Tears ran down my face and I didn't bother wiping them away. This was the wedding that I deserved the first time around. No, I was glad that I got married to Russell the first time if it meant I could finally come to Niall. I cleared my throat.
“Niall, the fact that the two of us are standing here today means our love was too big to be overcome by any of the many, many things that stood against us. I'm so in love with you and I'm so happy that we are going to have a family together. I want to stand by your side and see it through to the very end. Being with you is what is going to make this journey worthwhile.”
We had kissed countless times before, but this time was different. To the applause of our friends and family around us, we kissed for the first time as husband and wife. I heard a couple whoops from the crowd and flushed. They all knew what the two of us would be up to later, but it was still a little embarrassing. Embarrassing, but in a good way. I had just said yes to Niall for the rest of my life, and that was the best decision I had ever made.
The guests went inside before we did. Niall, Riley and I were going to pose for some pictures before joining them for the party. Over near the pond we had decided to build a gazebo where we ended up taking a number of the wedding pictures. The estate lived up to its name now. No longer was it derelict and running out of money. Now it was a place I was happy to live in. Happy to raise my family in.
By the time we were done, Niall had Riley dozing in his arms as we walked to the house to join the reception.
“Poor thing, he’s tuckered out,” I said, ruffling Riley’s hair.
“That might be a good thing,” Niall said. “I’m jealous, actually.”
“Don’t you want to join the party?” I asked.
“I just got married. I’d rather get an early start on my wedding night,” he said with a wink. I laughed. The two of us had a child together, there were no illusions about our wedding night. It would be the first time that we had sex as a married couple though. I looked at Riley asleep in his dad’s arms.
Maybe one more? We hadn’t really talked about it because let’s face it, Niall had only been a father for the last three months. I didn’t think it was time yet. I wanted to give Riley a sibling though. We handed him off to Prue to take upstairs as we joined the reception. Everyone was sitting at tables strewn around the room. My first wedding had a huge, wasteful buffet that I barely even ate from after going to each table to say hi to all the guests, most of whom I didn’t know. After a quick circuit around the room, we sat at our table with the bride and groom party to eat.
Right on cue, Charlie stood up and whistled loudly so everyone kept quiet.
“Finally, the part we’ve all been waiting for,” he announced. “The toasts! Can I start by saying I never thought this day would come? A round of applause for the happy couple please,” he said. The room erupted in applause. Niall rolled his eyes beside me, but he had a smile on his face.
“I really never thought this day would come. Niall was always a lone wolf. I was thinking about setting him up if he never ended up finding anyone. I want to thank Eddy for finding my cousin and making an honest man out of him. Seriously, I’ve never seen him like this. He’s happier and he’s a lot more bearable. Thank you for taking him off my hands. Niall, well done. She’s beautiful, she loves you and I’m finally not afraid of what’s going to happen to you,” he said. I glanced at Niall. His face was calm, but his eyes were full of emotion. He and Charlie were like brothers. I watched the moment between them, tears coming to my eyes. I was so happy Charlie and Brenna were my family too now.
Niall got up and hugged his cousin, then hugged me after his toast was done. Missy was next. She stood up next to me.
“I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Eddy for most of my life and let me just say, you’ve got a winner here. Niall… We didn’t have the best first impression but I can say with confidence that I’m comfortable letting you become my best friend’s husband. The two of you are proof that fate exists. Maybe it took a while and god knows there were twists and turns on the way here, but you’re together now and that’s all that matters. I can’t wait to see the rest of your journey. I think we all know how cute the kids you make are,” she said. The audience laughed and we stood to hug her. This was perfect. My fairytale wedding had a ten-person long guest list and took place at my home.
After dessert, we danced. I closed my eyes, laying my head on Niall’s chest. Every part of the day just got better and better. I was in heaven. This was what I deserved from the beginning. It had been a long time coming but I had gotten there eventually. Now, I was never going back.
“Did you ever think you’d be dancing to Stevie Wonder at your own wedding?”
He chuckled. “No, never, actually. But I’m happy I am.” He leaned down and kissed me. “It could have ended up a lot worse.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t want to have to marry Lisbeth to save my father’s behind.”
I laughed. “Do you think the check will be enough to hold her off?” I asked.
“Six figures is more than that whole kerfuffle deserved,” he said. “It better hold her off. If she runs out or gets greedy, the NDA she signed to get it will. I think we’re safe.” I sighed. I wanted to put our past behind us.
“What if your father gets in trouble again?”
“He can rot but the second anything threatens us and Riley, I’m pulling out the big guns.”
“That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?”
“I’m telling you that I am going to protect you, no matter what,” he said.
“Thank you, Niall,” I said, leaning up to kiss him. I didn’t want to test whether that was true. I knew it was. I didn’t want to see Niall angry. He was more powerful than I had yet seen and it both intimidated me slightly and reassured me that I had him by my side.
