by Hadley Quinn
Stepping onto the front porch, I glanced up and down the street. A particular car caught my eye in the dark, just as it sped away from the curb a few houses down and turned at the corner.
I knew without a doubt it was my father.
I took my time returning to my own house, trying to maintain some composure. With so many theories that had occupied my thoughts for the past few years, there had only been bits and pieces that I’d been right about. Funny how things come together to fill in the blanks and you’re still so fucking confused.
I knew I couldn’t fool Jules, and as I was coming through the side gate to return to the party, she was there with Maggie, wondering where I was.
Karen was gone.
“What’s going on?” Julia asked when she saw me. She slid her arms around me and could immediately tell I’d been running. “What have you been doing?” she asked quietly.
“Chasing a ghost,” I answered.
She only held me tighter and didn’t respond. I knew Maggie hadn’t said anything to her, but I didn’t want her to worry.
I kissed her head and said, “How ‘bout I take you to bed and we don’t leave until we get on that plane tomorrow.”
“I would love that,” she smiled.
After saying goodbye to our remaining guests, I carried Jules to our bedroom. It was filled with flowers and candles and I loved seeing my wife’s face when she took it all in.
“Oh this is so gorgeous,” she sighed. She turned to me with a huge grin on her face. “You have no idea how happy I am right now.”
“Well,” I shrugged. “If flowers and—”
“No, not because of this,” she motioned. “I mean yes, it is, because you always know how to make me feel special. But I’m talking about you and me, having you in my life. I honestly do not know what would make me happier.”
“You don’t?” I asked, arching an eyebrow at her. I gathered her hair and brought it over her shoulder so I could unzip her dress. Kissing her neck, I slowly let her dress drop to the floor and said, “I seem to recall you mentioning something the other day that I’m pretty sure would make you happier.”
She gasped and pulled back to look at me. “That was- I don’t even- I was barely even hinting at that…”
“Ahh,” I teased. “ ‘Barely’ is just enough for me to catch on.”
“You could not have possibly understood what I was talking about!” she exclaimed with a laugh.
I ran my fingers along her skin as she unbuttoned my shirt. “No? So when I knock you up on our honeymoon, you’ll just call it a fluke?”
God, I loved the fact that I could still make her blush. It was so damn cute I couldn’t imagine why I even cared about the bomb that was dropped on me earlier. I didn’t. I had my life with Julia and I knew how much she loved me.
That was all that mattered to me. I wasn’t about to let other people affect my life, no matter what it consisted of. People had lied to me, and for whatever reason they felt it was necessary, they didn’t have a place with me anymore. Jules was the only person that I had ever felt completely at home with and that was where my focus and attention would always be.
She was my life now.
“I love you, Cole,” she whispered to me as I laid her on the bed.
“I love you too, beautiful. Always and forever, and you will always come before anything else in this world. I give you my word.”
-The End-
Don’t miss future rounds of The Fighter’s Block, coming soon, including a very special edition you won’t want to miss!
Other books by Hadley Quinn:
Kiss This
Tame This
Only This
Maybe This
Level Up
The Fighter’s Block I
You can contact the author through these links:
www.facebook.com/AuthorHadleyQuinn
www.twitter.com/theHadleyQuinn
www.hadleyquinnauthor.com
www.hadleyquinnauthor.blogspot.com
You can follow music playlists on Spotify
From the author…
This book was a labor of love (most of the time) that took over a year to write! I can’t explain what it was like to have this story half written but felt unable to complete it. There were many reasons for this, but I thank you so much for waiting on this novel. I can only say that it was worth it to me to have represented this character the way that I wanted, and just as importantly, to have the cover complete that image to my expectations. It truly was worth it to me, and I hope you feel the same.
I want to thank my closest readers that are always there to support me no matter what. My street team is awesome, and I wouldn’t know where I’d be without you girls! You’re always there to celebrate with me for every achievement, big and small, and that means the world to me.
A fierce thank you to Randy and BT for my cover. I love you guys and this project would not be the same without you. Wow, what an experience! I look forward to working with you both again in the future!
And most importantly, the ones that see me every day, live in my house, put up with my obsessive writing and weird routines… I love you guys always and forever and I hope you never forget it xoxo
~Hadley
For the music lovers!
Playlist for Cole’s story:
“Paper Chase”- Static Cycle
“You’re Going Down”- Sick Puppies
“Weight of the World”- Saliva
“Die Trying”- Art of Dying
“Get Up”- Alex Band
“I’ve Told You Now”- Sam Smith
“Face Everything and Rise”- Papa Roach
“Hollow Moon”- AWOLNATION
“Remind Me Who I Am”- Jason Gray
“Find My Way”- Nine Inch Nails
“Alone”- Art of Dying
“I Won’t Let You Down”- Static Cycle