by Violet Duke
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright © 2016 Violet Duke
DEDICATION
BEFORE THAT NIGHT
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Also by Violet Duke
About the Author
BEFORE THAT NIGHT
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Caine & Addison’s Story
(Book 1 of 2)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The UNFINISHED LOVE Series
Four brothers
Each fighting for their second first chance at love
Years be damned
A heartfelt new series from NYT bestselling author
VIOLET DUKE
Copyright © 2016 Violet Duke
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, this book and any portion thereof may not be reproduced, scanned, transferred, or distributed in any print or electronic form without the express written permission of the author. Participation in any aspect of piracy of copyrighted materials, inclusive of the obtainment of this book through non-retail or other unauthorized means, is in actionable violation of the author’s rights.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, media, brands, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is purely coincidental.
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and registered trademark owners of all branded names referenced without TM, SM, or (R) symbols due to formatting constraints, and is not claiming ownership of or collaboration with said trademark brands.
Ebook ISBN: 1-941198-75-9
Ebook ISBN-13: 978-1-941198-75-9
PRAISE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING
CAN’T RESIST SERIES
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Violet Duke made me laugh and cry in this incredible romance. One of the best I've read this year. Emotionally charged with wonderful characters, I just couldn't stop reading!"
--New York Times Bestselling Author J.S. SCOTT
“A fast-paced, heartfelt, and fun read!"
--New York Times Bestselling Author LAUREN BLAKELY
"A unique series that will take you on a roller coaster of emotions. I couldn't put these books down!"
-- New York Times Bestselling Author CARLY PHILLIPS
" Sexy, heart-melting and guaranteed to make you laugh and cry, Violet Duke writes the loveliest romances ever.”
--New York Times Bestselling Author SAWYER BENNETT
"Gave me one of the worst (or best) book hangovers I've had in a LONG time!"
-- Mama's Reading Break Review Blog
"Heart melting at every turn...an emotional roller coaster I wish I could ride again and again."
-- Coffee and Characters Book Blog
"Stellar collection of stories with unforgettable characters and a truly unique plot ... will leave you wrecked and elated."
-- Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
"What. A. Love. Triangle. [This book] is witty, raw, and at times heart wrenching."
-- Ebook Escapes
PRAISE FOR THE USA TODAY BESTSELLING
CACTUS CREEK SERIES
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"A new must-read series. Not only will you fall in love with the characters, you'll fall in love with romance."
-- New York Times Bestselling Author KATHLEEN BROOKS
"A contemporary romance star! Violet Duke is a must-read for guaranteed feel-good, heart-tripping romance with true heroes, sassy heroines and delicious journeys to happily-ever-after.”
-- New York Times Bestselling Author ERIN NICHOLAS
"Fun, quirky, and romantic...the epitome of adorable."
-- Love Between the Sheets Book Blog
"Like nothing I've ever read before...all around striking. It wasn't just the beautiful romance that kept my attention but it was the overall uniqueness and inventiveness of the story."
-- Liezel's Book Blog
" There is just something pure and beautiful with Violet’s writing, it's phenomenal. This is an absolutely fun book about love and friendships. I was laughing and crying throughout the whole book."
-- The Lovely Books Review Blog
"Another amazing book from Violet Duke. I fell in love with the twists and turns...a must read."
-- Tabby's Tantalizing Reviews
"Sweet, sassy, sexy and full moments that made me swoon. Violet has the uncanny ability to pull at your heart strings whilst also causing the biggest of grins at the sweetness of her stories."
-- Can’t Beat a Good Book
PRAISE FOR THE USA TODAY BESTSELLING
FOURTH DOWN SERIES
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Violet Duke’s writing just jumps off the page and grabs you from the first sentence.”
-- New York Times Bestselling Author BELLA ANDRE
“Hot, sweet, and filled with tender moments, Violet Duke writes heroes who make me swoon!”
-- New York Times Bestselling Author KENDALL RYAN
“Refreshing, clever, and original, Jackson’s Trust is a beautiful five-star read!”
-- New York Times Bestselling Author S. L. SCOTT
“For the love of football, Violet Duke has scored with this book. Jackson and Leila are a couple you don’t want to miss.”
-- New York Times Bestselling Author HEIDI MCLAUGHLIN
“Emotional, heart-wrenching, and oh-so-sweet!”
-- New York Times Bestselling Author L.P. DOVER
“A delightfully fresh read . . . Violet Duke delivers it all in Jackson’s Trust!”
-- New York Times Bestselling Author JEN MCLAUGHLIN
"From the giant men getting schooled to the happily ever after, I was enthralled! Violet Duke has a touchdown with Jackson's Trust!"
