ONLY FOR LOVE, page 31
part #1 of Only For #2 Series
“More beautiful than I’ve ever seen you look,” I answer her honestly. “You have a lightness in your eyes now that radiates all over your face, and I plan on spending my days making sure that the look never goes away.” I grab her hand in mine and kiss the top of it. “Now let’s get out there, shall we?”
“I’m so excited,” she chatters when we walk out of our bedroom and she is giddy like a kid in a candy store.
I get to the steps that lead to the party and I whistle so I can get everyone’s attention. All eyes come my way when I say, “I present to you the newly divorced but still not single”—I wink at her, holding up the hand I’m holding—“Lexi Petrov.”
epilogue
Lexi
Seven months later
“So, as of Monday they will start painting the walls,” Cheryl says, her voice is filled with excitement and amazement. “It’s so pretty and it was such a cool idea to do the shelter in one of the abandoned churches with an attached school.”
Once the divorce papers were signed, the first thing I did was put the apartment up for sale, and it sold in three days, going over asking price. I smiled the whole time. As soon as I put the house on the market, my realtor told me about a space that had just become available. It was built to be a church, but they ran out of funding. Which meant that I went in with a lowball offer, and it was approved the very same day. It was as if it was meant to be.
The minute I got the keys, I flew down there to do a walk-through with a construction team and hired a project manager to oversee it since I wasn’t going to be living there. He was a dream come true, and Cheryl has been the biggest help of all.
“I figured we can even do an after-school program for the children in the area,” I fill her in with another section I plan to add once we get up and running, “but for now it’ll be a safe haven for those who need it.”
“I’ve reached out to the shelters that are in the area and told them about what we are doing. They were floored we are so advanced already. They said they were turning away up to fifty people a week.”
“That’s a lot of beds,” I tell her. “The good news is we can now help out and bring in some more resources.”
“It’s the talk of the town,” she starts to say. “You should also know that Trent—” She stops. “Well, I don’t know if you care or not.”
“I mean, when it has to do with him, there really is not much I care about, but for shits and giggles, what has he done now?”
“One of his old receptionists has just sued him for sexual harassment.” I look at the ceiling. “She has a lot of evidence against him, including a couple of pictures of certain parts of his body that, as a boss, he should not be sending to someone who works for him.”
“Well, I’ve seen it and it’s probably not a big picture,” I deadpan and she bursts out laughing. “Frankly, I’m surprised it took this long.”
“Well, the best part is it’s Dr. Visabell’s granddaughter, and to say he’s pissed is an understatement.”
“Sadly, he might be a douchebag but he’s good at his job, so he’ll always be in demand.”
“That is the sad part,” she agrees, “but Joyce, who left Bernie to be with him, is now trying to win Bernie back, but he’s already moved on.”
“Well, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. Sometimes it’s just covering the layer of shit that is under it.” I smile.
“You should know that Dr. Visabell asked about you the other day, after he heard about what you were doing. He said he is going to reach out to you.”
“I’ll let you know when he does,” I assure her.
“Okay, I’ll keep you posted on the progress of the construction timeframe,” she states, “but only if there is something that needs your attention. Enjoy the time with your family, and I’ll see you in three weeks.”
“Thank you, Cheryl,” I reply, smiling when I think about the family trip we leave for tomorrow. “I couldn’t do this without you.”
“I look forward to having you with us for the summer,” she says before she disconnects and my phone beeps with incoming texts, one after another.
I smile when I see the group chat they created for the family vacation.
Zara:
I can’t wait to be lounging on the beach, without a care in the world. I don’t want to see my kids for the whole time we are there.
I snort because she says that now, but three hours later she’ll be searching for them.
Zoey:
Sign me up, please. I’ll have a cocktail right now.
Gabriella:
We get in two days after you guys, sadly. Romeo and his stupid movie.
Ryleigh:
Sucks to be you. I have a whole month off and I plan to do nothing but drink and have sex. At least for two weeks, the other two weeks will be recovery mode. I’m not twenty anymore.
Zoey:
Eeww, that’s my brother.
Zara:
Eewww, no one wants to know that.
Ryleigh:
Just keeping it real. Everyone knows I fell in love with Stone’s dick before I fell in love with him.
Zoey:
If you bring up my brother and his dick one more time, I’m kicking you out of this group chat.
Zara:
When are we doing a girls’ spa day?
Zoey:
Every day.
I laugh and add on to the text messages.
Me:
I am almost packed and ready to go. I can’t wait.
