My Forever Plus-One

by Shannyn Schroeder

  He huffed. “So I’m filler now, huh?”

  “Never.” She wrapped an arm around his torso and leaned on him. She inhaled his scent, which finally grounded her. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized how off-kilter her life had been.

  After they cuddled for a while, he kissed her head. “I really do need to go.”

  She got up and followed him to the door. On the way, she snagged the invitation he put on the counter. She opened the envelope and looked at it. The charity event Marilyn had organized for the youth center was Friday night.

  “I have to wait two more days to be with you?”

  After putting his jacket on, he turned and backed her into the wall again. “We’re going to get this right this time.” He pressed his entire body against hers.

  His strength and heat enveloped her. She grabbed a fistful of his T-shirt as he lowered his mouth and kissed her. It was slow, but needy. Her body buzzed and hummed with the desire crackling between them. When he pulled away, they were both breathless.

  “I’m always thinking about you. Always,” he murmured.

  “I want to do more than think about you.”

  “Soon.” Then he turned and left.

  …

  Owen still hadn’t slept well after leaving Evelyn last night, but if he’d stayed, they would’ve had sex. Sex wasn’t a problem for them. He needed to show her that he trusted her. He just wasn’t sure how that was supposed to look. He’d finally realized that although she could have her pick of men, she’d chosen him. That’s why they were each other’s plus-one. No one was better.

  He stretched out on his bunk to rest at the firehouse. His phone buzzed. A text from Evelyn.

  Can we talk?

  He hit send to call her. “What’s up? You really couldn’t wait until tomorrow to hear the sound of my voice?”

  “The sound of your voice does some really amazing things for me, but this is a business call.”

  “When it comes to you, I only think of pleasure, not business.”

  She laughed. He hadn’t realized how much he missed that sound. Pushing up to sit, he asked, “What business?”

  “Marilyn and I were talking about the benefit tomorrow night. Chi-talk Live has generated a lot of buzz. We were thinking it might be a good idea to bring cameras. Marcus, my boss, likes the idea. He thinks it’ll be a boon for the show.”

  He waited, thinking there must be more.

  “Owen?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I’m not in charge of the center. And Marilyn has organized this entire thing with Sandra.”

  “But the center is important to you, and I don’t want to encroach or exploit what you have going on. Not for my ratings.”

  How did they get here? “Babe, I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt the center or me. If you want to film the benefit, bring an army of cameras, as long as Sandra is okay with it.”

  “That means I’d be working on our date. I don’t want you to feel like I’m ignoring you.”

  “Will you come home with me?”

  “I would’ve done that last night.”

  “Then bring your cameras, and I’ll watch you in action.”

  “There’s one more thing.” The way she spoke slowly, drawing out the words, didn’t sound good.

  “What?”

  “We’ve had a lot of viewers ask about the hot firefighter. We want you on camera again.”

  He sighed. Being on TV wasn’t something he’d ever wanted. “I’d do almost anything for the center. Just don’t ask me tough questions.”

  She laughed again. “I’m pretty sure you can handle yourself.”

  They disconnected so she could get back to work. Doing a segment from the benefit was going to add extra work for her, but she seemed happy to take it on.

  Owen slid back down on the bed. Thinking about the success of her show and the benefit, he suddenly had an idea of how to show Evelyn he trusted her.

  …

  For the next day and a half, Evelyn was running like crazy, but it was exhilarating. So much went into cameras going on-site. The equipment, the crew, release forms…she just hoped it would be worth it. After talking to Nina about Owen showing up at her place, Nina demanded she get a ticket to the benefit. She wanted to be there to witness the reunion or to rescue her if Owen messed up again.

  Evelyn tried to reassure her that wasn’t a possibility. He wasn’t perfect, but he was getting his act together. She had faith in him. Nina arrived as Evelyn stood in front of her closet. She had nothing to wear to the benefit. She’d spent the last thirty hours or so planning the segment and she’d forgotten about planning for her date.

  She opened the door for Nina. “I’m screwed. I have nothing to wear. It’s going to be the worst first date in history.”

  Nina laughed. “Not possible. I have the record for at least the top ten worst. There’s no way that a new first date with a man you love, who also loves you, can be the worst. You can wear nasty sweatpants and he’d still want to do you.”

  Evelyn bit her lip. “Your classiness never fails to amaze me. Help me figure out what to wear. We have to leave soon.”

  Touching Evelyn on the shoulder, she said, “Move and let me do my magic.”

  Evelyn sat on the edge of her bed and watched as Nina slid hangers around for a minute before pulling some options out.

  As she stepped into the first dress Nina picked, she tried to remember if she’d ever worn it with Owen. She wanted tonight to be special. Then her phone rang. Donald?

  Waving at Nina as she tried to zip up the back of the dress, she answered, “Hello.”

  “I’m back in town lining up some prospects.”

  Of course he was. So typical for a man like him to be fine after one short news cycle. No one remembered the guy who did shoddy journalism. “Why are you calling me?”

  “Because I received the strangest phone call yesterday. From Owen.”

  “Owen?”

  Nina’s eyes popped wide. She mouthed, “What?”

  Evelyn turned away.

  “He invited me to a benefit for the youth center. The segment that you ran on the first episode, even though I was sure it was a bad move.”

  “I’m aware of the segment.”

