Love, Hate & Us

S.P. West

Copyright ©2017 S.P. West

All rights reserved.

This book is a work of fiction.

The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any reference to a music, T.V. or celebrity name, is just that, a reference, they do not form part of the story.

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademarked owners of various products referenced in this book, which have been used without permission. The use of these trademarks is not authorised, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owners.

No part of this book may be re-produced, scanned, photocopied or distributed (electronically or otherwise) in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for brief quotes that are used in articles and reviews.

Editing by The Editing Maven.

Cover by Kirsty-Ann Still.

Formatted by Irish Ink.

In loving memory of three wonderful men.

My father, Jack.

The man who taught me it was okay to be different, to not follow the crowd.

I miss you every day.

Eric, my husband’s grandfather.

He wrote a rather racy little novel once and it’s from that novel that I took the McAllister surname.

Your legacy lives on.

And to Vip Mehta.

You are sorely missed, my friend.

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

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Also by S.P. West

Brooke

“You’re certain? Could you check again, please? Yeah…sure, I’ll hold.”

Three days. My fiancé, Brody, has been missing for three days.

I’ve checked every hospital within one hundred miles of our home, with family, friends, the sheriffs’ department, and the county morgue; but there has been nothing. Not a single sighting or word of him in three very long days. He isn’t answering his cell, responding to emails, or text messages. It’s like he’s dropped off the face of the earth. No one has any idea where he is. I can’t even get a hold of the assholes that he went out for a quiet drink with on Wednesday evening. They’ve suddenly become mute about where my fiancé of eight years has gotten to.

Brody isn’t an a-hole like them. The sweet, kind, loving man that I know would call me to tell me where he is, reassure me that he’s okay.

Is he still alive? Is he lying in a ditch injured somewhere?

These unanswered questions going around and around in my head keep me awake at night. I’ve hardly slept, I can’t eat—I’m so worried about him. I feel so damn useless.

Tightening my hold around the photo frame with the picture of us from our senior prom, I send up a silent prayer that he’s okay.

Brody, where the hell are you, baby?

“Ma’am…Mrs. McAllister? Can you hear me, ma’am?” The reedy female voice at the other end of the line brings me back from the darkness that seems to consume more of my thoughts with each passing day that Brody is missing. For a moment, I think that they are speaking to someone else until I remember that I told them I was his wife so that they’d at least talk to me.

“Yeah...um, sorry,” I answer distractedly. “Could…you…could you repeat that for me, please?”

“I said that there is no one here matching that description, ma’am. I’m happy to take a telephone number and if Mr. McAllister turns up, I’ll notify you straightaway.”

Tears begin to track down my cheeks as yet another slight glimmer of hope is snuffed out. I’d managed to fend them off while I focused on my fruitless task of finding Brody.

“Are you still there, ma’am?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” My voice is muffled as I wipe my tears and snot away with my sleeve, trying not to sob down the phone as I give her my cell phone number.

“I’ll call you if I hear anything, Mrs. McAllister. I hope you find him.”

“Thanks,” I whisper, before pressing the button to end the call. Yet another dead-end in my search for my missing lover.

I must have fallen asleep as I wake up to find myself curled up on our bed, hugging the photo frame with one arm, and a wedge of damp tissues in my other hand, the empty box next to my head. I don’t remember how I got here. The last thing I remember was throwing my cell across the living room as I screamed and screamed, trying desperately to rid myself of some of the pain and frustration that I feel inside. Luckily for me, Mrs. Anderson, the little old lady to the left of us, is deaf and Lola, our neighbor to the right, works nights at the local strip joint.

The bright red light of my clock lets me know that it’s three o’clock in the morning. Carefully setting the picture of Brody and me on my bedside table, I drag myself out of bed and head to the living room to find my damn cell. The longer that I stay awake, the more time I can spend trying to find Brody. It takes me around ten minutes to find my cell, somehow it’s still in one piece. A quick glance at the screen tells me that no one has called. There are three text messages though. The first is from Lola, letting me know that she put the word out about Brody being missing and that she’ll let me know if she hears anything. The second is from Brody’s jerk of a brother, Caden, asking me if his older brother has turned up yet. The third is from my beautiful little sister, Hope—the reason why Caden will forever be known as a jerk to me.

I fire off a quick thanks to Lola, send Caden a curt no, and send Hope a slightly longer detailed message. Immediately my screen lights up with a new text message. Unfortunately, it’s from Caden.

Can I call you?

Closing my eyes, I count to ten to calm myself down before responding to the dickwad. Having a conversation with the boy who broke my sister’s heart is the last thing I need right now. I used to love Caden McAllister—loved him like a little brother since the day his family moved in next door to mine. Watched him grow up from an annoying little brat who adored my sister, to a boy who would walk over hot coals for her, to a guy who found fame and dumped her so that he could sleep around without a guilty conscience. The day he stopped being Caden McAllister and became Cade McCall was the day that little bastard became public enemy number one in my eyes.

Both sets of parents had hoped that us Elderhouse girls would marry the McAllister boys. I know that Brody’s parents, Dair and Judy, are still optimistic that Hope and Caden will reunite.

I’m not.

Hope and Caden’s car crash of a relationship is the least of my worries right now, the need to find his older brother is my priority. I don’t send the bitter message that I plan out in my head—one that involves a long diatribe about how he can go fuck himself, and to go back to that D-list actress he’s been hooking up with. Instead I keep it short and sweet.

Yeah, sure.

No matter what I feel for him, he must be worried about Brody, too.

No sooner have I hit send my cell starts to ring.

“Hey,” Caden says as soon as I answer.

“Have you heard from him?” I skip any pleasantries. I don’t want to talk to him any longer than I have too.

“What, no hello?” Even though his brother is missing, possibly dead, Caden sounds surprisingly unfazed.

“No, Caden, no hello.”

“Ooh my full name, must be in your bad book.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“Easy, tiger, I just wanted to say hi.”

“I’m not in the mood to play nice with you, Caden. I’m going out of my mind with worry about Brody. So if you just called for idle chitchat, then I’m hanging up right now because I have nothing else to say to you.” Caden lets out a long, weary sigh that only adds fuel to my now white-hot anger. “Goodbye, Caden.” My finger hovers over the end call button, ready to hang up.

“Wait, wait, wait…please.”

“What?”

“I’ve heard from Brody.”

“YOU WHAT?” I practically shout down the phone at him. My heart seems to be beating out of my chest, elated that Brody has contacted someone. “When?”

“Ow, my ear.” Caden chuckles.

“Sorry, it’s just that…” I start to sob. “I’ve been so worried.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he soothes. “It’s okay. Look, I’ll tell you what I know. He sent me a text.”

“You didn’t speak with him?”

“No, he just sent me a text yesterday.”

“Yesterday!” I interrupt him with an ear-splitting screech. “You heard from him yesterday and you only tell me now, asshole?”

Caden lets out another long sigh. “He asked me not to tell you, but I didn’t think it was fair. I know you must be worried about him.”

“Wait. He what?”

“He said not to tell you that he’d contacted me.” Caden sounds apologetic as he answers.

For a moment, I’m too stunned to answer, confused over why Brody would do that. He must know how worried I am. He must.

“You still there?”

“Why...Why would he do that?” I stutter.

“I don’t know, Brooke.” He pauses, and I can imagine Caden running his hands through his dark hair right now, like he does when he’s about to deliver bad news. Like he did when he broke Hope’s heart. “I’m sorry.”

“What did the message say, Caden?”

“Not a lot.”

“Well.” My teeth are gritted with frustration as I speak. “Could you please tell me the not a lot he said?”

“He just said that he’s okay, and to tell Mom and Dad that he’s fine, and that I’m not to tell you.”

“I’ll assume that that was the edited version, so now tell me everything that he said.” My anger starts to peak again. I know that the little rat is holding out on me, protecting his older brother as usual. I’ve known him since he was born. “You owe me, Caden. Just remember all the times I’ve kept your dirty little secrets. I’ve not breathed a word to anyone about what you’ve done. Just remember money talks and my tongue may suddenly become loose.”

“That’s a low blow.”

“Then spill.”

“How’s Hope?” he asks softly, changing the subject. If I could reach down the line and strangle the little bastard I would.

“Don’t you dare, Caden McAllister! Don’t you dare ask me about Hope, because you do not deserve to know a single thing about her life. As far as you’re concerned, you’re dead to her. Ask me again and I swear to God all the gossip columns will know what you did to her, you little shit. Every. Single. One.”

The silence that greets my little rant is deafening. I consider hanging up on him; I doubt that he would care.

“Hope still hates me, huh?” My heart twinges in sympathy at the note of sadness in Caden’s voice. “I don’t blame her. I hate me, too.”

I don’t answer. I can’t. What would I say? It’s his own fault, he brought it on himself, and he’s done nothing to make it right. I hate him, too. I don’t want to be talking to him—the asshole who hurt my sister.

I just want to know that Brody is safe.

“Caden, just tell me what Brody said. Please.”

“Okay, but only because I owe you.” He pauses. “And for the record, I think he’s being stupid and needs to talk to you.”

“Just. Tell. Me.”

“He said…uhhh…I’m going to put you on speaker, okay?” I can hear someone say hey in the background, followed by what sounds like a door being closed. “You still there?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure you want to hear this?” he asks, his voice laced with concern.

“Just spit it out, Caden.”

“Okay.” He lets out a long breath. “‘Hi Bro. I’m okay. Just need to think about shit with me and B. Not sure it’s working anymore, just don’t know how to tell her. I’ve taken a few days off work and headed to the cabin. Taking time to clear my head. Going to head home as soon as I decide what to do. Tell Mom and Dad that I’m okay. I know that she’ll be worrying, but please don’t tell Brooke that I’ve messaged you. Can’t deal with the crap that she’ll lay on me right now. If she asks, just tell her I’m okay. Brody.’”

They say that your world can come crashing down in the blink of an eye, mine just imploded.

“Brooke. You still there?”

I can’t breathe.

“Brooke, you okay?”

“Oh.” My chest feels tight; my throat is closing up. “Can’t…Can’t breathe.” I gasp as the world spins around me. I honestly think I’m about to die.

“Take deep breaths, B. In through your nose, out through your mouth.” Caden’s deep voice is strangely soothing as he encourages me to breathe with him. In and out. In and out. He keeps talking to me in that steady, slow, rhythmic way, and eventually my heart stops beating so hard and fast and my breathing returns to normal. “You okay?” he asks again gently.

“No.” I feel woozy, like I’ve drunk three bottles of wine, woozy. “What’s happening to me?”

“Sounds like a panic attack.”

A panic attack? I thought I was dying.

“I get them sometimes before I go on stage, especially after…” Caden hesitates, unwilling to continue. I hate the silence that follows. I hate the way I’m feeling right now. I’m scared and lost and I don’t understand what’s going on. The only person that can give me any answers doesn’t want to talk to me.

“Caden?”

“Yeah?”

“Did he say anything else?”

“No. I’m sorry, Brooke.”

“Not your fault.”

I hear a female voice call Caden’s name. He sounds annoyed as he answers. “Brooke, I’ve gotta go. If you need anything…just call. Text. Email. Hell, send a bat signal.”

“Thank you.” My voice is a mere whisper.

“See you, Brooke.”

“Cade? Can you pass on a message to Brody?”

“Sure.”

“Ask him why,” I say, ending the call.

Brody

Dear Brooke,

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry that I have to hurt you like this. You don’t deserve it.

Please don’t think that this is about you. It’s a problem that I need to deal with.

What I guess I’m trying to say is that.

I think that it’s best that we

I’ll always love you but I can’t be with you anymore.

I’m sorry.

Brody.

Snatching up the letter that has taken me the best part of a day to write, I toss it into the dancing flames of the fire in the grate. The paper disappears within moments and with it the words that I’ve struggled to write.

A ding on my cell tells me that I’ve gotten yet another message, a brief glance tells me that it’s from Brooke.

Please tell me that you’re safe.

I sling my cell onto the couch beside me, placing a pillow over it for good measure.

Three days. That’s how long I’ve been hiding away, avoiding Brooke.

She must be going out of her mind with worry by now. Knowing her, she’s contacted half the country to find out where I am right now. Which is why I sent a quick text to Cade to let him know that I’m safe, in case she contacted him or my parents. I didn’t want to worry them unnecessarily, which is kind of ironic really.

Admittedly, it’s also one of my more selfish dick moves and Brooke doesn’t deserve it, but I’m all out of ideas of what to do.

How exactly do you explain to your fiancée that you don’t want to be with her anymore?

The way I saw it, I had two options. One was to man up and tell her the truth, the second was to run away and hide like a coward. I chose the second one.

I’m not proud of myself and I’m sure that karma will kick me in the ass at some point, but it’s not like I suddenly woke up one day and thought I’m not sure that I love her anymore…actually, that is what happened.

The whole situation is pretty shitty. Am I doing the right thing? I don’t know. Will I regret this? Probably, but I’ve started down this path, no turning back now. Brooke’s a pretty forgiving person, but this time I think I might have gone too far, even for her. So, this…whatever it is, has to be dealt with. If you can call sitting in the dark, festering in my own filth, dealing with it.

There’s a constant war raging between my heart and my head. My head tells me that what we had is gone, my heart can’t begin to imagine what it’ll be like not to have Brooke in my life anymore.

Everything I’ve ever done has been with Brooke. Okay, there was that time I dated that other girl in high school, but that was nothing compared to what Brooke and I have. Had. What we had.

Jesus, this sucks.

I don’t want to hurt her. I’ve never wanted to hurt her, but I just can’t shake off the feeling that I’m missing out somehow. All my adult life, all my childhood has been spent with one person. Is it so wrong that I want the freedom to explore who I am? To live my life like Cade does and not worry about whether what I do or say will be best for us as a couple. I want what’s best for me.

When you’ve been in a relationship for as long as we have, people stop seeing you as you. You stop being an individual and become part of someone else. When others talk about me, it’s never just me, it’s always Brooke and me. It never used to bother me so much but recently it’s become kind of...stifling.

My cell starts to vibrate with an incoming call. For a moment I’m tempted to not look at the screen and ignore it, in case it’s Brooke, but curiosity gets the better of me.

Cade.

“Yo.”

“Dude, what the fuck are you doing?”

“Hello to you, too, brother.”

“Don’t brother me, asshat. I’ve just got off a call with your fiancée. You need to call her.” The mention of Brooke sends a pang to my heart.

“How was she?”

“Scared. Heartbroken. Confused. Angry. Pick one, pick all of the above.”

“You told her about the text I sent you, jerkoff? I asked you not to.”

“I don’t care about what you asked me to do, dickhead. What you’re doing to her is cruel and she doesn’t deserve it.”

“I know.”

“She has been going out of her mind with worry,” he continues, “while you’ve been sitting on your ass, staring at the fluff in your navel, feeling sorry for yourself. What the hell is going on with you?”

“People change.”

“People don’t change overnight, Brody. Last time we spoke, you were looking forward to looking at wedding venues. So, what the fuck happened?”

“Joely.” I answer quietly.

“WHAT?” he yells down the line. “Please tell me that you have not got fucking involved with her!”

“Well…”

“She’s fucking toxic, man. If you’ve cheated on Brooke with that skank…”

“Calm your tits, little brother. I haven’t cheated on Brooke.”

“So, what?”

“Joely is a complication.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s just say that I’m having to clean up yours and dad’s mess.”

“Still doesn’t explain why the fuck you’re treating Brooke like shit.”

“Like I said, people change.”

“Pfft.” He scoffs.

“Like you’re one to talk, Cade. Do I have to mention Hope?”

“Low blow.”

“But true.”

“Talk to me then. Let me know where your head is at, because you are not sounding like my sensible older brother right now.”

“That’s just it.”

“What is?”

“I’m tired of being sensible, Cade.” I scrub my hand over my face as I try to find the right words. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“When you were with Hope, did you ever feel like you wanted more? Like you wanted to see what was out there?”

He lets out a sad laugh. “That’s what got me into the mess I’m in now, dude.”

“I hear you.” I sigh, “I’ve only ever known life with Brooke. Is it so wrong that I want something different?”

“Do you want an honest answer or one that’ll make you feel better about yourself?”

“The first one.”

“No, it’s not, but the way you’re going about it is making you look like a major douche. If you’re going to end it with Brooke, then just end it. Don’t sit there and lead her on, giving her a tiny bit of hope that you’ll change your mind.”

“What if I do?”

“Do what?”

“Change my mind. What if I suddenly realize that I made a mistake and Brooke is what I want?”

“Then you’ll have to cross that bridge when you come to it.”

“What did you do?”

“I broke my fucking heart,” he answers quietly.

“I’m sorry, man.”

“Don’t be, brother. It’s my own fault.”

“Yeah but…still.”

“Do me a favor. Think about what you really want. Don’t be blinded by feelings of missing out. Waking up with someone different each night isn’t all it’s cut out to be, believe me.”

“You sure?”

“It’s great at first.” He chuckles. “But it quickly wears thin, and then you start realizing that you let the best thing that ever happened to you go.” In all the years I’ve had the privilege of being Cade’s older brother, I’ve not once heard him sound so down. Like a man carrying a great weight on his shoulders. “Listen, dude, I have to go. I’ve got a sound check to do. Call me if you need anything. And for God’s sake, talk to Brooke.”

“Thanks, man,” I say, ending the call.

What the hell am I going to do?

I spend the next few hours staring straight ahead as the light fades and turns to night, thinking of everything…of nothing as I turn everything over in my mind. The air turns chilly, yet still I don’t move. I stay that way until my cell pings with another message notification. A quick look lets me know that it’s from Brooke.

Coward.

Guess Cade told her about my message. Asshat.

I start to type out my response before stopping myself. I can’t keep doing this, I can’t keep hurting her like I am. Brooke deserves the truth and she deserves to hear it from me in person. Not from my brother, but from me. If I want to end things with her, then I’ve got to stop thinking that there is an us anymore.

I think that the hardest thing is getting up the courage to end it once and for all. Maybe I am a coward. Maybe I’m actually doing the right thing by sparing both of us a miserable future together. Who knows? But I need to finish things, for both our sakes.

Brooke

By noon the next day, I still hadn’t heard from Brody. I’d given up on the notion of him contacting me any time soon. If Brody wants to hide away in a cabin, then so be it. Who am I to chase after a man who no longer knows what he wants. He’ll have to come home and face me sooner or later.

The many tears that I shed over him have long since dried. I don’t even feel any sadness, just a strange nothingness. It feels as though I’m dead inside. The only other time I felt like this was in the months after my parents died. Back then, I’d had Brody to pull me away from the edge of the dark abyss that I couldn’t see beyond. I never thought he’d be the reason that I come back to this place.

I can’t be bothered to shower today, I sit festering in the t-shirt that I blindly pulled on in the dark last night. It’s only in the harsh light of day that I can see with bitter irony that it’s one of Brody’s old shirts.

Maybe I should burn it.

In my hands is the cold cup of coffee that I made first thing this morning; I’ve found it to be strangely comforting as I balance it on my knees while I stare out of the window. I’ve been trying to work out what I’ll need to do. How do you separate yourself from someone who has been your whole life for as long as you can remember?

Obviously we’ll need to sell this house. I’m not sure whether Brody will want to move out right away or if we’ll stay under the same roof until it’s sold. I suppose one of us can move into the spare bedroom.

It’s funny, I always thought that we would use that space for a nursery. I had it all planned out in my head. The earthy neutral colors with a teddy bear motif across one wall. In the corner nearest the window, we would place the old rocking chair that I’d picked up from a secondhand store for ten dollars and had spent quite a lot of my spare time lovingly restoring. I’d have hung pictures all around the room of Brody’s and my families so that the baby would take comfort from the smiling faces in the photographs. That room has always represented the promise of our future, now it will represent the destruction of our relationship.

We’ll both have to endure the Emmerton gossip train for a while. Old Mrs. Banks and her cronies will have a field day with this. Maybe I should start looking for jobs out of state, somewhere as far away as possible from this town. Somewhere hot and tropical. Somewhere where…where I don’t have to watch Brody move on. Where I don’t have to stand by while he falls in love with someone else, and marries them. Giving them the babies and the life that he promised me. Where people won’t give me pitying looks as I turn into Emmerton’s version of Miss. Havisham right before their very eyes.

I think that might have been one of the main reasons that Hope left town. Not only did she have to contend with a broken heart, she had to do it with the whole world watching her. Hope couldn’t even go grocery shopping without having to endure the whispers and the stares or people asking her to sign a copy of the latest gossip mag that had Caden’s face splashed across its front page. I wish Hope was here right now. My beautiful, headstrong baby sister would know what to do. What to say. Somehow she’d make it better. Stop me from thinking too much about it.

I think this is the longest Brody and I have gone without speaking to one another since we started dating. It doesn’t feel right. Everything feels so wrong, like my world has been knocked off of its axis. Of course Caden could have been lying or playing a mean trick on me like he did when we were kids. His way of getting me back for all the crap I’ve given him over the way he broke Hope’s heart. I wouldn’t put it past the selfish, entitled brat. He always did think that the world owed him.

I just don’t understand it. This isn’t Brody. He wouldn’t be this cruel…not intentionally. And until he comes home, I’m stuck in the land of limbo.

A whole week passes and still there is no word from Brody.

Any hopes of laying low, curled up in a ball and waiting for him to return, have been dashed by the fact that I need to go to work. My boss had been very understanding about my need for time off while I searched for my missing fiancé. However, seeing as Brody isn’t in any immediate danger, he made it very clear that continuing to throw myself a pity party would probably result in the loss of my job.

Fortunately, I’ll be out of sight, stuck doing back office duties. My boss hates anything that could make the bank look bad. And apparently, the assistant bank manager breaking up with her long-term, live-in fiancé via a text message, relayed by said fiancé’s superstar manwhore of a younger brother, counts as making the bank look bad. I should be thankful I’ll be out of the public’s gaze. He’s spared me from seeing the gossip train in action.

As it is, Brody’s disappearance is the most newsworthy thing to happen in Emmerton since the married sixty-two-year old pastor got caught in a very compromising position with a twenty-year-old last year. As I predicted, at every place I have gone over the past week, people have been gossiping about Brody and me. Whether it’s the fact they just blatantly stand and stare at me or talk behind their hands so that they think I don’t know that I’m the subject of their conversations, people I’ve known since I was small now think that it’s okay to mock my life. I’ve never hated living in a small town as much as I do now.

What hurts the most is the things that I’ve heard them say as I’ve walked by. Lies about how Brody found out I was cheating on him and had run off to the cabin to lick his wounds, that I’d murdered him in his sleep, or how Brody had had his head turned by the new girl in his office and didn’t want to cheat on me so he ended our relationship. I’m still at a loss about how anyone knew anything anyhow.

My life has been reduced to counting down the minutes until I can head home to a cold, empty house. My evenings are spent searching the internet for information on what to do if you split up from your partner. We jointly own the home, however, Brody has enough money to buy me out. I wish I could say the same. I’m still not sure what I’ll do when Brody eventually turns up. It’s not like he can stay away forever, he still has to run McAllister Construction.

The thing is, if Brody left Emmerton, his loss would be felt. I, on the other hand, wouldn’t be missed. In the eyes of the people here, I don’t contribute anything toward the town anyway. I don’t attend church, I don’t hang with the coffee clique, I don’t have any kids, and I don’t indulge in gossip. All I am to them is one of the orphan Elderhouse girls and nothing else.

Brooke

It’s with some relief that I turn onto my street at a little after six in the evening. Despite it being my day to finish early, a sudden influx of customers a couple of hours before closing meant that I was asked to stay on. I didn’t mind saying yes, it’s not like I have anyone to head home to.

Lights shine out from most of the houses like beacons in the darkness. I envy the people in those houses. They haven’t come home to a cold, dark house every night this past week. They haven’t sat, staring into nothingness, while trying not to succumb to the desperate loneliness that threatens to engulf their soul. They haven’t questioned over and over whether their life has been a lie. No. They came home to light, love, and laughter.

It comes as a shock when I see lights from my house blazing out into the black night, creating a warm, familiar glow. I briefly consider calling 911 before quickly dismissing the idea. No burglar would be stupid enough to leave the lights on while they rob me. On second thought…

As I turn into the driveway, I notice the large SUV parked in front of the garage. The headlights on my car illuminate the tailgate so that I can clearly see the McAllister Construction logo on the back of the truck.

Brody.

For one beautiful moment, I’m overwhelmed with elation knowing that Brody is safe and that he’s finally home. Then that feeling of dread resurfaces at what he has come home to tell me. Whatever Brody has decided, he’s had eleven days to think about it. In my heart of hearts, I know that whatever he has to say won’t be good.

“Hello?” I call out meekly as I walk into the house.

No answer.

I walk past the door to the living room and head into the kitchen, placing my keys and bag on the counter as I sling my coat over one of the stools in one slick movement. Pausing only to take a deep breath before I go in search of my fiancé.

I don’t have to go too far to find him. Brody is sitting on the living room couch with his head in his hands so that all I can see is the top of his head and the tattoos on his arms. He’s wearing the same clothes that I last saw him in—white tee, cargo pants and work boots. The black company hoodie that he habitually wears has been dumped on the floor by his feet. A most horrendous stench is coming from his direction, so bad that I start to gag.

“Jesus Christ! Did something die in here?” I ask him, pulling at my collar so that my sweater covers my nose, blocking out the stench. Brody says nothing. “Cat got your tongue?” I try again, still he says nothing, not even bothering to raise his head to look at me. His continued silence makes my blood boil. He does not get to do this to me. “The least you could have done after disappearing for eleven days is take a shower.” I snap as I slump in the recliner on the other side of the room. “Actually, the least you could have done is fucking call me to tell me you were safe.” My use of a swear word finally gets his attention. I let out a gasp as I get my first look at Brody in nearly two weeks. The only way I can describe the way he looks is…haunted.

His usually clean-shaven face is hidden behind a couple weeks’ worth of growth. What skin I can see is pale, almost gray. Brody’s eyes, his beautiful gray eyes, are red-rimmed and bloodshot. He looks a lot older than his twenty-seven years, like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“So,” I start, stamping down on the pang of sympathy that wells up for the obviously broken man in front of me, “what exactly happened that was so bad you had to disappear off the face of the earth for so long?” He stares at me in silence—his eyes usually full of love are devoid of any emotion. “I know your cell was working, don’t try to tell me it wasn’t. You texted Cade.”

Brody holds his hands in his lap, his knuckles white as he squeezes the blood out of them. He turns his head away from me, focusing on what I can only assume is a mysterious bit of fluff in the corner of the room that’s obviously far more interesting than talking to your fiancée, who you haven’t seen for half a month.

“He shouldn’t have told you,” he mumbles so quietly that I almost miss it.

“What was that? Did you say something? Because here’s me thinking that you’d forgotten how to speak, seeing as you were gone so long.” He whips his head back to face me, his expression one of fury.

“Brooke,” he warns, but before he can say anything else I hold my hand up to stop him.

“NO!” I yell louder than intended, and stand to start pacing the room. “There is no way you are going to get out of this, Brody McAllister. You are going to tell me what you’ve been doing for the last couple weeks and why the hell you did it.” I’m shaking with rage now. Tears of frustration flow down my cheeks as I unleash my fury. “I thought you were dead. DEAD, BRODY. I called every hospital in the area, begging them to tell me if you’d been taken there. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. And then I find out from your brother, your fucking brother, that you’d taken yourself off to the cabin to think. You”—I point at him—“didn’t even have the decency to call me to let me know that you were okay.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” he says quietly.

“Sorry?” I shriek. “Sorry? Sorry for what? Sorry that you were too much of a coward to tell me what’s going on in your head? Sorry that you couldn’t tell me that you were unhappy? Or sorry for all the tears that I’ve wasted on you while you were holed up in the cabin feeling sorry for yourself?”

“I wasn’t—”

“I’ve cried more tears in the last eleven days than I did when my parents died, Brody.” I interrupt him before he can say anything else, and slump down in the recliner while rubbing my hands over my eyes in an effort to rid myself of the exhaustion that I suddenly feel. An uneasy peace descends for a moment as I struggle with what to say next. I don’t want to ask the question, but I can’t live like this anymore. I can’t live with not knowing.

“Do you still want to be with me, Brody?”

Brody looks to the ceiling, as though asking for some sort of divine assistance. When he looks at me again, his eyes are full of sadness.

“No,” he whispers.

A feeling of nausea washes over me as I quietly start to sob. I’ve never felt as lost as I do right now. I’ve loved Brody all my life. I thought, stupidly it seems, that what we had was a love that would last a lifetime.

I tense as a pair of strong arms wrap around me, relaxing only when he buries his head in my neck. I don’t push him away…I can’t. If this is it, then I want one last moment of being in his arms. I don’t know how long we sit here holding one another, but I want this moment to last forever. To trap us in an eternal embrace until the end of time. It’s Brody who breaks the spell.

“I’m so sorry, Brooke,” he says as he gently pushes me away, before retreating back to the other side of the room.

I remain where I am, folding my arms across my chest as I mentally start to place barriers around what is left of my broken heart.

“You gonna explain to me what’s going on?” I try to keep my voice level as I speak. It would do no good to lose it in front of him, it’ll just cause him to shut down, and I’ll never get the answers that I need.

He looks pained. Scrubbing his right hand across his mouth as he tries to work out what he’s going to tell me. Knowing Brody, he’ll try to make it as painless as possible.

“Well?” I snap impatiently.

“Where do you want me to start?”

“Try why the hell you disappeared for eleven days.”

“I needed to think.”

“About?”

“Us.”

“So, you ran off to the cabin to think about our life, our future, and you didn’t want to involve me in any way while you thought about it?”

“It seemed the best thing to do at the time.”

“You obviously made up your mind.” There is a tremor in my voice now as I try not to start crying again. “Are you going to tell me why you needed to do this, because I’m at a loss here, Brody? As far as I knew we were happy.”

Brody lets out a long sigh before he answers. “I haven’t been happy in a while, Brooke.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I couldn’t.”

“Couldn’t or wouldn’t?”

“I forget you know me so well.” He lets out a humorless huff of laughter.

“Obviously I don’t, because I could have sworn that the Brody I know is happy and wants to get married to me.”

“I did, Brooke, I really did.”

“So what changed?”

“Me. I changed.” He starts to walk toward me before changing his mind and heads back to his safe zone behind the couch, and grips it hard. “I didn’t know how or what to tell you.”

“Is there someone else? Is that it?” I blurt out before I can stop myself.

“What? NO!” He looks shocked at my question. “No. I promise you, no.”

Inwardly, I sigh with relief.

“What is it then?”

“You want the short answer?”

“I want any answer.”

He drops his chin to his chest, loosening his grip on the sofa. When he raises his head to look at me, all I can see is sadness and remorse.

“I…we’re too young to settle down.”

“We’re twenty-seven, Brody.”

“And how many guys have you dated in your twenty-seven years, Brooke?”

“Two, and one of those was only one date.”

“Exactly.”

“I don’t understand,” I say, standing and moving over to the couch. I perch my ass on the arm and twist my body to face him. “What has how many guys I’ve dated got to do with the fact that you want to break up with me?”

“Everything.” His answer makes me bristle with annoyance.

“Brody, I don’t speak code. I’m barely holding it together, so excuse me if I’m not getting what you’re trying to say. See, from my point of view, my fiancé, who I live a happy life with, disappears for nearly two weeks, and I spend the first few days going out of my mind with worry. Then I get a message from his brother, who informs me that my fiancé is thinking about things. I then spend the rest of my time hardly eating or sleeping and wondering why my soon to be husband told his brother that he wants to break up with me, yet couldn’t be bother to so much as send me a message to let me know that he was still alive. So far, so good, right?” Brody doesn’t respond to my question, so I continue. “Then, miraculously, my…I don’t know what to call you anymore.” I gesture toward him. “My…I suppose ex-fiancé now…turns up smelling like something dead that was left to fester for a week and not giving me straight answers. As someone who is tired, hungry, devastated, scared, and still in the dark as to the reason why, and has spent the last week mentally preparing to be ripped apart by the person she loves, I would really appreciate some honesty from you right now.”

He crosses his arms over his broad chest; his face is masked in sadness.

“It’s…it’s just not working out.” His words are measured, almost like he is trying to say what he has to say with the least pain possible. “I’ve. I’ve never been single. I’ve never played the field. Sure, there was that one girl sophomore year of high school, but she was nothing. My whole adult life, I’ve only loved you.”

“You don’t love me anymore?” My words come out as a broken whisper.

“I do, Brooke. I love you with all that I am.” He scrubs his hands over his face. When he looks at me again, I see tears forming in his eyes. “But our relationship is suffocating me. It’s always been you and me, never just Brody or Brooke. I want to see what life is like with just me. No one sees us as separate people. It’s like they think one can’t live without the other. I hate that, Brooke. You must feel like that sometimes too.” I don’t…can’t say anything in response. I’m too stunned over what he’s saying, how he’s felt, and the fact that he’s never once given me a hint. “Everyone has this expectation that we’ll get married and have kids,” he continues. “To them it’s a certainty, but I’m not sure that’s what I want. I’m not ready to make that move and settle down. There’s so much that I want to do first. I want to prove to myself that I can live on my own, just be Brody, not part of a pair. I…I want to know what it’s like to date other people…”

The air in my lungs leaves me with his words. My ears start to ring, only hearing snippets of what he says next. Move out if I want him too…sell the house…could both stay here until we find a buyer…or he’s happy to buy my share.

“I’ve never wanted to hurt you. Ever. You’re still my best friend, Brooke,” he says as my focus comes back into the room. “I’d hate to lose our friendship. I want to find out who I am, but I can’t do that if we’re together.”

“Screw you,” I hiss, stomping toward the hallway. “I’m going out. While I’m gone, get a shower and then move all your shit into the spare room. I don’t want to speak to you again today,” I say, slamming the living room door in his face.

Brooke

“I can’t believe it,” Lola says, handing me another shot of Vodka. “Brody? Brody broke up with you? I thought you guys were forever.”

“So did I.” I sniff, and wipe a copious amount of snot from my nose on to the sleeve of my sweater.

“I just don’t understand it,” she mutters as she throws herself down on the comfy looking armchair that resides in the corner of her living room. “You sure Brody said he wants to break up with you?”

“He wants to find himself, and he can’t do that if he’s with me.” I knock back the shot in one go, coughing as the alcohol burns my throat.

“That’s bullshit,” Lola says, elegantly unfolding her long tan limbs from the armchair, and moves to refill my shot glass. I shake my head no but she fills it to the brim anyway. “I never took Brody for a jerk. I thought he was one of the good guys.”

I grimace as I take a sip of the vodka, knocking back any more shots is probably not the best idea right now, who knows what trouble I could get in.

“So what you goin’ to do, hon?”

“Hide,” I sigh. “Or running away is sounding more appealing with each passing minute.”

“Won’t solve any of your problems.”

“Yeah, but I’ll be as far away from Brody and this town as possible.”

“True.” A sad half-smile forms on her face as she reaches up to free her long blonde hair from the restraints of a hair tie.

“Oh, Lola. What am I going to do? Tell me what to do,” I plead. “I don’t know how to live without him.” Lola is by my side in a flash. She puts her arms around me and doesn’t flinch when I start to cry on her shoulder.

“You are your own person, babe. You don’t need a man to live.”

“But I love him,” I sob. “This hurts so much.”

“It will, sweetheart, and it’ll hurt for a long while; but you just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and plaster the biggest, fakest smile you can. Tell all those bastards waitin’ for you to fall apart to go hang. As for Brody…” She sighs. “You own the house together, right?”

I nod into her shoulder.

“First thing tomorrow, you go speak with an attorney, see where you stand. Then you talk to Brody about what you need to do to separate your lives. In the meantime, you also need to pull a one-eighty.”

“One-eighty?” I ask, lifting my head to look at her.

“Yeah, one-eighty. No begging Brody to change his mind. Speak to him only when you need to, always be polite and calm when you do. Don’t answer straight away when he calls or texts you. No doing his laundry, shopping for him, or cooking his dinner, picking up after him, or any of the things you used to do for him. Lastly, start going out more, and don’t ever tell him where you’re going or who you’re going with. It’s none of his business anymore.”

“Sounds harsh.”

“Honey, trust me, it’s the only way to protect your heart.”

“But what if he changes his mind?”

Lola smiles and wipes the tears away from my cheek. “Then he changes his mind, but you have to prepare yourself. Please, sweetie, don’t waste your life waiting for something that might not happen. Don’t lose out on love and a family. What will you do if Brody meets, then marries another woman? Will you still hope that he’ll come back to you then?” she asks gently.

“Yes.”

“No, you won’t, and you know why?”

“Why?” I bleat pathetically.

