Romance: Mills and Boon Romance: The Boss's Proposal (Billionaire Bad Boy BBW Romance) (3 page)

“Who forgot the salad dressing?” Lily asked, remembering the night that then felt like a disaster but now seemed hilarious.

Alec shook his head.

The hours past as the two of them talked about the past; good and bad. Lily thought back to the night where they had sat in each other’s arms under a night sky. They were each other’s only warmth, and it had been a precious night. They had planned their lives together, and she wanted to ask the question they had debated for hours.

“ Do you still want to name our daughter, Rose? ”

Lily felt Alec tense as she asked the question.

“Did I say something wrong, Alec?”

“I’m not sure if I want children anymore Lil. Or even a marriage for that matter” He said, his voice tight.

Lily was hurt. She still had expectations from him even after all those years. Resentment came over her in an angry wave.

“You haven’t changed, have you?” Lily asked, standing quickly.

Alec pulled back from the sudden change of demeanor. He had been caught off guard, and had reacted as such.

“What?”

“You, you don’t know if you want to get married or have kids. Isn’t that a big decision?”

“Yes, Lily, it is, but that’s just how I feel.”

Lily shook her head and crossed her arms. Lily wanted to be married and she definitely wanted children - she wanted them desperately. She wanted the white wedding, the picket fence and children. She was sure about it, and had been since she was young. She could not stand being with him anymore.

“ You have to go.”

“God damnit Lily! Why do you always have to do this? Why are we fighting over my choice of life again?”

“Because Alec! I can’t be falling in love with a man who does not want marriage!”

Both fell silent for a moment.

“I want you to leave.” Lily demanded.

Alec looked as if he wanted to speak for a moment, but said nothing as he grabbed his suit jacket and left the bookshop.

The moment he was out of sight, Lily collapsed into a pile on the floor. Seeing him leave reminded of the time she had broken up with him years back. It was not a pleasant feeling. Not a feeling she wanted to feel after the most beautiful evening with a man after years.

Two Months Later…

“What are you doing!?” Holly called as she ran to her sister who had been hanging a ‘for sale’ sign.

Lily sighed as she looked to her sister. She hated to fail, and she had never in her life felt like a bigger failure.

“I’m selling the book shop.” She said with as little emotion as she could muster.

“Wow, wait. What the hell, is this because of Alec?” Holy asked, taking the sign from her sister.

“No, why would it be because of him?” Lily lied. She could not face Alec anymore. She was still strangely attached to him to keep things just professional.

She had to quit after what had happened. There was no way that she could look at Alec like nothing had happened between them.

“Lily, what are we going to do?”

“Nothing Holly. We aren’t going to do anything. I am going to sell the store. I can’t hold up your life’s savings in a business that’s going nowhere. I need to pay you out and move on”

Alec who had walked in and stood behind them interrupted Holly.

“Hey Lily ” He asked.

“Alec, what are you doing here? I wish I could say it’s nice to see you”

“ Hold on Lily, can we talk?” Lily felt Alex had something on his mind. Something urgent.

“Okay.” Lily said.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m cutting my losses. Selling the store. What are you doing here?”

“I came to thank you. You were right about the productivity thing.” Alec said as he handed Lily a vanilla Latte.

He hated the look that he saw on Lily’s face. He knew what the store meant to her, and could only imagine the amount of pain that she felt.

“Lily, can we go back to being friends again?” I miss you and I don’t ever want to hurt your feelings.

“ Alec, please just leave,” said a cold, angry Lily. Her store had just shut down officially. This was the worst day in her life. 

“ Well, I guess that’s it.” said a disappointed Alec, not knowing what else to say. Lily broke in to tears as he left.

Alec left, and made a quick note of the Realtors number from the FOR SALE sign outside the store.

“I don’t need to see it. I know that I want it. I’ll be there tomorrow to close.” Said Alec to the realtor.

“Sir…”

“No, make it happen.”

Alec slammed the phone on the receiver. His hand quaked as he pulled it back. He was a man of strength, and yet his hand shook. He had spent so many years wishing that Lily was back in his life, and now she was. He was on the verge of losing her once more, and the thought shook him to the bone.

He leaned back in his chair as he looked up toward the ceiling. He wanted, no, he needed this to work.

“I can’t believe someone already bought the store.” Holly marveled as she helped Lily pack the books that remained from the sale she had put on.

“Yep.” Lily said curtly.

This was killing her. She was aching so deeply within herself, she felt as though she had fallen into a pit.

