Have you met Alex: friends to lovers romance

by Kenna Shaw Reed

  I’ve always had the dream of writing “when I have time,” but when diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, it became obvious the future starts today.

  It’s this passion for life and living that I bring to all my books. That, and strong female characters. Like most of my friends, my characters don’t need a man in their life—but the right man can make living more fun.

  All my books can be read stand-alone or in any order, but you will meet the same characters across each series. There are strong links to the Australian Defence Force and Sydney consulting firms. Many characters own or work for fictional software technology giant, Softli; The Restaurant chain and The Club.

  I love hearing from you and writing the romances you want. Bringing complex and flawed characters to you in a way that allows us all to believe in a happily ever after. Love is complicated, and the best love stories are never easy. I hope you join me – and keep in touch.

  What to read next?

  All my books can be read in order or stand alone. The links are to first in series, but you can jump in at any time.

  Have you met …

  Quick read romances, but definitely not sweet. Whether you love friends to lovers, second chance, military suspense or medical romance, this series will have your new book boyfriend. Follow me on Amazon or BookBub to be first to know about pre-orders. Kram, Robert, Chris and Scout will all be released 2020.

  Aussie Military Romance series

  After all they do to protect and serve, these Australian heroes deserve a happily ever after. And they have the bodies and the means to defend the women they love from enemies foreign and domestic.

  You won’t be able to resist men who fight hard and love harder with these four military romances with a side of suspense. Get your copy of Avenge Her today.

  Passion Without Rules

  Catch up with the bad boys you didn’t want to resist from the Choose Your Own Romance series. Take him home to find his last chance at love. No choices, only steam. Who is Erebus and Random Fantasies out now.

  Romance with Passion

  These men, and their women have overcome overwhelming loss and deserve their happily ever after. Perfect for a rainy Sunday afternoon. Bring your tissues. Check out the full series.

  Choose Your Own Romance

  When one happily ever after is not enough, choose your own. Read them as stand alone or as a series.

  Choose from A Complicated Marriage where you get to choose for these wives. Can—or should—their marriages be saved? Have fun exploring their options. Start with The Politician’s Wife.

  Or choose from the Choose Your Own Romance series. Curl up with these sexy romances and see how much fun it is to be in control of their happily ever afters. Find out about Alex and his ex with The Uni Student. One woman, three loves – and your choice to make. Choose one ending, then go back and choose again.

  Get your FREE gift

  It’s never too late for Christmas! Sign up to get the inside goss on my next release and grab your free copy of Her Christmas Romance Surprise.

  Sneak peek: The Uni Student

  The Uni Student is a choose your own romance. Meet Ava, her childhood boyfriend, Alex. Then a brief introduction to her forbidden love, Professor Geoffrey Swains and her perfect rich new friend, Hunter.

  Make it memorable

  Ava

  “You know, I love you,” Alexander MacFarlane’s blue eyes searched hers to confirm what he should have known.

  “That’s good,” Ava Martin laughed, rolling away and taking the top sheet with her, leaving his golden body free to be admired against his black sheets. “Cause I kinda love you, too.”

  One of their last days together and no one questioned their need to hang around Alex’ home.

  Getting up early, a hard slog, ten-kilometre bike ride before having a thermos of coffee at the top of the range behind their town. Taking in the sights that he loved, and she couldn’t wait to escape.

  She was so close to leaving this town and finding a world beyond the families who had known hers for generations. Other than leaving Alex, Ava couldn’t wait.

  Then home, shower before a quiet discussion, or two, underneath his sheets.

  “Come back here!” Alex tried to pull her back to bed but expecting his move, she was already out of reach.

  “No, I’ve actually got to get home and confirm some stuff for uni.”

  “Can’t you do that later? I mean, we don’t have much time left … and I promise you’re gonna miss me when you go.”

  “Crazy fool!” Pulling on a pale pink cotton shirt over her white denim shorts, Ava leaned over to plant a wet kiss on his cheek. The kind he couldn’t wait to wipe off, even when they came from her.

  “I’ll be back so often; you won’t even notice I’m gone.”

  “What if you don’t go. Coby’s girlfriend decided to stay here and study online. Just change your course or university.”

  “That’s great, but I can’t. Not if I want the lecturers I want to study under or to get their recommendation for an internship. I need to be more than a student number if I want to make my mark.” No matter how hard she tried to be understanding, Alex didn’t try to understand and Ava’s patience was wearing thin. “I’ve worked too hard to throw it all away now.”

  “What if I ask you to stay?” His grip tightened around her wrist and Ava had to close this down quickly before it turned into the ultimatum and showdown she’d managed to avoid.

  “You won’t do that, because you love me, and you know this is what I want. I mean, you sat by, helping me study. You encouraged me when I wanted to give up. One of the reasons I love you so much and know we can make long distance work, is because I know how much you support me.”

