Hot Summer Fling

by Parker, Ali

  “Heavenly.” She released a contented sound, resting her head against my chest before pulling away to look up at me. “What did I ever do without you?”

  “Hopefully you’ll never have to find out again.” I meant it too. The last two months had been hands down the best of my life and I didn’t plan on having that change anytime soon.

  Valerie and I had moved to Seattle. The morning after she’d come to Boston, I’d put in a call to a company here, with her blessing, and she’d been given a job on the spot.

  The weeks that followed were a whirlwind, if whirlwinds were incredible and gave you everything you never knew you wanted out of life. Seriously, my life felt fucking perfect right now.

  After a couple of arguments about getting two separate apartments, I’d managed to convince Valerie to move in with me when we got to Seattle. We even shared a bedroom now, and I often reminded her of how great it was that she was breaking her rule with me every night.

  It was sort of fast to move in together, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The month I’d spent without her was a month too long. Besides, I knew people who had gotten married in less time than we’d known each other, so I figured moving in together wasn’t such a stretch.

  “I’m so proud of how far you’ve come with this company in such a short space of time, my angel. But promise me I’ll actually get to fall asleep holding you for once tonight?”

  She swatted my shoulder, rolling her coal-lined eyes at me. “You’re one to talk. You’re holed up in your office until all hours of the morning most nights.”

  “True, but how about both us promise to get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight?” I proposed, still holding her in the circle of my arms. I did this often, just holding her and vowing to myself that I would never let this girl go again.

  We’d both been busy since moving to Seattle, but we always managed to carve out time for each other. Living together certainly helped with that, even if I did spend an inordinate amount of time in the office I’d set up for myself in our home.

  Things were moving along nicely, though. I was satisfied with the progress I’d made, even if I’d been more than a little bit shocked at the results of my security investigation when I finally put everything together. With all the distractions out of the way, I’d buried myself in finding out the truth about the robbery … and I’d finally found it.

  I was fucking gobsmacked at first, but then I’d confronted Will about it, and he’d been surprisingly honest about everything. We’d been talking to each other a lot, and while I abhorred that someone so close to Valerie had been involved in robbing my bank, I’d come to learn that there was a lot more to it than what met the eye.

  I knew I should turn him in, but I couldn’t do it. The more I learned about Will, Rayce, and their past, the more I found myself sympathizing with their situation. It was crazy, but so was how I felt about Valerie.

  Even if I hadn’t liked Will and hadn’t found myself wondering if I would have done the same thing he had if I’d been in his shoes, I still wouldn’t have been able to turn him in. Olive and Heidi were like sisters to her, and Heidi would be devastated if she had to lose Will. Which meant Valerie would be devastated, and I never wanted to be the one responsible for that ever again.

  There was also the small matter that Heidi was weeks away from having Will’s baby, and I couldn’t bear the thought of being the cause of a child having to grow up without his father. Nope, I just can’t do it.

  Valerie didn’t know how often I’d been talking to Will, but I didn’t want to involve her in the direction our conversations had gone in. She knew I talked to him and that we were becoming friends. It was safer for everyone involved if that was all she knew.

  If she ever asked me about what we talked about point-blank, I’d tell her. I promised I wouldn’t lie to her and I refused to break that promise. Until that day came, though, I was keeping some of the content of our recent conversations to myself.

  Valerie pressed a kiss to my lips and took a step back. “Sure, it’s a date. I’ll see you in bed at a reasonable hour. Are you going home now or sticking around?”

  “Sticking around.” I didn’t want to miss the event Valerie had put together this evening. It was another community-based event and people were attending the gallery in droves.

  These events were gaining popularity in the city, and more and more people were coming to purchase art created by ordinary members of the community.

  Plus, Halsey had said he was planning on stopping by, too, and I wanted to see my friend. It had been too long, and I still needed to tell him that I’d handed over the reins to Elliot.

  “I gave the company over so I could get back to my roots, and that’s what I’m doing right now. Spending time in a gallery filled with pieces by up-and-coming artists with my gorgeous girlfriend. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

  She smiled but arched an eyebrow. “Bullshit. You’re only staying because you want to see Halsey.”

  I shrugged, unable to contain my grin. “Well, that too. But mostly the awesome pieces and awesome, beautiful, incredibly talented girlfriend thing I said before.”

  “I don’t recall hearing those exact words before, but I’ll take them.” She frowned in thought, cocking her head as she looked at me. “Didn’t you say you were on a tight deadline with the security system stuff you’re working on?”

  “I’ve already submitted the report on the bugs I was worried about.” I might have given the company over, but I wasn’t out of it completely. I was still involved with the security overhaul, but it wasn’t nearly as labor intensive as being the CEO. “Which means I’m free tonight to enjoy the art with you without having to worry about the bank.”

  “That’s great news.” She leaned in for another kiss, pressing her lips to mine. “I’m glad you’re here, baby. Have a look around, get something to eat and drink, and have fun catching up with Halsey. I need to go check on a couple of things, but I’ll come find you two in a little bit.”

