Inevitable Inheritance

by Kade Charest

  “I know I know,” Jess said. “I can’t help with the formality, I’m sorry.”

  “I am glad we decided on an updo, though. Hiding this dress even with hair as gorgeous as yours would have been a sin,” Kristen, the hair magician, remarked.

  The dress was just … wow. There was really no other word in the English language that could describe it. Marty had designed the sweetheart neckline dress that fell in a fitted mermaid style to Taylor’s feet. The top was heavy with silver sequins that tapered off down Taylor’s body, revealing a pink under-color that started at her hips and spread into a purple at her feet, the colors of pancreatic and breast cancer.

  Taylor completely agreed with Kristen, the updo was perfect to show off her masterpiece of a dress, and she nodded her agreement as she turned her head this way and that to check out the equally flawless hair design. Her hair had been curled and then pulled to the side at the base of her neck, where it was intricately knotted. Metal detectors would have a field day with her if they came her way; the bobby pins Kristen had hidden in there had to be in the hundreds.

  “You girls are fabulous,” Taylor said, spinning, still taking it in. She was nervous, crazy nervous. This was her first red-carpet event since she was a child, and that one had not gone so well. Taylor hugged the two women, feeling a kinship with them. This was what she had missed with no sleepovers as a kid; her hair probably wouldn’t have come out as fabulous, but it would have been just as fun.

  “You are going to make us cry, and we are going to mess you up!” Kristen exclaimed, and they all laughed.

  A knock at the door had them pulling apart.

  “I bet that’s your hubs,” Jess said, and that dreamy look that women got when they thought about Derrick glazed her eyes. “You are a lucky lady!”

  “Yeah, well, he snores,” Taylor said, rolling her eyes, and both women laughed as they gathered up their supplies.

  Taylor made her way to let Derrick in. When she opened the door, her mouth went dry. Taylor had seen many men in tuxedos, and she had always felt like the guys got a bum deal with basically only one option to choose from.

  But tonight, in his tux, Derrick looked incredible. It fit him perfectly—as it should, since it was custom-made for him. Taylor drank in the sight of him; she couldn’t get enough. She came out of her tuxedo trance when Derrick spoke to her.

  “You look amazing, Taylor,” he said, his eyes sweeping up and down to take in every inch of her. And then he smiled at her—his gorgeous dimple-popping, panty-dropping smile. And Taylor could not help but smile back brightly.

  This was her husband.

  And she was totally at ease with that fact. No more butterflies or anxiety about what would happen between them or what had happened between them.

  For all the kicking and screaming and fighting she had done to get to this point, she was now here, despite her attempts to avoid it all. And she was happy and surprised to find that she wasn’t really that upset with the way things had turned out.

  She was making things happen now, making the changes and bringing Preston Corp. back to the place it needed to be. And she was married, married to a man who had proven himself to be the person she needed. There were no more thoughts of What if? or Oh God, what next? coming their way. They had moved mountains. And now here they were, their first red-carpet event, and Taylor had not one shred of opposition to being with Derrick. In fact, she was proud and happy to be with him.

  Happy. How crazy was that? She had insisted this was not what she wanted, but here she was. No nerves, butterflies, or doubts. She felt completely confident that she was where she was supposed to be.

  “What are you thinking, gorgeous?” Derrick asked, walking over to her.

  Taylor bit her lip and looked at her husband. “I can’t tell you or we won’t be able to leave.”

  Derrick wagged his eyebrows at her. “That sounds like a good offer, maybe we should—”

  “We are leaving in ten minutes!” Marty announced, running into the room and scaring Taylor and Derrick. They both jumped.

  “Geez, Marty!” Derrick chastised, but he laughed.

  Marty ignored her brother and pulled the couple apart. “Let me see, I need to—” Marty gaped at the two of them. Self-consciously, Taylor looked down, fearful she had done something to the dress. She saw nothing, and when she looked up, she saw Marty’s chin trembling.

  “Marty? What is it?” she asked, moving forward.

  “I’m sorry. You guys just look so perfect. It is exactly how I pictured it,” Marty replied, leaning her head back and blinking quickly, attempting to hold back anything that might ruin her makeup.

  “You look fantastic yourself, Miss Fletcher,” Taylor said, taking in Marty’s dress. The black gown was another Marty original, with a square neckline that ended at the base of her neck. The skirt of the dress had exaggerated pleats, and within each pleat was an alternate shimmer of pink and purple, reinforcing the theme for the night.

