by BJ Harvey
“Work and house are getting taken care of. My family will come visit us, and we’ll be back here a lot, because let’s face it—Kenzie and I could never be apart for long. Especially since she’s about six months ahead of me in terms of weddings and all that grown-up stuff.”
One corner of his mouth quirks, and he lifts a brow. “Six months ahead of you?”
I lean across to my nightstand and open the door, feeling around for what I’m looking for and shifting back to my place in Bruno’s lap.
Lifting my closed fist between us, I kiss him gently, whispering, “Ask me again,” against his lips before sitting back and turning my hand over. I open my fingers to show the platinum ring he gave me three months ago lying in my palm.
His entire body stills, his eyes dropping down to the ring, then back up to me.
I recite the words he said to me the night he proposed, the words I wasn’t yet ready to hear, the ones I truly feel to the depths of my very soul now. “I don’t want you to wait anymore. You’re the last man I’ll ever want and need. I want the world to know that I’ll love you till death do us part. I want your ring on my finger and mine on yours. I want the piece of paper; I want everything you can give me, and everything I have in my power to give you. I want a life with you and Oakley, and whatever children we’re blessed to have together. I want the family we can make, the family we have already, and I want it all with you.”
He picks up the ring and gently turns my hand over. His gaze is locked on mine as he slowly slides it onto my finger. He lifts the ring to his mouth and presses his lips to the precious metal, closing his eyes and murmuring something that I swear sounds like ‘lemons and lemonade.’
“Marry me.” It’s not a question. His dark hooded eyes are filled with love and lust, admiration and respect—everything I’ve ever wanted from a man. “I’m not asking you the question. I’m telling you to marry me. And I don’t want a big show. I want whatever you want. If you want a small ceremony in your parents’ backyard, we’ll do it. If you want to fly to Vegas tomorrow and get married by Elvis, I’m game.”
I grin at that. I could totally rock being married by the King.
“The only thing that matters to me is having you by my side today, tomorrow, and always.”
“And Indiana?”
“Wherever you go, I go, and it sounds like you’re moving to Indianapolis, so I guess that means I am too.”
My answering snort turns into a sob, my eyes blurring with tears. Bruno cups my face and runs his thumbs across my cheeks. I lean into his touch, a slow-growing smile playing on my lips. “Does this mean I have to like corn?” I ask, scrunching my nose.
“No. It just means you’re stuck with me,” he says.
My replying smile is big and bright, matching the one shining back at me. “That’s fine by me. There’s nowhere else I want to be. Forever and always.”
Epilogue
Bruno
“Daddy, can I take my dolls with us?” Oakley calls from her bedroom.
I move from our kitchen and down the hallway, stopping in her doorway. My daughter has never been a pink kind of girl. She’s a ray of sunshine and this has translated into a love for the color yellow.
“You can only take one, baby,” I say, walking over to her bed and sitting beside her.
“But the others will be sad.” She looks up at me with her big brown eyes, her white-blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail with—yes—a yellow ribbon. Gaby’s doing, I’m guessing. “Gaby said I could take two so they wouldn’t get lonely on the plane ride,” she says, continuing to plead her case while throwing my fiancée under the bus.
“I guess she’s right then. I’ll leave you to pick your two most favorite.” I lean down and kiss her head, taking a deep breath of her strawberry shampoo and smiling to myself. I knew that wherever I ended up, my life would be good. I never imagined a life where I would be this happy.
Six months we’ve been living in Indianapolis, just one suburb over from where Tate and Oakley reside. I have a good job back with my old security company, Gaby is managing a local coffee shop and loving it, and every second weekend, we have a five-year-old pocket rocket of energy live with us.
We have the white picket fence, the dog, the cat, and the house. We have health, love, and happiness. Gaby has given me more than I could ever have thought possible by coming here with me, and allowing me to build a relationship with the daughter I never knew I had.
The best thing has been watching Gaby establish her own relationship with Oakley. The first time they met it was like they were best friends for life. Oakley took to Gaby like a duck to water, and their bond has only continued to deepen the more time they spend together. In fact, the first thing she asked Gaby was whether she could have a yellow flower girl’s dress for our wedding.
