I have always had faith in my parents.
Now I understand why Thanksgiving is such a big deal to my mom. She’s admitted before she never had good holidays either, thanks to her mom who never seemed to care much about her or Uncle Owen. My parents care so much, it almost feels like overkill. But I love it. We all do.
And now I appreciate their Thanksgiving spirit even more.
Eli comes jogging over to me the minute he spots me, wearing that black Mustang sweatshirt with the horse up on his hind legs. I shake my head when he gives me a kiss and he starts laughing. “What?”
“You wore that on purpose.” I point at his hoodie. “Wanting to rile up Jake and my dad with your Mustang gear, hmm?”
“Nah.” He glances down at it and shrugs. “It’s my favorite hoodie.”
“I thought the one you stole from me was your favorite,” I remind him. That seems so long ago. At the start of last summer, when we went to football camp and he terrorized me.
More like he seduced me. I had no idea at the time that he would become such an important part of my life, and when you think about it, it really wasn’t that long ago.
Like I mentioned earlier, life is wild.
“Oh it definitely is, but I keep that one safe. Don’t bring it out too much,” Eli says with a grin. “Hey, you gonna be on my team or what?”
“Depends on whose team you’re already on.”
“Your uncle’s.” Eli takes a step closer, his voice lowering. “He’s my fucking idol, babe. I can’t believe I’m going to play football with him, even if it’s on your lawn on Thanksgiving.”
“That’s the best time to play with my uncle. He’s ruthless. He will do whatever it takes to beat my dad and Jake.”
Eli grins. “Sounds good to me.”
“Well, lucky you, I play on my uncle’s team too.” It’s tradition. Autumn’s the original daddy’s girl, so she’s always on his team. Which is fine by me, because last year, we got Ash, plus Knox and Uncle Owen.
We won. Barely.
Now that we have Eli, it’s going to be even better. Beck is on Dad’s team and he’ll mow us all over without hesitation. He just keeps getting bigger and has zero qualms in taking one of us down.
Dad’s counting on that.
We all split up and get into position. It’s a clear afternoon, though the sun is already waning, and the air is crisp and cold, the gentle breeze rattling the last brittle leaves still clinging to the trees. We run back and forth across the cool grass, all of us hollering at each other and we cause such a commotion, some of our neighbors come over and watch us play. They know our tradition as well, and some of them enjoy watching us.
So many football greats on one yard. Two retired pros. One current college potential draft pick. Three high school players. One youth player. A bunch of girls who are all pretty athletic, plus their mamas.
We’re having so much fun, we continue playing late into the afternoon, until the sun is beginning to set and the air becomes nippy. Mom starts rallying the troops, demanding we eat before the turkey dries out and all the food gets cold. Dad hauls her up in his arms and carries her into the house, feeling triumphant after beating my side in the family game.
It makes my heart happy to see that smile on my dad’s face. My mom’s smile too. I’ll do everything I can to carry on their Thanksgiving tradition as I get older. It’s important to them, which makes it important to me too.
Isn’t that what family’s all about?
“Don’t let it get you down, kid,” Uncle Owen tells Eli as they enter the house together. Giving him a pep talk, so cute. “We’ll beat them next year. I figured out what their secret weapon is, and I’ll have to come up with a work around for it.”
“What’s the secret weapon? Beck?” Eli asks.
“Yep,” my uncle says, just before they both start laughing.
We help Mom put together all of the food, grabbing spoons and various other utensils, digging out every single pot holder we’ve got so we can handle the many hot dishes. The table was already set this morning by Autumn and Ruby, and we all serve ourselves buffet style in the kitchen, before we make our way to the dining room.
“I want to say something before we start eating,” Dad announces above the din of constant chatter.
We all go silent, our focus on him.
“It’s been a really good year. We’ve had some ups and downs, but nothing too terrible. Nothing I can complain about. My family is happy and healthy, including my brother-in-law and his wife and children, plus we have some new members to our family joining us this year. Eli and Hannah, welcome.”
We all cheer. Hannah looks a tad embarrassed. Eli grins, like there’s nowhere else he’d rather be.
