Love Bank: Jobs From Hell #1
Page 25
My stomach felt heavy saying it out loud. While I was happy for my own baby to grow up with his, I knew the circumstances were far from ideal. Jayden was paying a steep price for a defective condom. Addi was pumping him for money left and right. He’d told me he was going to take her to court and try to get full custody. Not sure what a corporate CEO was going to do with a newborn on his hands, but he was making enough money to hire help.
When the conversation died down, I gave one last pat to Lucy’s belly as I held her in front of me. I took a huge breath, stepped away, and put my fingers in my mouth to whistle. My heart thundered in my throat and I briefly wondered if any words would come out when I needed them the most.
All heads swiveled in my direction, including Lucy’s, who looked at me like I’d lost my mind. We’d agreed to wait one more week, until she was firmly in her second trimester, to say anything to anyone. At a “mature” maternal age, she felt the need to take every precaution and I backed her up on that.
“If I could have your attention, please.”
The fire popped off to my side, the fireball behind me was dropping into the ocean, and the prettiest girl in Auburn Hill was looking at me like she wanted to simultaneously jump my bones and argue with me about coming out with our secret before she was ready. Little did she know I had my own secret up my sleeve. Or more accurately, in my back pocket.
“You’ve all welcomed me to Hell with open arms, inviting me to dance around your brimstone and hell fire on a regular basis, but the real gift was meeting one of your own agents of sin.” I turned my attention to Lucy, locking eyes with her and dropping to one knee.
Everyone murmured, my intentions obvious. Lucy’s eyes went comically wide, her hand covering her mouth.
“Lucy. We had a start as rocky as this ocean cliffside. It’s not every day that you meet the love of your life while jacking off in a cup. Nor do you fall in love over a blackmail attempt and sabotage of the seagull variety. But when two people are meant to be like you and me, they find a way to make it work. I love you, Lucille Eureka. I promise to only give my sperm sample to you for the rest of my life.”
Titus whispered loudly, “Dude, that’s gross.”
I nearly laughed out loud, even as my eyes got suspiciously wet to match Lucy’s. “I want to see every sunset with you by my side, make every decision together as a family, and grow old with you. You’re the center of my universe, and if you say yes to marrying me, I can promise you my very best with each breath I take.”
Lucy gave up the fight, tears streaming down her cheeks even as she smiled maniacally. She nodded vigorously but didn’t give me the words. I pulled the ring out of my back pocket, the one I’d gotten almost three months ago. The center diamond was over two carats, taking the bulk of my savings. I didn’t care about the money. I was all in with Lucy. I wanted her to have the flashiest ring that got her all the attention. It was my job to give her all the attention she felt she didn’t get her first thirty-six years of life.
“Marry me, Lucy,” I ordered, using my best stern voice. With the suppressed tears digging their nails into my throat, it came out less forceful than I intended, but it did the job.
She rolled her eyes and held out her hand so I could slip the ring on her finger. “Yes, I’ll marry you, but don’t think you can spend our whole marriage ordering me around.”
I stood and pulled her to me, a ridiculous grin pasted to my face. “Well, you didn’t say yes right away, so I had to prompt you. Next time, say yes a little faster, huh?”
“Let’s not argue about it…” Lucy whispered, her face tipped up, that smile that did me in just beaming away at me.
“Never, always,” I whispered back, taking her mouth in the sweetest of kisses.
The sun sank into the ocean right as we kissed, the wind picking up and sending sparks into the air. Our friends cheered and slapped me on the back. The girls all squealed and hugged Lucy, the air turning more festive as we celebrated our engagement and the arrival of summer.
Nightfall hit, the light from our bonfire reflected on everyone’s happy faces. Someone started up the stereo and “When It Comes To Loving You” by Jon Langston came on, singing the song in my heart.
“May I?” I held my hand out to Lucy and she took it, letting me twirl her into my arms, the sand kicking up and coating our feet.
We swayed there together, our little baby tucked between us, the cool night air ruffling Lucy’s hair and tickling my nose. She was soft and warm and so much more than anything I’d ever hoped for. I closed my eyes and focused on the joy. The thrill of loving Lucy, the happiness of good friends, a home we were building together.
I’d found it all in Hell.
Go figure.
Want more of Lucy & Bain?? Grab their bonus epilogue here! Do you hear wedding bells…?
Or grab the next book in the series, Uber Bossy, here.
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much for reading Love Bank! Without you, I wouldn’t have gotten all my angst about my small town life in high school out on paper. My therapist thanks you too.
If you loved Love Bank, please support the series by leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads so other readers can find it and enjoy it too. Reviews help other readers determine if a book is to their liking and they help indie authors sell more books so we can keep writing. If you hated it, please disregard this entire paragraph. : )
Special thanks to Rachel Connolly for the incredible Cover Design and dealing with my complete lack of graphics knowledge. Thanks to Lawrence Editing for cleaning this book up and fixing all my erroneous dash uses. I’m so sorry. Thank you also to Judy Zweifel for triple checking this manuscript and making it shine as usual.
A huge big smack on the lips for Jen, Jess, and Kelly for being my super smart betas and steering this ship in the right direction. I APPRECIATE YOU!!!
To my Rays of Sunshine: you give me life. <3
About the Author
Marika Ray is a national bestselling author, writing steamy RomCom and sweet romances to make your heart explode and bring a smile to your face. All her books come with a money-back guarantee that you’ll smile at least once with every book.
Marika spends her time behind a computer crafting stories, walking the beaches of southern California, and making healthy food for her kids and husband whether they like it or not. Prior to writing novels, Marika held various jobs in the finance industry, with private start-up companies, and then in health & fitness. Cats may have nine lives, but Marika believes everyone should have nine careers to keep things spicy.
If you'd like to know more about Marika or the other novels she’s currently writing, please find her on Facebook, or her private Reader Group. Or you can find her in-person, on the beach in Southern California, frolicking like a Baywatch babe.
If you want to take your stalking to the next level, here are other legal places you can find Marika:
Join her Newsletter -
http://bit.ly/MarikaRayNews
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/author/marikaray
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16856659.Marika_Ray
Bookbub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/marika-ray
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/authormarikaray
Also by Marika Ray
Steamy RomComs:
Love Bank - Jobs From Hell #1
Uber Bossy - Jobs From Hell #2
***
The Missing Ingredient - Reality of Love #1
Mom-Com - Reality of Love #2
Desperately Seeking Househusbands - Reality of Love #3
***
Happy New You - Standalone
Sweet Romances:
The Marriage Sham - Standalone
***
The Widower’s Girlfriend-Faking It #1
Home Run Fiancé - Faking It #2
Guarding the Princess - Faking It #3
***
New Nickel Bay Brother Series coming in 2020!
&n
bsp; Beach Squad Series/Steamy Beach Romance:
1) Sweet Dreams
2) Beach B!tch
3) Barefoot Chaos
* Novella - Handcuffed Hussy
4) Beach Bum Billion-Heiress
5) Brighter Than the Boss
* Novella - Christmas Eve Do-Over