“Because by that time, you’ll have moved on to bigger and better things. You’re stronger than that. The woman he might marry? He’ll always compare her to you, and he’ll be left wondering whether he made a mistake lettin’ you go.” She smiles as she picks up the vodka, refilling her glass. “Because the love that you two have, that’s the kind of love that, if you’re lucky, you get to experience once in a lifetime. You mark my words, that boy will regret ever thinkin’ he could find better elsewhere.”

“Owwww. Jesus. Ass. Shit. Shit. Shit.” When the hell did we move the couch? Bet that asshat moved it to spite me. Bastard. We need to move it back, right now.

“HEY. MOTHERFUCKER. YOU AWAKE?” God, when did we last dust the ceiling? There’s cobwebs everywhere. Ha! We…Nooo more we. Just me, and I’m not going to fucking do it. He can shove that job up his ass. Let his next victim do it for him.

“YO! DID YOU HEAR ME, DICKHEAD? I COULD DO WITH SOME HELP HERE.”

“Jesus, Brooke. Do you need to shout?” Brody appears in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. I’d find it cute if he wasn’t such a heart-breaking jerk. He kind of reminds me of Bambi before Bambi’s mom got shot, all innocent and hot in his boxers and with that chiseled chest six pack thing going on. Wait, Bambi wasn’t hot. And he didn’t have a six pack.

Awwww goddammit. “FINALLY NICE OF YOU TO JOIN ME, BAMBI.”

“Will you stop shouting for fuck’s sake! Christ, have you been drinking?” He looms over me, even in the dark I can tell he’s pissed.

Whatever.

“Nooone of your goddaaammn business, buster.”

“It is when you wake me up.”

“Dreaming of all the sluts you’re gonna bone? Sorry I woke you. Go back to bed and leave me to die.”

“Come on,” he says, hauling me to my feet. “Let’s get you to bed.”

“Get. Off. Me.” I rage, slapping his hands away. “You don’t get to touch this anymore. You can go fuck yourself.”

“Brooke,” Brody growls in warning.

“Brody.”

He sighs and rubs his hand over his jaw. “I don’t want to fight with you. I want this to be as amicable as possible.”

“You’re a coward.” I spit.

“I know.”

“And an ass.”

“I know.”

“And I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” he says quietly.

“Yeah, I do, Brody. I hate you, and I wish I’d never met your smelly ass.”

“You’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying.” I look at him then, well I look at all three of him, but they all have the same sad expression on their faces. I’d feel sorry for them but I can’t be bothered.

“I might be drunk, which is your fault by the way, but I…” I sway as he gently guides me to our, no, my bedroom. “But I know that I hate you. You see, there’s this fine line between love and hate. There’s love, hate, and then there’s us. You are now on my hate side. I don’t think I’ll ever get over this.”

Brody doesn’t respond to what I’ve said. He helps me into bed, tucking me in. I think he places a kiss on my forehead. I’m pretty sure he tells me he loves me and asks me to forgive him before he leaves the room. I don’t really pay attention. I’m too busy trying not to vomit.

Brooke

My breath smells worse than a badger’s behind, which is why I’m now hogging the bathroom as I commence Operation Make Brooke Human Again. I’ll admit that it’s not the catchiest of titles, but I’m too hung over to care.

I woke up about half an hour ago, automatically turning to snuggle into the warm, hot body next to me, only to discover that the other side of the bed was cold and empty. Last night wasn’t the bad dream I thought it was, it is my new normal. I suppose I could pad out to the kitchen, smelling and looking like something died, but what’s left of my pride won’t let me do that.

What was Lola talking about last night? The one-eighty? Meh, I’ll Google it after I’ve had some caffeine and painkillers, which means I’ll have to face Brody.

Oh happy days.

The smell of coffee makes me gag as I walk into the kitchen and take pew at the breakfast bar. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Brody standing by the coffee machine in just his boxers, so I place my head in my hands in a poor attempt to avoid looking at him.

“How’s your head?” I look up to see a hot, steaming cup of Joe in front of me, with Brody now on the other side of the counter, his heavily tattooed arms crossed over his chest.

“Hurts.”

He walks over to a cupboard, takes out a bottle of Tylenol, and places it in front of me. Next, he fills up a glass of water, and places it next to the bottle.

“Do you remember much from last night?”

“You dumped me.” He looks uncomfortable. Good.

“After that?”

“I got drunk.”

“Yeah, you did.” A small smile dances across his face. Whatever I did last night must have been amusing…Please don’t let me have thrown myself at him. “Where did you go?” he asks.

“Huh?”

“Where did you go?” His eyes narrow.

Is that jealousy I see before me? Mr. McAllister doesn’t like the fact that I went out and drunk myself stupid without him. Well tough shit.

“Why does it matter?”

“Because you came home so drunk you could barely stand, anything could have happened to you.”

“And that’s a problem because?”

“Because I care about you, Brooke, and I don’t like the idea of someone taking advantage of you because you can’t hold your liquor.”

“Again, it’s a problem because?” I say before swallowing a couple of tablets and washing them down with the hot coffee.

“I just told you why.”

“It’s no longer none of your business what I do and who I do it with. Your right to know anything about my life ended as of yesterday.”

“But—”

“But, what? You decided that you wanted out. As of yesterday, we became roommates without any benefits, until one of us finds a new place.” I smile. It’s the biggest and fakest smile that I can muster, but at least it’s a smile and not a sob. My heart, however, beats a sad, dying rhythm, and my head keeps telling me that I don’t mean it. I don’t mean the words that I say. “Anyway thanks for the coffee,” I say, getting up and heading out of the room. “But I’ve got places to go, people to see. Might set up a profile on Tinder later.” With that I leave the kitchen and head to the safety of my room.

I pick up my cell and see that I’ve received a couple of messages from Brody. Looking at the time, he must have sent them last night while I was at Lola’s.

Can we talk?

Followed by.

Where are you?

I’m sorry.

And finally.

Please don’t say that. I’ll always love you.

A quick scroll through the conversation reveals the truth, and it’s not pretty.

Brody: Can we talk?

Me: Go fuck yourself, assface.

Brody: Where are you?

Me: Neverland with my hot, new fuckbuddy. At least someone wants me.

Brody: I’m sorry.

Me: No ur not. You don’t care. I hate you.

Brody: Please don’t say that. I’ll always love you.

Me: You just want to screw other people. Well knock yourself out. Don’t come crying to me when you get an STD.

Me: You have a tiny wiener. I hope your next girlfriend chokes on it.

Yes. That right there was possibly my finest hour.

Brooke

The last four weeks have been hell on earth.

Brody and I are still living in the same house, in different rooms, and at each other’s throats the whole time. Both of us are too stubborn to move out, which is only making the situation worse by the day. In all fairness, he has offered to buy me out, and I am seriously considering it. However, there is a part of me, a big part, that thinks Brody should be the one to go. After all it was he who ended our relationship.

Brody thinks that I’m being deliberately obtuse and not moving out just to spite him. As he so nicely reminded me last night, as we got into another blazing fight, he can afford to buy me out but can’t afford to buy his share. The fight ended in a lot of door slamming, me calling him a selfish bastard, and Brody heading out. Where he went, I haven’t a clue, but I did notice that he didn’t come home until three in the morning.

Come to think of it, Brody has been spending more and more time going out in the evenings. He thinks I don’t notice, but I do. As a couple, we rarely went out, preferring to spend our time at home together. Now, I’ll be lucky if I see him for more than ten minutes in any given day of the week.

It stings.

It stings that he makes more of an effort with his appearance—taking a shower and changing his clothes before he goes out. He rarely bothered when we were together.

It hurts that I can overhear the conversations he has on his cell, and from that, I found out that he was already dating someone new.

Didn’t take long to be replaced, did it?

Fucking Joely Baxter and her fake tits.

Why didn’t he tell me? I had to listen to him cooing to her over the phone and calling her baby.

I hate him.

They have plans to go out tonight as well.

Wonderful.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Brody stands in front of me looking like perfection. His dark hair is neatly styled; he’s wearing a gray button down shirt that matches his eyes and what looks to be a new pair of jeans.

“I’m going out.”

“Great.” I fake a smile. “Have a nice time.”

“I’m not sure what time I’ll get back.”

“Try not to make too much noise.” I have no idea why he’s telling me this, he doesn’t usually.

“K,” he says as he picks his keys up off the counter.

“Brody?”

“Yeah.” He turns back around to look at me.

“Just…don’t bring her back here. Please.”

He stares at me for a long moment before answering. “I won’t.”

“Oh my God, Brooke. You’d love it here!”

It’s midnight, Brody still isn’t home from his date, and for the last hour or so I’ve been catching up with Hope via Facetime.

“Seriously. My neighbor, Jake, is H.O.T. He’s a stripper or something.” She laughs. I laugh too, happy that she’s happy. She deserves it after everything she went through with Caden.

“And it’s warm most of the year.”

“I don’t know, Hope. I just can’t up and leave my life here.”

“Sure you can.” She smiles. “I don’t mean to sound mercenary, but what exactly do you have there?”

“Plenty.”

“Like?”

“My job, my friends.” I stop myself before I blurt out Brody.

“A job you hate, and you can always keep in contact with people. There are these newfangled things called phones, email, and the Internet. You wouldn’t have to put up with frozen eyeballs each winter. Plus, you’ll make loads of new friends here. I have. Everyone is so friendly. They’d love you.”

“Hey, if you can introduce me to that hot neighbor of yours, then we’ll have a done deal, missy.” I tease without any humor. Hope being Hope notices my sudden change in mood.

“Seriously, Brooke, I miss you. I miss my sister,” she says sadly.

“I miss you too, piglet,” I say, pressing my fingers to my lips and blowing her a kiss, which she pretends to catch.

“It would do you so good leaving that place behind. Leaving all those memories in the past.” She gives a little shudder.

“Brody’s dating someone.” I blurt out.

“Oh, Brooke. How do you feel about that?”

“Like my heart is a piece of glass with a crack in it. That crack gets bigger and bigger with each passing day.”

“Honey…”

“I’ll have to pull my big girl panties up and get on with it, won’t I?” I say with a sigh. “It was bound to happen sooner or later.”

“Come live with me. Please?” she pleads. “I hate the idea of you having to sit on the sidelines while Brody moves on with his life. You’ll just end up dead inside, and before you say anything,” she says quickly before I can interrupt, “I know that from bitter experience. You know as well as I do that those McAllister boys aren’t exactly lacking in admirers. I wouldn’t put it past some woman to try and get herself knocked up by Brody so that he’ll put a ring on it.”

“That wouldn’t happen. Brody’s more savvy than that.”

“I thought Cade was too and look what happened there.”

“I don’t know, Hope. It’s a big change for me. I’d be uprooting my life. My job might be boring but it’s steady.”

“You told me yourself that you’ve got to move, and that you can’t afford to buy Brody out. You’ll have to find somewhere else to live soon. Why not cut your losses and make a clean break? Come live with me. My apartment is plenty big for the two of us. We could even get a cat…”

“And hot neighbors.” I grin.

“And hot neighbors,” she repeats with a laugh. “Just promise you’ll think about it, okay?”

“I promise.”

The sound of the front door slamming shut makes me look up from the computer screen.

“Brody home?” Hope asks.

“Yeah. I better go. Don’t want him thinking I waited up for him.”

“No problem. Bye, B.”

“Bye, piglet,” I say, pressing the red button to end our conversation.

With a huge lack of enthusiasm, I get out of my nice warm bed and pad over to the bedroom door in order to close it. Just as I reach it, I hear a distinctly female giggle, followed by a very male, very Brody groan.

No.

He wouldn’t.

He promised.

The female voice giggles again and I hear a thump, as if two bodies are colliding with a wall.

I can hear Brody’s familiar rumble but can’t make out what he’s saying. The female voice lets out a high-pitched shriek, then a long, low moan.

Judging by the increasing closeness of the sounds of the voices, I would say that they will be in the hallway in three…two…one.

“I want you so bad.” Brody gasps, while my heart starts its slow, painful splinter into two.

“I.”

Kiss.

“Want.”

Kiss.

“You.”

Kiss.

“Too.”

I’d recognize those nasally tones anywhere.

Joely Baxter.

I bite down hard on the back of my hand as I hear them grunt and groan right outside my door. I can hardly breathe as now both my hands are clamped over my mouth, making it impossible for the wail of anguish that wants to rip from me to have a voice.

“Do you have protection?” Joely gasps.

“I…yeah,” Brody answers with a moan.

No. Please. No. Don’t do this to me. You promised.

“This your room?” I feel the push on the other side of my door. Any second Brody and Joely are going to come tumbling into my room. Then it’s real. My worst nightmare. Brody is going to have sex with another woman, and I’ll have to listen to them go at it.

I was his one and only. I thought I was special, but I guess I’m not.

“NO,” Brody says roughly, and the pressure on my door eases up. “My room’s this way.”

I hear a thump, then Joely lets out a belly laugh.

“Jesus, Brody, how much did you have to drink?”

“Too much.” He laughs. “Now come here.”

The door to his room slams shut and I hear more giggling. A few minutes pass and the “Oh Gods” start. I dress as quickly as I can, fleeing the house before I’m forced to hear more.

As I run down the steps of our porch, I notice that Lola’s lights are on. Like a moth to a flame, I sprint over to her house and hammer on her front door.

“LOLA. OPEN UP. PLEASE, LOLA. Please be in...please.” I cry before my exhausted, heartbroken body gives out on me and I end up a sobbing heap on the floor of her porch.

“Brooke?” A bright light washes over me, and the next thing I know Lola has her arms around me, rocking me back and forth. “Brooke, honey, what on earth happened to you?”

“B-B-B…rod.”

“Shhhhh.” She coos. “Come on. Let’s get you inside, safe and sound.”

I feel a gentle tug on my arm as Lola helps me to my feet and ushers me inside. Without a word, she guides me past her living room to her guest room. I stand silent as she pulls back the bed covers, smoothing them down before taking my hand and leading me over to the comfy looking bed. Lola places her soft hands on each shoulder, pushing me down until I sink on the mattress.

“Just goin’ to take your shoes off, sugar, then I’ll get you somethin’ to help you sleep,” she says with a tender smile. I remain dumbstruck as she helps me lay back, fussing around me as she tucks me in. “Be right back, hun.”

In my near catatonic state, I don’t notice that Lola has left the room until she hands me a mug of hot brandy.

“Now you drink that up. You hear? That’s my grandma’s recipe for when life has done you ill. Nothing but good ole brandy mixed with a little bit of honey and hot water. It’ll sooth a soul sent straight to hell, according to Grandma. Drink it all and then you can tell me what happened.”

I don’t even get that far. The effects of the strong alcohol quickly sends me off into a dreamless sleep while I curse the day I ever met Brody McAllister.

Brody

It’s not the bright light streaming through my window that wakes me. It’s not even the pounding headache or the ache in the small of my back. It’s the feel of unfamiliar arms wrapped around me, the alien scent of the person who is currently sharing my bed.

I manage to open one eye, carefully turning my head so it doesn’t explode, to see long brown hair spread over my pillows. Hair that doesn’t belong to Brooke.

Oh God! What have I done?

I try to remember what happened last night but draw a blank. The guilt though, that’s instantaneous.

The arms tighten, trying to pull me deeper into the embrace.

“Brooke!”

I push back, leaping out of the bed as fast as possible, looking around my room to try and locate my clothes. I finally find my jeans at the bottom of my bed, underneath a purple pair of panties.

No. No. No.

I quickly pull on my jeans and a dirty t-shirt from my laundry basket. I need to find Brooke, I need to make this right. I leave my bedroom, just as the woman in my bed starts to stir, and run to Brooke’s room as fast as I can. Her bedroom door is slightly ajar. I push on it lightly and step into her room.

“Brooke? Sweetheart?” Her bed is unmade and there’s no sign of her. I check the en suite bathroom, then head to the kitchen, the study, and finally the living room. She’s not here. She’s gone.

What have I done?

“So. Are you at least going to offer me some coffee?” I look up to see a very smug looking Joely leaning against the door frame.

“What are you doing here, Joely? Why were you in my bed?”

“Don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten me already? Some impression I made.”

I try to think back to last night. I remember going to the party, drinking, drinking some more, arguing with Joely, drinking more, kissing Joely, asking her back here…Shit.

“Did we…”

“Did we what?” she asks, one eyebrow raised.

“Did we…you know,” I say, gesturing between us.

“Did we have sex? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“Yeah,” I mumble.

“Yes, we did.”

I let out a long groan and place my head in my hands. This can’t be happening.

“Gee. Thanks. Make a girl feel appreciated why dontcha.”

I can’t deal with Joely and her snarky attitude. I can’t believe that I slept with her, she was the last person on this planet I wanted in my bed. This is so fucked up.

“Tell me that we at least used protection?” I growl, walking to my room. Joely trots along behind me.

“Yeah. Why?” she asks.

“Because the last thing I want is to be tied to your skank ass for the next eighteen years,” I say, shoving her clothes into her arms. “Now get dressed and then get the hell out.”

“Awwww, come on, Brody. We could be so good together.” She purrs, reaching for my arm.

“This ends now, Joely. You’ve gotten what you wanted. I ended things with Brooke, and after last night, I’ve probably lost her forever. I’ll pay back the money I owe, but I will not be blackmailed by you anymore.”

“Just make sure you do, asshole,” she says as she hastily pulls her clothes on. “You know what’ll happen otherwise. You think it’s bad now? I’ll make your and your family’s lives one hundred times worse if I don’t get my money.” She walks over to where I’m standing, taking advantage of the fact that I’m rooted to the spot. “I’ll make sure everyone knows the McAllister family’s dirty secrets.” She leans forward and places a tiny kiss by my ear, then whispers, “Everyone.” She steps back, giving me an insincere smile before walking out of the room. “I want my money by the end of the month,” she yells back to me. It’s only when I hear the sound of the door slam that I start to breathe again. My legs give way and I find myself on the floor with my back against the wall.

How the hell did my life end up like this?

If I had to answer a few months back, I’d have said that I was on top of the world. I had everything that I’d wanted in life. Engaged to my beautiful childhood sweetheart—the love of my life—owned my own home, and my business was booming. That was all I needed. Or I thought I did.

Boring.

That’s what Cade said I’d become.

A boring old man.

My younger brother was out there living the dream. Adored by millions. More money than you could shake a stick at. He had a different girl in his bed each night. All because he wasn’t afraid to leave this shitty, little town.

What he said hit home. I’d never done anything that wasn’t expected of me. Suddenly, it felt like I was missing out on something. Life was passing me by and I hadn’t really experienced it. So, I did what I thought best. I ended it with Brooke and started to live the life of a single man. Only, my heart refused to believe that Brooke and I weren’t together any longer.

I tried going out. Tried talking to the women that flocked to me at the bars I went to. What I didn’t expect was the guilt I felt when I so much as looked at another woman, crippling guilt that made me stutter so much that whoever I was with would walk off in disgust. If I’m honest, none of the women I spoke to could hold a candle to Brooke.

Brooke. I should go find her and apologize for bringing Joely home. She didn’t deserve the level of disrespect that I showed her last night. There might be a small chance that she didn’t overhear anything, but knowing the way my luck has gone recently, she probably heard everything.

God, I miss her, and now I’ve probably lost her forever because I had sex with Joely Baxter of all people—just like my dear old dad and Cade did. Apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, does it?

Jesus. Everything is a fucking mess.

My Dad and Joely.

My asshole father and that bitch.

A stand-up pillar of the community, Alasdair ‘Dair’ McAllister had a fling with the town tramp, and now he’s a daddy again. I have, according to Joely, a half sister that was conceived around the time that Brooke’s parents were killed. While we were all mourning, my dad decided to fuck an eighteen-year-old girl and not use protection. I knew Joely had a kid. I knew that no one knew who the father was. The gossips in the town have spent years speculating who it was. Not once was my father’s name thrown into the ring…not one person in this town would think that my dad would do something like that. Not Dair McAllister. No, he wouldn’t cheat on his beautiful wife, Judy. No way, not him. Just goes to show that you don’t really know anyone.

I only found out a few weeks back about Kyan being my half sister. Joely had gotten into a snit over the payments my father was giving her. She thought by coming to see me at work and spilling hers and my dad’s sordid little secret that she would get what she wanted—more money.

I refused at first, but then she threatened to tell my mom. My sweet, gentle mom, who loves my father to the moon and beyond, and who would be destroyed if she ever found out that my dad hadn’t remained faithful to her.

That was enough to get my attention. I couldn’t care less what happened to my father anymore, but I couldn’t let her hurt my mom like that. So, I made a deal with her. I would pay her $2,000 each month, and for that she would remain silent. This worked out for a month or so, until Joely demanded more. She dropped the bomb on me that she’d not only slept with my father, she’d also slept with Cade around the same time—so the poor kid could be my dad’s or my brother’s.

Joely thought that the media would love that. Father and son fucking the same woman and she didn’t know who the father was. She didn’t want extra money this time…she wanted me. That’s where we are now—everyone has to think that we’re dating. I feel sick every time I have to call her baby.

By having sex with her, I’ve screwed things up big time. It’s legitimized our relationship in her eyes.

How sick is it that Joely’s fucked three guys in the same family and I get the short straw by trying to do the right thing.

The front door slams and I’m confronted with the consequences of my shitty decisions. I didn’t expect to feel so…so guilty.

Brooke stands before me—no makeup, hair at all different angles, face puffy and eyes red and raw from crying. She doesn’t just look upset, she looks devastated. It’s in this exact moment that I know that this woman is everything to me. She’s all I’ve ever wanted and needed.

I’m the stupidest motherfucker in the world because I didn’t see what was right before my eyes and now…now I’ve lost the best damn thing that ever happened to me. I should never have let Caden get to me.

“You okay?” It’s a dumb question to ask.

“No. I’m not.” She moves past me, toward our bedroom.

“Can we talk?”

“No, I don’t think we can.”

“Just let me explain, please?” I plead. Brooke’s body is turned away from me, she tilts her head to the ceiling, as though trying to summon up some strength.

“There’s nothing to explain, Brody. What you did last night is all the explanation that I need.”

“Can you at least look at me?” I ask gently.

“I don’t want to look at you right now. I don’t even know if I want to see you ever again.”

“But we live together.” Panic rises in my gut.

“I’ll move out. Then you can get on with your life like you want.”

“No, you don’t have to,” I say, scrubbing my hand over my face. “Look, I’m gonna be gone for three days; I’ve got that trade show out of state. You’ll have a few days without me and when I get back, we’ll talk. Really talk.”

“I doubt it’ll change anything, Brody.”

“Brooke, please…please just turn around.” I drop down to my knees, even this doesn’t persuade her to look at me. “I know I’ve fucked up, but at the very least, don’t throw away over twenty-five years of friendship.” I drop my head to my chest, sending up a silent prayer to anyone that’ll listen. “I don’t know what I’d do without my best friend, my love…without you.”

Brooke lets out a snort of derision. “You’ve been doing just fine the last few months and I’m sure you’ll be fine in the future. Nearly every woman in this town wants to warm your bed, so I doubt that you’ll have trouble in that area.”

Her voice is close, and I realize that she’s now standing directly in front of me. I look up to see that her arms are folded across her chest. There is no trace of the brokenness I saw earlier, only ice-cool disdain. I know every one of Brooke’s emotions. I know when she is happy, I know when she is sad, and I know every single emotion in between, but this? This is different. I’ve been on the receiving end of her anger but I’ve never seen this before. For the first time ever I don’t know what she’s thinking or how she’s feeling, and that scares the hell out of me.

“It wasn’t me, Brody,” she continues, “who threw away all our years of friendship. That one is all on you. Honestly? As your longtime ex…whatever, I want you to know that I think you’ve been a pretty lousy friend recently. I wouldn’t have treated my worst enemy the way you’ve treated me. You made our relationship toxic.”

“Give me a chance, please.” I’m begging now.

“Like you gave me? You get to treat me like crap and I’m supposed to go ‘Yeah that’s okay, keep kicking me while I’m down?’” She does the wrinkled nose thing, which means that she’s pissed. Shit. “You get to screw other women in my presence, hurting me, but that’s okay because you want to be my friend? No. Friends don’t do that to one another. They don’t keep shitting on them from great height and then expect everything to go back to the way it was. You don’t get to do that, Brody. You don’t get to break my heart and then expect me to welcome you back with open arms. Don’t expect me to be here when you get back.” She stares at me awhile, then storms into her room, slamming the door behind her.

The next morning I leave to go to the trade show. I try to contact Brooke but she’s blocked my number. She won’t pick up the home phone and she removed me from all social media. I doubt that she’ll read the letter I left behind in the kitchen. I spend the entire three days thinking about her. I’m so consumed with those thoughts that the show is a major bust. It’s with a lot of relief when I start the journey home. I’m hoping that she’ll have cooled down by the time I get there, maybe she’ll be more willing to listen to me and I can start to repair the broken pieces of our relationship.

The house is in darkness by the time I arrive back. Not one single light is on to welcome me home. Brooke’s car is missing from the driveway, and I feel a pang of disappointment but figure that she’s probably working late, which will work in my favor.

I grab the overpriced flowers that I bought from the swanky store I stopped off at a few hours back. I also pick up the small box containing one of those fancy charm bracelets that she’s been dropping hints about for a while. I would have gotten us take-out from her favorite restaurant but they were closed, so I picked up the ingredients to make Brooke one of her favorite meals instead.

I’m juggling all this and my duffel bag when I spy Lola standing on her front porch staring at me.

“Hi, Lola,” I say, giving her a nod.

“Brody.” She acknowledges me, then walks back into her house.

Strange. Lola is normally much more talkative than that. Last time I came back from one of the shows, she kept me talking for so long that Brooke texted me to ask if she needed to file a missing person’s report. I shrug it off and turn the key in the lock.

“Hey, I’m back,” I call, with the tiniest of hope that Brooke’s home and that she left her car at work. I’m greeted by silence.

Something’s not right.

My body gives an involuntary shudder from the lack of warmth in the house. Maybe that’s it.

I walk through to the kitchen in darkness, not even bothering to turn the lights on, and place the flowers and food on the countertop. I haul my duffle bag onto my shoulder and head to my bedroom and dump it on the bed. I’ll unpack it later.

Heading back to the kitchen, I grab a beer from the ones I bought earlier and pad to the living room. I figure that Brooke won’t be home for a while yet, so I’ll watch TV then start dinner. When I turn the lights on, I see why I had that odd feeling.

All the photos of us have disappeared, only the empty frames remain. As I look closer, I can see that most of Brooke’s stuff is gone. Only a few bits remain, scattered here and there, as though she left in a hurry. The beer can drops from my hand, spilling its contents across the hardwood floor, but I ignore it, turning around and around in circles as the panic rises.

“BROOKE!” I scream as I’m jolted from my shock. “Brooke?” I try again, sprinting to our room, and shoving the door open so hard that it splinters as it hits the wall. The bed is stripped, the closet and drawers are open and empty. Everything that belonged to Brooke is gone. A quick check of the bathroom tells the same story.

“No.”

I walk back out into the bedroom, sitting heavily down on the bed as I look numbly around me. The room looks as cold and empty as I feel. I take my cell out of my back pocket and try Brooke’s number again.

“The number you have dialed has not been recognized.”

I try Hope’s cell but get the same message. Who else would know where Brooke has gone… Cade? No. Mom? She’s really pissed at me for splitting up with Brooke in the first place, and I doubt Brooke would have told her she was leaving. Not that Mom would give up Brooke’s location anyway. That would leave her asshole boss. He must know where she’s gone.

As I search through my contacts list so that I can make the call, a tiny flash of light from Brooke’s side of the bed catches my eye. Sitting on the nightstand, on top of an envelope baring my name, is her engagement ring. With a trembling hand, I pick up the ring and the letter. For safe keeping, I put the ring on the leather cord that I habitually wear around my neck, and turn my attention to the letter.

My hands are still shaking as I open it and read the words Brooke has written.

Brody,

By now you’ve probably worked out that I’ve gone. I’ve left my keys with Lola, please don’t ask her where I am, she’s sworn to secrecy, also it’s no longer any of your business. Don’t make her feel uncomfortable. So that you don’t worry, here’s a list of things you should know. I’ll lay it out in simple terms for you. (You don’t deserve this btw, but if it keeps you off my back…)

Location—I’m going somewhere safe. Don’t bother asking anyone in town where I’m going. I didn’t tell anyone other than Lola.

Work—I gave my two weeks’ notice, but was let go early as I had vacation time.

Ring—I didn’t think it was right to keep the ring, so please feel free to give it to the next poor sucker.

Don’t contact me, or Hope. We won’t answer. Ever.

Money—I’ve taken the money I put into the joint checking account. You have my personal account details, so I’d appreciate you sending me my share of the house. If you don’t, then you’ll be hearing from my attorney.

Photos—All the photos that I could find of us together have been destroyed. I didn’t see the point in keeping any. Same goes with any mementoes or things you’ve given me. I have no need for any of it.

Stuff I’ve left behind—If I’ve left any of my things behind, then please get rid of them. Send them to Goodwill or something.

That’s it, I think.

It’s sad that it’s come to this.

I hope you find whatever it is that you’re looking for. I only wish you’d told me sooner how you felt. I wouldn’t have wasted the last few years of my life hoping for something that was never to be.

Have a nice life.

Brooke

As soon as I finish reading the letter, I crumple it up into a ball and hurl it across the room. I don’t stop there. The mattress gets overturned, as do the bedside tables, and curtains are ripped away from the window. By the time I’m finished, my house has been completely trashed. The bigger pieces of furniture and the items Brooke left behind have survived, but not much else.

My hands are bloody and torn, peppered with shards of glass from smashing the mirrors. I should probably go to the emergency room, but right now I don’t care. Instead, I drop to my knees, curl up in a tight ball, and do something that I haven’t done since I was a kid.

I cry.

Brooke

“Broooooooke!”

As soon as I get out of my car, I’m nearly knocked on my ass by a one hundred and twenty pound, auburn-haired goddess flinging her arms around me, and hugging me tight as though she never wants to let me go.

“I missed you so much.” Hope smiles, stepping back. “How was the drive?”

“Long.” I remove the sunglasses I’ve been wearing for most of the three days that it’s taken me to drive to Arizona, and rub my eyes. Hope’s not fooled though, a look of pity passes over her face when she catches sight of my swollen, red eyes.

“Oh, B,” she says, taking my hand in hers. That’s all it takes to set me off again. How I got here in one piece, I’ll never know. I had to keep stopping because I was crying so hard I couldn’t see the road ahead of me. There were several times that I almost turned the truck around to head back home. What stopped me was my brain replaying the sounds of another woman being fucked by the man I love. The man who I was, until very recently, supposed to marry.

After the confrontation I’d had with Brody, I knew that there was no way I could go back to sticking my head in the sand. Not after everything that had happened. The once happy home we’d shared would forever be tainted by the fact that he’d screwed someone else there. It would only serve as a painful reminder that I was no longer Brody’s one and only.

If I couldn’t cope with Brody sleeping with another woman, then there was no way I’d be able to sit back and watch as he moved on with someone else entirely. All the while having to endure the faux sympathetic looks from the so-called great and good of the town. I could just hear them talking about me.

Oh, that Brooke? Well she and Brody were engaged, you know. Poor thing, thinks that he’s going to beg her to come back. I would think after he and Joely had their fifth child last month, she would figure out that ain’t going to happen…

I knew that I had a three-day window until Brody returned from his trade show. As soon as he left that day, I’d started to put my plans into motion. First thing I did was head into work to hand in my notice.

Having already called Hope to take her up on her offer of a place to stay, the only thing left to do was pack my belongings and fit everything that I could into my car. It was as Lola was helping with the last few things that I’d looked around to see all the photos of Brody and me on the walls. Against Lola’s warnings, I’d torn each and every one down, then burned them in the fireplace. It was possibly the most cathartic experience I’d ever had. So much so that I’d headed to the computer and deleted all photos of us, blocked his number from my cell, and removed all traces that Brody and I had ever been together from social media. By the time I was finished, hardly anything had remained. The last thing I did, before shutting the door on my former life, was to write Brody a note and leave my engagement ring where he’d find it. Then I’d grabbed my bag, walked out the door, and didn’t look back.

I spent my last night at Lola’s, bidding her a tearful goodbye before getting into the truck and heading to my sister’s and my new life. I swore as I headed out of Emmerton that I’d shed no more tears over Brody McAllister. Unfortunately, while my head knew that Brody and I were finished, my heart had, and is still having, a little trouble catching up to the fact. The tears started as I crossed the state line, and they haven’t stopped yet.

“Come on. Let’s get you settled inside,” Hope says as she links her arm through mine. “You can freshen up, then I’ll show you around.”

“What about the stuff in the truck?”

“Jake and Louis said they’d unload it.”

“Jake and Louis?”

“My neighbors.” She laughs as she looks over her sunglasses, waggling her eyebrows as if I’d know who the hell she was talking about. “You know. Jake…”

Jake…Jake…oh that Jake.

“Hot Jake? The stripper?”

“Performance artist, I’ll have you know,” a deep voice says, making me jump. I spin around as I try to locate the source of the voice, only to be confronted by one of the sexiest guys I have ever seen. He’s leaning against the side of a black Camaro, his arms folded across his massive chest. His massive, shirtless chest, showing off his very defined eight-pack and V dip which leads to his jean clad legs that can barely hide the large bulge in his groin area.

Holy. Mother. Of. God.

“Hello,” he says, pushing off the car and walking toward us. “Eyes up here, pretty girl. Look at the face. Not the package.”

I keep my eyes firmly on the ground, unable to look at the guy through sheer embarrassment. I’m sure my face and eyes are now both a fetching shade of crimson, which will complement the reddish tones in my hair, making me look like a tomato.

“Hey, Jake.” Hope purrs.

So this is Jake. My temporary new neighbor. Ground, please swallow me whole now.

“Hey, Hopeless.” I look up to see a shit eating grin spread across his handsome face. “You going to introduce me to…” He holds out one large hand to me. The other he uses to push his aviators on top of his light brown hair, revealing midnight-blue colored eyes.

Ground, are you listening? Swallow me up right now.

“This is my big sister, Brooke.” Hope returns Jakes grin as she nudges me in the side. “She’s just a bit…tired.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Brooke,” he says, stepping forward to take my hand in his. “Even if the cat has got your tongue. I’m Jake Steele.”

Hope elbows me in the side again.

“Yeah, you too.” I manage.

“She speaks!” Jake laughs.

“Asshole,” I mumble.

“Feisty.” He nods. “I like it.”

I roll my eyes, and turn to Hope. “Is he always like this?”

“Yeah.” She giggles.

“Okay.” I take a deep breath. “Hi, let me reintroduce myself,” I say, shaking Jake’s hand. “I’m Brooke, Hope’s older sister. Just a few things you should know so that you don’t think I’m crazy. I’ve just had possibly the second worst week of my life; I won’t go into details, but I’ve left behind my whole life. It’s taken me three very long, tiring days to get here. What I could really do with right now is a drink. I’m sorry I looked at your crotch, but I was only wondering if you stuff socks down your pants or something.”

“You did, huh?” The look on Jake’s face is priceless. A mixture of pride and amusement and a little bit of embarrassment.

“Yep.” I manage to smile, the hurt of the past forgotten temporarily.

“Well. I…uh,” Jake says, rubbing the back of his neck. For a moment he looks quite bashful, until I catch the wicked glint in his eye. I think I’m going to have to keep an eye on this one. “Well, I can guarantee you that what you see is the real deal, sweetheart. I don’t need socks. I could give you a demonstration if you’d like?” He winks.

Definitely trouble.

“Ewwww. No. I don’t know where you’ve been.” My nose wrinkles in disgust.

“In your dreams?” He smirks.

“In Lord knows how many women’s vaginas, more like.”

“And you know it.”

I shake my head in amusement at this overly confident, relentless, sexy ass.

“Listen. How about Louis and I unload your car? Then we’ll pick you and Hope up. We can go out for celebratory drinks.”

I glance at Hope, who nods her head encouragingly, then back at Jake.

“Ummm…I don’t know. Thanks, but…”

“I’d like to be your friend, Brooke,” he says quickly. “I think you could do with one. No offense, Hope.”

“None taken.”

“Look, I really appreciate it…” I look between Jake and Hope.

“But?” Jake asks.

“But I’m really tired after the drive, and if I’m honest, I don’t feel like celebrating. Probably, won’t for a very long time. I appreciate the offer and all, but I just want to slouch in front of the TV with a pint of ice cream and cry. Like I said, I’ve had a crappy week—”

“All the more reason to come to the club tonight,” he says brightly.

“I need to grieve.” I finish.

“That settles it. WE are going out tonight, my treat. You’ll be our VIP guests.” Jake holds out his hand. “Now give me your keys and I’ll unload the heap of junk that you call a car. You go inside. Do what you need to do. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

I stand there openmouthed as Hope takes the keys from me and gives them to Jake. He winks at her, puts his shades back on, and jogs toward my car.

