Read Dream With Me (With Me Book 4) Online
Authors: Elyssa Patrick
Tags: #contemporary romance, #Romance, #New Adult & College, #romantic comedy
“I’ll think about it,” I say and catch sight of Zelda heading our way.
“We’ll be in touch,” Agent Quinn says, and then they’re off before Zelda reaches the table.
“Who were those two?” she asks.
I shake my head slowly. “You’re not going to believe this. You might need to sit down to take it all in.”
She does, her dark brown eyes going wide when I tell her what the visit was about, but before I’m even done, she grabs my hands.
“Jamie,” she says, “do you want to do this?”
“I think I do, but only if it works for the both of us.”
Zelda smiles. “Jamie, you’ve done so much for me. You’ve taken me in. You’ve traveled with me. You’ve helped me grow and realize my dreams. But I don’t want our lives to be just about me. I want you to realize your dreams, too. I think you’d make a great agent. And—”
“And?” I prompt her when she falls quiet.
“Well,” she says, “I always did have a thing for a man in a suit.”
I lean down and kiss her. “You sure?”
“Positive.” She kisses me one more time. “I can’t wait to call you Agent McAlister.”
Well, that definitely deserves another kiss. But like a Lay’s potato chip, I just can’t have one, so I kiss her again.
And again.
And again.
And later tonight? Well, Zelda doesn’t know this. Not even Zayn knows this.
But tonight, I’m going to ask Zelda to marry me.
Nick and Daphne
“Listen, Fox,” I say, “there’s
only two ways to answer this question.”
Daphne’s lips twitch, obviously trying to fight a smile. Any second now she’s going to lose the battle, but right now, she’s trying to be all saucy, leaning over the kitchen counter to face me.
I should definitely not point out that this angle affords me the best view of her cleavage. In fact, my only complaint would be that the shirt doesn’t go low enough.
And that she’s wearing a bra.
Really kind of pointless when I’m going to have my mouth on her as soon as I’m done saying what I have to say.
“The way to answer it is either ‘yes’ or . . .” I pause dramatically, just to draw out the moment. “‘Hell yes.’”
“It would help, of course, if I knew what the question was,” she says. Pointedly. And to add affect, she arches one of her eyebrows and gives me the look. The look that she thinks bothers me.
It does bother me.
As in, I get hard every fucking time she gives me that particular look. But it’s a good kind of bother. I usually scoop her up, caveman style, and proceed to show her just what she can do with all her looks, eyebrow arches, and smart-ass remarks that I love so much.
Fucking A, how I love this girl.
And as such, there’s only one thing to do.
I get down on one knee and open the box with the glittering diamond ring.
Daphne straightens from the counter, her mouth dropping open. She gasps, “Nick,” in an awed, soft voice. Those beautiful hazel eyes of hers fill with tears, and shit—shit, that sight gets to me. I know the tears aren’t sad ones, but I hate seeing my girl cry. And then her face brightens, and she smiles.
“Hell yes,” she says.
I give her
my
look. “I have to ask the question first.”
“Well, oh. Okay, then.” Daphne waves her hand. “Ask the question.”
“Daphne Ariadne Fox—”
“Yes!” Daphne jumps up, then holds out her hand, wiggling her fingers.
“If you could let me finish—”
“I always let you—”
“My question.”
“You’re taking forever,” Daphne says. “Foreeeeeeeevvvvver.”
“I’m trying to be all romantic and stuff,” I say. “Now, let me ask you the question so we can do this right, and our kids won’t think that their parents are too weird.”
“That’s a lost cause, you know. Our kids are going to be so embarrassed of us. And any possible boyfriend is going to run in the other direction when he sees you.”
“Good, because our kids aren’t dating until they’re eighty-five.”
“Nick!”
“You’re right. That’s too young. Ninety-six, then. So, let me ask the question for the sake of our future children.”
Daphne laughs.
