by Layla Hagen
You’re The One
Layla Hagen
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You’re The One
Copyright © 2020 Layla Hagen
Cover: Uplifting Designs
You’re The One
Photo by Regina Wamba
Copyright ©2020 Layla Hagen
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Author note
Chapter One | Hunter
Josie
Chapter Two | Hunter
Josie
Chapter Three | Josie
Chapter Four | Josie
Chapter Five | Josie
Hunter
Chapter Six | Josie
Chapter Seven | Hunter
Chapter Eight | Josie
Hunter
Chapter Nine | Josie
Chapter Ten | Josie
Hunter
Chapter Eleven | Josie
Chapter Twelve | Josie
Chapter Thirteen | Josie
Chapter Fourteen | Hunter
Josie
Chapter Fifteen | Josie
Chapter Sixteen | Hunter
Chapter Seventeen | Hunter
Chapter Eighteen | Josie
Chapter Nineteen | Hunter
Josie
Chapter Twenty | Josie
Chapter Twenty-One | Hunter
Chapter Twenty-Two | Hunter
Chapter Twenty-Three | Josie
Chapter Twenty-Four | Josie
Chapter Twenty-Five | Hunter
Chapter Twenty-Six | Josie
Hunter
Chapter Twenty-Seven | Josie
Chapter Twenty-Eight | Hunter
Chapter Twenty-Nine | Josie
Chapter Thirty | Josie
Chapter Thirty-One | Hunter
Chapter Thirty-Three | Hunter
Chapter Thirty-Two | Josie
Chapter Thirty-Three | Josie
Chapter Thirty-Four | Hunter | One month later
Epilogue | Christmas | Josie
Dear Reader, | This is the end of Hunter and Josie’s story. Ryker Winchester’s story will be released on April 14th, and you can preorder it HERE.
Preorder it HERE. | Please sign up HERE to my NEWSLETTER to receive news about upcoming releases and giveaways. | You can also join my READER GROUP on Facebook HERE. | Other books by Layla Hagen
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Author note
I’ve wanted to write this book for almost four years, and I’m so happy I can finally share it with you! It’s full of love, fun and steam, and it introduces us to a new city, and a new family. I loved writing about New York——from the concrete jungle of Manhattan to the close-knit communities in the boroughs. Although I did a lot of research to learn about the city as well as some legal aspects, any mistakes—and especially liberties—taken to tell Josie and Hunter’s story are my own. Their love story is very close to my heart, and I hope it will fill yours too.
Chapter One
Hunter
“Ready to get out of here?” I asked my best friend, Josie.
“Oh, yes.”
We were in the Hamptons, attending a brunch one of my clients had thrown to celebrate the Fourth of July.
“What time is it, anyway?” Josie murmured. Her eyes widened when she checked her phone. “Hunter, it’s already three o’clock. We won’t make it in time to Amelia’s. She’ll roast our asses for being late.”
“Not if we show up with her favorite dessert,” I said. Amelia was my aunt. We had to be at her place in Brooklyn for dinner.
“Of course. Bribing people with food is your favorite strategy, after all.” She flashed me a smile. Josie Gallagher knew me like no one else. After bidding our goodbyes, we left the building and hopped into my BMW, passing a plethora of New Yorkers just arriving into the Hamptons.
I was glad we were spending the rest of the day with my family. Amelia loved celebrating holidays, and the Fourth of July was one of her favorites. It was an opportunity for everyone to gather—my four cousins, Josie, and me. Amelia was more than an aunt to me. She’d practically raised me. Come to think of it, she’d practically raised Josie too.
When we made it over Shinnecock Canal and hit a traffic jam, I wondered how smart it had been to drive into the Hamptons today knowing we had to make it to my aunt’s annual party. But I couldn’t turn the brunch down. I owned one of the largest real estate development companies in the country, and the client who’d invited me was about to sign another deal with me.
“Thanks for coming with me today,” I said.
She pulled her dark brown hair into a ponytail, flashing me another one of her gorgeous smiles. I routinely asked Josie to join me at events. Everything was just ten times more entertaining when I had my best friend with me.
“Anytime. Oh... and if you want to buy my favorite dessert too when you stop to buy Amelia’s, I won’t mind.”
“I’ll do that. Any other requests?”
“Hey, don’t tempt me.”
I laughed, focusing on the road. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Josie looking at her phone. She’d done it a couple of times since we left the brunch.
“Why do you keep checking your phone?”
“Sent my parents something for the Fourth. It’s a surprise. Can’t wait to hear from them.”
“What did you send them?”
“Their favorite dessert.”
“Who’s bribing who now?”
She shrugged one shoulder, smiling from ear to ear. “Hey, we’ve been friends for fifteen years. It was about time I stole some of your tricks. Besides, I’m not bribing them. Just... hoping it’ll motivate them to visit me soon.” Her parents lived in Montana.
