Fifth Avenue Devil

Chapter 39

Thirty-Nine

Nate

Five Months Later

“C areful with those!” I hear Annalise reprimand two movers when one bumps a chair leg into the doorframe of my penthouse. I smile at the men as they hustle past me, each bearing a chair that Annalise simply refused to part with.

I watch as my fiancée steps through the penthouse door. Her golden curls frame her face, which is flushed with equal parts exhaustion and excitement. She’s dressed in yoga pants and a plain t-shirt. She looks sexy, but then again, she always does. Even while muscling a much too heavy box through the door.

I step in, grabbing it from her. “Will you just let the movers handle this?”

I set the box down in a stack of other boxes. Annalise smiles at me.

“That’s it!” She runs her hand over her ponytail as she surveys what used to be my penthouse. Now it looks like a U-Haul storage facility. "That’s the last box."

“Oh, that’s it? You couldn’t find any more boxes of random stuff to have the guys bring over?” I grin at her and she shakes her head.

“You should have seen how much stuff went to the curb for people to take. I caused a minor stampede this morning.”

I tilt my head, looking at her body. “In those leggings? It’s no wonder.”

“It was not my leggings, thank you very much.” Annalise flushes. “People in New York City will take anything that’s not nailed down.”

I study her face for any signs of regret or hesitation. “You’re happy, though?”

She comes over to hug me. “More than happy. I’m just overwhelmed. My parents being in the news hasn’t been the easiest thing for me. The media might have exonerated me, but they are still hounding me to give an interview. Then I was just packing up my apartment…”

“I told you to let the moving company do all of that,” I chide.

“I know. It’s just… It was hard to get rid of some things, knowing that my mom would’ve had a fit. She has very… very strong feelings… about decor…” Her voice wobbles and she sniffles. "I just can't believe my parents fled to Montenegro just to avoid prison time. What will happen to their properties? What about the house I grew up in?"

“The one that has no sign of you ever having lived there?” I ask.

Annalise winces. “That isn’t my point, Nate.”

I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her close. “I’m sorry that you’re going through this. My offer to buy your dad’s house when the estate is settled is still on the table.” I kiss her head. “Besides. You’re building your own life now. A better life. In this life, you can decorate your own house and pick out your own clothes.”

"Thank you," she whispers, leaning into my embrace. "Seriously, thank you for making this feel like home."

"Annalise, this isn't just my home anymore. It's ours. And soon, hopefully, it will return to looking like a chic penthouse and not a habitat for wild raccoons.”

“ Nate .” She laughs. “I’m trying to be vulnerable with you.”

“Sorry.” I suck in a deep breath and then exhale, looking into her eyes. “You know I love you. I always will.”

"Do you promise?"

"Absolutely," I say. I brush a stray curl from her forehead. "I’ve got you. As long as you have me too, we’ll crush any obstacles in our way."

"Sounds good to me. As long as you still cuddle me tonight.”

I feign shock, my eyes widening in mock horror. "May I remind you that I am a ruthless mogul?"

"As long as you’re my ruthless mogul, that sounds right to me.”.

I give her a possessive kiss that leaves us both breathless. Just then, a lean figure in a tailored suit appears before us, his impatience radiating off him like an overpowering cologne. Javier, our stylish wedding planner, taps his polished leather shoe on the marble floor as if he's been waiting for hours.

"Don’t we have a wedding to plan?" He eyes Annalise and me with a mixture of irritation and relief. "We have so much to discuss. Wedding invitations, floral arrangements, cake designs... If you follow me through this post-apocalyptic scene in your foyer, I have set up a cake tasting in the vortex of boxes that used to be your kitchen."

I raise my eyebrows at Annalise as I let her pull me into the kitchen. Javier was right; there are piles of boxes on every surface except the marble island. There, thirty slices of cake on individual plates with little toothpick signs await us.

"Behold." Javier waves his hands, clearly proud of his handiwork. “A cascade of flavors for you to taste!"

"Wow, Javier," Annalise breathes. Her eyes widen in disbelief at the sheer number of options. "Where do we even start?"

Javier is all smiles. "The bakery sent your classic vanilla and chocolate, as you can see. There are also more adventurous flavors like lavender and passionfruit."

"An impressive selection," I acknowledge. “I’ll admit, looking at these cakes makes me feel a little excited about the day.”

Javier’s eyes narrow. “The hundreds of thousands you have already spent on your fantasy venue, top-of-the-line caterers, and ten thousand white lilies… none of that excited you. But this does?”

“It sems more real when I’m about to eat cake.” Looking at Annalise, I shrug. “It’s your world, Kitten. I’m just living in it.”

“Well said.” She brandishes a fork at me. “Let’s start tasting, Mr. Fordham.”

I taste ten pieces of cake before I put my fork down on a plate and push it away. “What was this one? Cappuccino? Yeah, definitely not cappuccino. Blech .”

