Sugar Plum Read online

  My eyes filled with tears and I mouthed a thank you at Daddy as we clapped and returned to our meal. I was so emotional, and the fact that Dad had accepted our love so easily was such a pleasant surprise.

  Once we'd eaten our fill, Bastian asked me to grab my things before heading to his place. Though Daddy raised his brows at it, he didn't say a word, and I collected my pjs, another outfit, and some makeup. Then, Dad walked into the room.

  "Honey?" he asked.

  "Yes?"

  "I have a feeling you won't be spending much time here after tonight." He laughed, but it was tinged with sadness. "I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic about the old times."

  "Oh, Dad." I squeezed his hand. "I think it's time for some new memories."

  "You do?"

  "Yes." I nodded. "I'm already making some, and we'll also make some together. But you need to start living your life again."

  "I suppose," he muttered.

  "Surely there's a woman who’s caught your interest," I insisted. "Why not ask her out?"

  "Oh, I couldn't possibly—"

  "Dad." I gave him a strict look. "You can and you should. Please. Do it for me."

  "Oh, all right," he groaned. "You're pushing my limits today, Holly Halliday."

  "Someone has to." I grinned, pressing a kiss against his cheek. "Have fun tonight, Daddy. I'll see you soon."

  I ran down the stairs toward Bastian's car that was waiting in the driveway. We waved goodbye to Rosie, and he drove through the city to his apartment. I was in seventh heaven, thinking about how well the evening had gone and how many promises my life held now.

  "Penny for your thoughts, sugar plum." Bastian smiled at me.

  "I'm just... happy," I admitted. "You make me happy."

  "Good." He nodded, his hand sneaking into mine again. "Because I want to make you happy for a very long time. Can I ask you an odd question?"

  "Sure." I shrugged.

  "Your mom—" He gave me a nervous look. "—I've just been wondering. Do you think she'd approve of me? Of us?"

  I gave it a moment's thought, realizing how important the question was to him. "Well, she wouldn't be as giddy about it as Dad."

  He laughed, shaking his head. "Like a kid with a shiny new toy."

  "It was kind of cute." I grinned. "But Mom... she would be a tough cookie. She'd make you work for her approval."

  "She'd probably want to meet every one of my exes." Bastian grimaced.

  "We'd have a line down the street."

  "Oh, shush." He laughed. "Maybe we can have another line for your admirers. You barely notice it, but every man we pass stares at you."

  "Oh, as if."

  "It's true." He winked at me. "At least you have me to protect you now."

  "I'm so lucky." We arrived home and he helped me out of the car, his fingers intertwining with mine. "So, do I officially live here now that we're engaged?"

  "Yes," he said firmly.

  "Do I get a say?" I grinned.

  "No." He grabbed me and carried me to the elevator. "And I'm doing this every time we get home from now on."

  Twelve

  Bastian

  Two years later

  I knew Holly would be mine the moment I realized what she meant to me on her eighteenth birthday. It was at that moment I’d seen her as a woman, as the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

  It had been two years since we’d spoken to her father about our relationship, when we’d finally told the world, so to speak, that we loved each other. And ever since then, my love for her had grown.

  I saw her as someone I needed to look after, to grow and build a life with. I didn’t see her as my best friend’s daughter. She was a woman, not just beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well.

  For as much as I’d wanted this since I knew she was mine, I couldn’t believe this was happening right now, that this was my reality.

  My heart was thundering, my breath starting to come in fast, hard intervals. Fuck, had I ever been this nervous? No. Never.

  Over the last two years, we’d been focusing on us. She was still going to college, working on her career, and I loved that. I loved her independence, her drive for life. It was one of the reasons I knew she was perfect for me. I’d never hinder her goals.

  And as much as I’d wanted to make things official and legal, slip that ring on her finger and make her my wife, I would have waited forever for my girl to be ready for this life with me.

  For marriage.

  For a family.

  And I knew I was a hard man to love, a jealous, possessive partner at the best of times when it came to Holly, but when you had something as good as I had, when you had her, you wanted to protect that at all costs.

  I’d die to keep her mine, to keep her happy.

  Nothing in this life meant more to me than the woman I was about to see walk down that aisle and marry me.

  Then the music started playing, the traditional “Wedding March” that had my heart beating double time and my body going ramrod straight. Everything and everyone faded away until there was only her and me.

  This moment.

  Nothing was about to take my attention from my bride coming down the aisle.

  And then Holly was walking toward me. Her father was on her other side, about to give her away to me. The fact that he gave us his blessing was something that meant the world to me. I wanted that, but the truth was it wouldn’t have kept me from Holly. I would have claimed her regardless, because she was the woman I loved more than anything else. But knowing he wanted her just as happy as I did, and so gave us his approval of our relationship, made this all the sweeter.

