You Are My Hope (You Are Mine Book 2)

by W. Winters

  The mug clinks as I set it down on the counter, pushing it away to rest my face in my hands. The granite’s cold on my elbows, but everything today has been brutally cold. I should be used to it by now.

  Shifting on the stool next to me, Maddie gently rubs my back in soothing strokes, making the cotton blouse travel slightly up and down my back as she shushes me.

  The padding of Kat’s feet are muted by her socks when she gets up to sit by us too. She takes a seat alongside us at the island with me sitting between her and Maddie.

  “Hey, it’s okay. He didn’t do it,” Kat says in such a tender voice. It only makes the pain in my chest grow.

  I didn’t tell them a word, and I never will. They’ll never know any of this truth. Not if I can help it.

  “I know,” I say and my voice cracks as I agree. I clear my throat and stare straight ahead, pushing the hair out of my face and ignoring both sets of their questioning eyes on me.

  I can see myself in the reflection of the steel fridge, but it’s not quite me, it’s something else. Some different version that stares back, distorted. Perception is what’s changed my life. It could have gone on and on with me not knowing a damn thing, only seeing what they wanted me to, and then none of this would have ever happened.

  “He didn’t do it,” I say in a stronger voice, swallowing the lump in my throat.

  “Why don’t you call him maybe?” Maddie offers.

  I have to drop my gaze. I can’t look them in the eyes and lie. “I don’t think he wants me to,” I answer honestly, staring fixedly at the granite countertops.

  “You’re wrong, Jules.” Kat’s voice comes out harsher than I expected as she speaks, and I grip the edge of the counter to turn my body on the stool and face her. “Of course he loves you. That’s more than obvious.”

  “You don’t understand,” I tell her even though I already know there’s no convincing her. Kat’s stubborn. She stares at me, waiting for an explanation. My eyes flicker to Maddie’s, both of them waiting impatiently. I settle for a partial truth. “He said he loves me.” I clear my throat and look past Kat. “I didn’t say it back,” I add. “The last time I saw him, I didn’t say it back.”

  “Why?” Maddie sounds horrified, and it only makes me feel worse.

  “It’s just that he did something,” I say haltingly, and my stomach churns as I look back to the gold flecks on the mug in front of me.

  “Something like what?” Kat seems hesitant.

  “It was something from a while ago, but it hurt me,” I say then close my eyes, wishing they could just know. Wishing I didn’t have to say it for them to understand.

  “Did he mean to hurt you?” Kat asks and there’s a pain in her gaze. I know it’s because of what she and Evan are going through right now. I wish she’d talk to me about that, rather than feeling like I’m prying when I try to ask how she’s holding up.

  “I’m sure he didn’t,” Maddie says softly, but her brow is furrowed with sympathy as she waits for my response.

  “It wasn’t meant to, no, but it was meant to hurt someone else and it wasn’t right.” I see Maddie and Kat exchange glances.

  “What did he do?” Maddie asks.

  “Maybe he’s not here because he thinks you want to keep your distance for now since he was arrested?” Kat says, delicately hinting around the fact that I’m very self-conscious of negative publicity.

  “I don’t care about that,” I tell her bluntly. “He’s not here now, because when I left…” I can’t finish. I can’t say the words because I’m ashamed that I didn’t answer him. I’ve known I still love him. I know damn well I do, and I did then. I just didn’t want to admit it.

  “You upset him?” Kat says, taking a guess.

  “I knew I might not see him again… and I still didn’t say it back. He said I love you, and I didn’t say it back.”

  “It’s just words,” Kat says, “Actions are what count. And if you love him, go for him. Fix it. You can always fix it.” She’s full of so much confidence. So much conviction, I have to believe her although part of me wonders if she’s telling me what she’s telling herself when it comes to her own relationship.

  “Go to him,” Maddie says sweetly.

  “Don’t you want him?” Kat presses when I don’t respond, too caught up in my own thoughts.

  Had I known the truth, I never would have gotten close, but he didn’t give me that chance. He pulled me in and drowned me before I realized I couldn’t breathe. I’ll forever be his. All the sins and secrets could never tear us apart. We both have them. But if we have each other… they don’t matter.

  Maddie nods her head in agreement. “Just because you’re fighting over something that happened before this doesn’t mean anything.” Her voice is firm. “He needs you.”

  And I need him. We always have, both in our own way.

  All three of us turn our heads to the door as I hear it open with a loud thud. My heart hammers in my chest, pounding harder and harder as I see him. Mason.

  The breath leaves my lungs and I nearly fall off the stool at the sight of him.

  He doesn’t look at me or even in this direction as he closes the door and tucks the keycard into his pocket. He slips off his boots easily, as if he belongs here and it’s only natural.

  As if he hadn’t kept me waiting here for him for hours.

  When he finally looks up, something breaks in me. The walls crumble, and I want to run to him. To climb off the stool and embrace him.

  To thank him for taking the fall. For protecting me. For loving me even if he brought all this hell along with him. To check him over and make sure he’s okay.

