The Upside of Love
Sandi Lynn
The Upside of Love copyright © 2014 Sandi Lynn
Publisher: Sandi Lynn Romance, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used factitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by Cover It Designs
Models: Pato Margetic & Mikeala Galli-Model
Photographer Lindee Robinson @ Lindee Robinson Photography
Photo Image/Guitar D7INAMI7S/Shutterstock
Editing by B.Z. Hercules
Table of Contents
1
2
3
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
36
About The Author
Playlist
1
Lily
“Have I told you how much I love you, Luke Matthews?” I asked as I ran my hand across his chest.
“You have, babe, and I don’t ever want you to stop telling me.”
I lifted my head from his chest and kissed his lips – the lips that devoured every inch of my skin last night from head to toe. The lips that made me warm when I was cold, and the lips that gave me the security I desperately needed.
It had been two months since Sam’s and Gretchen’s accident. Gretchen’s leg was healing nicely and Sam waited on her hand and foot, practically never leaving her side. Luke pretty much moved into my apartment, since Sam moved Gretchen into his. Lucky was staying with Giselle at her place because his apartment building had a flood and it was being renovated. Their relationship was still weird. Even though Giselle was pregnant with Lucky’s kid, it didn’t stop the two of them from seeing other people. It was awkward when one of them would bring the other out with us.
“I guess I should get up and head over to the bar,” Luke sighed.
I tightened my arm around him because I didn’t want to move. “No,” I said.
“What do you mean?” Luke laughed.
“I think we should stay in bed all day and do nothing but have wild sex.” I smiled as my hand traveled down to his hard cock.
“You sure know how to turn me on, babe,” he said as he rolled me over and hovered over me. “I have to go to the bar. You have to edit those photos for Mrs. Braxton, and we have a lunch date with Charley today.” He smiled as he took down my panties.
“You’re right. But, promise me we’ll schedule a day when we can just stay in bed all day and not worry about the outside world.”
“You got it.” He smiled as he plunged his finger inside me. “Now, give me your lips and shush. I’m going to make sweet love to you.”
After a sweet round of lovemaking, Luke took a shower and I made a pot of coffee. As I waited for it to finish brewing, I stared out my window at the perfectly blue sky and the sun that was shining brightly into my living room. Settling in Santa Monica was the best decision I ever made. Lost in my thoughts, I felt strong arms wrap around me. I tilted my head back and looked up at Luke’s smiling face.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Just admiring the beauty of the day.”
He was wearing only jeans and his hair was still soaking wet. He was the sexiest man alive, as far as I was concerned, and I couldn’t seem to get enough of him.
“Well, I’m admiring the beauty in front of me.” He bent down and softly kissed my neck.
I giggled. “You sure have a way with words, Mr. Matthews.”
“And you have a way with those lips.” He smiled as he kissed me again.
Luke walked to the coffee pot, poured a cup of coffee, and sat down at the table.
“Do you want me to make you breakfast?” I asked.
“Nah, I’m good, babe. I’ll grab something at the bar.”
There was a knock at the door and Sam’s boisterous voice came through loud and clear. “Dude, are you up? Are you decent?”
Luke sighed as he got up from his chair and opened the door.
“Morning, Sam. Morning, Gretchen.”
I smiled as my best friends walked into the apartment. I immediately grabbed two cups and poured coffee in them.
“Sit down,” I said to Gretchen and I lightly took hold of her arm and led her to the table.
“Thanks, Lily.” She smiled.
“Have you talked to Giselle?” I asked.
“Yeah. She said that she and Lucky were going furniture shopping for the baby’s room.”
“For both places?” Luke asked.
“I’m not sure. She didn’t say and I know his apartment still isn’t ready. To be honest, I think she likes having him around.”
“They’re weird.” I laughed.
Luke got up from the table. “Okay, friends. It’s been fun seeing you, but I have to finish getting dressed and head over to the bar. Maddie and I have some liquor orders to go over.”
“We playing tonight?” Sam asked.
“Yeah. I already talked to Lucky and he said that he and Giselle will be there. I’m also interviewing new bands to play on the weekends after we play our gig. I want Lily to play and she won’t,” he said as he pouted.
“Get over it, Matthews.” I winked.
Luke headed to the bedroom to get ready, and Sam and Gretchen got up to leave. “I can’t wait to get this cast off today. So, when you see me tonight, I’ll be strutting in.”
I laughed as I hugged her.
“I can’t wait to finally make love to her without that cast getting in the way.” Sam smiled.
“Just keep it down,” Luke yelled from the bedroom.
“Paybacks, bro. Paybacks.” He laughed.
