“Do you think you could love another man?”
“No.”
“Then there you go. If you love the bloke then take a chance on love and go for it.”
“But my job, I work here, and I don’t think your da will be happy with me leaving after giving me a chance.”
“Don’t fret about me da, I’ll talk to him. You could still work for the magazine from L.A.”
“Seriously?”
“Ah, stop worryin’.”
“You trying to get rid of me?” I hiccup.
“Never,” his fierce reply makes me heart ache, I hate that I can hurt him by being in love with someone else.
“I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. Just go and be happy, leave me da to me,” he says, kisses my cheek and gets up to leave.
“Wait what about the assignment?” I ask standing.
“One of the others can do it.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks, for everything Sean…I do love you, just not the way you do me.”
“I know,” he sighs and leaves without another word.
I think on what he said about taking a chance, and I have to admit I really don’t have anything keeping me here, not like he does there. Picking up my phone I see I have another message from Leo.
Leo: Kaitlyn, who the hell is Sean?
Oh shite, I should have messaged back…I bet he’s going nuts.
I grin like an eejit, I know what I need to do and I’m gonna need help to do it. I smile happily as I press call.
Apparently, it only takes one phone call, a couple of months, a lot of organizing and form signing to change your life forever. I know I’m making the right choice, I can feel it. I am nervous though because Leo still doesn’t know, we haven’t spoken since I sent him the last message explaining that Sean is just a friend.
Thank god for Brooke or I’d be up shit street, she’s handled for my stuff to be moved and gotten me an apartment for when I get there. I didn’t want to assume that I’d stay with Leo, with the girls having already too much change I thought it best to have my own place while I got to know them first.
I decided to leave all the main furniture for the next person, since the place in L.A. is fully furnished. All I’m taking is my espresso maker and kettle. Looking around one more time I make sure I have my visa information and passport, pick up Mr. Willy and lock up heading out to the taxi and my new life.
I sigh in relief when I pick up Mr. Willy Shakespaw and some of my luggage, looking around I don’t spot Brooke so I sit in one of the many sets of chairs and place Mr. Willy beside me, he meows turning around restless to be out.
“As soon as we get to the apartment I’ll let you out, okay?” I tell him, putting my fingers through the grate, he bumps my fingers with his head and purrs as I scratch behind his ears.
I hear a high pitch squeal and jump turning to see Brooke break into a run. I smile as my eyes fill with happy tears, I hadn’t realized just how much I had missed this nut case until she had her arms around me squeezing the life out of me.
"Hey, miss me?” I tease pulling back and wiping my face, she does the same laughing.
“Yes, I did. I haven’t been able to eat cookie dough ice cream since you left.”
I look up as a tall bloke appears behind her
“Vin?” He grins at my stunned expression.
“Hey K.O,” he says. I roll my eyes at the stupid nickname as he pulls me in for a quick hug.
“I thought I’d bring some muscle along.” Broke shrugs as if it’s no big deal, when it’s huge, literally.
“Hey Vin, thanks for coming to help and for putting up with her,” I nod at Brooke who huffs and kneels down to say hi to Mr. Willy.
“So, this is the killer cat?” She asks and puts her fingers through the grate. I cringe, thinking she is two seconds away from screaming blue murder. But instead Mr. Willy butts his head against her fingers.
“Aww, not so much killer…you are so cute, maybe I’ll take you home with me.” She coos like he’s a baby.
“Okay, stop playing with K.O’s pussy and lets get this show on the road,” Vin says and I burst out laughing as the old lady beside us glares at him and rushes away.
“Can’t take you anywhere can I?” Brooke smirks shaking her head as she picks up Mr. Willy.
“Hey, she was the one with a filthy mind, not me,” he holds his hands up in defence but his eyes are laughing.
Vin grabs all my bags and nods for me to lead the way. When we get outside I wince and grab my shades from my bag, the warm bright weather is gonna take some getting used to.
“Okay, so the apartment isn’t far from Venice beach. We’re lucky this one has connections,” Brooke flicks her thumb toward Vin.
“Thank you,” I say looking up at him.
“No problem,” he winks at me, smiling and I’m nearly blinded by his pearly whites. He’s too much on the pretty side for my tastes.
Once I have most of my stuff unpacked and Brooke has dragged Vin off somewhere, I pick up my phone and smile as I open messenger and see Leo is online. I press the video call button and wait.
“Kaitlyn?” Leo answers and I can hear noise in the background.
“Hey, are you busy?” I ask, trying to tamp the excitement down.
“Never too busy for you,” he says walking. When I hear a door close and lock I know he’s alone.
“Good, I need your help.”
“What? Are you okay?” He asks looking worried.
“No, I mean yes I’m fine. I just need your help moving a few things,” I bite my tongue to hold in my laughter as his brow scrunches in confusion.
“What? I can’t help you move…wait, you’re moving? Where? When?”
“I already moved,” I reply smiling now.
“Where?”