  Marty bit her bottom lip, nodding quickly in response. Then she turned and left. She had done that lately, choked up and run. At first they had tried to follow her, talk to her, but that seemed to make her regress more. Now they just let her go, gave her space.

  “Should we go?” Derrick asked in Marty’s wake, offering his arm to Taylor.

  Taylor slid her arm into Derrick’s, and together they exited the room. Taylor looked up at Derrick, her husband. God, it was still so weird to think of him that way. As they made their way down the corridor, she felt something, an overwhelming something. She was so very happy with her life. But that word didn’t seem to convey the alive feeling she had deep inside her. Elated? Ecstatic? No, it was something so much more. The life she hadn’t wanted, the she had run and hid from, she was now in love with. She felt alive to be a part of it and excited to live it.

  Things had really come together.

  “What are you smiling about?” Derrick asked as they closed in on the stairs.

  Taylor looked up to Derrick—her friend, her lover, her husband—and smiled. “I was just thinking about how happy I am,” she said, sounding a little surprised.

  Derrick smiled back to her. “I’m glad,” he said, relief crossing his face. “I love you, Taylor.”

  Taylor opened her mouth but was distracted by applause before she could say anything. Staff from the Fletcher mansion were at the bottom of the stairs awaiting their descent. It was like something out of a movie; it seemed unreal. As they made their way down, Taylor’s mind wandered to the fact that she had been about to say “I love you” to Derrick. It was ready to come freely and without hesitation from her mouth.

  She was in love with Derrick Fletcher.

  Her life had finally come together. She had lost a lot in her young life, but now she was making up for it. She was making a new ending to her story, and she was doing it with Derrick.

  And it wasn’t because she had to or because the company needed it; it was because she was in love with Derrick, and it felt totally right. Her heart raced. As corny as it sounded, she was pretty sure it skipped a beat with the knowledge that what she had with him was real, no more faking.

  Derrick smiled at Taylor. “You’re glowing,” he said as they exited the staircase.

  Taylor beamed back at him. She wanted to tell him that she loved him, that she probably always had, but she was going to wait. It was one of those things that should come in the right moment, something totally special. She wanted to share it when they were alone and not in a crowd of people.

  Marty was already downstairs. “Let’s go, lovebirds,” she said, leading them out to a waiting car.

  Taylor smiled wider at the knowledge that she was indeed a lovebird.

  The red carpet to the ball was best described as controlled chaos.

  Marty had hired a PR firm to assist them to get through it, and Taylor had dubbed them “wranglers” in her head. When the limo had pulled up and Derrick had gotten out, the noise was ridiculous. The shouts and catcall
s made Taylor freeze in fear, her eyes going wide.

  Marty laughed at the calls, but when she turned to Taylor to laugh with her, the grin slid from her face. “What’s wrong, Taylor?” she asked, sliding to her.

  Taylor tried to bring a shaky smile to her face, but it fell almost instantly. “Just nervous. I haven’t been on a red carpet in a long time. I don’t even remember the time I was on it.”

  Marty rolled her eyes, and her grin returned. “That’s right, you were like a Faberge egg,” she laughed and leaned in, kissing Taylor’s cheek. “I will go out, and you next,” she instructed, sliding out of the car to the waiting hand of the driver.

  Once Marty was out, Taylor took the deep breath she needed to try and settle herself.

  You can do this, she told herself. You have taken over a company. You have gotten married and changed the outlook for a corporate conglomerate. You can walk a carpet.

  “Tay?” Derrick called into the limo.

  Taylor stiffly turned her head to him. “Derrick, I don’t want to do this.”

  His smile was earth shattering. “Too bad,” he said and pulled her without notice across the seat and up into his arms.

  And the sound was unreal. It was deafening. Taylor scowled at Derrick as the noise surrounded her, but he merely smiled and kissed her.

  It made the crowd go mad.

  “Shall we?” he shouted in her ear, and Taylor nodded. Derrick offered Taylor his right arm and then Marty his left, and then the “wranglers” took over.

  Marty’s objective had been to make it a media frenzy to the liking of the Oscars, and it appeared she had succeeded. She wanted to raise awareness, get the rich to give money, and fund research. By the way the crowds and media crews took up real estate in front of the Omni Theater, she was going to make a lot of good things happen.

  “All right, guys, wave and smile,” the wranglers told them. As Taylor was turned by Derrick, and she took in the insane crowd, she was floored. People were calling all of their names, there were signs of support and condolences and love. It was incredible.