  But I’m frozen in place. Paralyzed by the sight of him. He rolls his broad shoulders before tossing the jacket over the sofa and finally looking up at me. His steel gray eyes pierce through me, questioning only for a moment before turning his attention to the other two women.

  Kat’s hand squeezes mine briefly before she whispers, “Do you want us to get out of here?”

  “Yeah,” Maddie answers for me. “We’ll see you tomorrow?” Maddie asks with wide eyes.

  I nod my head, but still I can’t speak. I can’t answer either of them. He’s here. All I can do is be thankful that he’s here.

  He’s standing right there, only inches away from me. I can still feel the coldness from the outdoors around him. But it doesn’t belong to him in the least. His tanned skin is pink on his cheeks and the tip of his nose. My fingers itch to reach out to him, to touch him and pass the chill of the air and feel his hot skin.

  I’m vaguely aware of Kat and Maddie leaving, the sounds of keys jingling and each saying hello and then goodbye to Mason.

  He gives them a tight smile and nods, his deep voice sending a soothing wave through me as he shoves his hands in his pockets and watches them leave.

  As soon as the door shuts, he looks back at me, consuming me the way he does with his full attention as comes to the bar, close to me. Close enough to touch.

  I lick my lips and scoot forward on the stool, my left knee brushing his right. “Mason,” I say, whispering his name with a reverence I’m not sure he hears or recognizes, but his eyes look the same way they did months ago when I first left him. Raw and vulnerable. Emotional.

  He can hide a lot of things from me, and I won’t deny that because it’s the absolute truth. But I can see the pain and love in his gaze when he looks at me like this.

  I know that’s real. He can’t ever hide that from me.

  “Jules,” he says and Mason’s voice is low. Too low. Panic drifts into my veins. It courses through me as he reaches out to run his fingers down my hair before resting his large hand on my thigh. His thumb runs back and forth in soothing strokes, but there’s something about the way he’s looking at me, something off about his body language. Something I don’t like.

  “I never should have put you through all this, Jules.”

  My heart clenches, feeling so constricted that I can’t fathom the amoun
t of pain I’m feeling. He’s letting me go. He gave me hope, walking through the door. No! No! Go back to the hope. We have hope. We don’t have everything but we have hope, don’t we? The words tangle over themselves in the back of my throat.

  “I never should have,” he says then swallows before continuing, “I never should have killed him. I’m sorry.” All I can do is shake my head slightly as I listen to Mason. It was a mistake, an unforgivable sin. An act that ruined my life. But he had his reasons. I can’t deny that it was wrong, but so much was wrong. The pieces fell, and there was blood on everyone’s hands.

  “I was a different man then. I didn’t know you yet, and I can’t ever take it back.” Mason pulls his hand away, and the warmth and comfort of his touch vanishes, replaced by a sudden chill.

  “I fell in love with you and I’d do anything to keep you, but I know you don’t want that.

  I hate myself as much as you hate me.”

  He starts to turn away from me. To leave me like I’ve wanted since I learned the truth, but my body comes to life, my blood a mix of anxiety and depression. I grip Mason’s hand as I stumble off the stool, the damn thing nearly toppling over.

  “Don’t you dare leave me,” I say. My voice comes out raw as tears threaten to spill from my eyes. I refuse to take my hands from his to wipe under my eyes.

  Never.

  He’s as much mine as I am his. I refuse to let him go.

  His expression changes as he registers my words. “Don’t you ever leave me again,” I tell him with a strength formed from panic. Please, please God, don’t let him deny me.

  “I need you.” The hot tears fall to my lips and I try to swallow, but it hurts too much. Everything hurts as I stand before the man I love, knowing it’s wrong. Knowing he broke me, ruined me and then showed me how fucked up love can be. The only cruel thing left for him to do to me would be to leave me like this. To throw me away after everything we’ve been through.

  “There’s hope, isn’t there?” I say. “I love you,” I whisper with complete conviction.

  Just as I part my lips to confess every emotion in me to him, he crashes his lips against mine, filling my chest with a warm flow of desire and completion. My lips are hard at first, caught off guard, but I’m quick to mold them to his, spearing my fingers through his hair as his hand splays at the small of my back, both of us deepening the kiss, both of us wanting more.

  “Mason.” I moan his name as he breaks the kiss, my eyes still closed as our hot breath mingles between us.

  “Just hold me. I love you,” I tell him and bury my head into his hard chest. He wraps his strong arms around me as his warmth consumes me and kisses my hair over and over. This is where I belong, I know it is.

  “I love you,” he says and it’s all I need.

  I love Mason. And he loves me.

  Epilogue

  Jules

  Jules

  Deceit is pretty,

  The truth is better than the lie.

  Its beauty lurks in darkness,

  It’s gorgeous in ways you can’t deny.

  Although the tale is strange,

  Not the ever after for you and me.

  It’s broken and imperfect,

  And the way fate meant it to be.

