by Karigan Hale
Nick and Xavier gave a wave and closed the door.
"You scared the shit out of me when I saw you fly off your bike," Zander asked caressing Lizzie's face. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Well, I can't feel my legs," she said with a half-smile.
"Where? Why?" he asked concern etching his features.
"Because you're sitting on them," she said.
He laughed and stood up, pulling her with him and into his arms. After a moment, she stepped back.
"Done with me already?" he asked.
"Hardly. But I have a lot of packing to do," Lizzie said taking his hand and leading him into the house and towards the rest of his life.
EPILOGUE
6 months later
"Lizzie!" She heard her name through a fog of sleep and music. She must have fallen asleep while wearing her earbuds. She felt one being removed from her ear.
"What?" she asked, trying to swat the hand away.
"Lizard, wake up," she heard again. Then someone kissed her face.
"You better be careful," she said with her eyes still closed. "My boyfriend is really jealous, and he'll be home any minute."
"Ha, ha, very funny," Zander said and swatted her ass.
"Hey!"
"Get up. We're celebrating."
She opened her eyes and blinked him into focus. "Celebrating what?"
"Come on," he said kissing her on the forehead. "Meet me by the table."
"This better be worth waking me up from a much needed nap," she grumbled. She slipped her feet into some slippers and followed him into the combination dining-kitchen-living area of their condo in Atlanta. On the table were a vase of roses, candles, and two plates full of steak, potatoes, and garlic green beans. Peabody perched on her chair sniffing the air and thinking about putting his paws on the table.
"Okay," she said eyeing the plates, "Did I forget an anniversary or a birthday or something?"
"Nothing like that. I have some good news," he explained. "Sit down before Peabody licks your steak."
She shooed the cat off of her seat. "Well? What is it? The suspense is killing me!"
"You are looking at the newest partner in my office!" he said beaming. She squealed and threw her hands around his neck.
"I knew it! I knew they would promote you! I'm so proud of you!" she shouted in his ear. He laughed and swung her around. One of her slippers went flying, but she didn't care.
"There is a small catch," he said putting her feet back down on the floor.
"What do you mean?" she asked warily.
"Well, they have enough senior partners here in Atlanta," he said slowly. She felt her heartbeat pick up. She didn't want to get her hopes up just yet. "So, they want me to open the new franchise in DC."
She felt her eyes fill up with tears. "We'd be going home?" she asked quietly.
"Yes, sweetheart. We're going home," he said leaning down to kiss her.
She leaned back before he could make contact. "Wait. You don't want to live in DC. Your life is here. Are you going to be miserable there? You’re going to end up resenting me."
"Whoa Polly Pissypants," he said rubbing her arms. "I want to go back. Being a founding partner at a new franchise is an amazing opportunity. And if it makes the love of my life happy at the same time, then bonus points for me."
"You're sure?" she asked again.
"One hundred percent. I was ready to give up Atlanta that day I ran you over with my car. You are my home, Lizzie. Nothing's changed," he said.
She clasped her hands together. "Wait until I tell Brendan! Being a telecommuting partner hasn't been ideal. I can't wait to get back in the bar." She couldn't love him anymore than in this moment; she was sure of it. "Thank you, Zee."
"I did it for us, Lizzie. So we can settle and get on with our lives," he said.
"Good thing I know a great real estate guy to help us find a house," she teased.
"I think I know just the one," he said. He pulled his phone out and showed her a picture.
"Wait? This is my house. Well, my old house," she said. "I don't understand."
"I never sold it," he admitted. She gaped at him. "I know how much you love that place and what it represented. Of course, I hope you don't mind having a roommate this time. I'm even willing to still call it the Mistress Suite."
"Zander, I don't know what to say," she said. "When you said celebrate, I never imagined all of this. It's too much."
"It's not enough. And so, I have one more smallish favor to ask you."
"Whatever you want. You want to eat my steak? It's yours, just not the part Peabody is gnawing on," she said gesturing to where the cat had his mouth around one end of her steak.
"Actually, this involves Peabody," Zander said. He went over and picked the squirmy cat up off the chair. He meowed in protest at having been taken away from his dinner. "Check his collar." Lizzie looked at him quizzically. "Just do it before he scratches my face off!"
She pulled the collar around and saw something flash. Her eyes widened as she snapped her attention to Zander. He knelt down to put Peabody on the floor and removed the collar. Then stayed kneeling and held a ridiculously large ring up to her.
She covered her mouth with her hands. "Holy shit."
"I don't deserve you, Lizzie. You are the most amazing, beautiful, smart, driven, humble woman I've ever met. I think I've been in love with you since high school. You said once you would go wherever I was willing to take you. I'm asking you now to follow me into forever. Elizabeth Lizard Vandevere, will you marry me?"
"Me? Zander Drake wants to marry me?" she asked. Then pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. He just stared at her expectantly waiting for an answer.
She smirked at him. "Elizabeth Drake. Lizzie Drake. Ms. Lizzie Drake. Yeah, I guess I like the sound of that."
