Selling Satisfaction (28 page)

Everything about that statement causes my skin to crawl. The worse imaginable images cross through my mind, and I’m sickened beyond belief. My poor Hillarie. I hate myself so incredibly much for not saving her.

“That is unfortunate to hear. And no, he didn’t admit to any of those.”

“Well, he is number one in our investigation. He’s been arrested, and we’ll keep you updated on the results. Please don’t leave the state, nor you miss.” The officer looks at me.

“Me? Why me?” I ask, completely perplexed.

“We’ll need you for questioning,” Officer Polly answers.

“I can give you everything I know right now.”

“It doesn’t work like, ma’am. I apologize. I know this situation is hard on you, and maybe we’ll get a confession from Travis, but until then you’re still a suspect.”

“A suspect?” I look up to Everett, ignoring the ignorance of Officer Polly. “This is bullshit. This is why I fucking hate cops.” I turn around and walk towards his truck, not waiting for anything more.

He doesn't say anything when he gets into the truck minutes later, and I don't even hear a sound for a few seconds. Then the truck starts to roll as he pulls away from the curb. I close my eyes, resting my forehead against the cool glass, not opening them until he parks the truck once more at a McDonald's. I go inside, still not saying anything to Everett. After I use the restroom, I buy myself a drink because I'm no longer hungry, then I get back into the cab of his pickup. He doesn't say a word to me either.

The entire six hours home is silent. Not one word is spoken, all we have is the hum of the radio, which he was nice enough to change to an oldies rock station.

When we do get to the building, I hop out of the truck, double check that my car is locked, then head inside. Everett pauses inside the lobby as I head towards the elevators. "Brenna..." I stop but refuse to turn and look at him. "Do you want to stay over tonight?" He asks. Adding in, "I have a spare room. You don't have to be alone tonight."

I shake my head. "I'm better off alone. I think we both know that."

I continue towards the elevator, pressing the button to head upstairs. As the door opens, he whisper-yells with an crushed voice, just loud enough for me to hear. "I still love you, Brenna."

But it's too late. It's all too late. Life isn't as easy as
I love you's
and
I'm sorry's.
It's hard and painful. There is beauty in the world, but there is twice as much pain.

"I can't believe you're going
to be twenty four tomorrow," Ginger announces. Rounding the corner, she grins happily at me. "You look radiant by the way."

"I guess it's a part of getting old." I laugh, because during Ginger’s last birthday she burst into tears about being old. Then we went out and drank martinis all night on Walter Fletcher Beach in Jamaica, where she realized she'll always be young at heart.

Sitting down in the chair behind me, she watches as I line my eyes in thick black eyeliner. "Where are you going tonight?"

"Staying in, actually."

"Wow, changing things up I see."

"Funny," I say back equally as sarcastic.

"Just saying. That's all you seem to do. Get all dolled up to sit on the couch and watch some stupid, lame movie. You're turning twenty four, you should be doing shots off the bodies of young, rippled men."

Tossing my eyeliner into my container of makeup, I turn around to face Ginger. "Not saying I won't have plenty of fun nights like that in the future, but right now, I'm content where I am in life."

"Well, I'm going out tonight. So if you change your mind, let me know."

"I have something planned tonight, so I'm sure it'll be fine. If I do decide, I'll let you know."

She stands up to leave me alone in the bathroom. "Okay sweetie. I'm going to head out in a bit though, so I'll see you tomorrow. We still doing a birthday luncheon, correct?"

"Of course. Be safe, have a good night."

She leaves me be, so I finish getting ready. Padding through the house, I go into my room to put on my new dress I just bought. It's snug around my chest with an empire waist, the loose fabric falling almost down to my knees. My now shoulder length hair is waved, and my makeup is on just right. Putting on a pair of black heels, I do a once over in the full length mirror. I look a mixture of innocent, beautiful, and sexy. Exactly what I was going for.

Over the last three years I've lost a lot but I've gained just as much. Things definitely didn't go according to plan. I buried my best friend, lost the love of my life, and moved to a foreign country with my business partner. Who I now call by her biological name Ginger, rather than Kandy- and it’s equally as suiting.

It took exactly three weeks for a knock on my door to change my life forever. I opened it up and there stood Everett, his face sunken in, his eyes surrounded by puffy, red skin. He hadn't slept in a long time. I hadn't known what to say or what to do, so I opened the door for him. He stepped in, and in seconds his lips were on mine. He pushed me against the wall, kissing me with a passion unlike any time before. He didn't miss me, he
needed
me. He couldn't breathe without my love, which had felt an awful lot like my life in those recent weeks.

He made a vow right then and there that I was everything he wanted in life. When I asked about his career, he said he walked out on them. Apparently with Ginger and I skipping country the way we had, things got complicated anyways. He ended up working long enough to make sure Travis spent a life sentence behind bars for the murder of Hillarie. Then he used his resources to find me.

With that, he also gave me a packet filled with everything he could find on my parents. That meant more to me than anything else in my life. It wasn't much, but he managed to find paperwork from the hospital stating that my mom had stage four breast cancer. His thought- and mine- is that my mom was going to die soon anyways, so my dad killed her then turned the gun on himself. Even if it's not the truth, that is what I want to believe. I don't care there wasn't a note, I don't care nothing else was left to me, or that the investigation stayed cold... I was simply happy to have something more than I had before.

It's been just over three years, and in this time Ginger and I have built an empire in Montego Bay. It started by something Everett once said to me, about being a personal shopper. Now we have stores built all over with top of the line clothes, and each shopper that walks through has someone helping them for their entire shopping experience. It took off almost instantly, and now we're on store number thirteen, which is eventually going to expand to the United States.