The wedding cleared out slowly since we weren’t in a hurry to kick anyone out. Brenna and Charlie, as well as Missy stayed on the property in the newly renovated guest suites. I was wired during the whole ceremony but as soon as we were back in our room, my exhaustion hit me all at once. I flopped onto the bed face first. Niall laughed coming into the room after me. He pulled my shoes off and unzipped my dress for me.
“Thank you,” I mumbled.
“You’re not asleep already, are you?” he said. No, but I was about to be.
“I am. Come to bed.”
“I have a surprise for you,” he said.
Surprise? I heaved myself off the bed and sat on the edge. Niall went around the bed to his nightstand, then came back around and sat next to me, handing me the envelope in his hands.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Open it.”
“Too big to be a check. Not thick enough to be cash. Do I even want it?” I said. Niall smiled contentedly as I pulled papers out of the envelope. The sheets were printed so I read them. “Oh.”
“Yup.”
Adoption papers. Since Russell had acknowledged paternity, he was recognized as Riley’s father. Niall had talked about becoming Riley’s father on paper but hadn’t brought it up since.
“When did you do this?”
“I told you my lawyers would handle this. I was serious about Riley benefitting in every way from being my son.”
My eyes watered. I couldn’t believe it. Watching Niall grow as a father had been a joy. Riley loved him and had started calling him ‘dad’ just weeks in. We hadn’t told Riley the fine print yet. Once he was a little older and could understand paternity, we would let him know the truth. In three months, however, Niall had been more of a father to Riley than Russell had been in five years.
“Thank you for this,” I said. He hugged and kissed me.
“Don’t thank me for being a father to my son.”
“Thank you for everything,” I repeated. I took a huge gamble on him and I had won bigger than I ever expected.
Did you enjoy Niall and Eddy’s story?
I really hope so because
I loved writing it.
Eddy’s friend, Missy, gets her own unexpected romance with an ex military, and oh-so-hot billionaire.
This one is an enemies to lovers romance you won’t want to miss.
Great news, you can snag the pre order for just 99cents. All my books are eventually raised to the full price of $4.99+ so to guarantee you get the bargain, you can preorder this next book HERE.
Read on for an excerpt from ‘Admit You Want Me’ - Missy’s Story.
Excerpt: Admit You Want Me
Description
A billion-dollar nightmare? Check.
An arrogant former Army man? Check.
My worst client ever? Double check.
What bad deeds did I do to deserve this billionaire as a client?
Sure, the money is good.
But that’s the only reason I’m here.
That’s the only reason I’m giving Easton a makeover that he desperately needs.
His wild beard needs taming if he’s going to be a hot shot businessman.
But he has a real wild side to him that I don’t know what to do about.
His filthy mouth spoils my day.
His piercing eyes make me lose my mind.
Easton may be bad news, but he adores my curves.
He adores me.
I could only keep my distance from him for so long.
Falling in love with my billionaire enemy was not a part of my plan when I moved to a new city as a celebrity stylist.
Neither was breaking the rules and ruining my career.
But maybe, just maybe, Easton might be worth losing everything over.
Prologue
Artemis
“Are you done in there?”
“What?”
Easy’s voice came muffled through the door, barely audible over the sound of the shower.
“I said,” I opened the door to the bathroom up a crack, “are you done yet?”
“Yup. That’s why I’m still in here, Missy. Because I’m done.” I rolled my eyes and leaned back away from the steam emanating from the hot room.
“It’s a simple yes or no question, Easton. Please.”
“If you’re getting impatient, why don’t you come in here and lather me up yourself?” he called. I closed the door because I had asked for it. Walked right into that one. I checked the time on my phone. He had been in there for almost ten minutes. For someone who didn’t want to go out tonight, he seemed to be putting in the effort. Alternatively, he was just making sure this took as long as possible because he knew how much it annoyed me when he was late. I was sure he could do a good enough job in the shower himself but any longer in there and we were going to be late.
At least he was taking a shower?
Christ, the bar for this man was on the floor. It was in hell. All things considered, I wasn’t sure the man that I had met several weeks ago would have bothered with a shower before a charity auction at which several of his past and prospective clients would be in attendance. Yes, we had come a long way. I was a war-weary soldier at this point ravaged by battle.
I sighed, walking away from the bathroom door through his master bedroom. His clothes were hanging on a rack near the bed. On the bed were his cologne, hair wax and a brush, because god forbid, he tried to get away with not tending to that before we left. Knowing him, he would try. He was reformed, but only so far. With all the progress we had made, he would still try to walk the red carpet in joggers and a Van Halen t-shirt from the seventies if he thought he could get away with it. I shuddered. I thought I had seen fashion terrorism, but then I met Easy.
Finally, the water turned off. It was about time. Moments later, Easton Schultz emerged in a waft of steam and heat from the bathroom. My jaw dropped. It wasn’t his broad, defined shoulders, his perfectly formed pectoral muscles or distinct abdominals, no, it was his soaking wet hair.