"You guess?" he said feigning offense. His tiger eyes shown bright in the waning sunlight full of love and laughter.
"I'm positive. I've been practicing since high school," she pulled him to his feet. "Yes, Zander. I'll marry you. But you still aren't getting my motorcycle."
He put the ring on her finger and gathered her into his embrace. "We'll negotiate later," he said and sealed their future with a panty-dropping kiss.
The End
Keep Reading for a SNEAK PEEK at Book 4 in the How to Date Series: How to Date a Rockstar starring Xavier Drake as the protagonist. Will he be able to get over his crush on Lizzie while navigating a budding music career?
(chapter 1 after the author’s note)
AUTHOR’S NOTE
TL;DR - I'd love it if you could leave a review on Amazon. Good, bad, or great I genuinely care about what readers think. I'd love to say I write for myself, but really, I want to reach readers like so many authors have reached me. I read every single one of the reviews and take any feedback with me when writing and editing the next book.
Thank you so much for reading one of my books! The How To Date series is the first series of books I've written and published, so it has a very special place in my heart. Although the idea of an office romance (for Nora and Andrew's story in How to Date Your Boss), had been marinating for a while—and by a while, I mean like years—the summer of 2019 was when the characters finally screamed loud enough and long enough for me to tell their story. Summer was the perfect time since I am a high school English teacher by day—but not by summer day. *natch*
My kids (two daughters who also love to read and write) are finally old enough to entertain themselves—thank you, Jesus—so I had some extra hours to spend in the world of Green Light Publishing. I hope you enjoyed being immersed in it as much as I did! Maybe it was the hot summer sun or maybe it was the hot beach lifeguards in my eyeline while I wrote on vacation, but Nora and Andrew's heat seemed to write itself that summer. Phew! And of course, I had to read a lot of steamy romances to get inspiration as well. Needless to say, I took a lot of cold showers and gulped down quite a few frosty beverages to quiet my own naughty bits.
Six was a natural heroine for the second book. She almost took over the first one with her spunky personality and reliance on "mumbo-jumbo" as Mindy would say. Since my husband and I have a second chance love story, I knew I wanted to include that trope in this book as well. We dated in high school—after having met in marching band—but then lost touch after we graduated. Teasingly, he never lets me forget that I broke up with him when I was in 10th grade—an egregious error that is apparently not remedied by the fact that I did marry him and have had his children. Luckily, a decade after high school, we reconnected and have been inseparable for the 15 years since. I'm glad Six and Brendan were able to put aside their pasts and give love a second chance as well. I see many happy years in their future, too!
Although, like many of you, I read voraciously and in all genres, my favorite genre is actually romantic suspense. Give me some crime, some murder, some adventure, an alpha male, an equally strong female, and a death threat and I'm all in. Since I'm also a true crime junkie/murderino, I have a lot of plots and characters swimming around in my brain. After the How to Date series, I hope to pull some of those stories to the forefront. But in the meantime, I am loving getting to know the fictional residents of Kensington, Maryland.
As a new author, and a teacher trying to overcome the "those who can't do, teach" cliché, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this first series. What did you love? What was your favorite part? What left you wanting more? Whose story do you want to read next? What other nicknames do you have for your pink parts?
One way to connect is through the Amazon reviews. Good, bad, or great I genuinely care about what readers think. I'd love to say I write for myself, but really, I want to reach readers like so many authors have reached me. I read every single one of the reviews and take any feedback with me when writing and editing the next book. Plus, they let Amazon know that you have read my stuff and they'll put it in even more reader's suggested book lists. And that means that I can supplement my paltry public school teacher's salary and keep writing.
Thanks again for reading! I look forward to hearing from you. And Xavier can't wait for you to read his story next. Flip the page for a sneak peek into his story.
How to Date a Rockstar
CHAPTER ONE
Perfect. A blinding storm was just what Xavier Drake needed to cement this day as the Worst Day Ever. Cursing his choice to trade-in his reliable yet clunky four-wheel drive truck, he slowed his new sports car to a crawl as the rain pelted his windshield. Even on the highest setting his windshield wipers were no match for the sheets of sideways rain obscuring any visibility. And he might as well just turn his damn headlights off for as much good as they were doing.
If this winding, backwoods road had a shoulder—which it did not—he would have pulled over in a heartbeat to wait out the storm. Instead he now understood the phrase "Jesus take the wheel" as he white-knuckled it slowly around each unfamiliar curve.
"Take some time off," he said mimicking his producer's annoying nasal voice. "It'll help the creative juices flow. Give you back your flavor." He cursed as a bolt of lightning lit up the sky and blinded him for a brief second. "Great advice, Eric. But I won't have any juicy flavors if I'm roadkill."
What the hell did that mean anyway? He hated when people spoke abstractly. It wasn't constructive. Telling him to show his colors, add more spice, channel his muse—bull shit. As a former IT specialist, he wanted numbers and data and something constructive. Not flowery gibberish that didn't help him get out of his current funk.
The deadline for his new album was two short weeks away. And all he had was one mediocre song and a handful of crap.
