“No, Daddy. He’s really not a talker. He’s more the introverted type.” A buried part of hope leaps out of my heart, screaming at me to see what he’s done.
Daddy nods, thoughtful. There’s a long silence. “You must be very important to him, then. Men like Leo don’t just spill everything to strangers on a whim. He’s committed to you.”
I gulp, my skin hot and my nerves tingling. There’s a reason I ran off with Wesley as an eighteen-year-old and didn’t give my parents a chance to talk sense into me. Deep down, I’d known something was wrong. They would’ve known it and told me so.
They don’t even hesitate with Leo. It’s clear he’s not hiding anything. When I was eighteen, I was sure they were always wrong. At twenty-two, I know they’re right.
“Do you mind if I call Leo really quick? I know I just got here, but…”
Mama places her hand on top of mine. “Angel, he’s on the front porch. He called a cab and he’s waiting outside.”
I rush to my feet so quickly, my head spins. In another two seconds, I’m out the door and running to the steps. I knock into Leo, who sits on a step. He catches my legs before I can tumble down.
“Whoa.” He releases me.
I suck in air. “Why are you here?”
“Cab. I called—”
“No.” I shake my head frantically. “I mean, tell me why you followed me.”
“Can you sit?” He shifts over to make room on the brick step.
I sit next to him, sticking my shaky hands between my knees. Leo turns his indigo gaze on full force, dangerous as radiation. I feel myself melting.
“Because I can be as stubborn as you are.” He grins. “I never wanted to get back together with Tori. But I wasn’t letting her go either. I kept thinking about what she’d done to me and how it could happen again. And then you came along and wrecked all my intentions to stay unattached. I lied to myself, saying my life would be less complicated that way. But it was just that. A lie.”
He reaches across and takes my hand in his, linking our fingers. “If I thought I could forget about you, I would. It’s what you’ve asked me to do. Leave you alone. But I can’t.”
Leo brings my knuckles to his lips and kisses them. “So, I sent flowers and tried to win over your parents and I’ve written a post on Mr. Expose about my identity. About not hiding behind a facade with the people who are important in my life. I’m playing all my cards. That’s why.”
The cab pulls to the curb. I unlace my fingers from Leo’s. “So you’re saying you’re not a quitter,” I whisper. My heartbeat thrums in my head.
“That’s it. Basically. And that I’m in love with you.”
My breath catches at this simple phrase, one I know he doesn’t take lightly. “That reason works for me.” I grab his shirt. “Now shut up and kiss me.”
Daddy opens the door and sends the cab away.
Leo lowers his head. “Whatever the woman wants.”
The Fiction of Forever A Stand By Me Novel #2
Coming Soon
Gunner Parrish knows better than anyone that forever is a lie. Even families don't stick around in the long run. Especially the ones you love the most.
Moving back to the place of his happiest memories is the best decision he's made in...well, forever. He could love everything about his new life if it weren't for one thing--Kiley Vanderbilt. The spoiled little brat who grew up into a sizzling siren. All grown up and making his life miserable.
Kiley plans to match him up with the girl of his dreams on the reality show Forever. Gunner plans to choose the cash prize instead. She needs a wake-up call and he’s just the man to sound the alarm.
A girl used to getting her way. A guy who’ll never surrender his heart. One believes in forever. The other believes in today. Tune in to the show Forever to find out who wins.
Preview of Chasing Luck (Serendipity Book #1)
PROLOGUE
It’s bizarre how one crazy psycho can break a heart and mind into an unforgiving pile of pieces.
No superglue solution for the aftermath of tragedy.
Mom’s law office was usually the most boring place ever for a seven-year-old. I’ll never forget the wail of a shrill alarm pulsing through the twenty-five-story building, kicking my heart into a race with my rapid breathing. I looked at my mom and covered my ears at the hateful sound. She glanced up from her paperwork and grabbed the desk phone. Mom closed her eyes, irritated. We were only supposed to be at her office for ten minutes. She’d said fifteen at the most.
Red lights blinked in time with the screech of the alarm. She shook her head, rose, held out her hand. I placed my hand in hers while looking at her perfectly lipsticked mouth. She was tall today in her high, spiky heels. I studied her moving lips, but I couldn’t hear anything over the screeching and voices.
She bent, placed her lips to my ear. “Fire alarm. Come on.”
“Okay.” I yelled. I giggled when she playfully swatted my behind. We had a fire alarm just last week at school. Jenny Millard got into trouble for letting the class hamster out of its cage so it wouldn’t die in a fire.
In the hallway, people flurried past us. They darted out of offices quickly, holding purses and briefcases. A man at the end of the corridor yelled. He motioned like a crossing guard on high speed, but I couldn’t tell what he was saying until we reached the end. As we walked down the hall, I looked through the glass interior walls at the remaining people inside each office—rule breakers who didn’t follow directions.
I hoped they got in trouble. People who didn’t follow rules deserved to get in trouble.
“Stay calm. This is not a drill. Exit now. Leave your things and take the stairs.” Mom’s boss yelled louder than the alarm. I watched him run a hand over his hair and down his neck. He tugged on his necktie until he pulled it loose.
Mom squeezed my hand a little tighter. She smiled down at me, reassuring with her lips, but her eyes had me worried. Someone yelled, “Bomb.” People began running, crowding, jamming. We reached the elevator. The man said to take the stairs, but people didn’t listen. They were crowding into the already full elevator. I knew how to follow directions from school. Had these grownups been in my class, they would know how to walk in a “calm and collected fashion,” as Mrs. Wallace said. Mom and I were walking to the stairs when a loud crash sounded and the building shook. A picture slid down the wall beside the elevator and crashed to the floor. Glass spidered into a web on the surface of the image.
People screamed near me. I knew this wasn’t like the school drill. This not-a-drill was scary. Mom squeezed my hand hard and that made me want to cry. I dropped my new Hello Kitty purse. Colored pencils and candy spilled out and rolled. I bent down to retrieve it but Mom pulled me up with a jerk.
“Malerie!” My mother yelled in a tone she rarely used. A tone she’d used when I’d almost stepped in front of a car. A tone from the day when I’d used the kitchen knife to cut a rope. A tone that made my throat tighten.
A big man stepped on my chocolate-covered candies and his foot rolled on a pencil; he wobbled to balance himself before he too spilled onto the floor.
My eyes filled with tears. My purse would be dirty now. I would come back for it later. I almost tripped as my mother moved into a crowd of bodies at a doorway leading to the stairwell. I tried to hold on, but the tall people were shoving and squishing me. She held my wrist so hard I could feel her rings biting into the skin on my arm. I tried to twist toward her, but the people were too big. I couldn’t see my mom. My face pressed into the back of a man wearing tan pants and a brown belt.