Still Into You
Page 39
“The strength you showed during your struggles made me love you more. Your determination.”
“I fell apart on a most massive scale. How is that strength?”
“You’re here now,” he said simply. “You could’ve stayed that course, ignored your wake-up call. But you didn’t. You fought. You fought through all that, and now you are here with me.”
“I am.”
“I was afraid it might never happen,” he admitted.
“For a moment, so did I,” she replied, skipping over her suicide attempt. One moment in her life she didn’t want to admit to anyone else. So instead, she focused on Ethan, wanting the hot spotlight on him. “This goes both ways, Ethan. You need to talk to me, too.”
“Turning things around on me, huh?”
“Of course,” she replied, grateful for the bit of humor that eased a little of the tension in her body.
“What do you want from me?” he asked her.
“What do you mean?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Right now, I really want to know your thoughts about what I had to say because I said a lot.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t be quiet.”
“Oh hush,” she said, swatting at his leg. “Seriously, though. Questions? Comments? Observations? You heard a lot. I took you on a visit to my dark side, such a pleasant experience, I’m sure.”
“It wasn’t as bad as you’re making it out to be.”
“I told you I was with a guy just for sex.”
“A long-term relationship with a guy. Whereas I had absolutely no relationship with the women I had sex with. Which is worse?”
“So, I guess I have a question for you. How much did you know about Josh and me?”
“You’re curious as to whether I kept tabs on you.”
“Maybe . . .” she blushed. Totally.
“Did you keep up with me?”
“Duh! Every game I could watch. I’d even watch the sports shows.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and stop stalling.”
“I knew a lot about you two. The paparazzi were ruthless it appeared.”
“They were, and even being up front about our relationship didn’t stop them,” she paused. “Ethan?”
“Yes, suga?”
She smiled at the term of endearment, thankful for its appearance. She noticed the lack of its use during their talk. “What are your thoughts on Josh?”
“Hmm. I’m thankful actually.”
“You are?”
“He helped you and I will always be in his debt for that.”
“Yeah . . . me too,” she said. More than you’ll ever know. “So do we have to get into details of your relationships between round one and round two? Because I don’t want to know the details. I know you had sex with other women.”
“Do you want to know how many? Who they were?”
“Do you even know?”
“Ouch, Mia,” he said, putting his hand on his heart.
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist that. But, uh, do you?” she asked, wanting to know.
“How ‘bout this? If by a slim chance we see someone I slept with, I tell you and we go from there.”
“Okay, will we run into any in Indy?”
“Not very likely.”
“Okay . . . Chicago?”
“Maybe.”
“Goddamn it, Ethan! You defiled my city!”
He laughed. “Just so you know, I was with women before I met you.”
“Really? I thought you were a virgin and I was the one to show you the ways of love.”
“Far from a virgin.”
“I seem to remember me making the moves . . .”
He crawled to where she sat and hovered above her. She smiled, loving to tease him.
“You did make the first move in the room.”
“And the first move of the night too.”
“You mean when you groped me in the bar?”
She smiled, remembering that night and a little happy that he remembered as well. “Yeah, I was so nervous, but I had to lay claim to you.”
“‘Lay claim?’” he said, his mouth above hers, staring into her eyes. He surprised her when he tugged on her lower lip before teasing her with a whisper of a kiss.
“God, I love the way you kiss me.”
“Good thing, because I love to kiss you.”
“I love you, Ethan.”
“I love you, too, suga.”
It’s time.
“It took me a long time to figure out how to deal with the mess my mother left, the abandonment, the rejection of my father. I understand I didn’t know better. I made choices with very little knowledge. I chose to bury my feelings instead of facing them. I chose drugs and alcohol. I wish I would’ve done things differently and faced my problems. At least, I learned from that time,” she said, moving closer to him, needing the strength of this wonderful man. “I’m facing things now, Ethan, and I want you back in my life—for good. I should’ve fought harder. I was so stupid to leave you behind. So fucking stupid. I realize that now. I missed you every single day we were apart. I belong with you, Ethan Christopher. I need you and you need me too. I complete your dreams . . . or I will after I tell you one more thing.”
“And what’s that?” he asked, a bit of trepidation in his voice.
She smiled widely. “So, it appears that I don’t have a stomach bug. It looks like you knocked me up.”
His mouth fell slightly agape, but his sexy, golden eyes about popped out of his head. “What? You’re pregnant?” he asked, his face a picture of giddy disbelief.
“I am.”
“I am so happy,” he said, taking her face between his hands. “I hated seeing you sick. And you are having my baby!”
Then he kissed her, his mouth pressed hard against hers, before he abruptly stopped. Hopping to his feet, he said, “One second,” then hurried to the closet.
“What’s so important in the closet that stopped you from kissing me?” she called out.
“I have a feeling you’ll be okay with this.”
Her curiosity ticked up a few notches but disappeared with the ringing of her phone. That ringtone, “And I Love Her” by The Beatles, meant her father was calling. It was a common occurrence, but she never answered him.
She stared over at the phone on the end table. Getting herself up to answer it was not going to happen. The moment the ringtone hit her ears, she was paralyzed by her indecision. Mia had been planning on talking to her father in the near future so she could confront him about their relationship, but right now . . . she wanted her happy with Ethan.
It had been so long since she’d spoken to him, she didn’t know what to say. It’d been years since she’d had last heard his voice. When she had to communicate with him, it was through email and texts. She had been too . . . too weak to pick up the phone or go visit him.
The call ended but started right up again.
Fuck.
Maybe this was a sign to do so.
Ethan came out of the closet, something in his hand and picked up her ringing phone as he returned to her. He glanced at the display and his smile disappeared. He knew her game and that she was ignoring her father and from that look on his face, she knew he didn’t like it one bit.
