“All we had to do was ask. He said that he’d been feeling much better over the past two weeks, and that he’d love to come. This is his first night out in over a month.”
“I think it’s about time we made a toast,” Alex said.
“Oh, Epifania love the toast,” she said to him. “She like it with the butter, and with a little beet of the jelly. Sometimes with the peanut butter, but never plain! Because plain jus’ gross!”
“Actually,” Alex said, “I was thinking that we’d all raise our glasses, first to Cutter to welcome him back home and, from what he just told me, also back to Wenn Enterprises, which is something I personally want to celebrate. Then, Jennifer would like to say a few words.”
“Oh, now I feel the stupid,” Epifania said. “You mean that kind of toast. Sheet. All right, Epifania just the bumbled again, but she got her second martini at the ready. And that mean she ready to eat the toast!”
“Make the toast,” Blackwell hissed beneath her breath. “God, I’ve got my work cut out when it comes to that one.”
“Raise your glass,” Lisa said sweetly to her. “This is a happy moment!” And then across the room to Tank, she asked him to grab her a martini, and also something for himself.
“Sure.” He took two martinis off a server’s tray and came back over to hand one to her. “Come stand next to me,” he said. “You know, where you belong.”
Lisa smiled at that. “My pleasure, big boy.” She fluttered her fingers at us. “Bye, girls.”
“Bye, lovey,” I said.
“Jennifer?” Alex said. “Would you care to join me?”
“I’d love to,” I said. I kissed Blackwell on the cheek and walked over to stand beside my husband, whose back was to the wall of windows, beyond which the New York skyline was now in full glittering bloom. From our apartment, you could see the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and far in the distance, even the new World Trade Center complex. It was a view to die for, and I was grateful for it. The very idea that someone with my past could wake up to such a view still humbled me.
“To Cutter,” Alex said. “Having our friend back with us tonight is something that has touched all of us so deeply, the emotions are palpable. I felt them when he first came into the living room, but most of all, I hope that you felt them, Cutter. Again, all of us want to thank you for all that you did that day on that island before everything went wrong. We honor you for it, we thank you for it, and we also thank God that you’re back.” Alex lifted his drink. “Cheers to you, Cutter. And thank you.”
“Cheers!” everyone said.
“Speech!” Daniella cried out.
He turned to look at her. “A speech? I wasn’t prepared for that, but I’m up for it, because I also have a few things to say. First, when I look back, there’s nothing I would have done differently. Tank and I have a job to do. We take our jobs seriously. I’m just glad that I was given a second chance so that I could be here with all of you tonight, and so I could get on with my work at Wenn. And second? You may have been happy to see me when I first walked in here, but I can tell you from my heart that I was just as happy to see all of you.”
“I can’t take it anymore!” Daniella said to him as she dropped down onto one knee. “Marry me!”
I saw Blackwell’s head roll back before I returned my attention to Daniella.
“Please, Cutter—don’t you see? We’re meant for each other. We’re perfect for each other. I love you, and I know that this can work between us!”
“She’s become unhinged,” I heard Blackwell say. “Somebody throw a drink on her. Or a blanket. Somebody do something.”
“I heard that, mother, and to hell with it,” Daniella said. “I don’t care if Cutter knows the truth, because I am in love with him. I came here tonight hoping that he’d be here, and the fact that he is says it all to me.” She looked at him. “We belong together. You have to see that, even if some people—like my mother and sister, for instance—refuse to see any of it.”
“Daniella,” Tank said quietly. “You should know that Cutter has a girlfriend now.”
And Daniella, stricken by the news, just stared openly at Tank. “He has a what?”
“A girlfriend,” Cutter said.
“Since when? And why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “She was one of my nurses. We became close during my recovery, and we’ve been seeing each other for a couple of weeks now.”
“Oh!” she said. “Just a couple of weeks? Well, that’s perfect! What are a couple of weeks when it comes to the beginnings of any relationship? Nothing. You hardly even know her at this point, so dump her. Be with me.”
“I can’t,” Cutter said. “I hope you understand.”
“Daniella, get the hell off that floor,” Blackwell said. “Have some self-respect, for God’s sake.”
“Fine!” Daniella said with resolve in her voice as she struggled to stand up. “Cutter can have his girlfriend! So, it was never meant to be between us! It’s a tragedy, but whatevs! I can handle it. Somebody hand me another martini. I need one, if only to get through the rest of the night.”
“You’ve already had your share of martinis,” Blackwell said. “Clearly.”
“Give one to me now!”
“Anything to shut you up,” Blackwell said between gritted teeth. When she turned to look around her, a server was right at her side with a fresh set of martinis held out to her on a silver platter. “Well, you’re here by no accident,” Blackwell said to the young woman. “But thank you for understanding the situation and for being so attentive to it. Now, if you also could bring me a Xanax the size of my head so I can shove it down her throat, I will tip you personally myself.”