“Come on, B. Looks like we have a date tonight.”

“He just completely ignored what I said.”

“He’s like that.”

“He’s an arrogant ass.” I fume as Brooke drags me by the arm toward her apartment building. “Where does he get off speaking to me like that?” Hope snorts in derision as she guides me through the network of brightly painted doors. “You were no help.”

“It’s best just to let him get on with it.”

“Bullying people?”

“He’s not a bully, Brooke,” she says, stopping at an orange door. “He’s a good guy and he likes you.” She pushes the door open with her shoulder and beckons me inside.

This is the first time that I’ve seen Hope’s new apartment. It’s compact and cute, much like Hope herself. There’s very little here of Hope’s old life—a few pictures of her and me, some old ones with our parents, but that’s about it. I realize that she left a lot behind when she fled Emmerton last year. After what happened with Cade, she’d disappeared completely. One day she was at my table sobbing because Cade had reduced her life to an international joke, and the next day she was gone. After she’d been missing a few days, I’d filed a missing person report with the police and waited and waited.

Five months later, I’d received a phone call from her to say she was in Arizona. Hope wouldn’t tell me where exactly she’d gone or what she’d done, but she had told me that she had a new life, and that she was happy. The only thing Hope had asked me was that I didn’t tell Brody where she was. I’ll admit, at the time, I was a bit annoyed that I wasn’t allowed to share that information with him. After all, it was Brody who’d been my one beacon of light in the dark days after her disappearance from our lives. I understood her reasons though. Hope simply didn’t want Cade to find her. She chose to leave everything of her past behind. Seems to be a common theme in our family. Now, it’s my turn not wanting to be found by a McAllister brother, not that he would look for me. I guess he’s already making plans to move Joely in.

“And, finally, this is the kitchen.” Hope beams proudly as she interrupts my thoughts. I haven’t listened to a word she’s said since I walked in.

“Nice.”

“It’s small, but it’ll suit the two of us,” she says, wrapping her arms around me. “You’ll be so happy here, Brooke. Scottsdale is a whole world away from Emmerton, no more cold winters for a start.”

I give a weak smile at her enthusiasm. Personally, I’m not so convinced.

“You don’t need to worry about the guys next door,” she continues. “They’re great, you’ll love them, and the best part is the parties.”

“Hope.” I sigh. “I know what you’re doing and I’m not interested.”

“You say that now.” She laughs, stepping back to lean against the countertop. “Give it a month or so and you’ll be wanting to tap that.”

“Hope!”

“Seriously, they are all H.O.T. Each and every one of them.”

“Please don’t tell me that you’re sleeping with one of them.”

“And what if I am? Just because Cade is whoring himself out to anything with a pulse…”

I hold my hands up in defeat. “If it makes you happy…just make sure you use protection and don’t tell me about it. Ever.”

“I am careful, big sister, so you don’t need to worry. I’m just having some fun, I think I deserve it, and you do too. No strings attached sex with guys who look like gods could do you a world of good. Forget about Brody. As of now, he’s a mere memory in your world, don’t give him power over you. Don’t miss out on something great all because you’re hung up on the fact that he slept with some skank in your house. Repeat after me,” she says, taking my hands in hers. “He has no power over me.”

“He has no power over me.”

“Louder for the people at the back. HE HAS NO POWER OVER ME!”

“HE HAS NO POWER OVER ME. HE HAS NO POWER OVER ME.”

“That’s it!” she squeals in delight as I dance around her small kitchen. A loud thump on the wall makes us both jump.

“Hey, girl power. We get it. He has no power over you, now can you shut the fuck up. I’m tryin’ to watch the game here,” a masculine voice yells from the other side of the wall.

“Sorry, Louis,” Hope shouts, flipping the wall the bird as she does so.

“Stop fucking swearing at me and get started baking. I need cupcakes, Cupcake.”

“Make them yourself,” she yells back.

“Don’t make me come round there and spank your sexy ass.”

“My sister is here.”

“Oh hey, Brooke,” Louis calls. “I don’t mind you watchin’. I’ve done sisters before.”

Hope makes a face that I think matches my own. What is it with these guys?

“Pig,” Hope shouts.

“Cupcakes,” Louis yells back.

“In your dreams, buddy.”

Louis lets out a deep sexy laugh. “You know it. Nice to speak to you, Brooke.”

“You too?” I say to the wall.

Hope grabs my hands and leads me toward her living room. We look at each other before bursting into laughter.

“They can’t hear in here.” She smiles.

“Are they always like that?”

“You mean are they always alpha assholes? Yep, but they’ve got hearts of gold, so don’t take what they say seriously. Louis is lovely by the way.”

“Have you…you know?” Hope’s grin is all the confirmation that I need. “Hope!”

“Brooke.” She smiles.

“But you were so down about Cade…”

“Things change, Brooke.”

“Things being a mysterious voice on the other side of the wall.”

“Things like having a threesome with your two hot neighbors, if you must know,” she singsongs, and primly sits down on the couch. My jaw drops in astonishment. “Oh close your mouth, Brooke. You’ll catch flies.”

“I’m trying to comprehend my baby sister having a threesome.”

“Best cure for a broken heart. You should try it.”

“Oh. My. God.”

“Hey, don’t knock it.”

I throw myself next to her on the couch, mirroring her position by tucking my feet underneath me. “So, are you in a relationship with them now?” Hope leans on her hand and sighs.

“No, it’s just a friends with benefits deal. I’m not ready for another relationship. Not yet anyway.” A sly smile spreads across her face. “Once you get settled in you could always…I’m sure Jake wouldn’t mind.”

“They like being treated as sex objects then?” I shake my head. “Not being treated as a person, just sex on tap by lonely women?”

“They strip for hundreds of adoring women, who want what’s in their pants, every single night. They’re young, sexy as hell, and single. Believe me, none of them want to settle down yet. They just want to have fun, and they want to have that fun with like-minded women.”

“Sounds…ideal?”

“Ideal for them. Look, I was the same as you, B, but Jake showed me that I don’t have to spend my life crying over someone. I can have fun as well. Just wait until you meet them all.”

“There’s more?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Don’t tell me you slept with them as well?”

“Not yet.”

“Dear God.”

“Hey. Like I said, I’m just having some fun, and if you got that stick out of your ass, you could too.”

“I’ve just come out of a very long-term relationship and like I said, I’m not ready to get involved with anyone just yet. Maybe never, and most definitely not just for sex. That’s not my style and I doubt I’ll be changing my mind anytime soon.”

“I’m sure you’ll change it when you meet the rest of the guys at the club tonight.”

“I’m not going.”

“Yes, you are. Besides Liam, Niall, and Zane are really looking forward to meeting you.”

“What are they, a One Direction tribute act?”

“No. They’re strippers.”

“Is there one called Harry as well?

“Huh?” I may have to disown my sister for her complete disinterest in pop music.

“Never mind. Why don’t you go? I’ll stay here.”

“Nope. You are coming with me to MOS whether you want to or not. I wasn’t going to say anything until you met all the guys, but Louis said that they may have an opening for you. His eyes lit up when I told him what you did for a living. I don’t think they like handling the financial side of the business much. Earning the money, yes. Making sure all the accounts tally, not so much.” Hope gets off the couch, and offers me a hand up. “And the best part is, that if they offer you a job and you take it, you’ll be working with me.”

“Okay.”

“You’ll at least come to the club then, to meet them I mean?”

“How can I say no?” I smile as Hope does a happy little jiggle.

“I promise that you won’t regret it. I swear I’m living the real-life version of Magic Mike.”

“I’m just going to meet them. Don’t get your hopes up, Hope.” I grin.

Hope waves her hand in dismissal. “I’m just glad you’re here, Brooke, and working with you would be the frosting on the cake. I’ve missed you so much,” she says, burying her head in my shoulder like she used to do when we were little kids.

“I missed you too, piglet…I’ve missed you, too.”

Brooke

There is a line around the block as we drive past the entrance to MOS in Jake’s Camaro. Hope is riding shotgun up front. I’m in the back, sandwiched between Louis and Harry, sorry Liam, I think. If the car crashed right this moment, I could think of worse ways to die.

“What time did you say you open?” I ask the blond-haired, blue-eyed man sitting beside me.

“Doors open at eight.” Louis answers absentmindedly as he takes in the long line.

“But it’s only just turned six.”

“We’re popular guys.” He shrugs, on my right Liam’s body shakes as he tries to suppress a laugh. “Looks like we’re going to have a good night.”

“And all those people are happy to wait outside for another couple of hours to see you?” I blow out a breath. “Wow.”

“They,” Louis says, making as much of a sweeping gesture as he can within the cramped confines of the car, “know what they like, and they like us.”

“We’ve got a loyal following across the state,” Liam chips in. “We started small, doing a few gigs here and there. Word spread, we increased our social media presence, and boom, here we are,” he says as Jake pulls into a reserved parking space at the back of the club.

“Right then,” Jake says, turning in his seat to face us. “Let’s get you in the building, Brooke. I’ll give you a quick tour. Louis can show you the books—see if it’s something you could do, then you can either sit in the VIP booth or off stage so you can watch us. Up to you. That sound good?”

I nod my head in agreement. Jake flashes me a huge grin, pulls his ever present shades over his eyes, then says, “Show time,” as he opens the car door.

“Jake!”

“Hey, baby.”

“Liam, you never called.”

“Louis, be my baby daddy.”

As soon as we exit the car, the boys are surrounded by a large group of scantily clad women. Hope takes a hold of my elbow, pulling me toward the stage door before I’m crushed by the onslaught. It’s a great relief when the door slams shut behind us.

“Who were they?”

“Groupies.” Hope shakes her head and continues striding forward into the heart of the venue.

“They have groupies?”

“Yeah.” She turns to face me and rolls her eyes. “It’s the reason why they’re all so big-headed.”

“Heard that,” a gruff voice says behind me, and I turn to see a tall, gorgeous African-American guy with the most stunning green eyes.

“Hey, Zane.”

“Hey, Phoenix.” He grins, picking Hope up with ease and spinning her around. “Thought you weren’t working tonight.” He gently puts her down, reaching out with his large hand to brush a random hair away from Hope’s face.

“I’m showing my sister the ropes.”

“Sister?” Zane turns, pinning me with his gaze. He studies me for a minute before a huge grin breaks out on his face. “Hi there…”

“Brooke,” I say, stepping forward to shake his hand. He takes me by surprise by pulling me in for a hug.

“Girl, you don’t look like a Brooke. You look like a Rogue to me.”

“He’s obsessed with comic books,” Hope stage whispers. “He likes to give people nicknames based on them.”

“I sure do. Welcome to the family, Rogue.” He laughs, releasing me from the bone-crunching hug.

“Thanks.” I grin as the gentle giant gives Hope the same treatment.

“I’ve gotta get myself oiled up for tonight’s show. If you’re around later, come find me and I’ll buy you a drink.” Zane winks as he places a dazed Hope on the ground.

As he walks away, I notice Hope staring at his mighty fine ass until he disappears around the corner. Not that I blame her.

“He was nice.”

“Yeah.” She sighs, and takes my hand again, leading me in the other direction from where Zane went. “He’s a nice guy. Real gentleman. He’s also off limits.”

“Oh.” I feel a pang of disappointment, which kind of shocks me. “Who’s the lucky girl?”

“Guy.” Hope corrects me.

“Guy?”

Hope nods her head, and surges forward, down the maze of corridors. I tug hard on her hand, forcing her to stop.

“Shut up! No way…not that it matters.”

“I know. I had the same reaction, and for your information, he’s bi.” She looks over her shoulder at me. “Long story, but he and Shane are really happy together. Shame that others can’t be happy for them,” she says cryptically. “Anyway, come on, we’ve got people to see before the shows start.” I struggle to catch up as she strides off.

There are people everywhere I look, each one of them giving Hope a smile or wave as we walk by. Some of the guys give her fist bumps, which she jokingly returns. I’ve not seen this side of Hope in a long time—the social butterfly who loves everyone and who everyone loves in turn. I thought she’d got lost when Cade…

“Here we are,” she chirps, not bothering to knock as she flings a door open. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this.

“Wow.”

“I know, right?” she says, walking over to the computer sitting on the biggest desk I’ve ever seen. I turn around in circles, trying to take it all in. Masculine and powerful are two words that spring to mind. The walls are painted a dark gray, accented with white, plain except for a single painting of a naked woman that looks like it cost a pretty penny. The wooden furniture complements the color on the walls. Dotted here and there are small, yet tasteful, statues of the human body. Everything looks expensive. Very expensive.

In the corner of the room is a top of the range coffee machine, but it’s the desk that draws back my attention. There is a bank of computer screens and other high-tech gadgetry, which I find odd, considering that I know what the venue is used for.

“This must have cost…”

“A fortune. Yes, it did.”

“And you say the person who owns this place makes their money solely from?”

“MOS is a strip club that caters to men and women,” Hope answers absentmindedly.

“Yeah, but it can’t make that much money. I mean look at all this,” I say, spinning around. “I recognize expensive when I see it, Hope.”

“Stripping is lucrative,” she says defensively.

“Please don’t tell me that they’re involved with anything illegal.”

“They’re not.”

“How would you know? You’re the bar manager.”

“I know quite a lot. Believe me, what they do is not illegal.”

“And believe me, this does not come from just running a club. If I’m not mistaken that little trinket over there”—I point to a sculpture of a male torso—“is worth more than my house and your apartment together.”

“How do you know that?”

“It’s from a series of works by Diablo,” I say, picking the statue up and checking the base for the telltale mark of the artist they call the Devil. Sure enough it’s there. “He made five in total and by the looks of it, all five are here.” I carefully replace the statue and step back. “They were bought as a set by a mystery buyer two years ago for twelve million dollars. Before you ask, Doc Barrowman bored me to tears during a physical exam last year. Apparently, he likes to dabble in antiques, alongside taking your blood pressure.”

“Oh.”

“As interesting as that was for you, it doesn’t explain how the hell you got caught up with whatever shady shit these guys are into, because,” I say quickly before she can interrupt me, “there is no way on this earth that stripping would make these affordable. However the guy who owns this place makes his money, I’m positive it’s not legal.” Hope doesn’t say a word—she just stares at me, arms folded across her chest. “I don’t like it, Hope. I don’t like the thought of you getting into trouble. Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t want to have to come visit you in jail.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Sarcasm drips from her tone. “But there really is no need to worry. Everything is above board. Orange just isn’t my color.”

“Ho…”

“You aren’t in sleepy little Emmerton anymore, Brooke. The cozy, little life you had is gone. Dead. If you want to go back, then be prepared to be humiliated some more by the people who were supposed to love and protect you. Do me a favor and watch your back, because I guarantee that you’ll be seen as a joke by people who you thought were your friends. I won’t stop you, if that’s what you want.” Hope perches herself on the corner of the large desk and sighs. “Or you can take a chance and see what life has to offer here. Stop questioning everything. Jake and the guys want to help you. It’s what they do, help the people who need helping, save the people that need saving. I trust them with my life. These guys saved me, Brooke. They picked me up when I was down, they dusted me off, helped me find a home, and gave me a job. They’re the good guys, but I’m warning you now, they won’t appreciate you sticking your nose in their business. If the guys want you to know, you’ll know.”

“Know what?” We both let out a little shriek at the sound of Jake’s voice. I turn to see him leaning against the door. I hadn’t heard him come in.

“Jake!” Hope looks like she’s been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to hear you defend my honor.” He gives me a shit eating grin as he walks past and takes a seat behind the desk. “So, Brooke, like Hope told you, what we do is one hundred percent legal. That’s all you need to know right now. As for how I can afford this shit”—he leans back in the chair, placing his feet on the desk—“I came into some money and I like art.”

Hope tries to muffle her laughter.

“I can see.” I look at the tattoos that adorn his arms, then up at his face. He’s changed his clothes since we got out of the car, now wearing a dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, and a vest. “Is that what you’re wearing for tonight? Very Christian Grey. What do you do? Have a bed on stage, tie your victim to it, and whip the shit out of her?”

“Believe me, the women we have on stage are anything but victims.” Jake’s smile is warm. “I like the idea though. I don’t think we’ve done a Fifty Shades routine.” He looks at Hope. “Why haven’t we ever done one?” Hope makes a face and shrugs. “Could you start working on something for the guys? Have a talk with Zane or Niall, see if they have any ideas. In fact go do that now. Brooke will be safe here with me.”

“You okay with that, Brooke? I won’t be too long.”

“Yes.” I hear myself say, which is exactly the opposite of what I’m thinking.

“Cool.” She flashes me a grin and disappears through the door.

“Soooo.” I look back to Jake and see that he’s now perched on the same corner of the desk as Hope was a few moments ago. “Now I have you all alone.” His tone is low, seductive. His eyes are full of heat. I start walking backward in the direction of the door.

“Uh…Umm…I…”

“Where are you going?” he asks, stalking toward me.

“To find Hope.” As my back hits the door, I start to fumble around for the handle. Why can’t I find the handle?

“I’ll ask again. Where do you think you’re going?” I cringe as Jake places his arms on either side of my head, boxing me in. For a moment I’m lost in his deep blue eyes, paralyzed with inaction. I feel a maelstrom of emotions—fear, loathing…longing? He seems to sense my confusion, using it to his advantage as he leans forward as if to kiss me, which brings me to my senses.

“Not so fast, buddy.” I put my hand on his face, pushing him back as I duck out from under his arms and move as far away from him as possible. Jake remains in the same position with his head down. “I don’t know what you think you were doing, but whatever it was, I’m not interested.” I seethe. “I’ve just broken up with my fiancé, not my choice by the way, and the last thing I want to do is make a mistake by jumping into bed with the first guy who shows me some attention. That’s not who I am. Now, I’m hurting, Jake, I’m hurting real bad. I’ve left behind my whole life, and what I can do with is a friend right now. Hope said that I can trust you, but from your actions just now, I’m not sure that I can.” Jake doesn’t respond to my words, instead he stays standing in the same position as when he tried to kiss me. Well now I have my answer—Hope was wrong, Jake’s an asshole, and I’ve had my fill of them. “You know what? I think I made a mistake coming here. It was nice to have met you. Now please, move out of my way.”

“Good.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said, good.”

“Am I missing something here? What’s good? The fact that you tried to kiss me and I turned you down, or that I gave you a big, long speech and not once did you have the decency to look at me?”

Jake pushes himself upright, turns and stalks past me.

“Do you want a beer or something?” he asks, opening up a cupboard door beneath the coffee machine to reveal a fully stocked refrigerator. “Or I have water, wine, cola, juice, some girly cocktail shit that your sister likes…”

“What?”

“I’ll put it in simple terms. Do you want a drink?”

“Are you crazy? I just told you…You just tried to…”

“Beer it is,” he says, grabbing a hold of two bottles, and placing one in front of me before he sits down at his desk and opens his.

“I’m just going to go,” I say, ignoring the beer and heading straight to the door.

“I’m not by the way.”

“Huh?” My hand stills on the door knob, and I twist my body so that I’m facing him.

“Not crazy. We’ll maybe a little bit.” Jake shrugs before taking a long draw of his beer.

“You are not making any sense right now, and I’m going.” I grimace.

“Wait. Please.”

“Look, Jake, I don’t know you from Adam. I don’t owe you anything. I’m confused as hell and, to be honest, just a tiny bit freaked out right now.”

He puts the bottle down on the desk and leans back in his chair. His dark blue eyes travel over my body. “Brooke, I’m not going to tell you that I’m not interested, because that would be a lie, but you’re vulnerable right now...”

“You just tried to kiss me!”

“Look, I know the feeling is mutual, but I just don’t do rebound flings. Sorry, babe.”

“B—”

“I know…I know. Don’t take it too personally. Maybe we can hook up in the future.”

“You can go fuck yourself, you…you psycho.” I rage as I press down the handle.

“Now, now, that’s no way to speak to your new boss.”

“You’re unbelievable!”

“No, I’m your boss,” he states calmly, while I seethe with rage.

“I don’t remember agreeing to work for you, asshat.”

“That’s one strike right there.”

“And I don’t find you attractive, you narcissistic bastard…”

“Strike two.” While his tone is bored, his face is smug. “Be aware that we operate a three strikes and you’re out policy here.” His smug smile grows bigger as he leans further back in his chair, placing his feet on his desk.

I’m seriously wondering if it’ll be worth the jail time just to wipe that smile off the douchebag’s face.

“But,” he says, placing both hands behind his head, “I’m willing to let you off with a warning this time.”

“I. Don’t. Work. For. You. Douchenozzle.” I grind out through gritted teeth.

“You do as of”—he takes his feet off the table and leans forward on the desk—“now. You see I need people I can trust to work for me. I also need people who won’t put up with my bullshit, and I need someone who doesn’t want to jump into bed with me. Do you know how hard it is to find someone like that?” I’m too stunned to answer. “I mean look at me. Anyway, you passed the test. Congratulations. Welcome aboard. You’re hired.”

“What if I don’t want to work for you?”

“You will. I’m a good boss, pay well, and you get all your benefits paid. I’ll find an apartment in the complex for you, that’ll come with the job.”

“Hang on. How can you afford that? From what I’ve seen, those apartments looked pretty pricy to me.”

“I own the apartment complex, all my employees live there. Officially I have a house in the swanky part of town.” He flashes me a brilliant smile. “I have a lot of money, Brooke. A lot of money, so you won’t need to worry about anything. I’m willing to offer you all that, if you come and work for me doing bookkeeping and shit. Hope told me you can do that stuff.”

“You could hire an accountant.”

“Nah, I’ve already got a few of those. I want you to work on my charity projects.”

“Like the Derek Zoolander School for Kids Who Can’t Read Good?”

“Snarky and feisty. I knew I’d like you. Plus admit it, you think I’m totally hot.”

“I think you’re an idiot.”

“So what do you say?” he says, ignoring my comment.

“I suppose I could work for you for a while.”

“Excellent.” Jake claps his hands together and springs to his feet. “Let me show you around the place.” He puts his arm around my shoulders and guides me out of his office. “You know, I think this might be the start of a beautiful friendship.”

“You’re insane.”

“I’ve made you forget about the shit in your life though, haven’t I?”

He’s right. I’ve not once thought of Brody.

Brody

“Christ, it smells like something died in here. Dad? You here?” I get no response, just a deafening silence. “Dad?” I yell again. “Where are you?”

I carefully step over the piles of dirty clothes and other detritus that litters the floor, taking great care not to disturb the new life forms growing in the take-out cartons filled with rotting food. My nose is buried in the crook of my arm as I try not to breathe in the toxic air, while I pick a path through the dump that my formerly spotless childhood home has become.

I eventually find my father passed out, face down in his bed, holding a picture of him and my mom on their wedding day. There’s an empty bottle of whiskey next to his head and an open bottle of pills of some kind.

“Dad! Jesus Christ. Dad? What the fuck have you done?”

I grab a hold of my old man, turning him so that he’s lying on his back. To my relief, he lets out a loud moan.

“Leave me alone,” he says, batting my hand away. “Just leave me to die.”

“How many have you taken, Dad?”

“Not enough. Now get lost.”

Ignoring him, I pick up the empty pill bottle. “I don’t think you’ll get far overdosing on antacids, Dad. Maybe the toilet.”

My father opens one gray eye to look at me. “I thought it’d be easier for your mom if I ended it. Can’t even do that right.”

“Come on,” I say, pulling him to his feet. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Just leave me here, Son.”

“To do what?”

“Die.”

“You’re drunk.”

“I miss your mom.”

“I know, Dad.” I put my dad’s arm around my shoulder, and lead him to the bathroom where I help him undress before dumping him in the shower. He starts to cry as I turn the water on. Great, heaving sobs that leave my once proud, strong father curled up in a ball as the water washes over him.

To say the last eight months have been bad is an understatement. Everything, everything, has changed for the worse. That happy life that I knew and loved is gone. My parents’ marriage is over. My business is not doing well. All because of one person…Joely. I wish that I’d never laid eyes on her. I’m being unfair. If I wasn’t such a jerk to Brooke, then she’d still be here. Joely wasn’t the one who hurt her, that was all me. I could have said no. That doesn’t change the fact that Brooke has disappeared. I have no clue where she is or what she’s up to. It’s driving me crazy that for the first time in forever I’m not part of Brooke’s life.

I’ve kicked myself every day since she left. I can’t believe I acted like such a douche to her. What guy in their right mind lets their perfect woman go? Me, evidently, and my father and my brother. We’re cursed men. Motherfucking cursed to fuck up the best things in our lives.

“Could you pass me a towel?”

Shit! I completely forgot about Dad.

“Sure.” He doesn’t say anything to me as I hand it to him; he doesn’t even look at me. He’s a sad sight to see. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone this broken. Not even when Cade cried in my arms over that trouble he got himself into, or me standing in front of my mirror every day. My father looks how I feel, like my heart and soul have been ripped from my body. I’m not familiar with this shell that my dad has become. I’m used to someone as strong and healthy as an ox, someone who’d laugh easily, someone who cared. I look at my dad now and see clothes hanging off his six foot frame; his face is drawn and gaunt, sunken.

I’m sure if I didn’t come and check on him every couple of days, he would lie in his bed drinking himself to death. He’s been suspended from his job as a deputy, so he hasn’t even got a job to keep him going.

Fucking Joely.

Why couldn’t Dad have just kept it in his pants for Christ’s sake? Then I wouldn’t have to be dealing with another shitstorm in my already very shitty life. I don’t blame Mom for leaving, not after she found out that Dad had been paying Joely to keep her quiet over their little fuckfest a few years back, and not after she discovered that Dad could be the father of Joely’s kid.

My parents have been together forever. Childhood sweethearts. They were supposed to live happily ever after. Not this…this wasn’t meant to happen to them.

Like me and Brooke.

Apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, does it?

“You can leave me, you know. You don’t have to hover. Go do some work or something,” Dad says, throwing the dirty towel on the even dirtier floor.

“Got nothing better to do than spend time with my dear old dad.” I try to smile but can’t quite manage it.

“Bullshit. You’ve got plenty better things to do than spend time with your good-for-nothing old man.”

“No, I don’t. Not when my old man tries offing himself with booze and antacids.”

“Don’t waste your time, Brody. I’m a lost cause.”

“I’ve taken the day off now.”

“You sure you can afford that?”

“I figure that you’re more important.”

He grunts in response and walks unsteadily to his bedroom. I follow behind, making sure that he doesn’t fall.

“I thought we could spend some time fixing the place up a bit,” I say, cringing as I look around. “It’s disgusting in here.”

“Don’t bother,” Dad says weakly as he pulls on a cleanish sweater. “There’s no point.”

“Dad. Nothing will change if you stay festering in this garbage pile feeling sorry for yourself. How will you get Mom back if you continue as you are? She’s not going to come back if you make no effort to show her that you’re sorry.”

“I am sorry!”

“Have you told Mom that?”

“Yeah.”

“And meant it?”

“Of course I fucking meant it.” He slams both his hands against the closet door. “She won’t listen.”

“Do you blame her?” I say, folding my arms across my chest, the McAllister Construction logo emblazoned on the tee that I threw on this morning when Mom called me in a panic because she hadn’t heard from Dad since last night. “If I was in Mom’s position…”

“Like you can talk.” Dad spits at me viciously before he topples backward on to the bed. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at his comical attempts to pull on his pants. He won’t let me help him, the last time I tried, he waved me away then ended up going to bed again as it was too much of an effort for him. “You sent Brooke running. Don’t see you telling her that you’re sorry.”

“That’s because I can’t find her.” I growl.

“Bullshit. You could find her if you wanted to. Just ask Caden to hire a P.I.”

“He did. They found nothing.”

“Obviously didn’t look hard enough.”

“What do you want, Dad?” I run my hands over my face in frustration at my pig-headed father. He opens his mouth to speak but I interrupt him. “And don’t say to die. You know, you’re a selfish bastard. No wonder Mom left you.”

“Fuck you.”

“No. Fuck you. What have you done since Mom left you, huh? What have you done to improve yourself, to make Mom believe that you won’t hurt her again?” I chuck a sneaker at his head, luckily for him I miss. “Come on tell me? What have you done?”

“Screw you.”

“You’ve done nothing, Dad. Zilch, nada, nothing, except drink yourself into a stupor each night because you are too scared to lose face. You are willing to lose your wife of thirty years rather than get down on your knees and crawl through a bed of nails to get her back because it’s too much effort. Isn’t she worth it? All that unconditional love that she’s given you through the years, all that loyalty. Why wasn’t that enough? What did Mom do that was so wrong that you had to throw all that love back in her face by screwing someone else behind her back?” My words resonate to my own situation, each driving a knife further into my heart. “Look at you,” I continue, “just look at you. You’re a mess, a joke. You’ve done nothing to prove to Mom that you’re truly sorry. You’ve just sat here, rotting away, throwing tantrums because you haven’t gotten your own way.” Dad remains silent but I know he’s heard me because I can see tears forming in his eyes.

“I get how you feel, Dad,” I say softly. “I feel the same about Brooke. I miss her. There isn’t a day that goes by when I wish that I could turn back time, but I can’t, I can only go forward. So can you.” I sit down beside him on the bed. “If you don’t do something, then Mom’s going to file for divorce. She’s hurting, Dad. She’s hurting really bad, and you acting like you are makes her think that you aren’t willing to fight for her.”

“That’s not...I do…I do want to fight for her. I can’t go on without her, Brody. Your mom is my life. I’m so damn sorry.” Tears start to fall down my father’s cheeks. I pull him toward me and cradle him in my arms, doing my best to comfort him like he did me when I was a child.

“You’ve got to start trying, Dad.”

“I know.” He sniffs.

“How about we get you some strong coffee, try and sober you up a bit, huh? Then we can start cleaning this place and then…pizza? Or I can cook you dinner at my place.”

“I don’t deserve you, Brody. You or Caden.”

“I’m not an angel, Dad. I never will be. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up a bit.”

“So,” Dad says, as he takes the last piece of pizza, “you haven’t heard from Brooke at all?”

“No.”

“Asked anyone in town about where she is?”

“I asked Lola, but if she does know, she won’t tell me,” I answer, leaning my head on the back of the couch.

“Do you blame her?”

“Not really, no.”

“You know she’s probably with Hope, don’t you?” he says, keeping one eye on the game that’s playing on the TV. “Find Hope and you find Brooke.”

“Can’t find her either. Like I told you earlier, Cade already tried.”

“Well ain’t we just a bunch of fuck ups,” he says.

“You think stupidity is inherited?”

Dad turns his head to look at me, then lets out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, I would say it is in our case.” His face is alight with amusement. “Can’t believe we all banged the same chick.”

“Don’t remind me.” I groan. “It’s bad enough that I slept with her…”

“You get tested for STDs?”

“I’m not having this conversation with you, Dad.” I can’t believe that he just asked me that.

“Well did you?”

“Jesus, Dad.”

“Not an answer, Son.”

“Yes, I did, okay? Did you?”

“Course I did.”

“Good. I can’t believe that we’re talking about this.”

“Hey, you asked first.”

“Well I used a condom with her.”

“So did I…at first.”

“I don’t want to hear this.”

“Brody, just promise you’ll wrap it up in the future. If a girl says she’s good for protection, don’t believe her. Hell, just don’t go near her. That was my mistake right there. Giving into temptation like I did, and now I’m paying for it.”

“And that right there is why Mom won’t have you back,” I mutter.

“What did you say?”

“Why did you do it, Dad? If you love Mom so much, why did you go behind her back?”

“Because I’m a pig-headed fool, Brody. An attractive young woman showed me attention and I decided to act on it. I wish to God that I hadn’t.” He shakes his head. “Listen. I love your mom, more than anything. I know that I’ve been an ass...but I swear from now on I will do everything I can to make this right.”

“Amen to that.”

“Do you want to talk about what happened between you and Brooke?”

“Not really.”

“Be good to get it off your chest.”

“No.”

He’s quiet for a minute or two before hitting me with, “I’m going to ask Joely for a DNA test for Kyan.”

I wasn’t expecting that.

“I figured that I’ve been paying her money all this time out of fear that she would tell your mom, and now that it’s out in the open…”

“Hate to break it to you, Dad, but you weren’t the only guy she slept with back then. I’m surprised you haven’t got tested before now.” I fix him with a glare. “Hell, I’m surprised half the town hasn’t been tested. How could you, of all people, be that stupid?”

“Joely said that if I made her get one, then she would tell your mom about our affair. I didn’t ever want Judy to find out.”

“Jesus Christ, Dad. Are you fucking crazy? Do you know how many men Joely has spread her legs for in this town alone?”

“I didn’t know that at the time.”

“You’re unbelievable,” I say, shaking my head in disbelief. “Were there others?”

“What?”

“Did you cheat on Mom with anyone else?”

“No! God no.”

“Well that’s something.” I spit.

“Hey. Show me some respect, I’m your father.”

“Who cheated on my sweet, kind mother and drove her away.”

“Like what you did was any different.”

“What’d you say?”

“What you did with Brooke was no different.”

“Brooke and I had split up.”

“You were still living in the same house. Kind of cruel to be going on dates with another woman while your ex is still living with you, don’t you think? So, before you go accusing me of being an old bastard, which,” he says, pointing to his chest, “I am. You should take a good, long look at yourself.”

“Dad…”

“No, Brody, you think because I’ve spent most of my time drunk that I don’t see what’s going on. I see it, Brody, believe me, I see it.” Dad leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “I can see you struggling to move on, I can see you hurting. You found out the hard way that the grass ain’t always greener on the other side, and now you’re lost. Lost without that sweet girl. Brody, you are a smart guy. I’m so proud of you and Cade, but it hurts me to think that you have both made the same mistakes that I have. Don’t be like me. Do the right thing and fight for what you want. Move heaven and earth to make it right.”

“How can I when I don’t know where the hell she is?”

“You’re just not looking hard enough.”

“If one of the top P.I.s in the country can’t find her, then how the hell do you expect me to?”

He sighs, and scrubs his hand across his jaw. For the first time I notice the lines in his skin and the gray hair on his head. My father has always looked young for his age, now, now he looks old…weary. “In two months-time it’ll be Christmas Eve,” he says quietly.

“So?”

“Brooke and Hope visit their parents’ graves on Christmas Eve, every year without exception.”

“I know that. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Without exception, Son.”

“You think that…”

“Yes. I do. Question is, what are you going to do about it?”

Brooke

Growing up, Christmas had always been my favorite time of the year. Everything about the season seemed so wondrous and magical. Every memory I had of the holidays was filled with love, laughter, and lots of fairy lights. To me, it was joyous and remained that way, even after the loss of my parents.

It’s funny how that can all change.

Now the thought of celebrating something I’d loved so much is the last thing on my mind, thanks to Brody. Instead, I’m spending Christmas Eve standing next to Hope as she lays down the bouquet of white roses that we bought to place on our parents’ graves.

We’d made the long journey back to Emmerton by car, arriving late last night. Lola had been overjoyed when I asked her if she minded if we stayed with her for a few days over the festive period. It turned out that her boyfriend was whisking her away for the week to some exotic beach somewhere but she had no one to look after her cat. She was grateful when I offered to house-sit for her.

Staying at Lola’s meant that Hope and I could keep a low profile. No one needed to know that we were here unless we wanted them to. Hope suggested that we drive to the next town over any time we needed supplies to limit the chance of meeting someone who would recognize us. It was kind of weird stepping out on to Lola’s porch this morning and seeing my old house next door. I wondered if Brody still lived there or if he’d moved in with Joely.

Our shopping expedition was non-eventful. We didn’t see anyone that we knew, and that was fine by me. I didn’t want the town gossip grapevine to go into meltdown over the fact that the Elderhouse sisters were back in Emmerton. I especially didn’t want my ex-fiancé or his parents to know we were here. I couldn’t cope with seeing any of them. Not today.

The snow falls lightly around us as Hope pushes up from her kneeling position, taking my hand in hers and wiping away her tears with her other one. We stand in companionable silence, gazing at the writing on their joint headstone.

HERE LIES ELIZABETH AND JASON ELDERHOUSE.

BELOVED PARENTS OF BROOKE AND HOPE.

Orphans.

Brooke and Hope Elderhouse, the orphans that no one wants.

“You okay?” Hope asks me.

“No.”

“Me either.” I give her hand a squeeze. “Someone has been looking after Mom and Dad. They put fresh flowers down and cleared away the weeds,” she says, nodding toward the bouquet of pink lilies that had been on the graves when we got here.

Mom’s favorite.

“Judy,” I say with a smile. I guess Brody’s mom has been looking after Mom and Dad in our absence. I’m glad someone did.

“Do you want to stay a little longer?”

“No.”

The snow falls heavier as we make our way back to the SUV. I take one last look back to where our parents rest and mentally say goodbye until the next time we come up here.

