Not Quite Crazy by Catherine Bybee

2018

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Author:	Catherine Bybee
Genre:	Contemporary Romance
File Name:	not-quite-crazy-by-catherine-bybee.epub
Original Title:	Not Quite Crazy (Not Quite Series Book 6)
Creator:	Catherine Bybee
Language:	en
Identifier:	MOBI-ASIN:B074QNLKP9
Publisher:	Montlake Romance
Date:	1520265600
File Size:	704849.92

No one drives in New York City. Everyone knows that, including California transplant Rachel Price. But that doesn’t stop her from driving into the city. From Connecticut. Every single morning. Rain or shine…or snow.

When she runs the charismatic and good-looking Jason Fairchild off the road, their immediate spark is met with bad timing. There is also one tiny little detail: Jason is her boss. And a woman as intelligent and dedicated to her career as Rachel knows not to date her boss.

As CEO of a private jet company, Jason Fairchild is more used to flying than driving. But if he hadn’t chosen to drive home one night, he wouldn’t have met the slowest—and most irresistible—driver in the entire metro area. Jason has never had time for love. Or dating. Or really anything that doesn’t involve work. But when he finds out that Rachel is the newest superstar in his marketing department, he can’t help wondering if fate has other plans…

Table of Content

1. PRAISE FOR CATHERINE BYBEE Wife by Wednesday “A fun and sizzling romance, great characters that trade verbal spars like fist punches, and the dream of your own royal wedding!” —Sizzling Hot Book Reviews (5 stars) “A good holiday, fireside or bedtime story.” —Manic Reviews (4½ stars) “A great story that I hope is the start of a new series.” —The Romance Studio (4½ hearts) Married by Monday “If I hadn’t already added Ms. Catherine Bybee to my list of favorite authors, after reading this book I would have been compelled to. This is a book nobody should miss, because the magic it contains is awesome.” —Booked Up Reviews (5 stars) “Ms. Bybee writes authentic situations and expresses the good and the bad in such an equal way . . . Keep the reader on the edge of her seat.” —Reading Between the Wines (5 stars) “Married by Monday was a refreshing read and one I couldn’t possibly put down.” —The Romance Studio (4½ hearts) Fiancé by Friday “Bybee knows exactly how to keep readers happy . . . A th
2. Unnamed
3. Also by Catherine Bybee Contemporary Romance Weekday Brides Series Wife by Wednesday Married by Monday Fiancé by Friday Single by Saturday Taken by Tuesday Seduced by Sunday Treasured by Thursday Not Quite Series Not Quite Dating Not Quite Mine Not Quite Enough Not Quite Forever Not Quite Perfect Most Likely To Series Doing It Over Staying For Good Making It Right First Wives Series Fool Me Once Paranormal Romance MacCoinnich Time Travels Binding Vows Silent Vows Redeeming Vows Highland Shifter Highland Protector The Ritter Werewolves Series Before the Moon Rises Embracing the Wolf Novellas Soul Mate Possessive Erotica Kilt Worthy Kilt-A-Licious
4. Unnamed
5. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Text copyright © 2018 by Catherine Bybee All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Published by Montlake Romance, Seattle www.apub.com Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake Romance are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. ISBN-13: 9781503951730 ISBN-10: 1503951731 Cover design by Letitia Hasser
