Remembrance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 4)
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REMEMBRANCE
Book 4 in the Iris series
Rebecca Lynn
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 by Rebecca Lynn
Cover image © Shutterstock
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Also by Rebecca Lynn
Iris Series
RELEASE (Book 1)
REDEMPTION (Book 2)
REVELATION (Book 3)
Table of Contents
Copyright
What Readers are Saying About the Iris Series
Symbolism of the Iris Flower
PART ONE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
PART TWO
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
What Readers are Saying About the Iris Series
Release, Book 1
"Loved it! I couldn't put the book down." Samantha, 5 stars
"Holy Hotness! This book consumed me from the beginning. I stayed up reading until 3am and the next day I was useless. I could not put this book down. Jenny's Kindle, 5 stars
"Beautifully written! One of my favorite reads this year!" Amazon Customer, 5 stars
"Love it...So good, I read it twice!" Danita, 5 stars
"Loved it! Cannot wait for book 2. Rebecca Lynn is an author I would recommend to my friends..." Andrea, 5 stars
"Awesome book! I can't say enough about this book...not a cliffhanger...Love the blends of erotic/romance. You have to read this and add to your favorites." Amazon Customer, 5 stars
"Wonderful story. One of the better books that I have read...I love a story that is told in ONE book...I highly recommend this and look forward to the next in the series." Amazon Customer, 5 stars
Redemption, Book 2
"Perfect. This book is absolutely perfect...It deserves a 10 star rating for sure. Just perfect. Highly recommended." Bea, 5 stars
"Great read. Second book in the Iris series. Loved the first and now the second as well. Love the way this author writes...Hurry up Spring and get here so I can buy book three." Dmontgomery, 5 stars
"I really like this series...This is the second book in this series and I can definitely say I'm addicted." *FamilyKindleCoffeLover*, 5 stars
"Amazing. Absolute fantastic follow up to Release!! ...lots of hotness!! Definitely recommend Redemption and CAN'T wait for Michael and Emily's story! Write faster girls!!!" Hockey mom, 5 stars
Revelation, Book 3
“LOL funny with SIZZLING chemistry! My absolute favorite of the Iris Series! Revelation is the most thorough, complex contemporary romance novel I've read in a long while… WARNING! Once you start this book, you're going to get sucked in so plan accordingly!” DRC, 5 stars
“Always an enjoyable read! It took me a little long to finish Rebecca Lynn's books not because they are hard to read or boring (not the case) but because the chemistry is so intense I needed breaks! I've thoroughly enjoyed the books in the Iris series and looking forward to more.” Chingona, 5 stars
“Wonderfully written…Rebecca Lynn has written a wonderful story using the same characters but letting you see the stories of each different pair. I love this because I feel like I know these characters. I am patiently (or not so much) awaiting the next book to see what happens with Luke and Janie.” Y. Hernandez, 5 stars
“…loved all the 3 stories so far & never feel cheated because she gives a full in depth story! I am so looking forward to Janie & Luke's story!!! This author is very talented…” S. Snider, 5 stars
UK Amazon Reviews from ‘Across the Pond’
“I really loved this book. I already shared it with my friends even before I had finished it as it was so good. Well Done.” mags, 5 stars, Release
“Omg. Love this book, can't wait for so much more in this series. Loved the characters and keeps you engaged right to the end. Another one up there with Fifty.” Fil, 5 stars, Release
“After reading book 1 I knew I was going to enjoy this book I found I couldn't put it down. I fell asleep in the early hrs of the morning then woke up 2 hrs later to finish the book even though I had to go to work so be prepared to get engrossed in the story from start to finish. I am now going to start reading book3.” Lindarhc, 5 stars, Redemption
“Great good feel story. Really enjoyed the second in the series. Looking forward to seeing how the relationships progress. Yan and Jon make a great couple and I think Yan learned a lot from Jon and his family. Well done!” Britbabe, 5 stars, Redemption
“Great story. Absolutely loved this book. After reading Redemption & Release I had high expectations for Revelation and it did not disappoint. Great characters and story, and as always very hot. Although it is third book in series you can read as stand alone. Definitely well worth the money. Looking forward to Janie & Luke’s story.” Sam, 5 stars, Revelation
Symbolism of the Iris Flower
Plants and flowers have been given as gifts for ages. "...While other plants are used to communicate very specific messages,
the iris can be seen to symbolize the act of communication itself." http://www.flowerexperts.com/meaning_of_the_iris.asp
Traditionally the Iris flower has been chosen to symbolize faith, valor, wisdom, hope, inspiration, cherished friendship, my compliments and promise in love.
