Unbreakable

by Jennifer Lazaris

  “Hot?” I finish. “Delicious? Fuckable? Incredible?”

  My brother can’t take his eyes off of her. “Yeah,” he says, swallowing. “You look fucking awesome, Violet.”

  “Um... thanks, Sully.” Her face turns scarlet, and her voice cracks.

  Peyton, who’s standing behind her, gives her a swift poke in the back that only I can see.

  “Isn’t it great that you finally get to see your sister’s artistry come to life?” Violet asks, recovering just enough to give Sully a warm smile.

  “For sure. It looks good,” Sully murmurs. His gaze drops to Violet’s chest. “Real good.”

  “Score,” Peyton whispers under her breath to me.

  I bend over my makeup case and give a little nod. “Yep.”

  “Anyone home?” a deep male voice calls from down the hall. A guy—a very cute guy—with semi-long brown hair and eyes the color of the Mediterranean Sea appears in the doorway.

  “Well damn, no wonder everyone is up here.” A smile lights up his face as he looks at Violet, Peyton, and me. “Hello there, ladies.”

  Will snorts. “Easy, Xander. Alexander Christiansen, these are my friends Violet and Peyton, and my girlfriend, Emmy. Xander’s new to the Smoke this season,” he explains.

  Xander’s eyes linger on Violet the longest. “It’s nice to meet all of you.”

  Suddenly, I’m struck with inspiration. “So Xander, what are you doing for Valentine’s Day? Any plans?”

  “Nope. Just meeting Sully here and then heading over to his place.” He gives Sully a nod. “What’s up, Sul? Axel and Dylan are still coming over for our The Walking Dead marathon, right?”

  “Yep,” Sully says, looking down at his phone.

  “Dylan doesn’t have a date tonight?” Peyton asks casually.

  I give her a knowing look. I’m sure she’d love to give Dylan a Valentine’s Day to remember.

  “No. Valentine’s Day is just fucking stupid,” Sully grumbles.

  “Yeah, Violet was just saying the same thing,” I say airily. “They make such a big deal out of this holiday. It’s ridiculous.”

  Will gives me an amused look. “Should I cancel our dinner reservations, then?”

  “Of course not. We still have to eat something,” I say solemnly.

  He starts laughing. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  “So Will and I are the only people going out on Valentine’s Day? Wow,” I say, shaking my head.

  “How is someone as gorgeous as you dateless on Valentine’s Day?” Xander asks Violet.

  Violet laughs nervously. “Oh, you know. Just lucky I guess.”

  I glance over at my brother, who’s frowning at Xander.

  That’s right brother. Time to put up or shut up.

  “Aww. If I didn’t already have plans, I’d ask you out myself,” Xander says, smiling at Vi. “Maybe we can make plans to go out sometime.”

  Yesssssss!

  Sully’s frown deepens at Xander’s comment, and he looks over at Violet.

  “Sure. And if you didn’t already have plans for tonight,” Vi says, brushing a strand of blonde hair away from her face, “I would have said yes.”

  Is she actually flirting? I might do a happy dance right here, right now.

  I also can’t resist pushing my brother’s buttons a little more.

  “Oh, you guys should totally go out tonight. I’m sure my brother won’t mind if you bail just this once, Xander.” I pipe up. “Right, Sul?”

  All eyes land on Sully, including Violet’s.

  He crosses his arms and gives a shrug. “Why the hell would I care? Do whatever you want.”

  I’m quite familiar with the look that’s currently on his face. He cares, all right. I can tell that he hates the idea of Vi going out with Xander.

  “I’m heading out,” Sully says curtly. “Axel and Dylan will be at my place in an hour. See you guys later.”

  Will catches my eye, and the corner of his mouth lifts in a smirk. I give him an innocent look, and he just shakes his head.

  “We just have to clean up. Why don’t you guys head downstairs, and we’ll see you there in a few?”

  “Aye, Aye, Captain,” Will says, clapping Xander on the back. “Let’s go grab a beer while they finish up here.”

  After they leave, Violet looks up at us. “What the heck just happened?”

  “You got a date with a really cute guy,” Peyton says, grinning. “And made another one insanely jealous. It was beautiful.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t want to use Xander,” Violet says, biting her lip. “Though it was fun flirting with him a little bit.”

  “You aren’t using him,” I assure her. “It’s just a date, not an invitation to be his girlfriend. You’ll go and have a good time, that’s all.”

  “I guess so,” she says, shrugging.

  I hold up a mirror. “Look at you! You’re gorgeous. Thanks so much for being my model. I think this is definitely the look I want to film on Saturday.” I snap her photo with my cell phone.

  “You really are a wizard at this stuff,” she says, staring at her reflection. “Damn, I look good.”

  “No, you look beautiful,” Peyton corrects. “Go have some fun, Vi. You deserve it.”

  They pitch in and help me clean up a little bit before we go downstairs.

  “So Violet,” Xander says, “I thought we could go down to Yonge Street and see if we can find someplace decent to grab dinner. It’s probably going to be a wait since we didn’t make reservations, though.”

