Read Dare To Love Series: Hot Dare (Kindle Worlds Novella) Online
Authors: Avery Flynn
Dare To Love Series: Hot Dare (Kindle Worlds Novella) (10 page)
Epilogue
Seven
months later…
Angie couldn
’
t stop looking at her left ring finger with a mix of awe and surprise as she walked hand-in-hand with Colt up the brick sidewalk leading to her mom
’
s yellow adobe house with the bright blue door. They stopped just shy of the front porch and he pulled her close for a quick kiss.
“So how are you going to tell her?” he asked, toying with a long strand of her hair.
“I
’
m not.” She shook her head. “She
’
s my mom. I
’
d be surprised if she doesn
’
t know already.”
Angie had thought they were going out to celebrate him signing a long-term deal with the Thunder that had been in the works since a news crew had gotten ahold of the video showing Colt, the retired players and a cruise ship full of fans singing
Stop! In the Name of Love
with a choreographed dance finale. Local and national media had eaten it up and made Colt a household name, even outside of the Thunder fandom. That, along with Colt
’
s stellar season, gave Manny just the negotiating edge he needed for a fat contract that would take Colt into retirement from the game years from now and an option for a front-office job after that.
In addition, Dylan had stopped in her office and let her know that because of all the hard work she
’
d put in over the past seven months, they were again considering her for a promotion—this time a new position as a liaison between the players and the front office.
The news was huge for both of them, but when she
’
d found a three-carat diamond ring in her champagne glass, the day got even better.
“
True.
” He snuck in another kiss, brushing his lips across hers with enough promise to make her wish they
’
d postponed this ritual weekly dinner at her parents
’
house for more practice honeymooning. “We
are
talking about your mom.”
Laughing, she pulled him up the steps to her parents
’
door and rang the doorbell.
“Are we betting on how long it takes her to notice?”
“
Five minutes,
” he said. “Tops.”
“If even—”
The front door swung open. Her mom stood on the other side, a glass of wine in one hand and a spatula in the other. “About time you got here, I—” Her scream was loud enough to set off car alarms. “Oh my God, when? How? Tell me everything.” She dropped the spatula and grabbed Angie by the left wrist, hauling her inside. “
Juan! Juan!
” She yelled up the steps leading to the house
’
s second floor. “Did you know about this?” She turned to Colt and narrowed her eyes. “Does he know about this? Because if he did and didn
’
t tell me, he is going to live to regret it. Juan!”
Eyes wide with a mix of fear and probably second thoughts about getting involved with her crazy family, Colt held up his hands in surrender. The man faced down three-hundred-pound men for a living, but her mom made him back up a step, not an unusual reaction, Angie admitted to herself.
“No, Mr. Diaz didn
’
t know,” Colt said.
“Finally, I prayed for this and prayed for this, Angie, but,” Maria gave him the full-on evil eye “are you sure about this one?”
Squirming out of her mom
’
s grasp, she crossed to Colt
’
s side. In the past seven months, she
’
d realized he left the shower curtain open, usually had the TV turned up loud enough people in Texas had to hear it, and didn
’
t understand the purpose of a hamper. He also was the best man she
’
d ever met in her life and she loved him like no other.
She tucked her hand into his and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “I
’
ve never been so sure of anyone in my life.”
Maria gave her future son-in-law a hard up and down before she threw her arms around them both as best she could, considering how big Colt was, and squeezed tight. “So when?”
“This summer, before training camp,”
Angie said.
A July wedding followed by a honeymoon cruise, this time without the Thunder Dome Crew cheering them on.
“Oh, there
’
s so much to do.” Maria hurried over to her tablet and brought up the Internet. “I have to cancel all of your dating site profiles. This is going to take forever.”
“Does that mean she approves?” Colt whispered in her ear.
She turned and lifted her face so their lips nearly touched. “Are you still breathing?”
His gaze dropped to her mouth, hunger turning his blue eyes dark, and he nodded.
