24
CASH
I WAKE UP AND AM GREETED by the faint scent of jasmine, lavender, and vanilla.
Everly and I are entangled in a mess of limbs—she’s draped across my chest, her legs intertwined with mine, her head nestled in the crook of my neck.
God, I’ll never tire of waking up like this.
I can’t help drifting back to the night it all began.
Everly squeals as I lift her into my arms and carry her down the hall. “Cash, what are you doing?”
“Haven’t you heard? It’s tradition to carry the bride over the threshold.”
My pulse races when she winds her arms around my neck, resting her head against my shoulder. I’ve waited so long to have her in my arms, and it’s hard to believe this is real.
Once we’re inside my hotel room, I shut the door behind us and bypass the living room, taking her straight to the bedroom.
When I set Everly on the ground, she looks up at me with wide eyes. Her pouty lips part slightly, begging to be kissed. I trace her jawline with my thumb, like I did at the chapel, savoring the feel of her surrendering to my touch.
Everly is my wife.
It’s our wedding night.
The desire to claim her pulses through my veins as she licks her lips and watches me with her chocolate-brown eyes. It’s on the tip of my tongue to promise her a night full of bliss, where we’ll fuck until morning, but my conscience holds me back.
Everly isn’t a one-night-stand conquest. She’s the one I’ve wanted since high school. Now that she’s mine, I can’t risk losing her. No matter how much I want to spend the night memorizing her body like it’s a timeless work of art.
I can’t believe she’s really my wife.
Everly chews on her lower lip. “Cash?”
“What is it?”
“I’m hungry,” she says, giving me a sheepish grin when her stomach growls loudly in agreement.
We’ve been married for less than an hour and I’m already failing as her husband. We haven’t eaten since I found her at the bar. She must be starving.
I pull her in for a hug, pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead. “I’ll order room service.”
“Thank you,” she says.
By the time our food arrives, Everly has discarded her wedding dress on the floor, and made herself comfortable on the king-sized bed, watching a The Big Bang Theory rerun.
She’s wearing nothing but her bra and panties. The swells of her breasts peek out of her white lace bra, tempting me. It takes every ounce of restraint not to draw her into my arms. Luckily, I’m quickly distracted by her face lighting up when I push the room service cart through the door.
“It smells so good,” Everly says.
“Wait until you taste it.”
The Premiere hotel has world-class chefs in the kitchen, and the food is amazing.
Everly rubs her hands together with anticipation when I set a tray on the bed that includes two cheeseburgers, a mountain of fries, and a bottle of champagne the staff sent up to celebrate our nuptials.
I settle in next to Everly, and we both dig in while watching another episode. Once we’ve polished off our meal and the bottle of champagne, she falls asleep cradled in my arms.
As I absentmindedly play with her hair, I lean in and whisper in her ear, “I’m never letting you go, Everly Stafford.”
We’ve come a long way since that night, and I shudder at the thought that not being transparent with her about Fallon preparing our meals and not contacting Marcus sooner could have jeopardized our future together, no matter how insignificant it might seem in the grand scheme of things.
I half expected Everly to storm out yesterday after she learned the truth. The reasons for keeping those things from her felt harmless, but in hindsight, I can see how challenging it must have been for her, given her past with her dad and Landon.
I’m beyond grateful she was willing to listen to my reasoning. She made it clear that she would not tolerate any more secrets between us, which I agreed with. Although, she said nothing about surprises.
She deserves the world, and I want to be the one to help make all her dreams come true.
We’ve danced around the topic of our future post-acquisition, but with every day that passes, I’m more determined to prove to her that we can build a future together. A real marriage. I never thought settling down was in the cards for me, but Everly has changed everything.
She stirs beside me, and when her eyes flutter open, I’m met with her sleepy brown gaze.
“Good morning, Ev,” I say, showering her shoulder with kisses.
“Good morning, Stafford,” she murmurs, her voice husky from sleep.
“Do you have any meetings this morning?”
“Yeah, I have one with August and Liam at nine o’clock. Thank god it only takes fifteen minutes to get to the office, so I don’t have to leave so early.”
“And to think you wanted us to live at your place,” I say, drawing her in closer.
“At least my apartment is fully furnished,” she quips.
“Not for long. Marcus will have this place furnished and decorated in no time.”
Our meeting with him went well last night. Everly’s face lit up as she shared her decorating ideas, and it made me happy to see how excited she was to transform this place into a real home. I admit I wasn’t expecting her to say she wanted to stay in our bedroom with me.
