Jo POV
I look at myself in the mirror, and I can’t help but smile at what I see. My long hair falls down my back into thick curls, and I am wearing Layla’s red lipstick. I am ready to go back to dating after everything that happened with Leo. I believe in love, and I believe that I can find someone good that will treat me well.
The doorbell rings, and I look at my reflection one last time before I go open the door. And there he is, Josh. Wearing a dark gray suit that breathes money. “Hello,” I say as he takes one step toward me and kisses me on the cheek.
“You look beautiful,” he says, and I smile. “Let me just grab my purse,” I let out before I walked back into the house and grabbed everything I needed. He is taking me to one of the new and very popular restaurants in Manhattan, and I am not going to lie. I am very excited about it.
“Are you ready?” he asks as I come back out, and I nod. I lock the door behind us and follow him to the car outside. “This is Alf, my driver,” he says, and I smile.
“Hi Alf, nice to meet you,” I say before I get in the car, and josh gets in after me. We keep making small talk in the car as I look out of the window to see the rush that happens in Manhattan. New York really is the city that never sleeps. It’s absolutely amazing.
I grew up in a small town, so living in New York is a dream come true. When I told my parents this was where I wanted to live, they were worried because of what had happened to me as a child. I grew up very protected by my parents. Layla used to come and stay with me when her dad left her. It’s like she is a sister to me.
When we get to the restaurant, the hostess guides us to our table, and I can’t help but smile. Everyone watches us walk past because Josh is a really good-looking guy, and he has a lot of money. From time to time, he is in the headlines for some business he bought and dismantled. What can I say, the man is a shark.
“Would you like anything to drink?” Josh asks as he looks at the wine list, and I smile.
“Wine would be great,” I say, and he smiles, focusing on the list again. “Red or white?” he asks, and I take a deep breath. I am not a wine drinker usually, but I know that I can’t have a beer here. Beer usually is my go-to drink, and you can’t really go wrong with it.
“Whatever you choose, it’s good for me,” I say, and he smiles, moving his eyes from me to the list again. I can’t help but smile when the waitress comes back. Josh orders some wine and water for the table while we keep talking.
“So, what was the last book you read?” he asks me, and I really need to think about that one because I usually read SMUT, but I can’t really tell a man on our first date that I basically read porn but fuck that. He probably won’t even know it.
“Heaven & Hell from Rosslyn Scott,” I say, and he frowns. I can tell he has never heard of it.
“Spiritual book?” He asks, and I giggle.
“You can say that, no, I am joking, it’s about two guys that are in a band together, and they are in a relationship, but no one really knows because the world is not ready for two gay Greek Gods”, I say, and he nods.
“Sounds good,” he says, and I smile. My smile drops as soon as I see the blue eyes watching me from across the room. I know those eyes, and I feel the butterflies in my stomach start to make a move, and I feel like I am going to be sick.
“Jo?” Dylan says with a smile while he rests a hand on some blond bimbo waist. I raise an eyebrow and fake a smile.
“Dylan,” I say, and Josh looks at him wide-eyed.
“Dylan Ashford?” Josh says, and Dylan nods, focusing his eyes on my date. I can tell the girl looks bored as hell, and she is not even pretending. Does she even have one brain cell?
“Hi, I am Joshua Thomas from Thomas industries,” Josh says, and Dylan nods at the knowledge of the name.
“Nice to meet you, man,” Dylan says. “I don’t want to interrupt your date. I just thought I would come over and say hello to Jo”, he says, and I can’t help but roll my eyes. Dylan always rubs off the wrong way with me. His flirty ways around women treacly annoy me. And the fact he has a girlfriend, and he is here rubbing off on some bimbo. What kind of a man is he?
“Would you like to join us?” Josh asks, and I clear my throat.
“Oh I bet they would prefer to be on their own. They are here on a date after all”, I say, but Dylan waves it off.
“That would be great, a double date. How fun is that?” he asks, and I can’t help but roll my eyes again and bite my tongue so I don’t say something nasty.
The dinner keeps going, and Josh keeps talking to Dylan instead of me, and I feel like I am being ignored. From time to time, I see those blue eyes look at me, but I avoid looking back at him. I keep my eyes on my date. The girl next to me all she does is laugh at Dylan’s jokes, and it makes me suck.
“Excuse me, I need to freshen up,” I say, standing up. Dylan stands up with me, and Josh realizes what he did and stands up as well.
“I need toilet too,” Dylan says, and I take a deep breath walking in front of him towards the ladies' room. As the door is closing, she opens it and walks inside, and locks the door behind him.
“What are you doing? Get out”, I say, and Dylan smiles.
“Looks like your date rather dates me than you,” he says, and I ignore him and walk into a stall and close the door. I stay there without moving because, unfortunately, it sounds about right. It looks like Josh is more interested in Dylan than he is in me.
“I am not going anywhere until you come out here,” Dylan says, and I pretend to scream without making a sound and flip him off. I open the door after flushing the toilet and walk to the sink to wash my hands.
Dylan stands behind me, way too close, so close I can feel the heat radiate from his body toward mine. I even feel a chill down my spine. He rests his hands on the sink trapping me between him and the sink, and I can find his eyes in the mirror. His smile with dimples makes my legs shake, but I immediately push away those thoughts.
