After The One (The One Series Duet) (11 page)

I ran my hand down my sides and took a step back, smiling at my appearance. From my burgundy, peep-toe booties to my hair, which was smoothed and pinned into a bun in the center of my head, I was pleased.

“You look beautiful,” Julian commented from the doorway.

I looked over at him as I put in white gold earrings that dangled, highlighting my exposed neck. “Thank you. I’m sorry for taking so long. I’m ready now.” I smiled at him as I walked in his direction.

He slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. As soon as I was close, Julian put his hands around my neck. Leaning his face down to mine, our lips were just millimeters apart.

I inhaled, breathing him in. He always smelled so good, clean with an earthy undertone.

“Hi.” The word was small but the effect his voice had on me was big.

I wanted to kiss him so badly I could almost taste the amaretto on his lips. “Hi,” I breathed, sliding my hands inside of the fitted suit jacket he wore.

His lips brushed mine softly, gently. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to succumb to the warmth of his body and the fire in his touch. His hands tightened around my neck slightly as he moaned into my mouth. I squeezed my thighs together in an attempt to relieve the tension he’d just created.

He pulled out of the kiss and my eyes fluttered open.

We stared at each other, motionless. My lips tingled and my eyes dropped down to his lips.

“I came upstairs to see if you were okay,” Julian informed me with a hint of concern as he searched my face. “You were taking a long time.”

“I’m sorry. I was distracted on the computer and then with the realization that this will probably be the last time I wear these pants. I wanted to bask in the glory. Because I mean, come on…” I stepped out of his arms to turn around.

“Damn,” he swore quietly.

I peeked over my shoulder and his eyes were glued to my ass as I moved it from side to side seductively. “You like?”

Julian grabbed my arm and spun me back around. He put my hand over the dark denim bulge in the front of his pants and I inhaled sharply.

“I don’t like. I love,” he growled as my fingers gripped him and maneuvered over his thickness.

As seconds passed, my heart raced and my chest heaved. He had me pinned with his eyes as he moved my hand up and down over the growing bulge. I was tempted to drop to my knees and wrap my mouth around his dick, but the sound of my phone going off inside my clutch gave me pause.

Once everyone gets here, we have to leave and Lenny is always late so that’s probably a text from her telling me she’s on her way. Hmmm… maybe there’s time.

“What time will everyone be here?” I asked, unzipping his jeans slowly and snaking my hand inside. Only the thin cotton of his boxer briefs separated me from what I really wanted.

Julian wrapped one hand around my neck and ran the fingers of his other hand across my collarbone, giving me chills. “Everyone’s here, but they can wait twenty more minutes,” he whispered sexily before he leaned in for a kiss.

I dodged his parted lips and my overeager hand froze mid-stroke. “Everyone’s here?”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to stop.” His fingertips came in contact with my hard nipples before he palmed my heavy breasts. “They can wait.”

He tried to kiss me again and I swatted him away as I removed my hand from his pants and reached for the doorknob. “Julian! I didn’t know everyone was here already!”

He chuckled from deep in his belly at my panic and even though I wanted to narrow my eyes at him, his laugh spread warmth through me.

I could feel the confusion on my face as he continued to look at me in total amusement. “Even Lenny is here?”

“Even Lenny is here.”

“I haven’t seen my best friends in forever and I’m being a terrible host! I thought just your boys were down there.” I threw my hands up in the air in mock frustration. “You can’t come up here looking like that and seduce me when we have a house full of guests!”

He made his way to the mirror and adjusted himself. “I seduced you? You were the one waving that ass around. You know how I can’t resist it.”

I eyed him. “And you know I can’t resist you.”

His dark denim jeans, plain white t-shirt, and fitted grey blazer looked incredible on him.

Julian was undeniably sexy. From the way he moved to the way he spoke to the way he dressed, Julian managed to make everything he did call out to my mind, my body, and my soul. On top of that, the clothing he chose to adorn his magnificent body always looked like it was custom made just for him.

Well the blazer was custom made just for him, but still.