“I thought this is what you wanted.” Holly said, reading her like one of the books she held.

“I did. I do.”

Holly didn’t know what to say. The only sound in the store was the shuffling of paper.

A knock came at the front door, bringing both women’s attention to the door.

“Lily, what’s he doing here?” Holly asked as Alec stood in the doorway.

“I have no idea.” Lily muttered as she walked to the door.

The sight of Alec was welcomed but also resented. Deep down inside, Lily wanted to run to him and jump in his arms just the way that she always had. Another part of her was angry, angry that he seemed able to achieve his desires and she was not.

He stood before her “Hey, I thought all the books came with the sale.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m sure that when I bought it that the realtor said the books were included.” Alec wore a sly smile as he looked at Lily.

“You’re the one that bought the store?” Lily asked, her voice timid.

“Yeah. You know, after all those years of you talking about it, I thought it sounded amazing.”

“It was.”

“Lily, I want you to have the store.”

Lily turned on her heel.

“Alec, I failed. I can’t run a store.”

“Maybe not alone, but I don’t see why you couldn’t do it, with say a business savvy man by your side.”

Lily dropped her head as she smiled.

“Alec, I need to apologize for being so mean to you earlier”

Alec interrupted Lily just as she had begun speaking with a wave of his hand.

“No Lil, you were right then, and you’re right now. It’s just hard for me to decide what I want in the future because it allows for so much disappointment.”

After all the years the two of them had spent together; she had never heard Alec speak like this. She wasn’t one to open up too often. She immediately craved more.

“What do you mean?”

“My mother, she wanted so much out of life. She wanted the husband, the kids, and the perfect job.”

Lily knew how that story had ended. After his mother had fallen pregnant with him, his father left her without a dime to her name. She worked two full time jobs as well as babysat for the local kids, all the while looking after her son. Her life was miserable until she met her second husband and Alec’s stepfather.

“I understand Alec, and I am sorry I expected so much from you even after all those years”

“Lily, I bought this store we can start off to a new beginning. I love you”

“I…like you too Alec, but we just think very differently. And in any case I can just keep this store. I am sure you will be able to put it to better sure than I have.”

The cold and crisp air bit at their exposed necks and chilled them as they spoke.  Still, they held their gaze.

“ What if it could be our store?” his comment left Lily confused. Was he proposing a partnership? She was not business savvy to understand hints like that.

Alec put his hand in the right pocket of his black tweed coat and pulled out a small box. He opened it to produce a beautiful platinum and solitaire ring that glistened under the sun. Looking straight Lily’s eyes, he posed the question. “ Lily, I love you so much, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me? ”

Lily was surprised to say the least. Tears filled her eyes, as she was overwhelmed with emotion. The boy she fell in love with and made plans of marriage with 15 years back was standing in front of her asking her to marry him. She covered her mouth with both her hands and looked straight into his eyes. All she could see there was love for her. She knew Alec, she knew how much he loved her, and he knew how much she loved him.

This was a decision she did not want to regret. She nodded positively, overwhelmed in emotion, unable to speak.

The nod was enough for Alec, and he hugged her tight and swept her off her feet. 

***

*****

THE END

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1. Bear Twins & the Bartender:
   

Bear Shifter Ménage Romance

It had been a hot, sunny day that was turning into a sticky night. The waves lapped the shore in a lazy fashion, as though they too were tired from the long day. Claire Underwood ran along the boardwalk ignoring the ocean. It was quiet this time of the evening—being too late for the daytime folk and too early for the night dwellers—but she was late for her shift, and her boss, Charlie, took exception to that.

The sign above Cool Joe’s was blinking into life as the sun finally began to dip below the horizon, slowly plunging New York into a merciful darkness. The heat wave had, so far, been unbearable. Hot enough to melt the asphalt, her father would say. Claire smiled at the memory.  She would have to stop by the house some time…then again, maybe not.

With a wave to Nick, a tall Roman god of a boy, who was tending the outside tables, Claire ducked into the stifling, beer-scented, interior of Cool Joe’s. Established in 2017, this was the oldest bar – restaurant on the boardwalk. It had a fine history and had managed to send land developers packing whenever they came knocking. In fact it was practically an icon, and Charlie kept the place buzzing by employing staff that looked more like models than bartenders and waiters.

Of course not all of Cool Joe’s neighbors had been lucky and many of the old places, including the amusement park, had closed down. Now ugly holiday apartment blocks rose, so close to the ocean that some of them even boasted rooms below the water line, for those who could afford a truly ocean view.