6. This one is for Kelli Martin, my sister from a different mister. Love you!
7. Contents Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Epilogue Acknowledgments About the Author
8. Chapter One “Smells like snow.” Rachel glanced up past the skyscrapers and into the bright gray sky. “Does it?” “It really doesn’t snow in California?” Julie asked. The two of them took a brisk pace around their building toward Romano’s, where a hot lunch filled with way too many carbs awaited. “It does in the mountains.” Rachel opened the door, happy that her gloves kept the cold of the metal handle from reaching her skin. “Which I never went to during the winter.” The heat from inside the small restaurant rushed against their exposed skin and resulted in a collective sigh. They had thirty minutes before the mad rush of lunchtime traffic in Manhattan, with lines out the doors and everyone talking at the top of their lungs. With four patrons in front of them, Rachel took her place in line. “I’ll be the first to admit I’m not ready for your winters.” “You’re not ready for our summers either.” Julie moved aside as a man who appeared to be wearing three jackets walked by with a tray full
9. Chapter Two Jason wasn’t sure which had zapped him more, the fact that he’d managed to ditch his car or the bright blue eyes of the woman staring him down. No jacket, her light brown hair hung close to her face while snow settled on top of her uncovered head. Her cheeks were flushed with the cold, her lips . . . good lord, he needed to look past her lips or he’d start talking like a teenage kid with an instant crush. He blinked, breaking the contact, and moved to unbuckle his seat belt. With the car at an angle, he needed to crawl over the center console. The woman extended her gloved hand. “Here.” With the grace of an elephant, he managed to get one leg over and into the passenger seat, and then the other, before taking her small hand. Outside the car, he stepped into half a foot of snow, and his Hugo Bosses slid. She glanced down. “Looks like you’re about as prepared to deal with this as I am.” He took in her footwear. “At least you have boots.” “I don’t think this is what Steve Madd
10. Chapter Three Rachel allowed herself an extra hour to get to work, and she was still late. She skirted past the smaller cubbies and around the corner to her less tiny workspace. Julie popped her head up, looked around as if to see if anyone else noticed Rachel’s lateness, and then started laughing. “What?” Rachel tucked her purse inside her desk and pulled her coat from her shoulders. “The look on your face is priceless.” “You mean the I’m late and don’t want my supervisor to notice look?” “Yep, that one.” “Too late.” The male voice behind her made her cringe. Rachel squared her shoulders and turned to face her boss. “I’m sorry, Gerald. I thought I gave myself enough time—” Gerald looked past her and toward Julie. “You owe me ten bucks.” Julie pulled out her purse as she laughed. Both of them were smiling. Julie reached past Rachel and handed Gerald a ten. “What’s that about?” Gerald waved the bill in the air. “Julie didn’t think you’d make it here until nine, I had faith you’d make it
11. Chapter Four “When was the last time this place saw Christmas decorations?” Mary wiped dust off a plastic box Jason hadn’t seen in years. Glen stood beside him. The sadness in his eyes matched the feeling in Jason’s heart. “It’s been a while,” he told his wife. Truth was, none of them wanted to warm the estate for Christmas after their parents died. It wasn’t that they made a conscious effort not to decorate, but they hadn’t taken the steps to deck the halls either. Mary pulled out a stream of garland. “Do you have pictures of where this goes?” “I’m sure we do,” Glen said. “All the albums are in the library,” Jason told her. Mary stood, brushed her hands together. Her gaze found her husband’s, then she turned to Jason. “Oh.” She paused. “Are you guys okay with this?” The therapist in her emerged. “We can always buy new decorations if this is too painful.” Jason shook away the memory of his mother decorating the house and directing them to trim the tree, and the years he’d seen the same
12. Chapter Five Owen laughed every time he looked at her. The swelling had reached its height by Sunday morning, and by the afternoon the red and purple weren’t colors she was going to cover with foundation. Wearing dark sunglasses when it was raining stood out just as much as a bruised face. “It’s not funny.” “One look at you and Stranded Car Guy is gonna run the other direction.” “Men aren’t that shallow.” “Yes, they are. Lida had a massive zit right on the tip of her nose, and Lionel didn’t ask her to the winter formal.” “Zits don’t last forever.” “It was huge. Not as big as that thing you’re growing on your head, but close.” He started laughing again. “It will be better by Wednesday.” “You keep telling yourself that.” Rachel laughed. “Your mom used to say that all the time.” They both stopped talking, locked in a memory. “I miss her,” Owen said quietly. “I do, too.” Sure enough, Monday morning was met with a massive headache and her right eye swollen and bluish purple. Her rainy commu
13. Chapter Six “You ended up in a ditch?” Jason knew he would never hear the end of this. He managed to get out of lunch with his brother, but that didn’t stop the man from showing up in his office after two. “I’m not proud.” Glen leaned back in the chair he offered himself when he walked in. “Are you dating this woman?” Jason flipped through the work on his desk, wondering how to answer that question. Was he dating her? No. Did he want to . . . yes. Did he want his brother to know? “Maybe.” Glen was obviously amused. “Well then, this should put Monica and Mary off the matchmaking campaign.” Jason looked up. “There’s a campaign?” “Not anymore.” Glen unfolded from the chair. He knew his brothers’ wives were up to something. “No blind dates, Glen. As if I need to say that aloud.” “I told Mary that.” Somehow Jason didn’t think she listened. Both of his brothers were hopelessly in love with their wives. “Rachel does have some great ideas for pushing the company forward.” “I thought so, too.”