  Alex released her with a shrug, “To be honest, all these years you had your dream and I had mine. I figured you’d find a way to stay here and study. I never thought you’d really go.”

  “Alex, you know how I feel, I need more out of life than to grow old and die in the same town my parents and grandparents were born in.”

  “And you know I love it here, working for your old man. He thinks I’m one of his top panel beaters and when he retires the shop will be ours.”

  “That’s great and I know how hard you’ve worked and that it hasn’t been easy working for your girlfriend’s father.” Being fully clothed didn’t stop her from climbing on top, playful cuddles, and kisses to soften her words. “I’m leaving in a couple of days and don’t want to spend them arguing about whether I’m going or not. I’m going.”

  “What if you never come back?” For once, Alex wanted conversation more than kisses.

  “Don’t be like that. Of course, I’ll be back! My family are here and even though I hope you visit me in Sydney, I’ll be back in your arms more times than you can count. You know I love you.”

  Oh, she was going to miss lying against his chest, playing with his long, sun kissed hair and calling on the love in his eyes to give her strength.

  Softly, she whispered, “I need you to support me, now more than ever. I’m going, but I’m scared.”

  “You?” Now it was his turn to push the strands of long hair out of her face. “You’ve never been scared a day in your life.”

  “As much as I want to leave,” she admitted, “I’m also terrified of walking away from everything we’ve grown up with.”

  “Then it’s easy, don’t stay for me. Stay because you want to be surrounded by people who know you and actually care for you instead of living in a city of strangers.”

  Exasperated, Ava swung her legs around and left the bed wishing Alex would try and fake his support instead of wasting what precious time they had left.

  “Alex!”

  He rolled away in a huff while Ava took pride in the small scratches from their earlier fun, crisscrossing his back. A scar across his back ribs from when he came off his quad bike at the farm. Another from being trampled in a football tackle. Putting his body on the line in the name of fun. W
hy couldn’t he understand that for her, study was fun. Challenging herself intellectually, was fun.

  Minutes ago, they were making love and never closer, and now the distance between them was bigger than just the width of Alex’ bed.

  She tried again, “I thought we were going to come up with ways of how to make long distance work. Why do you have to be such a tool and need to make me feel crap about leaving.”

  Ava waited in vain for him to say something, anything. “I’m over it,” she sighed, leaving him still lying on his side.

  But before she’s pulled out of his driveway, a message bleeped.

  Alex: Sorry. So Sorry.

  Damn him! The phone bounced across the passenger floor. What did that even mean? Was he sorry for making her feel guilty? Doubtful. Guilt had been his go-to play lately. Did he want to make it work or was he sorry they were over?

  Ava gunned the car, trying to shrug off Alex and his insecurities. It could have been a perfect day until he insisted the same fight on repeat.

  Surely, her friends would understand.

  “What do you expect him to say? You know that long-distance will never work.”

  “But—” If she thought her best friend would have her back, she’d be wrong.

  “Ava Martin, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t want him to love you and then let you leave without a fight. Smarten up!”

  Surely there was a way to keep their sex life crazy and their love alive?

  Ava closed her bedroom door, needing privacy before going online. After today, she was desperate—with a billion people connected online, surely someone would have an opinion.

  BlueEis Rebbit tag: Help! My boyfriend is moving away for university. How can we make long distance work? Can we? Help!

  BanditoXX: Give it a week – he’ll cheat, and you’ll forget him.

  Simbo25: Everyone thinks it will work – never does. Don’t try.

  SwimzuitGal: Why bother? Who cheats first, wins.

  BanditoXX: Send pix for hook up.

  No help online. Ava closed the app to see a collage of her favorite photos with Alex as her wallpaper. The happy faces mocked her—she couldn’t even be truthful online.

  Leaving was the risk of losing Alex, yet staying was the risk of losing herself.

  Alex

  He was crushed by the silence after she left. Every argument seemed to be driving them further apart and he was running out of time to make it right.

  Flicking through the photos on his phone was all the evidence he needed to see how much they and he had to lose.

  Ava and Alex were and always had been the perfect couple with friends joking about their matching blonde hair and toned, tanned bodies. They looked like a couple put together by stylists for a modelling catalogue, but in truth she was his best friend and he couldn’t remember a time when they weren’t inseparable.

  There were photos of Ava on bike rides, rock climbs, at the beach and sitting on the verandah at her home. He loved running his hand through her long blonde hair when she wore it loose around her shoulders, although when she tied it up in a ponytail on top of her head it gave him something to grab and tease.

  In every photo, her wide dark-brown eyes sparkled in the hot Australian sun, she was always happy outside. It was inconceivable that his country girl could think she’d ever be happy living in the city, without fresh air and places to bike, run and climb.

  There was a photo from last year’s triathlon of the two of them, exhausted after beating their personal times. He smiled, remembering how the other competitors underestimated slender frame. Ava was stronger than she looked, not only from their long-distance cycling but also from horse-riding and mucking out on his uncle’s farm.