Now we’re packing for a two-week trip to Europe for Kenzie and Millen’s wedding in the south of France. It’s looking to be an interesting vacation, given that Kenzie has been calling Gaby non-stop with updates on Millen’s sister, Ashley, and her lifelong crush on Drew. Then there’s the fact that Drew is going to be Millen’s best man—again—and given Drew’s track record when it comes to weddings, who knows what might happen?
We’re taking Oakley with us, and it will be the first time we’ve had her for so long. It’s two weeks of full-time parenting—or what Gaby is calling a crash course in parenthood. She says it’ll be good practice for the future. For a woman who didn’t want any long-term commitments, she has certainly changed her tune.
She’s been talking about getting married, asking when I would like to try for a baby, and whether Oakley would be okay with us adding to our family. Gaby is always thinking of my girl, and if I didn’t love her already, that would’ve done it for sure.
Whatever happens, as long as I have my two girls, the opportunities are endless.
I’m now with a woman who is the true love of my life. I took a second chance and fell in love with a woman I swear was made for me. And that’s all a man can ask for.
Drew’s story - Coming Soon
Prologue
Picture this: it’s dusk in the beautiful French Riviera. The sun is slowly setting, coloring the sky a rusty orange. On an almost empty sand-covered beach my best friend stands to my right, holding the hand of his beautiful soon-to-be wife, having just vowed ‘till death do us part.’
I never thought I’d get the chance to share this day with him and the woman he loves. Since I kind of dated his girl, Millen had every right to cut me out of his life forever, and he did for a spell. Kenzie could have held a grudge against me that lasted an eternity, but she’s been pivotal in helping repair the friendship between Millen and me.
The other person who almost ruined their lives is thousands of miles away in Sacramento, living in my house. What else was I supposed to do when she turned up on my doorstep three months ago needing a place to stay? She’s my consequence from a night of drunken stupidity when my ego led my dick astray. She’s carrying my child—a baby she used to manipulate Millen, a baby she’s definitely using to manipulate me.
I know I’m on thin ice with Millen though. Another fuck up and I’ll lose the man who’s more of a brother than a best friend. And the person who’s going to be the final nail in my friendship’s coffin is standing just twenty feet away from me, her blond hair shining in the fading light, her blue eyes shimmering with happy tears as she’s watches her brother get married.
Ashley Ross: the girl who had a high school crush on me. The girl who gave me her virginity. The same woman who came into my hotel room, told me she loved me, and claimed me as her own all last night and well into this morning.
“You may kiss the bride.”
A loud cheer erupts followed by even louder applause as Millen wraps his arm around Kenzie’s bare back, dips her low, and kisses the living shit out of her, both of them laughing as they go.
Then it happens—that hammer lowering towards the
nail. My phone rings from my back pocket.
“Shit!”
All eyes swing my way.
“Sorry, sorry!” I say, digging my hand in my pants to grab the offending object.
Pulling it out, I see Lana’s name on the screen.
“Fuuuuckkk,” I groan, waving Millen off as both he and Kenzie stare at me with wide eyes and high brows in equal measure. My gaze darts to Ashley who’s wearing a dress that matches her sexy devil within. The temptress who has become more of a constant than I ever intended.
“I’ve gotta answer this. I’m sorry,” I say to the group by way of an apology.
“Who could be that important, dude?” Millen asks.
I freeze, my phone still vibrating in my hand. “You don’t want me to answer that. Not here and definitely not now.”
The flash in his eyes and Kenzie’s surprised gasp tell me no further explanation is necessary.
“She just can’t help herself, can she?” Kenzie snarks, shaking her head as she burrows deeper into her husband’s side. Kenzie’s best friend, and her fiancé, Bruno, Kenzie’s dad, and Ashley are now circled around us.
“Just ignore it,” Millen urges but his expression is tight.
“I can’t.”
“Why the fuck not?” he asks, his terse voice grabbing everyone’s attention now.
