The Perfect Wrong, page 40
When the firestorm finally releases us, we lay together tangled, his huge inked body cocooning me. His cock feels divine against my ass once he slides out, spooning me.
We lay together panting, our fingers laced so tight.
I know it won’t be long before he’s ready again, but even in the stillness, I’m so turned on every touch makes me gasp.
“You’re the hottest woman alive, especially when you’re wrapped around my cock,” he says, stamping his lips up my neck. “Can’t believe we started off as family in the most fucked up way. Look at us now. Making our own.”
My heart skips.
I turn my head slowly, smiling into his incandescent green eyes.
“We’re not steps anymore, Chris. But I didn’t mind it when we were. Except for the sneaking around and pretending, I mean.”
“Yeah, thank fuck. Pretending? Babe, I don’t give a shit who or what you are. Just as long as you’re mine, my bride, and my cement. My perfect partner in everything. Is it so wrong I still love you like a sister and a soulmate all in one?”
His words should shock me, but instead I just smile.
The stuff that slips out of his mouth still scares me sometimes in the best ways.
This man is certifiably crazy.
He’s also crazy magnificent.
A badass to the bone.
Everything I ever asked for and nothing I deserve.
When I’m finally ready to answer him, I reach down, wrapping my fingers around his length. It’s already hardening against me, throbbing with fresh need.
“I don’t think loving you will ever be wrong,” I say, gently stroking his girthy thickness and waiting for him to push my hand away and spread my legs. “I love you so much, husband.”
He grins, tangling his fingers through my hair and pushing me onto my back again.
I watch as he moves between my legs, holding his cock at my entrance, full and teasing.
“Good. Let’s use some of that love to find out who we’ll be when we’re finished.” He lowers his lips to my ear, nipping at my earlobe before he says, “Don’t think I’ll ever stop fucking you through the nursery rhymes and family holidays when we’re running around like chickens on fire. I’ll never get enough of this, Delia. All the ways you make my heart boom.”
Smiling, I run my hands over the intricate dragon on his chest. It was re-inked a couple months ago after his scars healed, a stark reminder that I’m forever safe with this man.
He’s right about the boom, too.
I can feel his heartbeat resonating in my fingertips.
My palms linger there, pushing into hard muscle as he sinks inside me, claiming me again.
We’re both getting better with words, but there are still some conversations only fit for the flesh.
Right now, his skin speaks loud and clear, shouting how much he’ll love me tonight and ever after.
He is every caress, every smile, and every stolen kiss I’ll ever crave.
Green like life.
Blue like flames.
All the reds I could ever ask for.
If Chris Triton is my perfect wrong—if my life didn’t lead me here—please never let me be right.
* * *
Thanks for reading The Perfect Wrong!
Want to see how wrong makes everything beautifully right after the happy ending?
Check out the Triton's future in this special flash forward story. - https://dl.bookfunnel.com/15fevspud1
Then keep reading for a preview of another fierce alpha brought to his knees as Landon Strauss collides with an old flame in Still Not Over You.
Still Not Over You Preview
At Least It's Not Box Wine (Kenna)
Never trust a man who drinks Cabernet Sauvignon.
That’s always been my rule and it's never steered me wrong. Cabernet Sauvignon is for men who have certain ideas about themselves, but not a damn bit of what it takes to back them up.
All slick and shiny on the outside. Inside, it’s just empty promises and pointlessness.
No dreams. No heart. No grit. No soul.
Nothing like the man who set an impossibly alpha standard for every date I'll ever have. Right after he finished playing kickball with my heart. After the day that ended us, the one I swore I'd never fixate on again.
Welcome to my life in present day SoCal.
I’m not sure I’m going to find what I’m looking for out here in the plastic Ken-doll lineup of L.A. hotties, but I know Mr. New Money isn’t it. Not by a Tinder mile.
I’m not sure why I gave him a chance once he ordered his Cab with that shallow, overconfident smirk.
Maybe it was those blue eyes.
Empty as a bottomed-out glass. But they reminded me too much of someone I keep reaching for even though he’s forever out of my grasp.
