When she meets him on set as one of the show writers, her attraction to him is instant. She’s infatuated, and she can’t stop thinking about him.
Despite their differences, they form a friendship, and out of desperation, Jane invites Colin to be her date at a wedding. And he says yes.
Jane’s fantasy comes true when Colin takes her to his bed, and the more time they spend together, the more she sees that Colin isn’t just a pretty face to admire on TV.
He’s a man with a past. A man who’s been burned. A man who’s learned to keep his guard up.
Jane wants to show Colin he can trust again, but when their confidence in each other is shaken, Jane wonders if some relationships aren’t meant to be saved.
“Is that supposed to be the two of you?” Angela asked. “Swap out author for television writer and actor for model.”
Travis shrugged. He had no idea what to think.
He flipped it back over and opened the cover. The dedication made him stop breathing.
To Travis.
The one who got away.
There will always be a special place in my heart for you. Always.
Travis sucked in a breath and looked up at Angela.
Angela smiled understandingly and nodded toward the entryway. “Go.”
“What?”
“I know you want to read it. Go.”
He looked behind himself at the door and back at his friend. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Now, go.”
Travis took his book and sprinted out the door.
Travis looked up at the clock. It was after three in the morning. He’d been reading for hours.
He’d been unable to put the book down.
There were some differences in the book, like the main characters lived in California and they were closer in age to each other. But there were also so many similarities in the book that he knew it had to be about him and Sydney. Her author profession had become a TV show writer, and his modeling had become acting. And the things that happened to the main characters had happened to him and Sydney.
Some parts of the book broke his heart.
While the character Jane never came out and said it word for word, she implied that she wasn’t pretty enough for Colin. That she wasn’t good enough for him. He’d just finished the part where the couple broke up, and his heart ached.
When he read what had happened, how Jane had come to read Colin’s messages, it didn’t seem so sneaky. The part that broke his heart wasn’t that Jane thought Colin was unfaithful. It was that she didn’t think she was worthy enough for Colin to stay faithful to.
He rubbed his chest as if the pain he felt wasn’t just in his head. He’d been so angry; he’d never thought about things from Sydney’s point of view. She always seemed so strong and confident, but he should know that everyone had insecurities. No one was immune to them. Look at his own with Christy—who happened to be named Krissy in the book.
It made Travis smile that she purposely hadn’t changed the name too much, like she was calling Christy out for her actions. Not that Christy would ever read Sydney’s book, but it would be funny to see his ex’s reaction. She probably still wouldn’t get the damage she’d done to him. Reading the situation from an outside perspective, it was clear to him that Christy had issues and truly needed help and that many of her actions were a reflection of her, not him.
Travis held the book up and saw the amount he had left wasn’t very thick. He was excited and anxious to see how Sydney had brought the couple back together. That was the only part of the book that hadn’t happened to them in real life.
He turned the page to see the next chapter was the Epilogue. What? He flipped back to the previous page just to make sure he wasn’t missing something. It was the breakup and then the Epilogue. It didn’t feel right, but he started reading anyway.
The One That Got Away: An Unconventional Love Story
Epilogue
“Honey, have you seen my clutch?” I called out to Gabe from the bedroom. After two years of marriage, he always seemed to know where I’d left stuff.
“It’s in the kitchen.”
Whew. I was worried I’d lost it.
I left the bedroom, putting my earrings in my ears as I went.
As I entered the kitchen, my dear husband whistled at me. “You look beautiful.”
I curtsied. “Thank you, kind sir. You look dashing yourself.”
Gabe had let me style his blond hair for the night, and he’d gotten new glasses for the event. He pulled at the collar of his bow tie. “I feel like I’m choking. This is why I don’t wear ties to work.” He smiled at me. “But it’s worth it.”
“Only if we win.”
Gabe smiled. “Even if you don’t win. It’s not every day your show gets nominated for an Emmy.”
I grinned. He was right.
After my breakup with Colin, I’d had to quit the show. Not because Colin had made me, but because the relationship and split had affected my writing. I could no longer be objective to the character he played.
But it’d ended up being a good thing because I pitched an idea for a show I’d come up with to a couple of networks, and I’d gotten a deal. I’d become the head writer of my own TV show, which was up for an Emmy tonight.
I knew everyone said it was an honor just to be nominated, and others scoffed at them, but at this point in my career, it really was an honor. It had already boosted ratings for the show.
Butterflies filled my stomach the entire drive to the show, and it only intensified as we got on the red carpet. Being as I wasn’t an actress, not many people paid attention to me and Gabe, which was fine with me.
As I met up with the others from my show, I saw Colin and his wife out of the corner of my eye and sucked in a breath. I had seen him on television, of course, but I hadn’t seen him in person since I left the show, and a little pang pierced my heart.
I slipped my arm around Gabe, and his went around my shoulders. He was deep in conversation with someone, so he didn’t know what was going on inside me, but he instinctively held me close anyway, and I loved him for that.
