“I don’t know,” I admit. The only answer I have been giving people lately.
“Are you mad because he denied it or mad that he actually did it?”
Denied it? What is she talking about? Am I, again, missing something?
“What do you mean, am I mad he denied it? He hasn’t denied anything, I haven’t even talked to him about it.”
Giving me a puzzled look she continues. “You guys didn’t get into an argument about it, where he denied it all happening?”
I look at her, baffled, “No, not at all. I didn’t even know anything about Joey’s accident until Trent brought over the newspaper article on Monday to show me.”
“Trent told you about it? With the newspaper article?” she asks, not looking happy at all.
“Who told you we got into an argument?”
“Trent,” she says with an angry look. One that I don’t think I’ve ever seen on her.
“Why would he tell you guys that?” I ask, completely confused with this whole situation.
“I don’t know, honey. He told us that when you finally confronted Joey about everything, he denied it and then you called him to come get you. Maybe Trent had ulterior motives,” she says with a raised eyebrow.
How could Trent do this to me? He caused this mess to try and get me back.
“So, why are you mad at Joey?” she continues.
Has she not made the connection? Does she not know who Joey is?
“He uh…I found out that…”
“You found out about his DWI and accident?” she says, finishing my sentence.
“You know about it? You know it was him?” I ask, shocked.
“Of course we know who he is. He was the talk of the town last year and his face was plastered all over the Carolina paper for weeks. I think you were the only person that didn’t know.”
“And it didn’t bother you guys? That the guy who was behind the wheel of that car was dating your daughter?”
“When the accident happened it obviously hit close to home with your dad and I, but it’s not something we’re going to hold against Joey. It seems he has learned his lesson and he’s a nice guy. We trust your judgment. Not to mention that we hadn’t seen you that happy in months. There was no way we’d step in front of that,” she explains, smiling with heartfelt eyes.
Huh.
Titling my head to the side, and thinking about what she just said, I’m shocked that they know, yet never said anything...that they didn’t even care. They see the new and improved Joey, the Joey I’ve seen all along. They believe that people can change and can learn from their mistakes...and Joey has.
“Is that why you and Joey broke up? Because of what he did in the past?”
I nod my head. “Yeah, I just can’t believe he has done something so thoughtless, so careless.”
“People make mistakes, honey. Some make bigger ones than others, but it’s how you learn from those mistakes that is important. From what I can tell, the Joey that has been sweeping my daughter off her feet the last few weeks isn’t the same Joey I read about in the papers last year.”
Nodding my head, I smile in complete agreement. The Joey I met last summer is nothing like the Joey I know now.
“You wanna go for a car ride?” I ask with a grin.
“Why don’t you drop me off at your father’s work and he can take me out to lunch. Maybe I can convince him to play hooky for the rest of the afternoon,” she says with a smile.
Pulling into Joey’s driveway, I notice all the parked cars and realize that everyone is here. I’m happy to see that Joey is home, but I had hoped that his parents would be away on one of their business trips. Coming here to see Joey is nerveracking enough, but having to talk about all this in front of his family just adds to the jitters.
Knowing it’s now or never, I take a deep breath as I walk up to the front door and ring the doorbell. Within seconds, Marie appears on the other side of the door, pulling me into a hug as soon as she sees me.
“Oh Hope, I’m so happy to see you!”
“Is Joey here?” I ask, eager to see him.
“Um, I don’t know where he is actually,” she responds, a frown replacing her smile. “We just had an argument and he stormed off. His car is still here, but I don’t know where he went.”
“I think I have an idea,” I smile. “Thank you.”
Running along the side of the house, I head down to the beach. Jogging down the shore, I start to slow down to a walk as I pass the last house. Taking a second to catch my breath, I find Joey, exactly where I thought he would be–sitting on the corner of the beach where you can see the ocean on both sides of you. My heart swells and the butterflies flap as I walk up behind him.
“I knew you’d be here,” I say, startling him.
Looking over his shoulder in disbelief, his eyes freeze on me, probably wondering if it’s really me standing behind him. I smile as I see the curves of his mouth change into a grin. Finally convinced that it is me standing before him, Joey jumps to his feet and throws his arms around me.
“Oh god, it’s so good to see your face,” he says, his voice full of emotion.
Moving his hands to my face, he gently holds my cheeks and stares deep into my eyes before pressing his lips on mine. My body instantly reacts, melting under his touch. I’ve missed the way his soft lips feel against mine.
“I’m so sorry, Hope. I should have–” I cut him off, pushing my lips back onto his.
“It doesn’t matter, it’s in the past,” I whisper, our faces only inches apart.
“I love you,” Joey confesses, looking at me with eyes full of love.
“I love you, too,” I respond, feeling every bone in my body becoming weak with emotion.
“Forever and always,” he says with a smile.
Standing there puzzled, I look at him, I swear I’ve heard him say this to me before, but I know he hasn’t. We’ve never said anything like this to each other. And then it dawns on me.
He said it to me in my dream.
The dream I had the morning of our first unofficial surfing date.
“What’s wrong?” he asks me, looking a little nervous.
“Nothing,” I smile. “Dreams really do come true.”
First and foremost, I need to thank my readers. The emails, messages, reviews…you’re all so incredibly wonderful and I’m extremely grateful for every single one of you, so THANK YOU!
My family – Your love, support, and encouragement is more than I could ever ask for. As crazy as we are, I’m so blessed to have all of you in my life and love you all so much!
Jennifer Roberts-Hall – Every ounce of success that I receive from my books is a reflection of not only of how incredible of an editor you are, but how gracious you are to me, as well. Never in a million years did I think when I emailed you that one day inquiring about editing did I think we were going to be inseparable (by social media) best friends. You have given me so much that I don’t know how I could ever repay you. Love you, my friend xoxo!
My beta readers – Tressa, Vanessa, Trevlyn, Nina, and Deana – Thank you!
My A-Team–You ladies rock my socks off!
Some may consider me a jack of all trades, but I consider myself well rounded.
I’ve waitressed, styled hair, answered phones and, most recently, worked full time as mom to my two beautiful little boys.
Then there was this book…
Everyone and their brother started talking about this book series titled Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James. I didn’t really pay attention to the craze at first, since I wasn’t a big reader–okay, I didn’t read at all. But curiosity got the best of me, so I downloaded it to my kindle.
I was immediately hooked. I read the whole series in three days. Yes, three books in three days.
I kept finding all these great books that I HAD to read (just ask my credit card!).
Then I started hearing voices. Voices that turned into stories; stories that were begging to get out of my h
ead.
I started writing them down on scraps of paper. Then I transferred them to my computer. Before I knew it, Planning on Forever was born.
The voices in my head are still talking, so I’m still writing.
For more information about me, and what I’m working on please follow me on:
Website
www.ashleywilcoxauthor.com
Facebook
www.facebook.com/pages/Ashley-Wilcox-Author/534100859949004
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Planning on Forever (The Forever Series, Book 1)
Waiting on Forever (The Forever Series, Book 2) – Coming April 2013
Waking Heart (Trent’s Story) – Coming Summer 2013
Table of Contents
Prologue
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
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Table of Contents
Prologue
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
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Summer Rush (Because of Hope) Page 13