Chapter 30
30
“ C ongratulations! You’re hired!” I hold out my hand toward Lainey. “Welcome to the team.”
Team of one, but, hey, still a team.
Small teams are the best anyway.
You get to know everyone better.
Lainey is twenty-three and has only had her paralegal degree for a few months, so she’ll need training. But I know she’ll be a great fit. We clicked during her interview. Both of us are obsessed with steamy romances, overpriced coffees, and vampire TV shows. Her mom used to work on the town paper with my aunt Chloe.
Lainey dances in place. “When do I get started? I can now if you need me.”
I smile at her. While I appreciate her offer, I’m about to end my day. We need to start decorating for Callie’s party.
“How’s Monday?” I ask.
“Sounds great.” She adjusts her purple skirt. “That’ll give me time to shop for some cute office clothes. What is the skirt-length rule here?”
I laugh. “You just dress as cute as you want to.”
She drags me in for a hug .
If anyone had tried pulling something like this at Adaway and Williams, they’d have been fired immediately. But I like that Lainey is comfortable with me.
New office—check.
Win first case—check.
Hire paralegal—check.
I’m crushing this attorney thing .
“Thank you for coming,” I tell Adrian as he walks toward me inside Callie’s Bake Shop, right on time, like the responsible man I’ve always known him to be.
Whenever he visited me in college, he was never a minute late.
We love us a punctual man. He even brought a gift.
Foster trails him. Adrian texted me earlier and said Foster was riding with him. I like that he and Foster have become friends. Foster has always been a stand-up guy.
“Who the hell invited him?” River shouts, throwing his arm out toward Foster.
Ava comes up behind him, ruffles her fingers through his hair, and grins. “I did, obvi.”
River crosses his arms and glares at Foster. “Since when are you in our circle of friends?”
“ Circle of friends ?” I say, mocking my brother. “Please, as a grown man, never say that again.”
“Yes, it sounds very high school,” Mia adds. “Not a good look if you’re trying to impress Ava, a woman who legit has surgeons begging her for dates.” She grins, knowing that’ll further press River’s jealousy button.
Foster signals back and forth between River and Ava before stopping his finger on River. “When will you start dating her, bro, so you can stop thinking I’ m in love with her?”
River knows Ava and Foster aren’t in love.
He just enjoys giving them shit.
Ava dramatically gasps at Foster. “You’re breaking my heart over here, Foster.”
Foster shrugs. “I’d prefer not to have a video game character named after me who’ll most likely get killed.”
River snaps his fingers and points at Foster. “Thanks for the idea.” He taps the side of his head. “I’m mentally noting that now.”
“As you can tell, my friends are very mature,” I tell Adrian.
“They’re fun.” He kisses my forehead. “I enjoy spending time with them. When you told me stories about them and growing up here, I always tried to imagine it. Now, I can, and I enjoy it. Thank you for including me in this, Essie.”
“I like that you’re here. I’m happy you stood your ground and didn’t let me run you out of town.”
There will never be enough words to express to Adrian how grateful I am that he stayed here. When I found out Earl’s case might reopen, I wasn’t sure how deep I’d fall into the hole of sadness. But Adrian being here has kept me standing.
“Trust me, it’d take a lot more than you throwing your attitude—which I find sexy as fuck, by the way—to convince me to mess this up with you again,” he tells me.
I perk up even more. “Does that mean you’re staying?”
“That means, as long as you’re okay with it, consider me Blue Beech’s newest resident.”
He presses a kiss to my lips, and I can feel eyes on us.
The questions will commence in three … two … one .
Ava walks away from River when he and Foster start having a civilized conversation that doesn’t revolve around arguing about her.
“You can save your questions for girls’ night,” I tell her as she moves in our direction.
She slumps her shoulders. “Geesh, you’re no fun tonight.”
Adrian laughs, looking around. “This place has its own character. I feel like I’m in some modern version of a Barbie Dreamhouse.”
“Your comment definitely shows you never had a sister. This is far from a Barbie Dreamhouse.”
Callie’s Bake Shop is like stepping inside a magical storybook.
The decor is exactly what you’d imagine for happily ever after’s number-one fan. The bake shop’s walls are rose pink, and a few months ago, Easton helped her install floral panels to three of them, bringing an even more romantic setting. Sparkling crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and pink suede sitting couches create entertaining spaces. Rose-gold tablecloths cover the tables, and the chairs are pink.
The space would make even the most anti-love person wish for their Prince—or Princess—Charming.
Well, besides Mia. There’s no changing her mind when it comes to love.
