by Leigh Lennon
Forgiven
The Power Of Three Love Series, Book Four
Leigh Lennon
Forgiven
Copyright @2020 Leigh Lennon
No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the publisher or author. The exception would be in the case of brief quotations embodied in the critical articles or reviews and pages where permission is specifically granted by the publisher or author.
Although every precaution has been taken to verify the accuracy of the information contained herein, the author and publisher assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for damages that may result from the use of information contained within.
This book is a work of fiction and is the product of the author’s imagination. Mentions of people living or deceased are for reference purposes only.
Any trademarks, service marks, product names are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used for reference purposes only. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms that are used.
The E-book copy is licensed for you personal enjoyment and may not re-sold or given away.
This book is a work of fiction and is the product of the author’s imagination.
Editing by Jenny Sims.
Proofreading services by Deaton Author Services.
Formatting by Buoni Amici Press.
Cover design by Najla Quamber.
Beta Readers: Nancy George, Megan Harris, Kelly Green, Rebecca Berland, Ashley Cestra.
To my hubs. I never could have done this without you.
I love you more than I have the words to articulate.
As Always—To My Mom
Who continued to teach me that love is love—regardless.
I miss you every day and wonder what you’d think about my books. You may have skipped the sexy times, but I know you would have been my number one fan.
Contents
Playlist Forgiven
Character references from Foundations, Fahrenheit and Famous.
Prologue
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
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Epilogue
Bonus Epilogue
What I learned along the way
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books by Leigh Lennon
Playlist Forgiven
ABBA, “Dancing Queen”
ABBA, “Two for the Price of One”
Avril Lavigne, “Complicated”
Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”
Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Triad”
Dan + Shay, “From the Ground Up”
Ed Sheeran, “How Would You Feel”
Ellie Goulding, “Love Me Like You Do”
Evanescence, “My Immortal”
James Blunt, “Goodbye My Lover”
Justin Moore, “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home”
Kane Brown, “Lose It”
Kat Dahlia, “I Think I’m In Love”
Katy Perry, “The One That Got Away”
Kelly Clarkson, “Stronger” (What Doesn't Kill You)
Lady Antebellum, “What If I Never Get Over You”
Madonna, “Live To Tell”
Nine Inch Nails, “Closer”
Taylor Swift, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
Toni Braxton, “Un-Break My Heart”
Warrant, “Cherry Pie”
Westlife, “I Wanna Grow Old with You”
Character references from Foundations, Fahrenheit and Famous.
Every story can be read as a stand-alone.
Elliot Arnold
Main female character in Foundations. Supporting character in Fahrenheit. An architect.
Best Friends with Andrew Peters. Twin sister to Levi Arnold.
Arden Blakely
Main character in Foundations. Supporting character in Fahrenheit.
Designer and business owner of commercial real estate.
Both business partner and boyfriend to Daimen Torrano. Brother to Garner Blakely.
Daimen Torrano
Main Character in Foundations. Supporting character in Fahrenheit.
Business owner of a commercial real estate company.
Both business partner and boyfriend to Arden Blakely. Brother to Daria and Dominic Torrano.
Andrew Peters
Supporting character in Foundations. Supporting character in Fahrenheit.
Best friend to Elliot Arnold. Brother to Jordan Peters and Kayla Peters.
Boyfriend to Brock Spaulding.
Scarlet Reeves
Supporting character in Foundations. Main Character in Fahrenheit.
Supporting character in Famous. Grew up in foster care.
Daimen and Arden view her as a little sister. Secretary to Arden Blakely and Daimen Torrano.
Jordan Peters
Minor character in Foundations. Main Character in Fahrenheit. Supporting Character in Famous. A doctor. Brother to Andrew Peters and Kayla Peters.
Levi Arnold
Minor character in Foundations. Main character in Fahrenheit. Supporting character in Famous. A fireman. Twin Brother to Elliot Arnold.
Cami Gregory
Side character in Fahrenheit. Main character in Famous.
Was at one time a lawyer, now a stay at home mom. Married to Dane Gregory.
Mother to Maggie and Bridget Gregory. Twin sister to Sandra McDonald.
Dane Gregory
Side character in Fahrenheit. Main character in Famous. A lawyer. Married to Cami Gregory. Father to Maggie and Bridget Gregory. Sister-in-law to Sandra McDonald.