“You’re late,” Charlie sneered. He was a short man with a hanging paunch that his belt would never circumnavigate. His staff shirt, a light blue golf tee with Cool Joe’s silk-screened on it, was sweat-stained and he smelled of cigars.

Claire rushed behind the bar, aiming to shove her bag under the polished wood top, but Charlie’s hand closed over her arm.

“You’re not tending my bar looking like that,” he said and let go of her. “Go clean yourself up. My customers want pretty girls, not ones that look like they just ran The New York Marathon.” 

“Wow, Charlie you’re in rare form tonight,” Alicia, a tall woman with blue hair and big-boobs, sneered as she poured the one customer at the bar his beer. “Give her a break, huh?”

“I’ll do more than that!” Charlie said.

Recognizing the spat that was about to ensue between the two lovebirds, Claire ducked into the bathroom. Turning to the mirror, she looked at herself critically. Only twenty-five and she had bags under her eyes—actual bags. She prodded one with a long finger. Then, she lifted her handbag onto the side of the sink and rummaged for her make up.

“You have the best skin.”

Claire looked up, startled and saw Jenny emerging from a cubicle. She was very tall and muscular, and up until recently, she had answered to the name of “Jonah.”

“Hi Jen,” Claire said, pulling her eyeliner out of her bag and dragging it under her left eye.

Jenny stood behind her, her eyes roaming over Claire with obvious envy.

“You know if I looked like you, I would never wear these silly staff shirts like that,” Jenny said. “And I would totally do something else with my hair. I mean, it’s soft and such a rich black, it’s beautiful. Really! And those green eyes! How did you get those anyway? Your dad is…”

“Yeah, he’s black but my mom is Greek, I got them from her.”

“Good, because you didn’t get enough boob,” Jenny said. “Of course if we just do this,” and she grabbed Claire by the shirt, rearranging it a little so that it no longer hung like a limp sail and revealed just enough cleavage. “There. That should get you extra tips tonight. Now don’t tie that hair up darling. Let it be free.”

Jenny smiled at her and flounced out of the room. It was strange for Claire, but in Jenny’s presence, she always felt like she was the man in the room. She sighed. This was it. This is what her life had become: getting all dolled up to serve alcohol to people who would never know her name. What a waste. Oh well, it was work, and that was hard to come by. So Claire ignored Jenny’s advice and tied her hair up letting her long ponytail hang down between her shoulder blades. She was damned if she was going to overheat just for extra tips.

Fixed up properly, Claire returned to the bar and dumped her bag. Charlie ran an eye over her face.

“You happy?” she asked him.

“Yes,” he said. “Now sell your ass off. I want a record night.”
***

The bar filled up. It was a young crowd tonight, full of excitement and wanting cocktails more than beer. So Claire was up to her armpits in peppermint liqueur, Jägermeister, and something Alicia was mixing called Golden Bowls, that had just about everything it them except the kitchen sink.

The music was loud and rocking with one of Claire’s favorite bands, The Juniper Blossoms, playing their hearts out on the little stage Charlie had set up for the summer. Voices tried to rise above the din but after years in this bar, Claire could just about read the patron’s minds and the sales were ringing in making Charlie smile, and the tips were raining down making the staff smile.

A world of swirling color slid around Claire all perfect and familiar. But there was one off note in her harmony. It took her a moment to realize that it was coming from the far end of the long bar. Seated in the corner, dragging a strange darkness with them were two men.

One look was all it took to know that they were brothers:  the same high cheekbones and strong jawlines, same lips and thin noses. But there were differences. One was bigger, more muscled under his black t-shirt. This one seemed to radiate an air of barely contained energy like he might jump out of his skin at any moment. The other was smaller. He sat on the bar chair like he owned it and had sat in it for years. He had a friendly ease about him that made Claire just about tackle Alicia to the floor so she could get to them first.

“Go ahead!” Alicia said moving behind Claire her hands up in surrender.

Claire stumbled, crashing into the side of the bar in her haste to reach these two mystery men. The smaller one smiled, turning the most beautiful blue eyes on her. Claire tried to recover but those eyes were pulling the blush up her body from her toes. Oh God don’t you dare Claire, don’t you dare.  

“So what’ll it be?” she asked using the tried and tested bartender line from antiquity.

“What beer do you have on tap?” the smaller man asked. His voice was like syrup, golden and delicious. He had a faint accent that Claire couldn’t place.