When the girl’s lips started to part in bewilderment, Blackwell said, “It’s just a joke, darling—her third martini will either do the trick, or it will send her even further off the tracks. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. At the very least, I can sense that dinner is on the cusp, so once Jennifer fills up the room with whatever she has to say, we will be able to get some food into my daughter’s stomach to balance out the booze she’s already drank.”
“What Jennifer’s about to say isn’t insignificant, Barbara,” Alex said.
At that, she just looked at him—and then at me. “So, what does she have to say?” she asked. “And why do I feel as if I’m about to be ambushed by the news? Why do I feel as if I’m suddenly out of the loop?”
“Because you are,” I said. “But for all of the right reasons.”
I looked at Alex.
“Are you sure you’re ready to do this, Mr. Wenn?”
“I am so ready for this, Mrs. Wenn.”
“Then let’s tell everyone.” I looked out at our friends. “Yesterday, as we were planning for tonight, Alex took me aside and asked me a question. It was simple on the surface, but difficult for reasons that all of you will know well when I tell you what he asked me. He asked me if we were ready to start a family again. It’s no secret to anyone here that losing our first child has been difficult. But we all have to move forward, don’t we? Even when we feel as if we can’t. So. I’m here to tell all of you—our closest and dearest of friends—that Alex and I plan to move forward and try for another child. My doctor has told me time and again that she sees no reason why I can’t conceive. So? With any luck, expect news that we’re expecting in the very near future.”
As our friends burst into applause, I turned to Alex and caught the emotion on his face before he took me into his arms and kissed me in ways that he’d never kissed me before.
Throughout the past year, we’d been through so much together. There were several times that I thought that I’d felt the bottom of his love for me, which was deeper than any love I’d ever experienced. But now? Now there was a new bottom. As he held me against him, I felt a dampness against my cheek that confirmed just how much I meant to him—just how deeply he did love me—and when I felt that, I held him even closer ag
ainst me and I said into his ear, “I love you so much, Alex. And I can promise you this—for us, the best is yet to come.”
# # #
Annihilate Me, 2, Vol. 3 ends this particular Annihilate Me series. But a new story in the Annihilate Me series will continue on in Annihilate Me 3, Vol. 1, coming in 2016. Oh, what I have in store for you as Alex and Jennifer’s story deepens with a whole new plot and characters—and perhaps a child for Alex and Jennifer!
But first, look for the stand-alone novel Ignite Me, which is part of the Annihilate Me series, and which will tell the story of Alex’s hunky cousin, Brock Wenn, and what happens to him when he falls for Madison Wells, a gorgeous young woman who just happens to find herself as Barbara Blackwell’s brand new personal assistant. As you can imagine, Blackwell isn’t about to make anything exactly easy for Madison. And since Brock is no Alex—he’s far from being a billionaire—he’ll be struggling to make it in New York just as much as Madison is. So, how will their relationship unfold given the pressures of life, the difficulties of work, and the strong possibilities of love? And with such a white-hot attraction between them from the first moment they meet? Good luck with that…
You can pre-order Ignite Me on Amazon here for its October 31, 2015 release:
US Amazon link: http://amzn.to/1KKMkj8
UK Amazon link: http://amzn.to/1SydP6x
Canada Amazon link: http://amzn.to/1OYqQ3O
France Amazon link: http://amzn.to/1IiIlY3
Germany Amazon link: http://amzn.to/1MGuC3p
Brazil Amazon link: http://bit.ly/1M5G5cW
Look for announcements of that series here on my Facebook page or on my website. For news on that series—and to possibly receive an ARC for an honest review when it’s released, you can also join my email blast (never any SPAM) here.
Thank you for reading the continuation of Alex and Jennifer’s story! I hope that you enjoyed it!
XO,
Christina
BOOKS BY CHRISTINA ROSS:
IN FRANCE, THE SERIES IS CALLED “CAPTIVE-MOI”.
IN GERMANY, THE SERIES IS CALLED “UNTER FEUER”.
ANNIHILATE ME, VOL. 1
ANNIHILATE ME, VOL. 2
ANNIHILATE ME, VOL. 3
ANNIHILATE ME, VOL. 4
ANNIHILATE ME, HOLIDAY EDITION
ANNIHILATE ME: OMNIBUS
ANNIHILATE ME 2, VOL. 1
ANNIHILATE ME 2, VOL. 2
ANNIHILATE ME 2, VOL. 3
ANNIHILATE ME 2: OMNIBUS
Also by Christina Ross:
UNLEASH ME, VOL. 1
UNLEASH ME, VOL. 2
UNLEASH ME, VOL. 3
UNLEASH ME: BOXED SET
Stand-alone novels
CHANCE
IGNITE ME
Can’t wait for my next steamy, suspenseful book? More are coming, and it’s an easy fix! Join me on Facebook here, and especially join my email blast here. There is never any SPAM, and this way, you’ll never miss another book—or the opportunity to receive an ARC to review a book before it goes live to the public.
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XO,
Christina
Annihilate Me 2: Omnibus (Complete Vols. 1-3, Annihilate Me 2) Page 60
