To anyone who has ever wanted someone to read to them, and then…take it even further.
And to the hearts that dream and never give up, even when the world tries to bring you down Shake it off. Haters gonna hate. The trash will take itself out.
Seguin’s cries as she came apartunderneathme. Her whimpers and the flushalongher chesther orgasmtookover. Best fuckingmemoriesofmylife,evenovermakingittotheSuperBowl.OrevenwinningtheIndyCarChampionshiplastseason. Thewayhereyeslockedontominewhenshewasonherknees Howshetrustedmewithhersecretsandfantasies
“Thisdoesn’tmeananything.”Seguin’sicyinterruptionmight’vescaredmeawaybackincollege,butthemanIwasnow knew better Underneathit, I caught a glimpse of the sparkbetweenus that had always beenthere Fight it as hard as she wanted,itwasstillthere.Herhandwaggedbackandforth.“Aftertheceremony,andtheIdo’saresaid?Wearen’tanything. Everagain.”
The almosttenhour flightfromParis to Raleigh-DurhamInternational Airportprovided me withall the time and yetnot enoughtoformulateaplan.ThankGodCammie,whoIstudiedwithinParisandstilltalkedtoatleastthreetimesaweek,had offeredmeaplacetostayuntil IfiguredoutifNorthCarolinawouldbehome…or somewhereupnorth.Iprotested,butshe hadawayofwearingyoudownwhenshewasdetermined
Icouldn’t. Bryce thoughtmyinsomnia a few nights a monthwas triggered bystress or nightmares ofmymother’s death. Sometimestheywere Mosttimes?
JettFuckingCarter, and the knowledge mybrokenheartwas also a part ofthe greatestthings inmylife. Myheart was prettyfuckingclearonwhereIstoodinthelightofday,theboxwhereIshovedhimandeverydamnmemorylockeduptight Butlateatnight?
Adamngremlinwheedledits wayintothathiddencorner andtriedits besttoprythe lidoff.The flickers ofnightspent with him, reading romance novels, and confessing secret desires in the dark, seeped out. Invaded my dreams, my heart poundingwithalltheemotionsIkeptlockedaway.
Hands fumbled for mypurse as Itried invainto make myselfappear as thoughIhadn’tbeenona flightfor almostten hours.MyheartmeltedasIclickedmymother’ssilvercompactclosed,andforthemillionthtimeIwishedshewerehere.Yet, alsogratefulshenolongerhadtoliveherlifethewayshehad Alovelessmarriageandahusbandwhocheatedeverychance hegot.
Aftertheplanetoucheddownandtaxiedtothegate,Imademywaythroughthebusyairportandprayedforabedandahot shower. No matter how comfortable, firstclass couldn’tcompare to anactual bed. Cammie’s guestbedroomsounded better witheverypassingmoment
Exhausted and grippingthe handle to myrollingoversized luggage, Istepped outinto the cool NorthCarolina night. My eyesshutforamomentasIdrewinadeepbreathandfoughtbacktearsthatburnedbehindmyeyelids.WhenIsteadiedmyself, IthankedGodthatmynewemployerwassothoroughandsmiledatthedriverofthecarsentbytheFury
“Fitz,” Serena said as the huge beast trotted over to her and sat at her feet for his rubs fromhis girl, “Knows whento respectpeople’sprivacy.Wewaiteduntilyouweregone,atleast.”
Score.Igaveheralookthatsaid,don’tmesswithmenomatterhow muchIloveyou,bestie.Sheraisedabrow asifto say, game on, motherfucker Igrinned ThisiswhyIlovedher,andfuckinglovedthatmybestfriendsgotovertheirshitand sawhowcrazytheywereforeachother.
WhichIwasalsoprettysuretheydefiled,too,alongwithmykitchen,nottoolongago Sigh “Cammie,thephotog,knows someoneinRes Gentry’s foundation,andneededaguyfor her donationtohis auctionfor a shoot She does these Stranger Sessions for womentoempower them Her hockeyguybowedoutatthe lastminute,andshe
Her sighsoundedwistful She proppedher chinonher upturnedpalm,thenshe straightenedandglaredather boyfriend “YouhavenevertakenmetoaGala,Catcher.Notawaytokeepagirl.”
She leaned downand said ina stage whisper, “I love pizza more” Witha giggle, Serena darted out of reachas Gabe reachedforher.
“Youaresogoingtopayforthatone,Princess,”hegrowled Icleared mythroatas theyeyed eachother. Jealousyand regretcoursed throughme, irrational as itmaybe. Serena had helpedmecomeoutofadarkplacewhenIdecidedfootballandthedreammydadandIhadtakenenoughtimefromme.And mybody. Imade smartinvestments for the five years Iplayed, and thoughBobbyAnders paid his employees well, Ididn’t reallyneedthejob.
