Billionaire's Escort

She smiled. “I feel the same way.”

Epilogue

Daisy

“I don’t know if I can do this,” I said, taking a deep breath.

Ian squeezed my shoulders. “Of course you can,” he said. “You’re going to be great.”

I took another deep breath and tried to ignore the knots in my stomach. Everything seemed so surreal. I was about to walk out on stage, in front of a (large) group of people, and give a talk, as part of the TEDxBoston conference. My book, You’ve Got This: Overcoming the Quarter-Life Crisis, about my quarter-life crisis, had come out a few months ago and gotten some really good reviews in some very important places, and suddenly, it seemed, everyone thought that I had something important to say. And it had all started with that article I’d written at my mother’s encouragement, which, once posted on the blog, had been liked, retweeted, and favorited tens of thousands of times. Subsequent essays I’d written had later been compiled, and I’d written a few more to round out what had turned into a best-selling book you could now find in the personal development section.

Ian kept his hands on my shoulders, massaging them lightly. “I am so proud of you,” he said.

I took another deep breath and felt my anxiety quell a bit at the sound of his voice. “Thanks.”

People that I didn’t even know were hailing me as an expert on my generation, despite the fact that I felt like I still knew nothing. I mean, all I had done really, was written a book—and a rather short one at that—about my experience. I spoke about it candidly, and didn’t sugar-coat anything, and ultimately, I guess I found my happy ending, because Ian and I were still together, because I’d put my college degree to use, because I finally felt a measure of contentedness with my life that I hadn’t before.

So that made people believe I somehow had answers that could help them, too. The idea that I was helping people made me feel good, even though it seemed crazy that I would be someone people would turn to for advice like this.

Even my mother had been begrudgingly happy for me, despite the fact that the deal for her own book had fallen through and she was currently looking for a publisher.

“And after your book signing, I’m going to take you out to celebrate, and then we’ll go pick up Aaron.”

I smiled, thinking about Aaron, who was almost two now. We picked him up Saturday afternoon, and he stayed with us until Monday morning. He was definitely not the handful that everyone told me he was going to be once he was a toddler. He was actually really fun to be around, and I enjoyed the time he was with us. Even though Ian and I weren’t married, I’d settled into the role of step-mother much more easily than I thought I would have. Eventually, I knew, Ian and I would tie the knot, but for now, living together and learning how to be parents to Aaron was good enough for the both of us. And maybe, some day, Ian and I would have a kid of our own, but there was still plenty of time for that.

Right now, I had a talk to give.

Ian leaned down and gave me a kiss. “You’re going to be great,” he said. “I love you.”

I kissed him back. “I love you, too.” Then I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the stage.

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BROKEN BOX SET

THE COMPLETE BROKEN SERIES

By Claire Adams

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2015 Claire Adams

BROKEN #1

Chapter One

Natalie

“I don't think I can have another shot, Julie,” I yelled over the music.

All around me the thump, thump, thump of the bass was felt right in my bones. Why must they play the music so obscenely loud? Was it so that you forgot that you were in a normal world? You stayed because you didn't realize there was anything else out there? I suppose it appealed to the people who came there to dance. I wasn’t one of them. As I peered over, I judged them for their carefree nature as they sweated all over each other on the dance floor. A bar, especially a dance bar, was an illogical place to go to have a conversation, but they had cheap drinks, and there was enough eye candy to keep Julie happy. Julie needed her entertainment as well. My friend just giggled as she ordered us another round. There was no point in arguing with her. I was feeling dizzy, but I allowed it, as I only really came there to forget. Forgetting was easy when it came to drinking. If it wasn't for hard liquor, I would not be able to function as a human being, and that was fairly important. All I needed at that moment was to forget that I was who I was. Because at that moment in my life, I didn't like whom I was.

Partying had become a regular occurrence for me these past few months. I was never much of a drinker, but times were tough, and a girl had to do what a girl had to do. Thank God I had a partner in crime in which to do my deeds with. I had only even known Julie for a couple of months, and she had seen me as the party girl, and only that. She had no idea that I was a good girl only a few months ago. The old me would never have spent so much time in a bar. But there I was, and the reason for that was because my whole life, my whole world in fact, had spun out of control recently, and I hadn't begun to pick up the pieces from that. Life, in fact, scared me at the moment. I had never expected to be in the position that I was. I had thought things would have turned out much better. I always had a plan; everything was in order in my life, until it all started to fall apart, of course. It was funny how life often snuck up on you like that. Not only had things not gone as planned, but it gave me an entirely different horizon that I didn't look forward to meeting.