“He is not good enough for you,” Dylan says, and I shake my head. I spin, facing him, his face inches away from mine as he leans down to look at me. He towers over me, and he is about one foot taller than me. And let us face it, and it is not difficult.
“Go away, Dylan,” I say, and he shakes his head.
Dylan POV “Come on sleepyhead, it’s time to get up,” Jo says as she pulls the covers from my body. “Argh,” I let out, rolling onto my stomach and burying my head on my pillow as Jo opens the curtains. “What are you doing? It’s Saturday,” I let out with my head still on my pillow. “Come on, I need you to get up,” she says, but I groan again, closing my eyes harder, shaking my head. “Nope,” I say, popping the P. Jo screamed for help and I jumped out of bed, disoriented. I saw her in the doorway, already dressed and showered. I shake my head, regretting standing up so fast. “What the fuck was that for? I almost had a fucking heart attack,” I say, going back to bed, but she runs, grabbing my wrist, stopping me. I turn around to face her and she is smiling. She looks way too excited. “Okay, what’s with that face? That’s terrifying,” I say as I move my finger in circles, pointing at her face. Jo smacks my finger away as she pulls me
Jo POV Dylan pulls me closer to him. I keep my eyes closed, my brain is tired that I can’t even open my eyes. I can feel Dylan’s lips move up and down my neck and move to my shoulder. I take a deep breath as he helps me to roll onto the bed to face him. I smile slightly as he kisses me and then kisses my face, my nose, and my eyes. “Good morning,” he whispers, and I smile again. I open my eyes to be faced with those beautiful ocean-blue eyes that take my breath away every time he smiles at me. “Good morning, husband,” I say and he chuckles as I move, resting my head on his chest. Dylan hugs me tightly against his body as I keep my eyes closed, moving my hands slowly up and down his stomach, feeling his rock-hard abs. This man feels like the Gods have carved him just for me. I lick my lips as I open my eyes to look at him. He looks lost in thought, and I can’t blame him. Our lives had turned upside down since we got together and we got married. I don’t
Dylan POV “Are you sure you want to do that?” I ask Fred, while he takes his glass to his lips. He shrugs and I can’t help but smile. “I don’t know, but it seems like a good idea,” he says, and I take a deep breath. “Just because it seems like a good idea, it doesn’t mean that it will be a successful business,” I tell him. He nods and I can hear Jo’s voice in my ear. “I am going to the bathroom, husband,” she says and I look back at her while she smiles, with Layla standing next to her. I nod while I smile. She called me husband, the best word in the world right now. I think I have never loved this woman more than I love right now, and I don’t even know if I will ever love her more than right now. Layla wraps one arm around Jo’s arm as they walk slowly toward the bathroom. They get stopped so many times and I can tell Jo is not loving it. Archie starts crying and Richard immediately goes into panic mode. He looks around, and Layla is nowhere to be seen. He picks up the little one
Jo POV Dylan holds my hand while we wait to be called into the ballroom. “How are you feeling?” He asks me and I look at him before I look at the double door again and smile. “Nervous, but very happy. How did you pull this off?” I ask and he looks at me. I turn around to face him and he places both his hands on my face and kisses me slowly. I close my eyes, allowing him to savor the moment. “I didn’t pull anything off. I was with you the entire time. This is all Layla,” he tells me, and I smile. The double doors open and I can hear someone announce us. “Mr. And Mrs. Ashford” My heart beats fast as we walk into the room with round tables and everyone standing while they clap. I smile as Dylan tightens his grip on my hand. “Ladies and Gentleman, the first dance,” someone says and Dylan pulls me towards him as he wraps his arms around my waist. I wrap both my arms around his neck as we sway to the sound of Extreme more than words. I smile as I rest my head against his chest. When th
Dylan POV “You need to chill,” Richard says as he helps me with my butterfly tie. I look at him and he smirks. I grab his glass from the side table and empty its content in my mouth. Argh, that was strong. I lift the glass, showing that it is empty, and Jude laughs as he grabs the bottle and pours another dose into it. “You should take it easy,” Jude says and I flip him off as I look at my reflection in the mirror. Today is the most important day of my life. I am marrying the woman of my dreams. I am finally allowing myself to be happy. A soft knock on the door brings my attention back to the room. Layla steps inside and she looks beautiful in a blush pink dress. “The bride wants you,” she says as she looks at me. I frown and she holds my hand, pulling me out of my room. “It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding,” says, and she waves me off. “You will not see her. She will be on the other side of the door and you will be back to back. She just needs to touch you for reas
Jo POV Dylan closed all the windows, not allowing me to lookout., I realised we were not in New York. The flight took longer than what it would take for new York. But I decided not to question him. He looks so lost and I feel like his heart is so broken that I wish I knew what to do. “Are you ready for this?” Dylan asks me and I nod as he holds my hand while we walk down the stairs that connect the private jet to the airport. Once outside, Dylan talks to the pilot while our things are brought out of the jet. He looks so confident when he is around other people, but when it’s the two of us, he looks broken. A minibus stops in front of us, and Dylan holds my hand, guiding towards it. The door opens and my eyes go wide and I squeal in happiness when I see Layla, Fred, Richard, and even Jude inside. “Welcome to your bachelorette party bus,” Dylan says as Jude, Fred, and Richard leave the bus, and I look around, not really understanding what is going on. “What?” I say, but I don’t even