Geoff nodded, his face so full of relief and joy. “I do know that. And I love you, too.”
“Really?”
He ran a hand over her jaw, and she leaned her cheek into his palm. “I’ve loved you for years, Avery Beeker. It took me a while to stop trying to be who everyone else wanted me to be. And right now, I just want to be who you want me to be.”
“All I want you to be is you.” A thought made her pause. “But what does this mean for the show?”
“It’s going to have to grow with me, Ave. My audience deserves to know that all the methods I teach aren’t just for a night. That you can find someone to build a whole life with.”
Geoff leaned forward, then, and brushed a tentative kiss on her lips. Avery’s whole body sang, and she rose onto her toes to kiss him back. As the kiss deepened, she drew her arms around his neck and held him tight, his heart against hers, the world on fire.
Geoff finally released her, and she dropped onto her heels to look up at him. “Where do we go from here?” she asked.
“Home, Ave.” He smiled at her, all hers. “There’s something I need you to hear.”
Chapter 30
“What I need to hear is in your studio?”
Avery paused at the threshold of the door, an uncertain look playing across her beautiful features.
Geoff nodded and pulled her against his side. He’d driven them back to his place, one hand on the wheel and the other hand in hers the whole ride over, the quiet car full of all the unspoken things they hadn’t said. Now that she was here, that she’d agreed to be his, that she’d said I love you, he craved the contact of her skin on his.
He pressed a kiss against her hair. “Trust me, okay?”
She nodded. “I do.”
Geoff led Avery into the studio and sat on one of the desk chairs. Then he pulled her onto his lap, arranging her legs across his and looping one of her arms around his neck. She nestled her head under his chin as he leaned forward and started up an episode of How to Hook a Hottie.
Geoff watched her face change, moving from confusion to disbelief to acceptance as she listened to him talk, telling his audience about her, sometimes subtly, sometimes not.
He went back in time, further and further, into New York and beyond, and let her hear his heart on the line.
“Even when you weren’t in my life, you were in my life,” he whispered. “More than you or I ever knew.” His arms tightened around her. “Letting you go was the biggest mistake of my life.”
Avery nodded. “It’s only a mistake if you don’t learn from it.” She smiled and poked a finger into his chest. “And if you do it again.”
Relief washed over him. “Not going to happen, Cheese Girl. I’m in it for the long run.”
“You are?”
He nodded. “I also had one more thing I wanted to run by you. I mentioned that I want the show to go in a new direction, and while I’d love to still help out single guys, I also want to talk about how to keep a relationship healthy, sexy, and fun long past those first three dates.”
She smiled at him. “I’d listen to that show.”
“Good.” He grinned back. “And you know what’s better than one person talking into the ether?”
She cocked her head at him, a glint in her eye. “Two people talking into the ether?”
“Exactly. Any chance you’d consider hosting the show with me? Just an hour-long show one day a week, and I’d do all the social media and run the business side.”
“An hour a week?” Avery pulled on a frown. “I don’t know if that’s going to work for me.”
“Oh.” Geoff shook his head. Right. “Too much going on in your other job?”
She shook her head, a teasing look in her eye. “I mean I might need at least two hours.” She brought her lips to his ear, a gust of warm air making him shiver. “I have a lot to say about keeping your love life sexy.”
Geoff brushed a kiss against her neck. “I hear you’re the industry expert.”
Avery laughed. “I might need to work on my on-the-fly speaking skills. But practice makes perfect.”
“Right. And speaking of which, we should probably go practice some of those techniques for keeping the flames hot.”
“Should we now?”
Geoff nodded. “We should.”
Avery giggled as he lifted her and carried her to his bedroom. She moaned into his mouth as he kissed her and laid her on the bed. She let him love her the way he’d wanted to ever since he’d walked away from her, mouth and hands and skin and heart, and she breathed for him, moved for him, rose up to meet him at every turn.
Geoff had spent the last three years mixing sounds on his show—adjusting volumes, erasing background noise, balancing tones. But Avery’s voice as she called his name was a light in the darkness. It might be the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.
