Beautiful Deception

by Addison Moore

  I raise a glass to our friends and family who dared to join us just a week after everything fell apart at the seams. But tonight, at Caleb and Kennedy’s home, I look out at the small crowd of grinning faces, each anticipating what I might say next.

  “A toast,” I shout as each person in the room lifts a champagne glass in our direction. Zoey is perfection in navy, her body nestled close to mine, her own glass raised in anticipation. “To this beautiful woman by my side. May you never leave me, always love me. May we forever do exactly this with as many friends as possible. To happiness.”

  “To happiness,” Zoey echoes as the room explodes in howls and cheers.

  “Bottoms up.” I hike my glass, thread my arm through Zoey’s, and we partake together.

  “I’ve got one!” Kennedy whoops as she jumps onto the sofa until all eyes are focused on her. “To Abel and Zoey, Loveless’ new it couple. You came in like a hurricane—twisted and wreaking havoc on one another, only to find true love that waited for you once the storm blew over. To blue skies and sunshine from here on out.”

  “Aw!” Zoey coos as she snuggles in the crook of my arm, and the room drinks again.

  “I’ve got one, too,” Gavin belts it out like he was gunning for a fight, no smile, eyes that slice right through me. “To never breaking my sister’s heart again. And if you do, I’ll break your neck.” He cocks his head to the side as he says it, and Demi swats him.

  “To true love,” Demi insists. “I’m pretty sure that’s how Gavin planned to end it.” She winks his way.

  I turn to Zoey and land a brazen kiss to her lips. My neck is still in place so that has to be a good sign. “I love you,” I whisper, right here in a room full of love itself.

  She bites down playfully on her lip, her eyes dancing with a threat that only the vixen who lives in her can give. “I love you, too.”

  Someone starts the music going, and before long, the room breaks into six different conversations peppered with laughter.

  Kennedy and Reese pull Zoey their way as they start in on talks of an end-of-summer party they’ve got cooking. Ace and Caleb nod me their way, and I head over.

  My brother shakes his head as he examines me. “It’s finally happened. I never thought I’d see the day. I really didn’t.”

  I playfully raise my wrist. “I ditched the watch. I figured I was the last person wearing it. It probably needed to go.”

  “You ditched the frown,” he corrects. “You’re damn happy, and it shows. I’m glad about it, too. I wanted that for you. I wanted it for the both of us. Hell, I want it for Solomon, too.”

  “You think he’s next?” I inch back, amused at the thought of our con of a brother falling head over heels. Solomon is a bruiser. A lost soul thrashing his way through life as if it were a mosh pit. “I don’t think there’s a person on the planet that could tame him. Hell, it might take two women.”

  Caleb glances over at Neva with her black pleather pantsuit, patent heels spiked six inches at least.

  “No way,” Ace groans. “My sister’s off-limits. She’s not falling victim to the McCarthy curse sweeping the mountain.” He gives a brief wink my way before downing the rest of his glass. “Besides, no offense, but I don’t think your brother is up for the challenge. My sister is a ball-buster if I do say so myself. If you had a legion of brothers, it wouldn’t be enough to hold her down. She’s a mustang. A pit bull. She’s tenacious, and her bite is deadly.” He nods over at her, and she gives a little wave before gifting us the finger.

  Gavin comes over and slaps his hand over my back. “You’re a part of the family now. And as much as I was busting your ass, I can tell you’re one hundred percent invested in my sister.” His lips purse as he looks to her. You can see the sorrow in his eyes. Zoey and I headed to his place first when we came back last weekend. Zoey spilled her past at his feet like a deck of cards, and poor Gavin didn’t know what to do with it. But Demi helped him wade through it. There were tears and lots of hearty embraces. Nobody blames Zoey for what she went through. I offered to help her sue the bastard for taking advantage of a student, but she insisted that she’d rather let the past lie dormant. She said marrying Arlene was punishment enough for him. If it were anything like the dead union I entered into the first time, she would be right. Elizabeth is a good person at her core. We simply drifted, made mistakes, and yet ultimately I still managed to find my way back to Loveless, back to where I needed to be. Right here. Home with Zoey.