  God, she was beautiful on the inside and out, but seeing her in that wedding gown, these tears gently falling down her cheeks as she walked toward me and smiled, had every single emotion consuming me.

  The next few moments happened in a blur. Her father gave her away, and then we were saying our vows.

  I wanted to pull Holly in and kiss her before we had the all-go from the officiant, just stake my claim in front of everyone in the most primal way, but I waited. I had self-control, at least right now.

  She smiled sweetly at me and said, “I do.”

  “Do you Bastian, take Holly…” I allowed the officiant to continue his spiel, but all I heard was the beating of my heart as I stared into Holly’s eyes.

  “I do,” I finally said when he was finished, when I heard him clear his throat and the guests start to chuckle. “I really fucking do.” Holly blushed and grinned.

  I lifted my hand and slid a piece of hair behind her ear, the pad of my finger skimming along her skin. She shivered for me, and I resisted the urge to growl in approval. I stared into her eyes, knowing I had my world right in front of me.

  “I told you that you were mine, sugar plum,” I whispered.

  “I’ve always been yours, Bastian.”

  God, I loved this woman. She’d never know how much or the lengths I’d go to make her happy, but I’d spend the rest of my life showing her.

  She was mine, and nothing would ever change that.

  Epilogue

  Holly

  Five years later

  As soon as I stepped through the front door, a shopping bag in each of my hands, I smiled. I heard Bastian in the living, his soft voice addressing Ivy, our rambunctious three-year-old who insisted on having a tea party with her daddy every day.

  And he indulged her every single time.

  And when he wasn’t having tea parties with her, she was dressing him up like a princess and adding her special touch of lipstick and blush to his face.

  Even now, I chuckled at the sight of my big, strong husband with a feather boa around his neck, a swatch of lace tied around his waist, blue eyeshadow on, and red lipstick smeared across his lips.

  I made my way into the living room after setting down the bags, and for several seconds, I watched the man I loved play-drink out of a little plastic teacup.

  “Is it
good, Daddy?” Ivy asked with wide, expectant eyes.

  “The best tea I’ve ever had,” Bastian said excitedly.

  “Next time, Grandpa said he’d drink tea with us. I can’t wait.”

  Bastian chuckled and picked up a shortbread cookie off the little plate in the center of the coffee table. “Make sure you make him wear that special pink lipstick you got yesterday. I know Grandpa loves wearing it.”

  I laughed softly at that.

  I could have watched them all day long.

  And when Bastian looked over his shoulder and grinned at me, my heart jumped in my throat. Even after all these years, I loved him even more than before.

  I loved seeing him with our daughter, and couldn’t wait until we had more children, which we were trying for… every night. I blushed at where my thoughts were going.

  “Ready for naptime, doll baby? Bastian said to Ivy, and she shook her head at the same time she yawned.

  “I’m not tired, Daddy.”

  “Uh-huh. Well let’s just lie down and relax then.”

  She lifted her little arms for him to pick her up and he carried her into her bedroom. Once she was in bed and sleeping, which happened in a matter of minutes, Bastian came back out and joined me in the living room. We sat on the couch, his arm around me, my body curled up close to his. God, he felt so good.

  There was nothing but this beautiful silence as we just enjoyed each other’s presence.

  All these years that passed had been so blissfully wonderful. We’d bought a house in the country, three acres with a wooden playhouse and swing set for Ivy. I’d gotten my degree and worked part-time, the rest spent with our daughter and just enjoying life.

  I loved being outside of the home, being independent and helping to contribute to our family, even if I didn’t need to, because Bastian supported us just fine. But I loved being a mom even more, and we were talking about me not working anymore and just focusing on Ivy.

  And creating another baby.

  And as the years progressed, our lives had changed for the better. So much better.

  In the end, it didn’t matter that Bastian was older than me or was my father’s best friend. In the end, Bastian was my husband, my soulmate, and the father of my daughter.

  And when you found perfection, you held onto it.

  Our relationship might not have been typical or conventional, but it was honest and real.

  It was so real.

  At the end of the day, nothing else mattered but our lives and if we were happy.

  What was important was that Bastian loved me and I loved him.

  “You ready to keep trying for that baby?” he whispered seductively, and I laughed.

  “Thought you’d never ask.” I lightly squealed in delight when he lifted me off the couch and went into our room.

  “Good, because today I am putting that baby in you, sugar plum.”

  And I had no doubt he was about to make good on his promise.

  The End.

  About Jenika Snow

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  About Isabella Starling

  Dark, dirty and taboo is what Isabella Starling is known for.

  If you pick up a Starling book, you can count on a bad-mouthed, bossy man who will dominate his woman with a rough hand.

  Add just a sprinkle of taboo, a touch of BDSM and a pinch of suspense, and you're all set for a story you won't forget.

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