“Thank you for coming to my home and sharing this meal with me and my family. This holiday is important to Fable and I,” Dad says. “When we got married, we vowed to each other that our family would always come first. No matter what. We’ve stuck to that vow all these years, and now you’re all practically grown up. It’s—unbelievable.” He hesitates and smiles at Mom, who’s watching him with luminous eyes. “We are so proud of our children and what they’ve become. And our nephew and nieces. You are all going to do amazing things someday.” He smiles.
Mom sniffs. So does Aunt Chelsea. I think they might be crying.
“I’m grateful for every single one of you,” Dad says. “Now let’s eat!”
We dig in, and it’s so delicious, there’s not much talking at first. Just the sound of utensils hitting plates and low murmurs of approval. Until finally Jake speaks.
To Eli.
“You applied to Fresno State, right?” he asks him.
Eli nods. “Sure did. Applied to a few other schools too. How about you?”
“Wait a minute,” I say, interrupting their conversation. I point my fork at Jake. “Did you just ask Eli a question? On your own?”
Jake shrugs. “What’s the big deal?”
“You hate him,” I stress.
“Not anymore. I mean, he’s here all the damn time. I had to get used to him eventually, right?” Jake asks, making everyone laugh.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Eli says firmly.
“Oh, Jake,” Hannah says with a sigh, which makes all the women laugh.
“A miracle has occurred,” I announce. “My brother no longer hates my boyfriend. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“You’re being stupid,” Jake tells me, which earns him a cross look from Mom. She’s not a big fan of that word. “Sorry. You’re being, uh, ridiculous.”
“Whatever. I’m just happy the war is over,” I say as I grab an olive off my plate and pop it in my mouth.
Why do we always eat olives on Thanksgiving anyway? It’s kind of weird. Something I’ve never really questioned before either.
Huh.
“Babe, the war is definitely not over,” Eli says firmly, slowly shaking his head.
I look over at him with a frown. “What do you mean?”
“After that game today? We were straight up robbed. We need to get our revenge. And we’re already making plans.” Eli glances around the table, making eye contact with my uncle. Knox. Then me once more. “Next year we beat these losers, am I right? We’ll have their asses in a sling!”
Beck roars his approval with a, “Get bent! We’re definitely gonna kick your asses again!”
Mom yells at Beck, who appears contrite. Then she sends Eli a stern look. He offers up a quick sorry.
It’s like he’s become a regular part of the family.
“You are so right. You’re not going anywhere,” I tell Eli softly, settling my hand on his thigh as everyone starts chattering at once. “And I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I’m glad you invited me.” His mom is spending Thanksgiving with a bunch of her friends on the coast. The only way she’d leave is if she knew Eli was with us, which I think was a comfort to her. Their relationship still isn’t perfect, but they’re trying with each othe
r. They go out for breakfast every Sunday. His mom isn’t drinking as much anymore either. Eli even takes Muffin on the occasional walk. Their relationship is slowly healing, and I’m so happy for them. I’ve been over to their house too, more than a few times. We’ve all gone out to dinner.
Though his relationship with his father isn’t the best, he and Ryan have been talking more. Ryan came home earlier this month, and they spent the majority of the weekend together. They talk all the time. Eli doesn’t feel resentful toward his brother any longer. And Ryan isn’t so twisted up and in hiding all the time. Slowly but surely, they’re healing too.
That’s all they can ask for.
“I love you,” I murmur, leaning in and pressing a lingering kiss to his cheek.
“Love you too.” He turns his head and delivers a smacking kiss to my lips. “Think we can find a secret spot somewhere to hook up later?”
I laugh. He’s always got sex on the brain. “Maybe we could go to that one spot I showed you.”
“I love that spot.” He leers at me, and I laugh all over again.
And can’t help but think how much I love this boy.
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Did you know?
That Drew + Fable have their own book/series? You can read their story in One Week Girlfriend - available now at all digital retailers and only $3.99!