[Other meanings include] purity, kindness, passion, peace of mind,
admiration and courage.
WHITE Iris flowers symbolize purity and kindness,
Yellow Iris flowers symbolize passion,
Blue Iris flowers symbolize hope and faith, and
Purple Iris flowers symbolize wisdom and compliments.
http://www.iris-flower.net/iris-flower-meaning
REMEMBRANCE, n.
1. a retained mental impression; memory.
7. a gift given as a token of love or friendship.
dictionary.com
*****
I Can't Make You Love Me originally by Bonnie Raitt
I'll close my eyes, ’cause then I won't see
The love you don't feel, when you're home with me
Morning will come, and I’ll do what's right
Just give me till then, to give up this fight
And I will give up this fight
'Cause I can't make you love me if you don't
You can't make your heart feel
Somethin' that it won’t
And here in the dark, in these final hours
I will lay down my heart
I will feel the power but you won't
No you won't
'Cause I can't make you love me
When you don't, when you don't
PART ONE
Eleven Years Earlier
Hey, Jiggly Janie... What’s shakin’, Janie Juggs?
What was shaking at the moment was 17 year old Janie Callahan’s hands. Standing in the kitchen, she tried to calm her nerves by baking cookies. Baking and cooking always seemed to help refocus her, but try as she might, she couldn’t wipe the memory of her friggin’ horrible, yet typical, day at school.
‘Chaz the Razz’ had struck again, the asshole. Born Charlie Cardosa, he was primarily known to everyone at CAS, the alternative public high school where Janie attended on the lower West side of Manhattan, by his nickname. And he’d received it in fifth grade due to his penchant for making fun of people.
She furiously swiped at the angry tears gathering in her eyes. At 5’5” and almost 175 lbs, she was pleasantly plump to say the least. Once you added in her enormous boobs, she felt freakish. She knew she had good taste in clothes, usually leaning toward the multiple layered look of the Bohemian style. She had a nice curvy shape, with a little extra padding, but sometimes she wished she could just be skinny. A nice skinny stick of a girl with a flat chest. Although she was forever being told how pretty she was, it certainly didn’t help.
You’re just so pretty with your strawberry blonde curls and green eyes. You carry yourself so well and have such a flair for style, Janie. And so funny! If only you lost a little weight…
The oft repeated sentence from well-meaning relatives made her want to throw the bowl of cookie dough across the room.
She shifted her weight on her combat boot encased feet. Dressed in her leggings and long oversized tunic sweater, she pulled up a sleeve and put a little extra muscle into stirring the batter. In the background, the kitchen CD player was spinning her mom’s favorite Bonnie Raitt album while her mom puttered around in the living room. Since it was college Christmas break, all of the guys were staying for dinner and her mother was straightening up so the place was ready. Plus, it was Luke’s birthday, albeit belated. In fact, all of the guys were up in her brother’s room at the moment, listening to music, catching up on life, their studies...girls.
Janie sighed, listening to the lyrics of I Can’t Make You Love Me. Any time the stupid song played, it was like a knife slicing through her heart. How true those lyrics were, especially when thinking of the guy she’d had a crush on since she was eight. Luke Daniels. Because he was best friends with her brother, Mike, as well as her cousin, Jeremy McCallister, he was upstairs with them hanging out until dinner.
Newly twenty one years old, he was gorgeous, wonderful and sweet. He was her buddy and had always been kind, always protective of her. They must’ve just bred them differently in Europe. Other than her male relatives, he was the only guy who didn’t look at her like the overweight ginger that she was. She had guy friends at school, but none were any who would ever want to hook up with her.
What did she expect anyway? She felt like a cow.
Luke had been helping her this last semester with her Spanish class, tutoring her because she needed the extra instruction. He and his twin sister, Tiffany, had an American father who had been a diplomat to Spain, and their Spanish mom was a Communications Director from that country. Spain was where their parents had first met, so Mrs. Daniels raised her kids to be bilingual while being raised in their country of origin. Luke’s dad eventually brought his family to Manhattan when the twins were twelve and he’d begun working for the United Nations. All of the boys from the Callahan, McCallister, and Daniels families had become close friends almost immediately since Jeremy and Luke had ended up attending the same private high school together. Because the kids were all in the same age bracket, it was through them that all of the families had met and become close over the years.
Bonnie’s voice continued to croon while Janie tried to squash the depression enveloping her...you can’t make your heart feel, something it won’t…
No, you definitely can’t. So stop hopin’ and wishin’, Janie. You’ll never have him.
