Crush (Tainted Love Duet #2)

by Kim Karr

  Elle chose to run her online boutique from home to be closer to Clementine and I try to stay home one, sometimes two days a week to pull my share and give her time. She loves her life and her circle of friends. She’s even recruited them to help her. Phoebe, Lindsay, and Lily go with her as she combs through antique stores looking for the best of the best.

  I’d been thinking about my grandfather Killian a lot lately. He was a man of great wisdom and guidance. Sure, I knew he was an outlaw, but that was a part of his life I never saw. To me he was one of a kind. A man who loved his grandson. And there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss him. I’m thankful, though, for the time he spent with me because those memories are what will keep him alive in my mind forever.

  There’s this pizza place in Brooklyn called Paulie Gee’s. Elle and I took Clementine there last week.

  It was then that I saw it on the menu, and for the first time since my grandfather’s death, I laughed at the thought of him. “Forget the pepperoni, kid,” he used to say, “Corned beef is the way to go.”

  I would never try it and always made a face in disgust.

  Today, I came here alone. “I’ll have the pizza with corned beef,” I said to the waitress.

  She was older and smiled. “You must be Irish.”

  I nodded, proud of my roots.

  As I waited for my pizza, I pulled the note from my pocket that was in the safety deposit box along with the ring. Do not open this until you smile when you think of me was written across it.

  I set it on the table. He had given his life for what I’d done and that was one guilt I’d never shed.

  The television was on over the bar and a news alert flashed across the screen: Record-breaking drug bust in Boston shuts down the biggest cocaine ring to hit the streets since the seventies: DEA officials to comment soon.

  I smiled. They got Seamus, that son of a bitch. He’d been MIA for months. Video footage showed Blanchet and Miles with DEA-issued jackets leaving a church.

  I sat back in the booth and crossed my feet at the ankles. Chapter closed on that son of a bitch. Miles always said he wasn’t stopping until he could put him away for life. Now it looked like he got what he needed and finally nailed the bastard.

  When my pizza arrived, I stared at it for a bit and remembered that little boy who sat across from the old man and never took a bite. I folded a slice in half the way he did and brought it to my mouth. I smelled the corned beef. Not so bad smelling, I thought, and then took a bite. “Not so bad, old man,” I said aloud with a smile.

  I wiped my hands and opened the envelope, sliding the piece of paper out. With a deep breath, I read it.

  Logan,

  Choices are made and consequences paid. It’s the smaller man who dwells and the bigger man who moves forward. I’ve spent my life making one bad choice after the other, and the only choice I can say that I never regretted was marrying my Millie.

  I’ve tried to teach you the things I faltered in, so that hopefully you wouldn’t take the same wrong steps I had. It wasn’t until after you left today that I realized I don’t have to worry about you. You are your own man. Strong. Confident. Competent. And I hope I had just a little to do with it.

  But it’s time for me to join my love.

  Don’t let my choice crush you.

  Don’t be sad that I’m gone.

  Don’t dwell.

  Know I’m where I’m supposed to be.

  I love you.

  I swallowed down the emotion I felt and read the note again. After I finished reading it for a third time, I couldn’t help but think my grandfather was a man of infinite wisdom.

  The road I had taken in life wasn’t always easy. In fact, sometimes it was extremely difficult. Still, in the end he was right . . . I truly believed we all ended up where we were supposed to be.

  DAY 1,220

  ELLE

  “Cover your eyes.”

  “They are covered, Mommy,” Clementine insisted.

  “You have to squeeze your fingers together.”

  “They are.”

  I put my hand sideways over my eyes with my fingers touching each other, not splayed apart as hers were. “Like this, silly girl.”

  With her fingers wide she looked at Sean. “Grandpa, tell her I can’t see this way.”

  He raised his brows, fighting back his grin. “Elle, she can’t see like that.”

  I rolled my eyes as I walked toward the front door and muttered, “She’s got you wrapped around her little finger.”

  Logan was waiting on the other side of the door and I hurried to swing it open wide. Carrying the small blue bundle in his arms, my husband stepped inside. My heart skipped a beat when I looked at him. Passion. Love. Lust. Desire. And family. It was all standing right in front of me—long, lean, and incredibly sexy. His grin was absolutely adorable, as was he, and what he was holding.

  I looked down. “Clementine, are you ready to meet your new baby brother?”

  The pitter-patter of little feet had long since morphed into the thump-thump of what she liked to call big-girl feet. In her miniature classic Converse sneakers that she had to have because they matched her daddy’s perfectly, she ran toward Logan and her new baby brother. “He came, he came!” she yelled in excitement.

  Logan crouched down as she approached him. “Clementine, meet Killian.”

  I lowered myself beside Logan and adoringly gazed at our new son and my incredibly sexy husband. The adoption had been arranged, but we weren’t expecting Killian to be born until next month. When we got the news, we didn’t tell Clementine about his early delivery because we wanted to surprise her.

  Her eyes were wide as she looked at him.

  “What do you think?” I asked.