I put the phone down when I hear the front door open and then shut. “Lexi.” I hear Kirby call out my name.
“In the office.” I lean back in my chair and then watch the office doorway, waiting for him to walk through it. He surprised me one day by converting one of the bedrooms into a home office so I can have all my things in one place. He obviously called Ariella and let her design it and she was spot-on. The light-brown desk is in the middle of the room on top of a plush white carpet. The wood floors are bleached, so it makes the carpet pop more. He had built-in shelves installed behind me and they are filled with pictures of my family. Two big, cushioned chairs are in front of the desk.
My eyes go to the wall facing the desk, where the seven frames he gave me for my house are hanging on the wall that face my desk, right above the big couch. A reminder of everything I’ve been through to get to this point. A coffee table is in between the two chairs and the couch and has a vase filled with colored flowers. Something he gets me every other week, after he heard the story about how Trent made me throw away the pink flowers.
I hear the bell on Jefferson’s collar alongside Kirby’s steps walking down the hall. “Are you following me,” he asks her and the smile on my face gets even bigger, “or are you going to your favorite hangout?”
I will say that Jefferson spends most of her days on the couch, where I’ve bought her a nice blanket for her to lie on. She, of course, lies there with her back to you, and if you get on the couch next to her, she looks at you with dragon eyes, and I think secretly plots your murder.
“Hey,” he greets, walking into the room, holding Jefferson in his arms, cuddled like a baby. The minute he gets to the couch, he drops her on her blanket.
“Hey.” I watch him walk around the desk and come to me, bending and kissing me on the lips—one, twice, three times. “How was your day?”
“Good.” He takes off his baseball hat and tosses it in one of the chairs in front of my desk. The chair also has the hat he was wearing two days ago still sitting in it. “How are you doing? Are you packed?”
“Almost.” I lean forward on my desk. “I have a couple of things to throw in there and then I’ll be good to go.” I look at him and he flops down in one of the chairs. “You have yet to pack,” I remind him.
“I don’t pack to go to Arizona,” he tells me, “so I just have to pack for Turks.”
“You don’t take any stuff from here to Arizona?” I ask him and he shakes his head. After Turks, we are going straight to Arizona.
“I have all my stuff there. Whatever you take there this time should just stay there. Or don’t take anything and just go shopping once you get there.”
“Oh, just like that? Get a new wardrobe,” I say as if it’s nothing.
“Um yeah.” He nods. “Take Kylie with you. She knows where my card is.” Kylie is also going to be coming to Arizona with us for a couple of weeks, at least after the vacation.
“I’m not spending your money,” I huff out, getting up and walking around the desk, and he opens his arms for me to sit on his lap. “It’s enough you won’t let me pay for rent or anything in this house.”
“Lexi,” he mumbles my name as I wrap my arm around his neck and cuddle closer into him. “I want to be the one who takes care of you. We know that you can take care of yourself. You’ve proved that, but with this, I’m taking care of you.” He gets up with me in his arms. “Now come with me and pack.” He carries me to our bedroom that I’ve added stuff to. Next to my side of the bed is a picture of us from my divorce party, and on his side of the bed, he's opted with a picture of just me from that night. I’m looking directly at the camera, a champagne glass in my hand and a huge smile on my face. My other hand is pointed at the camera, the smile on my face goes from ear to ear. Then behind that one is the picture of me in the stands at a game, standing with his jersey on, celebrating one of his goals. The last picture on his table is of me and Jefferson.
“How long are we going to be in Turks?” he asks me, setting me on my feet. “Two weeks, right?”
“Yes,” I reply, walking over to his closet and picking out six T-shirts. “The house has a washing machine.”
“It does.” He comes over and grabs a handful more, not even counting as he dumps them on one side of the open suitcase that he set up while I was choosing the ones I wanted. “But we’re on vacation.”
“Do you know how much laundry we are going to have if you don’t wash for fourteen days?”
“Nope.” He shakes his head, going to one of the drawers that holds his shorts. “But I know I will have nothing but time and a good dry cleaner who can wash them for me once we get back.”
I roll my eyes. “Kirby, seriously,” I chide and he looks at me like I have two heads.
“Baby, you have your work to keep you busy and I have a couple of golf games to play. I have off-ice training and a couple on-ice training sessions, but usually it’s very relaxed during the summer,” he scoffs. “Ask Kylie.”
“I’m so happy she’s coming with us,” I mention, grabbing a couple of linen shirts for him. “She’s going to have such a good time.” I grab two pairs of dress pants. “I’m going to miss her,” I admit to him. “We’ll be gone for almost four months.”
