Thrasher (24 page)
Authors: K.S. Smith
“Take it. I want to know,” he demanded as he grabbed Lexi from my arms.
After swiping the test from the bag, I ran off to the downstairs restroom. Halfway through my two-minute wait, the doorbell rang, and I darted out to answer it, leaving the test on the ledge of the sink.
We hadn’t seen Megan and Tripp for three weeks while they were on their honeymoon in Barbados, and I was dying to be reunited with my best friend. The door was open before I could even get there, and when I saw her, we both raced toward one another. My arms flew around her, and I pulled her into a tight embrace. “I missed you so much! You can never stay away that long, ever again. Next time I go with you.”
Tripp chimed in from behind Megan, “Next time? There better not be a next time. She only needs one honeymoon.”
Megan and I began to laugh, and when I finally let her go, I pulled Tripp into a hug. “Don’t you know that you marry the first time for money and the second time for love?”
He released me and looked over at Duke. “You hear that, man? Money — then love. Wonder if she’ll leave you for Gunner?”
Duked flipped him off as I slapped his arm. “Speaking of my favorite bad boy, will he be joining us for dinner tonight?”
Tripp shook his head, “Not tonight. He’s got a date.”
My eyebrow lifted, and Duke and Megan had a similar reaction. “A date? With whom?” I asked.
Gunner may have been a man of few words, but he was family, and I wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily for not telling me that he’d finally had a date.
“Doc Elliott,” Tripp said nonchalantly as he took Lexi from Megan’s arms.
A low chuckle rumbled from Duke’s lips as I crossed the room toward him to help with our dinner preparations.
An hour later Duke, Tripp, Megan, and I were seated around the patio table, enjoying dinner and catching up. Megan was going over all of the things they’d done on their honeymoon. I stood to go check on Lexi, who was sleeping in her room.
“I’m going to check on the baby. Does anyone need another drink?” I asked before bending slightly to place a kiss on Duke’s cheek.
His hand slipped up my arm and pulled my body into his lap. “She’s fine. Check on me,” he whispered before showering my neck with kisses.
“And on that note, I think I’ll grab more beers and check on the baby.” Tripp stood up and made his way into the house.
Duke continued to make a kissing booth of my neck before he found my lips. When I remembered that we had company, I looked over at Megan and blushed, shrugging my shoulders. “I cannot wait for you to get pregnant. That man is ready for babies. And it’s so fun making them.”
She smiled at me, lifting her glass of water to her lips, and that was when it hit me. She’d been here all night and hadn’t once had a drink. My eyes widened, and I sat up straight, still in Duke’s lap.
“You aren’t?” I said, just as Tripp came back out to the patio, a pregnancy test in his hand.
“Another baby?” he asked, shocked as he looked at Duke and me.
“Is it positive?” I asked, dying to know.
Tripp’s head nodded up and down.
I twisted around to Duke and took his face between my hands. “Another baby, it is.” My lips met his as my arms slipped around his neck, and he squeezed me tightly. But our moment was short-lived as I remembered what I’d just asked Megan.
“Wait a minute.” I said, pointing at her. “You’ve been drinking water all night. Are you pregnant?”
She looked from me to Tripp and then back to me before nodding her head up and down. “Yes! We found out on the honeymoon!”
An overenthusiastic shriek escaped me as I jumped off Duke’s lap and took my best friend into my arms. “We are pregnant — together. This is the best news ever. I am so excited.”
Duke and Tripp were congratulating one another, and Megan and I were still going from jumping up and down to hugging. The four of us, best friends, pregnant together.
Life may not have been what I’d dreamed of as a little girl, but as I stood there with my husband and our two best friends, I knew that this life was better than any dream I’d ever had.
UPCOMING RELEASE
His Best Kept Secret
Chapter One
The elevator door chimed and I hastily pulled out my compact mirror to study my face. Make-up, perfect. Hair, perfect. I take a quick glance down at my black form fitted dress and find that it too is perfect, hugging all of my curves flawlessly. When my eyes focus back on the entryway I can feel my heartbeat begin to quicken. The door opens, he steps into the lobby and I can’t help but gaze at him in awe of his exquisiteness.
My eyes start at the bottom and work their way up. His long, muscular legs are covered by a charcoal grey pair of trousers. Tucked snugly into his pants is a crisp white button up that is pressed firmly against his broad chest and accented with a royal blue tie. I can tell by his rolled sleeves, loose top button and necktie that he must have already had one hell of a morning. But that doesn’t stop me from ogling him or the fact that he looks fantastic.
I lift to my feet, my heels capping my height at just less than six foot, but he still towers over me. “Good morning, Bec.” He comments as he stops at the front desk to grab a mint. Our eyes are locked on each other and I can’t help but thank the heavens above for his choice of that tie. It makes his piercing blue eyes stand out even that much more. I continue to admire him, noticing that his usual neatly combed crew-cut is a bit disheveled this morning, and I don’t mind at all, in fact, I also don’t mind the bristle that has taken up residence on his square jaw.