We drive back to Lola’s in silence. The snow now so bad that I can barely see the road ahead of us. Thank God we don’t have far to go.

Hope and I both sigh with relief as we make the final turn on to Maple Street and pull into the drive. Snow crunches underfoot as we make our way in to the comfortable little house that Lola calls home. I pause briefly to look at my old house. I can just make out twinkling lights from a Christmas tree in the window, apart from that, there seems to be no other decorations. Not like when Brody and I lived there, when every conceivable space was filled with Christmas related things and you could see our small abode from space.

A stray tear rolls down my cheek as I think of all the good times we had in the home that I’d loved so much, until Brody had ruined it for me. To me it was my forever home—the place where Brody would carry me over the threshold on our first day as a married couple, where we would excitedly wait for the pregnancy test to show two pink lines, where I would pace up and down the hallway with my baby while Brody made up a bottle. I hate that some of my last memories of the place will forever be tainted by the sounds of Brody having sex with another woman.

Today should have been so different. Today, I should be celebrating my marriage, surrounded by the people I love. In a couple of hours’ time, Brody and I would have taken our vows and began spending the rest of our lives together. I would have visited the cemetery with a couple of glasses of champagne and raised a toast to my parents with Brody by my side.

Today should have been a happy day—I doubt it ever will be happy again.

The curtain of my old house twitches and I can see someone in the window looking at me. I walk as fast as I can toward the warmth and safety of Lola’s. Just as I reach the door handle, I hear someone call my name.

“Brooke?”

Shit.

“Brooke. Is that you?”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Brooke?”

Why? Today of all days, why?

“Baby?”

I’m tempted to pretend that I didn’t hear him, just slam the door behind me and hide in Lola’s, but the fact that the asshole has the nerve to call me baby makes my blood boil. I curse myself because I never asked Lola whether he still lived next door, because I didn’t want to hear about his awesome new life without me.

“What do you want, Brody?” I snap, my hand paused on the handle in readiness to flee. I can’t look at him. I don’t want to look at him. I don’t want to see how happy he is.

“I…I…” He clears his throat. “I thought I was seeing things. I can’t believe you’re back.”

“Well, I am, and now you’ve seen me.”

“Brooke, please look at me.” He sounds closer now, the creak of the porch step tells me that he’s feet away from me.

“Don’t come any further, Brody,” I say, briefly leaning my head against the cold door.

“I won’t…I promise.” I just know that his hands are held up in surrender. “But do me a favor and turn around?”

“Why?”

“I want to see you,” he whispers.

“Well, I don’t want to see you.” I snort.

“Please, Brooke,” he begs.

“Why the hell should I?”

“I’ve missed you.”

Is it possible to love and hate someone in equal measure? Because that’s how I feel right now. I’m done with this crap. Maybe I can persuade Hope to leave tonight. I can’t stay here. Not if I know that he’s next door.

“That’s really great,” I say through gritted teeth as I open the door. “Have a nice life, Brody.”

“No, wait,” he says, placing a hand on my shoulder.

My plan to slap him across the face falls flat when I slip on the ice covered wooden porch as I spin around to face him. Instead of delivering him a stinging reproach, I end up in his arms, breathing in the familiar scent of his cologne. His arms tighten around me and my heartbeat speeds up as he holds me still. I allow myself to bathe in the familiarity of his touch, pretending for a moment that the past year didn’t happened and we are still together. The spell that I’d been under is broken when he places a gentle kiss to the top of my head.

“What the hell, Brody?” He looks surprised as I push him away.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters, reluctantly letting me go, and I immediately miss his warmth. “I shouldn’t have done that.” He steps back into the shadows so that I can’t quite see his face.

“No, you shouldn’t have.”

“I just forget, you know?”

“No, Brody, I don’t.”

He doesn’t answer, just stares at me from a safe distance. It could be seconds, it could be minutes, or it could be hours before he speaks again.

“You look good, Bab…rooke.” There’s a sadness to his voice.

“I’d say the same but I can’t see your face.”

He steps forward cautiously, as though he’s approaching a wild animal, not the woman he had claimed to love for most of his life. I now realize, as he walks toward me, that he’s only wearing a towel around his waist. His feet are bare, his ink black hair is tipped with frost and plastered against his head.

“Did you just get out of the shower?”

“Yeah,” he says with a shy smile. “I saw it was you and ran straight out here.”

“Why the hell would you do that? You’ll catch your death out here.”

“Getting the chance to talk to you seemed more important than my dick falling off because of frostbite.” I struggle not to laugh at his confession. “You never returned my calls,” he says suddenly, chasing away any warm thoughts I’d had toward him in an instant.

“I didn’t want to talk to you.”

“Then you blocked my number.”

“Because I didn’t want to talk to you,” I hiss. “And news flash, I still don’t.” I back up toward the door, groping behind me for the handle.

“But I want to-to ta-talk to you, Brooke.” His teeth chatter. Even in the dim light I can see that he’s turning blue.

“We have nothing left to say to each other, Brody. You made it perfectly clear that you moved on, I get it, okay. Please don’t keep rubbing my nose in how much you’re enjoying your life without me. Now please, for the love of God, go inside and put—”

“I’m not,” he says, interrupting me.

“Not what?”

“Not doing so…so good without you. I miss you, Brooke. I-I love you.”

“Brody.” I sigh, surprised that I haven’t broken down in a weeping mess. “You made the choice to end us. Not me. You were bored and wanted to explore. I didn’t. I was happy.”

“I was happy, too.”

“No, you weren’t, Brody. Don’t lie to yourself. Now do me a favor, and go back inside to your girlfriend and get some clothes on.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Just go back inside and have a nice life.”

“I ca-can’t without you in it.”

“Brody…”

“Just give me ten minutes, okay? Ten minutes to-to say what I ha-have to say, and then if you never want to hear from me again, you won’t, I promise. I’ll st-stop stalking you.” He grins. “I’ll even make us some hot chocolate.”

“Will you put some clothes on?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Well in that case…” I turn and grab the door handle.

“Do you want to be responsible for my death?”

“Meh,” I say as I fling the door open.

“Brooke?” Hope walks into the hallway with a steaming mug of cocoa in her hands. “What’s taking you so…oh, hey, Brody,” she says sweetly.

Traitor. She’s supposed to hiss at him or something, not be all “oh hiiiiiii, Brody.”

“Hey, Hope.” Brody raises his hand in greeting to my traitorous sister.

“Are you naked?”

“I have a towel.”

“Why are you on the porch in a towel in the freezing cold?”

“He was just leaving. Weren’t you, Brody?” I chime in.

“I want to-to talk to your sis-sister,” Brody answers, completely ignoring me.

“Well, you could talk in here. I can make myself scarce,” my traitor sister singsongs. I’m beginning to wonder whose side she’s on.

“That’s real nice of you, Hope, but I-I kinda want to put some clothes on.” He flashes her an apologetic grin as he steps into the light. I can’t stop my eyes from raking over his body. He was muscular before we split, but holy mother of God, he has a V...When the hell did he get that? An eight pack and a V. Jesus Christ. Is that a new tattoo? It looks like it begins with a B…

“Ahem.”

A subtle cough pulls me from my not so subtle ogling of Brody’s body.

“Maybe you should follow him next door,” Hope says, nodding her head toward Brody, a sly smile plastered over her face. “You might get some closure that way.”

“I might get pregnant that way,” I utter as I watch Brody head down the porch steps.

“Just go, Brooke. See what he has to say. Then you can move on.”

“What if I don’t want to hear it?”

“What if you do?” She smiles sadly and pushes me outside, slamming the door behind me, leaving me alone on the freezing porch, contemplating sororicide.

“Brooke? You coming?” Brody calls from the door of our old house. Reluctantly, I leave the safety of Lola’s and make my way across to Brody’s, closing the door behind me as I dust snow off of my shoulders.

I let out a slight gasp as I take in the place that I used to call home. Nothing has changed…literally nothing. It’s slightly messier, there are dirty cups and empty pizza boxes on the floor, but apart from that, everything is how I left it when I walked out all those months ago. The photos that I had taken from the frames and destroyed have been replaced with other pictures of us. My vintage flea market throw that Brody despised is still where I left it, draped over the back of the couch.

“I burned the old bed.”

“Huh?” I look up to see a fully dressed Brody leaning up against the doorway to the kitchen. His gray eyes regard me with tenderness.

“I got rid of the bed in the guest room. Burned it.”

“And I’d care because?”

“I didn’t want there to be a constant reminder of what happened in our home.”

“Your home, Brody. Not mine.” He closes his eyes, and tilts his head up to the ceiling.

“It could be yours again,” he says quietly as he refocuses his gaze on me. “If you want.”

“Brody…”

“I miss you, Brooke. I miss you so damn much.” He pushes off the wall and walks toward me. “Just give me a chance to explain...to say what I should have said in the first place, instead of acting like the asshat that I did.”

“We have nothing to say to each other, Brody.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. We have plenty to say.”

“No, we don’t.”

“Do you remember when we were kids and we used to tell each other stories in your treehouse?” he asks, taking my hands in his. “Do you remember the story you used to tell me about when we grew up? How we’d get married and have kids. A boy and a girl that looked like the mini versions of us? That no matter what happened, we would always find our way back to each other.”

“We were kids, Brody.”

“We were kids who grew up and fell in love.”

“And then you got cold feet and broke my heart.”

“I’m…”

“It was always special to me, you know?”

He strokes his thumbs over mine; his touch is distracting, making my treacherous heart beat a mile a minute. “What was?”

“The fact that you were mine. Only mine. That we’d only ever slept with each other. That was special to me…you know?” My voice wobbles as tears threaten to fall. “But then you took what meant so much to me away and I had to listen to it…” I pull my hands out of his and walk to the other side of the room, as far away from him as I can get in the small confines of the living room.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, his eyes are red-rimmed with unshed tears. “I’m so sorry. I wish…I wish it had never happened.”

“But it did.”

“I know, and I’ll regret it until the end of my life.”

“You have no idea what it’s like to listen to the person you love have sex with someone else.” I snap. “No idea at all…how much it broke me.”

“I never meant to hurt you.”

“But you did! You hurt me more than anyone ever has. You were the one person who should have protected me.”

“Brooke…”

“I just don’t understand why, Brody.”

“I don’t know.”

“Was it because you were bored?”

“No.”

“Because you hated me?”

“I could never hate you.”

“Then please explain to me why you did what you did, because I don’t have a clue.” I throw my hands up in the air in frustration. “You wanted to talk to me, Brody. This is your chance. I want…no, I deserve closure, and then I can move on.”

“I don’t want you to move on,” he growls.

“So you get to have your fun and I don’t. Is that it?”

“What? No!”

“Then why can’t I move on?”

“Because I still love you, Brooke. I still want that happy ending.”

“And I want closure.”

“I can’t give you that.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because you’ll walk away and never look back.”

“That’s more than you deserve.”

“Yes. Yes, it is,” he says sadly, his gun metal eyes meeting mine. “But I don’t want it to be.”

“Our story is over, Brody. The end.”

“Our story will never end, Brooke.”

“It ended the moment you told me you wanted out.”

“No, it didn’t.”

“What happened?” I goad. “She didn’t want you?”

“No.”

“So where is she?”

“How the hell should I know?” He huffs. “I haven’t seen her since the party and,” he says quickly before I can interrupt him, “before you say anything, I only slept with her the once. It was a one night thing only. I haven’t been with anyone else since.”

“You want a medal?”

“I was a fool, Brooke,” he continues. “When I saw you the morning after…your face. That you’d overheard us…I wanted to get on my knees and beg for forgiveness, beg you to take me back, but my damn pride got in the way. Then I had that damn trade show…I was going to talk to you when I got back, but you were gone.”

“Do you blame me?”

“No.”

We warily watch each other from opposite sides of the room, neither of us not really knowing what to say to the familiar stranger. It’s me that breaks first.

“Still doesn’t tell me why, Brody.”

“I keep asking myself over and over why I broke up with you in the first place.”

“And?”

“I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.” He shrugs.

“Fuck you, asshole,” I say as I head for the door.

“Brooke, wait! Please just…let me…”

I sigh as I turn to face him again, and cross my arms in a pathetic attempt to form some sort of barrier between us. Being this close to him stirs up all kinds of feelings in me that I thought I’d buried. I don’t know if it’s because of the familiarity and comfort of being in his presence, or his cologne, or if it’s the lingering feelings for him that I have. Who am I kidding? I still love the man standing in front of me. I’ve loved him for most of my life, and those feelings aren’t just going to disappear, no matter how hard I try.

Maybe if I hear him out, listen to what he has to say, then perhaps I can get some closure. I’ll look back at our relationship fondly, well maybe not fondly. If I close the chapter now, then I won’t forever be wondering what if.

“You have fifteen minutes and that’s it.”

“I uh…I.”

“Clock’s ticking. Fifteen minutes, Brody, then I walk out the door and you’ll never see me again. Understand?”

He nods his head in agreement and beckons me to follow him to the couch. Confusion forms on his face at my hesitation to sit down.

“I hope you scrubbed this with bleach.”

His eyes widen as he realizes the reason for my reluctance.

“I didn’t…we didn’t…Jesus, Brooke.” He scrubs his hands over his face. “I didn’t fuck Joely on the couch. I swear.” He holds out his hand to me. “I swear.”

I ignore his outstretched hand, making sure to sit as far away from him on the couch as I can. I can’t trust myself around him.

“So talk, Brody.”

He lowers his head for a moment. When he looks at me again, his eyes are awash with emotion. Love. Remorse. Regret. So much regret.

“I fucked up, Brooke,” he says without preamble. “I fucked up real bad.”

I don’t answer, choosing to look at my nails, the floor, the ceiling, anywhere but at him. I don’t want him to see the tears that are forming in my eyes.

“I thought I was missing out, when I had what I wanted in front of me the whole time.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You were pulling away from me. You’ve always been so independent, but those last few months, it was like you didn’t need me anymore. I thought you didn’t want me,” he says sadly.

“I did want you. I loved you, Brody. I needed you.”

“I saw…I saw other guys with a different girl each week and I got…” He sighs. “I didn’t know what that was like. I thought you didn’t want me anymore. It had only been us…I wanted to know what it was like with someone else.” He pulls me back down as I start to stand, encompassing me in his strong arms.

“Let me go!” I snarl, struggling against him.

“Not until I finish.”

“I get it, Brody. I get it. You don’t have to tell me anything else. Just let me go so I can get on with my life.”

“For the love of God, will you let me finish.” He growls into my ear, holding me tightly against him. To stop my struggling, he places light kisses against my hair until I finally run out of fight. “It wasn’t worth it,” he continues. “It wasn’t worth it at all. I wish I could take it back, Brooke. I thought you’d be happier. You’d find someone who was worthy of you. Not me. I’ve never deserved you, Brooke. You’re smart, beautiful, and you deserve someone better than a deadbeat with no ambition in his life beyond building stuff.”

“But you went on dates with her.” I sob against his shoulder. “You had feelings for her. I had to listen to you…”

“I’m so sorry, Brooke. No one can replace you, no one. It was a lie, all of it.” His voice breaks, and I feel the first tear fall onto my face.

“I only ever wanted you, Brody. No one else, just you.”

“You have me, Brooke. We can start over—”

“It’s too late.”

“No, baby.”

“I’m seeing someone.” His body stiffens around me as I make my confession. “I like him, Brody. I like him a lot.” It’s all a lie, of course, I’m not seeing anyone; but I’ll admit that I sound convincing, even to my own ears.

“Have you fucked him?” he asks angrily.

“Of all the things…” I shout, pushing him away from me. “Yes, I have. Not that it’s your business. We have wild monkey sex. Every. Single. Night.” Oh, I’m angry now, and my words hit their intended target. Brody’s face is a picture of agony.

“Broo—” He tries to interrupt.

“You ended us, Brody. Not me. What was I supposed to do why you were exploring what you’d missed out on, huh? Sit there and pine for you? Is that it? Lie in bed at night, sobbing, while you got Joely out of your fucking system? It doesn’t work like that. You and I are over. It doesn’t mean I have to become a nun until you decide that you’ve had your fun and want me back.” Brody sits stunned on the couch as I head to the front door. “This was a mistake, in fact, you and I were a mistake, full stop. Goodbye, Brody.” I bite out as I fling the door wide open and stomp through the snow toward Lola’s without looking back. The sad part of the whole debacle is that if Brody had just left it and hadn’t interrupted me when he did, then I would have told him that I like Jake a lot, as a friend, nothing more.

Asshole.

Brooke

“Brooke, it’s Christmas Eve and the snow is really heavy. It’s not safe to drive.”

“I need to get as far away from that jerk as possible.” Clothes whizz past Hope’s face as I sling them into my suitcase.

“I take it that your reunion didn’t go well.”

“He’s an arrogant piece of shit,” I yell from Lola’s en suite bathroom. “What the hell did I ever see in him?”

“A big dick?” she yells back before bursting into laughter.

“Not funny, Hope, and not helping,” I singsong as I bustle back into the bedroom like Mary Poppins on speed, only to find Hope taking my clothes back out of the suitcase and putting them away in the empty drawer that Lola had kindly cleared for me. “What the hell are you doing?”

“You can’t go out in that weather,” Hope says calmly.

“I’m not staying here. Not with that bastard next door.”

“Just sleep on it and make your mind up in the morning.”

“Fat chance. I’m going now, Hope.”

“I don’t think so. For one, the car won’t start.”

“Oh, Jesus H. Christ. You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.”

“Well that’s just great. When the hell did you find that out?”

“When I was sitting here twiddling my thumbs while you and Brody did whatever you needed to do. I thought I’d move it into the garage. Went out there and it wouldn’t start.”

“The universe hates me. It fucking hates me.”

“I could ask Brody to check it over, if that helps?” Her innocent tone doesn’t match the evil amusement that dances in her eyes.

“Shall we call Judy and see if Caden’s home? I’m sure he’d like to help.” Two can play at that game. At the mention of Cade’s name, the amusement on Hope’s face disappears.

“Please do,” she says coolly. “Oh, by the way, Jake called your cell and he said to tell you that he’s on his way.”

“Wait…what? What do you mean exactly by ‘He’s on his way’?”

“That’s all he said.” She grins, paying more attention to her nails than to me.

“Oh God.”

“He said he should be here later.”

“Jake can’t just invite himself here.”

“He didn’t invite himself. I invited him, Lola said it would be fine.”

“And you didn’t think to mention this to me?”

“I knew you’d freak out at the mere thought of Brody and Jake meeting.”

“No shit! Hope, they can’t meet. They just can’t. What would I say? ‘Jake, Brody, Brody, Jake. Jake, Brody’s the man who broke my heart. Brody, Jake is my best friend, who’s insanely hot, a former marine, and now a stripper?’”

“Sounds okay to me.”

“It’s really not okay, Hope. What on earth possessed you?”

“I didn’t want Jake to be alone at Christmas. He doesn’t have anyone else.”

“I know that, dumbass, but Brody is right next door.”

“You’re not together anymore, and so what? You’ve slept with Jake, right? It’s none of Brody’s business.”

“No, I haven’t for your information.”

“Seriously? You haven’t tapped that yet? Jake practically offers it to you every day.”

“It’s none of your business, and will you keep your voice down? Brody might hear,” I whisper shout.

“What’s it got to do with Brody?”

“He and Jake will probably get into a fight over me to defend my honor. They might kill each other. I’m purely thinking of Jake’s safety.”

“So, you have feelings for Jake?”

“No. Jake is just a friend, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t worry about him. Brody used to cage fight, remember? How do you think he got the capital to start his business for Christ’s sake? He could kill Jake with one punch.”

“And Jake is a former marine. I’d pay good money to see that.” She snorts. “You and Brody have been apart for nearly a year, Big Sis. He dated someone else while you were living under the same roof. Why the hell have you got it into your head that he’ll want to kill Jake if he meets him?” She narrows her eyes at me. “What exactly did he say to you just now?”

I let out a long sigh as I fall back on the bed and grab one of Lola’s purple, silk pillows to bury my face in. “Hmmmmmm mu muhh me mmmm baak,” I mumble into the pillow.

“What was that?” Hope tugs the pillow away from me, throwing it across the room and out of my reach.

“He told me he wants me back,” I say before picking up a teal, feathered monstrosity of a pillow and burying my head in that.

Hope lets out a sweet laugh as she pulls my new pillow away from my face. “Brody finally told you he wants you back, huh?”

“What do you mean ‘finally’? Since when have you been talking to Brody?”

“I haven’t.” She smiles. “Judy told me.”

It’s my turn with the eye narrowing. “What did Judy say exactly?”

“Not much. Only how much Brody was missing you and that he’s not been the same since you left. He’d asked his mom for our address so that he could come talk to you, but she refused to give it to him.”

“Good for Judy.”

“You really think that Brody would want to kill Jake?” she asks suddenly.

“Probably.”

“Really?”

“No, but I think that Jake will take the opportunity to wind Brody up every chance he got. Try to make out that what we have is more than what it is.”

“You sound like you don’t want Brody to get hurt.”

“I don’t want anyone dying over me.” I laugh humorlessly.

“You still care about him, don’t you?” Hope says sadly as she sits on the bed next to me, bringing her knees up to her chin.

“My head realizes that we are over, my heart is having a harder time coming to terms with the fact.” I have to look away from my younger sister so that I can try and stamp down the tears that threaten to fall. “I’ve loved him all my life, Hope, and I don’t know how to stop.” I turn my head in time to see tears silently fall down Hope’s cheeks. “Hope, honey, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right.” She sniffs, dabbing her eyes on her sweater. “I’m over it.”

“Liar.” I smile, nudging her with my elbow.

“Oh, Brooke.” Hope sighs as she leans her head on my shoulder. “Why does it hurt so much?”

“I wish I knew, sweetheart...”

Hope leans further into me, letting out a loud sob. “It should have been Cade’s and my baby.” She hiccups.

“I know, honey.”

“That was how it was supposed to happen.”

“I know,” I whisper as I stroke her hair.

“How fucked up is it that he gets a woman pregnant a few weeks after he breaks up with me?”

“It’s pretty crappy.”

“I hate him, Brooke. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.” She cries, rocking back and forth in my arms. I can’t stop my own flow of tears as I hold my heartbroken baby sister. Damn those McAllister brothers. The only thing they’ve ever given us is heartbreak. “I wish…I wish we’d never met them.”

“You and me both, honey. You and me both.”

Brooke

I wake to the sound of knocking on the front door. Beside me, Hope stretches with a yawn, looking childlike with her hair all over the place and blinking as she looks around to get her bearings. A quick glance out of the uncovered window tells me that we have been asleep for quite some time—so long in fact that the moon is now high in the sky.

At least it’s stopped snowing.

“What time is it?” Hope yawns again.

“Umm…” I try to focus on the clock on my phone. “Shit, it’s ten.”

“How long did we sleep for?”

“A few hours?” I shrug as I help pull her off of the bed.

We both let out a little scream when someone, once again, wraps on the door.

“Who the hell is that?”

“A serial killer,” I deadpan.

“At this hour? Haven’t they got anything better to do?”

“Apparently not,” I grumble as I pad downstairs and unbolt the deadlock, then fling the door open with abandon. “Merry Christmas, now piss off.”

“And there was me about to sing.”

“JAKE!!” I laugh, jumping into his arms as he spins me around.

“Hey, gorgeous. Miss me?” His eyes light up in amusement as he places me back on the floor after we stop spinning.

“Always.” I grin. “I can’t believe you’re here. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“I was hoping to surprise you, and if I’d told you, it wouldn’t have been, now would it, pickle?” He laughs as he taps my nose. “Now let me grab my crap because I think my balls are about to freeze off.”

As Jake bends down to pick up his bags, a sudden movement from the neighboring porch draws my gaze. I can just make out a Brody sized shape. Instead of slinking back into the shadows or heading back indoors, Brody brazenly heads toward us—this time dressed appropriately for the weather. It’s not the sort of clothing that you just put on quickly, so it makes me wonder if he’s been sitting outside watching Lola’s the whole time. Which, if he has, is a little bit creepy.

“Hey,” he calls out, lifting his chin to Jake, while at the same time sending him a death glare.

“Hey,” Jake calls back. The happiness of a few minutes ago has disappeared, and in its place is confusion. He’s giving me his patented who the fuck is this guy look. The one where he raises his eyebrow like The Rock. I’d find it amusing if I didn’t want the ground to swallow me up whole.

This will not end well.

“Brody McAllister,” Brody says, holding out his hand to Jake.

“My asshole ex,” I growl.

“And you are?” Brody asks.

Jake turns to look at me questioningly, and I can almost hear his thoughts. Who the fuck is this guy? Oh it’s the shithead who fucked with you. I’m gonna fuck with this motherfucker. The look on his face turns from one of amusement to sheer devilment.

Oh, for the love of God, no.

“Jake.” He steps forward to shake Brody’s hand. “Her boyfriend,” he says loudly before lowering his voice so that it’s just loud enough for me to hear. “And soon to be fiancé, I hope.” He grins as he pats his pocket. “Don’t tell Brooke, but I plan to ask her to marry me tonight.” Even in the dim light I can see Brody’s face pale.

“Marry you,” Brody repeats slowly.

“Yup.”

“Tonight?”

“Yes.” I can only imagine the evil grin on Jake’s face right about now.

“But she was supposed to marry me tonight,” he says sadly. My heart does a sad little flutter that Brody remembered what should have happened today. Jake remains quiet as though that little bit of information has left him stunned. Which it probably has. He knew Brody and I were engaged. He just never knew that we’d set a date.

“I see,” Jake says without any humor. “Well you shouldn’t have tossed her aside like you did. You snooze you lose, dude.”

He didn’t just say that, did he?

“Jake!” I call, as Brody steps forward—anger and agony written all over his face. “Come inside, it’s freezing out there.”

“Sure thing, baby,” he yells in reply as he stares at Brody. “You have a nice night, Frodo. Think of me while I’m banging your girl.”

Brody’s fingers curl into a fist, and I can see what is about to play out in slow-motion as he takes a swing at Jake, landing a punch squarely on Jake’s jaw. Jake staggers back, rubbing the spot where Brody hit him before letting out a roar and launching himself at Brody. The force of it knocks Brody onto his back.

I let out a little scream as Jake pins Brody down on the ground and hits him several times in the face. Brody manages to roll them both over and repays the favor by grabbing Jake around the throat. Somehow, Jake maneuvers them both so that he’s once again pinned Brody to the ground, choking him with both hands.

“Stop! Please stop,” I cry as I run down the slippery porch steps and grab hold of Jake’s coat, and try to pull him off of Brody. Jake takes one hand from Brody’s throat and uses it to push me off so that I land on my ass in the snow, gasping for breath.

“BROOKE!” Brody roars, somehow managing to shove Jake off of him. All around us, people step onto their porches to watch the spectacle. I have no doubt that everyone in town will hear of it within an hour.

Great.

Suddenly, I’m being lifted into the air. I can smell Brody’s cologne as he holds me tightly to his chest. “There’s nothing to see. Go back inside.” His deep voice rumbles as we start moving. I take the opportunity to snuggle into him, until we’re back in the warmth.

Brody gently places me on the couch, then kneels in front of me. I can see the panic in his eyes as he looks for injuries.

“Are you okay, baby?” he asks as he pushes my hair off my face. It takes everything in me not to lean into his touch.

“Is she okay?” asks Jake, concern written all over his face.

“She’s fine, jackass. She’ll be even better when you back off,” Brody growls.

“Brooke. Are you okay?” Jake says, ignoring Brody.

“Get away from her,” Brody warns.

“You get away from her, asshole. It’s your fault anyway.”

“You were the one who knocked her on her ass, dickhead.”

I look up to see the two man-children nose-to-nose, their normally handsome faces battered and bruised. Brody has blood dripping from his nose. It would be hot if they hadn’t nearly killed one another.

“Hellloooo.” I stand and wave my hands in front of their faces. “When you stop having your pissing contest, find me in the kitchen.” I stomp off toward the back of the house, leaving them to it. “Oh, and I’m fine by the way,” I yell, slamming the door behind me.

When I walk into the kitchen, I find Hope bent over the kitchen counter with her head in her hands. She jumps as the door slams behind me, placing one hand on her heart and the other on the countertop to steady herself.

“Jesus, Brooke.” She quickly wipes away tears.

“Hey. What’s with the tears?”

“What tears?” She can deny it all she wants, but your eyes don’t get all red and puffy from sitting quietly, contemplating your life choices.

“The ones that you were wasting over that piece of crap, Cade, and before you try to deny it, just remember how bad you are at lying.”

“How did you know I was thinking about Cade?”

“I can see the reflection of the laptop screen in the window. It’ll do you no good reading that trash, honey.”

“Says the woman who has two men fighting over her right now.” She snorts. “Where are Dumb and Dumber anyway?”

“I left the two of them to take a leak over the other’s shoes.” I huff, sitting down with more force than is necessary on one of Lola’s kitchen stools, causing it to creak. If the thing breaks and I land on my ass again, then that will just about make my night.

“What happened?”

“You mean you didn’t stand and watch like the rest of the neighborhood?”

“No, I headed indoors. It’s too cold to be dealing with grown men acting like idiots.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“So.” Hope grins as she gracefully sits down in the seat next to me. “What happened?”

“Apart from Jake and Brody’s little spat giving away the fact that we’re back in town?”

“Yeahhh, lets skip over that.” She grimaces.

“In a nutshell, Jake told Brody that he was my boyfriend and that he was going to ask me to marry him tonight. Jake and Brody then decided to beat the crap out of each other and I got knocked on my ass.”

“Oh boy.” Hope whistles. “So what are they doing now?”

“Probably still being all alpha and pulling their best Blue Steel pouts while gazing sexily into the distance.”

“They’re both hot.” Hope giggles. “I wouldn’t say no.”

“Yeah, they are.” I smile at my sister.

“So. Which one is better in bed?”

“Hope! You can’t ask me that.”

“I just did, so fess up, Big Sister. Brody or Jake?” She grins evilly.

“Not answering that.”

“I’m not going to tell anyone, it’ll be between us.” Hope looks around conspiratorially and taps her nose.

“No.”

“Come on, Brooke. Everyone knows you and Jake have done the deed. Spill the beans.”

“Everyone?”

“Yeah. Everyone. We even had a bet on it.”

“Jesus.”

“Just spill.”

“Okay.” I huff. “You seriously want to know?”

“Yeah! Your love life is almost as messed up as mine, and seeing as I’ve sworn off men for the next thousand years, I’ve got to live my life vicariously through you. So…” She laughs as she leans over and grabs the bag of cookies we’d left on the counter earlier. “Who is it?”

“No.”

“No telly, Brookie, then no cookie.” She laughs again as she holds the bag over her head and out of my reach.

“Brody. Okay. Brody is better in bed because I’ve never slept with Jake, so suck it up, bitch. I would be totally up for a threesome with the pair of them though.” I grin, holding out my hand. “Can I have a cookie now?”

“I can give you more than that, babe. Especially if you want that fantasy of yours to become reality, cause you know I can make it happen.” Hope and I turn around at the same time to see Jake and Brody standing in the doorway with their arms folded, both of them struggling not to laugh.

Damn.

“You done beating the crap out of each other?” I know for a fact that my face is beet red. From the matching looks on their handsome faces, I’d say they overheard, not just the last bit, but every single word.

“Yeah, just came to see if you have any Band-Aids or something.” Jake tries to smile with his newly acquired fat lip. I almost feel sorry for him, but then I look at Brody’s matching injuries and any sympathy I had disappears. How is it that guys can beat the crap out of each other one minute then be cool the next?

“I’m sure Brody has some at his place.” I wave my hand in the general direction of my old house. “Seeing as you’re pals now, then you can get them there. In fact, you can sleep at his house for all I care.”

“Don’t be like that, Brooke.”

“Or on the couch. It’s up to you.”

“Brooke,” he pleads.

“And while you’re at it, you can tell Brody the truth.” I huff.

“What truth?” Brody asks, looking between Jake and me.

“That we,” I say, gesturing between Jake and myself, “are not together.”

“He’s not your boyfriend?” Brody’s brows crease in confusion as he looks from Jake to me.

“Yes.”

“No.”

Jake and I say at the same time.

“Well, which one is it?” Brody demands.

“You know what, I’m too tired for this. I’m going to bed.”

“I’ll join you in a bit, babe.”

“Just give it a rest, Jake.” I sigh and look at Brody. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my boss and ex-best friend. I don’t know why I’m telling you this, because it’s more than you deserve.” I brush past them, and head out of the kitchen. “Oh,” I call over my shoulder, “don’t think that me admitting that I’m not seeing Jake is a sign that I want to get back together with you. It’s not. Not in a million years, so you can get any ideas of us being a couple out of your head.” And with that parting shot, I head to the bedroom, slamming the door behind me.

Brooke

Christmas Day ended up being uneventful in the end.

The three of us had a quiet meal of mac and cheese and had a Harry Potter marathon. It was fun. Brody stayed away until the evening, when he came knocking with Judy in tow, and arms laden with holiday food.

Although I was overjoyed to see the woman who I thought of as my second mom, the first hour or so was a bit awkward for everyone.

Jake and Brody sat on opposite sides of the room, glaring at each other. Judy, Hope, and I spent the time catching up, avoiding any subjects that brought up the recent past. When I asked why Dair didn’t come with them, Judy avoided my question by talking about something else, which was odd, but I didn’t push her for information.

Eventually, Hope got fed up with the silence and the stares between the two wannabee alphas in the room, and handed them both a whiskey and told them to drink up then head to the bedroom to sort out their differences. Hope said she could feel the sexual tension between them, and that the only way for them to get over the obvious hard-ons they had for one another was to get it on. Jake being Jake, looked at the shot in his hand, knocked it back in one go, then asked Brody whether he liked to top or bottom.

In all fairness to him, Brody didn’t bat an eye. He simply downed his drink in one gulp, stood up, and held out his hand to Jake, and told him that he better have lots of lube because he was going to need it. I’ll never forget the look on Jake’s face, it was priceless. He hadn’t had a clue about how to respond. When Brody winked at Jake and sat back down, Judy laughed so hard that she choked on the sip of wine that she’d just taken. After that everyone, except me, relaxed.

Just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean that Brody gets a hall pass for treating me so badly. Hope and Jake might want to play nice, but I don’t.

If I thought that last night was bad, tonight is pure torture.

Tonight, I’m in a new bar in town that opened up after I left.

Tonight, I’m sandwiched in a booth between Jake and Hope, while they try to stop me from clawing Joely Baxter’s eyes out, while people I’ve known all my life whisper and point.

Tonight, I may go down for murder.

“You okay?” Hope whispers in my ear as I watch Joely flirting with some poor sucker a few feet away from me.

“Yes.” My reply is short. Inwardly, I’m weighing whether it’s a good idea to stand on the bar top and tell everyone that Joely is infested with crabs.

“You don’t look it.”

“I’m fine.” I hiss.

“No, you’re not, so stop lying. Do you want to go somewhere else?” I take a break from giving the town whore a death stare to look at my sister.

“Where? There’s nowhere else in town except…”

“Sure there is,” Hope says, taking a sip of the pink monstrosity that she ordered.

“We are not going to Cody’s.” I sigh.

“We can see Ruth.” She smiles.

“Cody’s?” Jake asks, finally taking his eyes off of Joely. What is it about her that draws men to her like a moth to a flame? Does her vagina transmit a homing beacon to let anyone with low standards, within a square mile, know that all are welcome?

“Local strip joint.”

“Awesome.” He grins. “We should go. I can check out the competition.”

“There’s only female dancers.”

“Even better.”

“Urrggh.” I throw my hands up in disgust.

“But first, I need to get acquainted with that little hottie over there,” he says, pointing at Joely. Who, as if right on cue, turns to look at Jake and starts acting coy.

“If you go there, you’ll end up getting some nasty disease that’ll turn your dick blue, and then make it fall off.”

“She’s that dirty, huh?” His eyes are alight with lust and amusement.

“No, she’s that willing to open her legs for anything that moves.”

“I like my girls filthy.”

“I really don’t want to know.”

“Especially when they…”

“La-la-la can’t hear you,” I yell, sticking my fingers in my ears. They stay there until Hope gives me a sharp elbow in the side. “Ow.”

“Heads up.”

“Heads up what?”

“Joely’s coming over,” she whisper shouts, gesturing to the woman heading our way with a skirt so short you can see the pubes hanging out of her panties. Guess she forgot to shave today.

I size her up as she totters over. Bleach blonde hair, leathery tanned skin, makeup that a clown would be jealous of, and enormous, fake boobs. I wonder which poor sucker paid for those babies.

“Brooke. It’s so good to see you.” She smiles in that patronizing way that tells me that she’s lying.

“Joely.” I grimace.

“So. Where have you been?” she says with preamble. “You disappeared into thin air.”

“That’s right, I did. Thanks for stopping by.”

