“I thought you had to work.”
“I do, but my wife deserves all the romance she can stand.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank him yet. He’s not done,” Jade tells me with a smirk.
“There’s more? What more could there be?”
“You’ll see. Bye ladies. Take care of my woman today and make sure she relaxes, please.”
“Okay, what’s going on?” I ask, turning to the assembled women. All of the Society is here, along with Alex, Jessica, Yasmin, Chloe, Candi, Olivia, and Quinn.
“Right now you’re going to show us your new wedding ring, and then we’re taking over a spa. Massages, facials, and complete relaxation. Exactly what we all need, courtesy of Matt,” Candi tells me.
“That sounds heavenly,” I say, holding out my hand so they can all look.
Almost everyone in this room has a ring that eclipses mine in size, but they still gush over the band on my finger, because they know my ring fits me exactly as theirs fits them. I had the big rock, in fact I still technically have it, but this band is something I’m more comfortable wearing. Matt knew that, and so do my friends.
The next few hours are some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time. We can’t all fit in every room, but I have time with every one of my friends. We don’t normally have time to all go out like this together, but I make a mental note to schedule something like this for us at least once a month. With the new girls coming on, we’ll have more work, but we also need our “friend” time.
We have lunch at CRAVE at the Downtown Summerlin shopping center, and hit up Lush, because Ellie has gotten us all addicted to their bath stuff. Yasmin asks us if we want to see what’s new at the Las Vegas Literacy Project, the non-profit she runs with Caleb’s uncle. The offices and warehouse are here, so we all agree.
Once we walk in, I realize we aren’t here for a tour. There are people running around, and setting things up in their large warehouse. From what I can see, the place is being turned into a giant boat house. And then it hits me. A boat house.
“Matt.”
“Yes, Matt. Your dress is upstairs,” Quinn tells me.
I follow them all up the wide circular staircase, and into Yasmin’s office, which has been turned into a dressing room. The racks are full of ball gowns, and there’s lighted vanities along one wall. I walk straight for the dress that I know is mine. The top has a crossover, navy blue, off the shoulder neckline, while the bottom looks like a storm with clouds of navy blue and grey. The design of the bottom is large, asymmetrical ruffles that remind me of the dress I was wearing the night I met Matt. I know it’s no coincidence. I also know Quinn made this dress just for me.
“Thank you, Quinn.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I have shoes for you, but no jewelry. I figured your two rings are all you’d want to wear,” Stella tells me.
“You know me well, but there is something else I want to wear. It’s at home, though,” I say, giving her a hug.
“I’ll have Kace bring it.”
“Thanks.”
Once we’re all dressed, and have done each other’s hair and makeup, everyone starts to leave the room. Jane, Alex, and Jessica are the last ones left with me. The other Corrigan women smile at me, and I smile back.
“He loves you,” Jessica tells me. “I know he’s been an ass for all of these years, but he won’t act like that ever again.”
“I know.”
Next, it’s Alex’s turn. “The Corrigan boys are hard to love, Reina. Miles and I had our own problems, but it was more than worth it once we worked it all out.”
“I know that too.”
“I’m so sorry that you felt like you weren’t good enough for so long. I should’ve seen it, but I was too worried about him and how destructive he was being. You’ve always been so strong that I never gave you the chance you needed to be weak,” Jane tells me.
“Strong? I let him hurt me over and over again, and never walked away. How was that being strong?”
“You were fighting for your love. And you may have been hurt, but you stood up for yourself when he went too far,” she reminds me.
“I stood up for myself, and then jumped right back into bed with him when he came calling.”
“Because your heart knew he was yours. No matter what he did, all of us knew he belonged to you. He could deny it all he wanted, but he could never truly hide it.”
“I didn’t know. I tried to believe that he loved me. I had faith…”
Oh wow, I did. I had faith in Matt’s love for me. When I thought I had lost my faith in everything, I really hadn’t. I send up a silent prayer, thanking God once again for carrying me through those times.
“Yes, you did. And I know you still do. We’re going to leave you now. When you’re ready to come down, Matt will be waiting at the bottom of the stairs for you,” Jessica tells me.
They leave, and I stand there for a few minutes with my eyes closed, thinking about how my dreams are finally coming true. Matt is finally giving himself fully to me, and I finally realize that I’m enough for him, and for me. He’s working through what he did when he was younger, and I’m reclaiming my faith. We’re going to try and have a baby, and get married in a way that both of us want this time. It’s like Karma saved it all up for us, and now we’re getting our happy ending. I, for one, couldn’t be happier.
I walk out and stand at the top of the stairs. There he is, my Matteo, waiting for me as I walk down the stairs to him. We’re both smiling like a couple of teenagers on their first date. When I get to the bottom, he hands me a small bouquet.
“I remembered the flowers for your birthday this time. And you’re wearing the bracelet…from the day I pretended not to know what you liked.”
I lift up my wrist. “I am. I never planned on wearing it, but I thought it would be perfect for tonight.”
“I hated that I did that to you. I always hurt you.”