Desire made her stomach dip. This was going to be the longest two-hour family dinner in history. “Then you
’
re going to be just fine.”
“Close one.” He gave an exaggerated sigh. “I love you, Angie Diaz-soon-to-be-Butler.”
She rose to her tiptoes and kissed him with everything she had. “I love you too, Colt Butler, on
and
off the field.”
A
Note From Avery
Hey you!
I really hope you enjoyed Colt and Angie. If you have a second to leave a review of Hot Dare that would be awesome—you know every time a reader leaves a review the Thunder score a touchdown. :) Please stay in touch (
[email protected]
), I love hearing from readers! Want to get all the latest book news? Subscribe to my newsletter,
Love Goggles
, for sneak peeks, information about book releases, monthly prizes and more!
And don
’
t forget to check out my other books for more sexy stories featuring alpha heroes who are as good with a quip as they are their *ahem* equipment and strong heroines who know how to stand on their own two feet and knock the back guys off theirs. Also, check out at the amazing excerpts of Dare Me by Kelly Jamieson and Daring the Player by Robin Covington after my bio!
xoxo,
Avery
Visit Avery
’
s website at
www.averyflynn.com
.
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Books By Avery Flynn
The Killer Style Series
High-Heeled Wonder (Killer Style 1)
This Year
’
s Black (Killer Style 2)
Sweet Salvation Brewery Series
Enemies on Tap (Sweet Salvation Brewery 1)
Hollywood on Tap (Sweet Salvation Brewery 2)
Novellas
Newsletter
Subscribe for news about Avery
’
s latest releases, giveaways and more!
Visit Avery
’
s website at
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.
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E-mail:
[email protected]
About Avery Flynn
Avery Flynn has three slightly-wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband and is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip.
She fell in love with romance while reading Johanna Lindsey
’
s Mallory books. It wasn
’
t long before Avery had read through all the romance offerings at her local library. Needing a romance fix, she turned to Harlequin
’
s four books a month home delivery service to ease the withdrawal symptoms. That worked for a short time, but it wasn
’
t long before the local book stores
’
staffs knew her by name.
Avery was a reader before she was a writer and hopes to always be both. She loves to write about smartass alpha heroes who are as good with a quip as they are with their *ahem* other God-given talents. Her heroines are feisty, fierce and fantastic. Brainy and brave, these ladies know how to stand on their own two feet and knock the bad guys off theirs.
Subscribe to her newsletter:
Love Goggles
and j
oin her street team,
The Flynnbots
, and receive special sneak peeks, prizes and early access to her latest releases!
Also, if you figure out how to send Oreos through the Internet, she
’
ll be your best friend for life. Contact her at
[email protected]
. She
’
d love to hear from you!
Dare Me
by
Kelly Jamieson
“Micki, I need to talk to you.”
Hearing those words from your boss at five o’clock just as you were about to leave the office was never a good thing.
Micki’s hand paused as she stroked over a carpet sample on her desk. “Of course, Lisa.” She smiled at Lisa Stern, owner of Lisa Stern Designs, standing in the door of Micki’s small office. “Do you want me to come to your office?”
“No, we can talk here. It’s about the Constantinides project.” Lisa stepped farther into the room.
Ack. Micki nodded. She’d been working on a new design for the Constantinides’ Park Avenue penthouse they’d recently purchased, a big-dollar project Lisa had assigned her. Things were going well…she thought. Micki kept a smile in place and resisted the urge to bite her lip. “I have a meeting with Mrs. Constantinides tomorrow morning.”
Lisa smiled. “She called to tell me how pleased she is with the work you’re doing.”
“Really?” Micki straightened and clasped her hands together, relief filtering through her. “Oh, that’s great.”
“Yes.” Lisa green eyes warmed. “Which of course makes me happy. She says you really get what she’s looking for and aren’t trying to push things on her she doesn’t want. Apparently she had a bad experience once with a designer.”