It’d been Callie’s dream to open her own cake shop, and five years ago, she made it happen. I love that my friends are creating their happiness here.
Jax and Amelia have the brewery.
Callie has the bake shop.
I have the law firm.
Ava is an ER surgeon at the closest hospital.
Mia is a product manager for her mother’s clothing and skincare line, and personal stylist.
We’re all settling down here.
The bake shop is a town favorite, serving brunch and hosting birthday and wedding parties. The schedule is always booked, and it’s not uncommon for people to drive here from other towns.
Fortunately, River hacked into the reservation site and blocked tonight’s availability. Kendra, Callie’s assistant baker, told her she’d cover the event so Callie could enjoy her birthday dinner with her parents. Considering Callie is the queen of micromanaging, I’m shocked we were able to pull this off.
Aunt Chloe texted Mia five minutes ago and told her they were on their way after dinner.
Headlights shine through the parking lot window, and we shout, “Surprise,” as soon as Callie walks in with her parents.
Callie stops in her tracks and slaps a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God!” she shrieks under it.
If the word surprise had a picture next to it in the dictionary, it most certainly wouldn’t be of Callie’s reaction. No, hers would definitely be next to fakest surprise look in history .
“All right,” Mia groans, looking around the crowd, “which one of you ratted us out?”
“The reservation was booked under Ace Ventura,” Callie says. “You didn’t think that’d stand out to me?”
Mia throws her arms out toward River. “Really? You couldn’t come up with a better name?”
“You asked me to hack into the software. Creating an alias was never included in your demand,” River replies.
“Super surprised or not, thank you for this,” Callie says in her sweet voice.
We spend the next five minutes all taking our turns hugging and wishing Callie a happy birthday. When she sees Adrian behind me, she gives me a pointed look before thanking him for coming.
She then mouths, I can’t wait for this story later , to me.
I grab a fresh glass of rosé—Callie’s drink of choice—and Adrian opts for a bottle of water when I hear Mia say, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
I follow the path of her glare to find it pinned on my older cousin, Trey, who just walked in. Standing tall, he shoves his hands into his black pants pockets while taking in the room, his face unreadable. Everyone pauses for a moment, as if they might be imagining him.
Trey rarely comes home .
Not that I blame him. This town hasn’t been kind to everyone.
In fact, it was cruel to Trey more than it was nice.
He’s seventeen years older than me, so I’ve only met him a few times, when we traveled to either LA or New York. He has million-dollar homes in both cities.
But I guess if any party could bring him home, it’d be one for Callie. They’re extremely close, and she knows him better than any of us.
Callie squeals—this one definitely not fake—and dashes over to hug him.
He squeezes her tight. “Happy birthday.”
She pulls away. “God, I can’t believe you’re here.”
Trey’s backstory is complicated.
He’s my, River’s, and Callie’s cousin.
He’s also Callie’s uncle.
Grab your pencils because I’m about to explain a wild ancestral tree.
The girl my grandfather had an affair with was Chloe’s older sister, and she had Trey. Chloe’s family took hush money from him for fifteen years.
Chloe didn’t feel guilty about keeping the secret since she hated Kyle in high school after a prank. Years later, when they were grown, they became neighbors and started dating.
When the truth came out, it was a shit show. Everyone learned Trey wasn’t only Chloe’s nephew but also Kyle’s younger brother.
People called Trey a bastard child, and it was hard on him. As soon as he graduated from high school, he left Blue Beech. He became a huge name in tech and recently sold his start-up for over a billion dollars.
Mia snags a glass of rosé and downs it.
She grabs another and does the same.
Mia typically isn’t a huge drinker. She’s very type A, and she made sure everything about the party was perfect .
“Who’s he?” Adrian asks, pointing toward Trey with his water.
“My cousin.”
He tips his head down, lowering his voice. “And why does Mia look like she wants to murder him?”
“Oh, they’ve never been fans of each other.” I grab a mini cupcake and drop it into my mouth.
Adrian leans forward, wipes frosting off my lips, and licks it off his finger. “Why?”
“You know what? I actually have no idea.”
“Hmm,” he murmurs.
“What does your hmm mean?”
“It means, I’m pretty sure there’s more there than just hate.”
“It’s normal for people in this group to want to kill each other sometimes. It’s because we’re all stubborn pains in the ass. It must be something that runs in the water here.” I tip my head to motion toward Jax and Amelia cuddled up in a corner. “Those two wanted to kill each other for half our lives.”
“And what are they now?”
