New Love
New Love
Love Kissed Books, LLC
Contents
I. Finding Forever
Hannah
Chance
Hannah
Chance
Hannah
Chance
Hannah
Chance
Hannah
About the Author
II. Shattered Home
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Also By
Remembering Home - Preview
Acknowledgments
About the Author
III. Affliction
Dennis
Cassie
Dennis
Dennis
Cassie
Dennis
Cassie
Dennis
Cassie
Dennis
Cassie
Happy holidays Cass
Dennis
Cassie
Epilogue
Cassie
Dennis
Also By
About the Author
IV. To Be Common Like You
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
The End . . .
About the Author
V. The Date: A Moore Love Short Story
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
About the Author
VI. Camou Heart’s Best Friend
Prologue
Haden
Camou
Haden
Camou
Haden
Camou
Haden
Camou
Camou
Camou
Camou
Epilogue
About the Author
VII. The Decoy
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Also By
About the Author
Finding Forever
A Waiting to Breathe Crossover Novella
by Alyson Reynolds
Finding Forever
Copyright © 2017 by Alyson Reynolds.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations em- bodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
For information contact :
www.authoralysonreynolds.com
Book and Cover design by Alyson Reynolds
Edited by Cat Parisi
ISBN: 123456789
First Edition: July 2017
Created with Vellum
Hannah
I waited next to the baggage carousel for my cousin to finally get here. We’d been waiting impatiently for this moment for the past few months and now that it was finally here the final seconds were dragging out, like father time had to get one last dig in on us. Caroline and I were alike in so many ways, it didn’t seem fair that we lived halfway across the country from each other. I was positive she was driving her best friend Brooke, insane while they were waiting to get off the plane. She’d already sent me four texts in a span of five minutes.
I glanced back down at my phone again. Two minutes. It had been two freaking minutes since the last time I’d looked. A high pitched squeal had me throwing my phone in my purse. I barely had time to brace myself before Caroline threw herself at me in a rib crushing hug. The grin on my face was so big it hurt my cheeks as I hugged her back.
Brooke stood back, waiting patiently for her turn to hug me. Her eyes looked a little damp while she watched us, which caused my eyes to tear up. We were all a mess. Caroline finally pulled back and allowed our friend to get a hug of her own. I’d missed these girls like crazy. It seemed surreal that they were actually here with me now.
Up until a few years ago, we’d all lived in the same town in North Carolina. When we graduated from high school, they’d decided to go to Texas for college. While I’d wanted to join them, I knew my parents couldn’t afford to help me go, so I’d opted for somewhere a little closer to home. Now I was at USC, which still wasn’t in-state, but that was an entirely different story.
“I can’t believe we’re actually here,” Caroline said, pulling me in for another hug. “It feels like we haven’t seen each other in forever.”
I grinned. “We skype once a week. I just saw you yesterday.”
“That doesn’t count,” she argued. “When we have to talk through a little screen, I can’t actually see what’s going on in your life.”
Brooke choked back a laugh. “She might or might not have had a vodka cranberry or three on the plane. You know how nervous she gets flying.”
I fought back the laugh that was trying to bubble up. “That I do, but you drank?” I asked Caroline. She flushed, and nodded her head. I turned back to Brooke. “How bad was the flight?”
“Perfect, no turbulence at all.” Brooke looked at Caroline. “But with the way this one was reacting you would have thought we were flying through a tornado.”
I looped my arms through theirs and led them over to the carousel to grab their bags. The sooner we grabbed those, the sooner we could start having fun. I planned to make the most of the nine days I had them here with me.
“So we’re staying with your friends Finn and Cora, right?” Caroline asked.
“That’s the plan. They’re awesome, you guys will love them. Our other friends Nate and Olivia will be staying there for part of the time you’re here too, but it’s a huge house, so there’s plenty of room. Nate and Olivia actually own the house,” Brooke raised her eyebrow. “It’s a long story, but to shorten it, Finn is Olivia’s twin brother. Olivia and Nate got married last year.”
“That’s the wedding you went to in Colorado?” Caroline asked.
“Yep. It was freaking gorgeous. And those two are perfect for each other, so it made it even better.”