  “He said that since I was an integral part of you getting Chi-talk up and running and since you’ll be filming the benefit, I might want to be there.”

  Well, damn.

  “What do you think?”

  “I think you should keep lining up your prospects. Tonight isn’t a place for you. Thank you for calling and asking, though.”

  “Anything for you, Ev—Evelyn. I want you to be happy.”

  “I am.” She clicked off and turned to where Nina was bouncing on the bed.

  “Well? Why is Donald calling you?”

  “He was considering coming tonight.” When Nina’s face filled with concern, she added, “I told him not to.”

  “If I remember correctly, listening isn’t his strong suit.”

  “It’s okay. Let’s go.”

  At the hotel where the benefit was being held, the crew was already setting up. Nina drove so that Evelyn could go home with Owen. As she talked to the crew, she kept an eye out for him. Marilyn was doing her thing and greeting guests and talking to hotel staff. The woman truly was amazing. As soon as Evelyn introduced Nina, Marilyn commandeered her friend. At least Nina wasn’t watching her pathetically look for Owen.

  Suddenly, a warm hand was on her back.

  “Hello, gorgeous.”

  She automatically turned into his arms and accepted a kiss on the cheek. With a smile, she said, “We need to talk.”

  Taking his hand, she pulled him away from the room with the cameras. “Donald called me today.”

  “Yeah,” he said cautiously.

  “You invited him tonight?”

  He nodded.

  “Why the hell would you do that?”

  He rubbed his th
umb over her knuckles. “I’m not going to lie. I’m never going to like the man. But he is part of your life. He’s part of the reason you have the job you have, which you love. How can I hate him if he was able to help you get what you want? Plus, I wanted you to see that I can be in the same room with him, while you look utterly stunning, and not hit him.”

  She laughed. “I don’t even know where to start with that. Thank you for the compliment.” She looked him up and down in his tux. “You’re pretty sexy yourself.”

  Running a hand over his lapel, she considered how to address the rest. “Thank you for accepting my relationship with Donald. But he won’t be coming tonight.”

  “Really? I thought for sure, he’d—” He stopped, probably realizing that whatever he planned to say next wouldn’t sound too favorable.

  “I told him not to come. Tonight is about us and the youth center you love. I would never want an extra person on a first date.”

  He kissed her softly. “You won’t ever have to worry about that again, since this will be your last first date. Ever.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I like the sound of that.”

  …

  Owen watched Evelyn buzz around all night. He’d talked to Marilyn in front of the cameras for a new segment, and then he’d spent time talking to other guests, trying to convince them to give more money than whatever outrageous amount Marilyn had made them pay for the privilege of being there.

  He finally found Nina near the bar.

  “It’s about time,” she said. “Are you ready?”

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

  “A grand gesture is always a good idea.”

  “Just make sure no cameras are on us. If she says no, I don’t want that humiliation to be immortalized.”

  She smacked his arm. “Jeez. It’s not like you’re getting down on one knee and proposing.” She paused. “Are you?”

  “If I was going to do that, it wouldn’t be here.”

  Nina nodded. “I’ll go get her. Marilyn knows I’m going to call Evelyn out of here. In fact, she gave me the ammunition to pull her away.” She gave him an evil little smile and walked away.

  He patted the small box in his pocket. He’d considered popping the question, but it was too early, as silly as that seemed. They’d known each other for years. But this was a new start.

  He briefly wondered what emergency Nina claimed, but he didn’t stop to hear or watch. He moved to the small office Marilyn had set up for them to use. He paced the room, a little nervous. Not because he was unsure. He’d never been more sure of anything.

  The door swung open, and Nina shoved Evelyn in.

  “What?” she yelped, and then the door slammed behind her. She turned and saw him.

  The look of shock gave way to love.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “I needed to see you. Ask you something.”

  “It couldn’t wait?” She pointed at the door. “I have a crew out there.”

  “Marilyn has it handled. This couldn’t wait.” He stepped closer and pulled the small flat box from his pocket. “Nina said I needed a grand gesture to win you back. I personally thought biting back my attitude and calling Donald was a pretty big gesture, but she said I needed more. I needed to offer something that was the same size as the fuckup.”

  He took her hand. “The thing is, my fuckup was pretty big. So I’m just laying it out there.” He put the box in her palm.

  Eyeing him warily, she lifted the lid. She smiled at the picture of him and Probie.

  “I love you, Evelyn. Probie and I want you back. All the time. Forever.” He took the picture out so she could see the house key that she’d returned. “I don’t want you to just have access to my house. I want it to be your house, too.”

  Her breath hitched.

  “Move in with us.”

  She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. But she was still smiling. “Yes.”

  “You can take some time.”

  “Shut up and kiss me. I said yes.” She launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his.

  Kissing her was like coming home. He held her tight to him. When they paused to breathe, he asked, “How long till we can slip out of here?”

  She gave him the smile that he knew was just for him. “Soon. But we don’t have to hurry. We have forever, right?”

  The only words that sounded better than “forever” on her lips came next. “I love you.”

  He had no doubts about their love or their future. He couldn’t wait.

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  About the Author

  Shannyn Schroeder is the author of the O’Leary series and the For Your Love series, contemporary romances centered around large Irish-American families in Chicago, and the Hot & Nerdy series about nerdy friends finding love. When she’s not wrangling her three kids or writing, she watches a ton of TV and loves to bake cookies.

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