by Marie Hall
Right?
But no matter how hard she worked at convincing herself that this wasn’t one-sided, she couldn’t quite get over her queasiness.
“Elisa?” he asked harder.
Jerking to attention, she stared down at her sandaled feet. Maybe she should have worn a dress, put on makeup.
Blinking and biting onto her bottom lip hard she couldn’t look at him as she asked him, “Am I still the one?”
It took her several tense seconds before she could look back at him. When she did, it was to find him still not moving. If he’d answered her, she’d missed it.
Terrified that it was over, that any minute now he’d kick her to the curb, she rushed to get it all out, knowing she might never get this chance again.
“Destiny. That’s what I wrote down on my wrist when I left. Because that’s exactly what it felt like. But I was dumb to think that destiny was enough. I got over there, Jules, and I forgot myself. I forgot so much.” She frowned and then sniffed.
God, she was so sick of crying.
“You came and I saw you and it brought it all back, but I still didn’t get it. Life got in the way, and I got busy, and I forgot the things that really mattered.”
“What mattered?” He finally got involved in the conversation.
Feeling a minute spark of relief, she took a brave step up.
“You. Us. This.” She gestured between them. “You told me once that you would love me forever. I couldn’t understand how you could believe that when you were still so young. But for the past two weeks I’ve been examining my heart and…” She took another step up, now only three steps separated them. It felt like a bridge to eternity.
“You’re imprinted all over me. I see my life and you’re always there. When you were born, when you moved away, and my world became nothing but shades of gray. Then you came back, and I didn’t understand then like I do now why I suddenly came back to life. The first night we kissed, the first night we made love.” She took another step, excited to note the rapid rise and fall of his chest, two more steps. “Living with you, loving you. Jules.” She shook her head and dropped her hands, unable to say it any other way than with her voice. “It’s always been you. Will always be you.”
The air grew thick with tension and she wanted so desperately to drop her gaze, too scared to see what he’d say to that.
He took one step down.
Only one step separated them. Just one. So close. They were so close she could feel the wash of his heat brush against her. Her nipples puckered in response, her skin tingled with a fiery wash of desire.
How could she ever have believed things had cooled? How could she ever have imagined that something this meteoric could just wither and die?
“My life is here in New York, I’ve got no prospects in Ireland, Smile Girl. Could you really leave?”
Smiling broadly now as the tears blurred her vision, she grabbed his hands and clutched them desperately to her chest. Those words had definitely not been a no.
Placing one of his palms over her throat she looked him straight in the face as she said, “I choose you.”
His eyes widened and his fingers twitched.
She nodded, daring to slip her arm around his waist. His skin pebbled underneath her touch. Speaking to him in the language only they understood, she tapped out her words on his body.
“I’ve moved to New York.”
With a desperate-sounding moan, he crushed her to his chest and claimed her lips. He kissed her like a man drowning, like a man thirsting for oxygen, for hope, for strength.
And when she kissed him, it was like the first time all over again. The passion, the spark, the knowledge and rightness of Julian, it all came back to her with a vengeance. Tears spilled, and she didn’t know whether they were hers or his, but for the first time in a long, long time she knew exactly who she was and who she wasn’t.
She was strong. She was independent. She could survive without Julian. But she didn’t want to. She loved him. And probably always would.
His large, callused hands framed her face and they stared at each other with the intense look of lovers who didn’t need to speak to understand what the heart said.
Julian needed her as badly as she needed him.
When he took her hands and threaded their fingers together, she knew he would lead her to his room.
She smiled.
And when he laid her down on his bed, and she was as naked as he, and he traced the lines of her body with an artist’s delicate stroke, she knew she was home.
Julian slipped deep inside, not only her body, but her soul, and when it was all over, and all they could do was hug and cry tears of joy and relief, she knew she’d made the right choice.
“You once told me,” she tapped out on his back, “that I was the only one for you.”
He nodded.
“It’s the same for me. You’re the only one for me, Julian Wright, you always were. It just took me a while to really understand what that meant. I can live without you, but I never want to do that again.”
She hugged him tight when he shuddered against her.
“Smile Girl,” he said after a minute.
“Yes?” She smiled up at him, framing his beloved face, loving him more now that she ever thought possible.
Rolling to the side, he pointed to the corner of his room. Taking a peek over his shoulder she saw a packed suitcase resting against the wall.
“What’s that?”
Now it was his turn to smile. “I was going to fly to you tonight after the show.”
Her heart felt like it literally had just taken a pause. “You were?”
“I’m so sorry, Elisa. So sorry for not fighting harder, for letting the pain of our separation get to me as it did. But I never, never stopped loving you. All my life I’ve wanted you, and that hasn’t changed. I love you. I always have. And I always will.”
Epilogue
To say that life was one giant fairytale ending would be a lie. It wasn’t easy for Elisa and Julian to find their way back to each other. So much pain had built up between them in those two years, but they were committed to making it work. And slowly but surely, they found their way back to one another.