“Oh come on now. You don’t disappear on your friends and expect them not to worry.” Beside me, Hope chokes on her drink.

“I don’t ever remember us being friends, Joely.”

“Oh, sugar, I wasn’t talking about me,” she says sweetly. “I was talking about Brody. He was out of his mind with worry.”

If I wasn’t stuck between my best friend and my sister, I would probably be on top of that stupid grinning bitch, pummeling the shit out of her fake face right now.

“I’m sure you gave him a lot of comfort.” Even I can hear the bitterness in my tone. This only seems to spur Joely on.

“I sure did.” She smiles evilly. “Anyway, I didn’t come over to talk about Brody. I came over to make my introductions to handsome here.” Joely rakes her eyes over Jake’s body as though he were a piece of prime meat.

Jake looks between us before offering his hand. “Jake.”

“Joely.” She purrs.

Bitch.

“So, you and Brooke go to school together or something?”

“Nope.” I interrupt Joely before she can open her mouth. “And she was just leaving. Bye.”

“You both know Brody.” Jake asks, confusion written all over his face, not getting my blatant hint that I want the skank gone from my air space.

“Yeah.” Hope pipes up. “In the biblical sense.”

“The what?” Joely asks.

“Ohhhhh. I get it. You’re her.” Jake looks at Joely with a disgusted expression. “Sorry, I don’t do STDs.”

“Excuse me,” Joely says, placing her hands on her hips. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Your reputation precedes you, and it’s not good.” Jake moves to stand. “I’m going to go get another drink. You ladies want anything?”

Hope and I shake our heads in tandem. Jake grins, shakes his head, and disappears off toward the bar.

“What did he mean my reputation precedes me?” Joely’s reedy voice alerts me to the fact that she’s still here.

“In simple terms, he knows you’re a whore,” I say, plastering a fake smile on my face.

“Did you just call me a whore?” she shrieks so loudly the whole bar falls silent. Everyone is looking at us. Good.

“Would you prefer slut?”

“How dare you?” she says through gritted teeth.

“How about woman of dubious character?”

“Ohhh, I like that one,” Hope interjects. “It sounds kind of classy.”

“I don’t have to listen to this,” Joely rages.

“You see, I think you do.” I smile. “Because as far as I can tell, no one has ever called you out for your behavior, little princess.” Joely’s face turns beet red as I continue. “Tell me. How many relationships have you torn apart? How many lives have you destroyed?” She says nothing. “Don’t you have any respect for yourself? Or do you think it’s all a game.”

“Oh I see.” She sneers. “Is this because of Brody? Is this because he wanted me, not you. Do you know why he came to me? He came to me because he was bored with you. He was bored with living a ho-hum life with his plain looking fiancée. He wanted to touch something beautiful. You just didn’t cut it anymore, sweetheart.”

Before anyone can stop me, I’m out from behind the table and landing a punch on her perfect face.

“You bitch!” she screams, holding her hand over her bleeding nose, while I see nothing but red. The next thing I know, I’m being lifted by a pair of strong arms.

“Let me go, Jake,” I yell, flailing my arms as I try to get back to Joely so I can beat her some more.

“She isn’t worth it, baby.”

“Brody?” I stop struggling, allowing him to pull me away from Joely. “What are you doing here?”

“Keeping an eye on you, slugger. Guess I was a bit late.” His mouth is pressed to my ear.

“Where’s Jake?”

“He’s got ahold of Hope.”

“And skank face?”

In the background I can hear the wail of sirens. Shit.

“I’m here du bitch.” Joely is sitting in the booth with a bloody tissue held under her nose. “I’m pressing fucking charges. You deserve to be fucking locked up, you psycho.”

Brody’s arms tighten around me as I struggle to get loose so I can lay another hit on her ugly face. This bitch is going down.

“LET. ME. GO,” I rage, stamping down, hard, on Brody’s foot. He doesn’t flinch.

“Easy, tiger,” he whispers so that only I can hear. “Take it down a notch, baby. Joely’s only trying to wind you up and it’s working. “

“I need to slap the shit out of her one more time,” I say through gritted teeth as I push against him.

“See, I don’t care if she gets hurt, but I care about that pretty little face of yours. I don’t want to only be seeing it behind glass for the next few years. Just let it go.” I turn to see that Brody is smiling down at me, giving my dead heart a little jump start.

“Awwww. Disn’t dat cute.” Joely slow claps her hands as she walks toward us. It would have been effective if she didn’t have a tampon in each nostril. “Brody and Brooke, together again.”

“Back off, Joely.” Brody warns.

“Dat is even cuter, you trying to be all alpha male.” She stops just before us. “You know your father was more of a man dan you, don’t you?” I can hear the shocked gasps from everyone looking on. “At least he could get it up, unlike you.” She holds a crooked little finger in front of our faces, sadly shaking her head. There are a few sniggers from the audience but I ignore them. My heart is pounding out of my chest. Brody didn’t sleep with Joely?

“What?” Brody exclaims. “But you told me…”

“I lied.”

“I don’t understand. You said…”

“What I wanted boo du hear.”

“I didn’t have sex with you?” he says, releasing me. “Why would you…you said that I did.”

“I tried my best to get Little, and I mean little,” she says, holding her thumb and forefinger an inch apart from each other, “Brody to stand at attention, but it was too much hard work.” She sighs. “Then you fell asleep and that was that.”

“You lied,” Brody says slowly, ignoring the fact that people are openly staring at him. “You told me we had sex.” I wince as he says it. “You blackmailed me into dating you, then you lied to me about having sex with you. I lost the chance to get back with my girl because you fucking lied!” he seethes. I’ve only seen him this angry a couple of times before, it never ends well for the other person. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I place my hand in his, giving his hand a squeeze. He looks down to our joined hands, the anger drains from his face briefly, reappearing when he looks, once again, at Joely. “I wondered why I came up clean when they screened me for STDs.”

“Now, now, Brody,” the bitch says, shaking her head. “No need to be so nasty or I’ll spread all your family’s secrets across town. Poor Judy. She already knows that I fucked her husband. What will it do to your dear old mom if she ever found out I fucked her youngest son as well?” Somewhere behind me I hear a loud gasp from Hope. “Or that you have a half sister?”

There is a low murmuring amongst our onlookers as they digest that bit of news. I look back at Hope to see that her face is contorted with rage. What on earth possessed Dair, Caden, and Brody to touch this slut? A willing vagina, I suppose.

“Oops,” Joely continues, bringing her hand to cover her mouth. “Did I say that out loud? I guess I did.”

“Bitch,” Hope yells. “Let me go, Jake!”

“Anyway,” Joely says, looking bored, “I’m over it. I’ll just wait for the police because I will be pressing charges.”

An auburn blur whizzes past me, and the next thing I know, Joely is on the floor screaming while clutching her face. Hope stands over her with her chest heaving.

“If I’m going to do jail time for you, then it should at least be worth it. Bitch.” Hope spits, pulling her leg back to kick Joely. Jake tackles her away from the prone figure before she can.

“Come on, baby. Orange just ain’t your color.”

“That was for my sister,” Hope shouts over Jake’s shoulder as he carries her toward the exit. “And for fucking my ex-boyfriend.”

No one tries to stop me as I walk over to Joely and crouch down beside her. Keeping my voice low so that only she can hear, I say, “I hope your crotch rots off and your fake nose melts. You’ve wrecked the lives of a lot of people in this town, people that I know and love. You get one warning and that’s it, so listen and listen good. If you ever, ever, think about screwing me, my family, or my friends over again, then I will make it my personal mission to ensure that your life becomes a living hell. Understand?” I have to stand quickly to avoid the blood covered phlegm from hitting me as she tries to spit in my face. “Temper. Temper.”

“Screw boo. I hope they throw away the key.”

In the doorway, two sheriff’s deputies stand surveying the scene before them. One of them, Herb Whittle, shakes his head and starts walking straight toward me.

“Hey, Herb.”

“Brooke.” He smiles. “Long time no see. It’s good to see you.”

“And you.” I return his smile.

“You do this?” he asks, lifting his chin in Joely’s direction.

“Yeah.”

He lets out a long sigh. “I’m gonna have to take you in. The sheriff will be wanting to ask you some questions.”

“Okay.”

“He’ll be mightily disappointed in you and your sister.”

“I know.”

Herb takes his hat off and scratches his head. “He promised your daddy that he’d look out for the both of you if anything happened. I don’t think this is what your daddy and the sheriff quite meant though. Come on, let’s get you both down to the station.”

“Don’t you need to interview anyone?”

“Redmond will do it,” he says as he heads to the door.

“Don’t you want to cuff me?” Behind me, Brody snorts with laughter.

“Why would I do that for?”

“Because I’m being arrested?”

“You’re the daughter of a police officer. I’ve known you your whole life. I think we’re good.” I turn to look at Brody who shrugs and mouths, I’ll follow you, as I trot to catch up with Herb, stopping just as we reach the bar entrance.

“Wait one moment, Herb. I’ve got to get my purse.”

“I’ll wait here for you.”

All eyes are on me as I walk back through the bar to where Joely is now sitting with an ice pack attached to her face.

“Joely?” I say, taking my purse from Brody and hooking it over my shoulder.

“Get lost.”

“Remember my warning.” I smirk. “I know you have secrets, and I’m going to find them. All of them.” For a brief moment, Joely looks scared, but soon her features fall back into the resting bitch face mode.

“Enjoy jail,” she says, and flips me off. I wink and walk toward the ever patient Herb.

Brooke

“Thanks for bailing us out.” I smile sweetly at Jake as he opens Lola’s front door.

“Don’t thank me. I didn’t pay your bail.”

“What do you mean you didn’t pay it? Of course you did.”

“Nope.”

“Seriously?” I ask. “But you said…”

Jake puts one hand over my mouth and indicates for me to keep quiet. He looks around to make sure that Hope is still in the cab of Brody’s truck, talking on her cell to Zane, then whispers quietly. “Brody paid it.”

“Brody!” I say, louder than intended.

“Shhhh. Keep your voice down.”

“Brody paid it?” I whisper shout. “There’s no way Brody could have gotten ahold of twenty thousand that quickly and”—Jake steps back as I poke him in the chest—“why are we whispering?”

“Shhhh.”

“Don’t keep shushing me. Just answer the goddamn question!”

“Believe me or not. I went to pay, but Brody had gotten there first. His brother gave him the money. I overheard Brody talking to him. His brother is going to arrange an attorney to see if he can get the charges dropped, which is the reason why I’m whispering. You know how upset Hope gets when her ex is mentioned. Telling her that he bailed her out won’t end well for any of us.”

“Great. Now I suppose I’ll have to thank him,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Don’t,” Jake says, placing his hand on the small of my back and ushering me through the door. “Brody doesn’t want you to know.”

“He said that?”

“Yeah, when he realized I’d overheard him, he asked me not to tell you.”

“Why?”

“How the fuck should I know? All he said was don’t tell Brooke. I even offered to give him the money, but he refused to take it. Told me he got this.”

“Wow.” I breathe, as I throw myself down on the couch. “Did he say anything else?”

“No.”

“But…”

“Don’t think about it, okay? Just make sure you call Lola to see if you can stay longer, seeing as you’re stuck here until we can get this mess sorted out. I’m going to have to head home in the morning, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ll ask Zane to do some digging into Joely’s background. See if we can find some dirt on her. The attorney that the McAllisters hired should sort you out with the legal side. Now, killer, I think you’ve had enough excitement for one night. Off to bed with you,” he says, kissing the top of my head. “I probably won’t be here when you wake up. I’ll text you when I get home. Okay?”

“Thank you. For everything.”

Jake gives me a small smile, holding out his hand to help me stand. “That’s what friends are for.”

“Did I ever tell you that you’re the best friend a girl could have?” I yawn.

“You forgot to add most handsome after the best.”

“Modest as well.”

“Some girl is going to be lucky to have me.”

“You’ll never settle down,” I say drowsily.

“True.” He nods. “You want me to carry you up?”

“Nah. I’m good. Go and check on Hope.”

“K.”

“Jake.” He leans back through the door. “I hope you find the right girl for you one day. Sorry I wasn’t it.”

“Your heart belongs to someone else, darlin’, knew that from the first time I met you. He’s a lucky guy,” he says before disappearing off to find Hope.

“Yeah. Thanks, Lola, really appreciate it.” Hope looks at me questioningly, and holds out her thumb horizontally, like some old roman emperor waiting to give his decision whether a gladiator would live or die. I shrug my shoulders and try to concentrate on what Lola is saying.

“An extra day or two is all I can offer you, honey.” Lola’s breathy voice echoes down the line. “You know I would if I could, but Momma and Pawpaw are coming to visit. I don’t think I’ll have room.”

I give Hope the thumbs down sign and mouth, try Green Ivy Motel, to her. She makes a face, then heads out of the room with her cell to make the call.

“Did you hear me, hun?”

“What? Oh yeah, sorry, Lo. What was that again?”

She laughs sweetly. “I said I’m really sorry, babe. I would offer you the couch but with my sisters coming as well...Try calling Billy up at the Green Ivy, he might have some room.”

“Hope’s trying him now,” I say just as Hope walks back into the room, shaking her head. “Looks like that’s a no.”

“Well I could try…”

“No, don’t you worry, Lola. You’ve done too much already. Hope and I will work something out. Let us worry about that.”

“Just a shame that Emmerton doesn’t have anywhere else for you to stay.”

“Believe me, if we could, we’d be gone by now.”

“How long do you have to stay?”

“Until we get this sorted. We’re forbidden to leave the town limits unless Joely drops the charges, or we go before the judge.” I sigh. “The snow’s started clearing as well, it would have been a nice drive home.”

“That’s good to hear. I meant the snow, not the fact you’re now a master criminal.”

“I understood.” I laugh. “I guess I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

“Yeah. I know it’s not the best circumstances, but I’m looking forward to seeing you both.”

“Me too.”

“Take care, hun.”

“Bye,” I say, ending the call. I look up to see Hope watching me.

“So I take it from the phone call that we’ll be homeless in a few days?”

“Looks like it.” I take the seat next to her. “What happened with Billy?”

“Apparently, he doesn’t rent out rooms to convicted felons.”

“We haven’t been convicted of anything…yet.”

“I know that. You know that. The whole town knows that, but Billy was adamant.”

“What are we going to do?” I lean my head against Hope’s shoulder, letting out yet another long sigh.

“We could go on the run?”

“Could you imagine the uproar? Cop of the century, Deputy Elderhouse’s daughters disappear with criminal convictions over their heads? Dad would turn over in his grave.”

“Nah.” She chuckles. “Dad would laugh and plan our escape.”

“Yeah. He would,” I say quietly.

We sit in silence for a while until Hope squeezes my hand.

“Brooke?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“I miss them.”

“I do too.”

Hope turns her face toward mine. For a fleeting moment, I’m reminded of the little girl who was once my shadow. Everywhere I went, Hope went too. Everything I did, Hope tried to copy. Every time she was sad, I’d hug her tight as I vowed to protect her from the boogeyman. I see my vulnerable little sister again and I know in that instance that Caden McAllister still has the power to rip her apart.

“What are we going to do?” she asks.

“I don’t know. I wish I did. I wish I had a plan to get us out of this mess.”

Hope settles her head on my shoulder once more. “At least you know that Brody didn’t actually have sex with that skank.”

I let out a huff of annoyance.

“You can forgive him now, right?” My beautiful little sister, always believing in a happily ever after.

“I don’t know, Hope. I don’t think I can.”

“Why not? He’s your one and only, and now you know that you’re his.”

“It doesn’t work like that. He…he might not have…you know, but the thought was there. He would have done it if he hadn’t passed out.”

“He really regrets it.”

“He told you that, huh?”

“No. I can see it from the way he acts, the way he looks at you.”

“Oh, Hope. You always want to see the best in people, don’t you?” I say gently as I run my fingers through her hair. “It…it hurt to think that he’d slept with another woman, really, really hurt, and there’s a part of me that is happy that he didn’t…”

“But?”

“But that doesn’t make up for the way he treated me before that. He split up with me, Hope, because he didn’t want to be with me anymore. Brody wanted to experience life without me in it, and he didn’t give how I felt about that a second thought. He had me going out of my mind with worry for three days. He didn’t even apologize when he eventually turned up. And he didn’t care that I could overhear him as he arranged dates with other women. Do you see, now? It’s not just one single thing, it’s all of it together. I don’t know if I can forgive him.”

“I understand,” she whispers. “More than you know.”

“Oh, honey...”

A knock at the door makes us both jump.

“Who the hell is that?”

“I don’t know, doofus. Why don’t you go find out?”

“You’re nearer.”

“By a few inches,” I deadpan.

Our mystery caller knocks again.

“I’m coming!” I yell, which makes Hope snigger. “Oh grow up.” I laugh, chucking a cushion at her as I get off the couch, and put my hair into a messy bun as I walk to the front door and throw it open.

“What do you…” All I can see is a huge bouquet of flowers and a pair of hands. “Want?”

Brody’s handsome face peeks around the bouquet.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” I reply like an idiot.

“These are for you.” He smiles brightly, pushing the flowers into my arms.

“Thanks?”

“So…Ummm…Are you okay?” he asks, putting his hand behind the back of his neck. He’s nervous.

“Yeah.”

“Can I come in?”

“Now’s not really a good time.”

“It won’t take long. I just want a few minutes of your time.”

“I’m not having sex with you, Brody.”

“What?”

“Won’t take long…”

“Huh?”

I’ll admit that he looks adorable when he’s confused, adorable and hot. Why, oh why, do I still find him attractive?

“Never mind,” I say, placing the flowers on the floor beside me. “Look, what do you want, Brody? I’ve got a million and one things to sort out, like some place to stay…”

“I wanted to apologize. Again.” Silver eyes watch me from underneath dark lashes.

I will not give in. I will not give in.

“Apology accepted. Now don’t you have better things to do?”

“Not really.” He gives me a slow, sexy smile. “I thought we could spend some time together, seeing as you’ve forgiven me and you have to stick around for a while.”

Lord have mercy on my soul.

“Uh, no,” I say, picking the flowers up and shoving them back into his arms. “I said I accepted your apology. Not that I’ve forgiven you. I could try to be the better person and crap like that, but I’m mad at you, Brody McAllister. Really, really mad. So mad that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive you. And,” I continue as he opens his mouth to speak, “before you say anything, just because you didn’t stick your dick in that skank doesn’t count. You wanted to. You thought about it, so much so that you dropped me faster than a hot potato. Showing up with flowers doesn’t count either. In fact, just go away. I never want to see you again.”

“Awww, come on, Brooke.”

“Awwww, no, Brody.” I counter. “You and I are done.”

“I miss you,” he says quickly, before I can say any more.

“Not my problem.” I fold my arms across my chest.

“Could we”—he gently balances the flowers on the rail that wraps around Lola’s porch—“at least try to be friends?”

“Nope.” I shake my head.

“Just like that, you’re happy to give up over twenty-five years of friendship?” he says defensively, mirroring my stance.

“May I remind you that it was you who ended everything.” I seethe, and step forward to poke him in the chest. “Not me!”

“And I’m trying to say sorry.”

“What can’t you get, Brody? Huh? What will it take to get it into your thick skull that I don’t want to be friends with you?” I ask, poking his chest again. “Why would I want to be friends with someone who hurt me?” Brody uncrosses his arms and grabs my finger mid poke, and pulls me toward him so that our lips crash together. He loops his arms around me, crushing my body to his and thwarting any chance I had of getting away. Not that I want to.

Brody draws his tongue across my lips, seeking entrance. When I refuse, he changes tactics and alternates between pressing soft kisses and gentle bites against my bottom lip until I finally give in and respond to his sweet advances, opening my mouth to his. Tentatively, his tongue sneaks forward to meet mine as though he were kissing me for the first time. If I could think at this moment, I’d wonder why Brody is so hesitant, so unsure. This is something that we have done hundreds, if not thousands, of times before. That train of thought is lost the moment Brody’s tongue touches mine. It’s as though my heart has been made whole again.

Brody takes my moan of pleasure as his cue to deepen the kiss. Our mouths clash furiously together, my hands snake their way down to his butt while he places his hands in my hair, deepening the kiss even more. His touch sends my body into overdrive; my panties grow slick with my arousal as his length hardens against me.

I’m left bereft as he pulls away, placing his forehead against mine.

“Wow.” He laughs quietly, as he kisses the top of my head.

“Yeah.” I agree, winding my hands in his dark hair and pulling him back down to continue that earth-shattering kiss.

Brody lets out a groan as I snake my tongue into his mouth, unconsciously rubbing my body against his erection. I’ve kissed a few guys since Brody and I split up, but none of them felt like this. This feels like home. I’m on the verge of grabbing Brody by the hand and dragging him to bed when I hear a small cough nearby. Dismissing it, Brody and I carry on without a care.

“Excuse me.”

Brody pulls away first, looking confused. “Excuse me what?”

“I didn’t say anything.” I pant.

“Good.” He grins, leaning forward to kiss me again.

“For pity’s sake, Brooke! You do know that you have an audience, right?” Hope’s voice is like cold water on my raging libido, rapidly bringing me back to my senses.

“What in the hell?” I hiss, tearing myself away from the warmth of Brody’s embrace to see that most of the neighborhood is standing outside watching us. “How long have they been there?”

“Long enough for a video to be uploaded to the town’s social media page and get five hundred views.” Hope grins, looking down at her phone. “Oh, it’s seven hundred now.”

Brody raises his hands sheepishly and the people who I’d previously thought of as friends start to applaud and cheer.

Oh. My. God.

Horrified, I push Brody away, stepping back until my back meets the cold wall. This cannot be happening.

“Brooke?” Brody walks toward me, concern filling his silver eyes. “Brooke. Baby. Talk to me.”

“This. This can’t happen.”

“What can’t happen, baby?”

“This,” I repeat, gesturing between us. “Us. We can’t happen again. People can’t think that we’re together again.”

“Why not?”

“Because we’re not together.”

“That kiss told me otherwise.” He has a shit-eating grin on his face. Asshat. That kiss was a mistake.”

“That so?” His grin turns into one of the panty dropping ones that I used to love so much.

Focus, Brooke. Focus. “You’d push me away if I did it again?” I bat his hand away as he tries to get a hold of mine.

“Not so fast, mister.”

“You didn’t say no.”

“One kiss doesn’t mean anything.”

“A kiss we just had does. Come on, admit it, you still love me.”

“You arrogant jerk!” I say, placing my palm on the center of his chest, and shoving him half-heartedly.

The cocky look on his face disappears, something akin to adoration replacing it.

“I still love you, Brooke,” he says softly. “I always have.”

“You dumped me. How many times do I have to keep repeating myself?”

“As”—Brody takes my hand from his chest and brings it up to his mouth, placing a soft kiss on my palm—“many times as I will tell you that I’m sorry. I am, Brooke. I truly am.”

“Hmmmffff.” I grunt, snatching my hand away. This conversation is getting us nowhere.

“I want you back, baby. Tell me what you want me to do, what it will take. I’ll move heaven and earth to prove to you that I won’t hurt you like that again. I’ll earn back the trust you lost in me. I promise. Anything, Brooke. Just tell me what I need to do.”

“Give us a place to stay?” Hope pipes up. Snake. I’d forgotten she was standing there.

“Hope!”

“You owe us,” she continues, ignoring my protest. “Technically you’re to blame for us being stuck here.”

“Aren’t you staying with Lola?” Brody asks, pulling me back toward him as I try to tug my hand away, again.

“She’s got relatives coming to stay in the next few days, there’ll be no room for us in here,” Hope says. “Plus, Billy is getting all snotty about us being arrested, so that’s out,” she adds quickly. “As much as it pains me to ask you for help…quite honestly, you are our only hope.”

“No,” I say at the same time that Brody says yes.

“That’s great.” Hope smiles, clapping her hands together. “I’ll get our things.”

“Wait! Don’t I get a say in this?” I ask, looking between them.

“Do you have any better ideas?” Hope asks.

“I…um…we could get a tent?”

“In this weather? You wouldn’t last two minutes.”

“No.”

“Don’t be so stubborn. It’ll just be for a few weeks at the most. It’s not like you’ll be sharing a bed with him.”

“No.”

“Brooke, we have nowhere else to go.”

Brody scratches his chin thoughtfully. “If I promise not to touch you, would you stay then?”

“Yes. She would.”

“She can speak for herself, thank you.” I give Hope an evil glare.

“Brooke, baby, I know that you’ll be swallowing a lot of that pride, but it doesn’t sound like you have any choice. I’m more than happy for you and Hope to stay with me awhile, and I swear that I won’t touch you unless you want me to.”

I look between Brody and my sister before admitting defeat. “Yeah, okay.”

“Cool!” Hope grins. “I’ll go pack our things.” She disappears through the front door, leaving Brody and me alone.

“Why do I get the feeling that I just made a deal with the devil?” I mutter.

“Brooke?”

I turn to see that Brody is leaning against the porch rail, thumbs hooked in his jean pockets, hair still ruffled from our make out session. He looks like the boy that I fell in love with all those years ago, not the man who broke my heart.

“Brooke?” he repeats.

“Yeah?”

“If...” He lets out a long breath and looks to the sky, avoiding my gaze. “If you mean what you say. That you can’t see us being together because of what I did…” His beautiful gray eyes meet mine. “What I’m trying to say is that if you really believe that…I still want us to be friends.”

“Brody…”

“Listen, I realize now that I don’t want to live my life without you in it, and if friendship is all you are willing to offer, then I’ll take it, Brooke. I’ll take anything you’re willing to give me.”

I walk over to stand next to him, and lean my elbows on the porch rail. My eyes fill up with tears. Our audience has long gone, only Brody and I remain.

“When…” I start to say. Brody turns around so that we’re facing the same way. “When you went missing, I didn’t know what to do. I felt lost, confused, and heartbroken. I thought you’d died and I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the rest of my life without you there.”

“Baby.”

“Please,” I say, holding up my hand. “Let me say what I need to say.” Brody nods his head sadly. “I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. I nearly went out of my mind with worry that something had happened to you. But then Caden told me the truth. That you didn’t want me anymore.” My voice breaks but I press on. “Then you came home and told me that we were over. Just like that, no warning. I kept asking myself what I had done because I thought we were happy. I thought we were getting married, then just like that, my whole life was turned on its head. My future, that I had been dreaming about since we were little, was gone. I wasn’t going to be your wife or the mother of your children. If I stayed, I would have to stand by and watch as you gave my life to someone else. I’m not strong enough, Brody, I couldn’t watch you give everything I ever wanted to another woman.”

A single tear rolls down my cheek, Brody leans over and gently wipes it away, then cups my face with both his hands.

“I had no idea,” he whispers.

“No. You don’t, and you never will. You didn’t have to listen to the person you love have sex with someone else.”

“I…” He sighs, his eyes searching mine. I know that look, he’s searching for the words to make it right.

“You didn’t. I know that now, but for a whole year I thought you did. In my head, you weren’t mine anymore. What we’d had wasn’t special.”

“It will always be special.”

“No,” I say, breaking away from him, and wrap my arms around my middle. “You’re not getting what I’m trying to say. It was special, Brody. Was.”

“And it can be that way again. Just give me a chance. Please.” I turn my head away from his intense gaze. I don’t want to see the emotions that he’s feeling. I don’t want to acknowledge that he’s hurting too.

“I appreciate you putting us up for a while, it’s really kind of you,” I say, trying to change the subject.

“It’s your home as well.”

“Not anymore, it’s not.” I look up to see that Brody is looking at the floor, hands in his pockets again. He looks lost. “We shouldn’t be with you for long. Jake will sort things out, then we can head back to Scottsdale.”

“That’s where you’ve been?” he says suddenly. “Scottsdale?”

“That’s home.” I give him a small smile.

“It’s not your home, Brooke. Emmerton is.”

“I’ve made a life there, Brody. A good one. It’s not the life I thought I’d be living, but I’m happy.”

“You could be happy here…with me.”

“Maybe I would have, but you kind of nixed that.” I laugh humorlessly. “You forced me to create a new life for myself, Brody. It’s one that doesn’t include you.”

“I don’t want to lose you again, Brooke. I can’t lose you again.” He reaches out, taking a strand of my hair and winds it around his fingers. “I’m not a man of words. I never have been, but I’m not too proud to admit when I’m wrong. And I’m not too proud to say sorry. When you left, it was like all the color in the world had drained away leaving only gray.” He closes his eyes for a moment. “I looked for you, you know? I’m surprised I haven’t been charged for something with the amount of times I’ve gone up to a woman who looked like you.” He gives me a wry smile.

“You looked for me?”

“Yeah, even hired a P.I.”

“Wow,” I say, surprised.

“I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry, and that I love you, but they couldn’t find you,” he says, once again cupping my face in his large hands. “I kept telling myself that you’d moved on. That you’d met someone else. That I’d accept that, as long as you were happy. I’d made peace with that.”

“Brody…” I whisper.

“I lied, Brooke. I lied to you and I lied to myself. I don’t want to see you with anyone else. I don’t want to see another man’s child growing in your belly. I want to put that baby there, and I will. I will make everything right, Brooke. I will give you everything that you ever dreamed of. I will be your husband, the father of your children, the one to wipe away your tears, not the one to cause them. I’m sorry, Brooke, more than I can say. But I need you to understand that you are it for me.”

“Don’t,” I warn.

“Do you know what I dream of at night?”

“No.”

“You. Always you.”

“Please, Brody, don’t do this to me.”

“It’s how I feel.”

“And it’s everything I’ve ever wanted to hear,” I say, taking his hand in mine. “You talk of dreams? You’re not the only one who had them. For months after I left, I would dream of you. Always the same.”

“What was it?” he asks, rubbing his thumb over mine.

“That you would find me, tell me that you made a mistake… It was so real, but every time I woke up, you weren’t there. I can’t trust you not to do the same again, and I won’t have my heart broken like that for a second time. For that, I can’t give you another chance right now. I’m sorry,” I say, letting go of his hand. “I understand if you don’t want us staying with you.”

A light gust of wind reminds me that I’m standing out in nothing but a sweater, jeans, and socks. Somehow Brody has made me forget how cold it is. My body gives an involuntary shudder in protest to the cold. It’s only when Brody places his flannel shirt around me that I realize that I’m probably about to die of hypothermia.

“I want you to stay with me, Brooke.” He smiles, seemingly unaffected by the cold, even though he’s now only wearing a wife beater and jeans.

“Are you sure?”

“Look, it’s not like you two have anywhere else to go.”

“You won’t find it…uncomfortable?”

“Baby, I’ve told you how I feel. What my intentions are. If all you can offer me is friendship, then I’ll take it. Like I said, I don’t want to lose you again, but that won’t stop me from trying to convince you otherwise.”

“You promise not to try anything?” I cross my arms in front of me, giving him what I hope is a stern look. The problem is that I’m shivering so much that the effect has probably been lost.

“I promise not to touch you, unless you ask me to.”

“That’s not what I said, Brody, and you know it.”

“A man can only take so much, Brooke.” He grins. “I can’t promise you that I won’t try to get in your panties, but I won’t touch you until you beg me.”

“I guess I’ll have to take that,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“I’ll have you begging, baby,” he growls. “Don’t you worry about that.”

“You won’t be going anywhere near my panties, McAllister.”

“Want to bet on that, Elderhouse?” he calls as he walks backward down the porch steps.

“Not really, no,” I say under my breath as I watch his tight ass head over to our old house. How am I going to last the next few weeks in the same house as him?

How?

Brooke

Dear Jake,

Brody is hot.

Totally hot.

He’s so hot that I want to worship his hot body while licking cream and sprinkles off his dick, which is way bigger than yours by the way. Way, way, way bigger. I mean, this is your dick: 8===D

And this is Brody’s: 8============D

He also has a really nice ass and I want to run my hands all over his abs while he plays with my…

“BRODY!”

“Yeah?”

“What are you? Eight or something?”

“Did you like it? I thought it was awesome.” He smiles, giving Hope a high five as he passes. I give her my meanest stare, she just shrugs and returns to the book she’s reading.

“No. I didn’t.” I twist to face him as he sits down next to me on the couch. “My email to Jake, that you so kindly deleted, had to do with work, seeing as he is my boss, asshat,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Well, I thought it was good.” He laughs, poking me in the side, which makes me smile.

“It’s poorly written fanfiction at best, doofus.” I laugh as I poke him back.

“BURN,” Hope says from behind her book.

“It’s the truth and you know it.” He leans back, placing his arms behind his head, a smug smile on his face.

“Haven’t you got work to do?”

“Nope. It’s Sunday.”

“Well can’t you find anything else to do?”

“I’m just chilling on my couch, sweetheart. Like I do every weekend.” One of his hands snakes down to play with the loose bun that I’ve put my hair in.

“You know, for someone who said he wasn’t going to touch me until I begged, you’re doing an awful lot of touching.”

“I know you want to give in,” he says quietly as his lips brush my neck. “Just give in.”

“No.” I swallow hard, shifting so that my aching girly parts can get some slight relief. My panties are already soaking wet. I’m kind of disgusted with myself that he could make me this horny just by saying a few words.

“Yes.” His breath hits my neck, sending my sex-deprived body into overdrive. “Just say the word, Brooke.” I’m seconds away from giving in. Just…

“Urgggh!” Hope says, throwing up her hands, spoiling the moment. “If you two aren’t going to get a room, then I am.” She snatches up her book and stomps out of the room.

“Cockblocker!” Brody yells.

“Fuck you!” she shouts back, slamming the guest room door behind her.

Brody shakes his head, returning his attention back to me.

“So…”

“So.”

“Where were we?”

“You were about to tell me that you didn’t delete my email, then you were going to get lost.”

“I think that I was about to make you beg me to fuck you.”

“No I wasn’t,” I squeak. Smooth, Brooke, real smooth.

“I can smell your arousal from here, baby. I know you are lying. Just say the word and I’ll give you what you want.”

“Where’s my email?”

“In your drafts,” he says quickly, shutting my laptop closed. “Now forget about work.”

“McAllister.” I warn.

“You seem tense.” He tugs the laptop out of my hands and places it out of harm’s way. “I can help you with that.”

“Yes, you can, by getting lost.” I scoot over to the edge of the couch. Brody fixes me with a gaze so full of lust that my panties almost spontaneously combust on the spot. His lithe body moves in one fluid movement. All of a sudden I find myself caged in as he stands in front of me, his arms planted firmly on either side of me on the couch. His face comes within inches of mine, his breath gently caressing me. I can smell his woodsy scent that I once loved so much.

“You sure about that?” he asks gruffly.

“No.” I admit.

“Then give in.”

“Then you’ll win.”

His smile is pure sex. “It’s not about winning, baby. It’s about facing up to the inevitable.”

“And that would be?” I’m playing a dangerous game flirting with him.

“You, underneath me, screaming my name over and over again as I make you come. Hard.”

I swallow as his eyes darken from their normal silver to a deep gunmetal gray, a sign of pure lust that I know oh so well.

“I can’t,” I whisper as he leans forward, brushing his lips against mine.

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Both.”

“I don’t believe you.” He grins, lightly blowing on my neck.

“I don’t want my heart broken again,” I say as I start to writhe under him, creating a delicious friction between my thighs.

“I won’t break your heart, I promise.” He shifts so that his knee is pressed between the juncture at the top of my legs. I only need to move my body slightly forward and I’ll be using his knee to get off.

“Brody?”

“Yeah?”

“Touch me. Please?”

His lips are on mine before I can draw my next breath. A slow, sensuous kiss that deepens as I thread my fingers around his neck and pull him down on top of me.

“Thank you.” He breathes as he starts to kiss down my neck.

“No talking, just fucking.” I gasp as he licks along the length of my neck.

“When did you get so demanding?” He laughs, continuing his path down my body.

“When I’ve had to make do with a vibrator for a year.”

“That so?” Brody breaks away for a moment, watching my reaction as he smooths his hand along my thigh to the top of my leg. “We’re going to have to do something about that.”

“Yeah. You are.” I challenge, only to be silenced just seconds later as his hands snake into the waistband of my pants. I don’t resist as he lowers my pants, his long fingers skimming the edge of my panties, before reaching up and pulling them off as well.

“Are you sure about this?” he asks, his eyes suddenly filled with concern.

“Yes.” I gasp.

“Once we do this, we can’t go back.” His fingers dance lightly across my folds, sending a delightful shiver down my spine.

“I know.” I groan, grinding my hips against his hand.

“I love you, Brooke,” he says, placing a sweet kiss on my lips. “Even if you don’t love me, I’ll love you enough for the both of us.”

“Brody…” I stare into his eyes, trying to convey to him the words I can’t say out loud.

“I know. You don’t want to have your heart broken again, and that’s okay. I can wait.” His normally deep voice is barely a whisper. “Even if it’s forever, because you’re worth waiting for.”