14. Chapter Seven Rachel must have checked her messages a dozen times an hour, every hour, right up until she left the office the next day. Jason had her in the palm of his hand. If she made a personal appearance in his office on the premise of cancelling their tree-buying date, she’d create the very gossip she was trying to avoid. If she didn’t, he’d show up on her doorstep. She practiced how she was going to blow him off in person and give him a little piece of her mind about ignoring the dozen answer your messages she’d left on his cell phone. That was until she closed the door leading in from the garage and was greeted by Owen. “Hey.” “Hey, back,” she said. “We’re getting a tree today, right?” Oh, shit. “I moved the couch away from the window to make room.” She followed Owen from the back door through the kitchen and into the living room. Sure enough, Owen had made room for a tree and had even pulled the vacuum out and cleaned in places that hadn’t seen attention since before they’d mo
15. Chapter Eight The tree overtook the living room. Owen’s smile outshined it all. It was past nine when Jason secured the tree in the stand and made adjustments to Rachel’s satisfaction. Owen opened a box of unused lights and went to work. “We really can take it from here,” Rachel told him. Jason said nothing and stared. She rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. Coffee?” “That’s more like it. I’d love a cup of coffee.” She disappeared into the kitchen; the sound of cupboards opening and closing emerged. “She doesn’t like asking for help,” Owen whispered. “I can tell,” Jason whispered back. “I’ve been trying to paint her room for over a month, but she’s never gone longer than a few hours when I’m not at school.” “Her room needs to be painted?” Jason glanced at the stairs, had a sudden desire to see the inside of her personal space. “Everything in this house needed repairs and paint. I helped a little before school started, but she’s done most of it herself. You should take her out to dinner so I
16. Chapter Nine It was the first time Jason had been to the house during daylight hours. The Cape Cod style boasted lots of molding around the windows and more wood than stone accents. The small porch was large enough for one chair, or maybe a two-person swing, if it angled toward the door, but it didn’t have either. Someone had given the entry a fresh coat of paint in the not too distant past. Jason wondered if that was something Rachel did after she moved in, or if the sellers had put in some effort. He could see where there was more work to be done once winter lost its grip on the East Coast. He rapped on the door twice. Like last time, Owen answered with food in his hand. This time it was a bagel. “Hey.” Owen stepped aside. “Hey,” Jason mimicked back. “Rachel?” How the kid could get that loud with a mouth full of food was quite a talent. “Jason is here.” She replied from upstairs. “Coming.” Owen nodded. “Come on in.” Jason entered the warm space and smiled at the Christmas tree, which
17. Chapter Ten Deyadria Coleman was a tall, willowy woman who apparently didn’t stand in line when they were handing out curves. Deyadria’s slight height advantage over Rachel had her picking an outfit with a pair of boots with a couple of extra inches. That way she was eye to eye with the weather-killing woman when she walked through the door. “Welcome,” Rachel greeted the couple. “I hope you didn’t have any trouble finding the place.” Tereck helped his wife with her coat. “No problem at all,” he said. The kinder of the two, Tereck had more salt than pepper in his hair, probably a result of being married to his wife for a few decades. The man was not a slave to a gym and carried a few extra pounds around his stomach. “Where is my grandson?” Deyadria asked before Rachel could take her coat. “Owen?” Rachel called up the stairs, knowing damn well he was waiting until the last possible second to join them. Somewhat satisfied that Owen was in the house, Deyadria moved deeper into the room. “V
