by Gaja J. Kos
All this time, she trusted William to handle his own problems. She wasn’t a busybody, and she had zero desire to force herself onto his private matters, regardless of how difficult it was to keep herself at a distance.
But when she saw Patricia fucking Parson throw shit William’s way, she was out of that cab faster than the driver could return her change.
Something inside her roared as the woman wrapped her hand around William’s wrist, as she saw him tense up, his face blanching. Her phone was out and filming by the time the slap landed.
The video was shaky from her rapid steps, from the outrage rolling through her, but clear enough to be used as evidence.
God. Evidence. Her chest constricted at how wrong she’d been. She’d assumed whatever had happened between William and his ex was nothing more than a nasty breakup. She’d never even considered…
“Get the fuck away from him before your charges get any worse than they already are.”
She didn’t know how her voice managed to come out that strong given she was shivering on the inside, but Patricia let go of William. The tightness in her muscles loosened, then returned the instant William’s ex whirled around, clearly determined to give her the same treatment—
The woman stopped, eyes narrowed at the phone in Lily’s hands.
“You little bitch.” Her right hand balled into a fist. “You’re filming me?”
Lily never took her eyes off her, but she did ignore the question. “Call the police, William.”
When several seconds passed with nothing but silence dominating the night, Patricia laughed. “He won’t, sweetheart. He knows he’s done too much shit to play the victim here.”
Fuck. If the bitch had guilt-tripped him into believing that was true, then he really wasn’t going to call the police. But Lily wouldn’t stop filming either. Not until the woman got the hell away from them and William was safe inside his building.
Patricia took a step forward. Then another.
Sweat prickled at the back of Lily’s neck, but she stood her ground. She was pretty certain she was in for a beating, yet somehow that sounded like a far better alternative than backing down.
She always did hate bullies. But those who preyed on their supposed loved ones deserved their own special place in the deepest circle of hell.
Her gaze locked on Patricia’s, she checked her balance, reminding herself of those self-defense lessons she’d taken at college. The memories didn’t come easy, but what she’d cleared from the dust and cobweb-covered drawers of her mind at least made her confident she’d probably keep herself from ending up unconscious on the ground.
She blew out a thin breath.
This was it.
She was getting into a fistfight with an abuser.
As far as reasons for getting arrested went, it wasn’t a bad one. At least it would put Patricia in the law’s hands, as well.
Accepting her fate and keeping a death grip on her phone, Lily allowed her to come even closer. But just before they could come face-to-face, just as that bloody fisted hand twitched, William’s words rose above her frantic heartbeat.
“I would like to report an assault.”
18
Down on my Knees
Admitting the truth to himself was the worst part of the healing process. William hardly recalled how many times he wanted to throw up as he sat in his counselor’s chair, going through every vicious detail of what had transpired between him and Trisha.
So many years. So much shit. And shame.
A part of him still felt guilty. His career had taken off to a new level, and it was then that Trish’s went to hell. But the spectacled woman who met with him two times every week kept reassuring him he carried no blame. He wasn’t responsible for the choices Patricia had made in her life, and if his ex had wanted to leave, she could have done so a long time ago.
Gaslighting. Emotional blackmail. Abuse.
It was hard to come to terms with those words without feeling like he’d been regurgitated by a cat. And it was even harder not to feel disgusted by himself for letting things go as far as they had, regardless of what his therapist said. But every time he returned home, every time he fell into Lily’s embrace, he knew this was something he could get through.
For him. For her.
For the future they both deserved and fought for.
The rattle of keys kicked him out of his thoughts. His gaze focused on the computer screen—on the background actually, where Lily’s bright smile greeted him whenever he sat down and got to work. He traced a finger along the glass, then walked out into the living room and helped Lily disentangle herself from the overload of bags she’d managed to squeeze through the doorframe.
“Christ, pet, why didn’t you call me?” He took the heaviest two, both filled to the brim with groceries, and deposited them on the couch. “I could have helped you.”