“I’d never do that.”
“I know. And she says you’re really going above and beyond to source the exact furnishings and accessories she wants. I just wanted to give you that feedback and tell you how much I appreciate all the extra time you’re putting into this.”
“Thank you. I’m enjoying it.” Micki patted the sample on her desk. “I’m thinking this carpet for their den. It’s pure wool.”
Lisa nodded approvingly. “It’s lovely. I concur. Okay, I’m done for today. Have a good evening.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Lisa disappeared down the hall to her office. Micki’s boss was a hard worker who’d built her design business into a highly successful and sought-after service in New York City. She’d put in a lot of long hours over the years, but since she and her husband Tom had been together she’d been balancing work and private life more. Micki respected her for that. She herself had put in a lot of hours, when project deadlines loomed and demanding clients changed their minds ten times about what color they wanted their living room walls or decided they had to have Waterford dog bowls that matched their decor. But since meeting Garrett, she too liked going home at a decent hour to spend time with her man.
Garrett worked long hours too, of course. As CEO of Caulfield Communications, his days were super busy and he often worked late into the evenings, although not as much as he used to.
Mrs. Constantinides had called her boss to tell her she was doing a good job! Micki pumped a fist into the air and then couldn’t resist dancing a couple of jubilant circles, arms in the hair, hips swinging.
“Celebrating something?”
Micki jumped and turned to see her co-worker Isabelle Dare standing in the door, grinning.
“Izzy! I didn’t know you were in the office today.” Heat flooded her cheeks at being caught dancing around in her office. But at least it wasn’t a client, or Lisa.
“I just came in for a meeting with a client. Thought I’d stop by and say hi on my way out.”
Isabelle had been working from home since the birth of her baby, doing some smaller consulting jobs for Lisa Stern Designs.
Micki smiled back. “One of my clients told Lisa I’m doing a good job.”
“Awesome! Always nice to get compliments instead of complaints.”
“Yes, totally! How’s Noah?”
“He’s so good.” Isabelle beamed. The love Isabelle felt for her child glowed on her face as she chatted about her son.
Micki felt a twinge of envy. She and Isabelle had talked over lunch one day about how they both longed for family, Isabelle because she’d never had that growing up, Micki because she
had
had a warm, loving family and wanted to create her own. They’d discovered they had a lot in common in the time since Isabelle had rejoined the firm—their creativity and esthetic sense, the importance of friends and family, and they’d even ended up with similar men.
Isabelle’s husband Gabe was a strong, powerful businessman and she’d hinted that Gabe was also strong and dominant in the bedroom. As was Garrett. So although they’d never shared a lot of explicit details, Micki sensed that Isabelle had needs similar to her own.
“So he’s putting on a lot of weight,” Isabelle finished, clearly talking about Noah, not Gabe. “How’s Garrett? He and Gabe are supposed to golf this week.”
“Right, he told me that. He’s good. We’re having dinner tonight.” She paused, her stomach muscles tightening. She bit her lip and peeked at Isabelle through her eyelashes. Should she say anything? She was dying to tell someone her suspicions, but… “I think he’s going to propose tonight.”
Isabelle’s eyebrows flew up. “Really?”
Micki nodded as she straightened the carpet samples, excitement fluttering in her belly. “He’s taking me out for dinner at Anjul and says he has something important to talk to me about.”
“How long have you two been together?”
“Just over a year.”
“Right. You met that night at Elite when it was your birthday.” Isabelle’s eyes brightened. “That’s so exciting! I assume you’re going to say yes.”
“Of course.” Micki’s heart expanded. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with Garrett. “I love him.” Those words weren’t enough to express the depths of her feelings for him, but she sensed that Isabelle understood perfectly the way her eyes warmed and her smile broadened.
“I know you do. I’m so happy for both of you. Garrett seems sort of cold and unemotional sometimes, but I think you bring out his softer side.”
