She didn’t say anything as she pushed past him to grab her suitcase. He didn’t try to stop her, not that she was surprised at this point. He’d gotten what he needed out of her already. She grabbed handfuls of clothes and shoes; she didn’t care if he’d bought them for her. She looked at it as her consolation prize. Besides, half the items were worth more than what she had in her bank account right now.
She grabbed her Twist MM Louis Vuitton bag—her most prized possession; she’d bought it herself—and slung it on her arm. She closed her suitcase and zipped it shut.
“I’ll send someone by to get the rest of my stuff,” she said and slipped into her Louboutin heels.
“Where are you going? It’s late.”
“I guess I’m going home after all.”
“At least take the car service.”
Car service. Oh, how she’d miss never having to wave a cab down again, especially in the freezing cold winters, but she’d manage. Then again, who knew where she’d be come winter...
She didn’t want another thing from him. “I’ll manage. And I think it’s safe to say that I won’t be at work on Monday. Consider this my resignation. Not that it matters, since the position was only created to cover up the fact that you were sleeping with your intern.”
“Olivia,” Daniel said, but she kept walking, dragging her suitcase behind her. He grabbed her elbow, and she yanked it from his grasp. He held his hands up and met her eyes. The soft blue had once set her world on fire, and now it was like ice reaching into her chest and freezing her heart. “Have coffee with me tomorrow.”
Maybe he wanted to work things out. Maybe this was what he needed to realize that he did love her. That the last two years hadn’t been a complete waste of her time.
“We can talk now,” she said. Why put off till tomorrow what they could get out of the way right this second?
“I need time to discuss with my team how we should go about releasing this to the public.”
Her eyes snapped open, and her mouth practically hit the floor. “Excuse me?”
“We need to go about this diligently. Maybe even spin it to our benefit.”
“Spin it?”
Her heart wasn’t a damn business transaction of fodder for his reputation.
“Screw you!” Olivia stormed toward the elevator, ignoring Daniel’s pleas. She tossed her suitcase inside and spun to him, pointing a perfectly manicured nail at his face. “I helped you keep your reputation under false pretenses, and maybe if I didn’t love you, I would have seen the truth all along. But now I do. There is no way in hell I’ll ever help you again. You want to keep your reputation intact? You should have thought about that before you had your hands up someone else’s skirt.”
She got on the elevator, and as soon as the doors closed, the feisty vengeful woman she’d transformed into seconds ago, collapsed into a pathetic, heartbroken fool.
***
Shane Sanchez McConnell got on the train at Jamaica station, heading to Morgan’s Bay. He’d never been to the small town before, even though his father’s side of the family owned the majority of the businesses, houses, and land. At least that’s what his mother had told him before she died.
He didn’t know his father, much less his family. It had always been just him and his mom, the dynamic duo, and that was all Shane had ever needed. He didn’t need siblings; Mom had enough on her plate with him, and he didn’t need a dad because Mom had kept the memory of the man who helped create him alive. Shane had never met his father, but he felt as if he knew his father.
And now he would get to know his father’s family—a family he never expected and wasn’t exactly sure if he wanted. Family created ties and bonds, and he didn’t want to burden anybody with his life. He’d already done that to Mom. Every day she was gone was a reminder of that.
The memory of her was swift and painful. He bit back the bitter regret of his life and walked down the aisle of the train. People filled the seats, but after a day of travel from car, to plane to train, he was exhausted and would settle for sitting on someone’s lap at this point.
He continued down the aisle and sighed in relief when he spotted an open seat—other than the suitcase taking up the space. “Excuse me,” he said to the woman who was staring out the window.
She turned, her black makeup smearing down her cheeks in sad lines. Her brown eyes were puffy and red. Her lip quivered, and she sucked in a ragged breath. He understood now why no one attempted to claim this seat as their own.
He offered her a smile, hoping it would bring some light into the gloomy night she was having. “Is this seat taken?”
“Sorry,” she offered through a hiccup. “My bag is too big.”
“That’s no problem.” He tossed his bag on the rack above them and reached for hers. “I can toss it up with mine.”
Her eyes filled with horror as if he suggested tossing her luggage out the back of the train and tying it to the wheel. “You don’t understand; it’s all I have left.” She hugged the luggage to her chest, and he eyed her with curiosity.
“I can promise it’s not going anywhere. I will be its personal security guard to make sure of it.”
Her eyes drifted to the hot pink suitcase, her brown hair falling in her face. With a deep breath, she caught his eyes, and her lips curved into a smile. “If you promise.”