Mr. New Money would’ve been easy, but I don’t do easy. I need more.
Although I wouldn’t mind Mr. New Money’s sleek Mercedes to come cruising by and rescue me, right now.
Half a block. Just half a freaking block around the corner from Skofé’s Wine Bar to my place, and I still managed to break a heel.
That’s the kind of luck I have.
Kenna Burke, human black cat.
At least it’s not Friday the 13th, or I'd be cursed double.
It’s a choice between walking barefoot on beat up L.A. sidewalks or limping along in one broken heel.
I choose limping – and regret it by the time I make it up the stairs to my apartment. I kick my shoes off with a little extra spite for the broken one, sending it rocketing across the entryway, and step forward. My aching foot comes down on something cool; an envelope. I pick it up and flip it over.
My name's on the front, neatly handwritten. Landlord’s letterhead logo in the upper left corner.
Oh, crap.
Just another thing I don’t want to open tonight.
I need something to fortify. Wasn't that the whole reason I went out, anyway? Not to meet some Cabernet-swigging wannabe Casanova.
I’ve been ignoring an email from my publisher all day. Subject line? “Re: His Royal Nuisance.”
Pinch me. I sent the manuscript in over two months ago. Normally I get a response back within weeks. The silence has been deafening, and I’m afraid the email will be damning.
If I’m going to author-hell, I'll do it on a five dollar bottle of pink Moscato.
Never trust a girl who drinks Barefoot Cellars, either.
She’s usually broke and chases her wine with straight up bad luck.
I drop myself on the barstool in front of the kitchen island, pour a glass, and toss it down. Courage comes in pink fizzy form.
I close my eyes, letting the tingles go to my head until everything feels a little floaty. Sweet distance. That’s what I need. That muting layer of mild intoxication that makes everything feel just a little farther away, and a little less likely to stab me in the heart.
Okay. Now for the envelope.
I slit the top with my fingernail, so not in the mood to care about my manicure. The single sheet of paper spilling out is obviously a form letter. The blue ink swoop of my landlord’s name gives it away. So does what’s supposed to look like a signature, but is obviously a rubber stamp smacked on by a tired secretary. A number in the middle of the top paragraph jumps out at me.
Two thousand dollars.
That’s what they want to charge me for rent, starting in two weeks.
I can barely manage the eighteen hundred I'm paying now for an overpriced shoebox of a one-bedroom walk-up.
“Holy shit,” I mutter to myself, the grim realization setting in. Two thousand will push me from living on ramen to living in the cardboard box the ramen was packed in.
Defeat hovers over me like a guillotine waiting to drop, but that thread’s not snapping just yet. There’s still hope in the email.
All I need is a solid advance for His Royal Nuisance and I’ll be able to handle the rent hike. At least long enough to keep from having to move again after the fifth rent adjustment in two years.
I top off my glass, take a sip for bravery, unlock my phone, and swipe the email notification.
And immediately feel my throat close shut at those horrid first words, “We regret to inform you…”
Those bastards don’t regret anything at all. Not when they go on to list a litany of my faults, calling the book rushed with flat, unrealistic characters, incoherent sex, and zero chemistry.
I guess it’s not enough to stick the dagger in my gut.
They have to twist it, too.
Mission accomplished because I can't even breathe.
Yes, I know I forced the book. But I thought I’d been doing this long enough that I had it in the bag and could at least rely on experience to push me through.
I haven’t been shot down like this since I was a baby author sending my first query letters. Another brutal sign I’m off my game.
Mojo, lost. Everything’s a disaster, and that disaster’s name is McKenna Burke.
I’m ready to chuck my phone across the room when it buzzes in my palm. My brother’s name pops up on the screen with the same cheesy cheerful selfie grin I’d set for his icon.
Steve, not now. Bad, bad timing.
I almost hang up. My head throbs, my heart hurts, and I don’t know if I can stand someone else being happy right now while I'm so miserable. But I could use a little human connection, too, and one way or another...
Steve always makes things right.
I take another swig of Moscato, this time straight from the bottle, then wipe my mouth with a gasp and tap to answer the call.
