As an up-and-coming social media influencer, Sadie Dwyer has had enough of the expectations thrust upon her and is finally ready to start living life on her own terms. Goodbye cushy corporate finance job, goodbye Los Angeles, and hello fresh start...
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"Hello gorgeous," Rhett murmured into my neck. From behind, his arms wrapped around me as I finished crossing off the last thing on my to-do list for the night.
"Hello to you too," I said, humming in appreciation before turning and giving him a quick kiss. As I pulled back, my gaze drifted down to see what he'd chosen to wear tonight, and I was pleasantly surprised. "Nice costume."
Tonight was yet another Veteran Appreciation Night at Dawson's, as over the past couple of months, Rhett and Finn had decided to make them a monthly occurrence. Not only were they good for business, considering the fact I'd been able to garner them enough attention to snag them both a local newspaper headline and a news slot with the last two events, but they continued to raise a decent amount of money for a charity close to their hearts. The events were fun and low-pressure as we alternated between a few different activities, including bingo, karaoke, and trivia. But with tonight being a week away from Halloween, on top of going with a classic bingo night, we'd also advertised the event to be a costume party (not mandated, but strongly encouraged).
It'd taken me a bit of convincing to get Rhett to agree, but I had to admit, with his hair pulled back and the outfit he'd thrown on—a navy blue t-shirt that sculpted to his muscles, a pair of red suspenders, and a dark pair of pants with yellow reflective stripes down the sides—he was truly pulling off the look of a firefighter.
"Yeah, well this is about as much festivities as you're going to get from me," he drawled before letting his eyes skim down my body to take in the costume I'd put together. "You on the other hand... damn Sadie."
I'd flexed every creative bone in my body to DIY myself a snake filled headpiece—the video of which had been one of my most recent uploads and was seeing a ton of engagement—and had paired it with an overall gold, black, and glam-filled look to become Medusa. And now that I wore the whole thing together, I had to agree with Rhett that I looked good.
"Thanks," I said, my lips twitching upward.
"I'm serious. You look unbelievable in this costume, and it's a shame we have to leave this apartment at all," he said, leaning in to trail a line of kisses down my neck as his hands wandered down my body and around to my backside.
I indulged in his touch for a few moments before I slapped his chest gently and took a step back with a laugh. "We don't have time for that, but save those thoughts for later tonight."
"Oh, those thoughts never are far off when you're around," he said with a wicked grin, leaning in to peck my cheek when I rolled my eyes. But I knew he was speaking true. Since we'd made up five months ago, our relationship hadn't wavered away from the honeymoon phase. Nearly every night, we spent time at one of our places, catching each other up on our days over dinner before our clothes were quickly shed in favor of some of the best sex I'd ever had. We were burning bright, but at the same time, were making the time to build a good foundation to our relationship. To talk and to communicate with one another. And I'd never felt more secure in a partnership than I did with Rhett.
He glanced at the time. "Are you ready to head downstairs then?"
Following his gaze, I noticed it was already six thirty and nodded. "Yeah, let's go." We'd left Finn to handle the final touches of set up about an hour ago as we came upstairs to get dressed up, so I was sure he was wondering where we were (and what we were truly doing).
"Are your parents still planning to drop by again?" he asked as I gathered my things into a small purse and nodded.
"Yeah, and because it's them, I can almost guarantee they'll be here early. So, in case you were worried, I don't think you'll miss an opportunity to charm your way into their good graces before we get swept into the madness."
"Wasn't worried much, considering I already know they love me," he quipped.
"Yeah, yeah. They do," I said. Because somehow, since the first time I'd brought him over for a family dinner a few months back, both of my parents had taken a liking to Rhett. My mother even went so far as to whisper to me privately one time to 'not mess things up'. Luckily, we had a less tumultuous relationship now since I'd confronted them, so I knew that was simply her way of telling me they approved. "You're lucky I love you too."
He shot a soft smile my way, taking my hand and squeezing it. "I thank the stars every day that you somehow found our ad for this apartment, because without it, we never would've met."
"Oh, I'm sure fate would have brought us together at some point," I replied, truly believing it as I led him downstairs.
Because even in a city like Seattle, where there were hundreds of thousands of people, I could never imagine ever not knowing Rhett. We balanced each other out in the best ways and it was crazy to think that while my move back here had been intended to solely focus on finding my footing in my professional life, I'd ended up finding so much more.
I'd found love, and that was more valuable than all the clicks in the world.
THE END
a/n: IT'S COMPLETE - finally!! Thank you all so much for sticking with this story, because I'll admit, earlier this year I was quite close to giving up on writing this one. My heart just wasn't in it, but considering it was all planned out already, I powered through over the last month or so to get this thing done. It may be a bit shorter than my normal books (given that I cut some scenes near the end from my plans since they weren't necessary) but I'm super proud to have finished my ELEVENTH full length novel!
would love to hear what you thought about this story as a whole in the comments (and don't forget to vote!)
and what's next? well, i've got my heart set on pivoting to romantic suspense, but I may be writing this one offline first to see how it goes. so, I guess this is a... I hope to see you all soon! x