  “You got it.” Reluctantly letting her go, I smacked another kiss to her forehead and then turned just in time to see Halsey making his grand entrance. He made his rounds, but eventually, he grabbed a drink and came to stand with me.

  We got caught up and were joking around when Valerie finally rejoined us, sagging against my side after taking my hand. “It’s good to see you again, Halsey. Thank you for coming tonight. Your continued support means the world to the gallery.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it.” He flashed her a wide, genuine smile, then wiggled his fingers first at me and then at her. “Besides, there’s not much I wouldn’t do for my new favorite power couple. I love you guys.”

  “We love you, too, man.” I laughed, shaking my head when he mimed doing a victory dance. What he’d said had reminded me of the other reason I’d wanted to spend the night here with Valerie, though, and I was suddenly eager to get her alone. “But if you’ll excuse us, I need a couple of minutes with my girl.”

  “Sure, sure. Go make out in a storage closet or something. I have places to go and people to meet.” Halsey flashed us another smile and then flitted off to join a group of people near the door.

  Valerie turned to me, giving me a pointed look. “That was rude of you. We literally just agreed to going to bed together and at a reasonable hour. You’re going to have lots of minutes alone with me, we could have spent more time with him.”

  “But there’s something I have to tell you.” I pulled her back into my arms, leaning my forehead against hers. “It’s important.”

  “What is it?” Curiosity won out over her fretting about Halsey. “It better be important. That guy does a lot for the gallery and—”

  “I love you.” My breath caught in my lungs when the words were out. Fuck, I should’ve waited.

  There was probably a better time and place to tell your girlfriend you loved her for the first time than while she was coordinating a work event. “I couldn’t wait any longer to tell you. I love you
, Valerie Hayes. Is that important enough for you?”

  “I don’t know,” she hedged, but she couldn’t hide the tears that had sprung to her eyes or the smile playing on her lips. “It is pretty important, but so is the fact that I have to go check that the bathrooms are clean.”

  “Bullshit.” I held her tighter. “Are you really going to give me shit about this? Really?”

  She released a sigh, but then shook her head. “No, no, I’m not going to give you shit about it, because I love you, too, Fulton. I love you so much and I’ve been bursting to tell you. I love you, I love you, I love you.”

  “Good, because I love you too.” Happiness spread like wildfire from my heart to my extremities, making my body feel warm all over as I leaned down to kiss the love of my life—who now finally knew how I really felt about her.

  Epilogue

  Valerie

  “Does it always take this long?” I glanced down at my watch, anxiety coursing through my body.

  Olive’s hand darted out to land on my leg, stopping it from bouncing. “Heidi will be fine, so will the baby. It’s only been two hours since we went into labor. Stop worrying so much.”

  Fulton was sitting on my other side, and his touch was far gentler when he put his hand on my thigh. “She’ll be fine, sweetheart. Will just came out a couple of minutes ago to give us that update. He’ll let us know when the baby is here.”

  “I know.” My teeth sank into my lower lip. I couldn’t believe it was finally here. My best friend was becoming a mother today. It felt like last week that we’d found out she was pregnant, but on the other hand, it felt like she’d been pregnant for years. “I just can’t believe it’s happening. Our little circle is getting its first baby.”

  “I can’t wait to hold that little body,” Olive gushed, a dreamy look coming into her eyes. “I’ve been helping Heidi and Will with the final touches on the nursery. It’s been keeping me distracted from the fact that you two lunatics convinced me to quit my job in New York, move to Florida, and then just left me.”

  “We didn’t leave you,” I protested, but I knew we kind of had. I wasn’t even living in Tampa anymore.

  The hardest thing about making the decision to move to Seattle with Fulton had been knowing that I was going to be living farther away from my best friends than I ever had before. It was nerve-racking. There had been more than one night when I’d wondered if I’d lost my freaking marbles over even considering it.

  Heidi and Olive had both talked me down, though, assuring me over and over again that they supported my decision. The job I’d been offered was literally my dream job, and I couldn’t turn it down.

  Add to that the fact that I was moving to a city I loved with the man I loved—even if I hadn’t yet told him that at the time, and they argued it was a no-brainer. They’d helped me pack and then we had a girls’ night in as a going-away party.

  We ate ice cream and talked until we’d all fallen asleep on the couches, knowing that, though, it was something we’d done countless times before, we probably wouldn’t get the opportunity to do it again for a long time.

  Heidi was going to have a baby and I was going to be in Seattle, so we’d made the best of our last night officially living together—even if Heidi had technically already moved out—and vowed that no matter what happened, our friendship would never change.

  So far, it hadn’t really. Sure, I didn’t see them every day anymore, but we still spoke at least every second day. Being in Seattle without them was tough, but the move had been worth it.

  My life had become something I wouldn’t even have dreamed was possible, and even though leaving my friends had been hard, I was glad I had done it. They were happy, too, even if Olive was busy ticking off all the ways in which Heidi and I had abandoned her.

