by Piper Lawson
“Just trying to make small talk.”
“Make smaller talk.” He swung out of the lot and in a few minutes, we were on the freeway that would take us to his place.
Our place, I realized with a thrill. Some days it seemed insane that we were moving in together so fast, but we were both going in with our eyes open. And, we agreed it made more sense than me trying to find something that would probably end up being far away. We’d spend all our time traveling to see each other.
As much fun as it was thinking of Ethan, it was way better seeing him.
“Ethan? I appreciate it. Everything. Having a place to stay.”
“Are you kidding? I’m the lucky one. I get to see you every damn day. My girlfriend who makes designer clothes. That’s hot.”
I winced. “Technically I’m the manager of an indebted store.”
“No. It’s my fantasy. Speaking of which…You don’t have anywhere to be today, do you?”
“Um, yeah. After I unpack.”
“Fine. I have a two pm so maybe I can unpack you in the shower. With my tongue.”
After Lex and Dylan’s wedding, Ethan had made good on every promise he’d made in the vineyard. I’d barely made it to brunch the next morning. If the way I winced when I sat wasn’t proof of what we’d done, the giant grin on my face had to have been. Lex and Ava had both shot me knowing looks across the table.
If anything, it kept getting better. The guy was not only a genius, but inexhaustible. I was starting to build up my own repertoire, including some moves I was dying to bust out at the first opportunity. Just to see if I could make his eyes cross.
I turned to meet Ethan’s gaze. I’d expected the want in it, but the warmth still surprised me.
My heart turned over.
“Works for me.”
“No regrets?”
I grinned. “No regrets.”
EPILOGUE TWO
Ethan
Three months later
Red, white and blue bunnies.
That’s what filled the store window on Montana Ave the first week of July.
One mannequin was sitting, a hand stretched out like she wanted to play with one of the stuffed animals. Another was standing while bunnies sniffed at her feet.
I grinned.
Inside the front door was an explosion of color that rivaled the one in the window.
Neat racks of shirts, skirts, shorts and dresses were arranged throughout the space. A dozen women browsed the first floor, with more upstairs. Good traffic for mid-week.
I picked my way through the displays toward the cash. Behind it, a big sign spelled out TRAVESTY in white feathers on a pink background.
It was cute. But I didn’t care about the sign.
The woman checking out customers had dirty blond hair braided down one side, showing off long earrings that dangled to her shoulders. I caught her eye and she smiled at me.
I waited, browsing the clothes, until both customers at the cash had finished before approaching.
“I need to buy this.”
“Really,” Jordan replied, her mouth pulling up at the corner.
“It’s for my girlfriend.” I dropped the short yellow skirt on the counter.
“Are you sure it’s her style?”
“Oh, she doesn’t need to wear it out. Just around the house.” I grinned.
“I see.” But she couldn’t keep a straight face.
“I’m actually here because I’d like a word. With management.” My gaze flicked down her body before returning to her face. The little flush in her cheeks was barely noticeable, if you weren’t looking for it.
The way my dick was pressing against the zipper of my jeans? Yeah, that was more noticeable.
A blond woman wearing a neon orange appeared next to Jordan, dropping a folded pile of clothes on the counter. “I can cover cash for you if you need a few minutes.”
“Thanks Dahlia,” Jordan said, relieved.
Jordan trailed me toward the back. “I swear, the best day of my life was the day Taylor fired that woman. I’m lucky she’s working here.”
“The best day.” I led the way into the storage room, turning to shut the door behind us.
“One of,” she conceded, her gaze flicking over my expression.
“No other high points spring to mind?”
“OK, yesterday when I closed out the books for June and realized we had a positive return on this store a month after launching.”
“That does sound pretty great,” I admitted. I was so damn proud of her.
She’d gotten this store up and running practically on her own. Though she talked to Lex and Ava almost daily, from the sounds of her Skype conversations they spent as much time talking about girly things as they did about business.