He adjusted the crotch of his jeans once more as he turned to face me. His grin stretched from ear to ear. “Well if you can’t resist me and I can’t resist you, maybe we should stop putting up a fight and give in to the feeling.”

With a giggle, I picked up my clutch from the carpeted floor; I didn’t even realize how or when it had ended up there. “But,” I paused, letting the clenching feeling deep in my core pass. “They’re waiting on us.” I sounded breathy and unsure…and completely horny. I ripped my eyes from his lips and tried to look more convincing than I sounded.

Yep. Saved it.

I gave myself a mental high-five until Julian licked his lips as if he heard the hesitation in my voice.

I swallowed hard.

Without warning, Julian lurched toward me and I squealed before attempting to take off running out the door. As soon as the door opened, the music thumping through the house greeted me. Julian grabbed me from behind, pulling me into his body, my back to his front. He had one hand splayed across my belly and one over my heart.

“Don’t run. I don’t want you to slip and fall.” His lips skated across the back of my neck before landing right behind my ear. He kissed and nibbled on my skin for a second before he added with his voice lowered, “I don’t want anything to happen to you or our baby.”

I melted. He made my heart swell.

“I got you.” Julian lifted me and held me steady until I could get back on my feet. “You okay?”’

I looked back at him. “I was swooning.”

He laughed loudly, smacking me on my ass as he let me go.

“I love you,” I said, intertwining my hand with his. I looked at him, attempting to have a serious moment as he continued to be entertained by my swoon. “And I love that you said that, because I am so enamored with…our poem.” I stretched out the word ‘poem’ hoping Julian would understand that I was using it as code for ‘baby’.

“Poem?” Julian questioned, his brows furrowed as we descended the staircase.

Come on, love. You did not have that much to drink.

I touched my belly. “Our poem.”

His eyes widened. “Oh!” He nodded as he grinned at me. “I like that.”

“I was worried you weren’t on the same page as me.”

“Well, counselor, in my defense, this is the first time you’ve ever referred to our…poem as a poem.”

I poked him in his side as we landed on the first floor of the house. “Or Scott must be playing bartender because he always makes the drinks extra strong.”

“Speaking of extra strong drinks, how are you going to distract from the fact that you’re not drinking?”

“I’ll just say I can’t afford the empty calories.” I winked. “See, I have a plan.”

“Oh speaking of a plan, the honeymoon is planned and booked.”

All the air left my lungs as I stopped on the bottom step. My heart pounded. “What?”

“You’ve been busy looking for dresses and giving ideas to the wedding planner so I wanted to do something for you—well, for us.” His eyes were full of excitement and his smile was boyish. He closed the gap between us, teasing, “Don’t you want to know where we’re going?”

With him on the marble landing and me on the last step, I was eye to eye with the love of my life. The love I felt for him was reflected back to me through his eyes and the apprehension I was feeling was forced down, out of my consciousness.

“Where are we going?” I whispered.

“Italy. A few days in Venice, a few days in Rome, and finally we will spend the rest of the time relaxing at Lake Como.”

Maybe it was the alcohol, but he was beaming and I could tell he was thrilled. His energy was infectious.

“That sounds amazing, Julian! Thank you.” I threw my arms around his neck and he held me close, nuzzling my hair.

“Anything for you. Thank you for accepting my proposal.”

I pulled away from him slightly so I could look into his eyes again. “Thank you for proposing. Becoming your wife is an honor.”

I wasn’t surprised by the sweetness of him planning our honeymoon, but I was just a little surprised he didn’t remember I had to return to work by January third.

Our lips met softly, lovingly before I ended it in a series of pecks. I stepped down onto the landing and looked up at him. “That trip sounds amazing, but I have to be back at work soon after the wedding.”

“No, you don’t,” Julian replied distractedly as we walked toward the music. “If they won’t let you take the time off, fuck them.”

I stopped, my mouth dipping into a slight frown. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t have to go back. You don’t have to work. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” He cupped my face and gazed into my eyes. “You’re about to be my wife and you’re having my baby. I’m always going to take care of you and make sure you’re okay.”