Serenahadthedecencytolookchagrined,butGabe,theasshole,justsmirked “Iwouldtell the twoofyoutogeta room,butyou’ve probablydone itall over mydamnhouse.So,let’s justwatchthe race,andthenyoucanheadhomeanddowhateverkinkyassshityoufeelfitsthemood,okay?”Thekickofftoracingseason beganeveryyearwhenthevariousclassesofsportscars,fromprototypestoGTPROandAMtooktothetrack.BothAnders Racingdriversjoinedoneoftheprototypeteamsthisyear,andwewatchedthegreenflagdropeveryyear.
This year, however, Gabe had the SavannahRockets NFC Championship game tomorrow And the teambarelylet him comehomeforthestart,butgiventhatthiswashislastyear,theymadeanexceptionsinceAtlantahostedthisyear.
“Youdidwhat?”Icoveredmyfacewithmyhands,mortified. No,Ithought. She wouldn’t. Cammie shruggedover her bowl ofcereal.“Ananonymous donor boughtmyauctionitemfor a Valentine’s DayStranger SessionwithahockeyplayerattheGentryFoundationGalalastyear,andaskedmetofindsomeonewhowouldbenefitfrom the empowermentIoffered.” Mygroandidnotdeter her laughter,nor diditquell the emotions swirlinginmystomachright now
Aneyerollandspoonfulofourfavoritecereal,FruitLoops,later,mysoontobe former bestfriendsighed Bowlnowon thelow tableinfrontofthecouchcoveredwithoversizedphotobooks andmylaptop,shecrossedher legs beneathher and said gently, “Seguin, you are going through some pretty big transitions right now.” She ticked themoff her fingers as she continued,“Endingyour engagement,movingbackhome after beinginEurope for almostsevenyears,changingcareers,and nothaving-”
Unable to bear Cam’s scrutinyanymore, Iblurted out, “The restofmydamntrustdoesn’tgetreleased until Ieither turn thirtyor get fuckingmarried And I didn’t know mydad somehow changed the fuckingdetails of mytrust before mymom passedwithoutherknowinguntilafewmonthsago.”Isatdownthenowemptybowlandtossedthespoonin.Itlandedwitha satisfyingsound.
“But,youbrokeofftheengagement.”
Myhandsflew intotheairoftheirownvolition,andIsaidloudly,“IrealizedIwasn’tinlovewithBryce.Icouldn’tdo thattohim Livingwithsomeonewhodoesn’tlovethemback Hedeservesmorethanthat,andIcouldn’tgivehimthelovehe deserves, and it’s all his fuckingfault. Because no one else will ever fuckingcompare eventhoughIhate himand Idream abouthimeverydamnnightandcan’tsleepandhegavethe-”Ibrokeoffandburstintotearsandthrewmyselfontothepillow nexttomeonthecouch.
Arms wrapped around me as I ugly cried, which I hadn’t done since that day almost seven years ago. When my heart shatteredintoamillionpiecesandtheworldbecameanentirelydifferentplace
HE DRIVE totheCarolinaFurymainofficegavemeplentyoftimetodothethingsI’dalwayswantedtodobutneverhadthe time Listentoanaudiobook,apodcast,orjustenjoythesilence OfcourseIwasn’t.
I lived comfortably off of it, not squandering it away like I’m sure my brother would’ve But still, there were living expensesandthingsI’dinvestedin,whilewortheverydamnpenny,stillcostmorethanifI’donlybeenlivingoffwhatImade workingasaphotographerandeventcoordinatorforthegalleryI’dbeenhiredatafterIgraduated Plus,Imayhavedonatedmoneytovariouscharitiesontopofpayingformyeducation,whichtookabigchunkoutofit.It waswortheverypenny.
“What do you mean, I need to get married? What kind of antiquated bullshit clause is that?”
Frederick, my mother’s, and sometimes my father’s attorney, sighed through the phone. “One that I didn’t discover about until a few days ago, Seguin One that, I have no doubt, had put in when your mother updated her will But, there is another option. The remainder of your trust will be released when you turn thirty.”
Head pounding, I asked, phone gripped so tightly in my fist my hand began to shake “How do we get it thrown out?”
Again with the sigh. “Fighting this will take more than what little you still have access to, Seguin. And it’s been almost nine years Proving any wrongdoing will be difficult, even with the funds to do so You’d be better off waiting two more years It will take just as long, and cost you less Even if you had the funds to pursue it Perhaps if you didn’t send the next check to the Rosewood-”
I closed my eyes and fought back tears Rosewood helped women be able to leave situations that they normally wouldn’t be able to leave. Like the way I escaped the society of the rich and bored. Like the way I no longer had to bend to my father’s wishes Because of the trust my mother setup before she passed I hadn’t spent the money on overly frivolous things. Living expenses, and a few other necessities, and an indulgence here and there. “That’s not happening, Frederick,” I said softly, my voice breaking.
