Charming Like Us (Like Us Series: Billionaires & Bodyguards Book 7)

by Krista Ritchie

  “That wasn’t my best shot, Long Beach. I’m shooting again.” I hold his shoulders. “I want to be on camera.”

  “Os—”

  “Let me pitch it to you,” I say. “Our lives, our love. You’re the creator of a documentary mini-series starring you and me, Oscar and Jack—the hottest bodyguard and flirtiest filmmaker. How we came to be suddenly famous.”

  His hand is on his head, shocked. “You’d want to be on camera? Why?”

  There is only one phrase that makes sense.

  Only one that comes to mind.

  “Basta ikaw,” I use his words now and translate, “as long as it’s with you, because it’s you.”

  He pulls me closer, our arms over each other’s shoulders. “I’d have to pitch it to a network. We might have to film a pilot first…they might not want it.”

  “But you’d do it?”

  “Yeah.” His eyes glitter. “No question.” He adds with that charming smile, “It was a perfect pitch, Oscar. I’d buy the show.”

  “Yeah, the network thought so too. We’re straight to TV.”

  His breath catches, face drops. “What…? You pitched the show? How did you even get a meeting with the network?”

  “Charlie. Benefits of being friends with an American god. He has more sway than a bodyguard.”

  Jack processes, his smile overwhelmed and rising and rising. “What are you going to say when I turn the camera on you now?”

  “I’m your subject, Highland. And I can live the most joyous life knowing that.”

  We draw into a lively kiss. Hands on faces, chest pressed to chest. And the sun descends a little more. Glowing over our embrace, and we break to continue our trek across the rooftop.

  As we move closer to the edge, Jack playfully hangs his arms over my shoulders from behind. I reach back and clasp his neck. We kiss again, and he smacks my ass before he comes next to me.

  We’re laughing. Smiling, and then we reach the brick side.

  We look out at the sun again. At the Philly skyline. Our arms hooked around each other.

  I’ve watched the sun set and rise in different cities, different countries, different continents with Jack. And each time, I feel like we’ve been chasing the day, catching up to the night. But right now, the world feels like ours. Like one enormous celebration of love.

  Happiness. We hear the laughter of our families and friends, and our eyes return to each other. Rays brighten our joy as we lean in and kiss.

  Epilogue

  1 Week Later

  JACK HIGHLAND

  Oscar shakes out a bag of Nagaraya original cracker nuts, his current favorite Filipino snack. Last week it was sour cream & onion Piattos, a lighter-style chip.

  “You sure this won’t mess with the sound quality?” he asks as he strides over, dipping beneath one of the softboxes that I set up in my living room. “Because I can ditch the snacks, if I need to.”

  I laugh. “You’re serious?”

  “I might complain about it, but I’ll do it.” His eyes sink into mine, and I’m lost in the deep browns for a solid moment. We’re filming the first interview for Suddenly Famous today, our docuseries. Closed set. Only us. And I know this is a big deal. A first step to sharing our lives with the world. He gave me this.

  The one.

  I’m the creator of a show—a show about us, and my soul is already rooted in the film before the camera has rolled.

  He shakes his bowl. “So verdict?”

  “Keep your nuts.”

  He grins at the slight innuendo, and I dig a hand into the bowl. “This is about showing the real us. Plus, I have the best sound equipment that money can buy.”

  “Legitimately impressed that I married a billionaire.” He touches his chest.

  I slip him a smile.

  “But you might want to spend some of that trust fund on a bigger apartment, Highland. You still don’t fit in this one.”

  I laugh as I readjust one of the boom arms. “I’m surprised you never asked why I live in this apartment, since you know I have the trust fund.”

  He sinks down onto the couch, bowl on his lap. “I didn’t need to ask. I figured out why.”

  My brows shoot up. “Really?”

  “Really, Long Beach, you might surprise me a lot, but you are my husband. You’re not that big of a secret anymore.” His smooth confidence draws me in. Curly strands of hair touch his forehead, and he brushes them back. “You work so much. Most the time you’re either at the WAC offices or on a shoot. In your head, there probably wasn’t a big reason to upgrade from a shoebox when you’re just here to shower and pass out.”

