The Proposal: A Perfect Match, #1

By Lily Zante

When a high flying career woman meets a sexy, struggling artist at her sister's bachelorette party, she has no idea just how much her life is destined to change.

Nadine Stefano has no time for relationships;  fiercely independent and career-driven, her life is about reaching her career goals. 

None of these include love.  
Until she meets Ethan - a stripper who provides the entertainment, and a man who oozes sex appeal by the gallon. 

She finds herself irresistibly drawn towards him in a way she never imagined. Their attraction for one another is electric and her world is changed forever.

Will their meeting lead to love, despite seemingly different career choices, or will Nadine dump Ethan in order to pursue her career goals?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lily Zante
• Release date: Nov 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386425311

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Nadine lined up the bottles of wine neatly on her kitchen counter and put them next to a tray of raspberry and lime flavored vodka shooters. She couldn’t wait for Keira’s wedding to be over and done with. As much as she loved her younger sister, Nadine was not fond of weddings and all that went with them.

Why’re you stuck in here, sis? asked Keira. She walked in slowly, trying to maintain her balance and keep to a straight line but Nadine knew the telltale signs. She watched her sister with trepidation.

Maybe you ought to slow down a bit? She knew Keira would be fine but she was more worried about her cream sofas and rug in the living room and hoped none of the girls had spilled any red wine anywhere.

In case I forget to thank you later, I just wanna say thanks, Keira said woozily. She sat down on one of the stools and buried her head in her hands. Nadine stroked her sister’s wavy hair.

I want you to have a great time, Keira. She ran her fingers gently down her sister’s tresses and remembered the two of them playing together and fighting just as much when they were younger. She had always wanted another sibling and had never wanted to be an only child. And she had always wanted a sister too. So when, at the age of nine, her mother had announced that they were having a little sister for her, Nadine was overjoyed. She had always felt overly protective and rather motherly towards Keira.

The sharp sound of the doorbell broke her reverie and the next thing she heard was a loud yelp from the hallway.

They’re here! howled Amy, Keira’s best friend and organizer of all events to do with Keira’s bachelorette parties. She rushed in excitedly, her high cheeks aflame from the excitement of imminent male strippers and too many vodka shooters. She grabbed Keira by the waist and helped her off the barstool.

Seeing Keira wobble around, Nadine warned, Careful now, and glanced at Amy, who was supposed to be keeping an eye on her. With an older sister’s sense of duty, she ordered, She’s had a bit too much. Don’t let her have any more.

Nadine followed as Amy helped Keira into the living room. She noticed there were now three tall, muscular and good-looking men who were surrounded by a highly excitable group of girls. One of them said something to Amy.

She’s the one! Amy pointed at Nadine and cried out in a voice that was unusually high-pitched, even for her.

The three men came dressed in US Air Force uniforms: dark navy blue shirt, metal buttons, the flight cap, Air Force seals and insignia. They looked commandingly handsome. One of them, who seemed just a little older than the others, caught Nadine’s glance. She smiled in acknowledgment, noting the blue of his eyes as he walked over. His two friends got busy setting up the music and the props and Nadine watched them carefully, praying they wouldn’t turn her living room into a mess.

I’m Ethan, he said, staring at her as he ran a hand through his hair. Are you Nadine? That’s the name I have for the booking.

She nodded and smiled. That would be me. She glanced over Ethan’s shoulder and watched in horror as his friends brought out various jars of oil and cream that they lined up along the floor. A look of alarm flashed across her eyes. She cried out, You’ll need paper or liners under there!

Ethan was amused. No, ma’am, don’t worry. That lotion isn’t for the floor, trust me. It’ll be fine.

Ma’am—had he just called her ma’am? How old did he think she was?

I’ll leave you to it, replied Nadine dryly and slunk back into the kitchen. She was almost a good ten years older than Keira and her friends but she wondered whether the stripper really thought that she was Keira’s mother.

The music thumped loudly. Nadine had warned her neighbors about the party. Luckily she was on good terms with them and didn’t have to worry about noise levels or the police.

She sat down in her kitchen, got out her laptop and carried on with the report that was due for Monday morning. The promotion to executive creative director had been a huge achievement in her career and Nadine knew she was on target with her life goals.

Her life was working out exactly as she had planned it, even though she hadn’t been prepared for the workload. That woman, Sandra Donnelly, had it in for her, she knew that much. It was up to Nadine to prove that she could handle the work as well as put up with that overbearing woman in her stride.

And that was exactly what Nadine Stefano planned to do.

CHAPTER TWO

Despite the loud music and wails of laughter coming out of the living room, Nadine managed to tune out the noises and concentrate on her report. She was so engrossed in it that she didn’t hear Amy sneak up on her.

Nadine! she hissed, what are you doing here? You’ve already missed the first act and Keira’s upset that you’re not inside. She marched over to Nadine and grabbed her by the elbow. This way, she commanded and led a reluctant Nadine out of the kitchen.