It would have been hard to accept her sleeping in another room, but I would have respected her decision.
I’m so glad she didn’t.
Everly beams. “I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.”
“Do you enjoy living in London?”
“Oh, absolutely. I love the culture, the food, and the stunning architecture. It’s a welcome change from living in California when I was in college.”
“Would you ever consider moving back to Aspen Grove?”
She shrugs. “I’m not sure if I’d ever live there full time, but going back with you made me realize how much I miss it. I wish we could have driven by the old Miller place when we were in town.”
“How come?”
“When I was younger, I dreamed of buying it,” she reminisces. “I pictured it with a manicured lawn, a white-picket fence, a porch swing facing the side of the house, black shutters… The inside would have a rustic feel with exposed beams, a sliding barn door leading to the pantry, and a farmhouse table. And the loft would be transformed into a cozy reading space.” She lets out a wistful sigh as she gazes off into the distance. “Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time I read an entire book from start to finish.”
The abandoned Miller house sat untouched for years, sitting on the outskirts of town, its existence ignored by most. But not by Ev. She finds beauty in imperfect things, giving them new life—like she’s done with me.
Since our visit to Aspen Grove, the day after our impromptu wedding, I’ve been working on a surprise for her—something that holds meaning for us both. It was a spur of the moment decision, but now I’m more eager than ever to reveal the final result to her now that I’m certain it will hold special significance for her.
“Sounds like a scene straight from The Notebook ,” I playfully remark.
She whips her head to look at me, eyes wide. “You’ve watched it?”
“Yeah. When Presley moved to New York, she was lonely, so we’d hop on a video chat every Friday night and watch the same movie together. We switched between chick flicks and action movies, but let’s be honest, she usually had the final say.”
Everly grins. “She’s lucky to have you as her older brother.”
Presley and I have always shared a close bond. Despite our seven-year age gap, our connection is special. Growing up, she was like my shadow, and I felt a sense of duty to protect her at all costs.
I was skeptical when she started dating Jack, but my reservations disappeared after seeing firsthand how happy he makes her. The one drawback to her having a boyfriend and me living on another continent is that we don’t get to talk on the phone as often as we used to. As much as I complain about the group chat with her and my mom, it gives us a way to stay in touch when life gets busy.
“Do you have time for a quick run on the treadmill?” I ask.
“I’d rather stay in bed a little while longer. I’m extremely comfortable right now.” Everly sighs with contentment. “Aren’t you?”
“Staying cuddled in bed with a beautiful woman? Sounds like a hardship.”
“If you need convincing, I had something more than just cuddling in mind,” she murmurs, leaning in to kiss me.
She trails her hand down my stomach, and my cock springs to attention as her fingers glide over my skin, sparking an electric heat to course through me. Thank god, we slept naked last night.
“Were the six orgasms I gave you last night not enough?”
Everly bats her eyelashes, feigning innocence. “Last night? What happened last night? I think I need a refresher.” She grips my hard-on, and I groan at being held by her.
This woman is insatiable. I fucking love it.
Without warning, I move her onto her back, settling above her with my legs on either side of her hips, locking her arms in place above her head. “God, you’re going to be my undoing, Everly Stafford.”
Her eyes widen at hearing me use her married name, and a ghost of a smile tugs at her lips. “Are you going to keep staring, or are you going to fuck me?” she goads.
“Be careful what you wish for. You’re going to be deliciously sore by the time we’re done,” I whisper as I drive into her with abandon.
Everly and I are cuddled on the couch, watching a movie, as I absentmindedly stroke her hair, savoring the domestic bliss of spending the night with my wife.
It took some effort to convince her to break away from her work, but after I compromised with the promise of multiple orgasms later, she was all in.
She tilts her head to look up at me when the elevator dings. There’s only one other person who has access to my apartment, and we thought he was still out of town.
“Everyone decent?” Theo’s voice echoes through the entryway.
Everly scrambles from the couch and runs to meet him. I pause the movie and get up to follow her. When I round the corner, she’s throwing her arms around Theo’s neck.
“You’re here,” she exclaims. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too, sis.” Theo holds her close, pressing a kiss to her hair.
Their twin bond was evident growing up, and I can only imagine how difficult it is for them to spend long periods of time apart now that they’re adults.
Everly pulls back to get a better look at Theo. “How are you here?”
“I finished in Barcelona early and came straight to see you. My driver was halfway to your apartment before I remembered you were staying here.” He side-eyes me.
“Why don’t we all go into the kitchen, and I can make us ice cream sundaes?” Everly suggests, doing her best to defuse the situation before it escalates.