“Mia, answer the phone,” he ordered, holding out it, his voice stern.
Taking it from him, she answered the call. She cleared her throat and spoke. “Hello?”
“Mia?” came the shaky voice of an older female.
“This is,” she said, swallowing back the anxious feeling she was getting. She’d been expecting her father, not this woman.
“I’m Vivienne, your father’s assistant,” she said. Mia heard the woman draw in a deep breath and fear gripped her heart. Grabbing a hold of Ethan’s hand, she waited for Vivienne to continue. “Your father collapsed this evening during a department meeting. He was taken to the hospital. All I know is that he’s still unconscious. I don’t know what’s
wrong with him.”
Her head fell onto Ethan’s chest, tears rushing to her eyes. She bit her lip to stop the tears from falling. Ethan wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She could not break down right now, even though that’s all she wanted to do. She needed to focus on her father.
Her Papa.
He couldn’t die.
Not now. Not when they had so much to say to each other.
Vivienne continued to speak, telling her where they took her father. It surprised Mia that she was able to concentrate on what was being said when memories of all the happy moments with her father flooded her mind.
“Okay. We’ll be there as soon as we can,” she said and then hung up. As the phone slipped out of her hand, a cry erupted from deep down inside of her. She was sure it came out like a wail, but she couldn’t stop it.
“Mia, talk to me. What’s wrong?” Ethan’s concerned voice touched her ear. He held her in his lap, his strong arms around her.
“My father. He was taken to the hospital. I have to get to him, Ethan. I have to,” she cried, clutching at his shirt.
“I’ll get you there. I promise, suga,” he murmured against her ear. “I’ve got you.”
I’ve got you.
To be continued . . .
Mia Devereux ~ Lead Singer for Last Star
Ethan Christopher ~ Starting Quarterback of the Indianapolis Flash
Luke Stapleton ~ Public Relations, Indianapolis Flash
Allie Kellmeyer ~ Manager for Last Star
Tom Myers ~ Furniture Designer
Todd Hendricks ~ Drummer for Last Star
Marty Locke ~ Lead Guitarist for Last Star
Marc Kerr ~ Reporter
Clark Lindon ~ Bassist for Last Star
Kristen Ostermann ~ Sideline Reporter
Lizzie McCullough ~ Tom’s best friend; Marc’s ex-girlfriend
Kaitlyn Stapleton ~ Luke’s daughter
Simone Wesley ~ Mia’s Therapist
Joshua Carstons ~ Actor in Burn for You
Blake Thomas ~ Producer of Burn for You
Austin Panner ~ Actor in Burn for You
Quinn Findlay ~ Actor in Burn for You
Reed Michaels ~ Owner of the Indianapolis Flash
Betty ~ Luke’s Secretary
Dr. Bryan ~ Mia’s emergency room doctor
Maddy ~ ???
To my husband . . . thank you for supporting this dream of mine and for continuing to love me over all these years. <3
To my son . . . thank you for always making me laugh, for making me feel like the best mommy in the whole world, and for thinking that I’m pretty cool because I’m an author and announcing it to everyone you see. Love you, buggy boo.
To my SSWC girls . . . Christina, Gia, Mandi, Megan, and Stephanie (it’s so weird to call you by your real names) . . . I freaking LUBE you girls! Every single day you make me laugh. You offer me your support and guidance. You ladies have been my sounding boards and so much more! You five women get me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m so damn lucky to have you in my life. #FTB #SauceLovesYou <3
To my betas . . . Jillian, Ninfa, Rachel, Erica, and Hope . . . Thank you for loving my characters and for taking the time to read my book and giving me such meaningful input. You ladies helped make this story better and for that I will be forever grateful. Love you sweets!
To my hooker . . . Bring Me You brought me you. (How corny is that?) Thank you for all the advice, the “research,” and all the laughs. <3 you!!!
To my readers . . . Thank you for taking a chance on a new author, for loving my little story about a broken woman and the man who loves her. <3
To all my suga lovas out there . . . thank you for your daily support and for pimping my books wherever you can. It means so much to me! I can’t thank you enough! <3 <3 <3
To Lisa . . . thank you for everything—for gently pushing me to make changes to make this story better. This experience taught me a lot about myself as a writer; it even taught me things I really didn’t know about my characters. You made me think in new ways and for that I will be forever thankful. I can’t wait to work on the next book with you!
To all the blogs that have shown me so much support over the past few months: Schmexy Girls Book Blog, A Book Whores Obsession, Angie & Jessica’s Dreamy Reads, Sugar Shack Book Blog, J & J Southern Spice, Book Lovers Obsession, Amazeballs Book Addicts, Renee Entress’s Blog, and Three Chicks and Their Books.
To music . . . I still love your face. you + me = forever <3
To Post-its . . . thank you for your new colors—pale yellow does nothing for my creativity. I just stocked up for my next book—LET’S DO THIS!
Sincerely, me
#ThePostItQueen
#saucypants
#nerdpornlover
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During the day, Ryleigh Andrews is an analyst, but even then, she’s writing, sneakily crafting scenes on post-it notes. She’s been told she’s a bit of a geek . . . some say nerd. She’ll agree to it all. She loves music. It’s been a force in her life for as long as she can remember. Her love of Star Wars and superheroes has probably been going on just as long . . . see, this is where the geek/nerd thing comes into play. But, most of all, Ryleigh loves the written word. She’s been writing for a long time. Her first story came to her during one of her history classes. She wrote it in the margins of her notebook in teeny tiny letters so no one knew that she was writing a book instead of taking notes on 16th Century Europe. She currently lives in Chicago, Illinois, with her husband and son, along with her Siberian Husky, Mick Jagger, and her cat, Winston Churchill.
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