  Alex: Love you. Call me.

  More texts couldn’t fix things. He was losing the fight of his life. Unable to stop acting like a tool, what was the old saying? He was a fool for love.

  Damn it – why couldn’t she understand that he loved her enough to let her go, but that wouldn’t stop him fighting for her, for them.

  In the weeks before she left, Alex spent far too many hours cycling or kicking a football around the park, either with mates or by himself. Preferably, by himself. He couldn’t stop all the pity comments from his friends and family about how much he was going to miss Ava and how they couldn’t understand why she would leave town and him.

  “Why don’t you just lay down the law and tell her not to go?”

  “Why are you even putting up with her bullshit. Tell her to stay.”

  “Youse are gonna break up anyway, why wait? Tell her it’s over and shove a new girl in her face.”

  Love was about wanting Ava’s happiness above his own.

  It would be easier to let her go if he loved her less, he could push her away and move on with his own life. Instead he’d created the perfect spiral of pushing her away one minute and clinging to her the next. Completely fucked up, but unstoppable.

  How the hell could they survive the years apart while she was studying? Sure, she said they could survive long distance, but what did that mean and if it was easy, why did all his mates laugh and start taking bets on how long it would last.

  All he could do was to trust her, and watch her become whatever she wanted to be, and hope he was still enough.

  Professor Geoffrey Swains

  He entered the packed lecturer theatre five minutes after the lecture should have started. Late enough for effect without risking complaints. Tenure had its benefits.

  As he sternly gazed around the room, he was conscious that all eyes were on him. Young minds, all thinking they would one day be as brilliant as he. It was easy for him to treat them as a herd of sheep, discounting their intellect and dismissing their ambition. Until they demonstrated they were worthy of his attention, his eyes would resist any contact. For the next semester, they needed him and needed to revere him. Worship … no, too strong a word. More like respect and beg his respect in return.

  Except for that special one. Just as he suspected, in the center of the first row sat last semester’s special one. He could see that she was trying so hard to get him to notice her, licking her lips seductively, invitingly.

  Trying to remind him that they were once a them. Of those days, nights, stolen afternoons. At the time, she meant everything to him as he did to her. Until she had to do something stupid, well their breakup had been her fault and now she had to live with the consequences.

  Clearing his throat, he gave his standard introduction, already bored. Looking around the theatre, he saw no one new that looked like they could interest him for a semester.

  He continued with the same introduction he’d given every semester for more years than he cared to remember. He had hardly started the semester and he was already wanting it to be over. Then again, when was the last time he’d found joy in anything he asked himself, knowing the answer.

  “This is the most interesting and most difficult unit you will complete this semester. You come here thinking you were the brightest in your school or your small town because you were told you were brilliant. I am here to show you that you are barely average.”

  That always shook up the youngsters. Not that they believed him.

  “I can assure you that some of you will do something you have never done before – fail. Yes, you heard me correctly. Some of you will fail.”

  He could see some heads raise away from their devices. Now for the proof.

  “For those of you who have had the pleasure of my class before, and are here for the second or third time, please stand.”

  He saw the silly girl stand along with a handful of other students. Not even half of those he’d failed turned up for a second attempt. Perhaps those who had given up were the smart ones, after all, if they didn’t understand his lectures the first time, how could they possibly think that they would understand him the second time around.

  He looked at her again, thinking how different she was and despite what he might have tried to c
onvince himself after their breakup, at the time she’d been special in her own way. As she sat down, he felt a little guilty having punished her with a failed mark when she was clearly the smartest in her year. Yet, here she was with lips and legs gently parted, inviting him to forgive her.

  Perhaps, he thought, if there isn’t someone more worthy, he would break his rule and extend the special relationship to a second semester.

  The memory of last semester’s lover was more interesting than any of the other young women in the lecture theatre.

  “Hi,” she mouthed to him as he allowed himself the luxury of focusing the rest of his introduction on her. It should have made her uncomfortable, and yet the raised head and flick of the hair said otherwise.

  He allowed his eyes to draw across her body. It had been a shame to fail her and he fully expected correct the “mistake” if she appealed to the university. But she didn’t, instead turning up here to learn her lesson. Those legs, the short skirt, her lips and now running her hands through her hair, twisting it into a rope as if to allow him to pull her towards him. Clearly, she wanted the opportunity to make amends. Perhaps, he should finish what he started …

  Professor Geoffrey Swains looked up at the squeaky opening and noisy closing of the lecture theatre door. The theatre lights blinding, still he heard the panicked footsteps of a stupid student who had arrived late and was now looking for a spare seat in a packed auditorium. How rude and unfortunate - the only spare seat was at the front.

  As she walked down the stairs and into view, he took in her legs, the flushed expression on her face. As she sat down, he was taken with her dark eyes against the pale skin and hair. So young and eager to be forgiven. As she readied herself, he smiled. This semester was now a lot more interesting.