“Hello?” It falls from my lips by reflex, when my mouth feels numb and my head is whirling.
“Hey, sis,” Steve says. Perky as ever. With the way I feel right now, it’s like being dead and hearing voices from the living. “Did you get my email?”
“Email? What?” I blink vacantly, and pull my phone away for a second. Oh, hell. There’s like...ten other emails I’d ignored, including one from Steve with the subject “Gamma’s birthday.” But he’s still talking, this tinny voice coming from the speaker, as I put my phone to my ear again. “Sorry, sorry, just looking now. I just saw it and haven’t had a chance to open it. Sorry.”
“No biggie! I was just asking about the card.”
“Card?”
“Gamma’s turning ninety, remember?”
“Oh...”
Ninety. Oh God. Oh hell, I...I completely forgot, and ninety’s the big one. Ninety’s the one where you know you won’t have them for another decade, but you hope anyway and celebrate like it’s not all downhill and scary from there. I'd wanted to pick out something really nice for Gamma’s ninetieth, and yet I’ve been so wrapped up in my own mess that I completely forgot.
Add bad granddaughter to my growing list of faults, too.
“Sorry,” I mumble, and the next thing I know the counter is blurry in front of me and my nostrils are burning and I can’t make heads or tails of anything when everything inside me is constricting. “I’m sorry, I-I –”
And that’s when the tears hit.
Snotty, sniffly, ugly-cry tears, slamming into me like a sledgehammer and coming out on a coughing sob. I cover my mouth, trying to whimper another apology, but all that spills out is these wretched, awful sounds. Steve makes a panicked noise.
“Kenna? McKenna, what’s wrong? It's – Jesus, sis. It’s just a card. You didn't murder anybody, don't worry, I’ll pick one out for you if that'll help –”
“Steve, it’s n-not th-tha...”
“Then what's going down, baby sister?” His voice softens. Calming. Soothing. “C’mon, Kenna. Talk to me. Let it out.”
I take several breaths, quick and deep, trying to get myself under control until I’m not stammering and hitching with every word.
“Everything, Steve.” I croak out finally. “My publisher just rejected my latest novel. My rent’s going up. I can’t meet a single man who isn’t like some creepy carbon copy of Ryan Seacrest. I’m so cursed I might as well be a black cat, and my life is shit. It’s just shit and I don’t know what to do.”
The last part is a wail that makes even me cringe, but Steve takes it all in stride. He always does.
He’s older than me by a few years, almost thirty, but with his bright cheer you’d think he was the younger one. He’s like a Labrador or Golden Retriever or something. Just scratch behind his ears and his world is all good. And if you're hurt, he comes running.
“You’re not cursed,” he says with more confidence than I could ever muster. “You’re going to be fine. Everyone has bad streaks. The important thing is to make a plan and get through it. You’re great at planning, remember?”
“Right. Just fabulous. The last time I planned a family vacation, we ended up sleeping in a stable in Nepal. With goats. Remember?”
“That was an AirBnB mixup, not yours.” He laughs. “Look, sis, you need to recharge your batteries before you write your next book. So why not stop worrying about rent and get away to the beach?”
I snort. “Sure, I have beach money lying around. I’ll just live on my wealthy rich kid trust fund for a few months.”
“Okay, smartass,” he teases gently. “But I’m serious. I know a place you can hang out. Look, it’s just a few hours north of L.A., like twenty minutes north of the bay in Sausalito. You can drive there in less than a day. An old friend has this place on the beach where you can stay in the guest house rent free.”
I tilt my head, eyeballing the bottle of Moscato. It’s calling me, but I’m trying to resist its lure. It won't help me. Steve, on the other hand...
“No such thing as rent free,” I tell him. “Where's the catch?”
“Nah, no catch. Friends helping friends, that’s all. You remember Landon, right? My best friend? How we were always over at his place when Mom and Dad were traveling?”
I remember.
I remember hard enough to drop a stone on my heart, and the bottle of Moscato’s suddenly in my hand like a woman dying of thirst while I take a deep swig.
