Текст книги "Love Hate Relationship"

Автор книги: Jessica Prince

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Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

“For the love of God, will you stop that?” I smacked Rowan’s hand away from the jar of jam he was reaching for. He had already managed to pilfer two other jars from the table when I wasn’t looking and had devoured them both, eating ten dollars’ worth of potential profit.

If you had told me a few months back that I would be in a serious, committed relationship with Rowan Locklaine, I would have laughed in your face. If you’d have told me I would eventually be head over heels, crazy in love with the man, I would have suggested you get medical help.

But there I was, sitting at the farmer’s market in the town I’d grown up in, with him at my side, selling homemade preserves and breads to give Cassidy and Carson a break from work so they could spend time with their new son, Kallum, named after Cassidy’s Uncle Kal.

For the second time in less than six months, I was back in Texas, only this time, it was for a good reason. And my boyfriend had tagged along happily as opposed to chasing me down and winning me back. Things were going great. Each morning, I woke up wrapped in the arms of the man I loved, even happier than the day before. I had a new nephew that I got to spoil and cuddle for the next few weeks, and I was surrounded by a whole slew of people who loved me unconditionally.

I wasn’t sure if life could get any better.

“But it’s so good,” he groaned, licking up the last of the mulberry jam from the jar he stole. “Next time we visit, I’m bringing an empty suitcase with me so I can load it up with this shit. Swear to God, Navie, if you’d learn to make this stuff from Milly or Cassidy, I’d marry you and leave everything to you in my will.”

My heart fluttered at the thought of marrying this man at the same time I rolled my eyes in mock frustration. “If that’s your idea of a proposal, you’re going to be single for the rest of your life.”

Resting his elbows on the table in our booth, Rowan reached forward and toyed with the necklace hanging from the stand I’d set out. “You say no when I propose and I’m telling Pepper you’re selling Navie’s Knickknacks for half-price at some rinky-dink market in po-dunk Texas.”

That was yet another change that had taken place in the past months. When we returned to New York after my ‘temporary bout of insanity’, as he so lovingly referred to it, I didn’t go back to being Rowan’s personal assistant. That position was currently available after the third person Lauren hired quit due to a ‘hostile work environment’.

Rowan had taken it upon himself to show my jewelry to Pepper, and after threat of physical violence and possible death if I didn’t agree, I went into business with her, partnering up to sell my handmade creations in her shop. Business had been shockingly good, and I was finally making a career out of something I loved to do. And even though I wouldn’t say it out loud, for fear of overinflating his ego, I had Rowan to thank for it.

“You tell her I’m selling a few pieces here and I’ll tell Carson you so lovingly referred to his wife’s business as some rinky-dink market in po-dunk Texas.”

He paled slightly at my threat and I couldn’t help but laugh. Even though things were great between us, saying Carson was warming up to my boyfriend was a stretch. I didn’t think he’d ever stop threatening to shoot him.

“Oh, Henry, look,” an older woman exclaimed as she leaned in to look at my jewelry, pulling Rowan and I out of our millionth spat of the day. “Aren’t these just beautiful?”

“That they are, sweetheart,” an older man, who I assumed was Henry, replied as he came to stand next to the woman while she browsed the different bracelets and necklaces I had put out. My head tilted to the side as I watched the man with his wife. There was something so familiar about him, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. An inch or two over six feet tall, salt-and-pepper hair, and a stomach that attested to the fact that he ate well but still tried to keep in shape the best he could at this age. Something in the back of my mind told me I should know this man, I just couldn’t figure out why.

“How much for this set, dear?” the woman asked, her gaze coming to me as her husband looked around the market, casually people-watching. “Dear?” the woman asked again, a hint of concern wrapped around that one word.

I felt Rowan’s hand press against the small of my back and gave my head a firm shake as he came to stand next to me. “I’m sorry, it’s uh… twenty-five for the set.”

As she rifled through her purse, I could only focus on the man beside her.

“And what a clever name,” she continued, pulling her wallet from her bag. “I’m assuming you’re the Navie from Navie’s Knickknacks?”

“That’s me,” I replied with a smile at the woman just as the man’s head shot around in my direction. The instant our eyes connected, that wave of familiarity I felt when he walked up came rushing back, crashing into me with so much strength I lost my breath.

“My Lord,” the man spoke on an inhale as his own kind eyes grew wide.

“I know you,” I said in a hushed voice. “How do I know you?”

“Navie?” Rowan asked from my side. “You all right, baby?”

“I met you when you were just a little girl.” His voice was filled with a combination of sorrow and wonder. “I’m Off—”

“Officer Michaels,” I gasped as memories of that day bombarded me one after another.

“Not a day’s passed where I haven’t thought about that scared girl in that apartment,” he choked, emotion growing thick with each word. His wife’s hand flew to her mouth as tears began to stream down her face. He’d told her about me.

“You remember me?” I asked, feeling a lump forming in my throat.

“Of course. I could never forget. A little girl named Navie because of the color of her eyes …” He paused to clear his throat before being able to continue. I watched in awe as his wife’s hands came around his arm in silent support. “Did… everything work out for you? Do you have a good life?”