“Well, you see a while ago I met this cocky, pompous arse on Facebook. We got chatting and then after we spent three unbelievable days together and I fell irrevocably in love with him…I realized that I didn’t want to be a world apart from him anymore so…I moved.” I shrug. Looking into his eyes I see the moment he gets it.
“You moved here?” He whispers and I nod. “To L.A.? To be with me?”
I nod and he yells, “yes! I can’t believe you did this for me, but I am so fucking happy you did. Where are you?”
“In my new apartment.”
“Wait, apartment? No, you can move in with me and the girls.”
“Maybe in a few months but for now I’ll stay here and get to know the girls. I don’t think it’s a good idea to turn their world on it’s head again.”
“God, I love you.”
“I love you too. That’s the point.”
“Text me your address and I’ll be right over.”
“Okay,” I whisper my belly flipping with nerves.
“See you in a few, and Kaitlyn?”
“Yeah?”
“Be ready for me.”
Epilogue
LEO
Three Months later
The feel of warm lips against my naked chest pulls me out of my sleep. I smile until I realize, I’m fucking tied to the bed…again. It’s cute how Kaitlyn keeps thinking that these restraints will stop me from taking what’s mine. Her.
“Someone’s being naughty.”
“Mmmh, morning.” She purrs.
“What are you up to?” I ask as I open my eyes and take in the vision in front of me. Kaitlyn is wearing my old Star Wars t-shirt, which means…she’s only wearing that t-shirt.
In the blink of an eye, I get rid of the ties that are binding me to the bed, grab and throw her against the mattress as she squeals.
“You’re no fun,” she tells me. “You could’ve waited a little bit more, I had plans for you.”
“Patience is not one of my virtues,” I say as I suck her neck gently. “But I can show you my biggest one if you ask nicely.”
She laughs and that makes my cock get even harder.
“Have I told you how sexy
as fuck you look with,” I slide my hand down her chest, caressing her breast over the shirt while I go down until I reach her bare heat. “Nothing more than my t shirt covering your body?”
“Uh huh,” she answers, breathing heavily.
She stops me as I’m about to go down the same path my hand just made with my mouth. “Wait, wait. I have something for you.”
“I know you do, now shh, let me enjoy it.”
“No, not that you arse, I have something else for you.” She laughs.
Scooting away from me, she reaches the nightstand and grabs an envelope. When she hands it to me, I raise an eyebrow in question.
“Is this a bribe to try to distract me from making you hit that publish button today?” I smirk.
Kaitlyn finished her book a month ago and she’s been making excuses like ‘it needs a little more work’ or ‘I’m out of cereal, I need to go get more’ to avoid publishing. Honestly I don’t know why she’s overthinking it, I read it and it’s awesome. It’s not the horror story she started and showed me when we met, that’s still in the works but this book, A Chance On Love, I just know it’ll be a hit. I’m so fucking ordering a paperback so she can sign it for me. Hey don’t look at me like that, she’s my girl and I’ll be her number one fan, always.
Shaking her head no, she answers. “No, that’s happening today. I know your birthday is a couple of months away but the girls and I couldn’t wait to give you an early present.”
“Aw, baby, you’re so sweet. But you didn’t have to give me anything. I have all I need right here, under this roof.”
And I mean it, after a month of Kaitlyn living in an apartment I contacted the owner and told him the lease wasn’t going to get renewed. I couldn’t stand not having Kaitlyn close to me, so I convinced her to move in with me and the girls. I even let that evil ball of fur into my house hoping that Muffin would eat him, of course my plan went to shit when the traitor accepted the evil cat. The girls love him, Chrissy loves him, and even the damn dog loves him. And the damn cat seems to enjoy everyone’s affections. But I know better, every time I see him eyeing me, I know he’s plotting my death.
“Well, this is a bonus then. C’mon open it,” she says excitedly.
Tearing the paper, I take out four plane tickets to…New Zealand?
When I don’t say anything Kaitlyn takes the envelope from my hand. “You’re impossible, you only took half of the present out.”
She takes out four tickets that look familiar and hands them to me. When I realize what they are I lose my man card because I jump off the bed like my seven year old nieces.
“Holy shit, no way.” I shout and Kaitlyn laughs. “We’re going to the Hobbiton movie set?”
“Aye, I thought it would be a fun trip as a family.” She says the words so naturally that I carefully, drop the tickets on the nightstand and join her in bed, crawling over her.
“You’re amazing,” I say before kissing her softly and then making her open her mouth so my tongue can seek hers.
“You liked your present?” she asks, panting.
“I fucking love it, but you know what I love more?”
“Tell me,” she says breathlessly.
“You, Kaitlyn O’Roarke,” I take her face between my hands. “Thank you for being my chance on love.”
We kiss, and remove the only pieces of clothing standing in the way from our bodies. I tease her, rubbing my hardness over her heat, my eyes never leaving hers.
“Thank you for being my Happy Ever After, Leo DeLuca.”