“She’s pregnant. Something could be wrong.”
“I fucking know she’s pregnant, Drew. Surely she’ll leave a message if it’s that important? She’s not due yet so she’s probably ringing because she’s hoping to interrupt the festivities.”
The phone stops ringing and the decision to answer is taken out of my hands. Millen’s shoulders relax, the tension visibly leaving his body. I’m torn between responsibility and denial.
Responsibility wins out. “I better call her back.”
“Drew . . .” he growls. “Lana Mason already took enough from me. She doesn’t get to exist today of all days.”
My phone buzzes with a text and my eyes drop to it.
Lana’s text stops me in my tracks.
“She has to fucking exist, Millen. I don’t get a say in that. Especially not now.” Probably not ever.
“She’s your baby’s mother—that’s all.”
“If only,” I mutter.
Millen goes deathly still at my reply. I feel the blood rush from my face, my eyes darting to Ashley, taking one last look at her before I drop the bomb none of them could’ve seen coming. The one that’s going to obliterate any chance of the future I want with Ashley. The future I was finally ready to let myself have.
“I’ve gotta go.”
Millen’s head jerks back. “What the fuck? Why? You haven’t even given your speech yet?”
Fuck it. There’s no escaping now. I may have kept this secret for the past few months but there’s no way I can get out of it now. “Because you’re not the only one who’s fucking married, and as of an hour ago, she’s in labor.”
Ashley’s shocked cry steals everyone’s attention. I meet her eyes, and my heart shatters into a million pieces at the pain I see written all over her face. She spins on her heels and runs up the makeshift aisle toward the hotel.
Millen’s gaze jerks from me to his baby sister and back to me, his eyes harder than stone. “Oh, no . . . oh, fuck no,” he growls, his voice low and menacing as he obviously puts two and two together.
Kenzie and Gaby gasp in unison before shrieking as they scramble into action, Gaby going after Ashley, Kenzie grabbing Millen’s arm, but it’s too late.
I don’t see his fist coming until it’s slamming into my face. My head snaps to the side, stabbing pain slicing through my jaw. It’s the second time he’s punched me. Coincidentally, both times have been at weddings, but I’m too focused on Ashley’s retreat and the tears in her eyes to deflect his shot or fight him off.
Thankfully Bruno steps in, holding Millen back as he struggles against him, clearly wanting to have another go. Millen’s glittering eyes pin me in place, his next words cutting me to the bone. With the finality in his tone, I’m in no doubt that the hammer has not only dropped, but that the coffin is well and truly buried.
“Kenzie, Lana, and now my sister? Third strike, motherfucker. We’re fucking done.”
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BJ Harvey is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the Bliss Series. She also regards herself as a smut peddler, suspense conjurer and a funny romance thinker upper. An avid music fan, you will always find her singing some hit song badly but loving every minute of it. She’s a wife, a mom to two beautiful girls, and hails from what she considers as the best country in the world—New Zealand.
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Romantic Comedy
Bliss Series (Interconnected Standalones)
Temporary Bliss (Bliss #1)
True Bliss (Bliss #2)
Blissful Surrender (Bliss #3)
Permanent Bliss (Bliss #4)
Finding Bliss (Bliss #5)
The Game Series (Bliss Series Spin Off)
Game Player (Game #1)
Game Maker (Game #2)
Game Saver (Game #3)
Game Ender (Game #4)
Game Breaker: The Loop (Game #5)
Game Planner (Game #6) – Coming 2018
Contemporary Romance
The Chances Series
One Shot (Chances #1)
Second Chance (Chances #2)
Third Strike (Chances #3)
The Sovereign Series
Touch (Sovereign Part One)
Taste (Sovereign Part Two)
Feel (Sovereign Part Three)
Holiday Romance
Stranded (Christmas novella with a Bliss Series connection)
Romance Suspense
Lost in Distraction (Lost #1)
Lost For You (Lost #2)
Lost Without You (Lost #3)
Erotic Suspense—Standalone
Crave