  My brunette hair looks nearly black when it’s wet. The brush makes a loud thud as I set it down and reach for my makeup bag.

  Looks can be so deceiving, can’t they?

  We have a beautiful home, seemingly the perfect life and many days, that’s all I see. It’s all I saw with Jace too, but that was a sham and a lie and I realize now that I knew the truth well back then. I was happy with the image, but the truth was something I hid; I wanted it that way.

  What I have with Mason is the opposite. Although no one can see the truth, I know what we are. Raw and broken, but together, we’re whole.

  The world will never know what it took for the two of us to come out of this alive. No one will ever realize how much strength there is between us. We’re unbreakable. Shattered to pieces, but healed together with a scar that’s so much stronger than what was once there.

  It’s not a fairytale, but it’s a happily ever after suited for us both. It gives me chills when I look back at the past, but I don’t do that often. It’s much better to look ahead, at the true happiness and comfort we give each other. At the full life of trust and faith that’s been forged between us.

  My phone pings with another text from Kat. And then another.

  She finally told me what’s happening with her and Evan.

  He’s still your Evan, I answer and stare at my phone, waiting for her response.

  If anyone ever heard my story, maybe they’d say what I did was wrong. That crawling back to Mason after knowing what he did, is simply unforgivable.

  Even my closest friends. I don’t think they would understand. No one would.

  Love is inexplicable. It makes you do crazy things. Love is blind… that’s a saying for a reason, isn’t it?

  I know, Kat writes back. He’s still the man I married. Dangerous in ways I don’t like to think about. I did this to myself. I knew better than to fall for him.

  My heart hurts for her when she messages again before I can respond: I only wish love were enough to fix this…

  It is. I’m desperate to write that back to her. But there are pieces to their story I’m missing. Pieces that will come out one way or another…

  Don't stop reading! You have to read Kat and Evan's story, You Know I Love You. It's sexy, gripping, and everything you want in a romance novel.

  If you loved Mason and Jules story, I really think you’ll love Promise Me. Keep reading for a sneak peek or tap the title and start reading today!

  Read more Contemporary Romance Standalones from Willow Winters today!

  Promise Me (A Novel)

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  Tell Me To Stay (A Novella)

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  Until it all fell apart and Sophie ran as far away from Madox as she could.

  After all, the two of them were never meant to be together?

  Second Chance (A Novella)

  No one knows what happened the night that forced them apart. No one can ever know.

  But the moment Nathan locks his light blue eyes on Harlow again, she is ruined.

  She never stood a chance.

  Burned Promises (A Novella)

  Derek made her a promise. And then he broke it. That’s what happens with your first love.

  But Emma didn’t expect for Derek to fall back into her life and for her to fall back into his bed.

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  Sneak Peek at Promise Me

  "Promise me you'll love me after this?" Those were the words I asked my first love on a high school date.

  "Always, Vi," he told me before crushing his lips against mine.

  I gave him a part of me I can never get back that night. Even worse, I gave him my heart.

  That was four years ago. Back when I was young and naive. Back when I thought we’d always be together.

  He dumped me right after graduation and left me to join the military. He said I shouldn’t wait for him; it didn’t matter that I wanted to. I would have waited for him forever, but he threw me away and left me here in this small town.

  Now he’s home and says he wants me back. Second chances don’t work in love. No matter how much I wish I could erase what’s happened since he’s been gone... no ma
tter how much I think of falling back into his arms…

  Prologue

  Violet

  I shift a little on the blanket as the sounds of crickets from the woods behind us get a bit louder. We're alone out here on the outskirts of the state park. I can hardly breathe in this strapless lace dress, and it’s awkward sitting on the ground with it riding up so high. It’s the prettiest one I have though, and the most revealing. It’s not that it’s too tight, although it feels as if it is.

  Tonight’s the night.

  I peek up to my right at Hunter and give him a shy smile, feeling the warmth of a blush flood my cheeks. My heart swells, although I’m still a bundle of nerves. He looks so handsome even in his simple faded jeans and white tee shirt.

  My lungs fill with the scent of his cologne. He smells so good. He’s never worn it before. He knows tonight is different, too.

  We’ve been dating for almost a year. We're high school sweethearts. A full year. I’d say it’s my longest relationship, but it’s my only one ever. And I never want another. I want to be his, and only his. Tonight I’m taking a leap of faith.

  I know when we graduate in three months, it’s going to be hard. He’s going into training, and I’ll be going to college. I lace my fingers between his; his hand is resting on my bare thigh. He looks down at me and clasps my hand while giving me a sexy smile. We’re going to make it work though. He’s my one and only. And I’m his.

  His arm is wrapped around my waist and we’re seated on the edge of the blanket. My bare toes sweep along the grass as he pulls me closer to him. The spring air is a bit chilly at night, and goosebumps form down my arm. I didn’t bring a jacket. A small shiver runs up my shoulders and I curl up against his hot body. A deep chuckle rises up his chest. I love that sound. I love it when he laughs like that. He rubs his hand up and down my arm, warming me.