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And now I’ll continue the story…. Continue reading
Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend! I started work on the next Holiday Cafe book and the publishing version of Shifting into Love. Lots of stuff coming up after Episode 9!
Conor touched a button on the steering wheel to end the call with Charisse and pressed down on the accelerator of his Bugatti Chiron. He needed to get to Charisse. He’d wanted to surprise her on Tuesday, but screw that. She needed comfort now.
The car felt like a plane flying through traffic, but Conor was only focused on getting to his destination and not the enjoyment.
After five minutes, he called Raul.
“How does she look?”
Raul answered with distraction in his voice. “She was pale before she went in to meet Gianna.”
“And now?”
“I’m just pulling up to get her…oh no.”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“She’s asleep on a bench in front of the hospital.”
“Asleep? Get me Dr. Beaumont’s number now.”
Raul’s voice sounded sharp. “Where are you, sir?”
“Halfway there.”
“And who’s driving?”
“I am.”
“Then I’m not getting you the number. She wouldn’t tell you anything anyway.”
“She should. I’m paying the bill.”
“You know better. If Charisse needs another doctor I’ll call one here. Now do you want to keep arguing and get in a wreck, or should I go get Charisse?”
“Go get Charisse,” he growled and hung up. He hated being useless. He should’ve left the mansion sooner, but the teleconference with his lawyers had dragged on. Darnell hadn’t been happy with Conor staying behind, but that’s why he got the big bucks.
Conor thought strategically it might turn out better. His lawyers could suss out the situation, bring the fear and then he could show up to make the heads roll.
He turned the music up and pressed down on the accelerator again. Raul would take care of Charisse. She was fine. But he kept driving faster like he didn’t believe it.
Good morning! Sorry my time for posting has shifted so much. I’m sleeping in a little more to make up for the late hours of writing. I hope you’re enjoying Episode 9!
Charisse backed out the door, terrified that she’d brought on another heart attack. Continue reading
Good News!!! With a lot of hard work and a lot of coffee, I’ll be sending out all of the personalized copies of Nails for a Billionaire today and releasing it for sale! I’ll post here when it’s available, so come back this afternoon.
She decided to go upstairs to change. It was a conversation for normal clothes and not lacy negligees. She heard him say hello as she reached the stairs. To her surprise he said, “Marie? Yeah, she’s right here.”
With a curious expression in his eyes, he held the phone out to Charisse. She took it and said, “Marie?”
“There you are. I’ve been freaking out calling you all morning. Daddy’s had a heart attack.”
“A heart attack?” Charisse went numb. “Where is hee
“We’re at Mount Sinai hospital. Can you get over here?” Marie sounded on the verge of tears.
Conor placed an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. She should be emotional like Marie, but at the moment she felt nothing. “I’m in the Hamptons, but I’ll leave right now.”
“There’s something else you should know,” said Marie, sounding calmer—almost detached.
“What else?” Charisse heard panic in her own voice. At least she didn’t sound like a robot anymore.
“Mother’s here. She showed up at Daddy’s favorite breakfast place. And then he had the heart attack.”
Charisse swayed. Conor tightened his grip on her. She didn’t know how long she stood there without speaking.
Marie said, “Are you still there? Did you hear me?”
“What is Mother doing there?”
Conor’s body tensed against hers.
Marie said, “I don’t know. Mother’s either in the room with us like she’s a worried wife, or she’s out getting coffee. She hasn’t really spoken to me. I need you here.”
Charisse took a deep breath. Anger and fear started to battle inside her. Maybe it’d be better to stay in shock. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Hang in there.”
“Okay. Mother’s coming back. Maybe she’ll talk to me this time.”
The line went dead.
Charisse stared up at Conor, dropping the hand holding the phone to her side.
He cupped her face. “Are you okay? Did Roy have a heart attack?”
She nodded. “I, I have to go.” She turned away from him and headed up the stairs.
He followed her and said, “I’ll have Raul bring the car around. Do you want me to go with you?”
She stood in the doorway of his room, unable to think where her clothes were. “You have to go to China.”
He slipped the phone out of her hand. “I can send my lawyers ahead and stay with you until you see Roy’s going to be okay.”
She recalled all her clothes had been unpacked and put into drawers. She headed over to the dresser, opened a drawer and pulled out underwear, jeans and a top. Her mother was back without warning or explanation.
She tossed the clothes on the bed, sat down on it and started unbuckling her sandals.
“Did you hear me, Charisse?”