I can’t stop the rush of emotion that hits me with his words, I let out a small sob as tears well up in my eyes.

“Hey.” Brody uses his free hand to brush away my tears. “We’re having sexy time. No tears, okay? I might get a complex.”

“Sh-sh-shut up and kiss me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

His smile is wide as he briefly presses his lips to mine. My eyes close and my mouth opens in expectation of another deep kiss that never comes. Not there anyway.

“Bro…OH MY GOD!” The first brush of his lips against my pussy sends shockwaves through my body. I lift my head to see Brody’s head buried between my thighs. A flicker of his tongue has me arching off the couch.

“You want me to stop?” He’s looking at me now, his gray eyes smolder with lust and amusement.

“Hell, no.” I pant, lowering my hips back down.

“Good,” he growls, before he begins another assault on my vagina.

I’m sure the moan that I let out in response can be heard all over the county.

“Oh God.” I mewl, grabbing ahold of Brody’s head, pulling him closer. He rewards me by fucking me with his tongue as I writhe against his face. My moans get louder and louder, until I’m practically screaming as he gives me wave after wave of pleasure. Then he replaces his tongue with his long, rough finger and sucks on my clit, tipping me over the edge into a chasm of bliss.

“YES. YES. MOTHERFUCKING. YES,” I yell before collapsing, boneless and satiated, on the couch. Brody places one last kiss to my sensitive pussy, then crawls back up my body, taking me in his arms.

“How was it?” He smiles, wiping my juices off his face with the back of his hand.

“Heavenly.” I sigh, snuggling into him. “Thank you.”

“I aim to please.” Brody gently kisses the top of my head before settling so that my head rests against his chest.

“Your turn now.” I pant as I snake my hand down his body, toward the fly on his jeans. He places his hand on mine, stopping me before I can reach my destination.

“No.”

“But what about you?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Brody.”

“Brooke.” He mimics the whining tone of my voice.

“I want to.”

“And I really want you to.”

“Then why are you stopping me?”

“Because,” he says, nuzzling his nose into my hair, “this is all about you.”

“Huh?”

“I wanted to do that for you, baby. I don’t expect anything in return, and I don’t want you to think that you have to return the favor.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Brody McAllister?” I laugh, cuddling into him.

“I’m serious, Brooke,” he says, stroking my cheek. “I need to prove to you that I’m serious about what I said. I love you, Brooke. I’d go to the ends of the earth to make you happy. What happened between us just now, that was only for you.”

“But—”

“Shhhhh.” He soothes, placing a finger over my lips. “Just lay with me.”

“I suppose I can.” I yawn, burying my head in his chest. “Until your cock deflates.”

The rumble of Brody’s laughter is the last thing I hear as I drift into a dreamless slumber.

“Do you know how loud you two were?”

“I said I was sorry.”

“Don’t lie, you’re totally not.”

“A tincy bit.” I hold up my thumb and index finger in front of Hope’s face.

“Didn’t sound like it.”

“I guess it didn’t.” I can’t hide the smile that spreads across my face.

“Are you and Brody back together, then?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Why?” Hope’s eyebrows almost disappear into her hairline. “Because for starters, most of the neighborhood overheard the two of you having sex. Then you have to add in the fact that Brody and you have been walking around like love sick teenagers. Don’t think I’ve missed the matching smiles that you two are currently sporting.” She throws herself across the bed. “It’s sickening.”

“We’re not back together,” I answer, fixing Hope with a hard stare.

“That’s not what it sounded like.”

“We’re not back together. How many times do I have to say it?”

“‘Yes, yes motherfucking yes’ times.”

“I was in the throes of passion.” I rip my apple that she was about to take a bite out of from her snake fingers. “We’re just…”

“Just what?”

“Friends. Brody and I are just friends.”

“Does Brody know that?”

“Sure he does.”

“Do you want to know what I think?”

“Not particularly.”

“I think that you and Brody are still in love with each other.”

“Friends,” I singsong.

“You love him, Brooke.”

“Wrong.”

“You do.”

“Nope.”

“He loves you.”

“Good for Brody.”

“And you love him.”

“Whatever you say.”

“How long are you going to avoid answering me properly?” she asks, snatching the apple back. “When are you going to listen to what your heart is telling you?”

“When it can guarantee that it won’t shatter again.”

“There are no guarantees in life, Brooke, you know that as well as I do.”

“Oh yeah? Spoken to Caden recently?” I say, folding my arms across my chest.

“Low blow.”

“True though.”

“Still low.”

Looking at her, I feel a pang of guilt, so I throw myself next to her on the bed, brushing back her hair.

“It was,” I say quietly. “I’m sorry.”

Hope moves so that she’s lying on her back, looking at the ceiling.

“What are you going to do?” she asks, turning her head to look at me.

“I don’t know. I haven’t really processed it yet, you know?” Hope gives me a reassuring smile, and takes my hand in hers, giving me a squeeze. “I’m not….”

“Not what?”

“Sure…if I regret it or not. I mean it was great. Really, really great.” I smile. “But…I don’t want to lead him on. It’s not fair to make Brody think that he may get another chance when I’m not sure that I can give him one.”

“You’re overthinking things again.”

“I wish it were simple, Hope.”

“It is.”

“You’re not making much sense.”

“What I see,” she says, shifting so that she lies on her side facing me, “is two people in love. One of those people fucked up badly and is now trying to make amends. The other is reluctant to admit that she wants to live happily ever after with him because she is scared that he’ll break her heart again. Am I right?”

I sigh as I roll onto my back again, staring once more at the ceiling. It feels…strange. Strange to be sleeping in the house that I thought I’d raise my kids in. My once safe place, my little kingdom where the outside world didn’t matter. Home. Now, it feels empty, as though I’d never lived here. Like I don’t belong.

Not that much has changed in the house, Brody has kept it pretty much the same as when I moved out. Even the things I left behind haven’t been moved, which is a little bit creepy. I’ll admit that when Brody went out to work the other day, I snuck into our old room and found a stuffed bear wearing one of my old tees that I left behind. I’m still wavering between whether it’s kind of sweet or kind of horrifying. I wonder what else he does to the bear. Does he spoon with it at night like he did with me or… You hear of guys ordering stuffed toys with extra holes, that’s all I’m saying.

Is it possible that this could be my home again, if I forgive him? Can I do that, give him what he’s so desperate for—a second chance? It would mean giving up my life in Scottsdale. I’ve only been there a year but I’ve been…happy. Yeah, happy. I never thought that I’d end up working for a millionaire former marine who runs a male strip joint. Who would? But I do, and everything is better for it. Where once my life was gray, now it’s full of color. Not one day is the same. I love my job, I love the friends I’ve made. I even love the cramped apartment that I share with Hope. But I also love Brody.

Being back here has made me realize that I still love him.

I miss him.

I even miss this town and the weather.

I think…I think I want to come back home.

“You never were any good at admitting that I’m right.” Hope smiles, pulling my attention back into the room. “It must be so painful for you.”

“Nah. I just have to remember that I tried to talk you out of cutting your own fringe.”

“Bitch.”

Through the window I can see that night time has descended. The alarm clock on the bedside table reads six o’clock. Brody will be home soon.

“Hope?” I ask as I get off the bed. “When did you get so wise?”

“When I grew up and stopped thinking that everything was pink, fluffy clouds, unicorns, and rainbows.”

“I liked you like that.”

“That girl is gone, Brooke.” She shakes her head sadly.

“Not gone. Buried.” I walk to the open door. “You’ll find her one day.”

“Not in this lifetime.”

“Don’t be such a pessimist, anyway I’m going to fix us some dinner. Want to help?”

“Yeah,” she says, joining me. “What time is Brody due home?”

“Right about…now,” I say at the sound of Brody’s truck pulling into the drive.

“You so still love him.” Hope pokes me in the side as we walk to the kitchen. “And one day you’ll thank me.”

“Pffft”

“Pffft nothing.”

“I thought you didn’t like him.”

“He hurt my big sister, that makes him my mortal enemy.”

“But?”

“I can see that he is trying to put everything right, Brooke. Don’t be so quick to push him away.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I salute just as Brody walks in with bags of take-out.

“What did I miss?” he says as he places the bags on the counter.

Hope, the pig, dives straight in, then does a happy dance as she pulls a box out. “Phad Thai? You remembered?” She hugs the box to her chest and smiles. “Did I ever tell you that you’re the best brother-in-law ever?”

“Hope!” I squeal. “We’re—”

“Not together. Yeah, I know.” She rolls her eyes, scooping out another box with her name written on the side, and some chopsticks. “I’m gonna leave you two lovebirds alone.”

“Where are you going?”

“My room.”

“Our room!”

“Not tonight, I love you and all, but I kind of want the bed to myself. No offense or anything, but your snoring is bad.”

“Bitch,” I yell as she disappears out of the kitchen.

“Looks like you’re sleeping with me tonight.” Brody chuckles.

“I can take the couch if you want.” I shrug, opening the take-out box with my name on it. Chicken Kaeng Phet and coconut rice? I could kiss him.

“Or I can take the couch and you sleep in the bed.”

“Whatever.” I take a bite of the curry, closing my eyes as I savor the delicious flavor.

“An even better idea is that we share my bed. It’s big enough for two.” He grins.

“I don’t know if that is such a good idea. Not after last time.”

“We weren’t in the bed last time. It was the couch,” he says wryly.

“That’s not the point.”

“What is then?”

“That we could end up having S.E.X.” I spell out, much to his amusement.

“So? We’ve had sex hundreds of times before,” he says, putting his take-out box down. “What we did the other day was sex, Brooke.”

“I know that.”

“What would be so wrong with us making love?”

“Because we’re not together, and I don’t want to treat you like you’re some kind of F.W.B.”

“F.W.B?” he says, scrunching his nose up in confusion. He looks adorable when he does that.

“Friends with benefits?”

“Nope. You got me there.” He makes a face while shrugging his shoulders.

“Seriously? You’ve never heard of a friend with benefits? Have you been living under a rock?”

“No. Emmerton,” he deadpans.

“Really.”

“Believe it or not, Brooke, but after the way we split up, you vanishing into thin air like you did, and me trying to become a better man, that kind of thing passed me by.”

“Wow.”

“Did you have any?” His tone is suddenly cold but his eyes, so full of fire, tell a different story.

“Any what?”

“Friends with benefits?” he spits, looking away from me.

“Do you mean, did I sleep around?” He doesn’t answer, just continues to glare at me. “I had every right to after what happened, don’t you think? So why are you acting all jealous?”

“I’m not jealous.” He grunts, as he stalks over to me, and places his hands on either side of me on the countertop I’m leaning against.”

“Sure about that, cowboy?” I goad. “You’re positive that the thought of another man inside of me, making me scream, doesn’t make you mad?” Brody bends down so that we’re at eye level, fury in his eyes. “I know you, Brody. I know that you hate the thought of any man touching what is yours,” I continue, ignoring the now murderous look on his face. “Too bad. I had to listen to it, Brody, so I know how much it hurts. I don’t belong to you. You don’t belong to me.”

“So, what happened the other day didn’t mean anything to you?”

“No. Wasn’t it you that said that you could love enough for the both of us? I never made you any promises,” I taunt, my chin lifted in defiance.

Instead of answering, he surprises me by grabbing the back of my head, and pulling me in for a hard, punishing kiss. Before I can process what is happening, I’m twisted around so that I’m bent over the countertop with my jeans and panties yanked down to my knees.

“This is mine,” he growls, slapping my ass. “Mine,” he repeats, pushing me down against the hard surface. I try desperately to hold on to something as he undoes his zipper.

“So, what are you going to do about it?” I hiss as he slips his hand between my legs, stroking my clit until my pussy is slick.

“This.” He enters me with a hard thrust, the burn of both pleasure and pain making me gasp. He pauses for a brief moment to let me adjust to his size, and leans forward to whisper in my ear. “How do you want my cock, baby?” He teases me by gently pushing forward. “Slow?” he asks as I let out a loud moan in response. “Or fast.” He thrusts his hips rapidly.

“Oh God.” I moan.

“Tell me what you want,” he demands, yanking on my ponytail. I’ve never seen this side of Brody before, a jealous side…a dangerous side. And I like it. I like it a lot.

“Hard.” I gasp. “Fuck me hard.”

“As you wish.” He grunts as he surges forward, filling me completely. I have to bite down on my hand to stop a scream from leaving my mouth. “Do you like that, baby?”

He starts to pound into me relentlessly from behind, not letting up as I writhe and moan beneath him. Brody leans against me, taking me while gripping my wrists. I’m powerless as he thrusts over and over again.

We’ve never had sex like this before. Not where I’ve been at his mercy alone.

“You are mine,” he growls. “No other man will ever touch you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I whisper.”

“Say it again.”

“Yes.”

“Again.”

“Yes.”

“Louder,” he growls.

“YES!” I scream as my orgasm hits, spurring him on more as he fucks me even harder.

“I’m going to fill you up with my cum. Mark you so that every fucker that so much as looks at you knows you and this tight pussy belong to me.”

“Please,” I beg, as I free fall into the bliss of another orgasm. He slams into me one last time, letting out a loud groan as he fills me with his seed before collapsing on me.

“I love you,” he says quietly as he kisses my neck.

“I love you, too,” I answer, twisting my head around to return his kiss.

“Really?” His face lights up with pure joy from the simple words.

“Yeah,” I answer, nuzzling his nose. “I do.”

“Was it my awesome sex skills that changed your mind?”

“No.”

“Was it my huge dick and dazzling good looks?”

“Don’t forget modest as well.”

“I’m such a humble guy.” He places a soft kiss on my nose. I feel his loss as he pulls out of me and walks to the sink. He gets a cloth and wets it, returning to gently clean away the aftermath of our lovemaking. Brody gives a light tap on my ass to let me know he’s done, giving me a moment to push myself up and redress before pulling me into his arms. “So,” he says, kissing me, “how come you love me again?”

I laugh so much as he starts to tickle me that I have to beg him to stop so that I can catch my breath. “Because I do. Because I can’t fight it anymore.”

“And because we had fantastic sex?”

“Yeah, that too.”

“You’re so shallow.” He chuckles as he starts to tickle me again. “Maybe we should take this to the—”

“HAVE YOU TWO STOPPED HAVING MONKEY SEX YET? I NEED A GLASS OF WATER. I CAN COVER MY EYES, OR DO I NEED EYE BLEACH?” Hope yells through the door, totally ruining the moment.

“YOU’RE COOL,” I yell back, raising my eyebrows at Brody.

“Thank God.” Hope huffs as she walks into the kitchen. Rolling her eyes at what I imagine is our matching dopey grins. “I thought you were never going to stop.”

“You could have just gotten the water,” Brody says with a smirk.

“And catch an eyeful of your spotty, lily-white ass banging my sister? Ewww, no thanks,” she says, making a face of disgust. “Please tell me that you’ve scrubbed the countertops clean?”

“Not yet.” I laugh. “No point as we were about to have round two before you so rudely interrupted.”

Hope makes a retching sound as Brody doubles over with laughter.

“For the love of God, take it to the bedroom. Do you know how unsanitary you two are?”

“And you’ve never done anything like that before?”

“Not the point.”

“Don’t whine like a baby.”

“I’ll be so glad when we can go home. Then I won’t have to worry about walking in on you holding a little fuck-fest.” She moans, stomping out of the kitchen with her precious glass of water clutched in her hand.

Brody shakes his head, an expression of wry amusement on his face. He slips behind me and wraps his arms around my middle. “Want to take this to the bedroom?” he murmurs, placing a kiss in my hair.

“Yeah.” I giggle, putting my arms over his. “Only if you can keep up. You’re a year older from when we last—”

“I’ll show you old,” he growls, picking me up in one swift motion and carrying me off to the bedroom.

Brooke

“Your bed is so comfy.” I yawn, snuggling further into his naked chest as he plays with my hair. We’ve lain here, basking in an after sex high, for I don’t know how long. Could’ve been five minutes, could’ve been ten since Brody rolled off me, gasping for air while his cum trickled down my thighs. What I do know is that I’m going to have trouble walking tomorrow.

“Glad you like it…you know what else it’s good for?” I don’t have to look at him to know that there is a devilish smirk plastered on his face.

“Sleeping.”

“You don’t fancy another go?” Brody cups my right breast in his hand, massaging it gently.

“Haven’t you run out of sperm by now?” I moan as he pinches my nipple between two of his fingers, which sends a delicious mix of pain and pleasure all the way down to my pussy.

“Nah, I’m good. I’ve got a whole year’s worth to share with you.”

“Really?” I ask, as I raise myself up to rest on my elbow. “So you’re saying that you didn’t jerk off.”

“I didn’t say that.” He grins. “But I have had a serious case of blue balls.”

“And wankers cramp?”

“What the fuck is a wanker?”

“Some British term I picked up from a guy at the club.”

“Yeah? Did he try to get in your panties as well as teach you dirty words?” The pout on his face is adorable, but I can tell Brody is pissed.

“Yes, he did, but”—I gently slap his chest as he tries to get up—“he didn’t get anywhere. Before you say anything, Jez is a really nice guy.”

“He tried to get in your panties.”

“But he didn’t, nor did any other guy.” He lets out a snort of annoyance and looks away from me. “When did you get so…possessive?”

“When I found out that the men you’ve worked with over the past year are every woman’s idea of the perfect male.”

“Did you look on the website?” I’m biting on my bottom lip to try and stop myself from laughing at his sulking.

“Yes.”

“That explains it.” I place a light kiss between his eyebrows. “You should know that none of them compare to you.”

“That right?” He’s struggling not to smile now.

“Uh-huh.”

“So, I can compete with them?”

“Most of them.”

“Most of them?” he repeats, raising an eyebrow.

“Jake’s pretty hooooo…Brody!” I squeal as he flips me over and starts to tickle me.

“He is, is he?”

“Stop,” I scream with laughter. “Please, stop.”

“Who’s hotter?” He carries on ignoring my pleas. “Jake or me?”

“Jake.” I laugh.

“What was that?” He grins evilly as he makes a dive for my feet.

“Noooooooooo.”

“Sorry,” the bastard says while he attacks my right foot. “You were saying?”

“Stop.” I pant. “I’m going to pee myself.”

“Not until you tell me.” I try to kick out but he’s too powerful for me. “Jake or me?”

“You.” I squeal.

“Me what?” He pauses for a moment, his fingers dancing lightly across the soles of my feet.

“You’re hotter than Jake.”

“Good.” He smiles, letting go of my feet and crawling back up my body.

“I hate you.” I huff.

“No, you don’t.” He smirks, pulling me back down on to his chest. “You love me.”

“I don’t know why.”

“So tell me.”

“What?”

“This guy, Jez, right?”

“Yeah?”

“What British words did he teach you?”

“Only a few. Wanker, twat, cockwomble.”

“What do they even mean?” Brody snorts.

“Wanker is someone jerking off, I think. Twat is a pussy, but can be used as an alternative to idiot. And cockwomble…I have no idea.”

“Good to know.”

“Why?”

“We might go to England one day.”

“Oh yeah? And why would we go?”

“For our honeymoon,” he says smugly.

I walked into that one, didn’t I?

“Has all the sex gone to your brain?” I joke. “Or have you forgotten that we’re not engaged anymore?”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Brody bends his head to place a kiss in my hair. “And I intend to rectify that situation as soon as you admit you want to marry me.”

“You haven’t asked.”

“Will you marry me?”

“Uh, no.”

“Why not? You accepted straight away the last time.”

“Because, buster, we’ve only just gotten back together. Literally.”

“All the more reason not to waste any time.”

“I said no, Brody.”

“Is that a no, as in never ever, or no as in maybe someday?”

“The latter.”

“Like next week?”

“You need to slow it down, buddy.” I laugh. “There are things we need to sort out first.”

“Like?”

“Like...like.” I struggle. “Like…I don’t live here!”

“You can always move back.”

I let out a huff of annoyance at that answer.

“Well you could,” he continues. “Emmerton is your home.”

“Scottsdale is my home now.”

“For a year,” he says dismissively.

“And?”

“And what?”

“I have a life there. A job. Friends. An apartment.”

“You had a life here.” He shuffles down the bed so that we are facing one another. “With me,” he says, eyes boring into mine. “You have friends here as well you know, and a home.”

“Pfft…where?”

“Here,” he says, kissing my nose. “This house. You could move back in.”

“Brody.” I sigh.

“I don’t see the problem.”

“Well, I do.”

“I love you, you love me, so what’s stopping you?” he asks, bemusement clouding his handsome face, which then turns to panic. “You do love me, don’t you?”

“Yes.” I lightly stroke his brow in an effort to calm him. “I’ve loved you my whole life.”

“Then why won’t you come home?”

“It’s complicated.”

“I still don’t see any problem.”

Inwardly, I sigh. How do I explain to him, that in the year we were apart, I grew up? I became who I was meant to be, not who I was expected to become. No one in Scottsdale knew me as one half of Brooke and Brody, the couple who were destined to marry from birth. No one expected anything of me. They helped me see that there is a life outside of the small town that I called home. That I am my own person—not just the other half of a couple, or the much-loved deputy’s daughter. In Scottsdale, I’m free from judgement, free from prying eyes, free from expectations. Yet, these are the people who helped raise me, who picked me up and dusted me off when I scraped my knee. Who fed Hope and me for months after our parents died. Who know every single bit of my business.

“I’ve made a life there, Brody.” I place a finger on his lips to prevent him from interrupting me. “A happy life, with a good job and good friends. I…I feel…I don’t know how to explain it.” I take his hand in mine, bringing it to my lips. “I’m sorry.”

“You feel free,” he says, resigned. “That the weight of expectation has been taken off of your shoulders.”

“How did you…”

“I get it, okay. I get how you feel, because I feel that weight too. Like everyone expects me to do the right thing all the time, and kicks me down when I fuck up.”

“Wow.”

“I understand why you don’t want to come home, you don’t have to say any more. I want us to be together. What makes you happy makes me happy.”

“You could always move to Arizona,” I say hopefully, Brody makes a face in response. “That’s a no then.”

“I’m not saying that, baby, but please think about how difficult it would be for me to up and move across the country. Everything that I know and love is here…except you.” He kisses the palm of my hand before continuing. “It won’t be that easy to start over. In Emmerton, I have practically no competition—I’m the go-to guy. You know how long it’s taken me to build up a good reputation. I’d have to sell McAllister Construction, then build my business again from scratch.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not a no, Brooke. It’s an I’ll think about it, okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Come here.” He smiles, putting both arms around me, hugging me. “We’ll work something out. Something that’s good for both of us. You just gotta have faith.”

“Did you just quote George Michael to me?”

“Might have.” He gives me a sly grin. “Anyway, I forgot to ask if you’re free tonight.”

“Well let me check my extensive diary and I’ll get back to you.” I tap my lip in mock contemplation. “No, you’re good. It’s not like I can go anywhere anyway.”

“How about you and me head out, go on an official date?”

“You have remembered that we’re stuck in Emmerton, right? I’m not allowed to go out of the town limits. It’s going to be a pretty boring date.”

“Says you.” He scoffs.

“I’ve lived in Emmerton all of my life, buddy, and I know that this place is practically a ghost town at night.”

“Hey, I’m not talking about taking you to a bar, sweetheart.”

“So, where are you going to take me, mister?”

“That’s classified.”

“You don’t know, do you?” I poke him in the side.

“Need to know basis, sweetheart. Now go to sleep.” He laughs as he turns off the light.

Silence descends throughout the room, for a while nothing stirs. My head rests against Brody’s chest, his rhythmic breathing leads me to believe that he has fallen asleep. So, I get up and walk to the bathroom, my mind full of turmoil because of our conversation. Could I give up my new life to return to my old one? I love Brody but…I don’t know if we’re strong enough yet. I feel like we still have some healing to do. We’re not quite there.

In the harsh light from the bathroom, I stand and stare at the horror show that confronts me in the mirror. My hair has that just fucked look to it, or as my mom would say, I look like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards. If all else fails, I could probably make decent money as an Alice Cooper impersonator, seeing as my eyeliner is streaked all over my face.

I’m seriously in awe that Brody didn’t run off screaming.

That, right there, is a sign of true love.

When I’m finished, I tiptoe back to our bedroom, hoping not to disturb my slumbering man. Unfortunately, I discover I wasn’t born with the ability to see in the dark, when I let out a loud yelp as my foot meets a wooden bedpost.

“Shit!”

The light turns on immediately and through my tears of pain, I see Brody bolt upright, rubbing his eyes. “Brooke? Baby? You okay?”

“Yeah.” I wince as I hobble back over to my side of the bed.

“What happened?” he asks sleepily.

“Stubbed my toe on the bed.”

“Do you want me to beat the shit out of it?”

“No.” I pout, diving into his open arms. “I don’t want you to damage it. It’s too comfy.”

“But it maimed my woman.” He smiles at me, his eyes alight with amusement.

“Your woman will be okay once her man kisses her better.”

“You want me to kiss your stinky feet?”

“My feet don’t stink, asshat.”

Brody laughs, reaching over to turn out the light.

“Night, stinky.”

“Brody?”

“Yes, baby?”

“I might have to take your bed with me when I go home.”

“As long as I’m in it every night, sweetheart, you can have what you want.”

“So you’ll move to Arizona?”

“We’ll see. Night, Brooke,” he says quietly before falling quickly back to sleep.

Brooke

It’s Saturday afternoon—on a surprisingly nice day—and instead of making the most of it and enjoying the slight rise in temperature out in the backyard, Hope and I are driving down Main Street, trying to find somewhere to park. Which is impossible because the roads are jammed and I can’t see any reason why.

I blame Jake for this.

If he hadn’t have emailed this morning to let me know that he was heading back to see us, then we wouldn’t be stuck in a traffic jam, just so we can get extra food. Knowing him, he’ll fly by his private jet, which means we don’t have much time before he gets here.

The man is a millionaire, seriously, I’ve seen his accounts. The very least he could do is send a chef or someone ahead to prepare all the food for the week. The other thing he could do, but isn’t, is stay at Billy’s inn. That would be too easy. He insists on staying with us—Jake and Brody, two Alpha males staying under the same roof, winding each other up. Awesome.

Why Brody agreed to it in the first place is beyond me.

It will be good to see him again though. I’ve missed him, and he did say that he had some information for us that would help us out.

Meanwhile, Brody has skillfully managed to get out of the shopping expedition from hell because “something important came up” at work. Seeing as he never used to work on a Saturday unless the job was urgent, then I’d say he has his feet up and is playing Pokémon Go while Hope and I suffer.

“What the fuck is going on with people,” Hope yells, laying on the horn as ninety-year-old Mrs. Peterson backs out of her parking space without looking, nearly hitting our car. The old goat winds down her window and gives us the bird. Nice. “Did you see that?” Hope asks incredulously.

“Never mind her, just get the space…get the space.” I gesture. On the other side of the lane, Sandra Maitland is sitting in her big-assed SUV, eyeing up the parking space which, by rights, is ours. If she tries to steal it, then that bitch is going down. Our eyes connect and she starts to rev her engine. “Hope,” I warn.

“Calm your tits, I’m on it.” She laughs, suddenly hitting the gas pedal and practically throwing the car into the space. “Ta-da!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sandra let out a long stream of expletives. “Guess that’s us permanently banned from the Woman’s Guild.”

“Who cares? They’re a bunch of nasty old gossipmongers anyway.”

“Mom was a member.”

“Still nasty gossips.”

“Who looked after us when Mom and Dad died.”

“You’re right.” She huffs. “But Sandra Maitland is the worst.”

I’m about to correct her but then I think back, remembering the nasty crap that Sandra told the gossip magazines for a couple of hundred dollars when Hope and Caden split up.

“I bet it’ll be all around the church group by tonight.”

“Let it. They’ve got nothing better in their lives.”

“Hope! Not everyone is like that.”

“Oh yeah, you don’t think they don’t sit around talking about you and Brody?”

“Well…”

“Oh believe me, they do.” She shoves her sunglasses down from the top of her head. “Probably hoping that you burn in hell for living in sin.”

“I don’t care what they think,” I answer as we get out of the car. “Why should I?”

“Because people like Sandra Maitland think you’re a whore.”

“Come on.”

“They do, Brooke.” She presses the key fob, locking the door. “They sit and judge you, all the while maintaining their holier than thou attitude. Because obviously going to church makes you better than everyone else and more entitled to have an opinion on something that doesn’t concern you. When, in reality, you and I know that Sandra Maitland is the first one to drop to her knees when Pastor Barron tells her to.”

“Hope.” I hiss, trying to shush her. “You can’t say that.”

“Why not? It’s all true.”

“Did someone get out of bed on the wrong side this morning?”

“No, but some inconsiderate roommates of mine decided to keep me awake with their non-stop fucking.”

“I’m sorry.” I can feel the blush creep up the side of my face. “We’ll try and keep it down next time.

“Pah! Like hell you will.” She waves her hand at me dismissively as we walk in to the grocery store.

“Oh, and Cade messaged me last night.”

I stop dead in my tracks. “What? Caden? Why? And how? I thought you blocked him.”

“Shhhh.” Hope raises a finger to her lips as she looks around frantically to see if anyone overheard. “Not so loud, and if you must know, he reached out to me. He wrote me a letter.”

“Cade wrote you a letter?”

“It was really sweet.”

“Hope,” I warn. “Don’t get sucked in. He’ll only hurt you.”

“I’m an adult, Brooke. I know what I’m doing, so with all due respect, kindly butt out of my business.”

“Okay, okay,” I whisper, “I get it. Now what did he say when he called?”

“The usual. He misses me. He’s sorry, and whether or not you and Brody are boning yet.”

“Wait. What do you mean the usual? Has he contacted you since you broke up?”

“Every month.” She sighs. “And before you go all big sister bitch-fest over it, I usually ignore him.”

“You didn’t ignore him this time?”

“Nope.”

“What did you say?”

“Apart from get lost?” she says, flinging a box of noodles into the cart. “I told him the two of you were having sex as I typed…then I snapchatted it.”

“YOU WHAT!”

“Snapchatted,” she singsongs, picking up a couple of zucchini. “You were really loud, it was all, ‘Brody you’re so hard.’ Thump, thump, thump.”

I hear a gasp and a loud crash as someone behind me drops a jar. In slow-motion, I turn around to see ninety-year-old Mrs. Lennox and her daughter, Mrs. Oppen, standing there. Mrs. Oppen’s hand is still in the same position as when she let go of the jar, and her mouth is wide open. All over and around her feet is some kind of red sauce. Her mother, on the other hand, is giving me two thumbs up and a gummy grin. I have never been so mortified in all my life.

“You bitch.” I hiss. “You know stuff like that ends up on the internet all the time. Oh. My. God.” My eyes widen with sudden realization. “I’m going to end up on YouPorn.”

Mrs. Lennox shuffles over, stopping when she reaches us, and starts clucking as she gently pats my arm with her wrinkled hand.

“All the best people do, dear,” she says with a wicked glint in her watery blue eyes. “If I was sixty years younger, I’d be uploading videos to it left, right, and center.” She looks around for her daughter, but seeing that Mrs. Oppen has gone to find someone to clean up, she continues. “Back in the day, I used to have a reputation for giving awesome blowjobs. Was giving them in the nursing home, up until my knees went.” Mrs. Lennox giggles when she catches the open-mouthed look that Hope and I are currently sporting. “Oh don’t be so shocked. You think your generation invented sex?”

It’s Hope that recovers first. “Way to go, Mrs. L,” she says, fist-bumping the old lady. “I hope I have your attitude when…”

“You can say it,” she croaks. “Old. It’s true, dear. I’m an old coot, well on the outside I am, but here”—she taps the side of her head—“here, I’m still eighteen. Just don’t tell my daughter what I just told you, she thinks that I only did it three times with her daddy to produce her and her brothers.” Mrs. Lennox rolls her eyes, before leaning toward us, lowering her voice. “Between you and me? I don’t think that prick she married fucks her often enough. Maybe if he did, she wouldn’t be so uptight.”

I have to choke back a laugh as Mrs. Lennox straightens and starts to dust off imaginary fluff from her shoulders. “If I was your age, I’d be banging Brody three times a day and six on Sunday. The boy’s got a nice ass and he’s easy on the eyes.” She winks.

“Mom?”

“Shit,” my new hero says. “Better go, girls. Call me if you ever want to gossip. We have mimosas at the nursing home on Fridays.”

“Mom, are you all right?”

“Yes, dear,” Mrs. Lennox says loudly. “Beth’s lovely girls were keeping me company after you abandoned me.”

“I didn’t abandon you.” Mrs. Oppen sighs. “I went to find some help. Come on, let’s get you home.”

“My own daughter leaving me. I could have died. Dropped dead in the middle of the aisle and you wouldn’t have cared.”

“Come on, Mom.” Mrs. Oppen gives us the stink eye as she takes a hold of Mrs. Lennox’s arm and starts to drag her away.

“Remember,” Mrs. Lennox whispers as she taps the side of her nose, “Mimosas Fridays and mums the word.

“Mother!”

“I’m coming, dear, which I’m sure is plenty more than you have in the past year.”

We watch them as they round the corner, out of sight.

“Who would have thought...” Hope smirks.

“I want to be like her when I get old.”

“You are old.”

“I’m not even thirty yet.”

“That’s positively ancient.” She teases.

“Don’t sass me. Anyway, I’m not talking to you.”

“Why not?”

“Well duh. You told Caden that Brody and I have been doing the nasty.”

“Don’t forget anyone that is on my Snap.”

“What!” I yelp. “You are ten seconds away from being dead to me.”

“I’m kidding. Jeeze,” she says, throwing her free hand up in the air as she rolls her eyes. “Caden was totally impressed with his brother’s performance.”

“I hate you,” I snarl, following along in her wake, almost bumping into her when she stops abruptly.

“You need these?”

“Need what?”

“These”—she holds up a large pack of condoms—“because you two have been doing it plenty. You must have almost run out by now. Better to be safe than sorry.”

My face must turn beet red with the level of embarrassment I feel right at this moment.

“We haven’t used any,” I mumble so quietly that Hope has to step forward just to try to catch what I say.

“Could you repeat that, because I swear that my normally really responsible older sister has just told me that she and her boyfriend haven’t been using any protection?”

I can’t bring myself to look at her, instead I take great interest in the boots I put on this morning. When did they get so scuffed? I’ll have to get some polish or something.

“Brooke!” Hope snaps her fingers in front of my face.

“Yeah?” They really should clean the floor more often, it’s filthy. Isn’t there some kind of food law that states grocery shop floors have to be clean? People pick up all sorts of bacteria walking around, like dog crap…wonder why people don’t get sick more often?

“Answer me, bitch.”

“The floor isn’t clean.”

“What?”

“The floor. It isn’t clean.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? Actually, don’t answer that, answer my first goddamn question.”

“What was that again?”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear it? It was simple enough…Did you or did you not use protection when you screwed Brody?” She hisses. “Bear in mind that if you don’t answer me in the next ten seconds, then I’ll repeat the question, but louder so the whole store can hear me. Sandra Maitland just walked in. If you don’t want your personal business spread all over this hell hole within the next hour, then I would suggest that you answer me.”

“Okay.” I snap. “No, we didn’t and haven’t.”

“Oh my God! You could be growing Brody’s spawn in there as we speak.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because…because.”

“Brooke,” she warns.

“Brody and I tried before.”

“What?”

“Brody and I tried to conceive before the split. We tried for years but nothing happened, and I doubt it ever will. Okay? That’s why we don’t use any protection, because I can’t have children.”

“Well that’s just dumb.”

“Excuse me?”

“Have you been to a doctor?”

“We tried for five years, Hope, nothing happened.”

“So you didn’t see a doctor?”

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” I slam the contents of our cart onto the belt. “Infertility isn’t something that should be taken lightly. It hurts. It hurts every time I see a pregnant woman, it hurts every time I hear a baby cry.”

“You never told me,” she says softly, handing her card over to the cashier.

“It’s not exactly something I want to talk about.”

“I get that, but just because you tried and have had trouble, doesn’t mean that you can’t. Only a doctor would be able to tell you.”

“Jesus, Hope. Do you not understand the meaning of ‘I don’t want to talk about it’?” I stomp off toward the exit, leaving Hope to struggle with the heavy shopping cart.

“Brooke, wait up!” I don’t look back. “Brooke Elderhouse, stop right now!” Hope yells so loud that everyone on Main Street stops what they are doing to stare. I stop and look to heaven in hope of some kind of divine intervention, and realize it will probably never happen.

“Yes?” I sigh without turning around.

“We weren’t done talking.”

“And?”

“And you don’t just drop a bomb as big as that on me and get to walk away.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I can’t have kids. End of story. This is why I don’t talk about it.”

“Did you talk to Brody about it?”

“Not really.”

“So you’ve kept it inside all this time?”

“Your point is?”

“Brooke, I’ve known you my whole life.”