Two years later Elisa stood on the sands of her and Julian’s favorite beach and turned to stare at her father. “How do I look?”
When she’d gone shopping for her dress Elisa hadn’t known what to pick out. She’d gone between buying the princess gown she’d always dreamed of as a little girl. The one with ribbons and sequins and a huge bustle and train. But that wasn’t who she was now and Julian knew it.
So she’d gone simple. A sheer white flowing dress with spaghetti straps. She’d walk barefoot to him—in fact, she’d required the entire wedding party to go without shoes. It was who they were, unique, eccentric, and that’s how she meant to start their married life together, marching to the beat of their own drum.
The sun was shining, and there wasn’t a single cloud in the blue, blue sky of that beautiful Maine morning. The waters were calm, and the gentle strains of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” flitted in on the salty breeze as her maids of honor—Meredith and Chastity—walked down the aisle first.
Dressed in a slacks and a pale Hawaiian shirt with tans flowers on it, her father gazed down at her lovingly. Tears gleamed in his eyes as his knuckles delicately brushed along her cheekbone.
“It’s been a long and bumpy road for you kids, but I knew the day I saw you two kissing…”
She blushed remembering that night. Julian had still been underage and she’d been mortified to have her father discover her secret. It seemed silly now. As things often did when looking back on them with time and age behind you.
“I knew I would lose you to him, honey, and I’m glad for it. And you look so beautiful.”
She smiled, feeling so happy she thought she would burst with tears. “I do love him.”
“I know you do, baby. I know you do.” He patted her hand gently
.
Elisa was hidden within the shelter of a tent. The music shifted yet again, this time to the wedding march, and when tears came to her eyes it wasn’t out of fear or anxiety, but because their dream had finally been realized.
Latching tightly to her father’s forearm for support, Elisa walked toward Julian.
He was dressed all in white, just like his brothers—who just so happened to be doubling as his groomsmen—were. His hair hung haphazardly around his face, feathering out around his jawline and, just like it always did, her heart warmed at the sight.
The female pastor smiled at them when she came to stand beside him. Julian shook hands with her father before turning back to her and signing, “Beautiful, Smile Girl.”
Smiling from her heart, she signed back, “I love you so much. Am I still the one, Jules?”
In answer, he stepped into her, framed her face with his hands and laid a loud, hard kiss on her lips. The audience, comprised of mostly family and friends with a few work colleagues in the mix, erupted into cheers and applause.
The pastor gave a soft, snuffling sound of laughter at his antics. Elisa had chosen her for one very important reason.
The red haired, middle-aged woman was not only a pastor, but she was, herself, deaf.
“Julian Eli Wright, do you take Elisa Jane Adrian to be your lawfully wedded wife?” she signed.
Elisa hopped onto the balls of her feet when he enthusiastically said yes.
“And Elisa Jane Adrian, do you take Julian Eli Wright to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?”
With tears streaming down her eyes, she signed and said back to him, “Yes, with all my heart.”
When the vows were exchanged and cake cut, and all the guests had had a chance to dance and chat with the bride and groom, they snuck off. Julian had asked her where in the world she’d wanted to go for her honeymoon. She’d thought it over long and hard and in the end decided there was only one place she really wanted to be.
And that was wherever he was. The rest didn’t matter.
He’d decided to take her to Rome.
That next night, in their hotel room, she wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled.
“Do you still feel like you made the right choice?” he asked and then traced a finger down her cheek.
Sighing, she tapped out her words on his back. “I married the very best, sexiest man in all the world, of course I made the right choice, and I’d do it all over again. I’m pretty crazy about you, Jules.” She turned her wrist up so he could read her tattoo. “You know what I think about destiny, Julian?”
Chuckling, he asked, “What?”
“‘Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, but a thing to be achieved.’ A wise man said that once a long time ago and I so agree. For so long I kept waiting for it to happen, but now I know”—she framed his face—“that when you want something bad enough, then sometimes it’s up to you to make sure it happens.”
“I’ll love you forever, Elisa Wright.”
She shivered when he said it. “I’m gonna hold you to that, Jules. You’re never getting rid of me now.”
And when he kissed her, she tasted eternity in it.
~*~
Love my contemporary romances? Make sure to check out the book that started it all, A Moment—A man with demons, a woman drowning in her own sorrows, and a love too powerful to deny.
Want to know the latest happenings in my worlds? Then make sure to sign up for my newsletter! Stay tuned to for sneak peek’s to A Moment and LH Cosway’s newest contemporary romance release, Six of Hearts!
Author’s Note
A big fat thank you to my Street Team, Hatter’s Harem. You all were instrumental in getting this book realized. Your constant support and enthusiasm, you guys are so much fun and I’m so happy to have met every single one of you guys! Keep rockin’ on, Harem!
Many of you might be wondering if there will be more Wright Brother books planned, the answer to that is, yes. I’ll be releasing a book from Julian’s pov next, and possibly even a book for Roman and Christian down the road, although that’s entirely dependent on you guys, my readers.
