Blitzed (Rules of Possession Book 3), page 32
“Wives, husbands, and girlfriends,” he’d said earnestly.
“We’re not doing that.”
“At least let’s put it on the agenda.”
“We’re not doing that, either.”
“I’ve never liked you less,” he declared.
He had, especially that time I'd let someone skip us in the refreshment line and that person got the last order of onion rings. Even though he was kind of a genius and I’d struggled to maintain a C average in college, we had a lot of common ground. I enjoyed our time together. And I would only admit it at the threat of death.
I also loved Kelly and Blue’s kids, Layla and Hunter. The adoption process had been long and rigorous in a way that frustrated us all. It had been clear from the jump that their social worker had her reservations about Kelly and Blue’s sexuality. She’d tried her damnedest to get them disqualified. When that didn’t work, she stalled as long as she could. But she hadn’t had a prayer against stopping the adoption. Not with Blue’s reach and their overpriced attorneys.
That made me even angrier. What about the parents out there that didn’t have their money and influence? There were so many unloved kids in the world. Why someone’s sexual persuasion would stall that process in any way was beyond me.
Done with his tie, Andrew turned to me and smiled. “You nervous?”
“Terrified.” I let out a little chuckle. But not about the awards ceremony.
“You’ll do fine, baby. You always do.” He dropped a kiss on my nose. “You have your speech?”
I didn’t need it. I patted my left pocket anyway to check and felt the comforting rustle of paper. I also had a tiny velvet box in there that was giving me palpitations. That was pretty much why I’d memorized my speech forward and backward, just so I’d have one less thing to obsess over. I knew the time was right. I wanted this more than anything. And I was almost certain of the answer. But it had to be right. He deserved it.
I thank you for this award. But most of all, I thank you for the opportunity to keep doing what I do. I'd like to thank Joshua Knox, who saw potential in me when I saw none in myself. And all the people who put in such hard work at the Harbor, day in and day out. Molly. Teddy. Van. Camilla. You are rockstars and we don't pay you enough—can't pay you enough—for what you do. I'd like to thank our donors, who have stepped up in such a big way and allowed us to help more kids than we ever thought possible. I'd like to thank friends, who showed me you don't have to share DNA to be family.
Unconditional.
He gave me a suspicious look. “It's not sad, is it?”
I chuckled because most people wouldn't look at this big, strapping football guy and know that he was a softy at heart. And he didn't reserve it for just big events either, like when Grant and Kim announced she was pregnant and we were going to be uncles again. He’d practically had a meltdown last week when we were watching a nature show. The starving polar bear didn’t catch the seal he’d been counting on to survive and cue the dramatics.
“I don’t know who to vote for,” he’d blurted out, looking horrified as the polar bear slumped to the ice. “I don't want him to starve, but I also want the seal to live.”
“It's just nature, sweetheart," I said, my eyes wide at his outburst. “Besides, whatever happened already happened."
He clicked off the TV and set the remote on the coffee table with a decisive click. “We're not watching this crap anymore,” he announced.
And that's the story of how all my Planet Earth recordings disappeared from the DVR. He claimed he didn't touch them, but I called bullshit on that. Loudly. Someone also might’ve deleted a few SportsCenter recordings for revenge.
He narrowed his eyes at me. "I can't help but notice you didn't answer the question."
“What question?” I asked innocently.
“I asked if your little speech is sad or not.” He frowned—pouted, really—as I reached up and straightened his tie. “It's not going to make me cry, is it?”
“Nope,” I said cheerily because I was a lying liar who lied.
Most of all, I'd like to thank the man who showed me that not all love is quantified. The man who showed me that loving quietly is fine. But loving out loud is the best feeling of all. And if you don't mind indulging me for a moment, I'd like to ask him a very special question.
I reached up and kissed his smooth cheek. I missed his scruff, but I loved looking at that cut jaw more. Hell, who was I kidding? I loved everything about him. I was proud that he was mine. And tonight, I was going to let everybody know it.
“Come on, if we don't get a move on, we're going to be late, and that's kind of Erin's thing.” He glanced at his watch. “Let's go get your award.”
“Tonight is just about paper, sweetheart.” I slipped my hand into his and interlocked our fingers as he sent me a smile. “I already got my award.”
AFTERWORD
Thank you for coming back to the Rules of Possession world for a little while.
If you’re interested in reading more by yours truly, you can follow me on Facebook, Amazon, or Bookbub, so you’ll be notified of new releases. You can also join my Facebook group, Harmon’s Hideout, if you’d like to chat.
I’ll see you on our next fictional journey.
S.E. Harmon
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Any author knows that you may write a book alone, but you’re not getting it ready for publication without a team to make that book shine. So I’d like to thank Leslie Copeland for beta reading and saying all the hard things. And my editor, Dianne Thies, who came through in a big way and did such a lovely job. I’d also like to thank Valerie for her alpha reading skills. I appreciate you guys. Any errors in the book that remain are mine.
And as always, I’d like to thank the readers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S.E. Harmon has had a lifelong love affair with writing. It’s been both wonderful and rocky (they've divorced several times), but they always manage to come back together. She's a native Floridian with a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters in Fine Arts, and now splits her days between voraciously reading romance novels and squirreling away someplace to write them. Her current beta reader is a nosy American Eskimo who begrudgingly accepts payment in the form of dog biscuits.
Website: https://seharmon.weebly.com/
Email: silkguitar2011@comcast.net
ALSO BY S.E. HARMON
Stay With Me
So Into You
The Blueprint
A Deeper Blue
P.S. I Spook You
Principles of Spookology
Spooky Business
The Spooky Life
Coddiwomple
Chrysalis
Cross
Love Is
S.E. Harmon, Blitzed (Rules of Possession Book 3)