Holy hell, Landon Strauss. I could live ten more lifetimes and I'd never, ever forget that name.
“Nope!” I say as soon as I swallow. “Sorry, Steve, but no.”
Landon Strauss isn't someone I need to be around. He’s just a dark memory.
But wasn't it that memory of blue eyes and how starry-eyed he made me feel that led to a completely foolish decision tonight?
Once upon a time, I had the worst crush on Landon Strauss. More than a crush, actually.
I was crazy mad in love with him, and how he’d spin me all around until I was ecstatic and floating, the next I was small and awkward and ready to crawl in a hole and die.
I don’t want that feeling back. The nerd next door, glasses and all. Annoying baby sister tagging along everywhere.
I'm also not ready to revisit that unspeakable, unholy thing that happened the day my crush on Landon ended. That stupid, dark, soul shocking thing that transformed him into someone else right before my eyes.
Not just no. Hell no!
I’ve grown into myself and I’m now McKenna Burke, successful romance author.
But to Landon, I’ll always be that annoying child who stuck her nose where it didn’t belong, and uncovered secrets I never should've seen the day I picked up his damn journal when he wasn't looking.
I’ll always be the girl who knows something damning I can never believe, but that could ruin him if I ever opened my mouth.
He hates me. And I should hate him.
And he sure as hell won’t want me living on his property anytime this century.
“Kenna? Why not? What's the big deal?” Steve asks, pulling me back from my memory-misted past and into my wine-fogged present. “Hey, it’s not like he’s going to invade your fortress of solitude or anything. You’ll have plenty of free writing time. He won’t even be there most of the time.”
“Why not?”
“His security company’s really taking off. He's a busy dude. Enguard, remember? That's the name. So, he’s away on jobs most of the time. He’s had a few beach bums and prowlers squatting on his property, I guess, and he said he needs to take care of the cats and make sure kids don't mess around. Really, you’d be doing him a favor. Keep an eye on the place, do a little writing, and soak up the beach without paying a dime of rent. No big scary neighbors from the past up in your space.”
I make a noncommittal sound under my breath.
I can’t possibly be considering this, but I have to admit, it does sound tempting. Life rent-free, a place to get my head together, away from the too-familiar rush of L.A.
If it’s possible to get cabin fever from an entire city, I’ve got it.
Still, it's Landon.
“What do you say, sis?” Steve presses.
I sigh. “Give me time. I'll think about it, okay? It’s not really as easy as packing up and taking off. Let's talk later.”
Except it is that easy, if I want it to be, I realize as I hang up the phone.
It’s exactly that easy.
It’s not like I haven’t done it before, only this time I’d be doing it without hungry landlords nipping at my heels. Hell, half my stuff is still in boxes from the last move. I never bothered unpacking because I didn't feel secure.
I can’t possibly be considering this. But the opportunity is too good to ignore, and maybe...
Maybe I need closure.
Maybe he does, too.
I owe Landon an apology, at least. A few words to clear the air. I can tell him I’m sorry, purify the bad blood between us, promise him I’ve kept his secrets, be an adult and hope he’s willing to be one, too.
As I go to bed, I tell myself I'm not doing anything on heartbreak and cheap wine.
But by morning, I’ve already left notice for my landlord that I’m terminating my lease, and I’ll be back in thirty days for my things.
The next thing I know, I’m packing.
Sun, sand, and some time alone to screw my head on straight.
All I have to do is write the perfect book, and I’ll be back in the game and able to take care of myself again. It’s not like, if things go wrong with me and Landon, I have to deal with him very much.
We lay together panting, our fingers laced so tight.
I know it won’t be long before he’s ready again, but even in the stillness, I’m so turned on every touch makes me gasp.
“You’re the hottest woman alive, especially when you’re wrapped around my cock,” he says, stamping his lips up my neck. “Can’t believe we started off as family in the most fucked up way. Look at us now. Making our own.”
My heart skips.
I turn my head slowly, smiling into his incandescent green eyes.
“We’re not steps anymore, Chris. But I didn’t mind it when we were. Except for the sneaking around and pretending, I mean.”