  Taylor smiled, and it was genuine, and her eyes filled with tears from the kindness of all the people there. Quickly from there they were paraded through for interviews. They had been prepped for the interviews. Initially they had wanted Derrick and Marty to be together for that part and Taylor to stand by the sidelines, but Marty adamantly refused. They were family, she insisted, and they would do it all together. And Taylor had been secretly pleased that Marty included her.

  Derrick turned to Taylor and smiled as the crowds kept cheering to them. This really isn’t so bad, Taylor thought to herself. She wasn’t being fake or hiding anything like she had expected to in this life; instead, she was herself. She was Taylor Preston-Fletcher. She was running a billion-dollar legacy and keeping people employed. She was making greater things happen for the future of Preston Corp. and hopefully for the world. She was married to a fantastic man she loved more than she thought she ever could. And she wasn’t faking any of that.

  “You are so beautiful,” Derrick said to Taylor and quickly dipped her back and planted a kiss on her. Taylor took the kiss and was suddenly tunneled into just her and Derrick.

  Derrick brought them both up to standing, and Taylor kept her gaze locked into his. He was her everything, she realized. She may have thought that she had nothing when she left, but in reality she had left behind her only chance at having it all. And now she had it, and she was in total bliss.

  This was their moment.

  Taylor moved herself closer to Derrick’s ear, pulling on his shoulders. “Hey, you know what?” she said in his ear, “I—”

  POP!

  Chaos erupted as something loud zipped past Taylor’s head.

  “Shots, get down!” Henry shouted, throwing Marty to the ground and directing the other guards toward Derrick and Taylor. Derrick reacted immediately, pulling Taylor in front of him and covering her, and then they were both hitting the ground hard.

  People were running and screaming, but Taylor heard the “ooph” Derrick let out as they hit the ground and felt him go limp.

  “Derrick,” she called to him, but there was nothing. With a sudden strength, Taylor slid herself out from under Derrick’s weight and felt something slick on her back when she hit the air. Getting onto her hands and knees, Taylor turned and saw Derrick immobile. Quickly she pushed him over and saw his eyes closed and his white shirt being covered quickly with a maroon color.

  “Derrick!” Taylor shouted and saw his eyes flutter. Whipping her head around, Taylor saw Henry making his way to them, fighting through the current of chaos that swirled on the red carpet as people tried to get out of the area. “Henry! Henry, help me!” she shouted to him and then turned back to Derrick. Taylor laid herself on top of him, getting as close to his face as she could. “Derrick, stay with me. Please stay with me.”

  Derrick’s eyes fluttered. “Tay,” he choked out and then he huffed out a breath as he worked to get the air in and out.

  “Derrick,” Taylor pleaded. “Please, baby, please hold on,” she begged.

  Derrick’s breathing became irregular as she watched and panic choked Taylor. “Derrick,” she said, grabbing his face. “Derrick, look at me,” she told him sternly. There were more ragged breaths, and slowly Derrick’s eyes opened just a little. “Derrick, I love you. I love you so much,” she said. “I love you,” she choked out and felt tears run down her cheeks.”

  Derrick’s mouth quivered up, trying to smile. “I’m glad, Tay,” Derrick rasped, his eyes falling shut. “I lo—”

  “Derrick!”

  But there was nothing.

  TO BE CONTINUED

  Acknowledgments

  David: You are my everything and all of your support is what moves me forward. You’re the best! I love you!

  May: Thanks for being my first read through and for believing in my writing and my story.

  Michele: You are beyond awesome and your cover is better than I could have imagined. Thank you for helping to see my vision and making it come alive!

  Paige: Thank you for your patience and amazing work on the edits. The story is the same but so much better, if that makes any sense.

  About the Author

  Kade Charest is, first and foremost, a wife and mom of two amazing little boys. When she’s not chasing her boys and chickens (yes, chickens) around her home, she can be found strolling the aisles of Target or finding other creative ways to ignore the cobwebs and Lego masterpieces that are slowing taking over her home.

  Her favorite way to escape the mess and chaos is by writing erotic romance novels, which she sprinkles with a dash of mystery and healthy serving of great one-liners.

  She hopes that you find the same reprieve in her novels because, let’s be honest, life is too short and too much fun to waste dusting baseboards.

  Connect with Kade at AuthorKadeCharest.com, on Instagram @authorkadecharest or on Facebook Kade Charest.