Read After The One (The One Series Duet) Online

Authors: Danielle Allen

Tags: #Contemporary, #Romance, #Fiction, #Forever Love, #Adult, #Bachelor, #Single Woman, #Sensual, #Hearts Desire, #Multicultural & Interracial, #Romantic Comedy, #Duet, #Book Two, #Reality TV, #Dating Show, #Fantasy Romance, #Entertainment, #Reality Couple

After The One (The One Series Duet) (9 page)

BOOK: After The One (The One Series Duet)
3.88Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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“We will be here for an hour, tops. You look incredible, by the way.” He squeezed my hand back. “Don’t move.”

Julian slipped out of the car and gave the eager teenager instructions about his car and a stern look. I laughed to myself as he pointed at the kid one final time. When he made his way to my side of the car, he opened my door and grabbed my hand.

“Thank you, love,” I said as I let him pull me out of my seat. Releasing his hand, I looked down and smoothed out the red peplum dress. Squaring my shoulders, I flashed him a bright smile. “See, I’m good.”

Julian put his arm around my shoulders and I didn’t even care that he was smashing my curls down after I’d spent an extra twenty minutes trying to breathe life into them. I relished in the feeling of being tucked in the crevice of his arm. It made me happy.

The doorman held the door open for us and Julian stepped back, allowing me to walk in front of him. My eyes widened as we entered the Mediterranean restaurant, Mykonos. It felt like as soon as we passed through both sets of double doors, we had entered a completely different place and time.

The doors blocked the sound of the busy street and the laughing valet staff and the soft instrumental music moved through the air. The warm colors of the décor and the textured walls brought the restaurant to life. The low lighting gave a sexy vibe, but the deep orange walls gave the place vibrancy. A sweet aroma greeted us, but it wasn’t food. It was heavy and damp, almost like the smell of flowers, but I looked around and couldn’t find the source.

Although I had only taken a few steps away from Julian, a female employee made a beeline for him. “Hi,” she greeted him flirtatiously. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

I stayed where I was and watched the dynamic. It was a difficult transition at first, but I’d learned to take a minute to figure out if a woman was a fan of his work or if she was hitting on him. I trusted Julian and didn’t feel threatened at all, but I also wasn’t going to let someone disrespect me. I was maybe five feet away from them, but from the way she was gazing up at him, I might as well have not existed.

“Hello,” Julian returned her greeting politely. “We’re meeting Robert Brady.”

I tried not to smile as I heard the emphasis he put on
we
.

She looked at him for a beat too long before she glanced at her tablet. “I need to find you on the list. What’s your name?”

“Julian Winters.”

“Hmmm. Let me see…” She searched the list and then looked up. “I found you.” She gave him another onceover. “Your name sounds familiar. Do I know you from somewhere? A movie?”

Julian was well known in the music industry and popular with a number of artists, but as someone who was new to the spotlight, he wasn’t famous. The woman who was eyeing him wasn’t doing it because she recognized him. As I watched her body language, I saw that she wasn’t planning on requesting an autograph or a photo. She was looking at him like he was sex personified.

And he is,
I thought, taking him in.
That’s a really good color on him.

His dark green shirt brought out the dark undertones of his skin and couldn’t hide his well-defined body. Paired with a black tie and his black leather jacket, he looked like a mix between the men parents warn daughters about and the men parents hope their sons become. He looked like the kind of man who broke hearts, but at the same time wore his own heart on his sleeve. His sex appeal and confidence broadcasted that he was the type of man who could fuck like a porn star or make sweet love, depending on the moment. He embodied so many amazing qualities and they were wrapped in a delicious package.

I can’t be mad that women are attracted to him. They have eyes. He can’t contain all that sexy.

“No. I’m not an actor,” he answered, throwing a look my way.

I remained standing where I was. I could see she was interested in him, but I was truly interested in seeing how far she was going to try to take it with me standing right there. She was definitely a bold one. Since leaving
The One
, I’d only encountered a couple of women who were disrespectful enough to blatantly hit on Julian while I was with him. It was always a pathetic reminder of how low some people would go to try to take what’s yours.

The attempt is pathetic, but it’s all about the follow through. As long as Julian doesn’t follow through, there’s no issue.