  “Sure, that sounds fine,” she says, smiling at him. He helps her with her coat before they head out the front door.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day, guys,” Violet says, waving.

  Xander nods as he holds open the door for her. “Happy Candy Day.”

  I wave back. “Have fun!”

  “And that’s my cue,” Peyton says. “I’m heading home to pop some popcorn, watch all of the Scream movies, and give myself a pedicure.”

  “It’s Valentine’s Day, not Halloween,” I say, raising a brow.

  “Exactly. Valentine’s day is the scariest fucking holiday ever.”

  Will laughs. “See you later, Pey.”

  “Bye, guys. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do tonight.”

  “That doesn’t leave much,” I tease.

  “Damn straight,” she says, winking.

  The second she closes the door behind her, Will pulls me into his arms and gives me a kiss. “I saw what you did up there, you know. You’re a very sneaky girl.”

  “I know, but I try to use my powers for the greater good,” I joke. “Violet’s been crushing on Sully forever. I just want him to realize what he’s missing.”

  “Well, Sully could stand a little push in the right direction,” he agrees. “I saw the way he was looking at her. He’s definitely interested. But Em, I’d hate to see her get hurt. Sully’s not exactly boyfriend material.”

  “Maybe he just hasn’t found the right girl yet,” I say hopefully. “At least, that’s what Violet thinks.”

  “Maybe,” he says noncommittally. “By the way, Xander’s not looking for a relationship right now, at least from what I’ve heard, so don’t worry about him trying to steal Violet away for himself.”

  “Is he a good guy?” I ask, suddenly worried about who I’ve sent Vi out with.

  “He’s not a player, don’t worry. He’s just a big flirt. She’ll be fine. He’s a good guy.”

  Will takes my hand and leads me over to the couch. “Before we go out to dinner, I want to give you your Valentine’s Day present.”

  “Present? You made me promise not to get you a present! Now I feel bad.”

  Of course, he doesn’t know it yet, but I got him a present, too. I bought him a brand-new designer watch with money I earned from my channel. He’s been eyeing it for the past month, and I couldn’t resist getting it for him. I’m going to surprise him with it at dinner.

  “Yeah, but I never promised not to get y
ou something,” he says, smiling.

  He sits next to me on the couch and pulls out a beautiful velvet box. Thankfully, it’s not ring-sized. We’re not quite ready for that—at least, not yet. But I hope we will be in a few years, because I never want to be with anyone but Will.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day, Em,” he says, pressing a kiss to my temple.

  I carefully open the little box. Inside is a gorgeous, delicate silver charm bracelet.

  “Will,” I gasp. “It’s so beautiful.”

  He pulls it from the box. “I already put a few charms on it for you. See? Here’s a lipstick, to represent your ZeeTube channel. And a little cottage, to remind us of how we got together. And a hockey stick, to represent me.”

  “I love it,” I say, my eyes tearing up. He’s truly the most thoughtful man I’ve ever been with. I’m so lucky.

  “Oh, and I bought you a new charm today. I couldn’t resist.” He pulls out a little velvet drawstring bag and spills the contents into my hand. “A heart for our first Valentine’s Day together.”

  “You’re going to make me cry! It’s gorgeous. Thank you so much.” I carefully attach the charm to the bracelet and throw my arms around his neck. “It’s just perfect. You’re perfect.”

  “And you’re my perfect girl,” he says, tipping my chin up to meet his eyes. “I love you, Sunshine.”

  “I love you, too,” I say softly. “I’m so glad you kissed me in the rain that day.”

  “You know, it’s snowing out there right now,” he says, grinning. “We’ve never made out in this kind of weather. Maybe we should brave the elements. What do you think?”

  “Hmm.” I glance out of the window. “I think it looks like flurries with a 90 percent chance of kissing.”

  Will cocks a brow. “Only 90 percent?”

  I grab my coat and dash toward the front door. “You have to catch me first!”

  Of course, he catches me with ease a few moments later, and I discover that a hot kiss in the cold snow with Will Maverick is the best Valentine’s Day gift of all.

  THE END

  Author’s Note

  Thank you so much for reading Unbreakable! I hope you enjoyed Will and Emmy’s story.

  If you would like to know more about new or upcoming releases, please sign up for my newsletter: http://www.jenniferlazaris.com/sign-up/

  I’m always happy to hear from readers! You can find me online at the following places:

  Website: http://www.jenniferlazaris.com

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjenniferlazaris

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/jenlazaris

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to my Mom for always helping me through this never-ending process. Love you!

  Mike, thanks for putting up with my crazy work hours. You’re the best. S’agapo.

  Thanks to Amy, my awesome editor at Duli Noted. You went above and beyond for me in a pinch, and I appreciate it.

  Thanks to Syneca at Orginal Syn for the incredible cover. You are awesome!

  As always, thanks to my Hearties for your support and patience with my endless questions.

  Thanks to The Sin Bin Facebook group for the fun and hockey chat.

  Last, but never least, thanks so much to my readers, who waited so patiently for my next book. You guys rock.

  Also by Jennifer Lazaris

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  Getting Lucky

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