Sinfully ever after, p.22
Sinfully Ever After, page 22
part #4 of The Escort Series
“We’re both lucky. Who would’ve thought that the playboy I saw at all those events a couple years ago would be my husband?”
I roll my eyes. “Playboy? You mean God-like creature?”
“Oh god,” she laughs. “Don’t bring that back.”
“I mean, you weren’t wrong.”
“Stop,” she says, still giggling.
I pull both her hands into mine and look into her eyes. “I love you, Adrienne. Thank you for changing my life. You’re the best part of my day, and every time I look at you, I fall more in love.”
She tilts her head and gives me a smile. Reaching down, she grabs our two glasses of champagne and hands one to me.
“To falling in love with the same person every day.”
We clink our glasses together and drink, and we spend the night under the stars, wrapped in each other’s arms.
The End
Fifteen months later
NICO
“Yo, how long does it take for you to leave the fucking house, man? We’ve been waiting forever.”
Troy narrows his eyes at me as he walks through the front door of Marc’s house, holding a car seat in one hand. “Things are a little more difficult now, Nico. If you can’t tell,” he says, adjusting the diaper bag on his other arm. “Babies don’t have schedules.”
“I never would’ve thought I’d see you with a damn pink diaper bag hanging from your shoulder, and what is that? Spit up? Dude, change your shirt.”
He looks down at his shoulder and scoffs. “She’ll probably spit up on me again later.”
“Where’s Em?”
“She’s coming.”
“All right. Want some help?”
“Nah, I’m good,” he says, putting the car seat down. “Where’s everyone?”
“They’re all in the back. Jace is cooking on the grill, and Adrienne and Thalia are in the pool. The rest are just kickin’ back.”
I hear Emilie grunt, and I turn around to see her struggling with her own car seat and diaper bag.
“Here, let me help,” I say, rushing over to her. “I’ll take Derrick.”
“Thanks, Nico,” she says, sounding out of breath. “That little stinker is heavy.”
“Aww, don’t say that about my little buddy.”
She closes the door behind her and drops the diaper bag in the corner. “Sorry we’re late, but it’s such a production to leave the house now. We have to make sure they’re fed, changed, and have their bags packed with everything we could possibly need and more.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it.”
“Oh, you’re cool with her, but you give me shit for being late,” Troy says.
“Yep.”
“I still can’t believe we have twins!” Emilie says.
“I can’t believe Troy never mentioned that his granddad was a twin.”
“Hey, shut up,” Troy pipes in. “I didn’t even think about it.”
“Is Jasmine asleep, too?” I ask, peeking into her car seat.
“Yeah. Thank goodness. They both cried the whole way over.”
“At least they’re cute,” I say with a shrug and a laugh. “Well, I’m gonna head out back.”
“We’ll be out there soon,” Troy says.
I slide the glass door open and step outside. “The babies are here.”
“Oooh!” Adrienne squeals, climbing out of the pool.
“They’re asleep,” I add.
“Aww. Okay,” she says, letting herself fall back into the water.
“You need anything?” I ask Jace, who’s flipping the burgers and rotating the hot dogs.
He grabs his drink from a small table nearby and says, “I’m good. These are just about done.”
Everyone starts lining up to get their food, and I stand back and watch them. Garrett leap frogs over Marc’s back in the pool, shoving his head under the water. He swims away as Marc splashes water in his direction.
Lincoln wraps his arm around Nathalia and gives her a kiss before handing her a plate. Him, her and Marc had their ceremony six months ago, and it was beautiful. Apparently, they’ve just started trying to get pregnant, so soon enough, there will be more babies brought into the picture.
Garrett, who’s become one of my closest friends, moved down here right before Marc’s non-wedding. He says his parents took it pretty well, though his mom did shed some tears, and has made lots of calls to both Garrett and Marc, making sure he’s adjusting okay. When they came down to visit for Marc’s ceremony, they decided they did not like the desert, so I don’t think they’ll be moving down here, which was what Marc thought would happen.
