything about him. But getting to hear that laugh is something special. He’s normally quiet and more serious, so when he does laugh, it’s worth listening to.
His laughter cuts off abruptly as I pass him, and as I open the door to the restaurant, I risk a glance at him. My heart lurches in my chest and tears fill my eyes when I see the baby in his arms. His lower jaw comes unhinged before he clamps it shut. Even though my eyes are blurry, I can’t help but look at his. When his hazel orbs connect with mine, I hold the door tighter so I don’t faint.
My feelings can’t still be here after all this time, can they? I knew I would always love him, but he doesn’t feel the same about me, does he? There’s no way he can. He hates me, just like I wanted.
His brows furrow at me, and he slowly blinks, then puts a hand on his baby’s head, and turns his back to me.
Get Give Me This now!
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MORE BOOKS BY ANNA
It’s Kind Of Personal Series
Make Me Forget
Show Me How
Prove Me Right
Tell Me When
Remember Me Now
Give Me This
It’s Kind of Personal Series Box Set
Pleasant Valley Series
Fixing Fate
Love, Me
Steady
Pleasant Valley Box Set
Standalones
Not Your Hero
Easy Sacrifice
Bulletproof Butterfly
Heartbreaker
Guarding Her Series
Surface
Drift
Edge
Closer
AUDIO:
It’s Kind Of Personal Series
Make Me Forget
Show Me How
Prove Me Right
Tell Me When
Remember Me Now
Give Me This
Pleasant Valley Series
Fixing Fate
Love, Me
Steady
Standalones
Not Your Hero
Easy Sacrifice
Bulletproof Butterfly
For bonus scenes, exclusive content, a freebie, and more, sign up for Anna’s mailing list
About the Author
The first time Anna tried to read a romance novel, her hair caught on fire when she leaned over a candle to sneak a peek at her mom’s Harlequin. She thinks being hit on the head with a shirtless Fabio until the smoke cleared is what sparked the flame for her love of romance.
Anna was born in Wisconsin, but lives in Texas with her husband and two boys. She writes sexy romance that always has a happy ending and loves bringing characters back for cameos. Less than six degrees of separation connects any of her novels.
When she’s not writing or reading, she’s watching reruns of her favorite romcoms, talking to her dog and cat like they’re human, eating carbs, or practicing hand lettering.
She loves to hear from readers and can be found on social media as @annabrooksauth everywhere, or you can contact her from her website annabrooksauthor.com/contact
Acknowledgments
Nik was only ever going to be a secondary character, and having people love him so much that they asked if he was going to get a book is like a dream come true for me. I have never felt pressure before for when writing, but with Nik, I wanted him to live up to the expectation he’s built up for himself. I hope you loved reading him as much as I loved writing him.
Thank you to Kelly Lincoln, Nikki Belaire, Nicole Richard, Crystal Singer, and Shannon Ferguson for beta reading and telling me what I could do to make Nik even more lovable.
The girls in Anna’s Allies … you guys make me laugh and I count my blessings that you’re there to support me. Thank you isn’t a good enough word.
The amazing Kari from Cover to Cover Designs, I’m in love with the absolute beauty that this cover is. I’m so lucky that I found someone who is able to bring my vision to life. Thank you for your dedication.
Jenny from Editing4Indies, I appreciate your hard work so much and I know my books wouldn’t be the same without you. Thank you for continuing to work with me.
Bree from Vivid Words Editing, you put the finishing touch on my books when I can’t stand to look at them anymore. You’re so wonderful to work with and I’m grateful that you have the time to squeeze me in. Thank you for your hard work.
Stacey from Champagne Formats, even when I throw something on you last minute, you always come through and deliver such a flawless product. I’m so thankful for you.
“Let Me Down” by Three Doors Down is an older song that I happen to come across again right when I started writing Nik and Lisa’s book. The second it started playing on the radio, I had an instantaneous reaction and knew it was the song for their story.
A HUGE thank you to all the bloggers. I love all of you for your devotion to this Indie community.
