Page 52 of The Last Key
She drags her hand up my bare stomach. “Well, I guess we’ll have to make the most of the time we have right now.” She leans over and kisses my neck as her hand moves lower. “And right now, I’m yours. All yours.” She dips her hand inside my boxers and strokes my cock, bringingit to life in an instant.
“I love you,” I mutter against her lips, then graze my hand up her thigh.
“I love you too,” she breathes as she shimmies out of her underwear.
A moment later, I’m buried deep inside her and everything else washes away.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
KENNEDY
Tuesday
“Oh my god!”Lily squeals, as she walks over to where Claire and I are standing, a signed book and a photo with Justin in her hands. “You are incredible! I can’t believe I got to meet him.”
Claire snickers.
“What? You don’t think he’s hot?” Lily demands.
Claire shrugs. “I’ve had hotter.”
“Why did you even come?” I ask with a laugh.
“To heckle, obviously. And I wanted to see what my potential clientele is.”
“What do you do?” Lily asks.
Claire stares at her for a second, but I elbow her before she can say something snarky.
“I’m the CEO of Bloom Beauty. We have a store here in Brighton, and I want to reach the local market more.” She gestures around at all the women fawning over Justin. “And this is my market.”
Lily’s eyes are wide. “Oh my god! I love that store. I didn’t even know there was one in Brighton! I always order online. God, I’ve been paying shipping this whole time.”
Claire’s look is somewhere between amused and annoyed. “Yep. We have one here. Frankly, I need to get more people in the door. Kennedy suggested doing an event there. Maybe a girls’ night in, wine and facials kind of thing? Possibly with makeup tutorials?—”
Lily grabs Claire’s arm, and I bristle. Claire isn’t exactly the touchy-feely type. And Lily is the type who doesn’t care what type you are.
“That sounds like so much fun! I know a lot of the women in this group would love it. Probably some of the moms at school, too. But they kind of scare me.”
“I’m surprised anything scares you,” Claire says dryly.
“Anyway,” Lily continues as if Claire hadn’t spoken, “you totally have a market here. You just need to utilize it. I think Kennedy’s right. Events are a great way to do that. Plus advertising at local businesses. Everyone finds out everything here through word of mouth.” She snaps her fingers. “I could put together a little marketing plan for you.”
Claire is about to snort and roll her eyes when I flare mine, reminding her this is a potential customer. Clearing her throat, she simply says, “I have a marketing team.”
“Well, duh,” Lily says. “But they’re looking at the broad markets, not the individual ones. I know this area, and I know marketing. I have a bachelor’s degree in it. Right now, all I use it for is helping get people in the door at the library, but that’s not too hard. I’d love to do more. Help you out.”
I look between the two, thoroughly amused at this unlikely turn of events.
“Okay,” Claire says warily. “Sure, let’s talk.” She pulls out a card and hands it to her. “Call me tomorrow. The first thing you can do is help Kennedy plan an event at the store forsome time next month.” Claire turns to me. “Assuming, of course, that you’ll still be here then.”
I wince when she says it. Lily’s eyes go wide again.
“Why wouldn’t you be here?”
“I have an interview in New York tomorrow, but I’ll be back on Thursday. I’m not sure yet if I want the job or not.”
“Oh,” Lily says. Just when I think she’ll be disappointed, she smiles. “Well, if it’s what you want, I hope you get it. I’ll just have to become your number one social media stalker if you leave.”
