“ Do you still want to name our daughter, Rose? ”
Lily felt Alec tense as she asked the question.
“Did I say something wrong, Alec?”
“I’m not sure if I want children anymore Lil. Or even a marriage for that matter” He said, his voice tight.
Lily was hurt. She still had expectations from him even after all those years. Resentment came over her in an angry wave.
“You haven’t changed, have you?” Lily asked, standing quickly.
Alec pulled back from the sudden change of demeanor. He had been caught off guard, and had reacted as such.
“What?”
“You, you don’t know if you want to get married or have kids. Isn’t that a big decision?”
“Yes, Lily, it is, but that’s just how I feel.”
Lily shook her head and crossed her arms. Lily wanted to be married and she definitely wanted children - she wanted them desperately. She wanted the white wedding, the picket fence and children. She was sure about it, and had been since she was young. She could not stand being with him anymore.
“ You have to go.”
“God damnit Lily! Why do you always have to do this? Why are we fighting over my choice of life again?”
“Because Alec! I can’t be falling in love with a man who does not want marriage!”
Both fell silent for a moment.
“I want you to leave.” Lily demanded.
Alec looked as if he wanted to speak for a moment, but said nothing as he grabbed his suit jacket and left the bookshop.
The moment he was out of sight, Lily collapsed into a pile on the floor. Seeing him leave reminded of the time she had broken up with him years back. It was not a pleasant feeling. Not a feeling she wanted to feel after the most beautiful evening with a man after years.
***
Two Months Later…
“What are you doing!?” Holly called as she ran to her sister who had been hanging a ‘for sale’ sign.
Lily sighed as she looked to her sister. She hated to fail, and she had never in her life felt like a bigger failure.
“I’m selling the book shop.” She said with as little emotion as she could muster.
“Wow, wait. What the hell, is this because of Alec?” Holy asked, taking the sign from her sister.
“No, why would it be because of him?” Lily lied. She could not face Alec anymore. She was still strangely attached to him to keep things just professional.
She had to quit after what had happened. There was no way that she could look at Alec like nothing had happened between them.
“Lily, what are we going to do?”
“Nothing Holly. We aren’t going to do anything. I am going to sell the store. I can’t hold up your life’s savings in a business that’s going nowhere. I need to pay you out and move on”
Alec who had walked in and stood behind them interrupted Holly.
“Hey Lily ” He asked.
“Alec, what are you doing here? I wish I could say it’s nice to see you”
“ Hold on Lily, can we talk?” Lily felt Alex had something on his mind. Something urgent.
“Okay.” Lily said.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m cutting my losses. Selling the store. What are you doing here?”
“I came to thank you. You were right about the productivity thing.” Alec said as he handed Lily a vanilla Latte.
He hated the look that he saw on Lily’s face. He knew what the store meant to her, and could only imagine the amount of pain that she felt.
“Lily, can we go back to being friends again?” I miss you and I don’t ever want to hurt your feelings.
“ Alec, please just leave,” said a cold, angry Lily. Her store had just shut down officially. This was the worst day in her life.
“ Well, I guess that’s it.” said a disappointed Alec, not knowing what else to say. Lily broke in to tears as he left.
Alec left, and made a quick note of the Realtors number from the FOR SALE sign outside the store.
“I don’t need to see it. I know that I want it. I’ll be there tomorrow to close.” Said Alec to the realtor.
“Sir…”
“No, make it happen.”
Alec slammed the phone on the receiver. His hand quaked as he pulled it back. He was a man of strength, and yet his hand shook. He had spent so many years wishing that Lily was back in his life, and now she was. He was on the verge of losing her once more, and the thought shook him to the bone.
He leaned back in his chair as he looked up toward the ceiling. He wanted, no, he needed this to work.
***
“I can’t believe someone already bought the store.” Holly marveled as she helped Lily pack the books that remained from the sale she had put on.
“Yep.” Lily said curtly.
This was killing her. She was aching so deeply within herself, she felt as though she had fallen into a pit.
“I thought this is what you wanted.” Holly said, reading her like one of the books she held.
“I did. I do.”
Holly didn’t know what to say. The only sound in the store was the shuffling of paper.
A knock came at the front door, bringing both women’s attention to the door.
“Lily, what’s he doing here?” Holly asked as Alec stood in the doorway.
“I have no idea.” Lily muttered as she walked to the door.
The sight of Alec was welcomed but also resented. Deep down inside, Lily wanted to run to him and jump in his arms just the way that she always had. Another part of her was angry, angry that he seemed able to achieve his desires and she was not.
He stood before her “Hey, I thought all the books came with the sale.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m sure that when I bought it that the realtor said the books were included.” Alec wore a sly smile as he looked at Lily.
“You’re the one that bought the store?” Lily asked, her voice timid.
“Yeah. You know, after all those years of you talking about it, I thought it sounded amazing.”