  “I’m one hundred percent invested, I promise,” I say, looking at her from across the room. Zoey shines like an entire galaxy of stars as she throws her head back and laughs. And just like that, the room glows a little brighter.

  Zoey and I walk back to the boathouse under a heavy navy sky, the moon squatting low overhead like a dinner plate just inches from our grasp. The lake shimmers like rhinestones, the water lapping the edge, teasing us, just out of our grasp.

  Zoey lands her head over my chest as we slowly stride across the powder white sand. “How about we end this summer the way it began?”

  “Dinner at the Blue Crab?”

  “I was thinking more like me staring at your naked body while you went for a midnight swim in the buff.” Her chest bucks with a dirty laugh, and I give her hip a quick pinch.

  “Only if you’re right there next to me. Rumor has it, nobody can see us just past the boathouse.”

  “You want me in the nude?” she teases while running her finger over my lips. Zoey is the forever temptress.

  “It’s my favorite way to have you.”

  “Last one in has to make breakfast in the morning,” She shouts, darting down the shoreline. And once we crest the bend that affords us all the privacy we could ask for, Zoey peels off her dress like a second skin. I’m right there with her, anxious for one more night in that warm summer water, warm as tears. There is nothing like summer at the lake and I couldn’t think of anyone better to spend this balmy night with—this life with.

  Zoey is naked and splashing in the water by the time I hit the shoreline. Her laughter echoes into the starry sky like a song I crave to play over on a loop.

  I pull off my shirt slowly, kick off my shoes, take my time stripping myself clean while she lets a catcall rip from her throat. I wade in nice and slow, encapsulating her in my arms, sinking us both in the water with my lips pressed over hers.

  Zoey and I glide through the lake as if we own it. Under the moon and the twinkling stars we wash one another in affection, making it last, making it beautiful in the nexus of Loveless.

  It feels right.

  It feels like we’ve arrived at our forever.

  And we have.

  We’re home.

  October

  Zoey

  On a crisp evening in autumn, Gavin and Demi welcome a baby girl, Devin Zoey Jackson. My heart explodes into a million confetti pieces as Gavin lands the tiny princess in my arms for the very first time. She smells of roses and heaven, and I’m forever hers in every way.

  “I love you,” I breathe over her with tears warbling in my eyes. Her lips are a perfect ruby bowtie, and her hair is soft and pale, nothing but wisps of downy feathers. Her eyes squint and blink, dark and inky, so curious. Her entire body squirms as she struggles to take in this new world she’s materialized in.

  Abel wraps an arm around me as he takes her in. “It’s official. She’s an angel.”

  Demi laughs as Gavin lands beside her in the bed. Demi looks radiant, her cheeks pinched a deep shade of pink. She gave birth less than an hour ago, and yet you would never know it. Her entire countenance is glowing. Gavin looks run-down, exhausted, on the verge of a mental breakdown, but elated. A strange combination, but understandable considering the circumstances.

  “There’s still time to change her name,” I say, shooting my brother a playful look. In truth, when we walked in and they told me her name, my spirit buoyed to the moon.

  “No way,” Demi asserts. “Besides, I think Zoey is an adorable middle
name. And, now the two of you have a special bond. Devin is a combination of my name and Gavin’s. That’s a keeper, too.”

  “It’s perfect.” Abel brushes his finger over her tiny hand. “She’s perfect.”

  “Here,” I say, landing her in his arms, and the look of horror on his face is priceless.

  “Whoa.” Abel shifts to accommodate her, his face frozen with equal amounts of wonder and terror. Abel’s divorce became final last week, and we’ve spent the last seven days celebrating. My love for him runs so deep, straight into eternity. I want this with him, the family, the marriage, the whole nine yards. I steal a moment to imagine it’s our own daughter he’s holding. “She’s lighter than air. Is that possible?”

