Lanie“You really didn’t have to come here, you know? Your vacation is almost over. You should be enjoying your break.” Raven turned her head and gave me a look that said she was right.I chuckled. The kid wasn’t a kid anymore, but a young woman with a good head on her shoulders most of the time. Andrew had to be proud, or maybe he saw her as my father saw me. Young, inexperienced, immature.“I wanted to see you.” I glanced down at my hand, the big ring on my finger grabbing my attention immediately. A bittersweet feeling about the engagement had taken over my heart. I was grateful and excited but a bit apprehensive because of my conversation with Matt and Erica the weekend before. The worst part was that in some small way, they were right.It was rushed and maybe done for the wrong reasons on Andrew’s part, but we did love each other. That was enough surely.“Hey, did you hear me?” Raven reached out and cupped her hand over mine. “Where are you today? Not here.”I snorted. “When did
AndrewI paused just outside of the country club and shot Lanie a text that I wanted to see her. She didn’t respond right away, but she would. After tucking my phone into my pocket, I walked in looking for Saxton.The playboy extraordinaire sat at the bar, women on both sides of him. I moved up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.“Andrew. Good to see you.” He offered me a warm smile and a hand to shake.“These beautiful women don’t know you’re married?” I shook his hand and smirked.The girls scattered like roaches when the lights came on.“Sorry.” I laughed and dropped down next to him. “I had to.”“Man. Really? Shit.” He glanced behind him, shaking his head as if still trying to convince the women that he was, in fact, not married. The guy would most likely live alone forever. He seemed to thrive in that state.“Thanks for meeting with me.” I lifted my finger toward the bartender and caught the guy’s eye. “Bud Light in the bottle please.”“I’m always willing to carve out time
AndrewI drove to Lanie’s in silence, my mind spinning in a million directions. The Bartlet account was squared away again, and Liza would be heading back home in the next few days, which was a blessing. The woman was far too comfortable in her own skin. I needed to assign her to someone else, but Thomas was about the only one I trusted to take on such an important account.“She’d eat that kid alive.” I pulled into the apartment complex and parked, sitting in the silence for a few minutes. It was odd to find myself at forty-five, sitting outside of an apartment building, gearing up to go in and make love to my girlfriend.It felt like a movie, one that I’d lived twenty years before.“Stop it,” I barked at no one and got out of the car, grabbing the bottle of wine I’d picked up from the country club gift shop before leaving. I needed to get my mind off work, but I couldn’t seem to shake the excitement bubbling up in me over the possible mastermind opportunity with a few other guys at m
LanieMy whole body was on fire for him. I spread my legs farther and slid my fingers into his hair, massaging his scalp as he rolled his tongue through my folds. The pressure of him forcing two thick fingers into my body caused me to buckle, letting go of my orgasm. The tension in my back fled as I arched and cried out his name, riding the high he offered me.“Enough,” I cried out and pushed at his shoulder.He glanced up, his lips wet, eyes wild. I could love him forever. Fuck everything else.“No. It’s enough when I say it’s enough.” He kept his eyes locked to mine and leaned down, softly licking at my swollen skin. The delicious pull on my clit as he sucked it into his mouth had my eyes rolling back in my head.“Okay. Just don’t stop.”He moved back and pressed his fingers back into me, fucking at a steady pace as he watched me. “So what is it, baby? Keep going or stop?”“I don’t know.” I gripped the sheets and groaned at the delicious tension building in my stomach. “I want you.
Andrew“Lanie?” I stretched and pulled the delicious scent of bacon deep into my lungs. “Lanie?”“In the kitchen,” she called out. Just the sound of her voice put a smile on my face, until I remembered that I conked out on the pretty young thing.“Shit,” I grumbled as I got up and put my clothes back on. After checking my watch, my blood pressure went through the roof. Nine o’clock? “Lanie. Why didn’t you wake me up? I had my first meeting an hour ago.”My mood soured further as I jumped down the hallway, trying to get my shoes on. I hit my head against the wall, and a picture of Lanie and her parents fell and shattered.“Andrew? What are you—” She stopped at the end of the hallway and pressed her fingers to her lips, looking way too cute for the mood I’d descended down into.“It’s not funny.” I knelt down and tried to clean up the broken glass, only to cut myself. “I’m late.”“Then leave that there.” She moved down the hall, her feet bare and legs on full display.“Hey.” I glanced up
AndrewI worked through lunch to make up the time I’d missed that morning, but just before two, my stomach started singing a symphony. I put it off as long as I could and eventually shut things down. It was officially a holiday. My staff were either off for the day or done by noon. I needed to get food lest I turn into a hangry monster on the lookout for someone to attack.After packing up and getting in the car, I realized that Raven would be celebrating the New Year by herself. I couldn’t let that happen. No need to pile guilt onto guilt.I ran through a fast food drive-through and got myself and Raven something to eat. Memories of her being a little girl and begging for the kid’s meal with a certain toy stilled the moment for me. She was almost grown. She’d be leaving soon to start her own life.“And I almost lost her too.” I pressed my hand to my chest, realizing that I needed to find a way to chill the fuck out where both of the women in my life were concerned.They were both you
Lanie“So. What do you think of this one?” Erica twirled around, the cute green dress she tried on fitting her perfectly.“I think we’re going to find you and Matt missing about halfway through the evening.” I wagged my eyebrows. “When are you guys going to start talking about marriage?”“Soon. We’re not in a huge hurry. We have the rest of our lives, right?” She disappeared back into the dressing room.I ran my hand over a pretty black skirt as my thoughts raced around. I didn’t have forever. The rest of Andrew’s life was forty years? Where that was a long time, marrying a guy in his fifties seemed a bit much. Reminded me too much of my parents.“Try it on. It’ll look good on you.” A saleswoman walked up and pulled the skirt from the rack. “You have a beautiful figure. This with a silky pink top? Stunning, I bet.”“Yeah?” I tried to ignore the heat rushing up my chest and coating my cheeks. “Okay. Sure. I need something for my friend’s party anyway. I’d love to impress my boyfriend w
Lanie“And this is my brother Damon. Have you guys met?” Matt pressed his hand gently to the middle of my back, walking me around the room and introducing me to his family and fellow artists at the party later that night.“I don’t think so.” I extended my hand, trying not to focus on how incredibly hot Matt’s brother was. “Wait. Maybe so?”“I think so.” He smiled and kissed my hand. “My wife Bethany is over there by the window. She’ll want to meet Erica’s best friend as well.”“Got it.” Matt walked me over to the window, and I couldn’t help but look around the crowd for Andrew. The night was getting closer and closer to being over, midnight looming in the next forty minutes or so. I’d texted him three times, but after that, I felt like I was nagging and quit.“Beth. This is Lanie. Erica’s BFF.” He smiled down at me as Bethany and I exchanged pleasantries. I’d met Kendal and Dana a few minutes before, as well as a million other people I could barely remember after shaking their hands.