I chew on my nail. “Fair point.”
While we all knew Jax was secretly in love with Amelia, maybe whatever history Mia has with Trey has slipped under the radar. But as far as I know, they haven’t seen each other since Trey’s last visit when Callie graduated from high school.
I laugh. “Look at you, already involving yourself in the drama and love lives here.”
He smirks. “It seems the small-town life is rubbing off on me.”
As the night grows later, more people show up.
I make my rounds, saying hello and introducing everyone to Adrian. Most people have already met him or heard about him in town. I saw the surprise when they realized we were there together, though.
When my parents arrive, they tell Callie happy birthday before moving straight to me. I’ve been their number one concern as of late.
“Mom, Dad, do you remember Adrian?” I ask after hugging them both.
My mom smiles at him. “Of course I do.”
Adrian holds out his hand, as if in complete meet the parents mode.
It’s so similar to how he acted when he saw them at the brewery.
He clearly wants to win them over.
Listen, a man who wants to impress your parents is a green flag.
Adrian shakes my mom’s hand, then my dad’s, and then he compliments him on his latest video game.
“I’ve played all your games, but I have to say, this one is by far the best.”
I blink at him.
Since when did he turn into a video game fan?
When he starts going into specifics, it’s clear he either played or researched this so he could have the conversation with my dad.
We sit at a table, and Adrian spends the next hour getting to know my parents.
Impressing them.
Impressing me.
I’ve had one boyfriend come around my parents, and that was in high school. They weren’t fans, and we didn’t stay together long. They threatened to take away my car if I kept sneaking out with him. When I look back on it, it was a crappy relationship. I’m glad it didn’t work out.
Because now, I get to share my heart with Adrian.
I’m not a freak by any means.
It’s hard to be when you don’t feel comfortable in your own skin.
That’s why I’m shocked when I tell Adrian we’re not going home after the party. He peers over at me with curiosity every few moments as I give him directions to a secluded park.
I don’t know if it could even be considered a park.
It’s not popular in Blue Beech.
In fact, the grass is overgrown, the benches are rusting, and there are no streetlights.
But I had to pick somewhere secluded, where I knew no one would be.
“This is like old times,” I tell Adrian as he parks at the end of the dead-end road. “Us hanging out in your car.”
Those were some of my favorite nights.
While Adrian doesn’t have the same car as in college—it’s a new model—the memory is still fresh.
Somehow, the leather seat feels the same.
The air smells the same.
The comfort is still there.
As badly as I want to redo what we started in the park that night in college, the last thing I need is for someone to see us having sex in public.
Okay, technically, we’re in public-ish, but we have the privacy of his car.
I’ve dreamed about having sex in his car for as long as I can remember.
I’d sit in my dorm room, hand between my legs, my fingers sliding through my folds as I imagined myself riding him in the driver’s seat.
During the party, I watched Adrian interact with everyone, as if they’d all been friends for years. Even when I wasn’t with him and talking with someone else, there was no awkwardness between him and the others.
He belongs in Blue Beech .
Belongs here with me .
Before we even left the party, I knew I wanted this to happen tonight.
I turn down the radio, unbuckle my seat belt, and situate myself on my knees, facing him. The only light source shines from the dashboard and radio lights.
He shifts, focusing his soothing eyes on mine the best he can in the dark.
Thrill charges through my body when I reach over the console and unzip his pants.
“Holy shit,” Adrian hisses, his hips bucking forward.
I grin, feeling seductive for the first time in my life.
The multiple glasses of rosé I consumed are also helping to create this Openly Sexual Essie.
“Shh,” I whisper, running my finger along the outline of his cock, which is growing harder by the second. It jerks under my palm, and I peer up at him, grinning.
Getting the hint, he presses the button to recline his seat.
He waits to see where I’m going with this.
I roll my hair tie on my wrist down my hand and secure my hair into a ponytail at the top of my head. His body tenses when I touch him again, running my hand over his cock.
“Help me take it out,” I say softly.
He nods, lifting his hips to lower his pants until they’re down his waist. Grabbing my hand, he uses it to pull his cock free. My heart drums in my chest when he opens my palm, spits in it, and guides it to his erection.
He’s throbbing, his cock jerking under my hold.
As I stroke him, his head lolls back.
He slips down the seat farther, giving me a better angle, and I rise higher on my knees. He thrusts his hips forward as I jerk him off. His groans fill the car, but they grow more frantic when I lower my head and lick the head of his cock.
I suck gently before slowly pulling back.
Slobber falls from my mouth onto his cock .