Work was going well for me too. After passing on the condos, I’d picked up some new clients. Despite the increase in workload, I felt more relaxed than ever.
It was almost like having Jordan around mellowed me out. Mellowed both of us out. We’d spent a day last weekend on Axe’s boat with him and Jules, who was seven months pregnant.
And really. Any excuse to see my girl in a bikini was a good one.
“There’ve been some good days,” I went on. “But maybe today will be the best day ever. Because an exceedingly good-looking man is going to press you up against that shelf of dresses and fuck you senseless.”
I dropped my mouth to Jordan’s and felt her hands reach up my neck.
After nearly three months, we were better than ever. I loved having this girl around. It was like having a best friend.
One you could have sex with.
The best surprise of all?
Jordan could more than keep up with me. And she was the fastest damned learner I’d ever met.
My hands skimmed under the waistband of her shorts, stroking the skin there. She had me fucking hard for her just by standing here, letting me kiss her.
Well, that and the fact that I was suddenly remembering this morning when I’d woken up with her tongue tracing the head of my cock.
The door opened and upbeat music from the store drifted in.
We sprung apart as Dahlia blinked at us.
“You guys know there is an office next door, right? Way more private.”
“We know. Great desk,” I offered, remembering the time last week I’d surprised Jordan at lunch.
Dahlia rolled her eyes, then grabbed some items off a shelf and shut the door after her.
Jordan laughed under her breath. “We have to stop doing this, or Dahlia won’t take the store manager gig at the end of the year. I need her to, she could run this place alone.”
My gaze ran over her, her slim shoulders starting to show the slightest tan. Now that we were alone again I pulled her hips back against mine. Watched her lips part as she felt how hard I was for her.
“That better not be a pitch to leave. Because you’re not going anywhere. First, because I don’t believe this store could run without you. Not now, and not for a long time. Second—” I stroked a thumb over her lip “—because we just combined our Netflix accounts. That means you’re committed.”
“Does it.” She grinned, her expression dissolving into one I could look at for the rest of my life.
“Mhmm.” We’d decided to make a trip to New York to visit Ava, Nate, Dylan and Lex next month though. We hadn’t seen them since the wedding, but I’d heard my brother was working his ass off starting at the bottom at a Manhattan engineering firm.
Then there was Jordan’s dad. We were going to see him too, for at least a couple of days. I was going to make the guy like me if it killed me.
And, based on the one terse lunch when David Briggs had a stopover on the way to Japan?
It might.
I couldn’t blame him for being protective, though. I knew what that felt like.
“I’m fucking crazy about you,” I murmured, my gaze running over her face. “You know that?”
“I might’ve heard a r
umor.” Jordan pulled my mouth down to hers. My hand grabbed the back of her thigh, squeezing as I hitched her leg around my waist.
I pinned her up against the shelf and kissed her until we were both groaning again.
It wasn’t enough.
We worked at each other’s clothes until we got what we were really after. She gasped against my mouth as I took her just like I’d promised. Her touch, and the feel of her squeezing around me when she came, had me shaking.
When we finally stepped apart, we were both breathless.
“I should go back to work,” Jordan panted. “But thanks for the visit.”
“No worries. I have to be in Santa Monica for a showing in an hour. Figured I could make a detour.”
“I’m glad you did. See you at home tonight?”
“OK. Speaking of which, that skirt.”
She arched a brow. “What about it?”
“Wear it for me.”
Jordan didn’t like me getting bossy. That only made me do it more, because I got off on the mix of irritation and arousal in her expression when I did.
“I’ll take your suggestion under advisement,” she said levelly. But the way her eyes sparked had me groaning, already picturing her long legs, the tiny piece of fabric, and nothing else.
More than that, I pictured her expression, the love written on her face, that reminded me I was the luckiest damned guy in the world.
“You do that, Jersey.”
The End
Thank you for reading this story. The simple fact that you chose this book and spent this time with Team T means more than I can say.
