The minute I got home I pulled his pages from the envelope.
Every time I closed my eyes to sleep, I lived that day all over again.
The rain pounded against the windshield in thick sheets, making it hard to see what was ahead. My mom was drunk… again. My dad was gone… again. Savannah was with our grandmother… again. Every Friday night, we repeated the cycle.
Tonight felt different from the rest. My mother didn’t rant or pound her fist on the steering wheel the way she had in the past. An eerie silence loomed over the car as she drove up and down the streets of our small town in Texas. I hardly heard her quiet sobs over the heavy pelts of raindrops against the steel roof.
The glow from the streetlamps was a blur, and the moon hid behind dark clouds. The stars hadn’t even graced us with their presence. It was as though the sky predicted the darkness that was to come.
The town was quiet. There were no oncoming headlights or lights on inside shop windows as we passed. A flash of lightning lit up the sky, and the silhouette of a man walking to his car appeared in the distance.
“That’s him,” my mother yelled. “It has to be.” She jerked the car to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes. “No one else is stupid enough to be out in this weather.”
“No one except us,” I thought but kept my words to myself.
She hurried out of the vehicle and over to my father. I knew they were fighting, but their angry words were matched by the rumble of thunder and the beat of steady rain.
My mom ran to the car, and my father chased after her. She climbed into the driver’s seat and he into the passenger side.
“You’re being ridiculous,” he said. “Let me drive us home, and we’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
He knew as well as I did that there was no talking to my mom after she’d finished off a bottle of vodka.
She laughed in his face.
“Please, Allison. You’ve been drinking.”
My mom turned to my father, then to me. “Give Joseph your keys.”
“What? He’s fifteen years old. I’m not giving him my car keys. Just let me drive us all home,” my father argued.
Mom pulled her seat belt over her chest and cranked the car. “Well, you’re not leaving your car here. At her house. Just another excuse for you to have to come back and get it. Give. Joseph. Your keys.”
Thunder shook the sky, and the rain grew thicker. My dad reached over the seat and handed me his keys. His hand gripped mine tight as I took them. His eyes filled with tears. “Take care of your sister,” he said.
I nodded and squeezed his hand.
He knew. My father knew that would be the last time I saw them both alive. He knew I couldn’t handle driving in that kind of storm. I’d just turned fifteen years old. He knew my mother couldn’t either. She was drunk.
My mother made me go first, so I drove in front of them. When lightning struck a tree on the side of the road and a branch fell, I panicked. Instead of swerving, I slammed on the brakes. The car crashed into the heavy branch then stopped short.
My parents weren’t so lucky. I watched their headlights in the rearview mirror as my mother’s car skidded to a halt but fishtailed across the road and into the tree.
Neither one of them survived.
I leaned back against my headboard and wiped the tears from my eyes. This was Bennett’s story. He’d changed the names, but I knew it was him. There was too much emotion in these words for it not to be.
The more I read, the more my heart broke for him, for all he’d been through. It was obvious he blamed himself for what happened to his parents. He needed to know it wasn’t his fault. Someone needed to tell him. I needed to tell him. He’d spent so many years keeping his distance from the world around him. He’d never let anyone in. So why me? Why now? What about the woman in his office? I had so many questions, and I’d only made it halfway through the manuscript.
Every night, it was the same nightmare. I heard the roar of thunder and screeching of tires then woke up in a cold sweat. It was always the same.
Until I met her.
Kellie quieted my demons. When I closed my eyes, I saw her smile. With her, I no longer saw the past. I saw a future, our future.
Was I Kellie? He wrote about the emails and FaceTime calls. He’d even described the night he spent in my bed… in vivid detail… but it didn’t make sense. Why would Bennett write a story so intense, so detailed about us when he was in love with someone else?
I picked up my phone and scrolled until I found his name. I didn’t want to read about what could be. I didn’t want to wonder if the girl he saw a future with was me. I wanted to see it for myself.
I’d planned on mailing the manuscript. I never planned on seeing Korie in person, even though seeing her was all I’d thought about for the past six weeks. Every word I typed was in hopes that she’d read it and understand, that we could start over. Two days after I’d finished it, a client from Atlanta insisted on meeting in person. There was no way I could pass up the chance to be that close to Korie again. It was like fate pointing a big neon arrow in her direction. I’d be an idiot not to follow.
Her coffee shop had come so far from the last time I’d seen it. The tables were smaller and more intimate. Every wall was lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves separated by framed chalkboards where she’d handwritten different reviews. She’d scattered groups of beanbag chairs in three of the corners. But her favorite spot in the back stayed exactly the same. That’s where she was sitting when I’d walked in. God, she looked amazing.
Beautiful.
Innocent.
Completely fuckable.
It took every ounce of strength in my body to turn and walk out that door. I prayed the entire drive back to Atlanta that she’d read my pages before I went back to Houston. I sat on the bed in my hotel room, stretched my legs out in front of me and waited for it to be a long night. I’d stayed distracted during my meeting. I’d hardly eaten anything all day because my stomach was in knots. Now I stared at the television—more like through the television. I wasn’t even sure what was on, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t in English.