Miles Sterling
Main character in Famous. Actor/play write.
Maggie and Bridget Gregory
Daughters to Cami and Dane Gregory. Supporting characters in Famous.
Sandra McDonald
Supporting character in Famous. Twin sister to Cami Gregory.
Jack (Jonathan) Calypso
Supporting character in Famous.
A lawyer and ex-partner to Cami and Dane Gregory in a committed triad previously.
Left to go find himself.
Daria Torrano
Minor character in Foundations. Sister to Dominic and Daimen Torrano.
Dominic Torrano
Minor character in Famous. Brother to Daimen and Daria Torrano.
Kayla Peters
Minor character in Fahrenheit. Supporting character in Famous.
Sister to Jordan and Andrew Peters.
Garner Blakely
Minor character in Fahrenheit. Supporting character in Famous. Little brother to Arden Blakely.
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Brock Spaulding
Supporting Character in Fahrenheit. Boyfriend to Andrew Peters.
Threesomes:
Foundations
Elliot Arnold, Arden Blakely, Daimen Torrano
Fahrenheit
Scarlet Reeves, Jordan Peters, Levi Arnold
Famous
Cami and Dane Gregory, Miles Sterling
*Note*
I do not have the connections on here for the book Forgiven.
I hope you enjoy this book.
~Leigh
Prologue
Clara
Three years earlier
I knew my life would change when Declan was born, but I didn’t think it would be turned upside down in the best way. The love I had for one nineteen-pound nine-month-old was infinite. The one thing I wasn’t expecting was the passion in my marriage to change. We barely had sex anymore. Tonight I was making Bodhi, and us together, a priority. After dropping Declan off with my mom, I was on my way home to surprise my husband.
Bodhi and I were loving and devoted parents, but our relationship had been pushed to the backburner when our precious boy was born. I had a meeting with my publisher and editor, then I stopped by Victoria’s Secret to grab the most risqué outfit I could find. I think more material would be on me if I was actually naked. However, as soon as I slipped this number on, I had high hopes that my husband would ravage my body and peel it off with his teeth.
He expected me home at six, but my mother offered to meet me at the publishing office in the city. By saving me time from having to run Declan out to the suburbs, I’d be home before Bodhi and would be able to surprise him in the most spectacular way.
I opened the door to our four-thousand-square-foot apartment in River North, overlooking the best views of the city. We didn’t have panoramic views yet, but with the next release of my Timeless in Charleston series, the new historical romance would earn us a penthouse in this area.
The stark white, almost cold furnishings had been Bodhi’s choice, but he deserved to have anything he wanted since he’d sacrificed so much for me when I started my writing career.
The master bedroom was situated near our living space and had the same view of the city as the living room. As I placed my keys on the island in our kitchen, they hit another set of keys. Bodhi had made it home before me, but he was probably in the gym. I’d sneak into our room, change into my barely there outfit, and then surprise him the best way I knew how.
Tiptoeing to our master, I opened the door immediately, ready to strip, but when I did, a surprise awaited me. My husband was in our bed, but he was not napping. He’d been busy. As I waited to come face-to-face with some bitch I knew I’d most likely take out, the masculine body of a stranger slipped out of our bed from under the covers. His face was white, but not as white as Bodhi’s.
1
Bodhi
Present
“I’m coming, son.” My arms were full of the stuffed animals Declan insisted on shuffling from his mom’s house to mine. No matter how much we tried to negotiate with a three-and-a-half-year-old, he insisted on the same three teddy bears. It didn’t matter if he was at my house or Clara’s.
He was at the door, calling my name over and over again. “Daddy, Dadda, Dad, Father, Papa.” And then he’d shuffle through the whole sequence again. After pulling his medicine from the fridge, I walked toward his huge smile to take his little hand in mine.
All things considered, Clara and I remained on friendly terms. She wasn’t nasty with me and was willing to split everything we owned even though most of it was bought with the earnings from her bestselling series. I was unfaithful, but she still insisted I had supported her when her writing couldn’t even buy her a cup of coffee.
Even with the hurt and distrust I had imparted on the best woman I’d ever known, she found it in her heart to forgive me for the sake of Declan, though it was not enough to save our marriage.