  My smile hurts my face. It’s not just that Oscar knows me, but it’s the certainty behind it. Like there’s no doubt in his head that he could be wrong.

  “But I have been thinking about upgrading the apartment.” I slip behind one of the cameras and adjust the focus. I’ve got three different cameras positioned around the living room to give me varying shots.

  His eyes widen. “Finally worried that the ceiling fan is going to knock you out? Because I’ve been eyeing that thing since the first time I stepped foot in here.”

  I let out a soft laugh, still standing and working on the boom. “No, I just figured we’re married, dude.”

  Humor drains from his face replaced by that serious side that I’ve come to love. He sets aside the snack bowl and wraps an arm around the couch like his whole attention is mine.

  “Explain, Long Beach.”

  “We’re married.” I open my hands.

  “You said that already. I’m waiting for the description.”

  “Hold on,” I say and purposefully glance down at the camera’s screen to drag this out. He makes a noise while I take my sweet time focusing, adjusting, and making sure that his beautiful face is perfectly framed.

  “Arizona, if you don’t get your ass over here.”

  I break into a bigger grin. No lie, whenever he calls me Arizona, it feels like he’s packaging the state and giving me a gift.

  “I’m coming, just not too fast,” I tell him. Feeling his grin behind me as I lock in the settings, click record, and sink down on the couch next to him.

  Our knees knock together, turned into one another, and we both have an arm atop the couch.

  “We’re recording?” he asks.

  “Yeah.” I smile. “Something tells me we’ll have the best blooper reel.”

  “Oh, by far.” He chews on a cracker nut. “Best blooper reel, best show, best honeymoon.” At our post-engagement-elopement party, we spun the globe in the penthouse’s library and randomly landed on our honeymoon destination.

  At first it was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. We spun again and ended up on land. We came back from Auckland, New Zealand yesterday.

  And I should’ve said that on camera. I should be addressing the camera. Looking straight ahead for the interview. But this is just as strange for me. To be on the other side of the lens.

  I just start where we left off talking.

  “Both of us have jobs that make us travel, which means we’ve never really talked about moving in together,” I tell him the obvious. “Because what does that mean for guys like us? We’re basically living together already, right? When we’re in Philly, we sleep here. When we’re in New York, we sleep at your studio. When we’re fuck-knows-where, we sleep there.”

  Oscar can’t contain his smile.

  He definitely knows where this is going.

  I continue on, “So I figure, the only way for us to actually feel like we’re living together as husbands would be to sell my apartment and get a place together in Philly. Even if we’re never there, it’s still ours.” I search his eyes. “How does that sound?”

  He nods. Love swells between us. “Sounds like our future. I’m there.”

  I’m grateful for the camera as it captures the light in Oscar’s eyes in this second, this perfect frame of time.

  Thank you so much for reading Charming Like Us! We hop
e you enjoyed Oscar & Jack’s romance. If you did and have the time, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or whatever retailer you bought the book from. Reviews help soooo much!! Also, you can come gush in our Facebook reader group - the Fizzle Force!

  Ready for the next book in the Like Us Series? Sullivan Meadows’ romance is finally here! Watch her fall in love with Akara & Banks in Wild Like Us. Continue scrolling for a bonus scene in Banks Moretti’s POV!

  WILD LIKE US - BOOK 8

  MFM ROMANCE

  Akara & Sulli & Banks

  Don’t want to say goodbye to Oscar & Jack? Are you craving more from Maximoff, Farrow, Jane & Thatcher? If you’re the kind of reader that wants to revisit your favorite characters and keep updated on their whereabouts, our Patreon is the place for you! We have bonus scenes, podcasts, and behind-the-scene snippets from the entire Like Us series — featuring all your favorite characters (including side characters!). And there is new content releasing…Every. Single. Month! It’s all available on our Patreon!

  Signing up to our Patreon gets you access to all the past bonus scenes (over 200,000 words of material — the size of 2 books!), podcasts, and extras plus the new content for the month.