Lily snorted and rolled her eyes. “Kind of hard to rummage though a handbag with your hands full, mister. You should be grateful I managed to pull out my keys. Otherwise, we’d have a nice little indentation in the shape of my forehead right in the middle of our door.”
Our door.
Sometimes, he still couldn’t believe Lily had said yes when he’d asked her to move in with him. She had been hesitant at first, but once he assured her this was what he wanted, the grin on her face was the most brilliant thing he’d ever seen.
It hadn’t been just her support he craved for. But her. Waking up next to the woman he loved. Falling asleep with her in his arms. And all those little moments they shared in between.
Lily placed the last of the bags down—these practically overflowing with thrift-shop books—nibbling on her lower lip. William’s eyes narrowed. She was stocking up like she didn’t plan for either of them to leave the flat for an entire month.
He looked from the bag to her, noting the flushed cheeks he suspected were only partially that gorgeous color because of the brutal winds raging outside.
“What have you been up to, Lily?”
She held his gaze for a long moment, then picked a tiny bag from one of the larger ones. Her blush deepened severely by the time she faced him, but there was a wicked gleam in her eyes that revealed whatever she had in mind, it would be bloody good.
A corner of her mouth curled up. “You know how you told me you wanted to propose the instant you saw me reading The Left Hand of Darkness?”
He nodded. How could he forget? It was one of the clearest, most powerful thoughts that had ever crossed his mind, and sharing it with her had been the first step he took towards letting down his defenses.
“Weeeeellll…” She offered him the tiny bag. “I would have said yes if you had. So I thought—if you want to…”
Heart thrumming, William ripped open the package, then the velvet pouch. A simple, silver band fell onto his palm. He lifted it under the light, noting there was an inscription on the inner rim.
So which new wave was it?
The words that had made her fall in love with him all those months ago.
He laughed, not caring about how his eyes watered. Or how a tear actually broke away and slid down his cheek.
“Lily Summers, are you proposing to me?”
“I am.” She grinned, then shot him a coy look. “I would have gone down on my knees, but… I’d rather do that a bit later on, if it’s all right with you.”
It was more than all right.
It was a bloody massive “Yes.”
Thank you for reading Cotton Candy!
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If you want to see a bit more of William and Lily, the couple will make an appearance in Cherry Cane, Bram and Audrey’s story. Sign up for my newsletter here if you want to be notified of its release!
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Love,
Gaja J. Kos
Also by Gaja J. Kos
FANTASY WORKS CO-WRITTEN WITH USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR BORIS KOS
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SHADOWFIRE TRILOGY
Upper YA fantasy
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Evenfall
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THE IRON HEAD TRILOGY
YA epic fantasy; free first in series
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The Fox
The Heart
The Bird
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FORGED IN FLAMES
New adult anti-hero epic fantasy
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ROMANCE
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SILVER FOX CLUB
Steamy May December standalone novellas
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Cotton Candy
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KOLOVRAT UNIVERSE
PRESENT
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BLACK WEREWOLVES SERIES
Urban fantasy
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Novels:
The Dark Ones
The 24hourlies
The Shift
The Ascension
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Novellas:
Never Forgotten
Chased
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NIGHTWRAITH SERIES
Paranormal romance
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Windstorm
Blackstorm
Nightstorm
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FUTURE
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PARADISE OF SHADOWS AND DEVOTION
Standalone paranormal romance, available exclusively through the Sirens & Scales anthology
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LOTTE FREUNDENBERGER SERIES
Urban fantasy
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Shadow Moon
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DESTINY RECLAIMED
Urban fantasy standalone novella, available exclusively through the Fall of Magic anthology
About the Author
Gaja J. Kos a USA Today bestselling author with a mission to breathe fragments of Slavic lore onto many, many pages of fiction
She resides in Celje, Slovenia, with her husband and their two Chinese Crested dogs.
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More:
gajajkos.com