I was rambling, avoiding the topic that I knew would come up sooner or later. Once Caroline sobered up a little I was positive she would ask about him.
Chance.
The guy that I’d started dating last year. The first guy since my ex boyfriend. I’d been able to put off most of her questions when we were skyping or on the phone, but now that she was here it wouldn’t be as easy. It’s not that I didn’t want to talk about him; I didn’t mind telling them about Chance. The problem would be talking about Will and what went wrong there. He was a controller, and a stalker asshole, that’s what went wrong, but Caroline had missed most of that drama. And of course, she’d want a full recap.
They’d both grabbed their bags at some point during my word vomit session. I blushed as they looked at me expectantly. We walked out to the parking lot and threw their bags in the back of my SUV. Caroline got up front with me and Brooke climbed into the back. With any luck we’d make it out of here without me having to te
ll my story.
It took her longer than I expected. I made it out of the parking lot before Caroline turned towards me. “So I want to know everything there is to know about Chance Evans.”
I shrugged. “Chance is a senior this year. He’s an engineering major and he doesn’t kick puppies.”
Brooke snorted a laugh. “Is that a thing here or something?”
“Sometimes,” I said, winking in the mirror at her. “I promise you that you’ll like him. He’s fun and sexy and I really enjoy being around him. I’m happy.”
Caroline squeezed my arm. “That’s all I want for you.” I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe I was safe. No such luck, she continued. “I do want to talk about Will and what happened though, but it can wait. I just don’t get how things deteriorated so quickly.”
I scowled. “It wasn’t quickly. I realized how stupid I was being. Will was controlling, and he was sneaky about it. Not to mention that he didn’t like me to do anything without him. By the end he was practically stalking me. I was scared if he didn’t get his way he was going to start hitting me. I couldn’t stick around for that.”
Her eyes snapped up to mine. “What?” she whispered.
“Yeah. All of our awesome friends thought he was just amazing and blamed me for the breakup, but he was mentally abusive. I never did anything right according to him and he tried to control my every move.”
“Why didn’t you—”
“Why didn’t I tell you?” I shrugged again. “Because there’s not much you can do from twelve hundred miles away.”
I hoped she couldn’t hear the bitterness in my voice. Because as hard as I tried, I still hated the fact that she got out of that town and I didn’t. Realistically I knew it wasn’t her fault, but it didn’t stop the loneliness from creeping in.
“I’m sorry. I wish we’d been there.”
“I’m glad you got away from that asshole though,” Brooke said from the backseat.
“It’s fine. It’s not like you guys could have done anything anyway. It’s over, and I would like it very much if we can just drop it and never talk about it again.”
Brooke and Caroline both nodded. I could tell they were both still in shock that a guy we’d all loved was a manipulative asshole. It was hard for me to believe it, and I’d lived it.
“I won’t ever bring it up again.” Caroline had a guilty look on her face. I wanted to kick myself for putting it there. We were supposed to be having fun, instead she was going to beat herself for bringing it up because that was the kind of person she was. This vacation was exactly what we both needed, but it wasn’t getting off to a great start.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before now.” I sighed. “Everything that happened is hard to talk about. I felt betrayed and judged by our friends, which was stupid. Plus I ended a four year long relationship. I was dealing with a lot of hurt. If it wasn’t for Cora and Olivia, I probably would have went out of my mind.”
Brooke reached up and rubbed my shoulder. “We’re just happy you’ve found some good friends here.” She smiled. “And from what it sounds like, a good guy.”
“I think you’ll like Chance. He’s…great. I don’t know how else to describe him. It’s all still new between us, but he’s excited to meet you guys. That has to stand for something right? He’s willing to meet my crazy friends coming in from out of town.”
Caroline finally smiled. “If he’s willing to do that he can’t be too bad.”
____
Chance wrapped his arms around me in a hug as soon as we walked in the door of his apartment. I blushed a little as he kissed me softly. Brooke and Caroline had huge, approving smiles on their faces as they followed me inside. He grinned against my lips and tucked me under his arm as he reached out to shake their hands.
“You must be Caroline and Brooke.” I loved that he was genuinely happy to meet them. The smile on his face was real, not the fake one I’d seen on Will’s so often. I mentally chastised myself, I had to stop comparing the two.