“Yeah, thank fuck. Pretending? Babe, I don’t give a shit who or what you are. Just as long as you’re mine, my bride, and my cement. My perfect partner in everything. Is it so wrong I still love you like a sister and a soulmate all in one?”
His words should shock me, but instead I just smile.
The stuff that slips out of his mouth still scares me sometimes in the best ways.
This man is certifiably crazy.
He’s also crazy magnificent.
A badass to the bone.
Everything I ever asked for and nothing I deserve.
When I’m finally ready to answer him, I reach down, wrapping my fingers around his length. It’s already hardening against me, throbbing with fresh need.
“I don’t think loving you will ever be wrong,” I say, gently stroking his girthy thickness and waiting for him to push my hand away and spread my legs. “I love you so much, husband.”
He grins, tangling his fingers through my hair and pushing me onto my back again.
I watch as he moves between my legs, holding his cock at my entrance, full and teasing.
“Good. Let’s use some of that love to find out who we’ll be when we’re finished.” He lowers his lips to my ear, nipping at my earlobe before he says, “Don’t think I’ll ever stop fucking you through the nursery rhymes and family holidays when we’re running around like chickens on fire. I’ll never get enough of this, Delia. All the ways you make my heart boom.”
Smiling, I run my hands over the intricate dragon on his chest. It was re-inked a couple months ago after his scars healed, a stark reminder that I’m forever safe with this man.
He’s right about the boom, too.
I can feel his heartbeat resonating in my fingertips.
My palms linger there, pushing into hard muscle as he sinks inside me, claiming me again.
We’re both getting better with words, but there are still some conversations only fit for the flesh.
Right now, his skin speaks loud and clear, shouting how much he’ll love me tonight and ever after.
He is every caress, every smile, and every stolen kiss I’ll ever crave.
Green like life.
Blue like flames.
All the reds I could ever ask for.
If Chris Triton is my perfect wrong—if my life didn’t lead me here—please never let me be right.
* * *
Thanks for reading The Perfect Wrong!
Want to see how wrong makes everything beautifully right after the happy ending?
Check out the Triton's future in this special flash forward story. - https://dl.bookfunnel.com/15fevspud1
Then keep reading for a preview of another fierce alpha brought to his knees as Landon Strauss collides with an old flame in Still Not Over You.
Still Not Over You Preview
At Least It's Not Box Wine (Kenna)
Never trust a man who drinks Cabernet Sauvignon.
That’s always been my rule and it's never steered me wrong. Cabernet Sauvignon is for men who have certain ideas about themselves, but not a damn bit of what it takes to back them up.
All slick and shiny on the outside. Inside, it’s just empty promises and pointlessness.
No dreams. No heart. No grit. No soul.
Nothing like the man who set an impossibly alpha standard for every date I'll ever have. Right after he finished playing kickball with my heart. After the day that ended us, the one I swore I'd never fixate on again.
Welcome to my life in present day SoCal.
I’m not sure I’m going to find what I’m looking for out here in the plastic Ken-doll lineup of L.A. hotties, but I know Mr. New Money isn’t it. Not by a Tinder mile.
I’m not sure why I gave him a chance once he ordered his Cab with that shallow, overconfident smirk.
Maybe it was those blue eyes.
Empty as a bottomed-out glass. But they reminded me too much of someone I keep reaching for even though he’s forever out of my grasp.
Mr. New Money would’ve been easy, but I don’t do easy. I need more.
Although I wouldn’t mind Mr. New Money’s sleek Mercedes to come cruising by and rescue me, right now.
Half a block. Just half a freaking block around the corner from Skofé’s Wine Bar to my place, and I still managed to break a heel.
That’s the kind of luck I have.
Kenna Burke, human black cat.
At least it’s not Friday the 13th, or I'd be cursed double.
It’s a choice between walking barefoot on beat up L.A. sidewalks or limping along in one broken heel.
I choose limping – and regret it by the time I make it up the stairs to my apartment. I kick my shoes off with a little extra spite for the broken one, sending it rocketing across the entryway, and step forward. My aching foot comes down on something cool; an envelope. I pick it up and flip it over.