The small amount of control I had left snaps and I enter her quickly. We make love, slow and passionately as I worship each and every inch of my beautiful fiancée’s body. Showing her that I know I’m a lucky bastard, as we both go over the edge, and I call out her name.
The End
About the Author
S.J. Batsford
S.J. Batsford is a British author.
Author of the; In The Blink of an Eye and With a Beat of my Heart. The first and second books in the four book series, Loving Lily Series.
As a wife and mother life is busy, but never short on inspiration.
She always wanted to be a writer and found a love of reading romance novels. So, as a romance reader she naturally gravitated toward writing romance.
Follow S.J. Batsford on social media
Facebook | Loving Lily Series Page | Twitter | Goodreads Author Page
Also by S.J. Batsford
Loving Lily Series
In the Blink of An Eye (Loving Lily #1)
In my life, there has always been a constant, my mom. When my choice to cross the globe takes me away from her I feel lost and alone. But Life changes.
For the first few months’ life is exhilarating, for those few months I had almost everything.
Then, in the blink of an eye, a phone call changed the course of my life, leaving me reeling.
Empty.
As if life couldn't get any more complicated, in steps the man of my dreams, literally, flipping my world on its head, yet again.
Add it to Goodreads | Amazon
With the beat of my heart (Loving Lily #2)
When tragedy strikes Ethan is forced to readjust and learn lessons he thought he’d mastered long ago.
As life goes, with darkness comes light.
Secrets are revealed, lives torn apart…
I thought losing Lily was hard… Well, it has nothing on what is at stake now… To lose everything I hold dear and have to start again is excruciating.
“Life’s a bitch and then you marry one.”
Truer words have never been spoken.
Everything is dark, shadowed, there is no light, until I meet her. She is my light, my salvation, and strength as I struggle to cope with all the changes in my life.
It’s said God never puts more on your plate than you can handle, but with Ethan’s plate overflowing will he survive all the challenges life throws at him?
Add it to Goodreads | Amazon
About the Author
Laura B. Martínez
Laura hails from Hell, as a destroyer of hopes and a keeper of souls, she enjoys writing dark and twisted tales while destroying the lives of happy people. As a seeker of knowledge, she’d rather spend hours doing research than join the land of the living in the outside world. When she takes a break from devastating humankind with her words, you can find her enjoying the pleasures that can only be obtained from her other favorite forms of art: movies, music, and coffee.
VENERABLE, book one in the Among Monsters series, is her debut novel, where she hopes to bring readers to the dark side and in the future she would love to venture into other genres.
Be prepared for one helluva ride.
Follow Laura on Social Media
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads Author Page | Amazon Author Page
Also by Laura B. Martínez
VENERABLE (Among Monsters #1)
Innocent. Confused. Curious.
She was a girl in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He saved her.
He took her from the hands of an animal just to throw her to the Monsters.
For the first time in his whole life, he wished he wasn't the worst of them all.
Will the darkness extinguish Sebastian's only light?
Add to Goodreads | Amazon
VENGEANCE - COMING SOON
Hunters. Killers. Monsters.
That’s what people think we are.
What they don’t know is we’re their saviors.
They say souls can recognize each other and that’s exactly what happened the first time I felt Sebastian Keller, but our timing wasn’t right.
Now, he’s become a shadow, a relentless assassin that everyone fears – except me.
His thirst for vengeance is consuming him. How can I save him from the one thing that's giving his life purpose?
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VENGEANCE
Laura Martínez
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nbsp; Prologue
Sebastian
Blinking is an essential function. We blink to prevent our eyes from getting dry, we blink as a form of a protective mechanism; shielding our eyes from outside disturbance. We do it an average of fifteen times per minute, give or take. Of course this can increase or decrease based on several factors.
For example, the more you concentrate on something, the less you’ll blink. This, I know is true. How? Because right now, I’m explicitly concentrating on every move, every gesture Allan’s henchman does. Every pained expression, every attempt to make me stop. Every lie he’s trying to feed me in hopes that I spare his life. And I don’t blink, not even once.
But that’s just it, he keeps lying to me. How do I know? Because he’s also blinking. He’s blinking more than fifteen times a minute, a clear indicator that he’s anxious, stressed...and obviously lying to me.
“I’m only going to give you one more chance, tell me where Allan is,” I demand, giving him an opportunity I clearly didn’t give the seven other men, or should I say bodies, that are scattered around us.
“I’m telling you man, I don’t know. He moves a lot, never stays long in one place and we don’t always have his location.” He doesn’t blink, then adds. “He knows you’re after him.” Interesting.
“How do you get in touch with him?”
“We get a new number every twenty-four hours,” he says gesturing down to his left, “there’s a burner phone in my pocket, take it, you’ll find today’s number in it.”
I take the phone out of his pocket and search for the recent call logs. Pointing the screen at the man’s face, he nods and I smile. Pressing the call button I wait for the other end to connect, putting it on speaker mode. Allan answers with just one word, “update,” and I gesture for the man to speak.
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