Josie and I had attended the same school. We’d been friends since she’d gotten into a fight with the school bully and I’d defended her. She’d been fifteen, and I’d been seventeen. Since then, she’d stuck next to me. I’d resented it in the beginning, like any teenager who didn’t want a younger girl shadowing him.
But Josie had slipped under my skin, and soon I’d been the one shadowing her. Trouble seemed to follow her around. I had no idea when Josie and I had become best friends. I also had no idea when my friend had turned into a smoking-hot woman. She was tall and curvy, with legs that went for days. She tempted the hell out of me, but I knew better than to give in to those instincts.
“Why didn’t you fly out to visit them?” I asked.
“I’m in the middle of a huge case. I just can’t take time off.”
I knew just how true that was. Once you jumped on the corporate hamster wheel, you were either all in or all out. Josie was a successful lawyer, but the hours she had to put in were even crazier than mine. One of these days, I was going to surprise Josie by flying in her family for a holiday. I just had to be smart about it. My best friend wasn’t a fan of extravagant gifts.
“We should have planned to go straight to Amelia’s after the event,” Josie murmured. “But I want to change out of this dress.”
Damn it. I did not want that visual in my brain. She was wearing a tight white dress and high heels that had already been
messing with my thoughts the entire morning.
“I know. I need to get out of this suit too,” I replied. There was no such thing as a casual brunch with a client.
We were lucky and made it into the city with some time to spare. I dropped off Josie first. She almost jumped out of the car, only pausing to look over her shoulder. “Don’t forget about my dessert.”
I grinned. “Wouldn’t dare show my face without it.”
***
Josie
My phone finally beeped with an incoming message when I had only two subway stations left. I’d changed as fast as possible into a cotton dress with spaghetti straps. I stretched my toes in my flip-flops. This outfit was perfect to face the July heat.
Mom: We just got the sweets. They’re DELICIOUS!
My entire family had a sweet tooth. I could vividly imagine my mom’s expression when she’d received the package. I clasped the phone tighter, smiling at the other passengers in the subway. The energy was very different than my daily ride to work, when everyone was in a hurry, either clasping coffee cups or already typing furiously on their laptops.
Now, everyone was relaxed, in a celebratory mood. I even spotted a few passengers holding tiny flags. New York transformed on the Fourth of July. Some of the passengers spoke about heading to Central Park for a picnic. Others were going to take the fireworks cruise. Spending the Fourth at Amelia’s place was tradition. She was family to me, as were Hunter’s cousins.
As for Hunter himself, the best description was “it’s complicated.” I’d had a crush on him when I’d first met him, but who wouldn’t? Hunter had looked like a man even at seventeen. But I’d extinguished that crush long ago... at least, I thought I had. Most of the time. With light brown hair, intense blue eyes, and a body that made me drool, the man exuded so much masculinity that sometimes even being in the same room with him was difficult. But thirty-year-old women didn’t have crushes. They dated and had relationships, and if they were lucky, they found someone who swept them off their feet. Someone to marry and have kids with. I wanted that. I hadn’t been lucky yet, but I was persistent in the dating department.
Amelia lived in a low-rise apartment building in Brooklyn with her husband, Mick. When I arrived, all Hunter’s cousins were already there: Tess, Skye, Ryker, and Cole.
“Hey, Josie. Where’s Hunter? Thought you went together to the Hamptons,” Tess said.
“He’s on his way. We had to change first. He’s bringing dessert too.”
Tess lit up. “Oh, now we’re talking.”
Skye rubbed her stomach, grinning. Ryker and Cole each hugged me. I’d met all of them at a birthday party years ago. I came from a large family myself—I had two brothers and one sister—but the Winchester siblings were something else.
I’d nicknamed Ryker “the flirt” instantly. I’d mistakenly dubbed Cole “the gentleman” before amending that to “the charmer.” Tess was “the hurricane”—she often set the tone, mobilizing everyone. Truthfully, I’d just met so many people that remembering names was more difficult than assigning nicknames. Skye had been the only shy one in the family, though that changed over the years. I loved the entire family to pieces.
No sooner did I greet everyone than Hunter arrived with flowers, the promised apple pie, and panna cotta—my favorite.
I noticed his frown before he headed to the kitchen to Amelia. He’d been in a great mood when he’d dropped me off. What had changed since then?
Time to find out.
Chapter Two
Hunter
I first stopped in the kitchen, where a wisp of a woman with gray hair pulled back in a severe bun was checking on the roast beef. Amelia smiled at me when I handed her a bouquet of flowers and dessert.
“Thank you.” Just as I bent to kiss her cheek, Amelia’s radar kicked in, and she asked, “What’s wrong with you, my boy? You seem preoccupied.”
She was right. I’d checked my mail for the first time in a week before leaving my apartment this afternoon and had discovered a very troubling letter. But I didn’t intend to ruin her or anyone else’s mood today.
“The usual pressure at work,” I said vaguely, hoping that assuaged her interest for now.