  The room breaks out into a soft laugh.

  “She’s amazing.” I run my finger over her barely-there flyaway hair. “You have a babysitter for life.”

  “I heard that.” Demi doesn’t miss a beat.

  “Me too.” Gavin lands a kiss to his wife’s forehead.

  Demi lets out a drawn-out yawn, her entire body sagging over my brother’s.

  I take the baby from Abel, press a kiss over her cheek, and land her safely in my brother’s arms once again.

  “We’ll let you guys get some rest, but I’ll be back in the morning,” I say, giving my brother’s ear a playful tug. “You couldn’t stop me if you tried.”

  “I wouldn’t dare.”

  I embrace the three of them before Abel and I take off.

  Abel and I drive back to Loveless, but instead of heading to the cabin he’s rented, he takes a turn and lands us at the base of the Forbidden Falls instead. It’s dark out. The moon is curled up on itself, casting a soft glow over the rushing waters as Abel leads me by the hand to the lagoon.

  “Come here.” He pulls me in and lands a sweet kiss to my lips, and I take a moment to soak in this beautiful man.

  “It’s been a crazy day.”

  “I agree. And if things go my way, they’re about to get a little crazier.”

  Abel drops to one knee, and it feels as if I’ve just fallen through the earth. My entire body goes numb with shock. The roar of the falls, the deafening pounding of my own heart—it’s all drown out as my mind tries to process what’s unfolding before me.

  Abel holds a ring between us, so big and beautiful it’s frightening to comprehend.

  “Zoey, I know we’ve been through hell, and we came out of it. Gavin and Demi have had a day of new beginnings, and I thought we should, too. I would love nothing more than to journey through this life with you as my wife.” He nods up at me, his eyes bearing straight into my soul, pleading. “Zoey, marry me. We could have a long engagement, short, it’s entirely up to you. I just need you to make my night, my life, and say yes.” His eyes grow glossy, his fingers trembling.

  I take in this gorgeous man, his face illuminated from the inside, the kindness of his oversized heart permeating every last cell in my body.

  “Yes!” I pull him up to me as I wrap my entire body around him. “My God, yes!” I press my lips to his, and he spins us.

  “Thank you.” He pulls back with that sexy drugged look in his eyes. “I believe I have something that belongs to you.” He slides the ring onto my finger, a clear white diamond set on a platinum band.

  “I hope you like it. It’s oval—it symbolizes a large family gathered around a dining room table. At least that’s how the lady at the jewelry store sold it to me.”

  A laugh bubbles from me. “I love that.” I kiss it before cupping the side of his gorgeous face with my hand. The feel of his peppered stubble enlivens me. “And I love you. I’m so honored to be yours in any way. I cannot wait to be your wife.”

  “You don’t know how happy you’ve just made me.”

  My lips twist in a wry smile. “I plan on doing just that for the foreseeable future.” I give a playful wink. “In fact, I’ve got a few ideas brewing on how to make you a little bit happier. You have any plans tonight?”

  He winces a moment. “I’m sorry. I’m sleeping with my fiancée. Oh, wait, that’s you.” He pecks a kiss over my lips.

  “You about gave me a heart attack! You are the worst.” I smack him over the lips with a kiss. “And the best.” I land another kiss over him, and this time I linger. “Best of all, you are all mine.” I hold my engagement ring out for us to admire as the moon winks over it. My heart is full once again, something I couldn’t fathom after losing my parents. Once Abel and I mended our relationship, I traded the bottle for his dark, delicious kisses, my heart for his. And now we’re braiding our destinies together to form one. “I can’t believe we’re engaged. What should we do first?”

  “We should have a wedding.” He hoists me up until my legs are wrapped around his waist. “And then we should have babies.”

  “Lots and lots of babies.” It comes from me low and throaty. “Did you see that angel tonight? I need ten at least.”