Snapping myself out of this trance that he had me under, I respond, “Good morning, Graham. Rough start today?” I ask, curiously as I follow him back to his office.
The receptionist was running late today and because I was the only one in the office who was ever on time I’d taken it upon myself to sit at her desk and answer the morning calls.
“Rough is an understatement,” He croaked, collapsing into his desk chair. “The kids are all sick and my wife’s minivan blew a tire while she was on her way to the doctor with the two of them. Piece of advice, never have kids. They’re amazing, but damn, they can turn your world upside down in a split second.”
I couldn’t help but allow a light hearted laugh escape me as I looked on at him. I knew he actually didn’t mean what he was saying. He was an incredible father and he loved his children almost as much as he loved his wife. This was my third year as his secretary and I had grown to know and love his family. His wife, Victoria, would stop by often and bring the kids in for lunch with their dad or just to visit.
They were a rowdy bunch. The other ladies who I worked with loved having them visit the office, they were all mothers of adult children and I suppose it brought back memories for them. But I always felt like Victoria would wait until we were under a critical deadline to
stop in
for a quick visit that always ended up taking longer than expected; usually ending with a full-fledged temper tantrum by the kids when it was time to leave. It wasn’t their fault, I suppose. Their father was extremely busy and always at work. They probably missed him and that was something I could relate to. My father was the same way, still is. Probably the reason I excelled so well in school.
If you would have ever told me four years ago when I completed graduate school that I’d be a secretary, I’d have laughed in your face. That was not my life’s ambition, but when the opportunity to work for Graham Kingston presented itself, I couldn’t pass it up. He was one of the most talked about up and coming hedge fund managers on the east coast and I was at the top of his interview list.
I’d worked for a very prominent bank all through college and Graham was a client. We grew to know each other at our downtown Atlanta branch and when he asked me for an interview, I’d accepted on the spot. Before interviewing with him I’d interviewed at several accounting firms, but nothing felt like home. I was lucky enough to have a family who could afford to support me financially while I shopped around after getting my master’s in business finance.
“So what do we have on the calendar today?” Graham asked, pulling me out of my thoughts as he leaned further back in his chair, clasping his fingers behind his head and exposing his taut arm muscles.
Scrolling my finger over the screen of my iPad I briefly reviewed his schedule with him before making my way back to my desk to begin playing catch up. My parents and I had been in Italy for two weeks visiting my little sister while she studied abroad. She didn’t have the time to make it home for Thanksgiving break, so we took Thanksgiving to her. It had been an incredible trip, but I was glad to be back and ready to bust through the piles of documents on my desk.
Twelve hours later and I’d finally started to see some progress. The majority of my emails had been reviewed and disbursed to the proper parties to be taken care of and the stack of files to my right had decreased by at least twenty five percent. Not too bad for my first day back.
I leaned back in my chair and stretched, extending my arms over my head as I yawned. Just then Graham stepped out of his office and caught a glimpse of me, “Long day catching up?” He asked, lifting an eyebrow.
I nodded as I stood, “Yes. I’m exhausted. I managed to get through the priority pile, the rest have issues that can be dealt with this week, not as urgent.”
“Great. It’s good to have you back. I’m always out of whack when you are away.”
I rolled my head to the side, stretching my neck as I laughed, “I’m not that invaluable. Besides, you’ve got the girls here to help.” Grabbing my purse and coat I glanced back up at him just as he extended his arm in the direction of the main lobby and I noticed that he also had his thing to leave. “After you,” He said, allowing me to lead the way.
The elevator ride from the twenty-third floor to the parking garage was quick. As soon as we stepped off Graham’s phone chimed and I knew he’d just received a text message. I couldn't help but wonder who it was. I watched on, trying not to be obvious as he read it.
“Looks like its dinner out tonight. Victoria has a mess with the kids at home and needs some time to get things squared away before I get there.” He leaned his head back and sighed.
As if my body was sending out a mating call to him my stomach rumbled with hunger and his eyes darted to me, a grin on his face. “Want to grab something? I didn’t see you leave your office all day, you’ve got to be starved.”
My hands rested on my stomach and I groaned in anticipation of eating, “Yes. That would be wonderful. I can feel myself withering away.” Dinner with Graham -though a perk of the job- wasn’t uncommon. In our line of work we were always out to dinner meetings, but this was different. This was the first time he and I would be going out, after hours, alone.
About the Author
K.S. Smith is a twenty-eight-year-old contemporary and erotic romance author. When she is not writing, you will most likely find her nose in a book, spending time with her family and friends, or dedicating her time to the military through her favorite non-profit organization.
K.S. was born and raised in Tampa, Florida and continues to build her life there in her historic 1928 bungalow with the love of her life, Jo.
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More Books By K.S. Smith
One Night With Him -
http://tinyurl.com/onenightwithhim
Fighting For Her -
http://tinyurl.com/fightingforher
Books Co-Authored with Megan C. Smith
Hourglass -
http://tinyurl.com/Hourglass23
Hourglass Squared –
http://tinyurl.com/HourglassSquared23
Hourglass Cubed –
http://tinyurl.com/HourglassCubed23
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