Temporary. That’s the word I’d use to describe my life right now. I’m temporarily working double shifts—at least until I can break free. I’m temporarily raising my little brother—since apparently our actual mother doesn’t give a crap about either of us. And I always end up as nothing but the temporary girlfriend—the flavor of the week for every guy who’s heard the rumor that I give it up so easily.
At least Drew Callahan, college football legend and local golden boy, is upfront about it. He needs someone to play the part of his girlfriend for one week. In exchange for cash. As if that’s not weird enough, ever since he brought me into his world, nothing really makes sense. Everyone hates me. Everyone wants something from him. And yet the only thing Drew seems to want is . . . me.
I don’t know what to believe anymore. Drew is sweet, sexy, and hiding way more secrets than I am. All I know is, I want to be there for him—permanently.
Acknowledgments
Thank you, thank you, thank you for being patient with me while waiting for the conclusion to Ava and Eli’s story. When I started out on this journey of writing about the Callahan family, I never expected to include a duet in the mix. Ava and Eli had lots to say, and I hope Meant To Be was everything you expected from these two. This book ended up being 90,000 words - meaning I’ve written a total of 210,000 words about this couple. That’s a lot. I think that’s the most I’ve devoted to any couple I’ve created. More than Drew and Fable. More than Tuttle and Amanda. And I’ve written a lot of books about those two.
Music played a bigger part in this book than I planned. I don’t always have playlists, but I did for every book in this series, and the songs even get mentioned in Meant To Be. Make sure you check out the playlist at the beginning of the book if you missed it.
The Callahans series is done. For now. I don’t have an idea for Beck Callahan yet, but that could come later on. I never say never! There will be spinoffs though. I will write Jackson and Ellie a book. Tony and Sophie (from Falling For Her) will get one too. Annnnd Diego and Jocelyn. They totally deserve a book. Thank Jan Cassi for making that happen, because before her, I was finished with them. Jocelyn was only going to have a pregnancy scare. Things change, just like that.
I want to thank all the reviewers, book bloggers and readers who supported me this year. Who’ve been supporting me throughout all the years - I appreciate all of you! You can’t even begin to fathom just how much.
Thank you to my beta readers, specifically Brittany E, Brittany U, Serena, Jan C and Lindsey. Your input was so valuable, and it hopefully made the story even better.
As always, to my publicist Nina for all your help, and for being there for me when I ramble, and when I need to plot and plan. You hold my hand, you tell me like it is, and you make me laugh. I cherish you and our friendship! To the entire team at Valentine PR - thank you. I can’t do this without you.
It would mean everything to me if you could take a few moments and leave an honest review for Meant To Be. Thank you.
Also by Monica Murphy
The Callahans
Close to Me
Falling For Her
Addicted To Him
Meant To Be
Dating Series
Save The Date
Fake Date
Holidate
Hate to Date You
Rate A Date
Wedding Date
Forever Yours Series
You Promised Me Forever
Thinking About You
Nothing Without You
Damaged Hearts Series
Her Defiant Heart
His Wasted Heart
Damaged Hearts
Friends Series
One Night
Just Friends
More Than Friends
Forever
The Never Duet
Never Tear Us Apart
Never Let You Go
The Rules Series
Fair Game
In The Dark
Slow Play
Safe Bet
The Fowler Sisters Series
Owning Violet
Stealing Rose
Taming Lily
Reverie Series
His Reverie
Her Destiny
Billionaire Bachelors Club Series
Crave
Torn
Savor
Intoxicated
One Week Girlfriend Series
One Week Girlfriend
Second Chance Boyfriend
Three Broken Promises
Drew + Fable Forever
Four Years Later
Five Days Until You
A Drew + Fable Christmas
Standalone YA Titles
Daring The Bad Boy
Saving It
Pretty Dead Girls
About the Author
Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and has sold over two million copies worldwide. Both a traditionally published and independently published author, she writes young adult and new adult romance, as well as contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She’s also known as USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson.
Copyright © 2020 by Monica Murphy
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Cover design: Hang Le
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Editor: Rebecca, Fairest Reviews Editing Services
Proofreader: Sarah at All Encompassing Books
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