something else, but the song was coming to an end and the dance tempo was picking up again.
“I’m really sorry, Zoie. One day, you’ll understand.” He leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. “Thanks for the dance, sis.”
She plastered on her best smile and headed towards the bar for that glass of wine. It would be midnight soon and the party, just like the last shitty year, would be over. Soon, it would be a new year. A new start.
After she downed one drink and took a second, Zoie went in search of Tiffany’s really cute brother, Aiden. It would be midnight soon, and maybe she’d get a chance for a kiss at midnight to start her new year off right.
But as the DJ announced the countdown, the group she found herself standing in the middle of was all of Tiffany’s young nieces and nephews.
Great, still one of the kids.
Ten… nine… eight… As depressing as the last month had been, she was happy to end the year if for no other reason so she could get her next year started.
As the new year rang out, Zoie finished the rest of her glass of wine, setting her glass down on the nearby tray before grabbing her purse from under her seat at the head table and heading up to her room on the twentieth floor of the Four Seasons.
I may not live here in Chicago yet, but I’m gonna enjoy the view tonight. And tomorrow, I’m heading out to explore. I may even take a cab out to the loft just to make sure I know how to drive there next Monday.
Lukus would certainly not approve, but he would be out of town and never know. She’d already secured her interview for the job as head accountant for Titan Securities with Ethan Welsh, the office manager. With any luck, she’d get the job and will have already proven what a great job she was going to do as her brother’s accountant before he even got home from his honeymoon. She’d only have a short time to prove herself before he found out that the Nicole Stevens that Ethan had hired, was actually his sister, Zoie Mitchell.
To be continued in a stand-alone novel, Deceiving it All, coming in 2021.
Bonus Story – Start of the Honeymoon
Tiffany
“Tiffany, come on! The car is here. We are gonna miss our flight!”
Dammit. She knew she should have finished packing before the wedding. This was her own fault. She’d been in such a hurry to head to the Four Seasons for the wedding, that making sure she was ready to fly to Hawaii for the honeymoon had seemed low on the priority list.
Tiff was just stuffing a final sun dress into her already over-stuffed luggage when she was grabbed from behind and yanked back into the muscular chest of her husband.
His lips were on her ear as he growled, “Mrs. Mitchell… you’re making us late. You remember what happens when you’re tardy?”
They were standing in the middle of their mammoth walk-in closet. She glanced up to admire the picture they made in the full-length mirror directly in front of them.
God, how the hell did I get so lucky to find this man?
It wasn’t the first time she’d asked herself that question, and it wouldn’t be the last.
“I’m almost ready. I was worried I hadn’t brought enough dresses.”
Lukus grinned, lighting up his face with the sexiest of smiles. “If you brought one, it’s too many. I plan on us being naked and in bed the whole time.” His grinding hips pressing his semi-hard cock into her ass told her he may not be exaggerating.
“If all we’re gonna do is stay in our room, we should just stay home and save the money,” she observed.
Luckily, he chuckled. “Fine. I might be persuaded to leave the room a time or two. At least the weather is gonna be better there. Getting out of Chicago for two weeks in January is never a bad idea.”
Dreaming about the warm beaches and luxurious swimming pools reminded Tiffany. “That’s right. I wanted to grab my old bathing suit to take, too. I want a few choices.” She wiggled in his arms, attempting to extricate herself to find her old suit, but Lukus only squeezed her tighter. “I thought we were late?” She teased.
Lukus’s right hand had migrated up to squeeze her boob, while his left moved lower to cup her pussy through the jeans she was wearing on the flight. “I just realized how