I bared my soul to Korie on those pages. I showed her parts of me I’d tried so hard to keep hidden. I gave her something I swore I’d never give anyone. So, when my phone screen flashed her name, I answered on the first ring.
“I couldn’t finish,” she said after I said hello.
She hated it. My breath caught in my throat. But something about it made her call…
“Maybe I should’ve had it edited first.”
She chuckled. “It’s not the grammar.”
I took a deep breath and leaned my head against the headboard. Maybe this was a bad idea.
“It’s heartbreaking,” she said.
“Is that your official review?” I tried to keep my voice light, but my heart was racing.
“Well… I can’t really review it until I finish it.”
“And you can’t do that because…”
“You know the saying ‘show don’t tell’?” she said, and I smiled.
“I may have heard of it.”
“I know this is a story about you… a story about us. And I don’t want to read how it all plays out. I want to see you, Bennett. Whatever you have on those last pages, I want you to show me.”
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
She wanted me to show her a happy ending? I had the perfect one in mind.
She laughed. “I’ve waited six weeks, I guess one more hour won’t hurt.”
She answered the door in plaid pajama bottoms and a bright blue tank top. Her hair fell over her shoulders, and her smile breathed new life into my lungs. I’d imagined this moment a million times. My hands ached to touch her. My mouth craved the taste of her. My cock twitched at the memory of being inside of her, and I’d been here all of five seconds.
“I heard you wanted to rewrite my story,” I said with a smirk.
She held the door open
to invite me inside. “Not the whole thing.”
She closed the door, and I took a step toward her. “Well, then do you mind telling me which part?” I questioned.
Her chest rose and fell with her deep, quick breaths. If she felt half of what I felt, she was about to explode. My eyes fell to her mouth, and her lips parted.
She took a step back. “Just the end,” she answered.
I took a step forward. Her back pressed against the door. I placed my hands on her hips and leaned in close. The tip of my nose skimmed the smooth skin of her neck. I felt her shudder against me. She smelled like everything I ever wanted to get lost in. “You mean the part where they kiss and have amazing make-up sex?”
She held her palms against my chest, stopping me from leaning in closer. “I saw you with the woman at your office. I heard what you said.”
My heart stopped. I lifted my head and looked into her eyes. “When did you come to my office?”
Gabby told me about a woman leaving upset one day, but honestly, it wasn’t the first time. Women barged into and out of my office at least once a month. It was nothing new for anyone. Except Korie, obviously.
“It doesn’t matter. You moved on, and I’m happy for you. What I don’t get is why you’re here now, why you wrote the things you did.”
I moved my hands to cradle her face. “Korie, there is no other woman. There’s only you. That’s why I’m here now. You’re why I’m here now.”
“I saw you holding her. I heard you tell her you loved her, Bennett.”
She had tears in her eyes, but I had no idea what—Jessica. The day my door slammed shut. The woman Gabby saw leave upset. It was Korie.
“The woman you saw in my office that day—the only woman I’ve ever said ‘I love you’ to—was my sister. Her name is Jessica, and I’d love for you to meet her.”
Korie closed her eyes. A pink flush rose up her throat and to her cheeks. I chuckled. I couldn’t believe she thought I’d ever want anyone but her. There was never anyone else. Not since the moment I’d laid eyes on her.
I brought my hands back to her hips and pulled her close to me again.
“I’m sorry. I just thought—”
I leaned my forehead against hers. “No more thinking,” I interrupted.
She smiled. “So, you said in the story they kiss and make up. Is that what happened?” She locked her hands around my neck and tangled her fingers in my hair.
“It is now.”
Six months later…
Stella stood at the door of my shop with a milkshake in each hand. Probably her idea of a peace offering after she dropped an atomic bomb on my cheerful Friday morning. “I can’t believe you’re moving to Atlanta,” I told her. Then I accepted her milkshake because ice cream was the universal cure for bad news.
“It was bound to happen sooner or later. Hickory Falls and I need to break up. I’ve been cheating on this place with Atlanta long enough.” She took a pull at her straw and shrugged. “Besides, you have Bennett to keep you company now.”
“Totally not the same. I can’t exactly gush about Bennett to Bennett.”
Shortly after our kiss and make-up sex ending, Bennett moved to Hickory Falls. He quickly found out that the people here cared more about the future than the past—starting with Shane. Bennett apologized, and they became fast friends. He even gave us front row tickets to his first official concert. That was six months ago. Since then, Bennett had moved his office into my third bedroom and worked with all his clients remotely. He helped me run the book café when he wasn’t saving the financial world from ruin. I was great with people. He was great with money. We were destined to succeed. It also gave him time to write, which he soon learned was his true passion. Well, other than getting me naked, of course. At this point, I was pretty sure Stella regretted ever telling me she wanted to know every detail about the man I loved.
She stirred the straw around her cup to soften the ice cream. “I’m only going to be an hour away. And if that’s not close enough, you can always call me.”