She dropped a sandal to the floor. It hit with a thud against the hardwood.
“My mother’s here,” she said.
Conor ran his fingers through his hair and sat on the edge of the bed, appearing nervous.
When he didn’t say anything, she went back to changing her clothes. “She won’t even talk to Marie. Why did she suddenly show up if she’s not going to talk to us?” She yanked her jeans on and shoved her arms into a black t-shirt.
“It might not be as sudden as you think,” said Conor slowly.
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A synopsis for those of you just tuning in:
Charisse is still reeling from a miscarriage that tore her relationship apart last year. Her only focus is making her beauty salon a hit in Manhattan.
Conor is still recovering from the death of his wife three years ago. He spends his days orchestrating corporate takeovers.
Charisse and Conor want nothing more than to be left alone.
But when Charisse’s dad loses three of Conor’s ships at sea, negotiations begin that land Charisse under contract to Conor.
Excerpt from The Complete Serial:
Charisse’s insides heated like a curling iron. She knew her skin betrayed her with goosebumps and a furious blush, but there was no denying she desired Conor. She feared she even wanted him more than her salon at the moment. When he offered her the salon if she agreed to be his for a month, her mind and body declared war on each other.
Her mind won, demanding details. She said, “What do you mean? How would I be yours?”
His hand tightened at her waist. He drew his other hand down to cup her breast and nuzzled her neck with his tender lips. His thick erection pressed against her hip demanded her attention. She wanted to take him in her mouth until he cried out her name during climax. But she stood still and relished the moment when he tugged the neckline of her dress below her nipple. He twisted it between his thumb and forefinger and pinched.
She bit the side of her mouth to prevent herself from gasping in pleasure. To her surprise, he tucked her breast back into the dress and slipped his hand up to wrap around the back of her neck.
He said, “If I tell you to take a day off, you take a day off. If I say we’re going to Puerto Rico for a week, you drop everything and pack your bags. If I decide I want you to be my assistant for the day, you get your ass over here.” His hand slid up and crushed her curls against the back of her head. “And you always wear your hair down.”
His demands roused her core to the breaking point, but her mind still clutched at control. She turned her head and forced herself to look him in the eye, something she’d rarely been able to do with Josh. She drank in the power of eye contact, of seeing him waiting for an answer. He wanted her to say yes, maybe so much that she could make her own demands.
Today is the end of Episode 8. Thanks for reading this far with me! Episode 9, the last episode will be released in online stores on Thursday. I’ll start blogging it on Monday. I can’t believe we’ve come to the end!
Conor sat on the loveseat with his arm around Charisse, staring back at Becca. She sat in an armchair, still wearing her party dress. She smoothed out her skirt, glanced around the room and finally settled her gaze on Charisse. Continue reading
Remember to email me about your free compilation of The Beautician and the Billionaire. It’s the last day!
Charisse took another step back up the staircase. Did Conor know Josh was here in his house? Of course he knew, but surely he didn’t know this was her Josh. Continue reading
I hope today’s passage leaves you anxiously waiting for Monday, or running to Amazon to buy it 🙂
The two headed downstairs. He wanted to check on Charisse, but if she’d fallen asleep he didn’t want to wake her.
When they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, he saw his double doors open with security guards dressed in black suits standing at either side. He glanced towards the living area and saw the doctor he kept on call in The Hamptons sitting on one of his white leather couches. Continue reading
When the final orgasm ebbed, peace overtook her. She could sleep the afternoon away.
“I love you, my beauty,” Conor whispered. He kissed her cheek down to her neck before he rolled off her and stood up. “But we should have some lunch, and I need to head over to the mansion.” Continue reading
Hey! Sorry I took off from blogging longer than anticipated. But I’m posting a nice long section to make up for it today.
Charisse and Conor just made love (for that chapter, you’ll have to buy Episode 4). Unfortunately, it’s bringing back memories Charisse has been avoiding for a long time.
Charisse sighed and quivered with the shock waves of the last orgasm. Making love had never been so incredible. She smiled when he lay back down next to her and covered their bodies with the blanket. He was the perfect lover.
The sky was lightening outside, and she knew she’d have to go soon. But she wanted to bask in Conor’s presence some more. She’d never been with someone as tender as he was or as able as he was to make her climax. He wrapped his arm around her so she could nestle her head in his shoulder.
He said, “So I think I’ll be calling in sick again today, and I think you should definitely join me.”
