Page 56 of Happy Endings

“I turned my back on my family. Wasn’t there for them when they needed me the most. Mama had wanted me to take over the restaurant, but I wasn’t ready. So I ran off to New Orleans. But if I’d stayed or come home earlier, the doctors might have caught her cancer sooner. Then maybe...”

“Andre, it’s not your fault.” She held his face with her hands. “You came back when it mattered. You were there for her until she passed. You’re here for Mama Hazel’s right now.”

She kissed him. Her lips were warm and soft.

“I’m sorry for calling you names and badmouthing you to my friends.” She kissed him again.

“No, I’m sorry. I deserved it for ghosting you.” He returned the kiss. “Can we start over? For real this time?”

She nodded and caressed his lips with her thumb.

“I don’t want to start over, though.” She ran her hand down his neck. “That would mean pretending what we had before never happened.”

He smiled, relieved to hear her say that. “Okay. Then we won’t.” Andre wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her until their bodies were pressed together.

Trixie gasped at his hard heat pulsing against her body. “Let’s keep this fun—no strings?”

He nodded.

“We have some lost time to make up for,” he whispered, before crashing his lips onto hers.

Chapter 21

For the last two years, Trixie had held on to the anger and shame of his leaving. Mad at him for walking out when the shit had hit the fan with her parents.

Being forced to be on her own had taught her so much. She learned that she could take care of herself financially. That she was allowed to fumble around until she figured out what to do with her life. The Boss Babes had cheered her at every step.

In a way, his leaving her had been a gift. He broke her heart, but she came out stronger and more determined to succeed.

Now, with each searing kiss, the hate and anger she’d clutched so tightly dissipated. She’d gotten used to associating those feelings with Andre. No longer. It was time to let go of the past.

Trixie returned his kiss with all the power of two years of pent-up longing. She wanted her lips to ease the pain of his mother’s death. To hold him up as he fought to keep his restaurant alive. To communicate that she’d help him. That he didn’t have to do this alone.

“Andre,” she moaned into his mouth.

He kissed the side of her neck, nipping his way down to her shoulder. She closed her eyes, letting each brush of skin againstskin ignite her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and proof of his desire pressed against her. Heat flared from her core.

“I want you. Need you,” she gasped.

“Not here,” he rasped. “In my office.”

In the corner across from his desk was a worn IKEA futon, but they didn’t make it that far. She grabbed the belt loop of his jeans and pulled him in for a kiss. Her hands made quick work undoing his belt and unbuttoning his fly. Trixie reached into his boxer briefs and wrapped her hands around his silky hardness.

She was rewarded with a groan from Andre. His hips pushed, rubbing his erection against her hand. She pulled down his shorts, freeing his cock. Her fingers brushed across the tip, eliciting another groan from him. Finding him already wet, she gasped.

“If you keep doing that, I’m going to throw you on this futon and fuck you until you cry for mercy.”

“Promise?” She scraped her nails gently down the length of him.

He hissed in pleasure. Then pulled her hands behind her back. She arched as he grabbed both wrists with one hand. With his free hand, he untucked her T-shirt from her jeans.

“Andre, please.” Her voice sounded not her own. Deeper, lustier. Her core ached for his touch.

“Please, what?” His fingers circled her nipple through the cotton of her shirt. Her nipple puckered, making a peak under the shirt. He gasped. “You’re not wearing a bra.”

“It’s a special bra. Zoe’s new design.”

“You wore a special bra for a business meeting?” His deep-brown eyes bore into hers. “What happened to keeping things separate?”

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