“You’d better forget about it today. I’ll have none of that at my table, Hunter Caldwell.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I was determined to leave the issue at the doorstep. I’d fix this, just as I usually obliterated any inconvenience in my path. I’d built my company when the odds had been stacked against me. I’d find a solution for this too, but it wouldn’t be tonight.
I just had to focus on my family, and with some luck, no one would guess anything. I headed to the living room, where my cousins and Josie were gathered.
“Hunter, did you come to a consensus at the brunch?” Cole asked. He was my business partner, but we’d agreed that only I would attend the brunch today, otherwise we’d look too eager to close the deal.
Skye, who stood right between us, shook her head, pointing from Cole to me.
“Boys, a word of advice: don’t get on Mom’s bad side by discussing business right now. You know her rule: family celebrations are no place to talk shop.”
“Skye’s right. I’ll update you later.”
We chitchatted about the upcoming fireworks show. My mind wasn’t on the brunch or the client, anyway. I had bigger worries on my mind. I thought I did a good job of hiding that—until Josie pulled me aside.
“Spill it. What’s wrong?” she asked. My best friend never missed anything. I should have known there was no way I’d fool her. I could try to deflect, but experience had taught me it would lead me nowhere. So instead, I tilted my head in the direction of the library.
“That bad? Let’s go,” she said.
In the general mayhem, no one noticed us slip away.
“Want a drink?” I said once I’d closed the door behind us. Amelia kept a small bar in the library.
Josie scrutinized me but nodded. I handed her a glass of red wine, then opened up to her.
“Found a letter from immigration services in my mail. They’re not renewing my E2 visa.”
I’d lived in the United States for twenty-eight years, but I still had a British passport. After finishing my studies, I’d applied for a work visa and then an entrepreneurial visa. I’d always meant to apply for residency or citizenship, but I kept putting that on the back burner. I’d just never had time to deal with everything. It hadn’t been a priority, because my visa had been renewed periodically. Until now. I’d lived here, in New York, since I was four years old. My father had been one of the most successful businessmen in the city until he went bankrupt. Shortly afterward, he passed away from a heart attack, when I was fourteen.
Mom moved back to their native London. I’d chosen to stay in the US because I’d gotten a scholarship at a local private school, which also offered a boarding option. It was a tumultuous time in the family. Mom and Amelia are sisters. Her then-husband had worked with Dad, managing the Boston office. After the bankruptcy, he left Amelia and my cousins for a younger woman. Amelia had been a homemaker until then. Getting a job and raising a family on her own was something she was not prepared for. Mom had been good friends with my school’s principal, and she pulled some strings to secure a teaching position for her sister. Amelia moved her family to New York and became my legal guardian.
I visited Mom a few times a year in the UK, but my business was here. My life was here. New York was my home.
“Do you have a digital copy of your current visa?” Josie asked.
“No, it’s all at home.”
“Take a picture of it and send it to me as soon as you get home, okay? I’ll start looking into it tonight.”
“Thanks, Josie, but this isn’t your area of expertise.”
Josie was a brilliant lawyer, but she specialized in corporate law.
“I’ve dealt with the immigration services in a few cases. I know my way around those laws. I can’t believe it has c
ome to this. We’ll fix it, don’t you worry.”
I was worrying, because there was a real risk I’d have to leave the United States. Even if only temporarily—I couldn’t do that. I had zero connection to the UK except a British passport. I didn’t even have an accent.
Josie closed her eyes briefly, taking a huge gulp of her wine.
“Easy there, tiger, or Amelia will have my ass for getting you drunk before we eat.”
She flashed me a gorgeous smile. “All these years later, and she’s still on your case for getting me into trouble?”
“You can set her straight anytime you feel like it. Anytime,” I said.
“I quite like her thinking I was the innocent one all those times. Who knows what she’d do if I fess up? Maybe she’ll stop inviting me over for the Fourth of July dinner.”
“Doubt anything would make her stop inviting you. I don’t want to tell them anything. They’ll just worry for no reason.”
“Ok.”
I put my hand on her lower back, guiding her toward the door.
“Let’s go back before they get suspicious,” I said. I was close enough to notice a few freckles on her shoulders and the exposed part of her back. She only got them after being in the sun. Her skin looked so smooth that I barely stopped myself from touching her. Jesus, I had to stop that line of thinking.
Josie grinned. “I’m sure Tess already noticed we’ve disappeared. You just wait.”
My cousin Tess had noticed everything even as a kid, and that hadn’t changed. She pointed a finger at us the second we returned to the living room.
“So... what’s with the secret escape?” she asked.
Josie laughed, giving me an I-told-you-so look. “Hunter and I can keep our secrets, can’t we?”
***
Josie
I was on pins and needles for the rest of the dinner. The second I arrived at home, I kicked off my shoes, grabbed my laptop, and dove headfirst into my research.
Deported.
The word sent a cold shiver all over me. I wouldn’t let that happen. I knew he had the best lawyers on hand, but I couldn’t just do nothing. I was a lawyer too, and a very good one at that, and I was determined to help out my best friend.