I get serious, because this is serious, and I need to make this count. “I love you. I love living with you. I love being with you. I love fighting with you. I love making up with you. I always want to be the man you love, the one who makes you happy and feel loved, cherished, and adored. I promise to do all those things and more. I want to spend our lives together. I want to have kids with you. I want to grow old with you. I just want to love you, to call you my wife. Daphne, will you marry me?”
Daphne doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t bother swiping away her tears. She does exactly what I love most about her. She joins me on the floor, her body knocking into mine, as she wraps her arms tightly around me.
She trembles with happiness in my arms, and I close my eyes, breathing her in.
She pulls away just enough to meet my gaze. “Hell yes.”
I slide the engagement ring onto her finger. It’s a perfect fit.
“I love you,” Daphne says.
“I know.” I smile and kiss her, long and hot, and debate about two seconds before taking her to our bedroom.
But who needs a bed? Certainly not me. And Daphne, naked, with just the diamond solitaire on her finger steals my breath away.
I’m the luckiest guy in the world.
Caleb and Hailey
I knock on the door,
and one of my sisters opens it.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” Daphne says. “It’s bad luck.”
“Daphne, please get my soon-to-be wife. I promise to stay on the other side of the door. I won’t look.”
Daphne looks like she wants to argue, but softens when she sees my face. “Okay, Caleb. I’ll get Hailey. But
no
peeking.”
“Promise,” I say. And I have every intention of keeping that promise. I know that Hailey doesn’t want me to see her in her dress until she walks down the aisle. But I need to talk to her.
“Caleb?” It’s Hailey.
I completely close my eyes in relief at hearing her voice. At the joy and love that fills me and staggers me. I’m so lucky to have her and her love.
I lean against the door. “Hey,” I say. “I just wanted to tell you I love you.”
“Ohhhh, Caleb,” she says softly, and I feel her press against the other side of the door. “I love you, too.”
My throat tightens. I really want to see her. Kiss her. Touch her.
I reach out my hand and feel a kick in my heart when her hand touches mine.
“And I still can’t believe you said yes,” I say, my voice thick. “That you’ll be walking down that aisle to me. I love you, Hailey, and I’m going to love you until the day I die.”
I hear her sniffling.
“Caleb,” she says. “You are my whole world. You give me your love and you opened your heart and family to me. But most importantly, you gave me you. I love you so much, and I can’t believe you’re mine.”
“And I can’t believe
you’re
mine,” I say. “That you’ll be my wife. I want to kiss you, but I’ll wait until we say I do. Until we put our rings on. Until we’re declared husband and wife.”
“I can’t wait,” she says softly. “Look for me. I’ll be the bride walking to you.”
“And I’ll be the guy at the end of aisle. Waiting for you, always.”
I give her hand one last squeeze and then I head out.
What seems like days later—but is probably really only an hour or two—I’m waiting at the end of the aisle. We’re getting married and having the reception at The Lake, a venue that is along the shoreline of Lake Champlain.
It’s the July Fourth weekend, and all of our friends are here. Nick is my best man. Jamie, Griff, Dylan, and Kai are my groomsman.
Daphne is Hailey’s maid of honor and Alex Randall, Hailey’s former co-star and a super famous movie star, is Hailey’s man of honor. Alex is also going to walk Hailey down the aisle. My sisters are bridesmaids as is Kate, who married Dylan in February. Kai and Steph tied the knot a year after we graduated college. Zelda and Jamie are marrying in the fall, while Daphne and Nick have set a date for this New Year’s Eve. Griff and Evie eloped last month.
The bridesmaids and then Daphne walk down the aisle. The flower girl and ring bearer are next.
The ring bearer just so happens to be our dog, Goliath. We had to include Goliath. Our cat, Sunday, is happily lazing about at our home.
The rings are attached around Goliath’s collar, and I swear that he walks with pride down the aisle. My father holds onto his leash and stands to the side when he reaches the end. Goliath’s tail wags with excitement and he gives a sharp bark, obviously ready for what will come next.