18. Chapter Eleven Two glasses of wine and Rachel’s head spun. Since when was she such a lightweight? It didn’t help that she’d barely eaten, but still, the wine did the job of relaxing her shoulders. For an hour after the Colemans left, she researched custody cases in Connecticut. Just like in California, the favor would be for the Colemans, and most definitely TJ, if he in fact wanted to fight. If they were going to be complete assholes, she wouldn’t have a choice. She knew they wouldn’t have kind things to say about Em, but she hadn’t expected them to put the woman down. Didn’t they realize they were ruining any relationship with Owen by doing that? Or were they that stupid? People used to getting their way all the time did tend to lack the common sense gene. “I see why you didn’t nurture a relationship with these asshats,” Rachel said to the ceiling. Emily had told her early on that Owen’s grandparents were opinionated snobs. Information she’d managed to get through TJ. They’d never at
19. Chapter Twelve Monica had Rachel laughing long before their lunch arrived. “. . . So you call your husband Barefoot?” “From the day we met. If he had his way, he’d walk into the office with flip-flops.” “He’s one-third owner, what’s stopping him?” Rachel asked. “Peer pressure from his brothers. He is casual Friday every day of the week, however.” The waiter arrived with lunch and promptly left. Monica picked up her sandwich. “So you’re from LA too?” “Yep. Santa Monica, the last couple of years.” “I lived in the Inland Empire.” “Isn’t that hot?” As far as Rachel was concerned, the IE was a place to drive through on your way to Vegas. “Yeah, I hated it.” “Why were you there?” Monica shrugged. “Grew up out there. Lived with my older sister while I finished nursing school and eventually found myself in the ER.” The two of them glanced out the window of the small restaurant. New Yorkers were bundled in heavy coats, hats, and boots. “Now we’re both here in the cold.” “Yeah,” Monica agreed. “
20. Chapter Thirteen Rachel took great pride when Gerald paused by her desk, thirty minutes past eight, and stared. “You’re late,” she told him, teasing. “I hope you don’t make this a normal thing when it snows. I mean, we do have snow here in Manhattan.” “What the . . . ?” She grabbed her coffee cup, looked inside. “I could use a refill. Want one?” Julie snickered from her cubby. An hour later she snuck into the break room and texted Jason. Thank you. He’d been such a sport, letting her walk in without him. She was sure he understood her position, but still, considering how he had gone out of his way to help her through her virginal stint on the train, he took waiting in the cold well. You’re welcome. Let me know when you’re leaving and I’ll meet you at the station. She waited while his dot, dot, dot filled her screen. You sure you don’t want to stagger our departure by ten minutes to avoid wagging tongues? She’d considered that, actually. The risk of me missing my stop outweighs the poss
21. Chapter Fourteen Many corporate businesses housed in the heart of Manhattan all but closed down for the last couple of weeks of the year. Not Fairchild Charters. The private charter business hopped this time of year. Affluent people couldn’t always get the commercial flights they wanted, so they sucked up the cost, booked a charter. The other, more frequent flyers booked their planes months in advance to avoid the hassle of busy holiday traffic and delays. Much like retail worked the day after Thanksgiving to put their businesses in the black, Fairchild did the same, booking more in the month of December than any other two months combined. Jason made a point not to visit Rachel at work. The weather stayed surprisingly warm, not allowing for the excuse to carpool to the train station. He didn’t remember the last time he prayed for snow until that year. Just because he didn’t physically see her at work didn’t mean they weren’t talking. He would send a flirty text, much of which centered
22. Chapter Fifteen Nothing could have prepared Rachel or Owen for Jason’s home. With Owen guiding her with the GPS on his phone, they turned into a drive that had a private gate. “Is this it?” Owen asked. He sat up in his seat, staring out the window. She glanced at the address, looked at what she’d written down. “Yep.” After ringing the bell, they waited as the gate opened to let them through. They drove for what felt like five minutes before the tree-lined drive opened up to the house. The sprawling ranch home had to be three stories tall at the highest point but spread the length of six of the houses on her block. The circular cobblestone drive had a massive fountain in the center and a two-story garage to the side. She gasped. “Holy shit.” Rachel was fairly sure Owen just dropped an f-bomb. “How big is this company?” “It’s pretty big.” Owen pointed out beyond the house. “Are those horses?” “I think so.” Jason had horses? How did she not know that? “I’ve never ridden a horse.” Unlike t