“I thought I told you not to get your hair wet.”
He looked up, amused, noticing me like he didn’t know I had been out here all along. He had one towel wrapped around his waist, low enough that I could see V-shaped taper from his obliques, but not low enough that I could see where his pubic hair began. He was holding a second, smaller towel in his hand, roughly drying the hair that I had told him not to get wet.
“It’s going to take like twenty minutes to dry, calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down.” I stomped back into the bathroom and unearthed the hairdryer that he kept below the sink, which he hadn’t owned before meeting me. He hadn’t owned much before meeting me. No, that was inaccurate. He had owned plenty but all of it was junk.
“Sit down,” I told him, walking back into the bedroom.
He tossed the wet towel onto his bed and sat down, uncharacteristically obedient. I threw the wet towel onto the floor before the water soaked into his duvet. I was just a stylist but I had practically run a humanitarian mission on this man’s life.
I had completely overhauled his look, groomed him into an acceptable member of society but some things, it seemed would take longer to change. After all my hard work, his slob gene was still making itself known. I plugged the hairdryer in and blasted his ginger-brown hair with hot air. It was shorter now, so it was going to dry quickly, he was right about that, but I didn’t like it when he didn’t listen to me. That was pretty often, come to think of it. He was a mule. No, he was a dog, an old, grumpy hound who was set in his ways and didn’t want to learn any new tricks. He sat quietly until I was done with his hair.
“Thank you,” he called as I walked back to the bathroom. I rolled my eyes again. One of these days, I would roll my eyes so hard they fell out of my head.
“Get dressed.” I put the hairdryer away, catching my reflection through the fogged-up mirror. Was this what it was like having kids? I asked myself that question often these days. Both of my closest girlfriends were mothers and I loved their kids, but they were nowhere as aggravating, argumentative, or temperamental as Easton Schultz. I wiped the mirror to check my makeup and hair. I wasn’t going to be in attendance at the event, but that didn’t mean I spent all my spare time in tracksuit bottoms and oversized t-shirts. As a stylist, I had no choice but to lead by example. When I walked back out into the bedroom, Easton was thankfully dressed. His trousers were on and he was buttoning up his crisp, white, shirt.
“Make sure you tuck it in.”
“I know that. I’m not a toddler.”
Wonderful, he was in a mood. Anything to make this night more turbulent than it needed to be. He was on his way to a charity auction. He had to walk the carpet, take pictures, and interview, the whole thing. It was a big night for him, and predictably, he was snippy about it. I came up and picked his tie up off the bed.
“Sit down,” I told him. He flopped down onto the bed. “Chin up.” He raised his chin. I fit the tie under his collar and started working it into a knot. Time to step into my other role of life-coach. Easy needed it all; a life-coach, stylist, acupuncturist, sleep doctor, a full personality transplant. He was impossible. I had needed the help of all those specialists and more dealing with him in the short weeks that we had known each other. “Why are you upset?”
“I’m not upset.”
“You’re sulking, Easy.”
“I don’t sulk. I’m not a kid.”
He said that but he could have fooled me. He was an easy enough person to talk to when he wasn’t like this, but this seemed to be his baseline mood whenever we were together. Saying Easton was my most difficult client would be an understatement. He was the most unlikely character. He was former military and had been thrust into the limelight after one of his tech company’s innovations made him a favorite among millionaire and billionaire industry gods.
He was… scruffy was not the word. He was as messy and unfashionable as you could imagine the worst stereotype of a straight man in his twenties to be. He didn’t have a single fashionable bone in his body, no distinct fashion sense, no respect for fine garments, he didn’t ev
en own a shirt with a collar and sleeves before he met me. It wasn’t that he wasn’t used to his new world, well, there was that, but he was actively against its culture and values at the same time.
“You’re getting free therapy, you might as well tell me.”
He scoffed. “Free? Last I checked, I was paying you an arm and a leg to dress me.”
“Keep complaining and I’m going to double my rate. What’s the matter with you?”
“Why do I have to go to this thing?”
“Because it’s your job.”
“No, my job is design and development.”
“Yes, behind the scenes. Otherwise, you’re the face of a company. You need to network. Make friends.”
“Those people are not my friends.”
“You’re right, they’re not your friends, but they are incredibly useful contacts for you and your company, and you need to get them on your side.”
“I have enough money. The company is valued in the billions. I don’t need to make more.”
“Huge companies go bankrupt all the time. Despite what you might think, you are not yet too big to fail. If you don’t rub elbows with the right people, your contacts will dry up and all your hard work thus far will have been for nothing. Many people have business ideas, sometimes they’re quite good but they lack longevity. Don’t you want your company to have a future?”
Admit You Love Me: A Secret Baby Romance (Irresistible Billionaires Book 2) Page 21
