Hot Asset (21 Wall Street #1)(76)

“Same ol’.”

He smiles. “Yep.”

Except he’s only partially right about the same ol’.

Some things are the same. Ian’s still at the top of his game, still bringing in ridiculous amounts of money, plenty of which still goes to Ian’s charity, another decent chunk to replacing Dave’s TVs.

But some things are new, too. We managed to coax Dave out to New York for Thanksgiving last year. Ian looked so damn happy, I’m hoping Dave’s holiday visit was merely the first in what will be a long-standing tradition.

As for me, I graduated from Quantico a few months back and was offered a job almost immediately. And brace yourself, people, because happily ever after doesn’t get much happier than this . . .

The job’s as an agent in the white-collar division. In New York. Headquartered just three blocks from Ian’s apartment.

Well, now our apartment.

Told you. Happily ever after on steroids—my dream job and my dream guy.

Ian’s studying me with a thoughtful look, and I glance up from my menu. “What?”

“You’re smiling.”

“Usually a good thing,” I say, sipping my champagne.

He looks down, then back up. “You ever miss DC?”

“Nah. The pizza’s better here.”

“What about the men?”

“Toss-up.” I shrug, glancing back at my menu. “My dad is still in DC, and he’s pretty great.”

Ian smiles. “Yeah, he is. Speaking of your dad, we had a little chat this afternoon.”

My head snaps up. “You talked with my father? Without supervision? After the disastrous Christmas dinner discussion?” I’d never seen two men get so worked up over baseball versus hockey before. “What could you have possibly talked about?”

“You,” he says matter-of-factly.

I narrow my eyes at him. “Me.”

“Well, you and how he and I are going to have a lot more Christmases to settle that hockey argument,” Ian says casually. Too casually.

My heart starts to pound. “Is that so?”

“I hope so. See, Lara . . .” Ian gets up from his chair and slowly starts to bend to one knee next to the table. “I called him with a question about his only daughter. An important one.”

My eyes fill. “You did?”

Ian lowers all the way down in front of me and takes my hand as his other reaches into his pocket. “I did. He said yes, and I’m relieved. But what I really want to know is”—he flips open the ring box—“what will you say?”

I take a shaky breath, then pretend to be confused. “Hard to say. What’s the question?”

Ian’s eyes lose the teasing expression but none of the warmth. “Lara McKenzie, I love you more than any damn thing in this world. Will you marry me?”

I let out a hiccupping sob, even as the people around us make the requisite awww noises.

I set both hands on his face and press my lips to his. “You make me so happy,” I whisper.

“That better be a yes,” he says against my mouth.

I smile. “Yes. I can’t wait to marry you, Ian Bradley.”

So, I guess I lied before when I said happily ever after couldn’t get any better.

It just did.





AUTHOR’S NOTE

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for honoring me (and Ian and Lara!) with your hard-earned reading time. I know there are millions of books for you to choose from, and I’m so grateful Hot Asset made it onto your TBR list!

The 21 Wall Street series was originally conceived because of one simple author wish: to write about hot guys in suits. They’re my favorite thing to read and thus . . . my favorite thing to write. ;-)

The series, however, quickly became so much more than that. Somewhere along the writing process, my “hot guys in suits” went from being stock photos in my mind to being real people—complex characters who came alive, not just through their relationships with the women who captured their hearts but through their friendships with one another. Soon I had not just the fantasy of the rich millionaires in their penthouses but characters whose vulnerability, banter, and loyalty to one another made me wish I could be part of their group. I hope you feel the same!

Next up in the series is Matt Cannon’s story (Hard Sell, Fall 2018). As I’m sure many of you picked up on, he and Sabrina Cross have some serious chemistry . . . and major unfinished business. Ian and Lara will, of course, be making plenty of appearances, as will Kennedy and Kate.

Lastly, I need to take a quick minute to thank everyone who helped make this book possible. My agent, Nicole Resciniti, for knowing immediately what I was trying to do with the series the second I said the words Wall Street. For the amazing team at Montlake, especially Maria Gomez, for all their hard work in taking my beloved story and turning it into a polished book. For Kristi Yanta, my developmental editor, who put as much heart and soul into this story as I did. I know it was a long haul, but it was so worth it, and I’m so grateful! And lastly, a special shout-out to my Wall-Street-savvy father-in-law for pointing me toward the right resources for learning about the financial world!

Happy reading,

Lauren Layne





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