“Well, we got Millers, Heineken, Kilkenny, Guinness and the house craft beer.” Claire rattled them off, her gaze locked with his. Her elbows thudded on the bar as she leaned in handing him a menu. “They’re all on here.” She smiled.

“What is this Craft Beer?” the bigger one asked turning. Claire swallowed. Where his brother was smooth and refined this one was raw. He turned piercing blue eyes on her and then smiled the same hypnotic grin as his brother.

All her thoughts ran out of her ears. “Um…it’s made here. Charlie brews it in the basement actually.” She tossed her head on one side. Jed leaned in holding the menu up but not looking at it. She could feel his eyes slipping to her neckline. Thank you Jenny for the extra cleavage. “It’s a light beer; local; smooth; very tasty. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll never want anything else.” Claire purred and somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered what the hell she was doing. 

“Mmm, I’ll have a Guinness, and my little brother Jed here will have a glass of milk,” said the bigger one. His accent was heavier, sounding very Eastern European.

The smaller one thumped his brother on the arm. “Don’t listen to Lance, he’s full of crap. Smooth and tasty, you say,” he licked his lips. “Never want anything else, eh? I’ll try the craft beer.”

Claire realized she was just leaning against the bar, staring. She managed to snap herself out of it.

“Coming right up,” she chirped and pushed herself slowly off the bar. As she walked away to place the order she turned to glance over her shoulder. Jed was still watching her. She put a little extra swing into her hips as she walked back down the bar to the barrels.

Away from the brothers she gulped fresh air and felt intensely grateful to be pouring something simple. But her hand was shaking anyway and she ended up with far too much foam on the Guinness, and not enough at all on the Craft.

What was this effect these men had on her? It was almost feral. She had just about thrown herself at them across the bar. She was going to have to exercise more self-control. Flirting was fine, it was part of the job, but blatant sexual desire…she might as well hang a sign around her neck saying desperate.

Claire gripped the drinks like a barrier and placed them down in front of Jed and Lance.

“What’s your name?” Lance asked as he took the tankard from her. His fingers brushed hers and Claire felt her heart skip.

“It’s Claire,” she said smiling.

“It’s beautiful,” Jed said taking his tankard too.

Claire smiled back, feeling things stir inside that she hadn’t felt in a good long while. 

Then Jed pulled out a wallet. Claire hadn’t seen that in ages. Everyone had a Pay-Chip now and cash was almost obsolete. But he held out the notes to her and smiled. She took them and made change and held it to him hoping his fingers would brush hers. He shook his head.

“Your tip,” he said and winked.

Lance chuckled and said, “I’m sure that you are a fabulous hostess Claire, and will keep the drinks coming tonight alright?”

Claire nodded. “As you say.” The brothers turned from her, though Jed’s eyes rested on her a moment longer than Lance’s did.

Claire went back down the bar to her other customers feeling bewildered and hot. She kept slipping surreptitious glances down the bar at the brothers when she was busy with other customers, unable to stay away too long. They were like a drug and after a while it began to scare her. There was something different, something intense and unfamiliar about them. They seemed hungry in a predatory way that made her want to run both to and from them at the same time. It was beginning to give her a headache.

***

The evening wore on and became a thick, very sticky night with no breeze to speak of. Claire was sweat soaked and exhausted by the time Charlie decided to call last rounds. Half an hour later Claire was all cashed up and out the door feeling more listless and like she’d lost something than ever before. The brothers had been the last ones out, thanking her for her excellent service and slipping her a few hundred-dollar bills as they went.  Who were they? And why did she want to see them so badly again?

Claire stood for a moment outside letting the cooler night airflow over her hot skin. She wanted to take a bath for the next year. Maybe that would clear her head. Her feet ached and suddenly she realized she hadn’t eaten at all and was famished. Her apartment was just up the street and on the way was Julio’s Taco truck the perfect late night food.

She turned to her left to walk down the boardwalk passed the over-priced hotels, when she noticed movement in the dim light of a lamp. The light was flickering on and off as though the bulb was just about to blow. Under it, their heads together looking at something were Jed and Lance.

Her heart did cartwheels. Were they waiting for her? Oh God what if they were waiting for her? She wasn’t stupid. She’d lived here for a long time now and this situation seemed fishy. What were they still doing here? What were they looking at? Claire hesitated.

Newspaper headlines flashed in her fore brain. All of them recounting the tails of girls who should’ve known better, should’ve read the signs and known that their doom was imminent. Was she setting herself up to be one of those girls by wanting to blindly run off with two total strangers?