I hadn’t actually considered the fact that she might not show up. When Hannah helped me cook up this plan, it didn’t even dawn on me that she might not come. I was certain she’d show up. Everyone showed up for the grand gestures. That’s the way the movies worked. They were romance movies for a reason. If the grand gesture failed, it was a tragedy, not a romance.
But we didn’t live in a damned romance movie.
Why hadn’t I considered that?
I ran my hands down my face and groaned, bumping the person standing next to me. “Sorry,” I mumbled.
“It’s okay,” she said.
I turned to head back towards the elevator but paused.
That voice.
I knew that voice.
I turned around and looked at the woman I’d bumped into.
It was her.
Melanie.
“You came.” I looked into her eyes, shaking my head.
She shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure why I’m here.”
My heart dropped to my gut.
Then I remembered my next move.
“Wait,” I told her, holding up my hand.
She gave me an odd look--as did a few other people--as I dug around my pocket for my cell phone. Where the hell was it?
“Ah-ha,” I said, pulling it out of my jacket pocket. I tapped the screen a few times, pulling up the music app and pressing play.
Then I held my cell phone above my head.
Melanie
My eyes widened as the first few notes of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” played through Tyler’s cell phone.
My cheeks heated from the attention we were drawing--as did his--but he didn’t falter.
I smiled shyly, shaking my head at the scene before me. He was so ridiculous. Leave it to Tyler to top one romantic gesture with another.
He lowered his cell phone and cut off the music, taking a tentative step towards me. “I’m sorry for everything.”
“I know,” I said, nodding my head. “I know you are.”
I could see it in his eyes. That scared little boy was in there somewhere, but he looked a little bit stronger than the last time I’d seen him.
He pulled me into his chest, and I pressed my cheek against his heart, winding my arms around his body.
“You make me want to be a better man,” he said, and I laughed.
“That’s enough of the pop culture references, Ty,” I said, pulling back and looking up at him. “Let’s just be me and you, okay?”
“There’s no two people I’d rather be.”
I smiled and he held me close again, resting his chin on the top of my head.
“Things went sideways at work,” he started telling me, and I shook my head to stop him. There would be time for explanations later, but I didn’t want to hear them now. Not in this moment.
“Whatever spooked you, it doesn’t matter. What matters is how you handled it.”
“I handled it really poorly.”
“You’re supposed to lean on me when things get rough, no matter what they are.”
“I know,” he said, his voice pained. “I’m sorry I turned away from you when I should have turned towards you.”
“If this is going to work, we need to communicate.”
“Baby, I’m going to communicate with you so much you’re going to get sick of me.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “You’re a dork, Tyler Winston Scott. But you’re my dork, and I’ll never get sick of you.”
“What did I do to deserve you?” he asked, looking at me like I’d hung the moon and all the stars.
“Nothing special, Ty. Just keep being you. That’s who I fell in love with. That’s who I want to be with. You don’t have to do anything fancy. Just be honest with me. And don’t get spooked,” I added that last part while stabbing him in the stomach with my finger.
“I won’t. Never again. I promise.”
“I love you,” I told him, losing myself in his baby blue eyes.
“I love you more,” he said, and then he pressed his lips against mine.
Epilogue
Melanie
Flashing lights.
People everywhere.
Applause, oohs, and aahs.
All the colors of the rainbow.
And it was all for me.
Athena by Melanie Katsaros was a hit. I had my own personal show at New York’s fashion week--albeit a small show--and I was standing at the end of the runway, flanked by models, being given a standing ovation. Front and center in the crowd were my people...Brianna, Heather, Hannah, Preston, Meredith, and Tyler. The only thing missing was my parents, but this so wasn’t their thing. I’d invited them, but knew they’d decline the invite.
Tears streamed down my face as I took it all in...as I absorbed what that moment meant. I had made it.
A sneak peek at my collection by some buyers from three of the major department stores and even more smaller boutiques already had offers flowing in. At this rate, I’d be able to pay off my investor in one lump sum, though he’d never accept it all at once. Preston was way too kind to accept anything more than our pre-arranged, no-interest, payment plan. And before I get accused of nepotism, Brianna arranged the investment without my knowledge. She hadn’t told Preston who he was investing in, just that she “had a designer.” She didn’t even know about me and Tyler, or about Tyler and Preston. Everything just sort of worked out.
My life was absolutely perfect.
Tyler was also perfect, and up on his luck. He finally accepted Preston’s help...well, as much as he would accept it. He pitched his column idea to the new editor-in-chief of You’re the Man and he loved it. “Urban Grilling” had been being published for almost a year now, and it got rave reviews from even the toughest critics. Celebrity chefs even tried Tyler’s techniques and requested to do guest pieces.
Everything was finally coming together.
Stepping behind the curtain of the runway, I stopped to take it all in once again. The dressing room was in complete disarray. Scraps of clothing were everywhere, and people were still bustling around, only slower now, without the preshow frenzy.
It was over, and I felt energized and relieved and elated and calm all at once. It was a heady feeling.
“It was amazing!” Meredith squealed as she appeared behind the curtain. My people had all-access VIP passes so they could calm me down before the show--and after-- if I needed it.