I pulled the straw from my cup and licked it clean of whipped cream. Chocolate was my kryptonite, and Stella knew it. I wanted to be sad, but the milkshake wouldn’t let me.
“You know I’m going to miss you, right?”
She set her cup on the table beside us and circled her arms around my waist. “Like a toddler misses the toilet.”
I sent Alyssa home and turned off all the lights except the ones in my reading corner. The soft glow of the streetlamps and the moonlight spilled in through the windows. There was something incredibly romantic about soft light, the scent of coffee and books, and being with the person you loved. Bennett turned the sign on the door to Closed. I put the final book from today’s shipment on the shelf and turned toward him.
“My parents are in town, so we’re meeting them for dinner. I hope you’re hungry,” I said as I made my way across the room.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. His face nuzzled into my neck. His warm breath kissed my skin just before his soft lips did. “Starving.”
I circled my arms around his neck. “Are you ever full?”
He shook his head, and I laughed. My phone buzzed in my back pocket, interrupting our moment. “That’s probably them.”
Bennett lifted his head and nodded toward the counter behind me. “I just want to show you one thing before we leave,” he said.
“You know people can see through these windows, right?”
He laughed. “That right there is exactly why I love you.”
“My modesty?”
He moved to the counter and grabbed something. “Your one-track mind. I was talking about this,” he said then he handed me a book.
“Oh my God, Bennett. You finished it.”
The Art of Letting Go by Bennett Kane. He’d finally finished his story—our story… with a few adjustments to keep people from knowing too much. The cover was gorgeous. And it was in hardback. I didn’t even know he’d had it printed.
“Check out the dedication,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
I opened the front flap and my hand flew to my mouth.
He took a step forward and stroked my cheek. “Remember me telling you that when I proposed, you’d know?” he questioned.
The interior pages of the book had been cut out into the shape of a heart. In the center of the heart, he’d placed the most beautiful diamond ring I’d ever seen.
Bennett took the ring in one hand and my hand in the other. “No one has ever challenged me, inspired me… or stimulated me the way you do. The future has always been just some place I could go to get away from the past. Then I met you and you taught me to embrace both. I don’t want to be your Darcy. I want Darcy to be your Bennett. I want to be your happily ever after.” He leaned his forehead against mine and our noses brushed. “Say yes,” he breathed. “Marry me.”
I nodded, and a single tear fell to my cheek.
He lifted his head and held my gaze. “Yes?”
I nodded faster and jumped into his arms. “Yes.”
I’d spent my whole life thinking that real life could never live up to the fairy tale, that not all stories had a happy ending. I was wrong. Every story can have a happy ending. You just have to find the right author.
The End
Thank you so much for taking time to read my words! I really hope you’re enjoying my Sweet Southern Heat series so far.
If you missed the first book, Sterling, it’s not too late to get caught up. If you like small town settings, characters you can relate to, and happily ever afters- you won’t want to miss this series.
Sweet Southern Heat release schedule:
Sterling, Available now!
Kane, Available now!
Hayes, November 2019.
Acknowledgments
First of all, I want to thank you. Yes, YOU! The super amazing person reading this right now. Without you, I’d never be able to keep waking up every morning and doing what
I love. So… thank you for reading my words.
I need to thank my hookahs for keeping me sane, talking me off the ledge when I’m ready to throw my laptop at the wall, and for making me laugh at completely inappropriate stuff before I’ve even had coffee. Seriously, that’s an accomplishment.
Thank you, Roux Cantrell for our morning board meetings. Without them I’d never stay on track and my life would be a hot mess. I love you my girl.
Thank you, Susie Anderson for decorating my house (inside joke but she’ll get it). You have a God-given gift of taking my clutter and making it beautiful for the rest of the world and I don’t know what I’d do without you. Plus you listen to my ramblings and laugh off my marriage proposals so… we’re basically soul mates at this point.
To all the blogs, authors, readers, and anyone else who took five minutes to share my book baby with your world- THANK YOU! None of this could happen if we didn’t work together. I’m the paper, you’re the glue. Thank you for all you do.
Thank you, Divas for being the BEST reader group a girl could EVER ask for. I love you bishes to bits!
Thank you, Give Me Books for being so awesome to work with and making this release seamless and fun.
I think this goes without saying that I need to thank my amazing boys and super sexy husband for not laughing at me when I talk to myself and not complaining when dinner is burnt because I got caught up in a scene and forgot to check the oven. You are my world. I love you more than words.
And lastly, thank you Speedster1880 for all the times you made me laugh, sigh, and swoon with your witty AOL flirting and sexy little emails. I don’t know where you are in the world right now, but if you’re reading this- twenty-year-old me will never forget you.
About the Author
Delaney Foster is a native of the deep bayous of sweet Louisiana, not far from New Orleans. Where eating, drinking, and dancing are much a requirement for citizenship. She loves all things romance, a good glass of wine, and Saturdays at the baseball park. She does believe leggings are pants and is a bit of a book whore. In her heart, Mr. Darcy will always be the ultimate book boyfriend. And in her books, you will find sexy alpha males and the strong women who love them.
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