23. Chapter Sixteen Rachel took advantage of New York’s shopping experience in an effort to find a last-minute New Year’s dress. As long as you had money, you could find it in Manhattan. Although she wasn’t hurting, she had a hard time swallowing the average price tag on a glittery party dress. Having spent more than she wanted to, Rachel looked at the dress on the hanger in her room. “I like him, Em. He’s such a great man. And he adores Owen. They talk all the time. Owen will text him a stupid joke just because he knows Jason will respond.” Rachel moved around the room, carefully picking out her bra and panties. In truth, the dress didn’t allow for much in the way of a bra. With a grin, she closed that drawer and picked out a thong. “I haven’t had sex since Lyle. Remember Lyle?” The memory of the man made her shiver. “You warned me. I didn’t listen.” Rachel wiggled into her thong and moved to her bathroom. She looked at herself sideways in the mirror, sucked in her stomach. “What if he do
24. Chapter Seventeen They didn’t make excuses, they simply slipped away. Rachel kept expecting nerves to rush to the surface, but they didn’t. Jason directed the elevator down two floors and walked her to a room. The corner suite offered a similar view as the party going on upstairs. The room itself was composed of a separate bedroom, a sitting area that included a dining table, and a complete minibar. A bottle of champagne was chilling on a coffee table, along with a snack tray with cheese, nuts, and fruit. “Someone has been planning this,” she said. “Since the night we met,” he confessed. “The hotel was a last-minute choice.” “Last minute?” She set her coat down and turned to smile at him. “Okay, last week.” She gathered her purse. “I’m going to use the restroom.” Taking a moment to herself, Rachel offered herself an out. Pros and cons of sleeping with the boss. Pros . . . those were obvious. The sighworthy man treated her well. She assumed the sex would be worth every breath she took.
25. Chapter Eighteen Owen thought it was an epic adventure, Jason was on the phone even at thirty thousand feet, and Rachel scrambled to write press releases and statements to reflect every scenario they might come across, all while flying in Jason’s personal jet. Nathan acted as copilot. Three hours into their five-and-a-half-hour flight, Jason stepped away from his computer and to her side. Owen sat in a leather reclined seat, watching a Marvel action flick while continually looking out the window and making comments about the landscape below. “This is not how I pictured you in this plane for the first time.” “I can beat that. I never pictured me here.” He snuggled her neck. “Well, get used to it.” Her heart kicked hard against her rib cage. Before she could say a word, he kissed her cheek and moved behind Owen. “What are you watching?” The two of them spoke over the movie, and Rachel looked around the cabin. This wasn’t just a jet. It was a private jet of an owner of a massive company t
26. Chapter Nineteen Returning to the cold was like a slap in the face. To make it harder, there were three inches of snow on the ground. “You sure I can’t stay the night?” Jason asked one last time as he said good-bye at her door. “We agreed to weekends,” she told him again. “You suggested weekends . . . I said every day that ends in y.” “I will see you every day that ends in y and sleep over on the weekends.” It was a compromise Rachel knew he didn’t want but agreed to anyway. Besides, what he was suggesting sounded a whole lot like moving in together. And that was moving at warp speed and not something she’d ever done in her life. There was Owen to consider first. And the two of them hadn’t had a private conversation since before the new year. “Am I picking you up in the morning?” he asked. “Are you taking the train?” “I’m thinking I’ll fly in.” She shook her head. “I’ll take the train.” “Why? Everyone knows you and I were together in Central America.” “Fine, but I’m not ready to rub it