“Well duh,” I say as we reach the car.

“I know that you tend to keep these things…inside.”

“Hmmm.”

“I think that maybe this has been eating away at you.” I throw the last paper bag in the trunk and slam it shut, ignoring her as I stomp to the passenger side. “Maybe that’s why you and Brody broke up in the first place.”

“Cut it out, Hope.”

“You and him were arguing a lot before the break up.”

“It wasn’t that much.” I seethe in my seat as Hope starts the car.

“Yeah, it was.”

“So?”

“Maybe this whole not being able to have kids thing, and you and Brody arguing, is what led to you splitting up in the first place, and…”

“And what?”

“And maybe you should see a therapist…sort out your issues. Try not to let history repeat itself.”

“You’re unbelievable.” I stare straight ahead at the road, not daring to speak to my sister in fear I’ll slap her. “You sit there and preach to me about my relationship, which you know nothing about by the way. When you can’t even move on with your life, even though the man you love has moved on and gotten someone else pregnant. Instead, you hang on for any pathetic scraps he can give you.” Hope’s response is a loud gasp, I know what I’m saying hurts her but I carry on twisting the knife. “What do you hope to gain by talking to him, huh? That he’ll come running back. Give it up, Hope.”

“Whore, please.” She laughs without mirth. “You think I’m pathetic? Really? You’re the one who drove her long-term boyfriend away by being a pre-menstrual bitch the whole time. Then what happens? Brody snaps his fingers and you ask ‘how hard do I suck?’”

“Ouch.”

“True.”

“I hate you.”

“Nah.” She flips the turn signal. “You love me. “

“You do know that the two years before you were born were the happiest of my life, don’t you?”

“Ha and the day you moved out to live with Brody was mine.”

“You cried.”

“No, I didn’t”

“Judy told me that you did.”

“She is such a snitch.”

“Yeah,” I giggle.

“What’s Brody up to today?” Just like that, our argument is forgotten.

“He’s at his office.”

“You want to swing by there?”

“We should really get the food put away first.”

“How about we go home, put it away, then I’ll drive you back into town? Jake should be here by then, we can keep ourselves entertained while you two do…whatever.” She grimaces.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. It’s what sisters are for.”

Brooke

“Brooke, are you sure you don’t want me to wait around? In case Brody’s not here.”

“I’m good. He leaves a spare key hidden under a mat. Even if he’s not here, I can let myself in.”

“Okay. Call me if you need me to come pick you up. Jake said that he’d arrive in an hour or so, his plane was just about to land.”

“Oh poor baby, he has to drive the hour to get here after his private plane journey. The joys of being mega rich, huh?” I roll my eyes.

“I’ll tell him you said that.”

“Make sure you do.”

“Later.”

I watch her drive off, her taillights disappearing over the brow of the hill, leaving me alone. I never understood why the main office for McAllister Construction was in the middle of nowhere. Looking around, I can see all the machinery and trucks with the McAllister logo. When did it get this successful?

As I pick my way through the overgrown patch of land that is attached to the side of the building, I can see Brody’s truck in the lot. I’m surprised to see another car there as well. It’s Saturday evening, most of Brody’s crew would be at home. Maybe it’s just one of the guys here to talk to Brody or something.

It’s so cold that as I exhale, I can see my breath in the air. After the unseasonal sunshine of earlier, the temperature dropped again, reminding me that we are, indeed, in the middle of winter. Stupidly, I didn’t bother to wear my warm coat, just a light jacket, my reasoning was that I wouldn’t be outside for too long. Besides, Brody’s office has heating.

As I approach the door of his office, a sudden gust of cold wind swirls around me, making me pull my jacket as tight around my body as possible in the vain hope that it will give me some warmth. It doesn’t. The violent shudder that rips through my body tells me that I need to get inside, quick. So, I start to walk faster.

When Brody and I were together, I would walk right in, not bothering to knock. Today, though, something makes me pause before throwing the door open. Call it a sixth sense or whatever, but something doesn’t feel quite right.

On the other side of the door I can hear Brody’s deep voice. I expect to hear an equally gruff voice of one of the construction guys as well, but instead it’s the shrill high-pitched laughter of a woman.

What in the hell?

Cautiously, I press the handle down and creep into the outer office area. The familiarity hits me as soon as I walk in. Not much has changed in the year I was away. The layout seems to be the same—divided into an outer office, a small kitchenette, bathroom, and then Brody’s office at the end of a short corridor. It’s not a big space by any means but it’s functional, suiting Brody’s needs.

There’s no one in the outer office area. As I walk through it, I notice that both of the empty desks are strewn with paperwork that has probably been there since last year. Brody told me that he hadn’t gotten around to hiring another secretary. It makes me smile to see that the kitten calendar I bought as a joke a few years back is still on the wall.

As I get nearer to his office, I hear the female voice let out a long, loud moan.

No.

My blood turns to ice as the room begins to spin.

“You can’t do this,” Brody warns.

“Yes, we can,” Joely answers. “Your girlfriend will never find out,” she says quietly before letting out another moan.

No!

Before I know what I’m doing, I shove the door open, slamming it loudly against the wall. Time slows as I take in the scene before me. Brody’s and Joely’s bodies are pressed together, lips locked, his hands on her hips as she runs hers through his hair.

Oh God. I think I’m going to be sick.

Brody breaks the kiss at the sound of the door connecting to the wall. The look of confusion on his face slowly turns to horror as he realizes who is standing there.

“Brooke,” he pleads as he pushes Joely away. “Brooke, baby. It’s not what it looks like.” Brody starts walking toward me, his arms outstretched.

“Stop.”

“Brooke. Please let me explain.”

“You were kissing that…” My hand trembles as I point my finger at the smirking bitch.

“It’s not…that’s not…” he cuts in.

“So, you weren’t kissing her?” I struggle to get the words out.

“Yes…no. She kissed me, baby. I swear.”

“Brody,” Joely whines. “Get rid of the bitch so we can carry on what you started.”

“Get the fuck out of my office, Joely,” Brody growls, not taking his eyes off me.

“But, baby!” she protests, running her finger up his chest.

“I’m not your baby,” he spits as he grabs her arm, roughly pushing her toward the door.

“What are you doing?” she screeches.

“What I should have done the moment you walked into my office. Now get the fuck out of here.” He snatches up her bag and coat as he drags her out of the door, leaving me alone.

Tears start to trickle down my cheeks as I hunt for my cell. I can barely see the screen as I type out a quick text to Hope, asking her to come get me.

I can’t believe how stupid I was to think that Brody and I would get our happy ending.

Stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid, foolish woman.

I should never have followed my heart; I should have paid attention to the warning signs. He’s done it once. He promised me that it would never happen again.

Liar.

Did I ever know him? The man I’ve loved all my life?

I thought he loved me, but how can you love someone if you keep hurting them over and over? That’s not love. I need to get out of here…get out of Emmerton. I need to go back to Scottsdale and try to forget about Brody…again.

“Brooke.” I look up at the sound of his voice. He scrubs a hand over his face, tears forming in his eyes. “I promise…it wasn’t what it looked like.” He watches me cautiously, not daring to move from the doorway. I know that he’s trying to stop me from bolting.

“Don’t.” I cut in. “It was exactly what it looked like. You kissed Joely.”

“She kissed me!”

“You expect me to believe you? Because that’s not what I saw…what I saw was you and her with your tongues shoved down each other’s throats.”

“That’s not what happened…please let me explain—”

“Explain! I know what I saw.”

“No, you don’t. I swear, Brooke...”

“Like that means anything.” I have to look to the ceiling to try to calm down. “You’ve done it before.”

“And I learned my lesson.” Desperation creeps into his tone. “I promised that I would never hurt you like that again.”

“But you just did.”

“Let me explain,” he says, walking toward me.

“I think it’s best I go.”

“Baby,” he pleads.

“Please don’t call me that anymore,” I say, shaking my head as I back away from him.

“I love you.”

“No, you don’t,” I whisper.

“Don’t go. If you want me to beg, I will,” he says, dropping to his knees. “Please believe me. I didn’t kiss Joely. I swear. She kissed me.”

“Why was she here?” I demand.

“She just turned up.”

“Goodbye, Brody.” I start walking toward the door.

“I swear on my mother’s life that I didn’t ask her to come here. I was doing paperwork, then she showed up. I told her to get lost. Please, you have to believe me.”

“Why did you kiss her?”

“I didn’t. She kissed me,” he says, looking at the floor before looking back at me. His eyes full of despair.

“What if I hadn’t walked in on the two of you? How far would you have gone?”

“Nowhere, Brooke. I was pushing her off when you came in.”

“Don’t lie to me,” I bite out. “Because from where I was standing, you weren’t making that much of an effort to get her off you.”

“I swear.”

“You keep saying that, Brody.”

“But it’s true! Baby, please.”

“Even if I believed you, even if you were innocent, I can’t trust you, Brody. I would forever be looking over my shoulder, wondering if that day was the day you got bored again and left me. Tonight has shown me that I can’t live like that.”

“We can, you know we can. We’re perfect together. It’s always been you and me, Brody and Brooke. I’m sorry that you saw what you did, but I promise you I’m innocent.”

“I can’t do this anymore.”

“I love you,” he whispers.

“And I love you, but you’ve made me realize that it’s not enough for me anymore.”

“Then we can work this out…don’t do this. I will do anything to make this right, to prove to you that I’m innocent.”

“As soon as I can, I’m going back to Arizona,” I say numbly. “I won’t come back.” Brody remains on his knees, his head bowed. I watch as tears drip off his cheeks onto the floor. “Have a nice life, Brody,” I say quietly as I walk past him and out of the office.

The frigid air hits my face as I stumble out of the McAllister Construction office. Sobs wrack my body. The simple act of putting one foot in front of another seems impossible right now, my pain too great.

When Brody and I broke up the first time, it had felt as though the world had ended. I never thought that I would be happy again. Now, I just want to die. I don’t think I have the strength to go on this time.

“Brooke?” Jake’s deep voice cuts through the dark night. “Brooke, what happened? Why are you crying?”

“Jake,” I sob, throwing myself into his arms.

“What’s going on?” Hope demands loudly.

“I don’t know,” Jake says as he strokes the back of my head, leading me toward the car. “I found her like this.”

“Get her in the car for Christ’s sake, she’ll freeze to death out here.”

Jake gently puts me in the back of the car, strapping me in. I don’t say anything, remaining mute as he fusses over me.

“Brooke…Brooke. What happened, honey?”

I open my mouth to speak but a loud bang draws my attention to the door of the office.

“BROOKE!” Brody cries, running full speed toward the car. “PLEASE, I CAN’T LOSE YOU AGAIN!”

“Drive.” Hope doesn’t do anything, just sits there openmouthed as Brody heads toward us. “Just get me the fuck out of here, Hope. Now,” I beg.

Brody has reached us by now and is hammering on the window.

“Brooke. Brooke. Baby, please talk to me. I didn’t kiss her. Brooke...”

This seems to spur Hope into action as she guns the engine, peeling off with a squeal of the tires. Out of the rear window, I watch as Brody runs after us, not giving up until Hope puts her foot down, disappearing over the crest of the hill.

“You wanna tell me what that’s all about?” Jake murmurs, pulling me to him and resting my head on his shoulder.

“No,” I say, wiping away my tears with the back of my hand. “I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to go home.”

“What did he do, Brooke? Tell me so I can fuck that bastard right up.”

“Leave it, Jake. I want to forget this place; I want to go back to Arizona, and before you say anything, I know you have contacts. I know that you can hide me from the police.”

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold up. Why are we talking about hiding from the cops?”

“Because I want to leave this godforsaken town tonight, but I can’t as I’ve been charged with battery.”

“You’re not making much sense.” His tone is gentle. “Why don’t I just beat the fucker up for you?”

“I need to leave, scram, split this joint…whatever you want to call it, I want to do it…tonight. But if I go, they’ll probably have a manhunt for me.” From the driver’s seat, there is a bark of laughter from Hope. “I’m being serious.”

“Right,” Jake says, kissing the top of my head. “First of all, you need to tell us what happened between you and dickhead back there. Why did we find you in a sobbing mess?”

I take a deep, shuddering breath. “I walked in on him kissing Joely. There. You happy?”

“Are you sure?” Hope says over her shoulder.

“No. I made it up. What do you think?”

“You guys seemed so happy.”

“I thought we were.” Another little splinter of my broken heart falls and shatters on the ground as I think back to the past few weeks. Did Brody use me?

“What did asshat have to say for himself?” Hope asks.

“He said that he was innocent. That Joely kissed him.”

“Could he be telling you the truth?” Jake asks as we pull into Brody’s driveway.

“I walked in on him kissing someone else, Jake, what do you think?”

“I think that, maybe, you should talk to him.”

“I know what I saw!”

“Did he say why she was there?” Jake continues, helping me out of the car.

A long sigh passes my lips as I look up at the sky for some form of divine intervention. If there was a God, then right about now I’d appreciate it if he could start smiting people, starting with Joely Baxter, and then Brody.

“Let me get packed so I can leave.”

“Why did he say she was there, Brooke?” Jake’s using his boss voice, the one that normally makes people cower with fear. Not me though.

“That tone doesn’t work with me, asshole. You have no power over me.”

“I mean it, Brooke.”

“For Christ’s sake, Jake.” Hope interjects. “If she doesn’t want to talk about it, then you can’t force her to. Be that awesome millionaire BFF that I know you are and put your plane on standby. We’ll get packed and then we can go home.”

“Please, Jake,” I plead. “Brody will be here soon. I can’t face him. I just can’t.”

Jake rubs his hand over his chin, seemingly lost in thought. “I think you should talk to him. Properly. Something doesn’t feel quite right.”

“You’re taking his side!” My jaw drops open with disbelief.

“No. I’m saying that I think he might be telling the truth.”

“I don’t believe this.” I storm toward the porch.

“Hold up,” Jake yells, jogging after me. “Look, I think the guy’s a tool for the way he treated you in the past…”

“Don’t tell me this is some kind of bros before hos guy code thing going on.”

“This is not a guy code thing,” he says, rolling his eyes at me in frustration. “It’s a doing my job and investigating thing. If you must know.”

“You pimp out men to desperate women, Jake.” I sigh and turn on the spot, just in time to see Jake sporting a pout on his face that would make any self-respecting toddler proud.

“You know that’s a front, right?” He sounds annoyed.

“Yeah, for your super-secret organization that I’m not supposed to know about?”

“That would be the one.”

“And?”

Hope squeezes my hand as she breezes past me, whispering, “I’ll go pack,” and disappears into the house.

“And I have been doing some digging on Joely Baxter, and I found out enough to get the charges dropped and her arrested. Don’t thank me or anything?”

“The charges have been dropped?” The feeling of elation only lasts for a brief moment, crashing down when I remember the reason why Jake and I are having this conversation.

“That’s the reason I wanted to see you tonight, to let you know in person.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you, Jake, would be a start. You are the most handsome guy that I’ve ever laid eyes on would, naturally, be the next thing that I’d expect you to say.”

“Cut the crap, Jake. If what you say is true…”

“Have you known me ever to lie to you?” he cuts in.

“If what you say is true, and the charges have been dropped, then Hope and I are free to go. Am I right?” He nods his head in response. “Then I want to get out of here as fast as humanly possible.”

“You need to speak to Brody first.”

“Why are you concerned about him all of a sudden? I know what I saw, Jake. I walked in on him and Joely…kissing. God knows what would have happened if I hadn’t walked in on them at that moment. I know you’re trying to help, but I’m a little heartsore right now,” I say, rubbing my temples. “I know that I should probably talk to Brody, I also know he’s probably innocent.”

“Then why…”

“I can’t live my life looking over my shoulder, worrying that he’ll get bored or that some other woman will turn his head. The day he told me that he wanted out was one of the worst days in my life, it was also the day I discovered that the person who I loved and trusted above all else, didn’t feel the same way about me. Finding that out didn’t just hurt my heart…it shattered it. I don’t want to go through that again.”

“I thought you loved him.”

“I do.” I sigh. “With all my heart.”

“I don’t get it.”

“It’s complicated…and it’s late. Brody will be here any minute.”

“I still think you should talk to him.”

“There’s nothing left to say. It’s over.”

“He loves you and you love him. Hell, I’d give my right nut to have someone look at me the way dickhead looks at you.” A soft smile spreads across his face. Who knew that the big, bad boy, former marine that we know and love is a secret romantic. “You know he looks at you like you are the moon and stars to his world. Don’t give up on him, Brooke. Don’t make the mistake of throwing your chance at true happiness away because of some manipulative bitch. You two have a forever kind of love.”

“Do you need to give up your man card?”

“This isn’t a joke, Brooke. I’m trying to make you see some sense here.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I wouldn’t be your friend if I didn’t try to get it into your thick skull that I think you’re making a mistake.”

“It’s not your life to live though, is it?” I snap. “It’s mine, and if I want to break up with the only man I’ve ever loved, then I will.”

“Okay. Okay.” Jake raises his hands in an effort to placate me. “The plane is on standby to leave. Get your shit and get in the car.”

“Thank you,” I say quietly.

“Don’t thank me for helping you make a massive fuck up.” Jake shakes his head in disgust, brushing past me to take the porch steps two at a time.

“Some help here, please…” Hope yells, nudging the door open with her shoulder. “Oh, you’re there.” She blinks in surprise when she sees Jake’s angry face looming up out of the darkness. “Could you be a doll and take these to the car? Then you can tell us all about what happened with Skanky Panties and the law.”

Without a word, Jake snatches up our two suitcases, and stomps toward the car. Hope shakes her head as she locks the door, mumbling under her breath as she reaches me.

“What did you do?”

“He thinks I should talk to Brody before we go back to Arizona.”

“Hmmm.”

“Hmmm?”

“I think he’s right, Brooke. I think you need to give Brody a proper chance to explain.”

“I can’t believe this.” I throw my hands up in the air. “Out of everyone, you’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I am.”

“You and Jake are ganging up on me.”

“We’re not ganging up on you. We’re trying to make you see the truth. Seriously, B, you’re in danger of cutting off your nose to spite your face. Stop acting like a child. Act like an adult. Do you really want to lose Brody?” She glares at me. “Can you, hand on heart, tell me that you’re happy to let him move on with another woman?”

The loud squeal of tires draws my gaze away from Hope. A large truck roars down the street at a great speed, almost tipping over on to its side as it turns into the driveway, and comes to a sudden halt a few feet in front of me. The door is flung wide open as a familiar, tall man jumps down from the cab, running to where I’m standing, his face a mask of anguish and pain.

Brody

A few hours earlier

Life is good.

Life is really good.

Who would have thought that I’d be this fucking happy again after the shit storm of the last year? Not me. Not in a million years.

I have Brooke back in my life, in our home, in our bed, and it is going to stay that way. There is no way on this earth that I’m letting her go again, not without a fight. That woman has been mine since the day I was born, and she’ll remain mine until the day I die.

Brooke is it for me, it’s that simple.

I can’t believe that I was that arrogant, that…stupid, that I thought I could live my life without her. I’ve been lucky enough to be given a second chance. Believe me, that chance won’t be wasted, which is why the ring I proposed to her with the first time has been burning a hole in my pocket this past week.

I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to ask her to marry me. I nearly asked her last night, after we made love, but I managed to stop myself just in time. I would have asked her today but that asshole, Jake, called and said that he had some news regarding Brooke and Hope’s case and that he would be travelling up tonight. Hope and Brooke have gone to get extra groceries for dickhead’s arrival, while I decided to catch up on my paperwork in the relative peace of my office.

Truth be known, I don’t think that Jake’s a bad guy. I think I’d like him in another life, just not this one. What I don’t get is how that guy is so freaking rich…Hope mentioned that he would be flying here by private plane. Is stripping that lucrative? If it is, then I’m in the wrong fucking job. I discovered a long while ago that paperwork is not my forte. Working with my hands however…I reckon I’ll be here for a while yet, that’ll give me plenty of time to miss the girls fawning over stripper boy and just enough time for me to eat something, then drag Brooke off to bed.

The sound of a car pulling into the lot takes my attention away from the stack of papers in front of me. Outside, the sun has disappeared, replaced by deep golds and rich purples that signal that nighttime is almost here. I wonder for a moment if Brooke has given up and has come to get me, seeing as I’ve been here so long.

Quickly, I stuff some of the paperwork in the top drawer of my desk. She’ll have a fit if she sees how much work I haven’t gotten done today. I can’t risk her finding out that the reason why was because I’d spent so much time looking at wedding venues for us. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.

As soon as that ring goes on her finger, we will be getting married. I don’t care where, I don’t care how, but I’m not going to wait this time. Hell, even if we get married in front of the judge at the courthouse, naked, I’d be happy, but Brooke deserves more. She deserves the best of everything, which is why I’ve been looking at booking us flights to somewhere exotic, like Bali, to have the wedding that she’s always dreamed of.

After the ceremony, I’ll give my wedding present to her…a baby. I know we had trouble in the past when we tried, and I know how much it hurt Brooke every month when nothing happened. In case nature doesn’t take its course, I’ve put enough money aside for a cycle of IVF treatment; if that doesn’t work, then we’ll look into adoption. It’s not the most romantic of gifts to my future wife, but it’s a gift that’s important to her…to us. I need to show Brooke how much she means to me, to let her see that I love her, and I’m committed to our future together.

The door to the outer office slams open. That sound gives me enough warning that I’m able to bookmark the webpage I was looking at before shutting it down. I give the few remaining sheets of paper in front of me a quick shuffle to make it look like I’ve been doing some actual work, and snatch up a pen to help with the illusion as I laugh inwardly. Brooke won’t buy it for one second.

“Where’s my money?” I look up in surprise to see the angry, twisted face of Joely staring down at me.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Well,” she says, examining her nails, “I looked at my account this morning. Your sister wanted some food. Apparently, the brat doesn’t want to live on chips and chocolate.” Joely sighs. “Imagine my surprise when I saw that my monthly payment hasn’t come through.”

“I told you,” I growl, “that you’re not getting another cent out of me or my family. Now get out of my office.”

Joely lets out a shrill laugh that makes me cringe. It’s the human equivalent to running nails down a blackboard.

“Brody, Brody, Brody,” she says, shaking her head as she perches her bony ass on the corner of my desk. “I don’t think you understand what will happen if I don’t get my money. You see, I have the power to destroy your beloved Brooke’s life. One word and I get her locked up for a very, very long time.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” I warn.

“Oh, but I would.” The smile on her face stretches into a twisted, evil grin. “And I wouldn’t stop there. Just imagine how the press will react when I tell them all about how I had sex with your brother, and that I don’t know who the father of my child is because, well, I slept with your father first. I’m sure they’d be really interested to hear my story.” Joely’s voice drips with malice.

I don’t think I’ve ever hated someone as much as I do her right now. My fists are clenched firmly by my side, and if she were a man, I would have laid her out in an instant. It’s only by virtue of her gender that she’s still standing and conscious.

“Think how humiliating that would be for your poor, sainted mother,” she continues as she flicks her hair over her shoulder. “The whole world knowing that your father fucked me, a young, innocent, vulnerable girl, who didn’t know any better. A girl young enough to be his own daughter. Not only that, but either he or his son got me pregnant, even though I trusted them.” She gets off the desk and stands directly in front of me with her hands on her hips. I’m grateful that there is a desk between us. I’m in danger of lashing out at the vile bitch; it’s all I can do to keep my breath steady so that she doesn’t know that she’s getting to me. “Now wouldn’t that just be precious?” Her ugly face is smug as she carries on with her vicious plan. “You and I both know that this town is filled with hypocritical cunts who’ll be nice to your dear mother’s face, but behind her back…”

“Leave my mom alone. You’ve done enough to her.”

“If you don’t give me my fucking money, then I’ll do a whole lot worse.” She sneers. “I will ruin your whole fucking family, and there won’t be anything that you could do about it. Everything you love, everything you’ve worked for, will be gone. All I have to do is open my mouth.”

“Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. Here,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Give me my money and I’ll go.”

“You’re not getting any more money out of me or my family, Joely.” I push back angrily from my desk, stalking around to the front of it so that we’re face-to-face, my arms folded across my chest. “Now leave.”

Joely cocks her head to one side, her face a mask of pure hatred.

“Wrong answer.” She smiles before letting out a long, breathless moan.

“What the hell? What are you doing?” I throw my hands up as she gets ahold of my tee, pulling me toward her. “Get off me.”

I’m about to push her on her ass when she says quietly, “Lay one hand on me and I’ll call the cops. That will add attempted rape to the long list of shitty things that your family has done.”

“Jesus,” I whisper, horrified at how sick and twisted she actually is. “You’re insane.” I try to back away but my ass hits the edge of the desk. Her response is to let another moan escape her mouth as she advances on me.

“You can’t do this.”

“Yes, we can. Your girlfriend will never know,” she says, placing her hand behind the back of my neck, forcing her mouth on mine.

What. The. Fuck.

For a moment I’m too stunned to move, until I quickly come to my senses and push her by her hips to get her skank, disease infected mouth off of me.

In a bid to keep her hold on me, she shoves both her hands in my hair, pulling down hard and taking huge clumps out of my hair in the process. Another loud moan escapes her poisonous lips, the fucking bitch is getting off on this. Joely’s eyes flicker to the door, and I catch a look of victory in them before she closes them again as she smiles against my lips.

A loud bang as the door slams into the wall is what it takes for her to relax her grip, finally enabling me to push her off. For a moment I wonder who my savior is, realizing with mounting horror that that person is Brooke.

Oh God, no.

Brooke’s face is a picture of agony, her eyes full of unshed tears as she stares between Joely and me in disbelief.

“Brooke.” My voice trembles as I push Joely away from me. “Brooke, baby. It’s not what it looks like.”

The look on Brooke’s face tells me everything that I need to know. I’m losing her. I continue to walk toward her, hoping beyond hope that she’ll see it for what it is, a set up by an evil bitch who wants nothing more than to tear us apart.

Don’t let her, baby. Please don’t let her ruin us.

“Stop.”

I do as she says, not wanting to give her a reason to leave before I have a chance to tell her the truth.

“Brooke. Please let me explain,” I say gently.

Her expression changes from distraught to disgusted as she raises a trembling hand, pointing directly at the smug witch that caused all this.

“You were kissing that…”

“It’s not…” I start, trying to find the right words that will let her know that I am telling the truth. “That’s not…”

“So, you weren’t kissing her?” She interrupts.

“Yes…no. She kissed me, baby. I swear.” Even to my own ears that sounds lame. I’m about to open my mouth again to speak when Joely’s nasally voice fills the small office space.

“Brody.” I turn my head to look at her, wondering why on earth I ever let her into my life in the first place. What the fuck was I thinking that night? If I’d just said no…if I’d not gotten it into my head that Brooke and I were finished, then none of this shit would have happened. This is my fault. My relationship is hanging on by a thread because I allowed that toxic slut into our lives.

“Get rid of the bitch so we can…” she continues, oblivious to the fact that I’m considering hitting a woman for the first time in my life, “carry on with what you started.”

Oh no she didn’t.

My gaze is drawn back to Brooke, in the vain hope that I imagined what the poisonous dwarf just said. From the way her face pales and the way she staggers back slightly, placing her hand over her heart, then I didn’t imagine it. The whore is going down.

“Get the fuck out of my office,” I growl, not taking my eyes off of Brooke as I try to convey the message that Joely’s lying. Brooke turns her head away from me, a single tear tracking down her cheek. I’ve got to make this right. I can’t do that with the skank in my office, so I stalk over to her, and take her roughly by the arm, shoving her toward the door.

“What are you doing?” Joely shrieks.

I’m about to commit murder.

“What I should have done the moment you walked into my office. Now get the fuck out of here.” I’m angry as hell as I pick up her bag and coat and drag her outside.

“Get off me,” she sobs, trying to pull her arm out of my grasp.

“You’ve gone too far this time.” I keep my tone low, but control my anger. “Go to the fucking papers, Joely. Hell, I’ll go to the fucking press and tell them what a blackmailing whore you truly are. Stay away from Brooke. Stay away from me, and stay away from my goddamn family. First thing tomorrow, I’m going to go to my father and ask him to sue for custody of your kid. I don’t want any member of my family around someone as vile as you. The kid needs a chance in life, not have you as a role model.

“You wouldn’t.” She gasps. “You can’t.”

“I can and I will. You like playing games so much? How about this one, it’s called ‘fuck off’. You go first.” I wrench the outer office door open, pushing her out into the cold night.

“You can’t take my daughter. Please,” she begs, the vindictive smirk now gone from her face and replaced by a vulnerability that I’ve never known Joely to show openly. I’d almost feel sorry for her but after all the sick and twisted things that she has done to the people I love, she doesn’t deserve any sympathy from me.

“My sister, deserves to be…”

“She’s not your sister,” she says quietly.

“What?” I let her arm go from my grasp, causing her to stumble.

“Your dad isn’t her father.”

“Explain, now.” I’ve never felt anger like this before. After all the stunts she’s pulled, after all the money she has taken, and after she has ripped my family apart, she’s now telling me that she lied.

“Dair isn’t her dad.”

“Caden?”

“Caden isn’t her father either.”

I place my hand on the wall to steady myself. How can someone be so fucking evil that she would willingly look on while a once happy, loving family is torn apart? All for what? So she can get her fucking kicks? As much as I want her to tell me why she lied, I’m acutely aware that I need to get back to Brooke as quickly as I can.

“You spiteful bitch!” I rage, as she backs away from me. “You destroyed my parents’ marriage. You broke my mom’s heart. My father is a fucking shell. You’ve nearly brought my business to its knees, and now you are saying you did all of it for the hell of it, or was it the money? Power? That it? You like to watch everyone crash and fucking burn because you get off on it? You disgust me,” I spit. “I can only hope to God that Brooke doesn’t believe your lies. Now get the fuck out of here before I do something that I will regret.”

“I’m so…sorry.” She sniffs.

“Sorry won’t fucking cut it, Joely. Jail might.”

“No…no. You can’t do that.”

“Fraud, blackmail. These are felonies, Joely. I bet if I did some digging, it wouldn’t stop at those.”

“I’ll drop the charges against Brooke and Hope. I’ll tell the cops that I made it all up. I’ll do anything, Brody. Just don’t let them send me to jail,” she pleads.

“You’ve put my family through hell and you expect me to be merciful?”

“Please,” she whispers.

“Get out of here. In fact, get out of Emmerton and never come back. If you do, I will destroy you,” I growl, and slam the door in her face.

I practically sprint back to my office, stopping in the doorway to watch Brooke. Tears fall silently down her cheeks as she wraps her arms around herself. Her heart is breaking all over again, unaware of all of Joely’s lies.

My future, my chance of a happy ending, lay in pieces along with my shattered heart on that office floor. I don’t know how long I stayed there and I don’t care. I remember chasing after her on foot. I ran and ran, never able to catch the car as it drove off into the distance. After half a mile, I had to finally admit defeat. I headed back to my truck, which I should have fucking done in the first place, and broke all known speeding laws to get to Brooke before she could leave for good.

As I turn into my driveway, I see Brooke silhouetted in my headlights, and relief rushes through me that she hasn’t left yet.

There’s still a chance.

Brooke looks up as the truck comes to a stop. Her arms are wrapped around her middle, her eyes are puffed up from crying. Next to her stands Hope with her arms folded across her chest, annoyance spread across her elfin like features, from the look that she is giving Brooke right now, I figure that for once her ire isn’t aimed at me.

Without regard for anything except Brooke, I jump out of the cab door, charging straight for her.

“You’re not leaving.” Brooke stares at me with openmouthed disbelief, her posture changes from dejection to defensive in the blink of an eye.

“Excuse me?”

“I said you’re not leaving.”

“Like hell I’m not.”

“I’ll um…I’ll just go sit in the car.” Hope gives me a small smile and a thumbs up behind Brooke’s back as she heads off toward the other car parked in the driveway.

“You’re not going,” I say, folding my arms across my chest. “I won’t allow you to make the biggest mistake of your life.”

“You don’t get a say in anything I do,” she hisses. “Did you miss the memo? We are over.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.”

“You’re gonna give up. Just like that?”

“Yup,” she says, popping the P. “And I think that no one on this earth would blame me.”

“That’s it? You’re leaving because of something that you thought you saw?”

“I saw you kiss that slut, Brody. I’m not fucking blind.”

“That’s not what happened.” I keep the tone of my voice low in an effort to disguise the irritation that I’m starting to feel at her unwavering stance. “If I have to go get that bitch and drag her here by her hair just so that she’ll tell you the truth…”

“I don’t care about the truth!” she exclaims.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? You don’t care about the truth? I’m innocent, Brooke…one hundred percent innocent of the crime that you are charging me with and I think that you know that as well.”

“I know what I saw.”

“You really don’t,” I scoff. “So what’s this about, Brooke? Why are you running away? Come to think of it, where are you going to go? Last time I checked, you’re under investigation for battery. Don’t think the cops will take too kindly to you disappearing, do you?”

“I’m not running away, asshat.”

“Really? Looks that way to me.”

“I’m going home.”

“Home? You are home.”

“Scottsdale,” she answers, rolling her eyes.

“Your home is here with me.”

“I’ve made a new life for myself, one that doesn’t include you, and I want to get back to it.”

Ouch.

“What about the assault charge?”

“It’s been dropped. I’m free to go, and I’m going back to Arizona.”

It feels like I’ve been punched, hard, in the gut. All this time I thought that Brooke and I were making a go of it, that we were having our second chance. I was so blind. She never really wanted me back, did she?

As we stare at each other, her features soften as she realizes that I know.

Shit. This hurts.

I let out a long shuddering breath as I consider what I’m going to say next. “That’s it then. The charge gets dropped, so you’re leaving. Were you ever going to stay or were you using me?”

“Bro…”

“Don’t. Please. I thought we had a chance. Obviously, I was wrong.”

“I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life with you,” she whispers.

“You wouldn’t have been.” I take a minute to burn into my memory how she looks as she breaks my heart. She looks so beautiful, but none of that matters now. “Go back to Arizona. Live your life like you want. I won’t come after you. I’m done.”

Brooke gasps loudly, shock and confusion in her expression.

“I tried so hard with you. Nothing I’ve done would’ve changed this though, would it?” I say sadly. “I’m giving you what you want…I’m letting you go, Brooke. Have a nice life.” I brush past her, striding toward the house, not looking back as I hear her start to sob, even though my heart is breaking.

As far as I’m concerned, the story of Brooke and Brody has come to an end.

Brooke

Ever get the feeling that you’ve made a huge mistake? An error of judgement so big that you’ve probably ruined your life and your chance at true happiness forever? Because that’s how I feel right about now. That’s also what Hope and Jake have been so kind to remind me of during the duration of the flight back to Arizona.

I haven’t been able to enjoy the fact that I’m flying in a private jet for the first time in my life. Nor have I been really listening as Jake told Hope about the evidence he uncovered regarding Joely and my old boss at the bank, Todd. I took absolutely no joy when he announced that Joely and Todd were being arrested as we spoke for extortion and money laundering.

All I can think about is Brody.

My mind keeps replaying our last conversation over and over again, and with each time I gain more clarity. The way he reacted, what he said, his face…

The sinking feeling I have in my belly kind of makes me think that I’ve just lost the best thing that has ever happened to me because I couldn’t see past my anger.

From the little conversation between Jake and Hope that I actually paid attention to, I gathered that Joely is a manipulative bitch who has been merrily ruining the lives of people in Emmerton for a very long time. Not that I didn’t know she was an evil witch in the first place, that’s pretty obvious, but I didn’t realize how much destruction she’d left in her wake, or the families that she’d destroyed.

From what Jake was saying, Joely was leading up to being a true black widow. I don’t know if she and Todd would have gone so far as to kill someone, but after finding out what they’d been up to, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Apparently, they’d cooked up this scheme to get money out of people, a scheme which had involved Joely seducing most of the male population in town, and then threatening them with exposure to their loving wives and children unless they paid her money to keep quiet. I knew Todd was an asshole but I would never have put him down as having the brains to pull off the shit he’s pulled with his partner in crime. He used the bank to launder the money that Joely earned from blackmailing people, making it clean, and giving them a tidy profit.

He covered his tracks well, but in the end, Jake’s team was too good for even him. To be honest, I was surprised that Todd could be behind some masterplan to defraud Emmerton. I thought the man was a scumbag, you don’t work with someone as long as I worked with him and not figure out that he’d been cheating on his lovely wife. At least the mystery over who the father of Joely’s kid has been solved.

I tuned out after that and went back to thinking about Brody.

I’ve really screwed up my life.

“We’re about an hour away from landing. You wanna drink?” Jake’s face looms over me, interrupting my pity party. I shake my head no, then return to staring out the window, alone with my thoughts. “You can feel sorry for yourself all you like, but you and I both know that you fucked up.”