  Again, thank you for sticking with this series and making it all the way to Book 7! There’s so much more in store in this world, and…we have a BONUS SCENE to share with you to give you a sneak peek at Banks’ POV and what’s to come!

  All the love,

  xoxo Krista & Becca

  Banks Moretti - Key West House

  This bonus scene takes place between Chapters 26 and 27 in Headstrong Like Us during the night of Farrow & Maximoff’s Bachelor parties. For more bonus scenes from this night in Farrow, Maximoff, Jane, and Thatcher’s POVs visit our Patreon.

  BANKS MORETTI

  Age 29

  1 month before the beginning of Charming Like Us

  I’M NOT GONNA pretend that I make the best decisions all the time. I rarely have to make the hard calls like my brother, like Akara. And I have the luxury of just doing what I’m told and helping wherever I can. Not having to think about the big picture. The overall team, the men. I’m a cog in the wheel, and that’s good enough for me.

  I just live for those ordinary pleasures in life. That mouth-watering cut of ribeye, the one morning a migraine isn’t hacksawing at my temple, a beautiful woman in my arms.

  None of those have fallen on my unlucky ass today.

  But in comparison to Thatcher and Akara, I’ve escaped a lot of barbed wire tonight. So I feel like I’m riding steady when all of SFO, plus Maximoff, congregate in the basement game room. Everyone is gearing up for Farrow to pierce Oscar’s nose after a bachelor party dare at the nightclub. I hang around the basement’s bar with Akara and enjoy a cold beer with my best friend.

  “Hemp or silk rope,” Akara says, turned towards me with a Yards Ale in hand and his comms earpiece loosely splayed over his shoulder. “It’s hotter than a belt, and it shouldn’t leave marks if it’s knotted correctly. So if she ends up with a bruise, you’re doing it wrong.”

  My earpiece is also on my shoulder, volume on low. “Which knots?”

  He lists a few off, then says, “Don’t push inside her unless she’s wet—and I don’t mean light wetness that lasts five-minutes before dry. She should be trembling and soaked towards dripping.”

  I nod a couple times. “I’m not fucking any girl dry.” I take a swig. “I’d rather have her bite an inch off my dick than put her in pain.”

  Akara raises his beer. “Cheers to that.”

  We’ve been talking about headboard restraints after we brought up some past hookups who wanted to be tied. In the past, definitely pre-security days, Akara has had the fortune of fucking girls in a bedroom that he shares with no one. He can stash rope in a dresser drawer.

  I’ve mostly had roommates all my life, so I have to be creative about where I have sex, and I’m not carrying forty-feet of hemp rope in my ass pocket wherever I go.

  I tell him that, and he laughs. “Hey, I miss the days where I could sneak off into my parent’s pool house, man.” Akara swallows beer with a smile. “It was too easy.” Our gazes slightly coast to the middle of the game room where Oscar hops up on the billiards table.

  The brightest light is above that table, and Donnelly stands on the green fabric and holds the lamp’s brass chain, redirecting the beam of light onto Oscar’s face.

  Farrow sifts through a piercing kit that Donnelly brought to Key West while Thatcher and Maximoff talk quietly, and Quinn is rubbing his eyes on the couch, waking up from a power nap.

  I look back at Akara, just as he checks his phone. “Sulli text you back?”

  “No.” His eyes darken, and he pockets his cell. “Legal. Owen’s termination is done.”

  “I’ll cheers to that.” I finish off my beer. Most of us concluded that what I saw on the beach—Maximoff upset—must’ve been about the temp hitting on Farrow. Mystery solved. I’m a regular Scooby-Doo over here.

  Akara clinks my empty can with his and throws the rest of his drink back in one gulp. “Want to see the knot?” He means the one I’ve never used.

  “You know I do.” Next time I have the chance, I’d rather not use a belt again. The leather dug into her wrists, a one-night stand, and as soon as I saw a mark, I pulled the restraint off her in point-two seconds.

  Akara sets his empty can on the bar, unties a lace on his boot, and he begins to demonstrate the knot using the lace.