My name's on the front, neatly handwritten. Landlord’s letterhead logo in the upper left corner.
Oh, crap.
Just another thing I don’t want to open tonight.
I need something to fortify. Wasn't that the whole reason I went out, anyway? Not to meet some Cabernet-swigging wannabe Casanova.
I’ve been ignoring an email from my publisher all day. Subject line? “Re: His Royal Nuisance.”
Pinch me. I sent the manuscript in over two months ago. Normally I get a response back within weeks. The silence has been deafening, and I’m afraid the email will be damning.
If I’m going to author-hell, I'll do it on a five dollar bottle of pink Moscato.
Never trust a girl who drinks Barefoot Cellars, either.
She’s usually broke and chases her wine with straight up bad luck.
I drop myself on the barstool in front of the kitchen island, pour a glass, and toss it down. Courage comes in pink fizzy form.
I close my eyes, letting the tingles go to my head until everything feels a little floaty. Sweet distance. That’s what I need. That muting layer of mild intoxication that makes everything feel just a little farther away, and a little less likely to stab me in the heart.
Okay. Now for the envelope.
I slit the top with my fingernail, so not in the mood to care about my manicure. The single sheet of paper spilling out is obviously a form letter. The blue ink swoop of my landlord’s name gives it away. So does what’s supposed to look like a signature, but is obviously a rubber stamp smacked on by a tired secretary. A number in the middle of the top paragraph jumps out at me.
Two thousand dollars.
That’s what they want to charge me for rent, starting in two weeks.
I can barely manage the eighteen hundred I'm paying now for an overpriced shoebox of a one-bedroom walk-up.
“Holy shit,” I mutter to myself, the grim realization setting in. Two thousand will push me from living on ramen to living in the cardboard box the ramen was packed in.
Defeat hovers over me like a guillotine waiting to drop, but that thread’s not snapping just yet. There’s still hope in the email.
All I need is a solid advance for His Royal Nuisance and I’ll be able to handle the rent hike. At least long enough to keep from having to move again after the fifth rent adjustment in two years.
I top off my glass, take a sip for bravery, unlock my phone, and swipe the email notification.
And immediately feel my throat close shut at those horrid first words, “We regret to inform you…”
Those bastards don’t regret anything at all. Not when they go on to list a litany of my faults, calling the book rushed with flat, unrealistic characters, incoherent sex, and zero chemistry.
I guess it’s not enough to stick the dagger in my gut.
They have to twist it, too.
Mission accomplished because I can't even breathe.
Yes, I know I forced the book. But I thought I’d been doing this long enough that I had it in the bag and could at least rely on experience to push me through.
I haven’t been shot down like this since I was a baby author sending my first query letters. Another brutal sign I’m off my game.
Mojo, lost. Everything’s a disaster, and that disaster’s name is McKenna Burke.
I’m ready to chuck my phone across the room when it buzzes in my palm. My brother’s name pops up on the screen with the same cheesy cheerful selfie grin I’d set for his icon.
Steve, not now. Bad, bad timing.
I almost hang up. My head throbs, my heart hurts, and I don’t know if I can stand someone else being happy right now while I'm so miserable. But I could use a little human connection, too, and one way or another...
Steve always makes things right.
I take another swig of Moscato, this time straight from the bottle, then wipe my mouth with a gasp and tap to answer the call.
“Hello?” It falls from my lips by reflex, when my mouth feels numb and my head is whirling.
“Hey, sis,” Steve says. Perky as ever. With the way I feel right now, it’s like being dead and hearing voices from the living. “Did you get my email?”
“Email? What?” I blink vacantly, and pull my phone away for a second. Oh, hell. There’s like...ten other emails I’d ignored, including one from Steve with the subject “Gamma’s birthday.” But he’s still talking, this tinny voice coming from the speaker, as I put my phone to my ear again. “Sorry, sorry, just looking now. I just saw it and haven’t had a chance to open it. Sorry.”
“No biggie! I was just asking about the card.”
“Card?”
“Gamma’s turning ninety, remember?”
“Oh...”