Annalise tries a final cake, makes a face, and then spits it out in a napkin. “Oh god. Don’t try the lavender. It’s like soap. Ugh, I can still taste it.” She picks another cake and samples it to get the flavor out of her mouth.

“I don’t suppose you want to try any?” I ask Javier.

“No, thank you.” He runs his hand over his midsection and shakes his head. “I have a gluten allergy. Thank god, because all these cakes look amazing. I would eat until I burst.”

"Well, I already have a preference for my groom's cake.” I pause for dramatic effect. “Chocolate cake with hazelnut filling.”

"Ah, a man who knows what he wants." Javier nods approvingly. "Very well, chocolate it is for the groom's cake. How about the rest?"

“He’s talking to you, almost-Mrs.-Fordham.” I raise my eyebrows at Annalise.

Annalise laughs, a musical sound that warms my heart. She surveys the cakes, putting her hands on her hips. She’s almost tiny enough to be mistaken for one of the confections. As a matter of fact… I’ll have to make note of that for later. After Javier leaves, I’ll have the bride-to-be all to myself.

“Vanilla cake. Swiss buttercream. And for the filling, I want to alternate layers of blackberry. I want it to have a sharpness like…” She makes a popping sound with her mouth.

“So it shall be,” Javier says. He jots some notes down and then excuses himself, saying he has to get going.

Once he is gone, we take a moment to relax. The process of getting married invited a whirlwind of activity into our lives. I pour myself a glass of scotch and lean against the kitchen counter. Annalise curls up on one of the barstools, her designer sneakers discarded on the floor. She flips through a wedding magazine, though I can’t imagine what she’s hoping to find.

As Javier pointed out, at this point, this wedding is almost planned. It’s been four months since I proposed to Annalise. Four months in which I repeatedly offered to elope.

But she’s my girl. If she wants a wedding with all the fanfare, she’s going to get it. I watch her as I sip my drink, a smile playing about my lips. She gets a glass of wine and nurses it, distracted.

Our tranquility is soon interrupted by my house manager entering the room, holding out a newspaper for us. "Mr. Fordham, I think you might want to see this.”

I unfold the paper, then my gaze hardens. Annalise comes over and reads over shoulder.

The article details the sentencing of Annalise's parents for embezzlement, fraud, and ten other minor charges. The story is dramatic, highlighting their flight from justice and the impact of their crimes on New York society.

It’s funny, because I escorted Annalise for several days of the trial, which was held in absentia. No one even bothered to show up for the verdict. And why should they have?

Archer and Monique Gellar certainly weren’t there for a perp walk.

"Can you believe this?" Annalise murmurs, scanning the page. I try to read her face, but her eyes have little in them but acceptance.

“I know.” I rub my hand in little circles over her back. “Are you okay?”

"Yeah. It’s just– You know, New York society won't be the same without them. My parents were a monolith."

I can hear a hint of the anger simmering beneath her sadness. That kind of righteous indignation that would have anyone else shaking in their boots. But I know better than to fear her anger.

Like the sun and moon, we are opposite, yet extraordinary complementary. It’s one of the things that I love about her.

"Your parents made their choices."

“They did.” She hesitates, then blows out a breath. “Thanks, Nate.

"We're going to be partners in every sense of the word, remember? Unbreakable. If you hurt, I sense it. I will always feel protective of you."

Her lips quirk. “So you’ve said.”

“Well, I mean it.” I wrap a shielding arm around her. “You’re not alone anymore. If you face it, then we have to agree to face it together. That’s the only way this whole thing works.”

Annalise wrinkles her nose. “You’re so eloquent when you talk about our future.”

“I look to the future, and all I hear are poems.”

“Okay.” She kisses me on the lips, long and slow. “That’s like… aggressively romantic.”

“That’s me. Mr. Romance.” I raise my glass to hers, toasting. “This is going to be our year, Kitten. Just you wait and see."

“Yeah?” She laughs. “If you’re selling that, I’m buying it. Even if I don’t believe a word. You know why? ‘Cause I love you so much.”

“I love you too, babe. Forever and ever.”

My Kitten is all grown up and now she’s a lioness.

* * *

Thank you so much for being a part of Nate and Annalise’s romance! I’m so grateful to have a romance reader like you! As a special token of my gratitude, I’ve written a bonus epilogue with your favorite characters – Nate & Annalise. Read it here.

I must admit, I have really enjoyed writing this series. Billionaire romance is my number one love, but forbidden is a close second. I’m over the moon to write some tropes and stories that I’ve been longing to write for years. Get ready for me to weave a web about office romances, one night stands, guardians and wards, total Casanovas, and more!

The Fordham siblings each deserve a happily ever after!Cash and Scarlet will be the next to get a spicy, swoony love story. You can turn the page to get a taste of what is in store for them in Fifth Avenue Romeo !