“It was.”
“Lily, I want you to have the store.”
Lily turned on her heel.
“Alec, I failed. I can’t run a store.”
“Maybe not alone, but I don’t see why you couldn’t do it, with say a business savvy man by your side.”
Lily dropped her head as she smiled.
“Alec, I need to apologize for being so mean to you earlier”
Alec interrupted Lily just as she had begun speaking with a wave of his hand.
“No Lil, you were right then, and you’re right now. It’s just hard for me to decide what I want in the future because it allows for so much disappointment.”
After all the years the two of them had spent together; she had never heard Alec speak like this. She wasn’t one to open up too often. She immediately craved more.
“What do you mean?”
“My mother, she wanted so much out of life. She wanted the husband, the kids, and the perfect job.”
Lily knew how that story had ended. After his mother had fallen pregnant with him, his father left her without a dime to her name. She worked two full time jobs as well as babysat for the local kids, all the while looking after her son. Her life was miserable until she met her second husband and Alec’s stepfather.
“I understand Alec, and I am sorry I expected so much from you even after all those years”
“Lily, I bought this store we can start off to a new beginning. I love you”
“I…like you too Alec, but we just think very differently. And in any case I can just keep this store. I am sure you will be able to put it to better sure than I have.”
The cold and crisp air bit at their exposed necks and chilled them as they spoke. Still, they held their gaze.
“ What if it could be our store?” his comment left Lily confused. Was he proposing a partnership? She was not business s
avvy to understand hints like that.
Alec put his hand in the right pocket of his black tweed coat and pulled out a small box. He opened it to produce a beautiful platinum and solitaire ring that glistened under the sun. Looking straight Lily’s eyes, he posed the question. “ Lily, I love you so much, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me? ”
Lily was surprised to say the least. Tears filled her eyes, as she was overwhelmed with emotion. The boy she fell in love with and made plans of marriage with 15 years back was standing in front of her asking her to marry him. She covered her mouth with both her hands and looked straight into his eyes. All she could see there was love for her. She knew Alec, she knew how much he loved her, and he knew how much she loved him.
This was a decision she did not want to regret. She nodded positively, overwhelmed in emotion, unable to speak.
The nod was enough for Alec, and he hugged her tight and swept her off her feet.
***
Lily stood at the till after counting out an entire day’s worth of sales. She had never seen so much money in all her life.
“Did well today, Alec noted as he kissed lily delicately on her cheek.”
“Thanks to you,” Lily gave credit where credit was due.
Alec had brought in so many loyal customers, that Lily was in awe each and every time someone stepped through the door. Naturally the sales went up and Lily had begun to form a strong relationship with publishing houses.
People were happy with her little shop, just as happy as she had been. She had even paid off most of her mortgage, and them barking back at her door was a distant memory and no longer a concern. She had even had enough to pay Holly for her time that she worked there. Things were finally playing in her favor. The best part of it all was the man that stood close to her; the man who had helped her during her desperate time.
She looked to him.
“What?” He asked, his lips turning into a smile.
“Thank you, Alec.”
“Well, its my business too now. And you don’t ever need to thank me. I love doing this with you. ”
“I love you.” She said, her eyes beginning to water.
“I love you, Lily.”
Alec locked the door as he pulled Lily into the back where they had made love. Lily thought back to that marvelous night. He lay with her as he did that night, pulling her close and tightly.
The bookshop offered a sweet calmness to the two of them. It was the epilogue of an exceptionally busy and agonizingly troubled couple of months, and Lily couldn’t think of a soul that she would have rather spent her time with than Alec.
A silence hung between them, but it was one of comfort, and not of awkwardness. Lily listened to the beat of Alec’s heart, and how well it synchronized with her own. She began to drift to sleep as Alec’s voice drew her from her near slumber.
A question came to her mind but she knew this was the right time to bring it up. “So, Rose then?”
Alec laughed as he responded, “ Yes mam and what if it’s a boy!”
*****
THE END
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Bear Twins & the Bartender:
Bear Shifter Ménage Romance
It had been a hot, sunny day that was turning into a sticky night. The waves lapped the shore in a lazy fashion, as though they too were tired from the long day. Claire Underwood ran along the boardwalk ignoring the ocean. It was quiet this time of the evening—being too late for the daytime folk and too early for the night dwellers—but she was late for her shift, and her boss, Charlie, took exception to that.
The sign above Cool Joe’s was blinking into life as the sun finally began to dip below the horizon, slowly plunging New York into a merciful darkness. The heat wave had, so far, been unbearable. Hot enough to melt the asphalt, her father would say. Claire smiled at the memory. She would have to stop by the house some time…then again, maybe not.