When we first met, I had some major reservations about Chance. Rumors from the past few years at SCU seemed to follow him around. Everyone told me he was a player, that he slept around and treated girls like shit. But honestly, I’d never seen that side of him. From the start, he’d always been respectful with me. Maybe it was because I didn’t put up with people’s bullshit and he’d been warned by Cora and Olivia. I was normally quiet when I met new people, but I wasn’t ever like that with Chance.
“It looks like you’re more than just friends to me, Hannah,” Brooke said, winking at Chance.
I could kill her.
“We definitely are,” Chance said grinning. I raised my eyebrows as I looked at Caroline. This was news to me. We’d been taking it slow so far, especially since he knew everything that had happened in my past. It was important to him that I learn to trust him.
But this was a new development.
We walked further into the apartment, making small talk and discussing plans for tomorrow. There were a few people sitting around already, but the party hadn’t really started yet. In the next few hours this place would be packed with college students wanting to drink and celebrate their freedom for spring break.
I knew almost everyone there, which still seemed surreal to me. Somehow I’d gotten sucked in with a group of people that were well known and well liked on campus. Chance had lived in the frat house last year, but he and a couple of the guys decided to rent a place just off campus for their senior year. It wasn’t anything special, mainly nondescript cabinets and beige walls, but the location was perfect. They were close enough to campus that they could walk to the bars on campus corner, yet far enough away that traffic wouldn’t be an issue.
My friends seemed to fit right in. Brooke found a guy to get her a drink and Caroline followed behind them quietly. At least she would keep Brooke out of trouble. Caroline hadn’t changed in the two years she’d been gone. I’d only seen my cousin drink one or two times in her life. It wasn’t that she had anything against it, she just didn’t enjoy being out of control. Flying must have been the exception to that rule or her nerves were just that bad in the air. I smiled as I watched Olivia and Cora follow them to the kitchen. Honestly they did a better job at playing hostess than I did. I was so happy they were both there to make sure that my friends were having fun and taken care of. If nothing else, Nate and Finn would kick anyone’s ass that looked at them the wrong way.
After a few hours, Chance grabbed two drinks for us and led me back to his bedroom. He grinned at me when he closed the door and locked it. I giggled when he wrapped his arm around my waist and wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
“Alone at last.” His voice seemed huskier than normal.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’m a fan,” I teased. “Are you just happy that we get a break? Mid-terms are over, thank goodness.”
He leaned and sat the beers on his desk. When he straightened up he grabbed my ass and pulled me even closer into him. A shiver ran its way up my spine when I felt his hardness against my stomach.
“That and I missed you.”
I smirked at him and kissed his neck. “Oh is that all it is? If you wanted to get laid, all you had to do was ask.”
He growled as he picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and clung to him as he backed us up to the bed. It was in these small moments I got to see Chance lose control. He was always friendly and laughing, joking with his friends, but seeing him like this always made my pulse race.
He ran his nose along the column of my neck.
“Hannah?”
“Hm?”
“Are you ready?”
I pulled back a little to look at him. “For what?”
He tossed me back on the bed and I giggled as I bounced on the soft mattress. He grinned and crawled over me, pinning me down gently.
“I wasn’t kidding when I said I missed you last week,” he said, resting his forehead against mine.
Swoo
n.
“I missed you too. Last week was rough, but at least we won’t have to do it again until finals. I’ve got to pick a major this summer, trying to keep up with all these classes is killing me.”
His eyes took on a weird haze but he shook his head and it was gone before I could ask him about it. “I know I saw you, but it seemed like all we did was study. The library isn’t somewhere I can do this.” He kissed up my neck, nipping at the delicate skin.
“You’d be surprised,” I gasped.
He leaned back and cocked his head in a what do you know that I don’t motion.
I grinned. “Cora tells me things. Have you ever been up to the stacks?”
He started laughing. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“Oh no, they totally do things up there. Or did things. They do have a house now.” I ran my hand through his buzzed hair. “I think technically Nate was the one that started that family tradition, but Finn and Cora definitely defiled it more than they did.”