Page 58 of Forever Endeavor

“I thought I was doing something good for Cal. That’s all.”

“Right. Like you were trying to do something good for me by tracking down Melissa.”

“Exactly, and you said I managed to rattle her cage.”

“Now look what that got me, loading boxes into my own cage,” he growled. “Big help you turned out to be.”

If looks could kill, Sonny would be taking a dirt nap. As Billie continued to stare daggers, the bags in her clutches fell in a clumsy heap around her feet, items of clothing scattering on the lawn. She stepped over the pile and stomped to the stack of moving boxes. Without uttering a word, she picked up a heavy carton and hauled it inside the container.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m helping.” Her voice echoed inside the corrugated metal chamber.

“I don’t want your help!” he hollered back. She reappeared, went to the stack, stubbornly scooped up another box and carried it away. “I said, I don’t want your help, dammit!”

She came back into view empty handed, wearing a serious scowl on her reddened face. “Are you just going to stand there flexing or are you going to use some of that muscle mass?” she asked. “The sooner we move this stack, the sooner we get it done.”

Women, fuck.

Sonny shook his head, picked up a large box and took it inside. Billie passed him as she emerged for another load. She was a machine. After a few more trips, every box had been packed, stacked, and racked. He leaned against the heavy steel door, catching his breath at the container’s entrance. “Geezus, what are you trying to prove?”

Billie slumped against the interior wall, wiping her brow with her forearm. “I’m not her.”

“Who?”

“You’ve called me a princess since we met. Either you want me to be like Melissa or you’re scared shitless that I actually am. Nothing could be further from the truth, Sonny. Your ex was only out for herself, but I’ve only had yours and Cal’s best interests at heart.”

He was speechless. Had he been unintentionally holding up a mirror to Billie expecting to see his ex-wife’s distorted reflection? Assuming that emotional vampires even had reflections.

“Sonny, I know I really fucked up today and I am truly sorry for that, but I won’t apologize for trying to make Cal happy. That’s all I wanted to do. At worst, he finds some peace of mind and at best, he gets to live happily ever after.”

Ahh, now it made perfect sense. “So, that’s what this is all about. You’re chasing happily ever after. For Cal. For me. Even for your damn book characters. For everyone but yourself.”

“I had my chance,” she replied, looking away. “At least I can still be someone’s fairy godmother to make sure they get to enjoy theirs.”

“Please stop it.”

She met his gaze. “What?”

“Talking like it’s all over for you. Yeah, you married an asshole the first time. So what? So did I, and so do most people, some of them even more than once. You gotta pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep putting yourself out there.”

“Says the guy who hadn’t been on a date in three years.”

“I know, I know. We’re a lot alike, and we both have the scar tissue and trust issues to prove it. But we need to stop hurting each other while we work those things out,” he said. “I’m sorry for what I said, Billie, and I’m sorry if I’ve been redirecting my negative shit to you. Most of all, I’m sorry if I’ve been less than the man you need me to be. I swear, starting right now, that’s going to change.”

“And I’m sorry I called your existence pitiful. It’s not at all what I think and certainly far from the truth,” she said, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. “You know, I forget how deep you can be sometimes.”

“I’m more than just a pretty face and a killer bod.” He emphasized his hulking physique with a flourish of his manly hands. Billie laughed.

He went to her. Cupping her chin, he guided it upward so that her glistening eyes had nowhere to look but straight at him. “Thank you for your help, Billie.” She nodded. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Her hands reached up and tightened around the nape of his neck, pulling him in as she opened her deliciously lush mouth to intensify their kiss. Between sweeping strokes of tongue and pleasurable sighs of joy, they reconnected and reclaimed each other. He reveled in the touch and taste of her again, torn between wanting to slowly savor every moment and plunging into the deep end of desire. Her hips tilted, grinding mercilessly against the hard aching behind his fly. His palms traveled along the curve of her waist, smoothing up her ribcage, eager to indulge in two handfuls of second base—

SQUEALLLL!

SCREEEECH!

SLAM! SLAM!

They were jolted apart as two news vans careened into the driveway. Crew members blasted out of the vehicle doors like circus clowns. “Oh no,” Billie wheezed. “This is not good.”

“Hey!” shouted a guy in a ball cap. “Is this where Calvin Hayes lives?”

Without a second’s hesitation, Sonny shouted back, “You got the wrong place.”

A guy from the second van pointed at Sonny. “Hey! You Calvin Hayes?”

“Hell no!” he answered, then calmly turned to Billie. “Go. Sneak Cal out the back and get down to your cabin. I’ll stall and then meet you there as soon as I can get rid of these guys.”

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