“It wasn’t only that you cheated on me. You lied to me. I mean, if I had known you needed more, we could have explored that together.”
The words and their meaning had surprised me at the time. Her best friend’s brother was in a ménage relationship, but with my straitlaced wife, I hadn’t even ever considered it.
Keeping my bisexuality a secret from the woman I had vowed to love haunted me at night. And as goody-goody as I had always teased Clara of being, I was the nerd of straitlaced. I never double parked, never jaywalked, and paid my taxes and bills a month in advance. To say I lived on the straight and narrow was an understatement, and I never would have even thought of cheating on Clara. She was it for me.
My ex-wife … her long silver hair with pink streaks, her crystal gray eyes with the longest eyelashes, and her curvy little hips were just a few of the things I missed about Clara Ashley.
Drilling the last nail in the coffin, she changed from Chambers back to her maiden name of Ashley. It was what she went by in the book world, but she had legally been Clara Corinne Chambers. I called her Triple C, and when I’d referred to her by this the first time after our divorce, I hung my head, walking away, shameful for all I had destroyed by my own hands.
“Daddy, Dadda, Dad, Father, Papa,” Declan called down the hallway of my apartment complex, and I hoped he didn’t wake the neighbors. In the past couple of years since moving here, they’d become fond of Declan, and even grumpy Mrs. Stevens would laugh when he’d give her a high-five. We were happy in my little apartment; well, as happy as I could be without Clara.
Twenty years could pass, and I would still love my Triple C. A text message from my ex let me know she was waiting for me in the common area of my complex. My heart still skipped every time I saw her, which was normally three to four times a week. It was all I got now, but I treasured these face-to-face meetings.
As we hurried down the steps from our fourth-floor walk-up, Dec changed his chanting to, “Mommy, Mama, Mother, Ma, Mom.” The sequence continued, and I laughed at my son. Some called it quirky, on the spectrum, or misunderstood, but they didn’t see him as a person. His mother and I saw him as the best possible thing we could have made in love. And Declan was made with the fiercest love in the world.
When her face came into view, he ran to her with Mr. Teddy in his hands, and I pulled up the rear with Mrs. Teddy and Baby Teddy. The symbolism of him carrying around a family of teddy bears was not lost on me. He never once asked why his mommy and daddy didn’t live together, and I wasn’t sure when he’d be able to hear my honest reply.
I fucked up, big time, Dec, was what I would share with him one day. It was not something a three-year-old needed to hear, but maybe when he was sixteen, I’d be honest with him. But yeah, me fucking up would always be the answer to what happened between the two of us.
Clara kneeled down as his short little legs pedaled as fast as they could run. “Hey, baby.” She pulled him close to her body. I’d had him for the past three days, and it was the longest he’d ever stayed with me. I only had him a fourth of the time compared to Clara, but I didn’t fight it. I normally spent my lunch hours at his childcare since it was only a couple of blocks from my office.
She swung her eyes to me. “Do you have his medicine?” Her tone was much colder than it had been in the past, and my heart fell. Her smile normally got me through to the next time I saw her, but I didn’t think she would be flashing me one today.
“Yeah,” I stammered out. She hadn’t taken her eyes off our son, and if I looked close enough, I saw a couple of tears in the corner of her eyes.
The cold tone continued when she started with logistics. “Just so you know, my mom is coming over for the night to stay with Dec. I have Daria’s surprise party.” Oh, that’s right. She got Daria, her best friend, in the divorce, but during our exchange, she still wouldn’t meet my gaze.
I finally asked, “Clara, are you okay?”
Scrambling to her feet, she straightened her long trench coat. “Um, yeah, Bo, I’m okay.” She turned around in the litt
le common area of my apartment building, which was no bigger than a coat closet.
I leaned in to kiss our son, and when I did, a tear trailed down her face, taking her perfectly applied makeup with it. I pulled at her arm when she turned away, and she didn’t yank it from me.
“Clara, you are not okay.”
Her eyebrows knitted into a perfect V in the middle of her face all while her silver hair with pink ends glimmered in the ray of sunshine from the window of the front door. Seeing her tears more pronounced now, her stern words hit me. “Bodhi, I told you I was fine.” She gritted her teeth, but I wouldn’t let her leave like this.