Fortunately, I knew I didn’t have anything to worry about.

“You could definitely be an actor.” She looked him up and down again, taking a step closer to him. “My name is Beth, by the way.”

He took a step back, away from her. “Thank you.” He looked at me again. “I’m Julian, and this is my fiancée, Zoe.”

I took my time closing the gap between us as I concentrated on not smiling. I didn’t want to gloat even though I was positive my face glowed.

Beth cast a quick look my way before focusing her attention back on Julian. She lowered her voice. “I didn’t realize you two were together.”

Julian lifted his arm so I could attach myself to his side. Again, I didn’t mind one bit that his arm crushed my coiled hair, likely flattening it in the back.

“We arrived together and we’ll be leaving together,” I replied sweetly.

Julian grinned down at me before planting a kiss on my forehead.

Beth didn’t seem phased at all as she continued to eye-fuck my man. “The stairwell is straight ahead and the elevators are around the corner. The attendant on the second floor will take you where you need to go.” She backed away slowly. “If you need anything Julian Winters, just ask for Beth.”

“He won’t need anything from you, Beth. But thank you for your hospitality. We will be sure to let your manager know how hospitable you’ve been,” I informed her, my tone as transparent as she was.

Beth’s eyes darted around before she scurried off.

Julian’s chuckle started deep in his chest and vibrated through him. “God, I love you.”

“I love you, too…which is why I needed to let her know that her services were not needed.”

“Even if you didn’t, you know I would’ve told her.” He continued to snicker. “Come on. Let’s go get this over with.”

I pulled away from him to fluff my hair out and give it more body. Switching my black handbag to my other hand, I reached out and grabbed his, intertwining our fingers.

“This place is nice,” I noted, looking around as we eased deeper into the restaurant.

I attempted to go straight to follow where the people who were flowing in and out of the building were headed. Most of the hostesses led individuals behind the large staircase and curiosity was getting the better of me.

“This way. The private rooms are upstairs.” He glanced at my four-inch open toe booties and we bypassed the staircase. “And we should take the elevator.”

I nodded. “Yes, please.”

The elevator was gold with a mirroring effect. I stared at Julian’s reflection and felt a little flutter in my stomach.

Just as the elevator door opened, he caught me checking him out and a slow smile spread across his face.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he warned as he followed me into the elevator. He hit the second floor button.

“Why?” I giggled as he backed me into the wall of the elevator. “You’re so sexy. I can’t help it.”

“I’m warning you…” He put his hands on my hips and then slid them around to my ass. He pressed his hard body against me and stared at me as if he knew my panties were becoming damp.

The heat crept up my body from my core. I licked my lips.

The elevator dinged and he dropped a quick kiss against my lips before taking a step away from me.

Our hands found each other instinctually and we walked into the second floor lobby. A woman rushed toward us, requesting our names before leading us to one of the four private dining rooms.

“Mr. Brady is already here,” she informed us as she gestured to the brightly colored door. “Your waiter will be with you shortly.”

“You okay?” Julian mouthed to me, touching my face with the back of his hand.

I nodded, leaning into his touch.

Julian nodded back before pushing the door open and setting his hand on the small of my back.

“Julian Winters and Zoe Jordan,” Robert Brady greeted us merrily from the head of the table.

The older man wore khaki pants and a dark brown jacket. The top two buttons of his white shirt were undone and a thin gold chain was almost lost in the brown chest hair that peeked out of his shirt. I tried not to stare, but I was taken aback. The chest hair didn’t bother me as much as the fact that his chest hair appeared to eat the chain.

I just want to button those buttons!

He took a sip of his amber colored liquor before standing and reaching out his hand.

“Robert.” Julian’s voice was firm as he shook his hand.

“Zoe, you look beautiful,” he complimented as he planted a kiss on my cheek.

“Thank you.” I gave him a tight smile before allowing Julian to pull out my chair so I could have a seat.

The men sat down as soon as I was settled in my chair. I cast my eyes around the gold and orange hued room and noticed that even the tablecloth had a hint of gold to it. The chandelier hung low over the six person diner table. The room was sexy.

Well, it would’ve been sexy if we were alone.