Micki gave a little snort. “Softer side? Garrett?” Then she grinned. “Well, maybe I do.”
“We’ll have to get together some time, the four of us.”
“That would be lovely.”
“I should get going.” Isabelle pushed away from the door frame. “And we should have lunch this week. I want to hear all about the proposal.”
“Yes! Let’s do that.”
Isabelle walked out with a wave and Micki shut down her computer for the day. She left the office on East 23
rd
Street and a short subway trip and walk later was letting herself into her apartment in a renovated Chelsea townhouse.
She checked her cell phone for texts or messages and noted it was after six. Garrett was picking her up at seven, so she had to get moving. She kicked off her pumps and padded barefoot across the parquet hardwood floor to her bedroom. Her apartment was tiny, only five hundred square feet, but she had a decent-size bedroom and bathroom. She pulled off her sleeveless blouse and hung it in the closet, unzipped and shimmied out of her pencil skirt and hung it too, carefully using one of the hangers with clips. Then she stared at the other garments hanging in the closet. She’d been thinking all day about what to wear tonight, wishing she had time to go shopping to buy something new, something that would blow Garrett’s mind, but sadly her day had been packed. Her hand hovered over the Alice & Olivia bronze beaded sheath…yes, that would be good.
She started some music playing and danced into her tiny kitchen in her bra and panties to pour a glass of wine to sip as she redid her hair and makeup. She paused to take a mouthful, then boogied back toward her bedroom to the beat of “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars, one of her favorite singers.
Her apartment door opened and Garrett walked in, catching her in the middle of a hip swivel. She stopped dead. He paused too. One sexy eyebrow shot up as his gaze swept up and down over her, clad only in her underwear.
She gave him a weak grin. “Hi there. You’re early.”
“Nope.” He dropped the key she’d given him to her place on the little table near the door and prowled toward her. “I came at the perfect time.”
Even in his suit and tie, all sophisticated and elegantly tailored, there was something primal and sensual about him. Tall and well muscled, he moved with masculine grace. The stubble on his cheeks, jaw and upper lip gave him a dark, dangerous air, and the gleam in his eyes was carnal.
The way he looked at her had liquid heat drizzling through her, pooling low in her belly. The music continued to beat out as her heart rate sped up.
Garrett stopped in front of her and drew his index finger from her throat down over her breastbone, lingering between her breasts at the V of her bra just above a small black satin bow. “Nice. Is this what you’re wearing tonight?”
“No, I was planning to wear a dress.”
His lips twitched. “Smartass. That could get you a spanking.”
“I can only hope.”
Now he did smile. “I meant, are you wearing this bra tonight.”
“I need a strapless bra with the dress I’m wearing.”
“Or no bra.”
“Maybe.” She gave him a coy look up through her eyelashes.
“This is nice.” He traced over the silver embroidery that adorned the sheer black cups. “Take it off.”
God, she loved that tone of voice—deep and commanding. She set her glass of wine on a table, reached behind her and unfastened the bra. Her nipples tightened into hard peaks at the brush of air over them. Also at Garrett’s hot stare.
“Beautiful.” He draped the bra over his shoulder and set his hands on her waist. Then he tilted his head, listening to the music. “Did he just say fuck you up?”
She choked on an unexpected giggle. “Um, no. I think it’s
funk
you up.”
“Hmm. I like my version better. Gonna fuck you up, sexy girl.” He bent his knees and tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman hold, then strode to her bedroom.
She gasped and swatted at his back. “Garrett! We have a dinner reservation.”
“They’ll hold it for me.”
Of course they would. He was Garrett Caulfield.
He gave her butt a little smack that sent heat zapping to her core. She closed her eyes. Just the way he picked her up and carried her into her room made her melt. Beneath his designer suit he was a caveman…and she loved it.
Get your copy of Dare Me (a Dare to Love Kindle World novella) by Kelly Jamieson at
Amazon
.