“In the past, you hurt me. You’re not hurting me now. You recreated the boat house.”
“Spending your birthday with you was one of the best days of my life.”
“For me, too.”
“Even without the flowers?”
“You had the music, and candles. They look a little safer in here, I must say,” I tease him as we walk in. “I don’t think you’ll set the place on fire if you kiss me passionately.”
“We should try it, just to make sure.”
He kisses me hard, until the clapping starts. It’s too easy to forget that there are other people around when we’re together. We both laugh as Matt flips off his friends. He leads me to the empty dance floor as I raise an eyebrow.
“There’s no music.”
“Wait for it, Rei.”
All of a sudden, the curtain in front of us is dropped, and I nearly faint as my mouth falls open. “Oh my God. John Michael Montgomery, and is that?”
“All-4-One? Yes.”
“How?”
“We danced to it at least ten times that night. It was your favorite song,” he reminds me as they all launch into their hit song, “I Can Love You Like That.”
“I know. I loved it back then, but now you’re showing me that it’s true,” I say as we move to the music. “I can’t believe you did all this for me. Thank you for this, and for winning the war for us. I love you, Matteo.”
“I love you, too. I didn’t win the war, we won it together. And just in case you didn’t already know, I’d do anything for you, My Beautiful Queen.”
Coming in November 2016:
Society Weddings
Behind every great spy is the sexy man who loves her...
The women of the Society invite you to join them as they finally walk down the aisle. Whether it's the first or second time they're saying "I Do" to the man they love, these weddings are the ones they've always dreamed of.
Planning a mission and planning a wedding are two different things...
You've shared the
ir struggles, triumphs, and SECRETS, and now it's time to share the celebrations of their love. Mishaps, murders, misunderstandings, and general mayhem will ensue before they get their happily ever after, but that will make them even more special.
Ten female spies + ten equally strong men = ten weddings full of romance, weapons, tears, and lots of sexy times. RSVP at your own risk.
Coming in January 2016:
Society Girls: Sierra
When Sierra Taylor’s brother, Zack, fell in love with a spy from the Society, she wished she could join the secret group. Knowing that wasn’t an option, she went back to work at the auction house in her hometown. Now, with Reina Corrigan running things, the Society has recruited her as a trainee. She’s not worried about passing the classes on etiquette, technology, or even hand to hand combat. It’s mastering languages that’s giving her a hard time. Or at least one language in particular: Portuguese. The language that her brother’s infuriating friend can help her with—at a price she knows she shouldn’t want to pay.
Joel Cruz was born in Brazil, but has lived in the States for most of his life. The son of diplomats, he found his calling when he first picked up a baseball bat. He also found himself surrounded by plenty of women willing to be on his arm in public, and in his bed at night. Sierra Taylor is one of the only women who has ever said no to him. Unfortunately for her, she needs his help, and in order to receive it, she’ll have to say yes. To everything—and anything—he wants from her.
Training in the Society is pass or fail, and failure is not an option Sierra’s willing to consider. Can she master the language, while keeping the player out of her heart? Or will she strike out on both counts, and lose it all?
Acknowledgements
Dominique, you live away from home, but you’re always with me. Seeing you be the strong, and compassionate woman you’ve become inspires me every day. I love you!
Gabi, thanks for telling me I’d be lame if I didn’t write another series, which made me come up with this one. You are so amazing, and we have so much fun together. I love you!
Helen, my covers are so beautiful, and I’m glad we were thrown together. I have so much fun talking with you, and working with you. We had that fun day in Cardiff that Reina experienced as well (although she got two days). I can’t wait to see you again in 2016!
Jesse, thanks for always making the inside of my books look beautiful! I look forward to keeping you busy for quite some time!
Ally, thanks for editing the books, and calling me out when I try to be too nice. Sorry I haven’t broken anyone up for you yet (and I’m not going to)!
Mallory, thanks for reading this book one chapter at a time as I wrote it to make sure all of it was flowing okay!
Jessica, Vicki, Sabrina, Aqeelah, and Alex, thanks for reading this one early and loving it!
To all my ladies (and man) in my Friends of the Society group, thanks for your input and feedback on everything, and for loving the books! You guys are the best!
To my readers, THANK YOU for loving the books, and talking about them. I don’t do any promotion, but I still sell a good amount of books every month. I know that’s because of all of you who talk about them. You’re the best, and I love hearing from you!
About the Author
Crystal Perkins has always been a big reader, but she never thought she would write her own book, until she did. She lives in Las Vegas, where you can find her running author events and selling books at conventions when she isn’t reading, buying too many Sherlock t-shirts online or finding a place to put all of her Pop! figurines. A mac and cheese connoisseur, she travels the country looking for the perfect version, while attending book conventions and signings as a cover for her research. The Griffin Brothers series and the Corrigan & Co. series are international best sellers, and she’s thankful to the readers who made those things happen!
Find her here:
www.crystalperkinsauthor.com
facebook.com/crystalperkinsauthor
@wondermomlv
[email protected]
Loving My SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 10) Page 22