“Screw you.” Yeah, I did but I don’t need Jake reminding me of that. I should have listened to Brody. I should have trusted him. But I let my pride get in the way. Now I’ve lost him for good.

“I would but you could do it better.” He smirks. “Plus you’re madly in love with jerkoff.”

“Leave me alone,” I say, drawing the blanket that the stewardess had given me earlier tightly around my body.

“You just gonna feel sorry for yourself, instead of thinking of a way to make it right, huh?”

“You heard him. He wants nothing to do with me.”

“I bet if you called him and apologized that he would come running.”

“Jake, you don’t know Brody like I do. Once he’s done, that’s it. Nothing I do or say will change that.”

“I hate to say it, but it’s kind of your own fault this happened.”

“Excuse me?”

“You could have just talked it over with the guy, you shouldn’t have been such a bitch about it.”

The warning growl that passes my lips doesn’t make the jerk back off. If the smirk on his face is anything to go by, it’s only served to prove to him that he’s right.

“If you had walked in on your girlfriend kissing another guy that she’d previously dumped you for, by the way”—I give him a tight smile before continuing—“then you would be hurt and upset. Don’t tell me that you wouldn’t, asshole.”

Jake’s stare is penetrating, making me shift in my seat, uncomfortable at his intense scrutiny. “I wouldn’t be butthurt about it and I would fucking talk to her before running away.”

“I’m not—”

“Stop lying to yourself. You’re running away from the situation because you don’t know how to handle it. Instead of doing the mature thing and talking to the poor guy, you ran at the first sign of trouble. No wonder he gave up.” He rubs his hand over his chin, continuing to glare at me. “Hell, I would have given up ages ago. Guess Brody’s a glutton for punishment.”

“Some friend you are.” I turn away to look out of the window, hoping that he’ll take that as a sign to get lost. Unfortunately, this is Jake we’re talking about, it would take something as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face for him to get the hint.

“I wouldn’t be your friend if I didn’t tell you what you don’t want to hear, B. You want to know what I think?”

“No.”

“I think that you’ve made the biggest mistake of your life.”

“Your opinion is duly noted.” My voice drips with sarcasm.

“I didn’t like Brody when I first met him,” he says, ignoring me. “I thought he was an asshole for what he did to you, but you know what?” I shrug my shoulders, not really wanting to hear whatever he has to say. “These last few weeks…he’s owned that shit. He’s held his hand up to all his mistakes and he’s treated you like you are the most precious thing to walk across this earth, and what have you done? You’ve pushed him away,” Jake says, getting up from his seat opposite me. “You want to keep living in the past? You want the whole world to feel sorry for you? Go ahead, play the victim card.”

“I’m not a victim,” I whisper.

“Then stop acting like one. The way you’re heading…you’re going to end up a very lonely person, Brooke. Get your head out of your fucking ass.” He storms off to join Hope, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

“This is the pilot speaking. We are now on our final approach and will be landing shortly. Please ensure that your seatbelt is on. Thank you.”

I’d given up looking out of the window after Jake had left me, and instead stared straight ahead at nothing in particular, trying to sort through my thoughts and feelings. When we land, I’m going to ask Jake to take me straight from the private airstrip to the Phoenix airport so that I can get a flight back to Pennsylvania.

Hopefully it’s not too late.

Jake’s right, I did push Brody away. I ignored everything that he’s done to try to make amends, focusing instead on the pain that he caused me. I owe it to him, and to me, to see if we can get past this, if what we have can be fixed. I don’t want to live in a future full of regrets and recriminations. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life wondering if I made the right choice or what if. Knowing my luck, I’d end up like Miss Havisham in Great Expectations—everything rotting around me while everyone else moves on with their lives.

As the plane descends to the runway, I notice the rain lashing at the windows, which is…odd. In fact, something is off with the scenery outside the plane window. Where I’d expect to see the dust whipping around us from the desert landscape, I’m actually seeing green fields. Muddy green fields, and lots of rain.

We’re not in Arizona.

When the plane comes to a halt, I look to Jake and my sister, hoping that either one of them will tell me why we’re here. Wherever here is.

Jake doesn’t look at me as he unbuckles his belt and disappears off into the cockpit. Hope is studiously looking at her nails, avoiding eye contact.

“Where are we?”

She does that thing she always does when she doesn’t want to talk to me about something—she completely blanks me out.

“I’m not playing games, Hope,” I say as I unbuckle my belt, and stalk across the cabin to reach her. “Why aren’t we in Arizona? Where the hell are we?”

“Home.”

“Home?”

“You’re where you belong.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Look out the window.”

I squint into the darkness, just barely making out the silhouette of a tall man standing in the doorway of the office of the tiny landing strip that we’re stopped on. He looks kind of familiar.

“Right, we’re going to refuel then you’re off again.” Jake grins, rubbing his hands together as he walks back into the cabin. “We just need to get our things off the plane,” he says directly to Hope.

“Where are you going?”

“We’re getting off.”

“And going where?”

“Back to Scottsdale. Commercial.” Hope sighs, rolling her eyes at the same time.

“You’re abandoning me here?” I can feel the panic rise. “I don’t even know where here is.”

“No. I’m leaving you on my private jet. You will shortly be joined by another passenger before being whisked away to a mystery destination, where you will sort the shit show that your life is out.”

I open my mouth to speak but no sound comes out.

“I care about you, Brooke. You remind me of my sister. You’re stubborn, annoying, and a bitch sometimes, but I still love you. And because I…” Hope gives a little cough, raising an eyebrow at Jake. “We,” he corrects, “love you and want what’s best for you, we’ve decided that the only way to deal with this is to pack you off to an island in the middle of fucking nowhere, so you can’t escape.”

“I… I…”

“Before you say anything, it’s like a five-star resort with girly shit to do. I didn’t find it, Hope did. Plus you’re owed a vacation,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. He reaches over head for his duffel. “Oh, and they do weddings.” He grins over his shoulder at me as he disembarks, followed rapidly by my smirking sister.

“Enjoy,” she yells. “Remember there’s a bedroom at the back of the jet. Make use of it.”

Brooke

The cabin feels very empty now that Jake and Hope have gone. I’m not alone, though, the stewardess is hovering near the plane door, ready to greet the other passenger. I’m not silly. I know that any moment Brody will walk through the entrance way.

Hope and Jake are about as subtle as a brick through a glass window. Apart from the big hints they gave me, it was the loud shout of, “YO, BRODY! Glad you could make it man!” from Jake that really gave the game away.

I’ve used my last few moments of alone time to try to think of what I’m going to say to him. How to play it. It’s like going on your first date, you don’t quite know what to expect but this Brody. The man I’ve loved my whole life. The man I’ve hurt. The panic over his imminent arrival set in about thirty seconds ago.

What if he rejects me?

What if he decides that coming here is a mistake and he leaves?

What if he’s just coming to tell me that we’re over for good?

What if we can’t fix this?

What if…

What if…

What if…

“Hi.” Brody stands directly in front of me, a ball cap low on his head so that it almost covers his eyes.

“Hi,” I squeak, giving him a little wave.

Real smooth, Brooke.

“You okay?” His voice is gruff as he takes a seat opposite me, strapping himself in.

“Yeah.” Is the only answer I give. What is it with my mouth and not being able to speak right now? I had a whole speech planned out in my head and yet, I can’t remember it. Nothing that I want to say seems good enough.

“Good,” he answers, scrubbing his hand over the day’s growth on his chin. “Look, Brooke.”

“Brody.” We say at the same time. A small smile forms on his lips as he gestures for me to go first.

“No, you first,” I find myself saying in answer.

Brody lets out a long sigh. “I know that you don’t want to be here.”

You’re wrong there, Brody, I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be than with you.

“But can we at least pretend and try to get along for the time we’re on the island?”

“You sound like you don’t want to be here.”

“This was stupid,” he says bitterly, unbuckling his belt. “What the fuck was I thinking? I’m going home.”

He almost falls over as the jet lurches, and I reach out a hand to him, helping to steady him as the plane starts to taxi down the runway.

“Guess you’re stuck with me,” he mutters, pulling his hand away. I feel bereft as he breaks our connection.

“I don’t mind.” I smile. “It’ll give us a chance to talk.”

“I thought you were done talking,” he says, taking off his cap and piercing me with those gun-metal gray eyes that I love so much.

“I was wrong.”

“Yeah, right.” He scoffs. “You sounded pretty final to me.”

“And you were the one who stormed off.”

“After you told me we were over for good. What was I supposed to do? Hang on like your little lapdog, hoping that you’d change your mind?” He looks out the window as we climb higher and higher into the sky. “I love…d you too much to hurt you anymore. That’s why I walked away,” he says quietly, watching me through the reflection in the window.

“You don’t love me anymore?” Of all the things that he just said, that is the one thing that I zeroed in on. Loved. Not love you, but loved.

Brody turns his head to look at me again, a small smile on his handsome face.

“I’m trying hard not to.”

“What if I don’t want you to stop loving me?” I say quietly.

“Then I’d say that you need to quit playing games with me. I don’t want to live my life with you not in it.” He directs his gaze to the ceiling of the cabin, taking deep breaths of air as he tries to calm his emotions. “When I picture my future, it has always been with you by my side. Even when I was being a dick.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Grandma always said that if you love someone, then you have to be prepared to let them go. I’ve only ever wanted you to be happy, B. That’s why I’m prepared to let you go.”

“Don’t let me go. Please.”

“I can’t fight for someone who doesn’t want to be with me anymore.”

“And I’m telling you that I want to be with you.”

“Maybe we’re not meant to be together.” He shakes his head sadly. “Not if we keep hurting each other the way we do.”

“Are you actually listening to me? Or have you gone deaf? Because I’m telling you that I want to be with you.”

“You’re saying that to make it easier on me.”

“No. I’m saying it because I love you, Brody. I have loved you my whole life.”

“A few hours ago you wanted me out of it for good.”

“I should have spoken to you, and I should have listened to you about Joely. I was wrong and I’m sorry.”

“But you didn’t trust me. You didn’t believe me when I was telling you the truth. You chose to walk away. I know I hurt you, Brooke, but finding out that you don’t have faith in me…I don’t want you to live your life constantly worrying and thinking that my head will be turned by another woman. That won’t make either of us happy, will it?” I shake my head no in answer. “I can’t live my life thinking that you don’t trust me. It breaks my heart to think that one day I could come home and you’d be gone because I said or did the wrong thing, and instead of talking to me about it, telling me how you feel, you ran. I want you to tell me. Tell me what you’re thinking, because if I don’t know, then I can’t do anything to fix it.”

“This is your pilot speaking, it is now safe to remove your seat belt.”

As soon as the announcement is made, Brody stands, and starts to make his way to the back of the cabin.

“Where are you going?”

“To see if this thing has a bed or something. I’m beat.”

“That’s it? This conversation is over?”

He stops, and spins on the spot to face me. “For now. I’m sure that we’ll have plenty of time to talk when we get to wherever we’re going. Right now I need to get some shut-eye.”

“There’s a bedroom at the back of the plane,” I say, pointing at the closed door at the back of the cabin.

“Sweet.” He grins, walking toward it.

“Brody?”

“Yes.” He comes to a halt, the door half open.

“I love you, and I’m sorry.”

“I know,” he says, shutting the door quietly behind him.

I’m tired.

Really, really tired.

The seats are comfortable enough, but not enough to sleep in. My gaze keeps going to the door at the back of the cabin as I contemplate whether or not I should join Brody there. The only thing that’s stopping me is the thought he might reject me.

Time to pull up your big girl panties, Brooke.

“Can I get you anything?” Mia, the stewardess, asks me as I unfurl myself from the seat.

“No, thank you.” I stretch, hours of sitting in that damn seat has my body feeling stiff as a board. “Actually, Mia.”

“Yes.” She smiles.

“Do you know how much longer we have left of the journey?”

“About two and a half hours.”

“Thanks,” I say, returning her smile.

“No problem.”

The jet shakes slightly as I make my way to the back of the cabin, and quietly open the door to the darkened room. From the light of the cabin, I can see that Brody is lying on his back, the sheets just barely covering his naked body, his bare, chiseled chest on full display as he rests his head on one arm. My panties are suddenly soaked. Gently closing the door behind me, I strip off my clothes and slip, naked, into the bed beside him.

Instantly an arm snakes around my middle, pulling me into the warmth of his toned body. His hard length moves against my ass—up and down, up and down, as he not so subtly thrusts his hips against me. The hand that was wrapped around me slowly creeps down my body until it comes to rest on my pussy. My hips automatically undulate as he starts to stroke my clit oh so gently. From behind, he starts to push against me harder.

A loud gasp escapes my lips as one long finger enters me, swiftly followed by another.

“I was wondering when you were going to join me,” he growls in my ear.

“I thought you were mad at me.”

“I am,” he says, nibbling on my earlobe as he fucks me with his fingers. “But I still love you.”

“Do you?” I try but fail to suppress a loud moan. If poor Mia hadn’t guessed what we were up to by now, she surely would have heard that.

“Always,” he answers, removing his fingers from me. Before I have a chance to protest, he places his cock at the entrance of my pussy, pushing forward tortuously slow as I wiggle my ass against him. “I’ll always love you, Brooke.” He pants. “I don’t know how to stop.”

“Then don’t.”

“But you don’t want me.” He pulls out, holding himself there.

“I’ve never wanted anyone but you.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“I do, Brody. I was wrong, so, so wrong.” Wetness seeps between my thighs, while tears form in my eyes. I don’t doubt that Brody loves me, but there’s something so final in his words.

“What do we do?” He blows lightly against my neck.

“Don’t give up. Don’t let go of me. I need you, Brody, I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” Brody whispers, pulling me backward so that I’m lying on my back. “I want everything with you. Babies...” He shifts down the bed, placing a soft kiss on my belly. “A ring on your finger.” He continues to kiss up my body. “I want to grow old with you.”

“What if I can’t…”

“We’ll adopt.”

“But we might…”

“We won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I love you and you love me.” His voice is choked with emotion as he stares down into my eyes. “I lost you once…I don’t think my heart would survive losing you again.”

“Oh, baby…” Tears start to fall down my cheeks.

“Don’t cry,” he says as he gently wipes the tears away.

“I trust you. I love you. Now, please, make love to me.” I smile, even though I’m crying.

“As you wish.” He grins, placing a kiss on my forehead as he lines himself up at the entrance to my pussy once more.

Thump. Thump.

“Baby.” He breathes as he pushes into me.

Thump. Thump.

“Oh God.” My bottom lip is raw as I bite down on it in an attempt to not scream too loudly.

“Fuck. I can’t hold on. I gotta…” He buries his head in my neck as he pounds into me.

Thump. Thump.

“Brody.” I’m teetering on the edge of an abyss; any moment I’m going to freefall into sweet oblivion.

Thump. Thump.

“Ummm, Miss Elderhouse? Mr. McAllister?”

“Did…do you hear that?” Panting, I lift my head toward the source of the sound.

“Ignore it.” His deep voice rumbles as he brushes his fingers over my clit, giving me the push I need to plummet over the edge.

“Oh God! Oh God!” The scream that comes from me could probably be heard throughout the plane, but I don’t care. All I care about is Brody thrusting into me with a brutal force as he chases his own orgasm. I arch my back up, shifting my hips, and triggering yet another orgasm as Brody comes hard, filling me with his seed.

“That was…that was…I…love…you.” He grins, and collapses on top of me, as I giggle into his hair.

Thump. Thump.

“Sorry to disturb you, Miss Elderhouse, but I checked with the pilot, and we will be landing in the next twenty minutes, not two hours.”

“Okay,” I yell. “We’ll be out in a minute.” Brody rolls off me, snatching up his jeans from the floor, amusement written all over his face.

“She totally heard us, didn’t she?” He chuckles as he pulls his pants on.

“I think the whole plane heard us.” I place a pillow over my face as I try to cover my mortification that someone overheard us having sex. Poor Mia. I don’t know whether I’ll ever be able to look her in the eye again.

“Hey.” He chuckles, pulling the pillow out of my grasp. “Are you hiding?”

“Do you think that I can stay in here until we land and then sneak off the plane?”

“Nah. You need to do the walk of shame.”

“You’re so not helpful.”

“But you love me.” He smiles brightly before pulling his tee over his head.

“I suppose I do.” I sigh.

“Suppose?” He raises a questioning eyebrow.

“Yeah.” I grin.

“Well that’s good enough for me.” He bends down and places a gentle kiss on my lips. “Now get that beautiful ass out of bed and come do the walk of shame with me.”

Brooke

“Babe.”

“Uh-huh?”

“What are we going to do when we go home?”

“You mean leave the island?”

“Yeah?”

“Can’t we stay?”

“I wish we could.” He laughs. “But we’ve got to go home at some point.”

Brody and I have been on this tropical piece of paradise for a week now. The whole experience has been amazing. We didn’t venture out of our villa for the first three days, and only then it was for food. I couldn’t tell you how many times we’ve made love, but I can tell you that you really need to have a towel when having sex on a sandy beach. Just saying.

We’ve continued to reconnect and rebuild our relationship. Our time here has shown me that what we have is special…too special to throw away. I want to spend the rest of my life with the man lying on the lounger next to me. I realize now that I don’t want to live without him. He’s mine and I’m his. Brody and Brooke forever.

“We’ve got another couple of weeks here. Can’t we talk about it next week?”

“Stop putting it off.” He chuckles, leaning up on his elbows.

“I know.” I sigh. I’ve already made up my mind that I don’t want to leave. Ever. I think that Brody will have to carry me off the island, over his shoulder.

“Emmerton or Scottsdale?”

“Do I have to choose?”

“Yup.”

“I just want to be with you,” I whine. “Isn’t that enough?”

“We have a few choices.” He grins. “I could sell the house and my business, start again in Scottsdale; or you could tell Jake you quit, and move back to Emmerton. Or we start over, somewhere new.”

“Could we stay here?” I ask hopefully, as I stretch on the lounger.

“We could.” Amusement dances in his eyes. “But I would need to be making at least two hundred thousand a month.

The sip of Mojito that I’d just taken comes spewing out of my mouth as I start to choke.

“What?” I cough as Brody hits me on the back.

“This place is expensive.” He laughs.

“It can’t be that much, can it? Couple of hundred a night at the most?”

“Higher.”

“Two thousand?”

Brody shakes his head.

“Three?”

“Nope.”

“Four?” I ask, pushing my sunglasses on to the top of my head.

“Try Ten.”

“TEN THOUSAND A NIGHT!” I yell, looking around guiltily in case anyone heard me.

“Shhhh.” Brody places a finger to his lips as he grins wickedly.

“Ten thousand?” I whisper. “But…but.” I’m aware that my mouth is opening and closing like a goldfish’s. “I’ll never be able to repay him.” I slump back onto my lounger. “How are we going to pay Jake back, Brody?”

“We’ll work something out.”

“I was so mean to him before you got on the plane.”

“I’m sure he’s forgiven you already.” He pats my leg.

“It’s not funny, McAllister!”

“Why don’t you call him?”

“I tried last night. Zane said that he was away somewhere and wouldn’t be contactable for a while.”

“You’ll have to wait until after we get home, wherever home will be.”

“I still vote here.”

“You would.” He smiles as he stands, putting on his sneakers.

“Where are you going?”

“It’s a secret.” He taps the side of his nose. “You’ll find out tonight.”

“What are you up to, McAllister?”

“Nothing that you need to worry about.” He places a sweet kiss on the end of my nose. “All you have to do is relax. I’ve booked you in for some of the spa treatments they offer here. You have ten minutes until your first appointment, I’ll see you later,” he says, walking off in the direction of the main complex.

“Brody?”

“They’ll be here in minutes, Brooke,” he yells over his shoulder as he starts to jog away, leaving me wondering what the hell he’s up to.

I swear I’m walking on a cloud of bliss.

For the past few hours, I’ve had beauty treatments and pampering that I never thought existed. They even did my hair and makeup for me, teasing my auburn mane into perfect curls that flow down my back. The makeup is subtle, yet makes me look like a movie star. I feel amazing. Brody is going to have a fit when he sees me.

A sharp knock on the door brings me back to reality.

“Hello?” I call out, wondering why on earth Brody would knock.

“Miss Elderhouse?”

“Yes.”

“I have a message for you.”

Cautiously, I open the door to find the resort’s assistant manager standing there with a huge smile on his face and a dress bag over his arm.

“Hey.”

“Miss Elderhouse, Mr. McAllister has requested that you meet him on Turtle Beach in one hour’s time, and that you wear this dress.” His grin doesn’t disappear as he hands me the bag.

“Thanks,” I say, as I wonder what the hell is going on.

“No problem. If there is anything else that I could help you with?”

“No. Thank you.”

“Okay,” he says, turning away.

“Wait!”

“Yes?”

“Do you know what’s going on?”

“I’m afraid I don’t.” The twinkle in his eyes tells me that he knows full well what is happening, knowing Brody, the poor guy has probably been sworn to secrecy.

“Oh. Okay.”

“Have a nice evening, Miss Elderhouse.” He smiles as he backs away from the door.

Taking the dress bag into the villa’s bedroom with me, I set it down on the bed, and with great care pull the zipper down to reveal the contents inside.

“Oh, wow.”

Inside is a simple, floor length, halter-neck dress made out of cream silk and lace, threaded through with an iridescent metallic thread that shimmers as it catches the light. It’s stunning and it must have cost Brody a fortune.

My stomach is full of butterflies as I put the dress on. I’m not blind to what’s happening, the dress kind of gives it away. I think…no, I know that Brody is going to propose tonight.

Oh, my God…I’m getting married.

Maybe we’ll have a simple ceremony at home, just us at the courthouse, then we can come back here for our honeymoon.

I twirl around and around, this way and that, marveling at how perfect the dress looks on me. The only thing missing is something for my hair, but that’s soon fixed by placing one of the exotic flowers that the hotel provides every day.

There. Perfect.

With one last look in the mirror, I take a deep breath to calm my nerves before leaving the villa to go find my man.

Brooke

It’s dusk as I walk toward Brody, barefoot, in the sand.

Torches line my way, forming a corridor of light that ends in a semicircle, and where Brody stands. He shifts nervously from one foot to the other, constantly checking his watch. It’s only when he turns and finally sees me that the tension leaves his face, replaced by the sexiest smile I’ve ever seen.

He looks so devastatingly handsome in his tux that I have to fight the urge to pick up the hem of my dress and run the last few feet toward him.

“Hey.” He grins.

“Hey, yourself, handsome.”

“You look…beautiful, baby.” His voice is choked with emotion as he takes a stray strand of my hair and tucks it behind my ear.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” I beam, bouncing excitedly on my heels.

“I love you,” he whispers, bending down to place a sweet kiss on my lips.

“I love you, too,” I whisper back. “I can’t believe you did all this…for dinner.” I tease.

“Well…uh…there is something I wanted to ask you before we eat,” he says, getting down on one knee.

“Brody.” I gasp, placing both hands over my mouth, tears welling up in my eyes as he holds out a ring box.

“Brooke Elderhouse. I have loved you since I was old enough to know what love is. You make me smile, you make me laugh, you make me so happy, and I don’t want to spend one minute more without you beside me as my wife. So, Brooke Susanna Elderhouse, will you do me the great honor of being my wife? Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” I sob, flinging my arms around him so that we both collapse into the sand, and I pepper his face with kisses. “Yes…yes…yes.”

He starts to laugh, holding me close.

“I have one condition.”

“Hmmmm?”

“You have to marry me right here, right now.”

“How are…but…”

Brody places two fingers to his mouth and whistles.

I look around dazed as seemingly from nowhere, people appear from all directions, walking toward us, clapping.

My sister, Brody’s mom and dad, Caden, Lola, Jake, and all the boys from MOS surround us, smiling and offering congratulations as Brody pulls me to my feet.

“How did you all…when did you all get here?” I ask as we brush the sand off our clothes.

“Magic.” Jake grins.

“I can’t believe you’re all here.”

“You think that they’d want to miss our wedding day?” Brody laughs, placing a kiss in my hair. “Once I told them…”

“Nothing on this earth would’ve stopped us.” Judy beams next to Caden, who subtly separates his parents by standing in-between them. I follow his gaze to where Hope is standing, amused as Louis steps up and puts his arm around her, causing a frown to form on that famous face of his. Good.

“How did you do all this without me knowing?” I turn my attention back to my fiancé.

“I had help,” he answers, nodding his head toward Jake. “He’s a good guy and a good friend.”

“So, you’ll be up for a threesome then?” Jake chuckles as he claps Brody on the shoulder.

“No way, man. She’s mine and mine alone.” Brody takes my hand in his, his gaze not leaving mine. “Now, Miss Elderhouse, I think that you and I have a wedding to attend.”

“Yeah,” I say so that only Brody can hear me. “I believe we do, Mr. McAllister.”

A loud cough draws our attention to a beautiful, tanned, gray-haired woman in long flowing purple robes, standing in front of us.

“Are we ready to start?” She smiles as she looks between us.

“Are you ready?” Brody asks me.

“Yes.” I smile back at her.

“Excellent, then we shall begin.” She raises her voice so that it can be heard above the sounds of the ocean. “If everyone could take their positions, please.”

Caden comes to stand next to Brody, giving his brother’s shoulder a nudge as he adjusts his suit sleeves. Hope stands to my side, taking my hand in hers, giving me a reassuring squeeze. She gives Caden a tight smile when he catches her eye.

“We are gathered here today,” the celebrant’s lilting voice dances around us as she says the words that will finally make us husband and wife, “to witness the union of Brody and Brooke. Before I start, is there any reason why these two should not lawfully wed. Speak now or forever hold your peace.” You could hear a pin drop, but I still hold my breath in case someone says something. “No? Good.” She laughs as Brody and I let out sighs of relief. “Marriage is hard work. It’s give and take, it’s working together as one to achieve your goals. It is love and it is laughter, but most of all, it is a partnership. If you can achieve that in your marriage, even when times are hard, if you can lean on one another, then you will be successful. Now, Brody told me that he has written his own vows, but,” she says, smiling at me, “I am aware that this has kind of…been sprung on you.” A ripple of laughter comes from the people watching. “I’ll understand if you want to do your vows the traditional way, Brooke.”

I nod my head, still in a state of shock that I’m on a tropical beach, surrounded by friends and family, about to marry the love of my life. Very discretely I give my arms a little pinch just to make sure that this isn’t a dream. Yep, this is definitely happening.

“Brody. If you would like to face Brooke and say your vows.”

Brody turns to face me, taking my hands in his. His eyes are awash with emotion as he clears his throat.

“Brooke. I can’t believe that we’re finally here. You’ll never know how grateful I am that you agreed to give us a second chance.” He pauses before continuing. “You’ve always been the one for me. From the day we were born, it was only ever you. And now, I’m standing in front of our friends and family as we are bound together for life. This ring,” he says, taking a simple gold wedding band from Caden’s outstretched hand, “belonged to your mom, and if you don’t mind, I’ll wear the one that belonged to your dad.” I shake my head, unable to say anything for the lump that’s formed in my throat. “I know how much you miss them, and I know how important it is that they be a part of our day. I’d like to think that your parents are here with us today. They’d be so proud of you, baby.”

“Brody.” I start to sob.

“Hey, can’t have you crying on your wedding day,” he says, wiping away my tears.

“I love you,” I whisper. “Thank you so much.”

“You are my sun, my moon, and my stars; and now you are my wife. I love you, Brooke Elderhouse, and I will until the day I die. You and me, forever.” He smiles as he places my mom’s ring on my finger. A light gust of wind blows my hair around me. I’d like to think that was my parents’ way of saying they approve.

“Brooke. Would you like to say something?” the celebrant asks.

“Yeah.” I smile up at Brody. “Brody. You are the only boy I’ve ever loved, you’re the only man I’ve ever loved. You are my best friend, my lover, and now you will be my husband. You’ve been there for me through the good times and the bad. We’ve had our troubles, but that’s in the past; we can only look forward to our future, and I can’t wait to go on that journey with you. I love you with all that I am and all that I’ll ever be,” I say, taking my father’s band and placing it on Brody’s finger, before giving a nod to let the celebrant know that I’ve finished.

“Brody and Brooke, you have declared before all here present your love for one another. Although you have already said your vows, Brody did ask if we could repeat the more traditional ones just in case.” She beams. “So, Brooke, if you could repeat after me. I, Brooke Susanna Elderhouse.”

“I, Brooke Susanna Elderhouse.”

“Take you, Brody Duncan McAllister.”

“Take you, Brody Duncan McAllister.”

“To be my lawfully wedded husband. To love, honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.”

“To be my lawfully wedded husband. To love, honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

“Now, Brody, it’s your turn. If you could please repeat after me. I, Brody Duncan McAllister.”

“I, Brody Duncan McAllister,” Brody’s deep voice repeats, his eyes not once leaving mine.

“Take you, Brooke Susanna Elderhouse, to be my lawfully wedded wife.”

“Take you, Brooke Susanna Elderhouse, to be my lawfully wedded wife.”

“To love, honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.”

“To love, honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.”

“Excellent.” She smiles. “Then it gives me the greatest of pleasure to say that by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

All else fades away as Brody takes me in his arms and kisses me. In the background, I’m aware of hollers, whistling, and applause from our friends and family. I wrap my arms around Brody’s neck as he picks me up, leaning me backward to deepen the kiss. We’re both panting by the time we come up for air.

“I love you.” Brody grins against my lips.

“I love you.” I grin back.

“Come on, guys, we have a party to get to. Free booze!” Jake yells to much laughter.

“I guess that’s our cue.”

“Guess so.” I smile as he rights me and takes my hand in his.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. McAllister.” Cade beams, stepping forward and giving me a tight hug. “Welcome to the family, officially, Brooke.”

“Thanks, Caden.” I laugh as we separate.

“Mrs. McAllister?” I turn to see the celebrant walking toward me, a beaming smile on her face.

“Hi.” I smile back. “Ceremony was beautiful, thank you.”

“I try my best.” Her eyes alight with amusement. “However, I have to deliver the unromantic request of asking you both to sign the official paperwork, and then you are free to go party with your friends and family.”

“Of course,” I say, turning to Caden. “Could you go and tell my husband that he is needed.” I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of saying that.

“We’ll need the witnesses as well.”

“And we need you and Hope as well!” I yell to his retreating back. He stops, looks over his shoulder, and gives me a shit-eating grin. I narrow my eyes, shaking my head.

“I could see there being another wedding soon, between him and your…sister? They couldn’t take their eyes off each other during the whole ceremony,” the celebrant says, gesturing toward a flower laden table.

“Oh no, no, no,” I answer, shaking my head as I take a seat.

“Hmmm.” She cocks her head to the side. “In all my years of doing this, I’ve never been wrong over my predictions.”

“Believe me, that is one prediction that will not happen.”

She smiles blissfully. “Just wait.”

“Just wait for what?” My husband asks as he sits next to me at a torch-lit table.

“Never you mind.” I giggle, leaning in for a kiss as Caden and Hope join us.

After signing the register, Brody and I thank the celebrant, whose name was Jillani, then head toward the hotel hand in hand.

“You know we could skip this?” he says, putting his arm around my shoulder. “Head back to the villa and make love under the stars.”

“And miss all the food? No way. I’m starved.”

“Did you just turn down a night of off the charts sex for food? Seriously?”

“No.” I tease. “I’m building the anticipation for later when my husband and I retire after celebrating our wedding with our family and friends because I want to see him beg.”

“Uh-huh, you want me to beg?”

“I want you to be so turned on that when you come, they’ll hear you all over the island.”

“That so?” He bends down, and nibbles at my neck.

“Yes.”

“You sure you don’t want to consummate our marriage now?” He pushes me backward, until my back hits the trunk of a tree. “Have my cum running down your thighs and your scent on my fingers while we do the whole ‘thank you for coming’ thing? Because just the thought of knowing that I fucked you and no one else knowing is making me harder than hell.” Slowly, he lifts the hem of my wedding dress, his fingers dancing up my thigh, until they reach the edge of my soaked panties. “I want you so fucking much, Mrs. McAllister.”

“Brody.” I gasp as he suddenly rips my panties away, leaving me bare.

“Fuck.” He growls in my ear, and undoes his zipper before lifting me up as I wrap my legs around him. “I’ve been thinking about this all day.”

“Oh God.” I groan as he thrusts into me. “Harder, baby. I need it harder.”

“As…you…wish.” He pants, increasing speed.

The moan that escapes my lips can probably be heard above the sound of the rolling waves, but I don’t care. I don’t care that we could get caught at any moment. I don’t care that we could be heard. I’m making love with my husband, the man I adore, under a moonlit sky after possibly the best day of my life, and I’m happy.

“I’m going to come, baby.” He hisses in my ear. “Can’t hold on much longer.”

With one final thrust, he comes hard, spilling himself into me as I spiral into the bliss of my own orgasm, as we collapse together onto the sand. If I died right now, then I’d die a very happy woman. We stay entwined like this, our foreheads pressed together…happy…at peace.

“Well, you’re stuck with me now.” Brody chuckles against my hair.

“Huh?”

“Marriage has been officially consummated, no annulment for you.”

“Oh my God.” I laugh, swatting his ass. “We just got married, had the most amazing sex, and the first thing you think of is that I can’t annul the marriage.”

He shrugs before his face turns serious.

“Are you happy?” he asks.

“Happier than I think I’ve ever been.”

“Good.” He smiles, zipping up his pants as he stands before helping me up. “Me too.”

“I can’t believe that you arranged all this. How did you…”

“I have my ways and I had some help,” he says, pressing a gentle kiss to the end of my nose. “But if we don’t get a move on, they’ll send out a search party soon.”

“Do we have to go?” I sigh.

“I thought you wanted food?”

“Good point, Mr. McAllister.”

“I know, Mrs. McAllister.”

I let out a loud snort. “We better go rescue your mom.”

“Why,” he asks, looking adorably confused.

“Because Jake’s heard she’s single.”

“What?”

“He said he thought Judy was a fox.”

“You are kidding…right?” he says disgustedly.

“Nope.” I grin.

“He so wouldn’t tap that. She’s my mom. I mean come on.”

“Jake will tap anything given a chance. Where are you going?” I call as he practically starts to sprint along the beach. “Hold up.”

“You might want to hurry because you’ll need to save Hope from Cade.” He laughs, jogging backward.

“What did that fucker do?”

“It’s not what he’s done, it’s what he’s planning to do.”

“If he wants to live, then he better not fucking touch her.”

“Better get a move on then, Mrs. McAllister.” He laughs, running toward me.

“This is going to be a mess.”

“No, it’s going to be fun. Lots and lots of fun,” he says, taking my hand in his as he leads me toward the light of the hotel and our friends and family, and toward our future.

Brooke

“Once upon a time, many years ago, a little boy and a little girl were born on the same day, in the same hospital. Placed together in the same crib, their mothers looked on fondly, and from that day on, a firm friendship was formed.

As the years passed, those two children became the best of friends, as did their mothers. Indeed, it was their mothers’ greatest wish that they marry and find true happiness with each other. Much to everyone’s delight, they fell in love.

We leave them now, walking beneath a starry sky, hands linked together. They stop only to kiss underneath the moonlight as the light glints off their newly placed rings.

Sometimes, just sometimes, dreams do come true.”

“Mom?”

“Yes, sweetie.”

“Was that about you and Dad?”

“It was, baby.”

“Did you bone?”

“What?”

“Uncle Jake said he had to go find you because you were missing and that you were totally boning.”

“Did he now? I think I’ll be having a word with Uncle Jake.”

“Mom?”

“Yeah.”

“How do fairy tales end?”

“They always end the same, baby…now go to sleep.”

“Can I say it?”

“Sure.”

“And they lived happily ever after.”

“Yes, they did.”

THE END

Well, who thought I would write another book? Not me that’s for sure! I have so many people to thank - so, if I miss you out, I’m really sorry.

To my husband, Matt, and my baby girl, for your love, support and patience.

Kerri – my sister from another mista.

Janet (my actual sister <3)

Mum and Neil.

Nadine, for her awesome editing!

Krispy for a beautiful book cover (she’s talented is that one).

Lucia Franco for her encouragement and help. Thank you so much.

Katie and Lydia – my cheerleaders.

Elaine, my beta.

To my FB crew – love you all.

Deigh – for writing to me at a time when I wanted to pack it all in. You’ll never know what your email meant to me.

Finally, to all you lovely readers.

S.P. West lives in a house by the sea with her husband, daughter, her two cats and a seagull called Neville that visits for food everyday.

She is an avid romance and fan fiction reader, a former belly dancer and a terrible daydreamer with her head forever in the clouds.

Love, Hate & Us is her second novel.

Please feel free to contact

Email: sarawritesbooks@outlook.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/authorspwest

Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorspwest

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/SPWest

Thank you for reading.

Life Without You

(First published 2016. Due to be republished very soon!)

Love, Hate & Us

Both books are standalone