He made an x motion over his heart, and she reluctantly let go of the suitcase. She nodded, and he gently placed the suitcase beside his before dropping into the seat. The LIRR didn’t have the most comfortable seats in the world, but he was so tired that it didn’t matter. A park bench would be a godsend after all his hours of travel.
His seatmate turned to the window, her shoulders shaking as a muffled sob escaped her. Shane hated to see people sad. Life was too short to let sorrow win.
“You okay?” he asked. Maybe the girl just needed someone to talk to, maybe occupy her mind for a little while.
She shifted in her seat, her brown eyes taking him in as a perfectly sculpted eyebrow arched. “You’re not from the city, are you?”
His brows drew together. Even though he was born and raised in California, he didn’t think he had a strong accent. “How’d you guess?”
“You’re getting involved. People from here don’t get in involved. We keep to ourselves.”
Ignoring a stranger wasn’t how he was raised. “That’s a little rude.”
“No, it’s called respecting someone’s privacy.”
He glanced around the train before settling his gaze back on his seat mate. “It’s kind of hard to be private when you’re in the middle of a crowded train car, sobbing your eyes out.”
“Which is why you keep to yourself…” She shook her head. “Never mind. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Because I’m not from around here?”
“Exactly. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go back to my misery.”
He let out a sigh and slumped down into his seat. “If you want to waste your time on frivolous emotions, be my guest.”
Her gasp was audible through the train, causing a few heads to turn in their direction. “How do you even know what I’m upset about? What if I was crying because someone died? And you’re over here being a jerk.”
He held his hands up. “I’m not trying to be a jerk, but I know that’s not why you’re crying.”
“How can you tell?”
“There’s bitterness to your tone. You’re crying more out of anger than sadness.”
Her lips parted, but she didn’t say anything. Probably because he got that nail right on the head. He’d been through grief; he knew the signs. Regardless if people grieved differently, the sadness was unmistakable.
“But I don’t want to be rude,” he said. “So, I’ll let you get back to it.” He popped earbuds in and didn’t need to look at the woman to feel her penetrating gaze, glaring daggers in his direction. She flopped in the seat and rested into the headrest.
It’d been a long day,
and it was just as well she wasn’t the chatty type. He needed some sleep before he met his long-lost family. Especially since he’d be showing up five hours late, thanks to plane delays that were out of his control. One more inconvenience and he’d swear he was in a remake of Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Still, he wouldn’t let minor setbacks dampen his mood. After all, life was too short to waste it harping on bullshit. He closed his eyes and let the humming vibrations of the train lull him to sleep.
End of Excerpt
Grab your copy today!
Other Books by Theresa
Mad About Matt
Crushing on Kate
Moments with Mason
Catching Cooper
Hung Up on Hadley
A Bride for Sam
Dreaming of Daisy
Charmed by Chase (Book 1 of the Marshall Family)
Blindsided by Brooke
Lusting After Layla
Jaded Until Jax
Sweet on Sophie
Willow Cove
Forbidden Lover
Small Town Girl
Complete Opposite
Childhood Dream (Coming 2021)
Morgan’s Bay
All Because of You
All Because I Met You
All Because I Loved You
The Again Series
(Never) Again
(Once) Again
Written with Cassie Mae under the pen name Tessa Marie
Broken Records
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I want to thank you the reader. You fell in love with Red Maple Falls and because of that, I have been able to revisit one of my favorite towns and characters over and over again. Your love for the characters and their stories means so much to me, especially since deciding to write this series and dive into the world of adult contemporary romance was something I weighed for a very long time. Now I get to write the books I love to read, and it’s because of you dear reader. Thank you for your support, your love of Red Maple Falls and all the quirky characters that make up the small town. I hope you loved Sophie and Drake’s story. I look forward to bringing you more stories from this town that has a permanent place in my heart.
Cassie, work wife, bestie, editor, lifesaver, I keep waiting for the day for you to be like, Theresa if you miss one more deadline, I’m done! But instead, you cheer me on. You tell me that I can do it and give me the confidence to get the words down. 2020 was an absolute shitshow, but our Monday phone calls helped to keep me sane when my world continued to fall apart. Thank you for being a constant source of encouragement, support, and laughter. I say it all the time, but maybe one day I’ll feel my words are enough, until then, I’ll say it again. I couldn’t do this without you.
Mom, thank you for reading even if you did tell me it was missing something, which drove me crazy, trying to figure out, only for you to reread it and tell me you didn’t feel that way anymore… And people wonder why I drink
Sweet on Sophie ( (A Red Maple Falls Novel, #11) Page 19