Pretty Ever After
A Chicago Nights Novel
Tabatha Kiss
Copyright © 2020 by Tabatha Kiss
All Rights Reserved.
Cover Design by Cover Me Timbers
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction intended for mature audiences only. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
This novel contains explicit descriptions of erotic and sexual acts that some may find offensive, including perverse adult language.
All characters are 18+ years of age and all sexual acts are consensual.
Reader discretion advised.
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Also by Tabatha Kiss
Visit TabathaKiss.com for a FREE book!
Heartthrob Hotel
Just a Touch
Just a Kiss
Just a Fling
Just a Crush
Just a King
Old Habits
The Mechanic
The Milkman
Chicago Nights
Pretty Little Thing
Pretty Dirty Trick
Pretty Ever After
Sweet Cravings
Muffin Top
Hot Sauce
Bad Ballers
Bump and Run
In Too Deep
Home Run Baby
The Pink Diaries
In the Pink
Pink Christmas
Stand-alones
Lumberjack Boss
The Midwest Alphas
Writing as Tabatha Drake
Untouched
Unbroken
Undying
Killer Love
Writing as Tabatha Drake
Killer Love
Secret Love
Tainted Love
Broken Love
Mad Love
Cruel Love
Endless Love
For more, go to TabathaKiss.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Epilogue: Nora
Epilogue: Trix
Epilogue: Melanie
Excerpt: Just a Touch
Also by Tabatha Kiss
About the Author
One
Melanie
What the hell was I thinking?
Okay, sure. I’ve never had to think very hard about a Saturday night out before. I’m a writer which, typically, equates to being a loner ninety-nine percent of the time. Spending some guilt-free time away from my laptop is good for me, especially with friends like Nora Payne and Trix Argento.
What I failed to realize is that a Saturday night out with the girls isn’t exactly a night out with the girls anymore.
They brought dates.
I did not.
Fifth Wheel City. Population: Me.
I couldn’t be happier for my friends. In fact, I’d literally sacrifice myself to the devil himself if it meant my friends could be this happy forever. While they had a rocky start, Nora and Clive are utterly perfect for each other. And Trix and Lance? I’m almost tempted to steal their story and wacky cast of side characters for my next novel, it’s that good. I adore my friends and their chosen suitors, so why do I feel like chewed up garbage right now?
I take another sip of my rum and coke, lamenting the view of the bottom of the glass.
“What do you think, Mel?”
I raise my head. Trix stares at me from the loveseat next to my single chair, her eyes wide and expectant.
“I think…” I pause. “Um…”
Nora snorts. “You weren’t listening.”
“No, I was!” I claim, convincing no one. I sigh and set my drink down on the table. “Okay, yeah. Not so much with the listening right now. I’m sorry, guys.”
Her head tilts. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just a little scattered tonight is all. Please ask for my opinion again.”
Trix straightens up. “Do you think we should get married before or after the baby is born?”
Lance sighs, but keeps a stiff face while Trix’s stare burrows even deeper into me.
“Well, do you even have to get married at all?” I ask.
“No,” Trix answers as Lance spits out an emphatic, “Yes!”
“Ahh.” I chuckle. “I see what I missed now.”
Trix twists in her seat toward Lance. “What’s the rush, babe?”
“There’s no rush,” he answers. “But it’d be nice to get all of that over and done with before we have to deal with a newborn.”
“Over and done with? That’s the language you use when referring to holy matrimony with the mother of your unborn child?”
“Trix, come on. That’s not what I mean.”
“That’s what you said.”
“Just admit that you’re dragging your feet because you want your dad to be there.”
Trix stutters a bit. “That’s… not… Okay, fine. Yes. I want my father to be at my wedding. Is that wrong?”
“Angelo’s in prison, Trix,” he argues.
She sets her club soda down. “Papa’s in prison because you put him there.”
“For only three years! You’re welcome.”
“I’m welcome?!”
“He was looking at twenty-to-life, so yeah.”
I look at Nora and she smiles back as Trix and Lance continue on. “So, how are things with you two?” I ask her and Clive. “Anything going on between you I can spark a fight about?”
She chuckles, their hands entwined. “Nope!” She looks at him, her little eyes round and disgustingly optimistic. “We’re perfectly happy.”
“That’s good,” I say with a nod. “How’s the new app coming along?”
She deflates her shoulders, her mood practically hitting the floor.
I cringe. “That’s bad.”
“No, not bad,” she says with a pause. “Just… nerves.”
“What’s there to be nervous about? You’ve launched an app before.”
“Yeah, back when I was nobody!” Pure panic fills her cheeks. “It’s easy to risk everything when you’re small potatoes in your early twenties, but now everyone is watching and if this new app is dead on release, well—”
She makes epic explosion noises and gestures. Clive moves a discreet hand and places it on the back of her neck. I watch with interest as the tension shifts from her shoulders and she holds her breath, going quiet. She quickly smiles, her face blushing as his firm touch calms her down.
The Dom and his sub.
For a moment, my gut twinges with jealousy, but it’s soon banished and replaced with pride. They found each other because of me. Who else can claim to have played matchmaker for the ultimate matchmaker herself, Nora Payne?
“When does the new app come out again?” I ask her.
“Just after Christmas,” she answers. “Trying to hit the New Year’s Eve crowd, but there is so much we have to get done before that…”
She drifts into a thousand-yard stare.
Clive touches her back again. She exhales.
“Well, I’m looking forward to…” I squint. “Does it have a name yet?”
Nora nods. “PK. Pretty Kinky. It tested well. Is it okay? Do you like it? You hate it, right? Oh, god, maybe we should