  “Why stop at ten? Twenty sounds like a nice round number.” He gives me a playful bounce over the lagoon, and I scream.

  “Abel!”

  “I’ve got you.” His arms secure themselves over me, and I cling tighter, his lips brushing over my features. “I’ll never let you go, Zoey. You’re mine forever.”

  Abel seals it with a kiss, our hearts melting over one another like candlewax. Abel and I are inextricably woven together. Our journeys converged upon this mountain, and now they’ll forever remain the same.

  Abel and I spend hours loving one another, pouring all of our affection out for one another right there under the supervision of a raven’s eye moon, the thumping heartbeat of Loveless pounding in the background as if shouting its approval, applauding the end, the beginning of our love story, of the rest of our lives.

  Abel and I found one another just as we were coming undone.

  We saved one another, and in doing so saved ourselves.

  Best of all—we found love in Loveless.

  ***Thank you for reading! If you liked this book you might like another of Addison Moore’s romances. The following is an excerpt from Burning Through Gravity (Burning Through Gravity 1) FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

  Burning Through Gravity

  Addison Moore

  Enjoy this preview!

  Prologue

  Stevie

  I lie back and watch my dreams float by like a kite on a string. God sets them on fire, and I watch as they burn to the ground like defunct fireworks that never really took in the first place. Life is cruel that way. Here you are with all of your hopes and dreams as big as a ticker tape parade then you bite the big one with no real fanfare. The world spins seamlessly along as you fade into a distant memory. The end.

  We all die. Really, it’s no big secret. I crawled into a cave after tragedy gutted my young life. We did everything right. We even rallied for life with a candlelight vigil. When we were through, we blew out the candles and threw them into a metal bucket. It was beautiful and sad, but in the end we needed to clean up and get back to the business of living. Life just blows you out and throws you away like a candle, but God keeps the smoke that rises. That’s the real you, the vapor.

  My heart became an open wound. A hole that once you fell into, you could never come out. It was an unending abyss that pulled you apart, stretched you out, limb by limb, until you evaporated into a group of disorganized molecules. Life was merciless, and I seemed like the only one in on its macabre joke. It’s tyrannical and cruel, and I wanted off this spinning blue rock. That is, until I met Him. He stepped out of the shadow of a flaming July moon and breathed new life into my soul. He covered my heart with his love like a membrane stretched over an open vessel. It happened. That crazy, maddening wine of the gods finally coursed through my veins. True love. I couldn’t admit it. I didn’t want to. After all, I was about to do something incomprehensible to him. But, for the most part, we kept each other very, very happy.

  “I love you, Stevie Eaton. I promise, you belong to me.” His eyes pour all of t
heir heartache, all of their expectations into me, and I let a moment thump by without returning the favor. Instead, I cover his mouth with mine and drill my tongue over his like a corkscrew. I do want to say those words to him. I do want to tell him that he belongs to me and not that twisted scorpion he’s ensnared himself with. But I don’t want to give my I love you away until he knows exactly who I am—what I’ve tried to get away with. I want to say it the right way. I’ve done so many things backward. I’ve memorized every trail of misery this relationship could possibly have—and I’ve taken us down each of those thorny paths whether he knows it or not.

  I’m so over the lies.

  After all, his lie cost me a few sleepless nights.

  My lie will cost him everything.

  Mr. Fahrenheit

  Stevie

  Death has always been an obsession of mine, a toy that I couldn’t stop fiddling with, a picture that hangs in the gallery of my mind that I fight hard to straighten. I envision my own death at some far off stage in life where I’m old and gray with family flocked around my bed like crows gathered for a morbid feast. There would be lanky teenaged grandchildren that would rather be playing the latest version of Candy Crush than watching an old lady give up the ghost—babies that gurgled and laughed without regard to how many breaths I had left in my lungs. But that’s not at all how it happened. In life’s cruel irony not only would I die far earlier than my ovaries could ripen an egg, but I bear witness to my own death while in another body.