New York Nights
Page 70

So, quite naturally, it took me a while to understand the difference between contemporary romance and erotica. And when I was putting the final touches on Reasonable Doubt 3, I realized that the ending was falling back into my former terrain.
The scenes that showed Aubrey & Andrew in the future were a tad bit too contemporary. Okay, they were sappy...LOL
But since there was no real “flow” to those scenes, and I felt like they might have led you into thinking that there would be an RD4 (I promised you a trilogy), I decided to simply end it with their HEA.
Now that their story is complete though, and since quite a few readers have asked about those scenes, the deleted glimpses of their future follow this letter.
(Back at home after accepting Andrew’s proposal)
Aubrey
I slowly rolled on top of Andrew, feeling weak after yet another orgasm. “Hi...”
“Hi.” He rubbed his hands against my bare back and kissed my lips.
“You owe me a dinner...” I whispered. “A cooked one, not delivered.”
“You think I’m going to get up and do that right now?”
“I think you’re going to do whatever I want for the next few months.” I smiled, knowing it was true; I could tell. “Do you prefer a boy or a girl?”
“No preference.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. What about you?”
“I’m partial to a girl...”
“And why is that?”
“I’ve just always wanted a little girl,” I admitted. “To treat her better than my parents treated me, you know?”
“So, you’ll cry if it’s a boy?”
“I’ll cry if he ends up being anything like you.”
Laughing, he sat up and pulled me with him. He slipped into a pair of sweat pants and helped me into a slip. Then he took my hand and led me into the kitchen, setting me on one of the bar stools.
I leaned against the countertop as the two of us settled into what had become a routine since we started living together: Contrary to my comment about delivery, Andrew cooked for me whenever I asked. (Of course, there was an oral price that came with it afterwards, but it was one I was more than willing to pay.)
When my touring schedule became hectic and I only had five hours in between the next show and a rehearsal, dinner had always been waiting for me. And every opening night, he’d sent a boxed entrée along with a bouquet of flowers backstage just in case I wanted to eat right away.
“What if it is a girl?” He placed a small chicken salad in front of me. “Do you have any names in mind?”
“Aubrey, but we can spell it with an ‘i’ instead of an ‘ey,’ you know?”
He rolled his eyes. “That’s not happening.”
“I was joking.” I plucked a strawberry from my plate. “I was thinking Autumn...”
“Autumn? Is there a reasoning behind that?”
“It’s our favorite season,” I said. “It’s also when I fell in love with you, and when you fell in love with me.”
“I fell in love with you in the winter.”
“No. You realized that you loved me in the winter. You already loved me in the fall.”
“I’m pretty sure I didn’t.” He poured me a cup of juice before sitting next to me. “I need to ask you something.”
“Since when do you need permission?”
Cupping my chin, he turned my head so I was facing him. “Do you want a wedding?”
I nodded, running my finger along my ring for the umpteenth time.
“Before or after the baby?”
“Before...”
 
A couple months later ...
Andrew
I wasn’t sure why Aubrey selected a vineyard in upstate New York for our wedding, but she insisted. We’d toured the venue no less than twenty times per her request, and on every occasion she’d swooned over the acres of lush plants, the small white cottages that stood in the distance, and the massive trees that shaded the area where we would be married.
One of the biggest benefits of being married here, though, was the unlimited fresh wine that was served at the outdoor bar.
“Andrew?” A male voice said from behind as I picked up a glass.
I turned around, finding myself face to face with Aubrey’s father. “Governor Everhart.”
“Ah, that title has such a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
I didn’t answer.
Sipping a glass of wine, he sighed. “I never thought this day was coming, never thought my Aubrey would get married.” He took a longer sip. “To her former boss, no less.”
I didn’t answer that either.
“You’re ten years older than Aubrey...” He finally said something that deserved a response.
“Yes, I am. Are you insinuating something?”
“Not at all,” he said. “It’s clear that you two are in love...You’d have to be to attend all of those overseas ballet shows without falling asleep.”
“It’s called being supportive.”
“I know...Not that it matters now, but I would like to know for sure: Were you two having a relationship while she was your intern at GBH? Did you really just happen to meet again in New York after she quit?”
“Mr. Everhart...” I set my glass down, tired of playing into the story Aubrey had concocted years ago. “Since you asked me so nicely, I’m going to say this once and only once. Me and your daughter were actually—”
“There you are!” His wife came over and slipped her hand in his. “I was looking for you. Are you harassing the groom on the big day?”
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it harassment,” he said. “I was just asking him a few questions...”
“Oh?” She looked back and forth between us. “What type of questions?”
“He wanted to know if I was sleeping with your daughter when she was my intern.”
She gasped, putting her hand on her chest. Then she looked up at him. “Seriously? I think you’re really letting this governor thing go to your head. Of course someone like Andrew would never do something like that.”
“Of course, I wouldn’t.” I smiled, nodding my head in agreement. “That’s a very terrible rule to break, don’t you think? Sleeping with an intern, especially an undergraduate intern, since that’s what she was at the time, correct?”
He said nothing.
“See?” His wife kissed his cheek and then she turned around and hugged me. “Maybe after the baby you can convince her to reconsider law. Then the two of you can be just like us.”
I held back my comment and returned her hug.
Before our lively conversation could go any further, the wedding director walked over with her clipboard.
“The bride-to-be is ready now,” she said, smiling. “Time to head on over.”
Mr. Everhart looked at me one last time and slowly extended his hand. “She thinks the world of you, and I’ve never seen her this happy before. Thank you...”
His wife hugged me one last time, and the two of them walked away.
I found it quite ironic that he’d seen Aubrey recently, because I hadn’t seen her in three days. She’d scheduled her bachelorette party for this past weekend and claimed that she needed to get a few last things for the wedding on her own.