In the living room, the lights had been dimmed and the table lamp in the far end of the room had been switched on. Her normally cream-colored warm sanctuary of rest had been transformed into a seedy, dimly lit den of vice. The girls were spread out along the two couches, with a very smiley-faced Keira sitting in the midst of them.

The stripper in the first act had just finished. He was down to his thong after convincing one of Keira’s friends to rub oil on his buttocks. Nadine was sorely tempted to give the girl who had done the rubbing a Kleenex so that she could wipe her hands clean. She didn’t want oily grease marks all over her sofas. She already regretted her decision to host the bachelorette party at her place. Then Amy marched up to her and handed her a glass of wine.

You’ll need this to loosen up, Nadine. Lighten up a little!

Thanks for that, answered Nadine tightly. You have no idea of the overwhelming workload on my plate, do you? But instead she smiled sweetly and watched as Amy made her way back to the giggling group of girls and sat down dutifully next to a very flushed Keira.

As the music went up in volume, Nadine looked up and saw that act number two was now coming on. Her eyes widened with interest when she saw that it was the guy she had spoken to earlier, Ethan. He still wore his navy blue US Air Force uniform with the flight cap drawn down low over his forehead. She could tell it was him by the strong jawline and his build.

Mesmerized, Nadine was unable to take her eyes off him. She slowly sipped her wine and watched with growing interest as the music started and Ethan moved around the room, seductively taking off his jacket. He was definitely the best looking of the bunch and more built too, whereas the others were leaner and younger. He threw his jacket over the girls’ heads. Nadine found the scene a little embarrassing to watch and wondered how anyone could work up the courage to do that in a room full of strangers.

He danced around some more, teasing them with his movements and then he started to take off his shirt. The music gyrated and the girls howled even louder as he moved over to Keira and commanded her to unbutton his shirt. Nadine felt the heat creep into her cheeks at the sight of the stripper flirting with her sister. Keira had drunk so much that she fumbled around before she was able to get through all of his buttons.

The heat inside the room, mixed with the strong smell of wine and other alcohol that wafted through the air, made Nadine feel intoxicated and she was unable to take her eyes off Ethan as he picked Keira up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She was so light and dainty that he was able to pick her up as easily as if she were a floaty feather. Then, he sat her down on a chair and got her to rub baby oil on his chest, and when she was done with that, he moved closer, standing right in front of her face, and encouraged her to undo his zipper.

Nadine’s mouth fell open.

She watched, unable to look away as the stripper peeled his pants down. Unable to control herself, Nadine watched in pure fascination as Ethan slowly and sensuously climbed out of his trousers, her gaze swept over his lean muscles and his all too perfect chest, and his flat, tight stomach.

All thoughts of the report flew out of her head.

Licking her lips and with her eyes completely riveted to the show in front of her, Nadine stared at him as he turned around and danced in front of the girls; his every move driving them insane. He teased them mercilessly and he looked as if was enjoying it, too. Then he picked up a jar of lotion and handed it to Keira, pretending, at the same time to pull down his G-string. He cast a provocative gaze at the crowd as a naughty grin flashed across his face. The group of girls shrieked even louder in response. Then, thankfully, he didn’t go any further and instead asked Keira to rub the oil on his back as the now delirious girls reached out and tried to grab him.

The potent mix of wine and vodka shooters had gone straight to their heads.

Including Nadine’s. She swallowed, and clutched her wine glass even more tightly. With his back to Keira, he stared out at that crowd until his gaze locked on Nadine. Something was happening to her body, watching him, and she hadn’t felt that tingly excitement rush over her for years. Maintaining eye contact, he danced across the floor to where she stood and stopped a couple of yards away. For a second, Nadine was partly paralyzed by his blatantly potent male sexiness. His bare, shiny chest heaved furiously as he took a few moments to recover his breath.

He was half naked and beautiful, and she didn’t know whether to rush back into the kitchen or to stand her ground.

Behind him, she could see that the other girls watched them both, whooping with delight. Amy and Keira were laughing so much that they had slipped to the floor in hysterics. Nadine knew they often regarded her as being a prude and straitlaced, and therefore it was no wonder they were laughing their heads off.

Ethan took a step towards her and removed the glass of wine from her, handing it over to one of the girls. He held out his other hand, but Nadine refused to take it. Her heart beat furiously beneath her ribcage, and she was both excited and terrified as she stood face-to-face with this almost naked and beautiful man. He grabbed her hand again, and seemed to want to lead her to the middle of the floor, but she didn’t want to risk doing what her sister had done. Rubbing oil on him? Terrified, she tried to pull her hand away.

To her surprise, he didn’t force her. Instead, he took her hand and kissed the back of it and then he walked back to Keira, got her up and danced around with her.

Nobody else noticed that there was a slight hiccup in the dance routine.

Nobody but Nadine.

Her heart had started to beat madly with the anticipation of what was coming. Yet she had been partly relieved when Ethan stepped back and changed tactics.

Taking in a huge breath of air, Nadine stepped back into the kitchen and squirted a vodka shooter down her