With a wave to Nick, a tall Roman god of a boy, who was tending the outside tables, Claire ducked into the stifling, beer-scented, interior of Cool Joe’s. Established in 2017, this was the oldest bar – restaurant on the boardwalk. It had a fine history and had managed to send land developers packing whenever they came knocking. In fact it was practically an icon, and Charlie kept the place buzzing by employing staff that looked more like models than bartenders and waiters.
Of course not all of Cool Joe’s neighbors had been lucky and many of the old places, including the amusement park, had closed down. Now ugly holiday apartment blocks rose, so close to the ocean that some of them even boasted rooms below the water line, for those who could afford a truly ocean view.
“You’re late,” Charlie sneered. He was a short man with a hanging paunch that his belt would never circumnavigate. His staff shirt, a light blue golf tee with Cool Joe’s silk-screened on it, was sweat-stained and he smelled of cigars.
Claire rushed behind the bar, aiming to shove her bag under the polished wood top, but Charlie’s hand closed over her arm.
“You’re not tending my bar looking like that,” he said and let go of her. “Go clean yourself up. My customers want pretty girls, not ones that look like they just ran The New York Marathon.”
“Wow, Charlie you’re in rare form tonight,” Alicia, a tall woman with blue hair and big-boobs, sneered as she poured the one customer at the bar his beer. “Give her a break, huh?”
“I’ll do more than that!” Charlie said.
Recognizing the spat that was about to ensue between the two lovebirds, Claire ducked into the bathroom. Turning to the mirror, she looked at herself critically. Only twenty-five and she had bags under her eyes—actual bags. She prodded one with a long finger. Then, she lifted her handbag onto the side of the sink and rummaged for her make up.
“You have the best skin.”
Claire looked up, startled and saw Jenny emerging from a cubicle. She was very tall and muscular, and up until recently, she had answered to the name of “Jonah.”
“Hi Jen,” Claire said, pulling her eyeliner out of her bag and dragging it under her left eye.
Jenny stood behind her, her eyes roaming over Claire with obvious envy.
“You know if I looked like you, I would never wear these silly staff shirts like that,” Jenny said. “And I would totally do something else with my hair. I mean, it’s soft and such a rich black, it’s beautiful. Really! And those green eyes! How did you get those anyway? Your dad is…”
“Yeah, he’s black but my mom is Greek, I got them from her.”
“Good, because you didn’t get enough boob,” Jenny said. “Of course if we just do this,” and she grabbed Claire by the shirt, rearranging it a little so that it no longer hung like a limp sail and revealed just enough cleavage. “There. That should get you extra tips tonight. Now don’t tie that hair up darling. Let it be free.”
Jenny smiled at her and flounced out of the room. It was strange for Claire, but in Jenny’s presence, she always felt like she was the man in the room. She sighed. This was it. This is what her life had become: getting all dolled up to serve alcohol to people who would never know her name. What a waste. Oh well, it was work, and that was hard to come by. So Claire ignored Jenny’s advice and tied her hair up letting her long ponytail hang down between her shoulder blades. She was damned if she was going to overheat just for extra tips.
Fixed up properly, Claire returned to the bar and dumped her bag. Charlie ran an eye over her face.
“You happy?” she asked him.
“Yes,” he said. “Now sell your ass off. I want a record night.” ***
The bar filled up. It was a young crowd tonight, full of excitement and wanting cocktails more than beer. So Cl
aire was up to her armpits in peppermint liqueur, Jägermeister, and something Alicia was mixing called Golden Bowls, that had just about everything it them except the kitchen sink.
The music was loud and rocking with one of Claire’s favorite bands, The Juniper Blossoms, playing their hearts out on the little stage Charlie had set up for the summer. Voices tried to rise above the din but after years in this bar, Claire could just about read the patron’s minds and the sales were ringing in making Charlie smile, and the tips were raining down making the staff smile.
A world of swirling color slid around Claire all perfect and familiar. But there was one off note in her harmony. It took her a moment to realize that it was coming from the far end of the long bar. Seated in the corner, dragging a strange darkness with them were two men.
One look was all it took to know that they were brothers: the same high cheekbones and strong jawlines, same lips and thin noses. But there were differences. One was bigger, more muscled under his black t-shirt. This one seemed to radiate an air of barely contained energy like he might jump out of his skin at any moment. The other was smaller. He sat on the bar chair like he owned it and had sat in it for years. He had a friendly ease about him that made Claire just about tackle Alicia to the floor so she could get to them first.
“Go ahead!” Alicia said moving behind Claire her hands up in surrender.
Claire stumbled, crashing into the side of the bar in her haste to reach these two mystery men. The smaller one smiled, turning the most beautiful blue eyes on her. Claire tried to recover but those eyes were pulling the blush up her body from her toes. Oh God don’t you dare Claire, don’t you dare.
“So what’ll it be?” she asked using the tried and tested bartender line from antiquity.
Romance: Mills and Boon Romance: The Boss's Proposal (Billionaire Bad Boy BBW Romance) Page 3