He’s drunk…or at least tipsy. He’s not implying that I…
I shook my head, unable to finish the thought.
He’s tipsy.

The nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach was definitely there, but the look he gave me soothed me until I forgot about it.

He brought his lips so close to mine that if I moved at all, we’d kiss. The electricity between us was palpable and I felt myself succumbing to my feelings. I knew I’d have to talk to him about what was bothering me, but I couldn’t do it right then.

Our friends are here… He’s been drinking… And I don’t want to. Not right now. I just want to stay in this moment.

Having Julian so close made it hard to think straight, let alone have a coherent conversation that strictly followed logic and went against what my heart wanted me to do. Inhaling his scent, feeling his touch, and staring into his eyes rendered me powerless. In general, I knew I had to tell him that I’d worked too hard and too long to just abandon my goals to solely be a wife and mother. In actuality, I knew that over the last two weeks creating and cultivating our family had somehow become the most important thing to me. If Julian asked me to choose between being his wife and taking care of our child or pursuing the goals I’d had since I was a little girl, I would choose our family.

And that scares the shit out of me.

Julian’s lips came in contact with mine and the fear, anxiety, and nerves that sat heavy in the pit of my stomach dissipated. All I felt was love, hope, devotion, and commitment as my heart thudded in my chest and my skin tingled.

“I love you,” I murmured against his sweet lips.

Before Julian could respond, I heard my best friend before I saw her.

“Zoe Elise Jordan!” Koko screamed loudly over the music.

Julian and I backed away from each other and I grinned. “Kumiko Liane Green!” I yelled back as she came barreling toward me.

With her long, jet black hair mostly streaked with teal framing her heart-shaped face, Koko looked amazing. Her makeup was impeccable, highlighting her porcelain complexion and she wore a short black dress with thigh-high black boots.

Julian let my hand go as soon as it was clear Koko was not slowing down. My eyebrows flew up as she threw her arms around me at a solid five miles per hour.

“I’ve missed you so much!” Her squeal mixed with her laugh, amusing me. “And you look hot!”

I giddily returned, “So do you and I’ve missed you too! This is the longest we’ve gone without seeing each other.”

“We’ve never been apart for this long. It’s been what? Six weeks? Seven?” She let me go and stepped back to look at me. “You look good. You look the same.”

I knew she meant I wasn’t showing and I nodded. “We have to figure out how we can fix our schedules so we can see each other more often. We’ve been so busy lately.”

“Yeah, I know what you have been busy doing.” She cut her eyes to Julian before thrusting her slim hips against me repeatedly.

The pointed look she gave Julian was hysterical.

Julian and I cracked up. I tossed my head back and with my eyes closed and I felt carefree and a little sentimental. I’d missed her so much. Going almost seven weeks without seeing the person who had been there for me my entire adulthood and who I’d lived with since I moving to California was rough.

During the break between the first and second sessions of
The One,
Koko showed up to my office with dinner. That was the night I discovered the break in the case. I told her the next day on the phone that it was due to her mom’s home-cooked stir-fry and yakitori.

“Are we humping Zoe now? Is that how we’re saying hello?” Lennon asked as she walked up on us.

Throwing open my arms, I embraced my former coworker that I hadn’t seen in months. “Lenny!” I took a step back. “You look gorgeous.”

Lenny’s shoulder-length auburn hair had so much body as she sashayed and spun in a circle. Her black pencil skirt on her full figure gave her a sexy pinup look. She wore a red cropped top that was both low cut and managed to show off a small section of skin right below the breasts. The glow of her honey-toned skin combined with her signature winged eyeliner and bright red lipstick just added to her overall beauty and style.

“Thank you, thank you.” Lenny grinned. “And you, you are stunning. Turn around, let me see you.”

As if I was a runway model or at a fashion show, I took a few steps and then posed before turning and posing again.

“Yasss, honey!” Lenny cheered. She looked at Julian with a quirked eyebrow. “If I were you, I would marry this one before we get to the club. Someone is going to try to take her.”

“Right,” Koko added, tilting her head to the side, assessing my outfit. “You look flawless and your ass is going to inspire a few rap songs tonight.”