I fight with myself on whether to tell him I’ve never done this before.
I mean, it could give me a decent excuse if I give him a sucky blow job.
Jesus, Essie. Get out of your head .
It’s a blow job.
It’s not like I need a damn degree to know the basics of sucking cock.
Mia once told me that men don’t care about the quality of the blow job most of the time. All that’s on their mind is that there’s a mouth on their cock.
“Please, Essie,” he begs, his voice strained, “keep going.”
His plea is all the encouragement that I need.
I lick my lips before taking his entire length in my mouth. He’s so large that the tip rams against the back of my throat.
Don’t gag.
Don’t gag .
Thankfully, I don’t.
I climb closer and suck him.
He collects my ponytail in his fist. Jerking his hips forward, he feeds me his cock. I gag a few times, but he doesn’t seem to care.
“Fuck,” he groans. “You suck me so good, baby. Stroke it as you suck.”
I do that and suck him at the same time.
He moans when I deep-throat him and grip the base of his cock.
“Can I come in your mouth?” he asks.
I stop. “If you do that, will you be done for the night?”
He smirks at my awkward wording. “Do you mean, will I be able to fuck you as well?”
I nod.
“Baby, I will absolutely be fucking you tonight.”
“Then, yes, come in my mouth.” I start sucking him again.
His movements become more frantic, choking me a few more times, and he pulls my ponytail. His entire body shakes, and his dick spasms in my mouth before I get the first taste of him.
I keep my mouth on his cock, sucking, so I can taste every drop of him.
When I finally pull away, his breathing is wild. He crooks his finger, directing me to come his way. As soon as my face is close enough, he grabs me around the back of my neck and pulls my lips to his.
“Now, it’s your turn, baby.” He lowers his hand and starts stroking himself.
It doesn’t take long for his cock to get hard again.
I grab my bag and find the condom that I asked Ava for earlier. When I asked her to borrow one , she asked me if I planned to give it back or something. I’m sure that’ll be an inside joke between us for the rest of our lives.
I rip open the wrapper, and Adrian’s eyes are wild as he stares at me.
Luckily, I made the smart decision to wear a dress. I shove it up my waist and start climbing over his lap. He stops me, placing a hand on my stomach before lowering it between my legs. The sound of him ripping my panties echoes through the car.
“Those would’ve been a problem,” he says, clenching them tight in his grip. He shoves them against his face and smells them. “You’re soaked for me. I want to remember this smell for the rest of my life, so I’m keeping these.”
“But they’re ripped.” I shyly bite my lower lip.
“I don’t intend to wear them, baby. I’m keeping them so I never forget this fantasy of you.”
“Someone sure has an obsession with how I smell.”
“No, it’s more of an obsession with you, period . Your smell, your taste, everything about you—I’m completely obsessed. Now, climb up here and ride my cock.”
I smile and lift a shoulder. “Since you said it so sweetly. ”
He guides me onto his lap and gives me time to make myself comfortable. It’s a tight fit, and the steering wheel jams into my back. Gripping my hips, he lifts and then carefully lowers me onto his cock.
I drop my head forward and dig my nails into his shoulders.
With his hands still on my hips, he bucks me forward.
I ride him, slow and easy at first.
Then faster and faster.
The closer I get, the wilder I ride him.
God, this is perfection.
The best feeling in the world.
I feel the wetness between our legs.
On our thighs as we slide against each other.
I feel everything I’ve ever wanted to feel with Adrian.
And I want to do this again and again and again.
My hips slap against his, and I lose control of myself as I grow closer.
My need for him is everywhere.
In my blood.
My bones.
I never want us to end.
My entire body is flying high, and so many emotions are flowing through me that I can’t keep up until I fall apart.
I fall limp against Adrian, but he isn’t done with me yet.
His hands dig into my skin as he pounds into me.
I’m completely spent, no longer in control of my body.
My head hits the ceiling a few times. Adrian stops, but I tell him to keep going.
“I want to watch you come while I’m on top of you,” I whisper.
My words undo him.
His body trembles beneath me.
He squeezes his eyes shut while muttering my name.
It takes us a few seconds to calm down, and when his eyes open, I smile down at him .
“Essie,” he says when he fully catches his breath, “I love you.” He brushes back my messy hair. “I’m in love with you.”
My body feels at ease yet enthralled.
My heart pounds like wildfire yet feels composed.
I rest my forehead against his. “Good thing.”
He cocks his head to the side as I pull back, waiting for me to elaborate.
“Because I’m also in love with you.”