27. Chapter Twenty This was a first. Jason’s experience with the legal system was only on the level of corporate paper pushing and covering one’s ass. As his attorneys quickly informed him, they weren’t proficient at criminal representation but had a handful of high profile attorneys who would jump. Clive Redshaw walked alongside Jason’s attorney up the steps of the police station. After introductions were out of the way, Clive jumped right into his questions. “I have no idea what they could possibly be holding her on. We went to Costa Rica following the downing of one of my planes. She took Owen since I needed her with me.” “Owen is the child she has legal guardianship over.” “He is fifteen, but yes.” “That’s all you know?” Jason hesitated. “I know Owen’s grandparents have been rattling on about Owen staying with them.” “Where are the parents?” “Mom is dead. Dad hasn’t been in the picture.” Clive looked him straight in the eye. “Anything else?” “I have nothing.” “All right, then. I need t
28. Chapter Twenty-One Owen wasn’t in a shelter, but the accommodations were uncomfortably close. The room he was given had four beds, two of which were taken, outside of his. And that was for the boys . . . another room housed three beds, with one girl curled up and talking to herself. “Dude, you gonna eat that?” The kid asking was named Chris. The sixteen-year-old had made it clear he was in charge the second Owen was shown his bed. Owen glanced at the cold burrito and decided it wasn’t worth fighting for . . . even if he thought he’d probably eat it later. The “family” he’d been placed with ate at five thirty whether you were hungry or not. The woman, Mrs. Sims, hadn’t missed a meal since birth, her husband was the polar opposite. They both smiled at him when the social worker dropped Owen off. While they didn’t completely drop the act when the door shut, it was apparent the couple who took in temporary foster children didn’t do it for the love of kids. “Have it.” Owen pushed his plate
29. Chapter Twenty-Two “I’m not going back there.” Owen pocketed his cell phone after he finished talking with Nathan. Ford and Lionel sat with him in the high school gym, offering teenage advice. “You can stay with one of us,” Ford said. “My mom would be okay with you staying the night.” “They’ll just come get me from your place, Lionel. No, I need to disappear.” They both looked at him like he was crazy. “And go where?” Owen had been thinking about that all day long. In his mind, he had a couple of options. Both were places no one would ever think they’d find him. “The police will question you both, and I don’t need you ratting me out.” “We’d never do that.” “The cops always get to the truth. And if you don’t know it, you can’t tell it.” “What are you going to do about school?” Ford asked. Owen shrugged. “School will be there when all this goes away.” Lionel and Ford exchanged glances. “And what if it doesn’t? What if the court sides with your grandparents?” “Then school won’t matter, be
30. Chapter Twenty-Three Rachel ran her hand through her hair for the thousandth time. It was past lunch, and the court was just about to be called back in session. There was only one case in front of them. She leaned against Jason on a bench outside the courtroom. “It just dawned on me that I haven’t called in to work for two days.” Jason’s shoulders shook with mirth. “I’ve got ya covered.” “But you’re not my immediate supervisor. I should have spoken with Gerald.” He kissed the side of her head. “I told him he can expect to see you when he sees me.” She laced her fingers through his. The thought of going through all of this alone made her physically ill. Did he feel obligated? Every move he’d made felt sincere, but how could she really know? He’d fallen into her drama the moment she was taken away in his office building. She’d leaned on him like a crutch, a life preserver in a tsunami. “I’m keeping you from your life,” she said aloud. “Whoa . . . hey.” He pulled away far enough to look a