A knock on the doorframe of Geoff’s bedroom woke him, and he shifted, Avery’s soft cheek still pressed against his bare chest.
“Is everybody decent in there? You better be, ’cause I’m coming in.”
He barely had time to nudge Avery awake and pull the covers over their naked bodies before Sophie burst through the doors, a Tupperware container clutched in her hands.
His sister took one look at them, covered her eyes, and screamed. “I asked if you were decent!”
“You didn’t give us time to answer.”
“Get dressed, and then we need to talk.” Sophie turned her back, giving him time to pull on a T-shirt and toss a second one to Avery.
“We’re decent,” Avery called with a smile. “More than decent, actually. We’re glorious.”
Sophie turned and rolled her eyes.
“What are you even doing here?” Geoff asked.
Sophie pouted. “I was hoping you’d have made up with each other so I could make up with both of you. I even brought apology muffins.”
“Sounds good to me.” Avery made grabby hands at Sophie, who cracked open the Tupperware and tossed a muffin at her. Avery peeled back the wrapper and took a huge bite. She smiled at Geoff around a mouthful of blueberries and cornmeal, her eyes bright. “You know, maybe this could be our first segment for the show. What to do when you fall for your best friend’s sibling.”
He shot a glance at Sophie. “Or, more like, how to not kill your sister when she cock-blocks you.”
“Eww!” Sophie screeched, throwing a chunk of muffin at his face. “Don’t ever say the words cock-block to me again.”
“Sophie! You’re going to get crumbs in my bed.”
“Pshht, Avery started it. Anyway, I’m sure there’s already far worse in there.” Sophie screwed up her face. “Oh god. I can’t believe I said that.” She groaned and pointed at him. “You’re paying for the cost of my therapy.”
“I don’t know if I make enough money for that.”
His sister shook her head and gestured around his room. “Have you seen your fancy apartment? Somehow I doubt that’s true.”
Avery giggled, and Sophie cracked a grin. “Are we good again?” Sophie asked quietly, looking at the woman by Geoff’s side.
Avery blew out a breath. “As long as you know that I’m not planning to choose sides between you two. And that I love you both.”
Sophie’s eyes widened. “You love him?”
Avery’s shy smile made Geoff’s heart just about leap out of his chest. “I do.”
He pulled her close to him, muffin crumbs at all. “Say that again, Cheese Girl.”
“I love you, Rock.”
He cradled the back of her head and brushed his lips over hers. She tasted like blueberries and hope, like a future where they took today and kept on climbing. “I love you, too.”
In the background, his sister sighed. “Guess you’re both re-invited to Thanksgiving.”
“I’ll bring a side dish,” Avery offered.
“See?” Sophie said to him. “You could learn a thing or two from your girlfriend about being helpful.”
&nb
sp; His girlfriend. It had a really nice ring to it.
“Any idea what you want to make?” Sophie asked.
Avery grinned at both of them, a sparkle in her eye. “How do you feel about macaroni and cheese?”
Geoff smiled back at her. “Personally, I’m a fan.”
Epilogue
“Ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here first. The latest X Enterprises Lovers’ Kit is the perfect way to get the sparks flying in your love life, whether you’re rekindling an old flame or starting something new.” Geoff shot the computer camera a cheesy grin that showed off his gorgeous mouth and made his eyes sparkle. “Totally not influenced by the fact that my girlfriend works for the company.”
Avery laughed and rolled her eyes, knowing the audience watching the live-stream and listening to the podcast loved their banter. “Not at all.”
They’d announced the new direction of the show right after Thanksgiving, and Avery had helped Geoff rebrand How to Hook a Hottie into How to Keep a Hottie. She’d even designed a new logo and everything, and whatever she’d done—no, whatever they’d done together—had worked. How to Keep a Hottie had received more downloads than Hook to Hook a Hottie ever had, and widening the scope of the show had allowed Geoff to bring on a bigger variety of sponsors. Including X Enterprises, who’d reported their own increase in revenue tied to the ads.
That’s what you call a win-win.
