by Tara Andrews
Especially her?
His heart ached. He’d expected this outcome, so he shouldn’t have been surprised. “Well, I have a plane to catch.” As he passed her, he stopped to kiss her on the cheek, trying not to linger too long. The pull of her perfume, the heat of her body fresh from the shower were hard to walk away from, but he did.
“Blake.”
He turned from pressing the elevator call button. “Yes?”
“Thank you. For everything.”
“No, thank you.” For being wonderful. For being exactly what he needed. For giving him proof he had more substance than genetics gave him credit for.
The elevator arrived. He stepped inside and pulled out his phone to have something to focus on other than the woman waving good-bye. He found a text from Madame Evangeline. Tell her, followed by a phone number he assumed belonged to Jill.
Jill watched Blake turn and enter the elevator, too preoccupied with his phone to return her wave. He moved on rather fast. And now it was time for her to move on as well, complete with new wounds. She retrieved her overnight case and called the elevator back. At least he got a head start and should be long gone by the time she arrived in the lobby.
How she wished she could have taken him up on his offer. But no matter how much she liked the fact he wanted to see her again, she wasn’t cut out for more nights like the one they shared. She might have signed up for a one-night stand, but she didn’t want to become a booty call. She’d had no choice but to turn him down. She learned something from her night with Blake, though—she’d never settle again.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She didn’t recognize the number, but she read the text message anyway.
I signed up for 1Night Stand because I expected to meet a woman I would not want to let go of in the morning. And I did. Jill heartbeat picked up. How long did it take to go down thirty floors?
After an eternity, the doors slid open and she raced out of the elevator to find Blake. He’d wait for her reply, wouldn’t he? But he did have a plane to catch.
Umph. She slammed into something…no someone. A someone who kept her from an embarrassing fall by steadying her arms. She looked up to see her ex-fiancé. He paled and released her as if burned. A glance to his right told her why. The woman beside him was not the same woman from three weeks earlier—his wife. “Jill,” he blurted, but she didn’t wait around for pitiful explanations she didn’t need. Though it did a girl good to know the fate she escaped. But, Blake. She needed to get to Blake.
Once again the lobby blurred as she flew through it, scanning but not finding him. He left after all. Before she reached the exit, she woke her phone, ready to text him back.
He hadn’t waited. But he did have a plane to catch; she understood his conflict even through the disappointment.
Then she spotted him through the glass doors. Right outside the entrance he stood against a Lincoln Town Car, in his dark jeans and blue button down, with his arms crossed over his chest. Her heart soaring, she stepped outside and into her future.
“You waited.” It came out a little too breathy but it beat the tears she held back.
“Let’s try this conversation again. I want to see you, Jill. Not for more nights like last night. Though, I can promise you that and better. But, I look at you and see what I’m missing. I want you in my life.”
Oh. My. God. Tears spilled down her cheeks. She didn’t know what to say. So she flung herself into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck and burying her face against his shoulder. “So glad to hear it,” she whispered.
“What?” He laughed.
Jill pulled back and gazed into the eyes of the man she loved. “I want that, too.”
~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~
In addition to her obsessive need to write, Tara Andrews spends her day managing half the business office for a community hospital. She lives in upstate New York with her wonderful, supportive husband and two children – who make everything worthwhile. If all that doesn’t keep her busy enough, she’s also a part time student. Tara’s a procrastinator (advanced-level) who likes to spend every spare moment reading – even those moments that shouldn’t be spared.
You can visit with Tara at
www.taraandrews.net
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Governess Hortense Jennings is offered a night of passion from The Beast of Stonecliff. Secrets, painful pasts, and desire clash together in an emotional crescendo. Can the governess and the beast find calm amid the storm and admit their true feelings, or will pride destroy the fairy tale before it begins?
Cinderella Wore Combat Boots by D.L. Jackson
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First Sergeant Cori Valentine faces a bleak future. She’s turning forty in three weeks and life as she knows it is over. An injury received while on deployment has earned her an early retirement from the Marine Corps, something she’s not sure she’ll survive. Things get even better when interfering Marines set her up on a blind date for a party she doesn’t want. The guy has to be a total toad to want to go out with her. Right?
When Madame Eve informs Retired SEAL, Sol Keller she’s found his perfect match, he doesn’t believe it, but takes up the challenge. One look at the First Sergeant in a sexy dress and combat boots has him wondering if fairytales really can come true. Madame Eve might be the legendary Fairy Godmother, and Cori his Cinderella. Sol intends to show the Marine beauty a Prince Charming she’ll never forget, and that retirement isn’t the end of her story but merely the beginning.