-- New York Times Bestselling Author MELODY ANNE
DEDICATION
For my fabulous Camp Violet Duke FB super fans.
I heart you all.
BEFORE THAT NIGHT
(Unfinished Love: Caine & Addison Story, Book 1 of 2)
Before that night, Addison Millan had been just a college dropout secretly raising her two young siblings in a beat-up minivan she’d bought with her first semester’s tuition refund—the only money her addict mother hadn’t taken off with when she’d abandoned them nearly two years ago.
Before that night, Caine Spencer had been just a rough, gruff cop sent to check out the phoned-in claims of suspected child neglect involving the same woman he’d met the month prior when she’d first served him the city’s worst diner coffee...which he’d been drinking daily ever since.
Before that night, Addison would never have thought the man she’d been fighting hard not to fall for—her only friend in her new shadow of a life—would be in a position to rip her family apart.
Before that night, Caine would never have believed any woman could make him fall head over heels, let alone make him feel so damn compelled to look the other way when it came to his job.
&nbs
p; Then that one perfect night changed everything.
BEFORE THAT NIGHT (Bk 1 of 2) chronicles the events that take place seven years prior to EVERY NIGHT WITHOUT YOU (Bk 2 of 2), Caine & Addison’s story of love, sacrifice, and the lengths one will run—and chase—when their past threatens their future.
Note: The Unfinished Love series follows four brothers, each fighting for their second first chance at love. Each of the couples have two books (duets) that take place years apart. This is Caine & Addison’s Book 1; Book 2 reunites them seven years later, and concludes their story.
The UNFINISHED LOVE Series
Four Spencer brothers.
Each fighting for their second first chance at love.
Years be damned.
A heartfelt new series from
NYT bestselling author Violet Duke.
(Caine & Addison) – Summer 2016
-- Book 1: Before That Night
-- Book 2: Every Night Without You
(Gabe & Hannah) – Fall 2016
-- Book 3: Before That Kiss
-- Book 4: Every Kiss Goodbye
(Drew & Skylar) – Winter 2016
-- Book 5: Before That Promise
-- Book 6: Every Promise Unspoken
(Max & Kennedy) – Spring 2017
-- Book 7: Before That Chance
-- Book 8: Every Chance We Lost
CHAPTER ONE
Twenty-One Months Prior
WHY HELLO, MR. LUCIFER. Or do you prefer Satan, with no mister? Sort of like those one-name music legends? Sorry, I’m rambling. I was going to lead with a joke, but I figure you’ve already heard the ‘you-devil-you’ thing a whole bunch already, right? Anyway, my name is Addison Milan. Age eighteen. Capricorn. Probably too much of a goodie-two-shoes to have interested your scouts for recruitment, in case you were wondering why I don’t look familiar. I just figured I should already introduce myself since I’m likely going to be seeing you one day on account of my getting ready to lie my ass off.
Okay, here we go….
Mentally, Addison crossed her fingers behind her back and dropped the first lie that was undoubtedly reserving her bus ride seat to Hades. “It’s not on my resume since it was a family thing and I didn’t get paid, but I have waitressing experience—I worked with my dad in his good friend’s diner up north every summer all through high school in exchange for our family getting to spend the whole break up in their cabin by the lakes.”
The stoic, moderately grumpy potential employer she was interviewing with just grunted in response and flipped her resume upright as a signal for her to stop talking while he looked over her work experience. Or in her case, the serious lack thereof.
Meanwhile, Addison was slowly and surely spiraling down a brain-vomit rabbit hole in her crisis of conscience over the whopper of a three-for-the-price-of one lie she’d just blurted out.
Wonder if that upgrades me to one of the premium seats on the bus, right next to the broken toilets, situated so the meal carts for sure bang you in the elbows?
To be fair, only the ‘waitressing’ part was a true lie. The other two were more like…white lies. Or fibs. The kind told to protect the innocent. Or more accurately, the kind kids tell each other to make up for a truth that just plain sucked. Like how their dad is ‘really’ a spy on a top secret mission instead of someone they’ve never met, or how their family had gone on a trip up north in the summer instead of spending it watching TV all day in the basement of their mom’s latest sleazy boyfriend’s crack house that he shared with five other burnouts, who thought a curtain was a suitable barrier to separate the children from the adults doing drugs and other things the TV couldn’t muffle every other night.
In Addison’s case, she’d never been one to fantasize that her father was an astronaut orbiting space for the last eighteen years or anything like that because frankly, she had no clue who her father was, and as far as she knew, her mother didn’t either. And truth be told, she probably would’ve enjoyed working part-time at a diner growing up, like some of her friends had done.