Walking into the kitchen, I double check that everything is set up. After several months of training, Everett learned how to deep sea fish, and now has his own vessel. He calls it,
De Toute Beaute
- the reasoning something he said meant a lot to him, but never explained much of why.

Five days a week he takes people out on tour around the coast of Jamaica, bringing them deep sea fishing, and because of it, he enjoys life in a way he never knew he could. He followed a dream he hadn’t realized he had, as I followed mine, and together we've made a life we never knew could happen.

His only doubt in life has been his sister. She has visited us several times, with his nephew and now his niece. She and Sebastian are better than ever, even though they argue every time they visit because she wants to move down here. The last time she stayed an additional four weeks longer than Sebastian did, and I honestly didn't think she'd leave. I know she'll be back in a few months though, and this time she is planning on staying for two solid months. I haven't told Everett yet, but he's about to find out tonight the reasoning behind all of it.

Sitting down on the couch, Snuggles jumps up next to me, curling into a ball. I pet her while she purrs soundly. The door jingles, and I know Everett must be home. Hoping up from the couch, I walk towards the kitchen. He walks through the mudroom and into the kitchen, dressed in his button up blue shirt and pair of cutoff jeans. His hair is jumbled all about, exactly the way I've fallen in love with. I used to hate when it was a disaster, but the longer I know Everett, the more I see him in a carefree state of mind, the more I fall for him.

Pausing mid step, he looks me over. "Wow, you look… incredible.”

Walking towards him, I wrap my arms around his neck. "Thank you handsome." I kiss his mouth. "I have a present for you."

He looks past me in the kitchen, seeing the cake on the table all set up with a beautiful dinner organized on platters. "It's your birthday tomorrow, not mine."

"I know, but my present to myself is giving you something special." I smile wide, excited for him to figure out what I got him.

"That isn't how it's supposed to work," he says with a small chuckle. "But I guess I shouldn't expect anything else."

"Well, you can give me mine first if you want to."

He smiles down at me, a sparkle in his eye that he has every time he’s focused on me. I don't think I've had an ounce of doubt about his love for me over the last three years. Which is what makes tonight even better. "I'll wait until your actual birthday," he states. "I'm ready for mine now."

"Okay, good." I push away from him with excitement, walking towards the center of the kitchen in front of where all the food is. "Oh... babe?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you get the last thing out of the oven for me?"

"Um, yeah..." He walks over, grabbing the oven mitts off the counter, then opens the oven door. He looks inside then back at me, the question palpable with his expression. "There is only a muffin in there, and it's not even turned on."

"Not a muffin."

He glances back in then over to me once more. "A... biscuit?"

With a sigh, I step forward. "No, dumb-dumb, it's a bun."

"A bun?" He lifts a brow curiously, then all at once it hits him and he toss the oven mitts down. "A bun? You have a bun in the oven?"

My eyes brim with happy tears while I nod my head up and down, biting down nervously on my lip. He rushes over, wrapping me in his embrace.

"We're having a baby?" I continue to nod while he presses his lips to mine. "We're having a baby," he states once more, the echo of his voice twice as loud.

Grabbing my hips, he pulls me up for my legs to wrap around his waist. We kiss passionately as he walks us towards the bedroom.

Laying me down on the bed, he stands in front of me, watching me with a love greater than any love story could bring together.

I know, without a doubt, everything in my life lead up to this moment. Despite all the pain, the suffering, and the heartache, I can honestly say my life turned out to be pretty damn wonderful.

Once we’re both undressed, we make love with an intensity unlike any other time before. Knowing that we are about to become a family makes my love for him grow, which I hadn’t known to be possible.

As I feel my body start to tingle from the pleasure, Everett brings his mouth to my ear. “This was going to wait until tomorrow.”

“Making love?” I breathlessly ask between moans.

“No.” He pauses, looking me directly in the eyes. My body wants to continue moving, but I know he needs to tell me whatever it is racking his brain. “No, Brenna. Baby. I want to marry you. I was going to ask you to marry me tomorrow. Will you be my wife?”

And although it isn’t the most conventional proposal, it was exactly everything I wanted to hear from Everett. So we make love… twice.

A great thank you to all my supporters- whether you’ve been there from the start or if this is your first novel of mine! All your support, small or large, means the world to me! My life has become an incredible journey, all because I have amazing people like you purchasing my books, and giving me the support I never knew I’d receive! I hope you enjoyed
Selling Satisfaction
and will continue to look for more releases from me in the future. Xoxo.

To my family and friends: Thank you for all your consistent love and support. I’d be lost without you in my life.

Gordon: My favorite muse! Thank you for all that you’ve done and continue to do, in life and with my career. I’m not sure how I got so lucky!

To my Reading Group: My love for you continues to grow! You all are an amazing set of people! Thank you for everything you do.

To my editor & beta readers: Thank you for bringing more magic into my story, and giving me all the greatest advice. I’m not sure I could ever say thank you enough for all your help!! I’m forever grateful!

To the bloggers who joined my blog tour: Your hard work and dedication certainly doesn’t go unnoticed. Thank you for helping with the release of
Selling Satisfaction
! – Read & Share Book Reviews, Crazy Daisy Book Whore, Books and Boys Book Blog, Wicked Babes Book Reviews, Book Flirts by Jess, Brittany’s Book Blog, Book Review Virginia Lee, Next Chapter Book Blog, AC Book Blog.

Lastly, to anyone who has reviewed
Selling Satisfaction
… you have no idea how grateful I am, whether it was three simple words or thirty, I’m so unbelievably thankful that you took the time out of your day to let others know what you thought about when it came to reading my story! Your support is appreciated so much!