I’m The Other Woman.
I almost got your boyfriend killed.
I should be going now.
“I’m Annie. He was… at my bar when we were robbed.” I close my eyes against a tear. “I just wanted to make sure he was okay. It was a scary night.” I wipe my cheek, muttering, “That’s why I’m crying. It’s hard to see him like that. Reminds me of everything.”
“Oh. I see.”
She pauses long enough to make me look at her again. She knows what I’m not telling her. I can see it in her eyes. But still, I don’t need to shove her face in it. I wouldn’t have had sex with him had I known he was taken. That’s not the type of woman I am.
I don’t like cheating.
Me neither. Not a fan.
“I have to go.” I turn to the door.
“How long have you known Brendan?”
“Um…”
That’s an odd question. I want SO BADLY to claim longevity over her, to tell her the real amount of time – years, not a single solitary evening – but I know I don’t have the right.
One night with him. That’s all I get. I can’t believe the agony that I’m feeling. There has never been anything like it.
I straighten my head and face her. “We met last night. He and his friend Mark came in. He was there late with some of his friends from work. It wasn’t a big deal. I barely know him.” A knife cuts into my soul and turns.
She nods, thinking aloud, “Oh. Right. I have to tell Mark.”
She knows Mark? This is really happening.
I back up and run into the door. “I should go. Please tell him I came by. And that I’m alright, if he asks.” My voice catches in my throat. “He saved my life by taking that bullet. Your boyfriend’s… a really good guy. You’re lucky to have him. Nice meeting you.”
I turn and run out the door as fast as I can.
Can I cry anymore than I have in the last twelve hours? Layers and layers of pain topple onto each other as I retrace my steps to the elevator. All I want to do is sit by his bed and smooth down his hair, kiss his face and be there when he wakes up. That’s all I want to do.
After stabbing the elevator call button five times, I rub away the tears until my eyes are sore, gasping for breath. With a last look down the long empty hallway at his door, I step onto the elevator.
I’m glad you didn’t die, Brendan. And thank you for saving my life. But it’s over. I’m done. I’ve spent too many years holding a place for you in my heart.
I have to let you go.
For my own sanity.
For my own lost heart.
The End of Book 1
in the Hearts Series
Turn the page for the exciting next installment: Reaching Hearts…
Book Two in Brendan & Annie’s story…Reaching Hearts
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About the Author
Faleena Hopkins is an American best selling author, actress, and award-winning filmmaker whose novels have sold over a million copies worldwide. Her movie Just One More Kiss launched in theaters Feb. 2020 after it won Best Feature Film at BAFF in 2019. The novel launched at the same time, her first in hardback. Faleena currently resides in California with her oh-so-gentle senior rescue dog, Sophia, where she drinks too much coffee and not enough wine. Sophia prefers water. Lots of water.
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Copyright © 2020 by Faleena Hopkins
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Cover designed by Faleena Hopkins
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction, an imaginary world set in the real city of San Francisco for the purpose of entertainment only. People and circumstances have been made up by the author and are in no way associated to real people.
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Lying Hearts (Hearts Series Book 1) Page 16