In the blink of an eye, I was around the table, both my hands wrapped around his. “I have a great life,” I replied vehemently. Because it was true. Even with all the hardships, all the pain and disappointment, I couldn’t look back with any regrets because it led me to where I was right then. I had love. I had family. I had everything a person could ever hope for.

Officer Michaels’ eyes closed tightly and I watched one lone tear slip free. When he opened them again and looked back at me, I saw that my answer had lifted a weight he’d been carrying for nearly twenty years. “Good. I’m so glad.” The relief that melted through him and his wife was almost tangible. “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me, sweetheart.”

I gave his hand one last squeeze before releasing it and going back to where Rowan stood.

“Well,” the woman spoke, brushing at her cheeks before extending her hand in my direction, two twenty dollar bills held out to me. “This has most certainly been a blessed day. We’ve received the answer to our prayer and I get this beautiful jewelry for a steal!”

I let out a light giggle as I gently pushed her hand back. “You get this jewelry for free.”

“Oh, no,” Officer Michaels sputtered. “We couldn’t…”

“You can,” I insisted. “Consider it a gift.”

“A gift for what?”

“For offering a scared little girl the kindness she needed to get her through a hard time.” One more tear broke free from his eyes as he gave me a jerky nod.

“You okay?” Rowan asked a few minutes later, once the older couple had blended into the mass of shoppers.

“Yeah.” I sighed, reaching to wrap both my arms around his waist. I rested my head on his strong, sturdy chest as I silently counted my blessings. “I’m great, actually.”

His fingers came to my chin, tilting my face up so he could place a soft kiss on my lips. “You know I love you, right?”

“I love you, too.” I smiled sincerely.

“You better say yes when I propose,” he warned playfully, and my smile grew even bigger.

“Then you better make it a damn good proposal.”

Rowan winked and I felt my body melt further into him. “Don’t you worry about that. When I do, it’ll be epic.”

As I stared up into Rowan’s icy blue eyes, there was no fear, no uncertainty. The walls I’d built around myself to protect my heart were long gone.

“I can’t wait.”

“This is so boring,” Carson groaned at the ceiling dramatically, making a scene and causing the people near us to turn and stare.

“Will you please shut up?” Cassidy whisper-yelled. “It’s almost over.”

I shot a look at my brother, hoping to melt the skin off his face before looking back at Rowan and giving him a thumbs-up just as the last person in line placed their book on the table for him to sign.

I couldn’t have been prouder of him. His latest book, Love Hate Relationship, released to astounding numbers, still sitting at the number one spot on the New York Times, as well as every other bestseller list, for the fourth week in a row. To say he was more than a little shocked would have been putting it lightly. The book was a step outside of the box for him. He’d never written anything but murder mysteries his entire career, so releasing a book that was eerily similar to our own personal story opened him up to a whole new audience… one that included me.

While he vehemently denied that his book fell into the genre, I got off on giving him shit for writing his first ever romance novel, telling him how excited I was that he’d finally written something interesting. That had led to many fights. Not that I cared really; the only thing better than sex with Rowan was makeup sex with Rowan.

In celebration of his success, we’d flown my entire family up from Texas so they could spend the holidays in New York, as well as see Rowan in his element. I thought it would be good fun for Carson and Cassidy to join me, Rowan’s mom and brother, along with Griffin and Pepper, at one of Rowan’s readings while Kal and Milly took Willow and Kallum to Central Park. The only thing I hadn’t realized was that our little hodge-podge group should have never been allowed out in public. If it wasn’t Carson showing his ass, it was Griffin intentionally setting Pepper off on a tangent. The whole day had been one drama after another. I really could have used Harlow there to keep me sane, but she’d gone back home to Jackson Hole a week ago for a family emergency.

“Thank God,” he grunted loudly.

Ignoring the weird looks from the people who had crammed into The Strand for Rowan’s latest book signing, I turned to Carson and issued my fifth threat of the day. “I swear to God, if you don’t shut up, I’m going to murder you in your sleep,” I hissed as quietly as possible. “Then I’m going to raise Kallum to be a Yankee Democrat!”

“You wouldn’t,” he gasped.

“Watch me.”

Carson leaned against the wall, arms crossed angrily across his chest as he pouted. “This is so stupid. Why do I have to be here?”

“Because you’re supporting the man I love,” I countered.

“I’m never even gonna read the damn book,” he shot back. “Real men don’t read that girly, chick shit.”

“Amen,” Richard added in solidarity, raising his hand to high-five Carson. I was surrounded by toddlers.

“Hey!” I pointed at Richard. “You’re supposed to be the supportive brother.”

He grinned at me. It was still somewhat disconcerting to see the same characteristics Rowan had in someone else, but I was slowly getting used to it. Richard and Rowan were working on rebuilding their relationship, so I was bound to see him often. “Just because I’m not willing to read the book doesn’t mean I’m not supportive.”