Avery shifted in her chair, leaning closer to Geoff so the heat from his body warmed her side. On the computer screen, the two of them looked so happy together, and his voice in her ears was a lifeline, a love line, the answer to everything she’d wanted. She looked into the camera and smiled. “But all that aside, there’s no time like the New Year to try new things and take your relationship to the next level.”
“Is that so?” Geoff asked.
“Totally.”
His grin widened. “How about for me and you?”
Avery couldn’t hide her blush, and now the damn cameras were going to make sure it lived in infamy on the internet, too. She bit back a grin and met his banter. “If you’re talking about doing something wild in the bedroom, we might want to take that conversation offline.”
“That’s not exactly what I had in mind, although I wouldn’t complain.” Geoff’s face softened and grew more serious, and he reached into the pocket of his pants. “I was thinking of something more like this.”
He lifted a jewelry box and opened it, a thin platinum band set with diamonds sparkling against the black velvet cushion.
Avery’s heart lodged in her throat, prickles running over her skin. “Wait. What?”
“Marry me, Avery Beeker. You are my past, my present, and my future, and no matter what comes, our love will be perfect because it’s ours. We’ve already started our three-act story. Now let’s give ourselves the happy ending that we deserve.”
He was serious.
Avery shrieked, a thousand butterflies fluttering in her stomach and her chest, lifting her out of this room.
Geoff smiled, his eyes glassy and his voice thick. “Folks, I’m pretty sure that noise you heard there was a yes. But with all the crying it’s hard to be sure.”
“Yes!” she shouted, her voice clear and true. She wiped back her tears as Geoff slid the ring onto her finger. She kissed him, not caring about the cameras, the podcast, the world. It was just her and Geoff, together in this room, with the rest of their lives a promise they’d keep on making to each other.
She smiled into his eyes, her hand on his heart. “Now that’s what you call leveling up.”
THE END
Books by Tanya Gallagher
A Slippery Slope
His Distraction (X Enterprises Book One)
His Inspiration (X Enterprises Book Two)
His Invitation (X Enterprises Book Three)
His Temptation (X Enterprises Book Four)
Your Opinion Matters
I can’t believe we’ve made it to book four of the X Enterprises series! I’ve loved every minute of writing this series, especially writing Avery and Geoff’s story. If you loved reading it, I’d be honored if you’d consider leaving a review wherever you purchased this book. Reviews help more readers find my books so the fun can continue!
I also love to hear from my readers and think you are just the best. If you join my mailing list, you’ll get sneak peeks at future books and be the first to know about new releases.
Join the fun at tanyagallagherbooks.com!
Acknowledgments
This year I set out to write a few love stories, and somehow that turned into five books and five happy endings, with more stories to come. I wouldn’t have gotten here without the amazing people who have helped me on this journey. Seriously, the friendships and joy that have come out of this process are the best rewards.
To my readers - Thanks for being here with me! I loved writing this story, and I’m so happy I get to share it with such beautiful humans. Thanks for reading.
To Jenny - Thanks for all the positive encouragement about this little cupcake of a book. You make this writing journey so much fun, and I’m so glad we get to do this together. You’re simply the best.
To my RWA friends - It’s so much fun to be part of a community of people who love the same things you do. Thank you for your excitement and encouragement, your words of wisdom, and your friendship.
To Ian and Lily - Thanks for supporting me as I worked on this project, but mostly thanks for all your love. I couldn’t do this without you.
To my ARC team - You are incredible! Thanks for taking the time to review and share His Temptation, and for supporting this series. I love that this community has brought us together!
About the Author
Tanya Gallagher is the Seattle-based author of contemporary New Adult and Adult romances about smart, strong women and the sexy men who love them. She traded pencil skirts in the boardroom for stories in the bedroom and hasn't looked back since. You can find her traveling the world in search of beautiful scenery and delicious cake, and at penchantforpleasure.com, where she happens to sell one of the most popular brands of personal lubricant for your naughty bits. True story.
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Website: www.tanyagallagherbooks.com
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His Temptation (X Enterprises Book 4) Page 16