  I watch and ask, “How’s your mom doing?”

  Whenever I bring up Akara’s family, a shadow passes over his features, but that doesn’t stop me from asking.

  “The same.” He makes a loop in the lace. “Her last surgery was good.”

  I nod and sweep him. His muscles have tightened, and his eyes are too focused on the knot. Until he glances up at me and says, “I don’t know if Thatcher already told you, but I plan to call your dad, probably after the wedding.”

  I let this sink in and trash my beer can with a toss. “My brother didn’t tell me that yet. He probably didn’t want to hear me say, it’s never gonna work.”

  I’m not necessarily a wealth of good advice, but that doesn’t mean I won’t offer my four-cent worthy thoughts now and again. And sometimes I’d like to think I’m right more than I’m wrong.

  Akara makes another lace loop. “When I hear never, I hear find a way.”

  “That’s why you make the calls and I listen.”

  His eyes meet mine. “But you don’t want me to find a way?”

  I want to shake my head, but the truth stops the movement short. “I can’t see him quitting on the Navy. He’s training SEAL recruits. Why would he want to come back to Philly and spend time on temporary bodyguards?”

  “The pay.” Akara shows me the knot. “I’d pay him better than what he’s getting in Coronado.”

  Thatcher first floated the idea around about hiring our dad to the firm. Kitsuwon Securities needs help training temps and future 24/7 bodyguards, and our dad has experience training soldiers.

  “I wouldn’t waste my money on him,” I say to my friend. “But that’s just me.” Obviously, Thatcher thinks differently. Wouldn’t be the first time we disagree.

  Akara pushes his black hair with his hand and the pieces still fall back to his forehead. He’s about to talk when the stairs suddenly creak. Our heads turn as Sulli walks into the basement. No one else behind her.

  Everyone is looking over at Sullivan Minnie Meadows.

  The corner of my mouth inches up, just slightly. Seeing Sulli stick up for herself tonight and draw boundaries was hot. Even if her anger was partially directed at my friend.

  She’s in boxer shorts and a tight tank top, dark-brown hair twisted in a messy bun. “Hey…” she says with uncertainty. “What’s everyone doing?” We all know she hates missing out on things, and she’s already glancing back up towards the kitchen.

  Like she’s pulled between the men down here and being with th
e girls in the kitchen. I smell the sweet scent of brownies cooking in the oven.

  Maximoff gestures to Farrow and tells his cousin, “He’s about to pierce Oscar’s nose.”

  “Really?” She walks further in. “Do you know how to?”

  “Yeah, do you know how to, Redford?” Oscar says, not sounding nervous.

  Donnelly smirks.

  Maybe Farrow pierced his own body before.

  Farrow rolls his eyes at Oscar. “Stop moving, man.”

  “I’m still. I’m still.” Oscar leans back on the pool table and doesn’t move.

  Farrow tears open the packaging to a piercing needle.

  Sulli wavers between approaching Maximoff or coming over to Akara and me.

  Akara motions her here.

  She hesitates.

  We exchange a glance. Yeah, Akara still needs to be dug out of a ditch. I reach over and grab a new beer from a case, my dog tags clinking against my chest.

  “She looks confused,” Akara says under his breath. He’s two seconds from shouting her name.

  I pop the tab of a new beer can, licking foam off my thumb. Her eyes rest on me for a second, and I try to appear nonthreatening. But I’m six-seven and often wear a good amount of severity. Not as much as Thatcher Alessio Moretti, but I’ve seen my reflection. And I can look like a scowly motherfucker.

  I watch Sulli keep glancing between me, Akara, and then towards Maximoff. When she sees her cousin in a back-and-forth with Farrow, she decides to head towards us, the only men still looking at her.

  “Hey.” Her voice is tight, squared jaw set even tighter.

  “Want a beer?” I ask. “Water?”

  “I can get it myself.” She wedges between our builds and our heads turn, watching as she bends down and digs a water bottle from a case on the floor.

  Akara has a hand on his radio. “You’re still pissed?”