“Lexi,” he says my name, “you know she can come and visit us when she wants.”
“But will she?” I ask him and he just shrugs. “I’m going to go and call her.”
“Use my phone.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and hands it to me. The picture of us that is on my nightstand is on the locked screen on his phone. I see he has five missed calls from Jaxon.
“Kirby, Jaxon has called you five times,” I tell him and his eyebrows pinch together, as I hand him back the phone.
“He sent me five texts also,” he says and I see his eyes looking at his phone and then hear him gasp. “Oh, man.” He looks up at me. “Knox just found his wife in bed with his brother-in-law.”
Need more Lexi & Kirby? Click here for a bonus epilogue!
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Kylie
I learned early in life that love isn’t just given, it’s earned.
Now I’ve decided love isn’t worth it.
At least that type of love.
Until him.
He was broken.
It was safe.
But then I went and did the unexpected.
I fell in love with him, knowing he would never love me back.
Knox
I thought I had it all.
I was playing hockey in the NHL.
Three beautiful kids and a wife who loved me.
Until I walked in on her in bed with my brother-in-law.
Everything I thought I had was a lie.
She was everything I thought I didn’t want, and when I least expected it.
I just hope when I finally figure it out, I haven’t lost her for good.
Ready for Only For Him?
Pre-Order Knox & Kylie’s book here!
about natasha madison
When Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author Natasha Madison's nose isn't buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she's in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four-inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It's a good thing her characters do what she says because even her Labrador doesn't listen to her...
acknowledgments
To my Husband and Kids: Thank you for loving me through the ups and the downs. Through takeout meals and then repetitive menu’s when I’m in a rush. I’m so proud to be part of your world.
Shauna: You’re fired. Or maybe not who knows what today brought. Thank you for being the one in my corner telling me that it’s not good enough and to do better. I’m still not listening… Maybe if you made a list we wouldn’t forget things, and by we I mean you.
The Author Agency: Thank you for making me sparkle and shine!
Emma: Thank you for taking me on and not leaving me. Thank you for your endless patience with me. Thank you for creating all of the things that make my book come to life. I hope one day I’m cool enough to be on your instagram page.
Madison Maniacs: This little group went from two people to so much more and I can’t thank you guys enough. This group is my go to, my safe place. You push me and get excited for me and I can’t wait to watch us grow even bigger!
Rickie & Veronica: Happy whatever day it is. Thank you for the laughs.
BLOGGERS & INFLUENCERS. THANK YOU FOR TAKING A CHANCE ON ME. You give so much of yourself effortlessly and you are the voice that we can’t do this without.
And Lastly and most importantly to YOU the reader, Without you none of this would be real. So thank you for reading and helping making my dreams a reality.
also by natasha madison
Coming Up Next:
Only For Him releasing 3/13/2026
Only For Her releasing 5/8/2026
Only For Series
Only For Tonight
Only For Love
Dream Series
Shattered Dreams
Forbidden Dreams
Buried Dreams
Stolen Dreams
Forgotten Dreams
Meant For Series
Meant For Stone
Meant For Her
Meant For Love
Meant For Gabriel
Made For Series
Made For Me
Made For You
Made For Us
Made for Romeo
Southern Wedding Series
Mine To Kiss
Mine To Have
Mine To Hold
Mine To Cherish
Mine To Love
Mine To Take
Mine To Promise
Mine to Honor
Mine to Keep
The Only One Series
Only One Kiss
Only One Chance
Only One Night
Only One Touch
Only One Regret
Only One Mistake
Only One Love
Only One Forever
SOUTHERN SERIES
Southern Chance
Southern Comfort
Southern Storm
Southern Sunrise
Southern Heart
Southern Heat
Southern Secrets
Southern Sunshine
This Is
This Is Crazy
This Is Wild
This Is Love
This Is Forever
Hollywood Royalty
Hollywood Playboy
Hollywood Princess
Hollywood Prince
Something Series
Something So Right
Something So Perfect
Something So Irresistible
Something So Unscripted
Something So BOX SET
Tempt Series
Tempt The Boss
Tempt The Playboy
Tempt The Hookup
Tempt The Ex
Heaven & Hell Series
Hell and Back
Pieces of Heaven
Heaven & Hell Box Set
Love Series
Perfect Love Story
Unexpected Love Story
Broken Love Story
Mixed Up Love
Faux Pas
Holiday Unscripted
Natasha Madison, ONLY FOR LOVE