But the main reason why she’d never been able to commit to more than a few seasonal jobs here and there was that taking care of her two siblings had always been her full time job, even back in grade school—aka the blur-like cluster of years her mom had first begun mixing recreational drugs in with her drinking. Addison had learned real quick that if she didn’t make a point to feed herself and her then one-year old brother Tanner, no one else would remember to.
So it was no surprise that by the time Addison started middle school several years later, and her new little sister Kylie was born, she’d been a pro at the whole raising kids thing.
They always say by the second child, it gets easier.
“Why do you want to work in my diner?”
Though his tone indicated he already had his mind set about her regardless of what her answer was, she cut to the chase and told him honestly, “Because it’s the job I need.”
Not ‘want.’ Need. No sense bullshitting the man in that regard.
He raised a surprised eyebrow, his first non-grouchy response to her today.
“No offense, but you look way too young and way too sweet to ‘need’ to work in a place like this,” he responded after a beat, blunt as an arrow.
Puzzled, she gave a pointed nod out the window at the pristine street the diner sat on. “This is Creek Hills. Next to Scottsdale, there aren’t much nicer areas around here for miles.”
That assertion seemed to reawaken his lovely prickly disposition. “I meant my business, not the neighborhood.” He rolled his eyes when she continued to stare at him like she was missing something. “Joe’s Diner isn’t a teen hangout sorta place. Not sure if it’s because of all the cops that eat here but kids don’t really like stopping by. So you probably won’t ever see any of your little friends here.”
God, when was the last time she’d actually ‘hung out’ with a friend?
Grade school, probably.
Addison shrugged. “Don’t have time for friends. Never really got along with the ones my age anyway.”
Again with the surprised brow lift. Then: “You pregnant?”
“What? No.”
He frowned, looking genuinely mystified. “So then why do you need this job so bad?”
She kept it short and to the point. “I’ve got bills to pay.”
Now he was back to looking annoyed with her. For some reason, she liked that though. He was real. And that realness made her not want to lie to him.
“Sorry to break it to you little girl, but I’m not hiring any more part-timers. Plus, it’s the closing shift I’m needing to fill. I can’t be here in the evenings since I help my brother out at his restaurant in Tempe most nights so I need folks I can count on to close-up shop for me here.”
“No problem. Closing shift works perfect for me, and full-time is exactly what I’m looking for.”
His eyes narrowed as he studied her for a bit. Then he said simply, “Look, you need to tell me something more. Something to make me understand you. Or I can’t hire you. Because to be perfectly honest, I don’t trust you not to up and leave when you figure out that being a waitress is damn hard work, or when your feelings get hurt when I yell at you for screwing shit up, or when you get tempted to go enroll in the local community college because daddy says he’ll give you back your allowance and car since you’ve ‘learned your lesson’ about the real world.”
This time, she was the one eyeing him in annoyance. “I’m not some rich kid being punished by her daddy. And for your information, I already got into college, thank you very much. I was all set to start NAU this August, on a full ride.”
Though his expression softened, he remained silent, waiting for more.
What the heck more did he want her to say?
That the only reason the kids were able to go to school in the Creek Hills school district was because they’d been living with her mom’s current boyfriend, who, while a prince in comparison to all the cr
ackheads and abusive sonsofbitches she’d dated before him, the guy was a flat-out conman with the moral acuity of a mollusk?
Or was Joe wanting to hear that because Sonny’s roommate was no longer covering the lion’s share of the rent and utilities, Sonny was behind on a month and a half of rent—not including the upcoming rent check due—and lapsed totally on all utilities?
Oh, no wait, she probably shouldn’t bury the lead, and should instead begin by explaining how in two days, seeing as how he and her mother were nowhere to be found, Addison and her siblings would be evicted from their now powerless and waterless apartment unless all four thousand seven hundred fifty bucks Sonny owed magically appeared on the landlord’s desk.
…That is, if the landlord didn’t call the authorities first to have the kids whisked away from her.
Doing her damndest not to let that last threat gut her like it always did, Addison held Joe’s gaze and decided to lay her cards out, and go with one big truth. “I’m going to level with you; my mom was a single mom, and she just up and deserted my younger brother and sister to go run off with the guy she’s seeing now. They’re just kids. They’re relying on me. So when I say I need this job, I really need this job. I’m not going to flake out on you because I literally can’t.”
His brief pause of silence carried as much empathy as it did hesitation. “How old are your siblings?”