  “First, Heidi just started spending nights with Will and you just started spending nights with this one.” She jerked her head at Fulton. “Then, Heidi told us she was moving out and then before I knew what was happening, you were jetting around all over the place before upping and moving to Seattle.”

  “Yeah, but we didn’t really leave you. Heidi is right up the road and Seattle is only a short flight away. You can see either of us whenever you want.”

  When I looked over my shoulder at Fulton, I noticed that he was no longer listening to me. His eyes had left me and the widest grin I’d ever seen was spreading on his face as he got to his feet. My head whipped around to see Will coming toward us. I melted at the sight in front of me.

  Former bad boy Will was holding a little bundle wrapped in a blue blanket, a look of such awe and intense love on his face that I wouldn’t have bought it for a second if anyone tried to convince me that he was a bad boy in any way, shape, or form right now.

  He smiled at us, lifting the baby about half an inch. “Guys, come meet your godson. Adam William Campton.”

  “You named him Adam?” Fulton and I exchanged a glance, but then I chuckled. “Of course you did.”

  “Adam’s a good name.” Will frowned. “It’s a good name.”

  “It’s a great name.” I stepped forward, leaning in to look at the most cherubic little face ever. “He’ll also happen to forever be a reminder of what Fulton did for me, which is a good thing. It’ll keep me grounded when I want to go flying off the handle.”

  Olive shrugged at Will when he looked at her. He raised a brow at me, but then laughed softly. “You guys are weird, but weird works well for the two of you.”

  “Thanks,” I said, but then I looked back down at the baby and I couldn’t stop looking at him. He was red and swollen, but I thought it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life.

  A long time ago, I’d sworn to myself that marriage and babies weren’t for me, but one look at this little guy and my mind changed. Just like that, it was like a switch flipped and my ovaries were suddenly aching for one of these things.

  “I want one,” I whispered, not caring if Olive and Will heard the very personal admission I’d just made to Fulton. He was standing behind me, his hands on my hips as he peered at little Adam over my shoulder.

  He turned his face and pressed a kiss to my temple. “All in good time, my love. He’s pretty damn cute, though, right? Congratulations, Will.”

  “Thanks.” Will’s eyes were also glued on Adam, silent tears streaming down his cheeks. “He is pretty damn cute.”

  I cleared my throat, fighting tears of my own. “How’s Heidi?”

  “She’s doing really well. The nurses were all amazed by her.” He grinned, the look in his eyes completely indescribable. There was so much love, so much pride, and so much awe that there just weren’t any words. “She’s amazing. Thank you, girls, for taking care of her for me until I met her.”

  “Anytime.” Olive was smiling, tears clinging to her eyelashes. “Can we go see her? We won’t stay long. We’ll just pop in to say hi.”

  “Sure, but they won’t let you visit her for too long.” Will’s warning turned out to be true. The nurses on the maternity ward were stern and protected their territory like fierce momma bears.

  We each got to give Heidi a quick hug and tell her congratulations before we were being chased away so they could perform some kind of checkup on her. As long as she was okay, though, I was happy.

  When we got back to the waiting room, Fulton and Will had their heads bent together and were whispering about something. Fulton looked up first, saw Olive and I returning, and said something that made Will look up too.

  I sat down next to him, not able to resist the urge to gaze down at Adam’s little face. Will smiled. “Would you like to hold him? It’s okay. I’ve been told that he won’t break.”

  Forming a clumsy cradle with my arm, I bobbed my head up and down. “I’d love to hold him, thank you.”

  With more gentleness than I’d ever thought he would be able to muster, Will passed Adam to me. The baby was supposedly a big one, but it felt to me like he weighed nothing. His little eyes were closed, his no
se twitching the slightest bit every now and then. He stirred a little when Will passed him over, but then settled again almost immediately.

  If I’d thought seeing him had affected my ovaries, holding him was making them feel like they were about to explode. I was so intently focused on Adam that I almost missed what Fulton was saying to Will.

  “The plan is getting put in place.”

  “What plan?” I asked absently, giving Adam the tiniest little squeeze. I couldn’t look away from him, from how perfectly he was formed. He was such a little miracle. I couldn’t believe that he started out as two lines on a stick. It was absurd.

  “Nothing, sweetheart,” Fulton replied, but I’d already forgotten what he was replying to. Oh right, something about a plan.

  I filed the information away for later, but it hardly seemed important now. Fulton stood up from the seat he had been in next to Will and came to sit in the one beside me instead. He didn’t take the baby from me, but he brought his hand to Adam’s head and stroked his soft little tufts of hair.

  “Are you ready for this to be our life, Valerie?” he asked quietly, but loudly enough that I heard his question loud and clear.

  “Yes, I am. I want one, Fulton. Really badly.” It was incredible how my mind, heart, and soul had done a complete one-eighty on this matter. Holding my best friend’s baby, I realized there was nothing in the world that I wanted more than my own. “I’m ready. Are you sure?”

  Fulton nodded without hesitation. “This will be our priority now, having one of our own. I can’t wait, love. I can’t wait until this is our very own happily ever after.”

  The End

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