As if there was a hidden camera notifying the wait staff that we were seated, a waiter entered and took our drink orders. My stomach rumbled gently and I picked up my menu. The waiter went over the specials and left us to decide what we wanted to eat.

“So what brings us here, Robert?” Julian started, his jaw already set as if he was anticipating trouble.

I gave him a look from behind my menu.

Although Julian looked sexy as hell, our goal was to get Robert Brady to not want to film our wedding. If Julian bit his head off, he wouldn’t be willing to compromise.

“Let’s place our orders first before getting into all this business.”

The waiter brought Robert a second glass of whiskey and Julian and I both waters. He brought a pitcher filled with ice and a few slices of limes and placed it in the middle of the table. Robert ordered food, but Julian and I both declined, not wanting to prolong the meeting. The waiter scampered out of the room, leaving the three of us alone again.

“No food.” Robert nodded. “Okay, I guess you want to get down to business.” He finished off his tumbler of whiskey before he gave us both a crooked smile. “That’s a nice ring,” he mentioned nonchalantly.

I looked down at the bauble. “Thank you. I would agree.” I reached over and placed my hand on Julian’s. “He did a good job.”

Robert’s eyes zoomed in our hands and his smile widened. “I would agree,” he repeated my words back to me.

“Robert, why are we here?” Julian asked, his voice conveying his true feelings about the meeting.

“You know why we’re here. We’re here to talk about the wedding special.”

“Like I mentioned on the phone, we are not interested in getting married on camera. We want to have a small, intimate wedding. If anything, we’d like to discuss you letting me out of my contract. We’re only a few months away from the two year mark anyway. You’ve had seven bachelors since then and a bunch before me. Are any of them planning their wedding?”

I gave Julian an encouraging smile. He had been straight forward without allowing his emotions to get the best of him. I knew how much restraint he was using. After the conversation he’d had with Robert on Tuesday night, he was on edge every time his name was brought up.

“I hear what you’re saying, Julian. I do.” Robert sighed, almost as if he were being forced to pursue the idea. “But this last season slumped. Both the first and the second sessions didn’t exceed expectations. The bachelors were good and our ratings were strong, but we didn’t have the same web presence as we did with your session. We have high hopes for the third and fourth sessions though.”

“I’m sorry your show isn’t doing what you’d hoped, but audiences fluctuate all the time. I’m sure you’ll bounce back with the spring sessions, but we can’t help you. This is our wedding day, Robert.” Julian cleared his throat. “Please.”

Robert looked between the two of us and actually managed to look contrite. “I know this isn’t the conversation you were hoping you would have with me and yes, most of the other couples got engaged at the end of the show. And most of them are over and done with now.” He let out a short laugh. “Getting engaged after dating for a month is ridiculous.”

Ummmm…isn’t that the premise of your whole show?
I stared at him, my eyebrows flying up.

I shook my head. “Wait, what? I thought that’s what your show was all about: getting engaged to someone you barely know after dating them for maybe three hours and twenty-two minutes one-on-one.”

Julian chuckled beside me and after a brief pause, Robert joined in.

“You’re funny,” he said to me before looking at Julian. “She’s funny.” He finished off the whisky and slammed the glass down on the table. He made a face as if it burned going down. “The show pays for a ring…period. Most assume it has to be an engagement ring, but it doesn’t explicitly say engagement ring. The bachelors pick out a ring and if the relationship falls apart, the ring comes back as property of the show. If the relationship makes it, the wedding is part of the series and they keep the ring. But I would never mandate an engagement and force people to get married. I just finished going through my third divorce.”

Julian sat up, leaning forward. “So if you don’t want to force people to get married, don’t try to force us to get married on your show.”

“It would be ratings gold,” Robert argued.

Julian looked over at me. “I’m more concerned about giving Zoe the wedding we planned for ourselves and the marriage she deserves.” He looked back at the creator of the show. “The ratings don’t have anything to do with us.”

“This could be mutually beneficial. We are willing to pay you each one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars and we will cover all wedding expenses.”

That’s two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Two hundred fifty thousand dollars for us to get married, which we were already going to do anyway. A quarter of a million dollars for us to get married which we were already going to do anyway
and
they are going to pay for the wedding?

BOOK: After The One (The One Series Duet)
3.88Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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