  She twisted her lip.

  “Clementine?” Logan prompted with unwarranted concern in his tone.

  She put her little hands on her hips. “Daddy, I told you I wanted the one with the curly hair.”

  All of us burst into laughter.

  Infectious as it was, she didn’t laugh. Instead, she eyed Killian and then pursed her lips. “Where’s the button to push? I want to see what he says.”

  As if on cue, Killian Sean McPherson began to cry.

  Clementine covered her ears. “Turn it down.”

  I took her hand and lowered myself to her level. “We talked about this, silly girl. He’s not a Build-A-Bear.”

  She seemed to contemplate this for a long while.

  “What do you think, Mommy?” Logan asked, placing a soft kiss on my lips.

  “I think we all have some things to learn, Daddy,” I said, kissing him back.

  This had Clementine now covering her eyes. “Not again,” she whined.

  We both shook our head.

  She was just too funny.

  Logan stood and held his free hand to her. “Come with me, Clementine. You and I are both new at this baby thing and we need to figure out how to feed him.”

  Her grin grew incredibly wide. “Oh, Daddy, I already know how to do that.”

  Looking absolutely adorable himself, Logan said, “Well, maybe you could show me.”

  Clementine looked over at me. “Mommy, could you please get us a bottle? I have to teach Daddy how to feed my new baby brother.”

  Tears stung the corners of my eyes. “I have one right here,” I said as I reached in the diaper bag I had set next to the door when I came in before Logan to prepare Clementine.

  I watched as Clementine and Logan, with baby Killian in his arms, made their way to the couch, matching sneakers and a matching bounce of optimism in their steps. And when they sat down and Logan helped Clementine onto his lap so she could show him how to hold the bottle, my tears could no longer be contained.

  “We’re very lucky,” Sean said, placing his hand on my shoulder.

  “Yes, we are,” I managed to say and squeezed his hand.

  The days had turned into years, and everything bad that had happened around Logan and me when we
first met now seemed like a lifetime ago.

  Just then the cuckoo clock on the wall chirped and my eyes went to his hazel pools. Every time it went off, Logan rolled his eyes, and it made me laugh. This time was no different.

  As I stepped toward my family, the one thing that ran through my mind was that all those years ago I had been wrong about love.

  It really does conquer all.

  Although I tried to stay true to Boston, I did take some liberties with locations, dates, and timing.

  If you enjoyed this book, there are a number of ways that you can support it.

  First, please call or email friends and tell them about it. If you really want them to read it, gift it to them. If you prefer digital friends, please use the ‘Recommend’ feature of Goodreads to spread the word, or make a post about it on Facebook.

  Second, please consider leaving a review for this book.

  If you’d like to read more of my books, on the next page is a list of other titles.

  BLOW

  2 fatal sides.

  1 epic love.

  7 days to survive.

  They met in the face of danger. They weren’t looking for love. They both knew better. But they couldn’t stay away, and they fell hard.

  He is heart-stoppingly handsome, fearless—and haunted by deadly ties.

  She is breathtakingly beautiful, determined—and in harm’s way.

  They should have parted. They didn't. They never should have fucked. They did. And now time is running out. One hundred sixty-eight hours. That’s all that remains. While Logan McPherson fights to save them, Elle Sterling is forced to make a choice that could change everything.

  When torn between right and wrong, tainted love doesn’t have a chance . . . or does it?

  TOXIC

  Meet Jeremy McQueen, a sexy, intense, brooding entrepreneur who goes after what he wants, and Phoebe St. Claire, a socialite-turned-CEO who’s been drifting through life searching for something she thought she’d never find again—the right man to share her future.

  Phoebe St. Claire has devoted herself to saving her family’s hotel empire—but her best efforts have not been good enough. With her whole world in turmoil, the tenacious go-getter turns to the once love of her life. Far from innocent, Jeremy McQueen was a guy from the wrong side of the tracks, and her parents would never have approved. Their years apart have only made the sexy bad boy more irresistible than ever—and their reunion is explosive.

  When she asks Jeremy to help her salvage her family business, he agrees immediately, with only one condition—he wants her in his bed.

  But soon surprising circumstances leave Phoebe reeling. Was this fairy-tale romance just too good to be true? Will Jeremy’s secrets pull them apart all over again?

  NO CLIFFHANGER. STANDALONE ROMANCE.

  The 27 CLUB

  Janis Joplin. Kurt Cobain. Amy Winehouse. Zachary Flowers. I always knew my brilliant brother would one day be listed among the great artistic minds of our time. I just didn’t know he would join the list of exceptional talents who left us too young, too soon.

  I was always the calm one, the perfect foil to his freewheeling wild spirit. But since his death shortly after his 27th birthday, I’d found myself adrift and directionless.

  I knew it was time to face my destiny, and I was ready to yield. But then I met Nate, Zachary’s best friend. Only he could help me put the pieces together, fill in the blanks that Zachary left behind. I needed him to answer my questions—and I wanted him for more. He awakened in me a sensuality that had never been explored, never satisfied. Nate’s presence controlled me, his touch seared me, and it was up to me to convince him that he was brought into my life for a reason. . . .