Theo gives me a curt nod as he passes.
Him visiting us is a good start, but it’s obvious he’s still not thrilled that I married Everly. Normally, we keep in touch when he’s away on business, but this time, he’s been quiet, offering only a brief response when I’ve reached out. I get why he’s upset, but I’m confident he’ll eventually come around.
At least, I hope so.
He’s the most important person in Everly’s life, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she’s able to maintain a healthy relationship with us both.
We follow her into the kitchen, watching as she removes a tub of vanilla ice cream from the freezer and grabs bowls from the cupboard.
“Why am I not surprised you bought the cheap ice cream?” Theo teases her as he sits on a barstool and leans his arms on the countertop.
“My unrefined palate thinks it tastes just as good as the artisan ice cream you prefer that costs double the price.” She gives him a coy grin. “Besides, you won’t notice the difference once it’s slathered in chocolate syrup and whipped cream.”
Theo shakes his head and turns to me. “She’ll never learn, will she?”
“Ev’s got a point,” I say. “She made chocolate fudge sundaes the other day, and you can’t tell the difference.”
I grab the basket of toppings Everly brought home from the store last week when she was craving something sweet.
Theo rolls his eyes. “Oh, this is just great. You’ve only been married for a hot minute and are already ganging up on me?”
“Consider it payback for all the times you and Cash made me sit in the back seat in high school,” Everly sasses.
She scoops ice cream into three bowls, and I assist by adding the toppings—chocolate syrup, peanuts, caramel sauce, whipped cream, and a cherry. After finishing, I take my bowl and sit next to Theo, who’s reading something on his phone. Everly joins us, handing Theo his dessert with a warm smile. She hops up on the counter between us, her legs dangling off the edge.
“Thanks, sis,” Theo says, tucking his phone in his pocket before digging into his ice cream.
“Yeah, thanks, Ev. This looks delicious,” I say as I take a big bite.
“You did most of the work.” Her gaze locks with mine as she twirls her tongue around her spoon, licking the ice cream off.
I’m fucking jealous of a spoon.
“I’m shocked you’re eating this,” Theo says to me.
I snap my head to look at him. “I still eat healthy,” I retort. “For the most part.”
“Yeah, and he gets plenty of exercise,” Everly chimes in with a sly smirk.
I shoot her a warning glance, but Theo doesn’t seem to catch on to her double meaning.
My mind goes blank when she picks up her cherry with her fingers and wraps her lips around it as she slowly sucks it into her mouth.
Ice cream sundaes are officially my new favorite dessert.
“Cash, are you listening?” Theo’s voice snaps me out of my daydream.
“Huh?” I look over to find him frowning at me.
“Jesus Christ. Everly has you wrapped around her finger, doesn’t she?” His gaze pings between us, noting how I can’t seem to stop staring at her.
“I do not,” Everly says defiantly.
“Oh, really? Then why hasn’t Cash taken his eyes off you since we sat down?” He raises an eyebrow.
Busted.
“Because we’re newlyweds.” she sasses back.
Theo pushes his bowl to the side. “Don’t remind me,” he grumbles.
“Is there something you want to say?” I ask.
His true feelings about me and Everly being together were bound to come out tonight, and it’s only fair to let him express those.
“Honestly, I figured one of you would come to your senses and realize how absurd this is. I mean, a Vegas wedding? You can’t get more cliché than that.” He sighs. “I just don’t want to see either of you get hurt when this doesn’t work out.”
I turn to face him. “Everly is my wife, and unless she tells me she wants to end this, I’m all in.” I direct my words to him, but my gaze stays fixed on his sister. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”
Everly’s mouth falls open at my confession, but she composes herself, schooling her expression.
Theo lets out a low whistle. “Damn, sis, you’ve achieved the unthinkable.”
“What’s that?” Everly asks with a raised brow.
“I never thought I’d see the day when Cash Stafford is head over heels for a woman. Although I would have preferred it to be someone other than you,” he complains.
“Too bad we don’t always get what we want, huh?” Everly smirks, giving him a playful slug on the shoulder. “Why don’t you stay and watch a movie? We just started What Happens in Vegas. ”
“How fitting,” Theo snickers. “I’ll stay, but I’m sitting in the middle.”
I give him an amused scowl as he heads into the living room.
At least he’s warming up to the idea of us being together. Now, we just have to find the right way to break the news about the acquisition to him. Even though it was the reason for Everly and me staying married, it’s no longer relevant… at least not to me.