I hate my life. I hate my body. I fuckin’ hate Chaz the Razz. I wanna boyfriend. One just like...
“Who’s ‘Chaz the Razz’, and why do you fucking hate him?”
Shit. Had she been talking out loud again? She immediately tamped down the negativity coursing through her, blinked madly to abate her tears, and plastered on a smile before turning around to look at the man she would never have.
There he stood, well over six feet in height with black hair, olive colored skin and clear beautiful blue eyes. Her heart tripped in her chest while she took him in, clad in his jeans and gray fitted sweater.
Nearly ten years in the States hadn’t lessened the European flair that always surrounded him. He reached into his back pocket and took out a handkerchief. What American college boy carried a handkerchief? Not a one. But Luke did, and somehow he made it look chic and cool as hell.
“Baby girl?” he said, his eyebrow raised in question while waiting for her to respond.
She secretly loved it when he called her by his nickname for her. She returned the favor, calling him by the name that always annoyed him but was quintessentially part of their banter.
“What’s goin’ on, Lukey? I hear you’re hitting us up for dinner again,” she said, giving him a smile then turning away.
He walked up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder so she’d turn to look at him. Frowning down at her, his eyes drilled into hers. “What happened?” He held out the handkerchief.
She looked down at it and swallowed. “What?” She turned away from him again. Fuck. He’d seen her crying. She continued stirring the cookie batter. “I’m making chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I missed your birthday, so…” Luke’s birthday had been a few days earlier, exactly one week before Christmas Eve.
“Nice,” he said, really meaning it. “I love when you make chocolate chip cookies.” Then without hesitating he continued, “Who’s Chaz the Razz?” He put his finger under her chin and directed her gaze up to his, patting the tear still on her cheek with the handkerchief in his hand.
That nearly did her in but she prevailed. She shook her head at him and smiled. “No one worth talking about.”
“Did he do something to you?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Swallowing down the pain while Bonnie sang about unrequited love, she croaked out, “It’s all good.”
“You okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Just another day of laughing through jokes from insensitive assholes about my weight and then coming home to the boy I wish saw me as someone other than his baby sister. Why wouldn’t I be alright?
He shrugged at her question, but zeroed those blue eyes onto her green ones with a knowing look. He looked like he was about to say something more, but then switched gears, putting the handkerchief down on the counter next to her.
“How was school?”
“The usual,” she smiled. “So you’re on break for a while, huh?” she asked while beginning to scoop servings of dough onto the cookie sheet.
Her long curly hair was up in a knot, keeping it out of the way. He yanked on one of the curls that had escaped, watching it bounce back into place. “Yeah. You’re probably done, when, tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” She felt herself shiver. She loved it whenever he touched her. She was pitiful.
“Good. We’re all going to an early movie tomorrow night if you want to come.”
Even though a current of excitement coursed through her, she played it off. “Why would a 21 year old guy want to hang out with a 17 year old? Don’t you have any girlfriends to fill your time?”
He barked out a laugh. “I’ll be
doing that after the movie,” he said with a leer and an eyebrow wiggle. He pulled her hair again. “It’s just going to be the guys and Tiffany. We were thinking we might take Robbie to that Muppet Christmas movie that’s out,” he said, referring to Janie’s 7 year old little brother. The kid was always stoked when all the guys were around. “Come,” he said while grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and turning to leave the kitchen. “And don’t burn those cookies,” he yelled over his shoulder. “I’m going to want like ten of them.”
She snorted and yelled back, “Burning food is your department, Lukey. I know how to cook, thank you very much.”
She heard him laugh as he bounded up the stairs, then she relaxed her face and took a cleansing breath, shaking out the bad memories from the school day. She’d enjoy tonight, make it through tomorrow’s last day of the semester, then she’d get to hang out with the one guy she’d always measured other boys up to.
She looked down at the handkerchief he’d left. The thought of seeing Luke tomorrow night would get her through one more day of Chaz the Razz.
Chapter 1
Present Day
“Janie, those mashed potatoes were incredible,” Matthew Daniels said, leaning back and patting his still flat stomach even though he was in his early sixties.
Janie flashed him a brilliant smile. “Thanks, Uncle Matt.”
“How have you not been snatched up yet? You’re like the perfect catch,” he boomed. “You’ve got it all, sweetie.” He looked at his wife. “Doesn’t she, mi reina? Seriously.” He turned back to Janie. “You’ve got charm, you’ve got beauty, you’re a dream in the kitchen, you’re the owner of a successful catering business,” he rattled off.