Right there with you, buddy.
My heart jumps in my throat as I wait for Hailey. I stare at the closed doors, willing them to open. At times like this, I wish I was a Jedi.
The wedding march begins to play. The doors are finally opened. And my breath leaves my body. My pulse races. I start to see a hint of white. Just a hint, and I’m lost.
And then there she is.
Hailey.
My love.
My heart.
Beautiful. Gorgeous. Mine.
She walks to me, with tears in those lovely blue eyes of hers, her dark hair coiled up in some intricate knot. I immediately think of undoing her hair, of how much I look forward to taking her dress off and making love to her later tonight. My blood simmers with need.
Hailey is mouthwatering.
She’s absolutely glowing in her wedding dress. It hugs her in all the right places and is utterly romantic looking with its lace and silk and tasteful sparkles. She takes my breath away.
She has my heart.
She has me.
I still can’t believe I have her. That she loves me.
I step forward to take Hailey’s hand. I meet Alex’s blue eyes and nod my head at him. Alex has become a good friend of mine and has totally straightened out his life. And I’ll never forget what he did for Hailey all those years ago. How he continues to be a friend to her.
Hailey takes my arm, and we face the justice of the peace. We say our vows. Put our rings on as we say I do. I kiss her after we’re declared husband and wife.
I smile at her. I love her. And I ask her the question that I asked her years ago, when we were in college.
“Ready?” I ask.
She smiles in recognition. “I’m ready.”
We raise our hands in the air and beam as our loved ones clap and cheer. We walk back down the aisle, ready for whatever life brings our way. Because with love . . .
Anything and everything is possible.
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As always, thank you to my family for their unwavering support and belief in me.
Thank you to my wonderful critique partners and friends, Tiffany Clare, Maggie Robinson, and Kristina Coi. Tiff and Maggie, thank you for reading this book way too many times to count. Words can’t begin to express how much you three Vixens mean to me. (Hint: it’s a whole lot.)
A huge thank you to my good friend, Kristen Callihan, for answering my SOS e-mail and providing me with an amazing beta read. Your suggestions were on-point, and you saved my butt on this book. Thank you for being there for me.
Thank you, Tamara Morgan, for reading this (plus all the other new scenes), and for telling me that I should stick to my original vision for the hero. We’ve been on this wild, bumpy ride for what feels like forever, and your friendship has always meant the world to me.
Thank you to my fantastic cover designer, Trish Schmitt, who didn’t blink an eye when I said that I needed a new cover for this book and gave me gorgeous options to choose from. Trish, you always blow me away with your creativity and generosity. I would also like to thank my copyeditors, Jena O’Connor and Dana Waganer, for their hard work and quick turnaround. And thank you to my proofreader, Lillie Applegarth, for her eagle eye and finding things that I missed.
Thank you, Janine Ballard, Julie James, and Stacey Agdern, for answering some questions I had. Janine, you’ve always been such a good friend, and Julie, I’m always thankful for your advice and support.
Another big shout out and thank you to my amazing Facebook group. This awesome group of readers gave me feedback on cover options for this book, encouraged me, and their excitement for this book pushed me during long, hard days of writing. Thank you: Stephanie Gibson, Vi Dao, Melody Dawn, Jo Evans, Shannon Ellis, Marie Fowler, Kelli Carter, Heather Mullins, Melinda Utendorf, and Angie. It’s also thanks to Vi Dao, who encouraged me to include the other couples’ epilogues, and to Melinda Utendorf, who cited another author who did this, that helped me make the decision to do this.
And, as always, if you’re reading this book, thank you. Thank you for everything.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9895835-6-5
Kindle Edition
Dream With Me: © 2016 by Elyssa Patrick
Cover design © Pickyme Artist
Cover photograph © bezikus|Shutterstock.com
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