When I started writing romance, I wanted to write about unapologetically strong women with brains and ambition. The kind that weren’t perfect and didn’t pretend to be. The kind I’d want to be friends with. That’s what I’ve done with TRAVESTY.
Jordan and Ethan were never meant to be together. Jordan was meant for Kent, and I started writing them together almost a year ago. It didn’t work. It was also a concept in which Jordan went to Cali, but I couldn’t get their chemistry to catch, no matter what I did.
It drove me fucking crazy. I was like ‘this is MY call. You are MY characters. Behave.’ But the stubborn girl absolutely refused to fall in love with Kent. And vice versa.
Ethan was never meant to have his own book. In fact, when the first ‘maybe Jordan and Ethan will work’ thought entered my brain, I laughed it out. For one day. Two. Three.
When I wrote the first pages of them meeting, it was an experiment. I was almost embarrassed. I thought, this is never going to work. He’s a dick. She won’t touch him to save her life. And he won’t stick around long enough to get inside her heart.
Gradually, they sold me on their story.
Readers keep telling me they never saw Ethan and Jordan as a couple, but now that they have, they can’t unsee it. It’s exactly how I feel.
I hope you’ve enjoyed watching Jordan and Ethan’s story—along with Team T’s—unfold as much as I have.
xo
Piper
THANK YOU
Thank you so much for reading Styled! I’m honored you took time out of your day to spend with Jordan and Ethan.
If you want more Travesty, plus other new books and news, subscribe to my Insiders List. You’ll hear about new books, sales, and special deals. Plus, just for subscribing you’ll get Schooled - the first book in this series - totally free! On top of that, you’ll get an exclusive read you’re REALLY going to want to check out: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/brPb3
Enjoy this book?
Here’s how you can help (in 2 mins or less)
I’m going to share something kind of personal. Something I haven’t shared with that many people in my life…
I want to write full-time. There it is.
It always seemed crazy, but guess what. After two years of writing on midnight caffeine trips after long days at the office, I’m nearly there.
You can help me make the final push. (Yes, YOU!)
See, I don’t have the advertising budget of a publishing house. But one thing I do have that’s worth way more?
The most amazing readers in the world.
Honest reviews are the best way to get the word out about my books. If you loved Sealed (or one of my other books!), I’d be beyond grateful if you could take two minutes to leave a quick review.
Thanks for being awesome, for inspiring me every day, and for helping make it possible for me to do something I love.
Piper
Also by Piper Lawson
TRAVESTY
Schooled (Travesty 1)
Stripped (Travesty 2)
Sealed (Travesty 2.5)
Styled (Travesty 3)
PLAY
PLAY 2 (title TBC; coming 2017)
PLAY 3 (title TBC; coming 2017)
Chased (1&2)
About the Author
I read and write stories where the girls aren’t doormats, the guys aren’t asshats, and secondary characters aren’t second-class citizens. A card-carrying millennial, I have two business degrees and zero hope of starting a fashion label (unlike my Travesty characters). I crave quirk the way some people crave kink, and believe life is too short not to do what—and who—you love.
My home base near Toronto, Canada is shared with my wonderful sig other. I know he's the perfect man because not only is he TDH (tall dark & handsome), but he will beta read for me under duress. And really, that's what love is. Beta reading under duress.
To my readers: I'm beyond grateful to you guys who make it possible for me to write. Thank you for buying my books. And inspiring me. And sending me wacky ideas. You're the reason I keep doing this.
I love hearing from you! Stalk me on:
The Interwebs➜www.piperlawsonbooks.com
Facebook➜www.facebook.com/piperlawsonbooks
Twitter➜www.twitter.com/piperjlawson
Goodreads➜www.goodreads.com/author/show/13680088
Copyright 2017 by Piper Lawson Books
Developmental editing by Rachel Daven Skinner
Line and copy editing by Jenny Govier
Cover by Marianne Nowicki
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.