“I know, Seguin But your mother wouldn’t want you both to-”
“I’ll figure something out.”
Like find a husband I rubbed my temple as I set my phone down That’s when it hit me I had to tell them both One that I didn’t love him enough to marry him. And another, that I hated him enough to.
Then it hit me I had the perfect solution to my problem
Marry the man who broke my heart, the man who owed me. I just had to figure out how to find him again.
Yearsago,whenmymotherwasonherdeathbedandconfessedthatshehadleftmeherfortunefromhersideofthefamily inatrustshesetupforme,shemademepromisethatIwouldn’tstaytrappedintheworldthathadmadehermiserable Her onlyjoy?Us.MybrotherandI.Shedidn’twantmetobeusedasapawninmyfather’sschemetogainmorewealthandpower.
So she gave me the means to be whatever Iwanted To payfor college, a life far fromthe irongrip he tried to enforce Evennow.Fuckmylife.
Which was why, when the call came from Resnick Gentry’s lawyer, Miranda, concerning an incredibly well paying positionthree months ago, Isaid yes Bills were comingdue for things Irefused to cutout, and while Bryce was more than willingtohelp,Icouldn’ttakeadvantageofthemanwhohadbecomemybestfriendmorethanI’dalreadyhad.
The Gentry Foundation, originally founded by Resnick Gentry’s mother, was partnering with her oldest son’s newest venture
And they wanted someone to head it up who had experience working with investors My time at the gallery and philanthropicworkoverthelastfewyears,whilegreatformykarma,hadbasicallyhelpedmyfatherexertthecontroloverme healwayscraved TheanonymousdonationshaddrainedmoreofmytrustthanIthought
I gave the rear one more lookover and nodded at a few of the guys enteringdata and comparingnotes inprep for the followingweekend “So, Gabe goes and wins the biggame, retires, gets engaged, changes careers, and is gettingmarried?” AfteraddingafewnotesontomyiPad,Ismirked.“HasFitzgivenhisconsent?”
Browsraised.“Likemakingmegooutonafootballfieldeveragain,orstealingmymidnightsliceofpizza.Divorceisn’t reallyanoption, because we bothknow he’d lose you, too, inthe settlement.” Ibarked outa laugh, because she was right. Kinda OnlybecauseitwoulddriveGabecrazywithjealousy,evenifIhadnointerestinSerenabeyondbeinggratefulshehad beenthere for me a few years back. “So yes, intwo weeks, but not byElvis. Vegas, yes. Elvis, no. Before youtryto say anotherthing,IalreadycheckedwithAlexandGia Noexcuses”Shecrossedherarmsandleanedherhipagainstthecornerof thelowwallseparatingthetwocars.“Besides,youhaven’tdoneanythingbutwork.AllworkandnoplaymakesJettaboring boy.”
Eyes wide, she hit me witha not so innocent stare Voice low, she murmured, “J, take it fromone former heart broken persontoanother.Trustme,beingalonewon’tprotectyourheart.Ifanything,itmakesitworse.”
“Ser-”Istopped,becausegoingtherewasnothappening
“First,”Isaid,shuttingthetoolbox,andcheckingtherestofthedrawerswereinorderandreadytotravel,“there’snoway inhellI’dmissseeingmytwobestfriendsgettingmarried Andsecond,evenifI did havetowork,I’dfindawaytobethere
FUCKING VALENTINE’S DAY. Ofcourse, the damnshootwould have beenonValentine’s justa few days after mybestfriend won the Super Bowl and decided eloping to Vegas was just as fun as going to Disney World But nope, no riding all the Mountains.
Vegas withmytwo best friends should have sounded like fun. Gabe and Serena gettingtogether hit me harder whenhe proposed,confettifallingdownandthousandsoffanscheering
“Headingovertothestudionow,”shecalledfromtheotherroom,herfootstepsclosinginonthedoortothebedroomI’d barricaded myself in, hoping to avoid the whole thing. A brief thought of escaping out the window entered my mind, but Cammiewouldhuntmedown.