About Marie Hall
Marie Hall is a NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author who loves books that make you think, or feel something. Preferably both. And while she's a total girly girl and loves glitter and rainbows, she's just as happy when she's writing about the dark underbelly of society. Well, if things like zombies, and vampires, and werewolves, and mermaids existed. (Although she has it on good authority that mermaids do in fact exist, because the internet told her so.)
She's married to the love of her life, a sexy beast of a caveman who likes to refer to himself as Big Hunk. She has two awesome kids, lives in Hawaii, loves cooking and occasionally has been known to crochet. She also really loves talking about herself in the third person.
If you want to see what new creations she's got up her sleeves check out her blog. Or contact her personally at [email protected]
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Marie Hall Books
Kingdom Series (Fantasy Series)
Her Mad Hatter (Book 1, Alice in Wonderland)
Gerard’s Beauty (Book 2, Beauty and the Beast)
Red and Her Wolf (Book 3, Little Red Riding Hood)
Jinni’s Wish (Book 4, Arabian Nights)
Hook’s Pan (Book 5, Peter Pan)
Danika’s Surprise (Novellete, #5.5)
Moon’s Flower (Book 6, Fractured tale based on The Man in the Moon)
The Huntsman’s Prey (Book 7, based on the legend of Snow White’s Huntsman)
Rumpel’s Prize (Book 8, based on the legend of Rumpelstiltskin)
Hood’s Obsession (Book 9)
Her One Wish, (Book 10 about Jinni’s daughter and Robin Hood, coming October 2014!)
A Pirate’s Dream, (Book 11 about Hook’s Daughter, coming soon!)
Moments Series (New Adult Contemporary Romance)
A Moment, Book 1
Right Now, Book 2
This Time, Book 3
Contemporary Romance
The Wright Brother
Night Series (Urban Fantasy with Romantic Elements)
Crimson Night, Book 1
All Hallows Night, Book 2
Howler’s Night, Book 3
Red Rain, Book 4 (Coming in December 2014)
Night Spinoff (Urban Fantasy-Berserker Series)
Forbidden- Book 1, Coming November 2014
Chaos Time Serial (Time Travel Fantasy Romance)
Sable, Part 1
Slayde, Part 2
Synnergy, Part 3
Eternal Lovers (Paranormal Romance)
Death’s Lover
Death’s Redemption
Turn the page for previews of A Moment by Marie Hall and Six of Hearts by LH Cosway!
A Moment
A Moment...
I killed myself tonight.
Or at least I tried. But a woman I don’t know refused to let me die. Liliana Delgado wrapped me up in her slim arms and told me things would be okay. But she doesn't know the demons I live with. The things that have happened to me. Every morning is a struggle just to get out of bed, and the nights are even worse. But the way she smiles at me... I feel something I've never felt before. Hope.
...will change our lives
I should not have gone to that burlesque bar on Valentine's Day, but I did. My life isn't easy. I had a child when I was only fourteen, now I'm in college and things should have been easier. But they aren't. My life is spiraling out of control. Then I see Ryan Cosgrove sitting at a table with an empty, broken look in his beautiful blue eyes and something inside of me feels like he knows. He understands what it is to hurt, to struggle. So when I bump into him later that night, bloody, broken, and dying I know I'll do everything in my power to save him and maybe in the process, I'll save myself
too.
forever...
Sneak Peek
Rolling my eyes, I finish getting ready, trying hard not to let the demons knocking on my door crash through. Not yet. Tonight I just want to forget. Sink deep into an eighty-proof fog and pretend that for once I’m normal. Just a normal man who doesn’t need to do this to feel alive.
My hands shake when I pat my shirt down.
Traffic headed toward Sixth Street is crazy. Like always. But somehow we finally make it there. The street is one big party. Anyone and everyone who lives in Austin knows the only place to party is Sixth. The city closes down the entire section of street after nine. Already college kids are gathered outside the neon glare of the bar lights. Music thumps hot and hard through the door, sounding like liquid sex.
Girls smile at me as I shove my hands into my jeans. I’m not looking to get laid tonight, so I ignore them.
It’s obvious when we draw close to the Pink Lady. The techno music is replaced by the smoky strains of jazz and bassy blues. The silhouette of a neon woman in pink decorates the window. The blinds are all drawn.
I’ve been here a couple times but have never stayed long. This isn’t really my scene. If I want to watch a woman dance, I prefer to see her take everything off. Still, when I flash my card, a shot of adrenaline speeds my pulse.
Alex is scanning the crowd; a second later a huge grin splits his face. I frown—he seems really excited. I don’t actually recall ever seeing him act like this about a woman.
He isn’t exactly a player, but he isn’t the domestic type, either.
So I look around, following his gaze, and it’s like someone just pulled the floor out from under me. A petite Hispanic woman is walking toward him with an equally large smile on her face.