"You've got a lot of potential here," Eric told him earlier today after an especially painful recording session. "But there's something missing."
"Every change I've made you've rejected," Xavier reminded him. He cased his guitar and threw himself on the sofa in the control room. "I'm running out of ideas."
"Zay, you can't punch melody into shape. You've got to let it marinate and flow from your soul. Let the music shape you," Eric said as though he was giving actual clear advice. Xavier blinked at him.
"This isn't a cooking show. This is my career," he mumbled after Eric just looked at him expectantly.
"Fine. You want real talk?" Eric asked leaning forward in his chair.
"Yes. Finally. That's what I've been asking for," Xavier said.
"If you don't come up with something spectacular in the next two weeks, something to mimic the success of your first record, the label is going to drop you faster than a whore drops trou. Is that real enough for you?"
Hence the Worst Day Ever. Putting him on a two-week deadline to somehow mine gold out of the pile of musical shit he had to work with surely wasn't helping his creativity marinate. It was causing anxiety and blocking his ideas. He needed a goddamn miracle.
Since staring at the same four walls of his in-house studio or the same four walls of the recording studio didn't seem to be creating that miracle, Xavier took Eric's advice and rented a cabin in Western Maryland to get away for a while and clear his head. Isolation. Fresh mountain air. Nature. And best of all—no nagging producers.
Maryland weather—notorious for changing when a mouse farted—lived up to its reputation by ruining a brilliantly bright day with a torrential and somewhat unexpected thunderstorm just as dusk fell. And he was currently driving through the center of the storm.
He probably had a little black rain cloud hovering right over his car and following him all the way to his destination. So much for fresh air. If this storm didn't let up, he'd be stuck in the cabin staring at those same four walls and still not making progress on his charts.
He leaned forward in his seat, straining the seatbelt, trying to see more than two feet in front of his face. Was it raining harder? The thunder was a constant rumble in his ears. Could he use that as a lyric?
God, the first album had been so easy it lulled him into a false sense of confidence. He'd had a ton of material to work with since he'd been shoving music in a dresser drawer since high school. He'd also had Lizzie Vandevere as inspiration. Nothing like unrequited love and a broken heart to inspire song. After pouring his feelings into the music, he realized he was more in love with the idea of her instead of the real her. Good thing, too, because she ended up marrying his brother, Zander.
In fact, he had Lizzie to thank for his music career in the first place. Not only did she inspire some of his best songs, but she was the one who posted a video of him singing on the internet. He'd read about people becoming YouTube stars, but he never in a million years thought it would happen to him. Until it happened to him.
His first album, titled Between Reality and Dreams, was an overnight sensation. Then came the whirlwind of talk shows and promotional shoots and award shows and article interviews and pop-up performances and celebrity appearances and planning his concert tour. All the while, the record label expected him to keep writing new songs. In every fucking interview he was asked, "What are you working on now?" or "Can we get a sneak peek into your next album?" or "When's the next album come out?"
This was why Zander and Lizzie got so annoyed when, immediately after their wedding, everyone asked when they were going to have kids. Like, can a man have a moment to enjoy his current success before being pressured into more?
But like Eric said, he needed to ride the wave of his momentum. Get another album out while he was still hot. Unfortunately, what no one seemed to understand was he'd had decades to perfect his first album. And very little pressure. Now, he was expected to replicate that genius in less than a year while being pulled in 800 other directions. And without a muse like Lizzie to create poetry in his heart.
The only constants in his life this past year were insomnia and Eric. And no one wanted to hear songs about his balding, fake-tanned, 40-something producer. This excursion into the mountains would at least jolt him out of his daily routine if nothing else.
Hell, maybe he coul
d pretend a deer was a female rebuffing his advances. He was willing to try just about anything at this point.
Another bolt of lightning lit up the sky as the thunder cracked simultaneously. "Shit!" Zander shouted, automatically slamming on the brakes and sending the car into a slide. The next bolt of lightning illuminated the road ahead and a huge tree laying across the roadway. He tried to control his car as he hydroplaned back and forth across both lanes.
Well, dying in a car accident was one way he could get out of his deadline, Xavier thought.
Right before he crashed into the tree.
To be continued in How to Date a Rockstar coming soon!
Read chapter 2 NOW on the blog.
About the Author
Karigan Hale
Karigan Hale is a wife, mother, reader, writer, photographer, fountain soda addict, and true crime aficionado. She married her high school sweetheart and has been a hopeful romantic ever since. She lives with her husband, two daughters, and a menagerie of animals on a small farm in rural Maryland. When she isn't writing, you can find her binging true crime shows or stalking her kiddos with her camera.
She has a dual B.A. in English—Secondary Education and Psychology. Karigan's Master’s Degree in Liberal Arts included classes in ceramics, grammar/linguistics, the madness in genius, and juggling among other things. She still practices juggling with oranges in her kitchen much to the delight of her children and horror of her husband.
Check out Karigan's official website for Giveaways, blog entries, and more. Follow her on the socials for updates. Or join her mailing list to help make decisions about future novels! She loves connecting with her readers.
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