Kade didn’t last long in the escort business. He met someone, quit his job, and moved to Boulder City. We still talk from time to time, but he seems happier now than he ever did in the business. It’s not for everyone.
I watch as Adrienne gets out of the pool and walks over to Jace. They just celebrated their one year anniversary, and then told all of us that they’re expecting a baby. Jace gives Adrienne a kiss, and then places his hand on her stomach and smiles.
Jace’s mom relapsed about six months into sobriety, but she’s currently sober and really excited for her first grandchild. She’s been down twice since the wedding, and Adrienne and Jace have been to New York to visit her a couple times as well.
Troy, Emilie, and the babies all live in a new house that they bought before the babies were born. They spent months looking for the perfect house to raise a family, and they couldn’t be happier.
You’re probably feeling a little bad for me, right? Well, you don’t have to, because after Troy and Emilie come outside with their twins, my girlfriend is just a few steps behind.
Sofia.
I met her at a grocery store of all places. We’ve been together for nine months, and tonight, when we get back to my place, I’m going to propose to her. She knows that I was an escort. I was an escort for a few months into our relationship, but then, just like everyone else, I quit. It was time for me to move on. Not because I hated my job, but because I love Sofia more than the money I made as an escort.
Plus, Jace, Marc, and Troy opened up a new club, and guess who gets to be a part of this one? That’s right. Me.
“Hey, mama,” I say as Sofia sidles up to me.
“Hey, papa,” she laughs. “You want me to make you a plate?” she asks, starting to walk towards the food.
“Nah. I’m right behind you.”
Escort Fans,
This is for you! You’ve been asking for more escorts since they came out, and I was pretty sure I was done writing for these characters, so I never knew what to say. After taking a long break from writing, thanks to numerous factors, I started and stopped two other books before settling on this one. I knew that when I came back to the writing world, I needed a book people would be excited about, and I hoped it would be this one. You all have stuck by me even though I traveled different roads and published books that were nothing like the escorts. I wanted to make you happy by giving you a bit more of our favorite guys, so I hope you enjoyed it.
Xoxo
Isabel
The Secrets That We Keep
WAR
Resurrecting Phoenix
Think Again
Darkness Within
The Escort Series
Living in Sin
Unforgivable Sin
Sins & Mistrust
To my husband—thank you for everything! You’re the best sounding board and so helpful in the process of writing. I go to you when I’m stressed and think I should give up. Thanks for never letting me do that. You help me more than you know. Thank you for always supporting me and cheering me on. I love you!
Kizzy, Lyndsey, Charliene, and Lindsey—thank you so much for Beta reading and getting back to me so quickly with your thoughts and feelings! I appreciate it so much. Your words are so uplifting. Kizzy, thanks for being an amazing friend. I’m so glad we’re closer and have more opportunity to meet up!
Robin—this cover, and all the others, are to die for! Thank you for working your magic and being so great!
To the bloggers who sign up to help share my teasers, links, and cover, thank you!
To Stacey Blake, thank you for working on my book. This is our first together, but I’m sure it won’t be the last. I appreciate your time and talent!
Last but not least, the readers. Thank you all so much for sticking by me through the past two years when I wasn’t releasing anything. It’s been a difficult road, and I can’t put into words how the stress, grief, and life changes really affected me and my writing. Thanks for still being around. I appreciate your support so much!
Isabel Lucero is a bestselling author, finding joy in giving readers books for every mood.
Born in a small town in New Mexico, Isabel was lucky enough to escape and travel the world thanks to her husband’s career in the Air Force. Her and her husband have three kids and two dogs together, and currently reside in Delaware. When Isabel isn’t on mommy duty or writing her next book, she can be found reading, or in the nearest Target buying things she doesn’t need.
Isabel loves connecting with her readers and fans of books in general. You can keep in touch at the following places.
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Isabel Lucero, Sinfully Ever After