  NO CLIFFHANGER ENDING. THIS IS A STANDALONE ROMANCE.

  The Connections Series

  Purchase the CONNECTIONS SERIES here:

  Connected

  Torn

  Dazed

  Mended

  Blurred

  Frayed

  Kim Karr is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.

  She grew up in Rochester, New York, and now lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She’s always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, she wanted to teach at the college level, but that was not to be. She went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise her family. Kim currently works part-time with her husband and recently decided to embrace one of her biggest passions—writing.

  Kim wears a lot of hats: writer, book-lover, wife, soccer mom, taxi driver, and the all-around go-to person of her family. However, she always finds time to read.

  Kim likes to believe in soul mates, kindred spirits, true friends, and happily-ever-afters. She loves to drink champagne and listen to music, and hopes to always stay young at heart.

  CONNECT WITH KIM

  Website

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  And don’t miss Toxic, where, as a reader you’ll first meet Logan. It is an unforgettable stand-alone romance! Available now. Continue reading for a preview.

  TOXIC

  Familiar Faces

  My mother taught me many things . . .

  To stand up straight.

  To be thankful for what I had.

  To never talk to strangers.

  And to always answer when spoken to.

  I didn’t always listen.

  “I miss you.” The text had arrived early this morning and I hadn’t been able to reply. I didn’t know what to say but I knew why Dawson had sent it.

  It was October fifteenth.

  Our wedding day.

  Or it was supposed to have been anyway.

  The rain was steadily falling as Lily and I left the movie theater and quickly made our way to the waiting car.

  As soon as I got in, I collapsed in the smooth leather seat and looked next to me. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For always being there for me.”

  “That’s what best friends are for,” she smiled.

  And that’s what she was. Lily Monroe had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. And like me, she was in a strange place.

  “Has he called yet?” I asked, uncertain if I should bring it up.

  Lily shook her head.

  “You should just call him.”

  She shot me an if looks could kill glare. “No, I will not. And we’re not talking about him. As far as I’m concerned, Preston Tyler is dead.”

  Okay then.

  I knew when to shut up.

  Lily and Preston were always breaking up and getting back together but this was the longest they had been apart in the three years they had been a couple. The breakup was going on nearly four weeks.

  Lily opened her purse. “Here,” she said as she unscrewed a small bottle of wine. It was the kind you get when you’re flying. A glass for one.

  I took it and gave her a smile and when she pulled out a second, I had to laugh. “Always prepared.”

  “You know it,” she said raising her hand. “To rainy days.”

  “And rainy nights.” I clinked her bottle.

  “To new beginnings.”

  “And old endings,” I said, and then I drank the wine.

  All of it.

  I needed it.

  After a final gulp, I let my forehead fall to the window. The sound of faint raindrops that drizzled down it as I stared out into the night triggered something inside me—that lonely ache that I couldn’t seem to ever shake. And for the first time since I had woken up that morning, I allowed a melancholy wave of sorrow to wash over me.

  I’d second-guessed my decision to end things with Dawson every day. So when I woke up this morning, I thought I’d be sadder than I had been.

  But I wasn’t sad at all.

  I was relieved.

  I was ready for the shadow that had been looming over me since I broke off the engagement to be gon
e. Even after the wedding was canceled, the countdown to the big day was still there. Just because two people ceased to exist as a unit, it didn’t mean you no longer felt the other person’s presence in your life.

  And Dawson Vanderbilt, even with his gallant stand-up and let’s be friends attitude, had felt like a constant mark of failure in my life.

  The seemingly perfect man, a wedding planned with all the trimmings, and I still couldn’t go through with it. I knew the chemistry wasn’t there to sustain a life of happiness together.

  I loved him, yet the spark I wanted to feel each time I saw him and the leg I wanted to kick back with a pointed toe when he kissed me—neither ever came.

  My phone rang and glancing at the screen, I rolled my eyes.

  “Your mother again?” Lily asked.

  I nodded. “She’s called me every hour since I left her at lunch. She says she’s checking on me but I can’t help but feel like it’s more. Like she’s punishing me for not going through with the wedding by reminding me of all the things we would have been doing today.”

  “She means well, you know she does.”

  “I suppose,” I said as I glanced again at the ringing phone.

  “Give it to me.”

  I looked at Lily questioningly.

  “Give me your phone.”

  She powered it off. “Everyone you need to talk to will be right inside there.” She pointed to the large brick building we were coming up on in the Meatpacking District.

  I gave her a weak smile and slipped my phone in my purse.

  When the car slowed, Lily put her hand on my leg. “You sure you’re up to this? We could just go back to my place and watch another movie.”

  I flashed her a huge grin, letting my pearly whites show as the black Escalade pulled up to the curb. “Are you kidding?” I chuckled. “And miss the funeral tonight?”

  She giggled. “Speaking of, did you see Danny’s tweet?”