****
Since I couldn’t get another teaching job right away, I decided to make photography my full-time work. I mostly just worked out of my apartment, but I wanted to rent a small space and turn it into a studio. It was something that I’d thought about over the past couple of months and Luke was extremely supportive. He told me that I needed to follow my dreams and just go for it like he did with the bar. I did a photo shoot with Rory Braxton and her twin girls. It was a surprise gift for her husband’s birthday. I photographed them at the beach and then Rory wanted some sexy pictures for Ian. I brought her back to the apartment once I set it up with the backdrop. I had never photographed sexy pictures like the ones I did for her and I was nervous at first. But after seeing the photographs, I knew she’d be more than pleased. I met Rory through Giselle. Rory’s husband’s best friend, Adalynn, owned Prim magazine, for which Giselle did a lot of modeling. When she overheard Rory and Adalynn talking about finding a female photographer, she instantly thought of me. Since the pictures that Rory wanted for Ian were of her practically naked and very seductive, she thought it would be best to have a female photograph her, so as not to upset her husband.
As I was sitting at my computer, editing the photos, Lu
ke walked up and gave me a kiss.
“Bye, babe. Have fun today and I’ll see you later at the bar for lunch with Charley.”
“Bye, baby.” I smiled.
I looked at the photos of Ashley and Ariel Braxton and smiled as I envisioned a family like Rory’s and Ian’s one day. I picked up my phone from the desk and called Rory.
“Hello,” she answered.
“Hi, Rory. It’s Lily. Your pictures will be ready by tonight, so I was hoping we could meet for lunch tomorrow and I can show you the final shots.”
“Excellent, Lily. Tomorrow will be perfect. If you’re in the mood for Mexican food, we can meet at the Border Grill, say around noon?”
“Sounds great, Rory. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As I was editing the photos, one popped up of Luke. I smiled as I ran my fingers across his perfect six pack on the screen. It was one of him lying on the bed in only a pair of unbuttoned jeans. His arm was behind his head and he was looking out the window.
I was the luckiest girl alive to be loved by him and my life was perfect. More perfect than I had ever dreamed it would be.
2
Luke
I walked into the bar and saw Adam talking to Maddie. So far, he had kept his word and he was turning his life around. He attended UCLA like he said he would, and he also worked full-time in the IT department at Rocket Corp. He saw Charley and Maddie as much as he could and I could tell that Maddie was falling in love with him again. Actually, she had always loved him. I thought he should make computers his career, but he wanted to be a counselor for drug and alcohol abuse. As long as he kept true to his word about changing, I was cool with him. Charley loved having him around and so close. And if she was happy, that was all that mattered.
“Hey, you two,” I said as I walked over to the bar.
“Hey, man,” Adam replied.
Maddie looked at me and smiled. “Charley is really looking forward to having lunch with you and Lily today.”
“Yeah, we are too. We better go over the liquor order before she gets here.”
Adam gave Maddie a kiss goodbye and told me he’d see me later. I took out the invoice with the liquor order on it and Maddie and I started to check the boxes.
“Can I ask what the two of you were talking about?”
“Not really, but I’ll tell you anyway,” she said. “He wants to take Charley and me to Disneyland this weekend. Just the three of us, like a family.”
“How do you feel about that?” I asked.
“I love him, Luke. I always have. I want us to be a family.”
“Please tell me that he’s not spending the night at your place. I don’t want Charley to get her hopes up.”
“He’s not,” she said as she looked at the invoice.
“Go to Disneyland and be a family.” I smiled as I kissed her cheek. “Charley will love it.”
As I was pulling the liquor bottles out of the boxes, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and there was a text message from a number I didn’t recognize.
“Hi, Uncle Luke. It’s me, Charley. Hehe.”
I looked at my sister and showed her my phone. “What the hell is this?”
“We bought Charley a cell phone last night and, before you say anything, she’s only allowed to text me, Adam, you, Lily, and Mom and Dad. It’s for emergency purposes only.”
“Really, Maddie? You don’t think she’s a little young to be responsible for a cell phone?”
She rolled her eyes. “All the kids her age have them and I like knowing that I can get a hold of her any time I want.”
“So if all the kids her age had horses, you’d go out and buy her a horse?”
She twisted her face and looked up at the ceiling. “Yeah, I would. I love horses.” She smiled. “Relax, Uncle Luke; it’ll be fine.”
“Don’t come crying to me if she goes over her minutes and you’re paying a small fortune for your bill.”
“She won’t. Now text her back.” She winked.
“Awesome, peanut. I’ll see you for lunch and you can show me your new phone.”
“Okay.”
Maddie and I finished putting the liquor away and I went to my office. I had so much paperwork to catch up on. I was finding it difficult to do everything on my own. Sure, Maddie helped, but she tended bar with Candi. Neither one of them were suited for secretarial work. I was beginning to think that I needed to hire someone part-time. Maybe to come in to the bar three times a week and do the paperwork and help with the books. I got up from my chair and just as I opened the door, my two beautiful girls were standing there.