Anythingthathappened was mycall. Clothes stayingon, comingoff. Physical touch. The bed, couch. The mirror. White, flowingcurtainsbillowed,astarkcontrastagainstthebrickwallastheyfloatedandfell
“Walking away was the most cowardly thing you could have ever done, Jett I’ve had to live with the consequences, and it was the best thing to ever happen to me. Our son, he’s my world. He showed me how to live again, to breathe and not feel like I was suffocating with every single moment To laugh, and love, and cry tears of joy instead of hurting all the time We never needed you, or anyone else. But you owe me now. ” She shoved an envelope into my hands and walked away, her ass and curves and sway of her hips distracting after spending the last hour pretending we didn’t know one another Strangers performing in front of the camera, while every damn nerve in my body instinctively rebelled. Fists flexing, my cock yelling to take her because she was ours. But even she couldn’t pretend the hatred in her eyes wasn’t real.
That she didn’t hate me for walking away and leaving her Pregnant with our son
Ason I never knew I had.
She stopped just before disappearing through the door Her laugh was humorless and cut straight to my chest “Looks like my father still controls my life. But you ’ re going to help me, and walk away. There’s no place for you in our lives. You don’t deserve to know him other than the fact that he’s amazing and everything you ’ re not, Jett ”
Ascribbled note, sprawled inher handwriting, as ifshe hated evenwritingthe words, made somethinginside roar with feelingsI’dbeenhidingalltheseyears.
Do the right thing
Marry me, in name only, and give your son the chance to dream and be the kind of man we can be proud of But that’s all In name only We didn’t need you all this time, and we still don’t That’s how you can make what you did to us right, Jett
“This is it This is the last play we could ever have together as a team Let’s fucking make it count ”
Crowd noise always factored into how the energy on the field translates into performance, but today? Next level. It was like everyone in the stadium understood they were seeing something that might never happen again The guys and I glanced around at each other. Seconds left on the clock, and seconds left in my football career. We needed to get close enough so that Ryker could get into his kicking range just to tie the game
We owned the game if it went to OT No one in the league had a better record in OT And no one wanted this more
Aweek earlier, I called Kellan and told him I was done. That the season, whether it was one more game, or God willing, two, was my last
All because of her. The one girl who always had my fucking heart, from the first moment I saw her in the stands, cheering for a sport she later told me she knew nothing about My Firefly When I thought I saw her in the stands a week ago, my heart went straight back to that first glimpse. All the nights, reading and showing her exactly how much I loved when we did exactly what was in her romance books The blush on her cheeks, the way her body responded How she so willingly gave, took, and loved me I was a fucking fool And as much as I loved the game, it wasn’t where my heart was anymore. In fact, it was the reason I gave up on the one thing I should have held onto so tightly that she never doubted my love for her
This huddle, with the guys, might be my last. And I was okay with that. But fuck if I wouldn’t give it everything I had. “We fucking got this It’s our house And it’s been an amazing trip ”
Ten minutes later, I sat, confetti falling and sticking to every surface. Families celebrated, and I sat here, wishing she was by my side
But Seguin, resplendent in a dress hugging the curves she’d gained in the years since we’d been apart, stole my damn breath Andeverysingleinhale,everyexhalebelongedtoher Alwayshad
“Thisdoesn’tmeananything.”Seguin’sicyinterruptionmight’vescaredmeawaybackincollege,butthemanIwasnow knew better. Underneathit, I caught a glimpse of the sparkbetweenus that had always beenthere. Fight it as hard as she wanted,itwasstill there.Herhandpointedbackandforth.“Aftertheceremony,andtheIdo’saresaid?Wearen’tanything. Everagain”
“Iknew this was goingto costme,” Kellangrumbled as Gabe chuckled and threw up his hands. “Ifanything, the island vacationthatmademeworriedI’dbeacastawaybroughtyoutogether”
“And Super Bowl Champion,” Gabe interjected, eyes onher ass as she snatched up her clutchwhile nextto her, Seguin shotmethekindoflooksthatkilledinstantly Serenaseemedamusedbytheexchangemorethananything,andIhellifIwanted toletheralonewithSeguinformorethanafewminutes.
“And whenIsaid yes, youwere no longer a football player,” she said witha saccharine smile Adelicate shrug “Plus, whosaysnowithconfettifallingdownandthousandsoffanscheering?EvenI’mnotthatheartless.”
“Mybestfriend, Ellie, has twins, and eventhoughshe’s a master juggler, the little heathens broughthome germs. Which waswhyshehadtocancelatthelastmoment So,I’mecstaticthatyoucouldcome Beingtheonlygirlwiththesethreeisnot thegoodtimeyou’dthinkit’dbe.Sadly,Ilikemywhychooseinromancenovels,butnotreallife.ButI’llreadthehelloutof one Right,Jett?”
Iglared back, silentlyputtingtogether a listofall the ways Iplanned ontorturingthe two ofthem. Gabe mightbe silent rightnow,butIcouldpracticallyfeelhissilentlaughterbehindme,fromthewaySerenawassmirkingasshehittheelevator button.