Gabe wouldn’t win any beauty contests, nor was he in the business. He was simply a regular accountant at a bank. No one ever questioned why he had married me, and he wasn’t even on social media.
Colin turned, and his eyes met mine. I waved at him, and he smiled. He looked like he didn’t know what to do, but he eventually started walking toward me with his wife on his arm.
His wife was a famous actress and absolutely beautiful. She had long blonde hair that was in perfect contrast to Colin’s dark locks. The two of them looked flawless together.
“Hello, Jane.”
I let go of Gabe, so I could shake hands. “Hi, Colin. How’s it going?”
“Good. This is my wife, Camila Grey.”
I laughed. “I think the whole world knows who Camila Grey is.”
Camila blushed, her porcelain cheeks turning pink.
I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you, Camila. I used to work with Colin on his show. I was one of the writers.”
Camila shook my hand as Colin said, “Now, she’s the writer of her own show, and it’s up for an award.”
It was my turn to blush at the pride in Colin’s voice. “Thank you.”
He smiled. “I always knew you could do it.”
“Thank you again.” I pulled on Gabe’s bicep. “Honey?”
“Let’s talk again sometime,” he said to the man he had been talking to, and then he turned to me.
“I’d like you to meet Colin Butler and Camila Grey.” I looked at the couple. “This is my husband, Gabe.”
My husband put his arm around me while holding the other hand out for Colin to shake. “Nice to meet you both.”
We talked to the couple for a few minutes and then said good-bye.
“Are you okay?” Gabe asked me. He knew that I had dated Colin and that t
he breakup had been hard on me.
I smiled up at my husband. “Yeah, I am.”
It had hurt to see my ex at first, but after a few minutes, I realized that we were with the people we were meant to be with. I was with an ordinary person, just like me, and Colin was with someone whose beauty matched his.
Sometimes, love stories didn’t end in happily ever afters. At least, not with Colin and me. I had found mine with Gabe, and it looked like Colin had found his with Camila. And I was happy for the both of us.
I kissed Gabe on the lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He squeezed my side. “Now, let’s go in there and win you an award.”
Travis threw the book on the bed and got up to pace the hotel room. His mind was all over the place.
The couple in the book didn’t end up together. That was the last thing he’d expected.
He wanted to call up Sydney and ask her what the book was supposed to mean. He wanted to ask her why Jane and Colin hadn’t made up and gotten married.
Why did she write the ending that way?
He needed someone else’s perspective. He needed someone else to read the book.
He swiped it up off the bed to take it to Angela’s room, but he stopped when he reached the door.
Angela wouldn’t have time to read it, and she had a full schedule of book signing things to do the next day. He looked at the clock. Correction: in a few hours. Besides, Angela didn’t quite know everything that had happened when he dated Christy or Sydney.
Travis turned, went to the dresser, and grabbed his phone. After doing a quick search on his Kindle app, he called his sister.
“Hello?” Lynn’s voice was heavy with sleep.
“Lynn, I need your help.”
“If you need bail money, call Mom and Dad.”
He sighed. “No, I’m in Iowa, remember?”
“Okay. Good night then.”
“Lynn, I’m serious. I need you to wake up.”
He heard her moving around.
“Travis, it’s four in the morning on a Saturday. This’d better be fucking good, or I will make you pay.”
“I need you to buy Sydney’s latest book and read it.”
“What?”
“Please. She wrote a book about the two of us, and I need you to read it.”
“What?” Lynn’s voice was finally clear. That had woken her up.
“Yeah. It’s not exactly our story, but I know it’s about the two of us. She had someone hand-deliver me a copy. I’ve been up all night, reading it.”
“What happens in it?”
He groaned. “Just read the damn thing, will you? I can’t tell you. I mean, I could, but you need to read it yourself.”
Silence.
“Please. I really need my big sister’s opinion.”
Lynn had never fully agreed with him about breaking up with Sydney. She had supported him, but she felt like there was more to the story and that he should give Sydney a further chance to explain. That was why he wanted her to read the book.
“Okay, okay. Quit trying to butter me up. I’m awake. I’ll start reading the book.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Love you, sis.”
“Love you, too, you big turd. Now, tell me what book I’m supposed to buy.”
At the book signing in Wisconsin, I opened the book the reader had set in front of me and started to sign. It was a copy of my new one.
“I cried when I read it.”
I looked up. “Oh no. I cried when I wrote it, and I wanted to make my readers feel, but I didn’t want you to cry.”
The woman laughed. “No, it’s a good thing. I’m one of those people who likes when books make me cry.”
I laughed, too, and pretended to wipe my forehead. “Whew.” After signing the book, I gave it back to the reader. “Thank you for reading it.”
The reader hugged it and walked away.
As soon as she was gone, Harper said, “Your book really was amazing, but I still think Colin and Jane should have ended up together.”