She wrinkled her nose, resisting reality as much as she could. But there was no denying what she had to do today. “I can’t. My schedule is full, and I have to sort out the loan.”
He nibbled her ear and said, “As your boss, can I demand you stay in bed with me?”
She tried to wiggle out of his arms. “Don’t even joke about that. I didn’t plan for this to happen–” She choked off her words when a realization hit her.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry,” said Conor. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
She stared at him, forgetting the crack about being her boss. Suddenly it wasn’t Conor she was seeing. It was Josh. She squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, Conor was there. He was going to be so mad at her.
“Charisse, what’s wrong? You know I won’t make you stay here with me if you don’t want to.”
She sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest, trying to put distance between her and Conor without falling off the swing. “I’m sorry.”
He frowned and appeared confused as he sat up. “Why? I was the one with poor taste.”
She didn’t know how Conor would react, but it was better to get it out as soon as possible. “I, I haven’t been on birth control since…well for a year now. I was planning on asking you to use a condom, but I guess I got swept up in the moment.”
“Oh, honey.”
He brought his hand up. She flinched like the time when she’d told Josh she was pregnant and he’d slapped her. Her cheek actually stung.
But Conor hadn’t slapped her. He pulled his hand away and said, “Why are you acting like I was going to hit you?”
She couldn’t answer him. She couldn’t even look at him. It was like all her thoughts were stuck in the past.
His arms wrapped around her, and soon he lifted her into his lap. He wrapped the blanket around her, holding her tightly against his chest. She didn’t know if it was his gentleness or Josh’s past cruelty, but silent tears washed her cheek.
“What’s going on?” he whispered. “This should not be a big deal. I have a box of condoms in my bedroom that I bought for us. This is not all on your shoulders. I got swept away too. But we’ll go to the drug store and get you Plan B.”
Confusing emotions from the past swirled in her head and made it impossible to think or talk rationally. She broke out of his arms and stood up, thinking maybe distance from him would help her think straight. It didn’t work. “I always took my pills before. The pregnancy wasn’t my fault.” Her body shook. She clutched the blanket to her chest. What was wrong with her? That was all over and done, but right now everything seemed fresh. Like she’d just come home from the hospital.
Conor stood and ran his fingers through his hair. Was he mad? Josh had been mad. He’d been so mad when he’d found out she was pregnant that he’d struck her. But he’d been sorry and everything was better. Mostly. Until she miscarried.
She crumpled to the ground and wept. She’d been foolish not to use protection. She was always stupid. She heard Conor talking. She wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or on the phone. He approached her, took the blanket from her hands and wrapped it around her again.
“I’m sorry,” she said, the fog in her brain lifting a little only so she could realize she’d ruined their perfect love making.
“Don’t be sorry.” He lifted her up and cradled her close to his chest. “I only want to help you.” He walked over to the path, carrying her as he talked.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I got so upset.” Her voice quivered like she was about to cry again.
“Quit apologizing. You’ve done nothing wrong. Do you have a doctor I should call?”
“No, I’m fine. You can put me down. I need to get my clothes on and go to work.” Her voice cracked at the end of the sentence and tears threatened to escape again.
“No, you’re not going anywhere. I’ll call a doctor or your sister or even Roy, but you’re taking the day off.”
She tried to jerk out of his arms. He held her tighter. He was stronger than she’d realized. He stopped walking, but he didn’t set her down.
“You don’t understand. Work is all I have,” she said.
“No, it’s not.” His voice cut through her panic. “You have me now. Let me help you as you came over and helped me.”
Trusting another man. He wasn’t her father and he wasn’t Josh. He probably thought she was the craziest woman he’d ever met. But he was still holding her. She nodded her head and then leaned it against his shoulder.
He carried her all the way out through the living room and to his bedroom where two steaming mugs of coffee sat on his dresser. A blue terry cloth robe was laid out on his bed, and she could hear running water in the bathroom.
“I thought you could use a hot bath. I’ll call Mei to cancel your appointments today.”
Charisse had always worked since the miscarriage. Whether it was getting licenses or hiring stylists, she’d worked so she wouldn’t have to think about what had happened. All she wanted to do at the moment was go style a client’s hair. She didn’t want Conor to force her to think about the past by making her slow down.
She broke into tears. Conor came back to hold her again instead of making the phone call. She didn’t know how long they sat there, but at some point she stopped crying. Conor pulled the sheets back and tucked her in. At least he hadn’t kicked her out. But it was probably the last time she’d see him.
Evelyn Aster 