I squealed my happiness in return and the two of us bounced up and down, garnering attention from others in the room. People in fashion were so blasé, but I was not. I was so excited, and I just couldn’t hide it.
“You did great, Spice. It was amazing.” Tyler came over and kissed my forehead. “I’m so proud of you. I can’t wait to get you home,” he’d whispered that last part. And yes, we’d finally moved in together. It was a smallish one-bedroom apartment, but it was on the upper east side of Manhattan and it had a balcony—bonus! So naturally we had a grill.
“We are proud of you, too,” Brianna said, speaking for her and Heather. “It was an absolute success.”
“Amazing first show,” Heather added. “I’ve already gotten several email inquiries.”
“I still want to be your first customer,” Hannah said, as she and Preston filed in last.
Well…I thought they were last, but…
“Mom?”
Fresh tears streamed down my cheeks as my mom and dad appeared from behind the curtain. “We’re so proud of you, Melanie,” she said.
“I can’t believe you put all of this together,” my dad said, looking around at all the shirts, skirts, and dresses tossed around the room. He’d always been the toughest critic of my dreams, but I knew it was only because he didn’t understand what it was that I was doing. Now he did.
I ran over and hugged both my parents, then I made my way down the line, hugging everyone else. My people.
As I turned back towards Tyler, I gasped.
He was down on his knee.
In fro
nt of our closest friends and family.
Our people.
“Melanie Katsaros,” he began. “When I met you, I didn’t really understand what love was, but you helped me learn. Every day since then, you taught me to fall in love with you more and more and I’m not sure I even remember what my life was like without you in it. That’s probably because it wasn’t much of a life at all. Almost all my dreams—our dreams—have come true. All but one. So what do you say, Melanie? Put me out of my misery once and for all? I mean, come on...we put together IKEA furniture and only threatened to kill each other once. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.” A tear slipped down my cheek and I hastily wiped it away. “I want to spend the rest of my life trying to get out of debt with you, Mel. Seriously though, because I bet you’re about to make bank with all this.” He waved his hands around at the colorful designs hanging discarded on wire racks all around us. All my hard work--still surreal. “You’re amazing, baby. Simply irresistible. What do you say?”
“I say yes.”
THE END.
Tyler’s 90s Mixed Tape
Now That We Found Love - Heavy D & The Boyz
Lovefool - The Cardigans
Wannabe - Spice Girls
No Scrubs - TLC
Here Comes the Hotstepper – Ini Kamoze
Enter Sandman – Metallica
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers
Baby Got Back – Sir Mix-a-Lot
Bitter Sweet Symphony – The Verve
I Want It That Way - Backstreet Boys
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
Bye Bye Bye - *NSync
What’s Up – Four Non Blondes
U Can’t Touch This – MC Hammer
Gangster’s Paradise – Coolio
Melanie’s 80s Mixed Tape
Don’t Stop Believing – Journey
Just a Friend – Biz Markie
Walk Like an Egyptian – The Bangles
Girls Just Want to Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper
Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty
Our Lips are Sealed – The Go-Gos
It Must Have Been Love – Roxette
Livin’ on a Prayer – Bon Jovi
Fight For Your Right – Beastie Boys
Alone – Heart
Your Love – The Outfield
Manic Monday – The Bangles
It’s Tricky – Run DMC
Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
We Built This City - Starship
Sweet Child O’ Mine - Guns N’ Roses
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I want to thank Cassy Roop of Pink Ink Designs for designing the cover that was the basis for this story. It was love at first sight for me, and several ideas later, Simply Irresistible was born. Thank you to my editor and friend, Aimee Lukas. Thank you, Natasha Carrere, for the proofreading. You two ladies make the editing and final review process easy. Thank you to my Chapter Chicks...you guys give me motivation, names, ideas, and so much more. Last, but certainly not least...thank you to my family for your ongoing support! My husband, parents, siblings, niece, and so on.
About the Author
Jennifer was born and raised on Long Island, in New York. She relocated to South Carolina in 2002, where she met the love of her life. They got married in 2008, and live their happily ever after just outside of Charleston with their fur-kid. When she’s not reading or writing, she works as a behavioral therapist, and is also a graduate student, pursuing a Master Degree in Psychology as well as a Graduate Certificate in Behavior Intervention in Autism. She enjoys amateur photography, traveling, and music…it’s a bonus when she can combine all three. Jennifer is also a breast cancer survivor, having been diagnosed in 2017 and declared cancer-free in 2018. She independently published her debut novel, Our Moon (JACT 1), in June 2015.
Connect With Me
Email: jenniferlallenauthor@gmail.com
Website: www.jenniferlallenauthor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jallenauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorJenniferA
Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/b4LjgD
Also by Jennifer L. Allen
JACT Series
Our Moon
Hearts in the Sand
Wildflowers
Second Chances Series
Change of Heart
Right Place, Right Time
Standalones
Here Without You
Say Something
Table of Contents
1
2
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Tyler
Epilogue
Tyler’s 90s Mixed Tape
Melanie’s 80s Mixed Tape
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Connect With Me
Also by Jennifer L. Allen