“It’s not girly, chick shit,” Cassidy interjected. “It’s a beautiful story he wrote based on his relationship with Navie.”

“Wait… is there sex in this book?”

Uh-oh.

“Oh, dear,” Rowan’s mother, Marie, mumbled from behind her hand, clearly trying to stifle her laughter at the same time everyone else—well, except for Carson—broke into loud, raucous laughter.

“Everything okay over here?” Rowan asked as he joined our group of misfits, having finished with the last reader. He leaned in to give his mother a quick kiss before wrapping his arm around my shoulder and holding me against him.

“You mean besides the fact you’re a pervert?” Carson snipped.

“Why me?” I lamented, staring up at the heavens as Marie lost the battle against her giggles and joined in along with everyone else.

“Oh, sweet girl,” she offered, patting my arm. “You knew what you were getting into when you picked this one, here,” she told me, throwing her thumb in Rowan’s direction.

“What am I missing?” Rowan whispered in my ear.

I reached up and patted his cheek. “I love you. Let’s run away to Bermuda for the holidays.”

His lips turned up in a knowing smirk. “Getting the families together for the holidays was your idea, baby.”

“For the very first time in my life, I was wrong.”

I felt Rowan chuckle against my body as his lips touched the skin at my neck. “Besides, it’ll make proposing so much easier with everyone here. Get it all out of the way in one fell swoop.”

I pulled my head back on a sharp inhale, excitement coursing through my veins. “Wait… are you… really… right now?”

“No, not right now. But soon.”

Just as I stood on my tip-toes to press my lips against Rowan’s, my cell phone rang from inside of my purse. Pulling it out, I looked down at the screen, my brows furrowing in worry.

“Who is it?” Rowan asked.

“It’s Harlow.” At the sound of her name, everyone in our circle grew quiet. They all knew about Harlow’s unexpected trip back to the town she grew up in. She and her brother had been raised by their grandparents. Their grandfather had passed years back, and with her grandmother’s health suddenly taking a turn for the worse, she needed to go take care of her little brother. We were all concerned, but it was the lack of communication between Harlow and me that was bothering me the most. Every time I tried calling, she either didn’t answer or kept the conversations short. It was evident in her voice that she wasn’t doing well.

I feared the worst. She never really talked about her past, and I never felt right pushing her, but from what I gathered, she’d left something behind in Jackson Hole that had changed her.

“You think everything’s okay?” he asked, rubbing his thumb along my jaw and holding me tighter, offering me comfort when I needed it most.

“God, I hope so.”

Be on the lookout for Harlow’s story,

Wildflower

coming January 2016

As always, first and foremost, my never ending thanks and love goes to my husband for always being my rock. I have no doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.

To Jennifer Wolfel, Jenn Van Wyk, and Aly Martinez ~ Your help has been instrumental in bringing Navie and Rowan’s story to life and making it the best it could possibly be. Aly, your “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” probably saved me from being attacked by countless readers. LOL.

To the lovely ladies of F*ck That Noise ~ Seriously, when a group of women menstruate together, you know they’re close! I love you bitches!!

And as always, to my readers ~ This is for YOU!

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BE SURE TO FOLLOW ALL OF THE COLORS NOVELS!

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The use of the phrase life is hard has become so diluted, so overstated through the years that when someone hears it the words go in one ear and out the other. The impact is no longer there. The meaning, the importance of that phrase no longer holds any water with those it's spoken to.

Freya Linden's life became hard at the age of seventeen, the summer before her senior year of high school. The bright colors of her life faded into black and white, a colorless shell full of loneliness.

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Despite her reluctance, Carson is determined to have Cassidy in his life, but once the truth of her past comes to light, the question is…will he still want to keep her?

Love Hate Relationship

People say that sometimes the line between love and hate is thin. What they don’t tell you is that sometimes it’s invisible.

Rowan Locklaine gave his heart to one woman a long time ago and has no desire to go through that kind of torture ever again. His painful past has turned him cold and heartless. Women serve only one purpose as far as he’s concerned, and relationships are nothing but a waste of time and energy. When the mouthy little blonde, Navie Collins, is hired as his personal assistant, he finds his world turned upside down. And against his better judgment, he can’t seem to stop thinking about her.

Navie Collins has spent years convinced she’s not good enough, that no one could possibly want her. Growing up the way she did helped to thicken her skin, so when she walks into a job interview and meets the temperamental, foul-mouthed, best-selling author, Rowan Locklaine, she’s all too happy to put him in his place.

Rowan and Navie are convinced they hate each other. But as time passes and the attraction between them begins to grow, these two stubborn, strong-willed people have a life changing decision to make. Can they move beyond their pain for a chance at something better, or are they destined to let their pasts dictate their future?

Wildflower (coming January 2016)

At sixteen, Harlow Prewitt thought she’d found the love of her life. At seventeen, that love was put to the ultimate test. And at eighteen, it failed completely, shattering her beyond repair.

Leaving behind everything she had ever known, Harlow was determined to start over some place different, some place where memories of the past couldn’t follow. And she was never going back.

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