“It’s a done deal,” I assured him. “Eric wouldn’t have brought us here again otherwise.”
It was our second day in Maui for that particular trip, and in a couple of hours, we’d be taking a cab to Eric Landers’s estate, at a place on the island where even the rich people were envious. Eric had become a close friend and mentor to the both of us over the past six months, and we were certain that he’d become our primary investor before lunch.
No more escort services. It was for Finn’s startup idea. Something safe, secure, and didn’t involve secrets, lies, taboo sex, or hired hitmen.
I couldn’t be more thankful that we were away from all that, away from all those mistakes and poor choices. I’ve been told that I’m brilliant my whole life; I learned the hard way that it doesn’t necessarily make you smart. There’s a difference.
Finn and I were asking for five million in seed money, which was nothing to Eric, but meant everything to us. We needed office space. Fashion artists. Manufacturing supplies. The works. Finn’s idea was a simple one—designer dog-walking purses—but it had tested so well and shown so much consumer demand for it that we knew we had a winner. Now it was all a matter of lighting the rocket’s fuse.
Finn ran his fingers up and down my back. “I wish we could’ve brought Joey along.” I loved that about him. Their link was stronger than I’d anticipated and my little guy had already begun referring to Finn as “Daddy.” Watching them together warmed my heart every day.
“Aww, me too,” I said. “But you know Dreama. I didn’t tell you that she tried to bribe me into letting him stay with her, did I?”
Finn laughed. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. She tried to give me five hundred bucks. Said it was for the trip, but I knew what she was really up to.”
“Regardless,” Finn said, “I’m sure she’s spoiling the hell out of him, and on some level, it’s probably a good thing that you guys are on speaking terms again.”
I snickered. “We’ll see.”
Dreama didn’t know what happened. Dreama would never know. In her usual it’s-all-about-me way, she’d demanded to know why I’d removed myself—and her grandson—from her life for so long. I stood up to her. I told her that my life was my business and that after the way she’d treated me for the past twenty-two years, she was lucky I was in hers at all. Reluctantly, I’d agreed to some familial counseling. We were getting better together, but we were far from close. Whenever she inquired about what had happened during that time, I subtly reminded her, “Boundaries, mother.”
My phone chirped on the nightstand. I grunted, rolled off of Finn, and checked the display. It was a text from Michelle saying, “Good luck!!” I thumbed out a curt, “Thanks…” and said to Finn, “She’s still trying.”
“Who? Michelle?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought for sure you would’ve forgiven her by now.”
“I have, I guess. It’s not the same, though. Maybe one of these days.”
“It’s so different for guys, you know? If one of my friends had done that, I’d be like, ‘Dude, you’re a dick…so are we watching the game at your house tonight?’ Then it’d be over.”
“Which is exactly why the world’s in the shape it’s in. With you men running things, the consequences aren’t harsh enough for betraying each other.”
Finn chuckled and put his arm around me, pulled me close. “You might have a point.” I snuggled up against him. “Speaking of dudes,” he said, “guess who called me yesterday?”
“Santa Claus?”
“Honestly, I would’ve expected that or the Loch Ness Monster more than who did.”
“Who was it?”
“Roman.”
“He did? Why?” I squirmed around so that I could face him. “And why didn’t you tell me?”
“We were about to get on a plane for Hawaii, Kim, I didn’t want to ruin the trip for you.”
“How’d he get your number?”
“Beats me. He called the office.”
“What did he want?”
“He wanted to talk to you. Said you wouldn’t answer your phone.”
“Yeah, exactly. That’s what happens when people change their numbers.”
“I know, right? I told him I’d give you a message, but that was it. He said to tell you Lucy’s not budging.”
“And that’s my problem?”
“Well, you did kinda…”
“Shit. Okay, I’ll call her when I get back.”
After that horrific afternoon in Roman’s office, Michelle and I gathered everyone together again the next day and told them we were shutting down Secret Desires for personal reasons. We informed them that Roman would gladly take them back, no questions asked.
Not a single one volunteered to go back to him. They wanted to work, but not for Roman, so, we sold the business to Lucy. She wanted it. She asked for it. She got it.
She’d said, “The house in Maui can wait a while.”
“A while” didn’t last very long. She’d been doing so well that she asked us to bring her real estate brochures when we returned.
Roman, of course, couldn’t stand to see her profits eclipsing his struggling business, and had finally given in and offered to buy her out. She’d refused. Good for her. Make him sweat. When we’d last spoken, she told me she’d keep refusing until he added an extra zero to his offering price. Maybe she wasn’t the one I needed to convince. Maybe to sever all those final ties, I’d need to call Roman and convince him.
Maybe I’d call. Or maybe not.
That wasn’t my battle anymore. The war between us was over.
I leaned up and kissed Finn on the cheek.
My lover. My partner. My forever.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thank you so much for reading this novel! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. While most of us probably wouldn’t choose the same path that Kim took, her journey is one we can all identify with in some way. Plans change. Dreams take a detour. Like Finn said, “Life happens,” but we find a way to stay strong and keep going. Make the best of yours!
Want more fiction from Scarlett Black? Please leave a review with your thoughts on CEASEFIRE!
I have to give a huge amount of credit and sincere thanks to my editor, Shay Bresnan, who provided a tremendous amount of help, support, and encouragement while bringing this novel to life. Her wise guidance and keen eye made this book better.
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Thanks again!
Scarlett
November, 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
EPILOGUE
AUTHOR’S NOTE
th friends
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