31. Chapter Twenty-Four Jason noticed the moment when Rachel put a rod through her spine to face cross-examination. So far, he thought they were doing really well. He couldn’t read the judge, but it didn’t seem as if the Colemans had any real evidence against Rachel. “Good afternoon,” Mr. Yanez addressed Rachel. “Good afternoon.” The pleasantries were making Jason ill. “I’ll be brief, Miss Price.” She glanced at Jason, tried to smile. “You testified that you took a job in Manhattan.” “Yes.” “What is your position?” “I’m in marketing at Fairchild Charters.” “Marketing. How did marketing play into your need to go to Costa Rica? Wouldn’t risk management or public relations be better suited for damage control?” Rachel looked at Jason again. “Yes. But—” “Let me guess, you volunteered to jump on a plane and leave the country.” “Jason asked me to go with him.” “Jason? That would be Jason Fairchild, the CEO and co-owner of the company?” Jason lifted his chin as the attention in the courtroom cente
32. Chapter Twenty-Five “Nice of you to join us, Mr. Moreau.” Judge Sherman held humor in her voice. Rachel stood beside Owen, both of them properly dressed for a day in court. Jason had sent Owen to his tailor. The suit he wore made him look five years older than he was. “Hi,” Owen said sheepishly. Rachel nudged him and whispered, “Your Honor.” “Your Honor,” he said after the fact. The people in the courtroom laughed. Rachel glanced behind them to find Jason and his family sitting there in support. “You gave Miss Price quite the scare. What do you have to say for yourself?” “Well, Judge . . . I mean, Your Honor. At the time I didn’t feel I had any other choice.” She seemed surprised by his answer. “And now?” “I realized that if I had used a few more of the skills Mr. Collet was teaching me—he’s my English teacher—I might have learned that I could have stayed with one of my buddies instead of a foster home until we had a court date.” “Mr. Collet sounds like a wise man.” “His tests are hard
33. Epilogue Light bounced off the lake and caught Owen’s fishing pole as he tossed a line off the side of the boat. Nathan sat on the opposite side, directing him. Summer was quickly fading into fall, signifying the year since she’d moved. Rachel felt the weight of the ring Jason had placed on her finger that day in Peru, and the band he’d added to it the afternoon six weeks later when he made her Mrs. Jason Fairchild. The memory of Jason flying her and Owen back to California to place flowers on Emily’s grave on the anniversary of her death wasn’t something Rachel would ever forget. Their marriage was saluted by most and doubted by others. Neither one of them listened to what anyone else had to say. Even when her promotion to the head of the marketing department was talked about under hushed tones around the water cooler, Rachel kept her head high and her ego in check. It helped that Julie reminded employees that it was Rachel who brought Fairchild Charters one of the largest accounts th
34. Acknowledgments It has been an absolute joy to write this series. If it wasn’t for the short time I worked the graveyard shift at Denny’s when I was eighteen, I would never have thought of the opening scene between Jack and Jessie in Not Quite Dating. Now look where I ended up. It’s nothing short of spectacular. Here are a few shout-outs to the people who helped make this final chapter in the series complete. Thank you, Kayce Harding, for jumping on a plane with me to visit New York in the dead of winter. I still dream about that duck we had in that little French restaurant. Love you, Cousin. For Denise Placencio, my kick-ass female attorney who is a joy to watch in the courtroom, thanks. A special thanks to Jane Dystel and Miriam Goderich, who encouraged me to use the Manhattan subway after my three-hour Uber drive from hell. I feel so very grown-up now. Back to Kelli Martin. You’ve been my editor since Jack and Jessie and have taken every step alongside me for five years. Publishing
35. About the Author Photo © 2015 Julianne Gentry When Catherine Bybee fell in love with the first romance novel she ever read, she promised herself she would one day become a published author. Now she’s written twenty-seven books that have collectively sold more than four million copies and have been translated into more than eighteen languages. Along with her popular Not Quite series, she has also penned the Weekday Brides series, the Most Likely To series, and the First Wives series. Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in hopes of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. Catherine now writes full-time. Fans can learn more at www.CatherineBybee.com.