“Why, hello there, beautiful ladies.” I smiled.
“Uncle Luke!” Charley exclaimed as she threw her arms around my waist.
“Hi, Charley. Hey, babe.” I smiled as I leaned over and kissed Lily on the cheek. “Did you get those photos done?”
“I sure did and I’m meeting Rory tomorrow for lunch to show her.”
“Great. Now let’s go eat. I’m starving,” I said.
“You should have let me make you breakfast.” Lily smiled.
“If I recall, I had a great breakfast this morning.” I winked.
We walked out of the bar and Lily threw me the keys to her Explorer. “Where do you want to go eat?”
“At the beach.” Charley smiled.
“The beach? We can’t have lunch at the beach.”
“Sure we can, Uncle Luke. We can stop and get some sandwiches to go and then take them to the beach. Lily has a blanket back here.”
“Smart little girl.” Lily smiled as she looked at me.
“Okay, then; the beach it is.”
****
We spread out the blanket and took our sandwiches out of the bag. “One ham and cheese on white for you,” I said as I handed Charley her sandwich. “And one tuna on whole wheat for you, babe.”
“Thank you.”
It was a beautiful day to spend at the beach. I just wished we could have spent the entire day there. But there was way too much to get done at the bar. As soon as we finished our lunch, Charley went and played by the shoreline. She loved the way the waves crashed into her feet. I leaned over and pushed Lily’s hair behind her ear. She placed her hand on mine and interlaced our fingers.
“What’s wrong? I can tell something’s bothering you,” she said.
I sighed. “I think I need to hire a secretary or an assistant to handle all the paperwork at the bar. It’s becoming too much to do on my own.”
She softly smiled at me as she brought my hand up to her lips. “Then hire someone. If you need the help, then just do it. I don’t want to see you so stressed out.”
“Maybe I will.” I smiled as I leaned in and kissed her seductively on her lips.
“Hey, no kissing in public.” Charley smiled.
“Is that so, little girl?” I laughed as I grabbed her and tickled her in the sand.
We grabbed the blanket, shook it out, and Lily dropped me off at the bar. “Bye, babe. I’ll see you later. Ask Sam to give you a ride to the bar tonight and we can ride home on my bike.”
“Aren’t you coming home to change?” she asked with disappointment.
“I have so much paperwork to catch up on and I want to get a jump on it. Does that make you mad?”
“No. I’ll call Sam and ask him.” She smiled.
I leaned over and gave her a kiss and then kissed Charley on the cheek. I went straight to my office and shut the door. I didn’t want to be disturbed until the gang arrived later.
****
“Is it safe to come in?” Lily asked as she poked her head through the door.
I looked up from what I was doing and smiled. “Of course it is, babe. Get in here.”
She walked in and sat down on my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and planting a big kiss on my lips.
“I missed you,” she said.
“I missed you too.”
“Have you even made a dent in any of this?”
“So
me. Not much. I did place an ad in the paper for help. It runs tomorrow, so keep your fingers crossed that people respond. Is everyone here?”
“Everyone with the exception of Giselle and Lucky. I called them and they’re on their way.”
She got up from my lap and I got up from my chair. We walked out into the bar together and I saw Gretchen and Sam standing, talking to Candi.
“Look at you.” I smiled as I kissed Gretchen. “No more cast. How does it feel?”
“I’m still trying to get used to it.” She laughed.
“You look great, Gretchen,” I told her.
“Thanks, Luke.”
“Sammy, let’s get the equipment set up. Why isn’t Lucky here yet?”
“Keep your panties on, dude. I’m here.” Lucky smiled as he held out his arms.
The three of us went and set up the stage. I looked across the bar at Lily as she stood there, talking to our friends. I never thought I could love again since Callie. But Lily changed all that for me. She breathed life into me again, and now, every breath I took was for her.
3
Lily
I was nervous to show Rory the pictures. I knew I shouldn’t be because they turned out so great, but I was always nervous when it came to showing my work. I put the photos in the Explorer and drove to the Border Grill. When I arrived, Rory was already sitting down in a booth, waiting for me.
“Hi, Lily.” She smiled as she got up and hugged me.
“Hi, Rory.”
“I took the liberty of ordering you a margarita. I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course. I love margaritas.” I smiled.
I sat down and set the box of photos on the table.
“So, I’m dying to see my pictures,” she said.
I took the lid off the box and pulled out the pictures of her and the girls first. I displayed them nicely on the table in front of her. She looked at them and then at me.
“These are absolutely gorgeous! Oh, Lily, these are going to look wonderful in my house.”
“I’m glad you like them.”
“I don’t like them. I love them!” she exclaimed. “And?” she said with a smile.
I took out the photos that she had made for Ian. “You might want to keep these down in your seat while you look at them.” I laughed.