I rolled my eyes. We’d had this conversation more than once. “Travis is my Levi.”
Levi was a guitarist in a band. Harper had fallen madly in love with him, but in the end, things hadn’t worked out for them. She’d been heartbroken for months but eventually moved on, found Ian, and gotten married.
“He’s not my Ian. My Ian is still out there.”
Harper shook her head. “Travis is not your Levi. Travis is maturer than Levi, not a partier who will never settle down.”
“Okay, you have a point. But he’s not my Ian either.”
“He is. You’ll see.”
I doubted that.
I hadn’t heard from Travis at all. Derek had texted me to say that he had given the book to Travis last weekend, but it had been crickets since. I didn’t really know what I’d expected Travis to say in response, but I’d thought he would have said something. Even just a simple thank-you would have been nice. I had hoped that he would at least give the story a chance and maybe forgive me. I didn’t expect him to take me back, but it would be nice to not have him hate me, too.
Two readers came up to my table, and one of them picked up Beautifully Broken with Travis on the cover. One of them started whispering to the other, and all I could hope was that they’d buy it. I had ordered extra copies with the intention of going to the Iowa book signing with Travis to sign them. I had a buttload that I would love to get rid of, so I didn’t have to look at his face every time I opened the case where I kept all my paperbacks.
I almost regretted putting him on the cover, except that I had to admit that it was still one of my favorites.
“Is this Travis Zehler?” one of the ladies asked.
“Yep, that’s him.”
The two looked at each other and squealed. “We just saw him.”
They must have been at the Iowa book signing the prior weekend. It wasn’t unusual for readers to go to more than one, especially if they lived in a central location.
“You two are lucky,” I said, hoping that would shut the conversation down. I didn’t want to talk about him.
“He’s super nice,” one of them said.
“He is,” Harper said, so I didn’t have to comment.
“Too bad he’s taken,” the other reader said.
My breath caught in my throat, and Harper clutched my hand under the table.
“Are you sure about that?” she asked.
The first one shrugged. “That’s what he said when people asked him.”
Tears stung my eyes. He’s moved on already?
It had been over a month, but he already had a girlfriend.
I pushed my chair back. “Excuse me. I need some fresh air.”
I ran out of the room, not caring if anyone was looking at me, and out of the hotel. I walked around to the side of the building, away from everyone coming and going, and let myself cry.
I pounded my fist against the wall. Damn it. I’d thought I was done crying over this guy.
I let the tears flow because I couldn’t go back in there with my emotions all bottled up. After a few minutes, I felt a little more like myself. I took a couple of deep breaths and went back inside, straight toward the restroom. I blew my nose and cleaned up my makeup. My eyes and nose were still a little red, but hopefully, that would calm down soon.
With my head held high, I went back to the room where the book signing was. When I got to my table, Harper was still there with sympathy-filled eyes.
“What did you tell the readers after I bolted? I’m guessing they aren’t going to come back and buy the book,” I joked.
Harper raised her eyebrows. “Oh no, they both bought a copy. They said they were going to come back to have you sign them later.”
“Huh, maybe I need to have an emotional breakdown more often. Did I miss anyone else?” I asked.
<
br /> “A couple of others stopped by and said they’d come back around.” Harper put her hand on my arm. “Are you doing okay?”
I shrugged. “As to be expected. I knew he’d move on. I just didn’t know it would be so soon. And I didn’t know I’d have to hear about it.”
“Have you seen anything on social media? Because I feel like I haven’t.”
I shook my head. “I have avoided going on Instagram. I post a few things for my readers, but I avoid scrolling at all costs. I haven’t even gone to his page to unfollow because I’m worried about what I might see.” And because a part of me didn’t want to completely let him go. I knew, soon, I’d be torturing myself by looking at everything he’d posted. “I guess it’s good you haven’t seen anything. I wonder who she is.”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes, and no.” I put my head on Harper’s shoulder. “Life sucks.”
She put her arm around me. “I know, babe.”
“Can I go home now?”
“No.”
I stuck out my lower lip. “Boo.” I sat up. “I’ll be fine as long as I don’t have to hear any more about Travis.”
Harper nodded. “You can do this.”
A whole gaggle of young girls came up to my table. They looked to be around eighteen. I envied their carefree attitudes and happy smiles.
I was surprised when they all went for Beautifully Broken. Usually, a group picked up a variety of my books and didn’t all go for the same one.
“Here it is,” one of them said, holding it up for the others to see. “It’s the one with the guy on it.”
Another one picked up The One That Got Away. “Here’s the other book.” She showed her friends.
I looked at Harper. “What is going on? Is the universe torturing me?”
“I don’t know.”
I sold six copies of Beautifully Broken and two copies of The One That Got Away, so maybe the universe was just trying to get me more sales. I would have preferred it in a less painful way though.
There was a lull in the people walking around, and Harper said, “I’m going to run and get something to drink. Do you want anything?”
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