Ninety. Oh God. Oh hell, I...I completely forgot, and ninety’s the big one. Ninety’s the one where you know you won’t have them for another decade, but you hope anyway and celebrate like it’s not all downhill and scary from there. I'd wanted to pick out something really nice for Gamma’s ninetieth, and yet I’ve been so wrapped up in my own mess that I completely forgot.
Add bad granddaughter to my growing list of faults, too.
“Sorry,” I mumble, and the next thing I know the counter is blurry in front of me and my nostrils are burning and I can’t make heads or tails of anything when everything inside me is constricting. “I’m sorry, I-I –”
And that’s when the tears hit.
Snotty, sniffly, ugly-cry tears, slamming into me like a sledgehammer and coming out on a coughing sob. I cover my mouth, trying to whimper another apology, but all that spills out is these wretched, awful sounds. Steve makes a panicked noise.
“Kenna? McKenna, what’s wrong? It's – Jesus, sis. It’s just a card. You didn't murder anybody, don't worry, I’ll pick one out for you if that'll help –”
“Steve, it’s n-not th-tha...”
“Then what's going down, baby sister?” His voice softens. Calming. Soothing. “C’mon, Kenna. Talk to me. Let it out.”
I take several breaths, quick and deep, trying to get myself under control until I’m not stammering and hitching with every word.
“Everything, Steve.” I croak out finally. “My publisher just rejected my latest novel. My rent’s going up. I can’t meet a single man who isn’t like some creepy carbon copy of Ryan Seacrest. I’m so cursed I might as well be a black cat, and my life is shit. It’s just shit and I don’t know what to do.”
The last part is a wail that makes even me cringe, but Steve takes it all in stride. He always does.
He’s older than me by a few years, almost thirty, but with his bright cheer you’d think he was the younger one. He’s like a Labrador or Golden Retriever or something. Just scratch behind his ears and his world is all good. And if you're hurt, he comes running.
“You’re not cursed,” he says with more confidence than I could ever muster. “You’re going to be fine. Everyone has bad streaks. The important thing is to make a plan and get through it. You’re great at planning, remember?”
“Right. Just fabulous. The last time I planned a family vacation, we ended up sleeping in a stable in Nepal. With goats. Remember?”
“That was an AirBnB mixup, not yours.” He laughs. “Look, sis, you need to recharge your batteries before you write your next book. So why not stop worrying about rent and get away to the beach?”
I snort. “Sure, I have beach money lying around. I’ll just live on my wealthy rich kid trust fund for a few months.”
“Okay, smartass,” he teases gently. “But I’m serious. I know a place you can hang out. Look, it’s just a few hours north of L.A., like twenty minutes north of the bay in Sausalito. You can drive there in less than a day. An old friend has this place on the beach where you can stay in the guest house rent free.”
I tilt my head, eyeballing the bottle of Moscato. It’s calling me, but I’m trying to resist its lure. It won't help me. Steve, on the other hand...
“No such thing as rent free,” I tell him. “Where's the catch?”
“Nah, no catch. Friends helping friends, that’s all. You remember Landon, right? My best friend? How we were always over at his place when Mom and Dad were traveling?”
I remember.
I remember hard enough to drop a stone on my heart, and the bottle of Moscato’s suddenly in my hand like a woman dying of thirst while I take a deep swig.
Holy hell, Landon Strauss. I could live ten more lifetimes and I'd never, ever forget that name.
“Nope!” I say as soon as I swallow. “Sorry, Steve, but no.”
Landon Strauss isn't someone I need to be around. He’s just a dark memory.
But wasn't it that memory of blue eyes and how starry-eyed he made me feel that led to a completely foolish decision tonight?
Once upon a time, I had the worst crush on Landon Strauss. More than a crush, actually.
I was crazy mad in love with him, and how he’d spin me all around until I was ecstatic and floating, the next I was small and awkward and ready to crawl in a hole and die.
I don’t want that feeling back. The nerd next door, glasses and all. Annoying baby sister tagging along everywhere.
I'm also not ready to revisit that unspeakable, unholy thing that happened the day my crush on Landon ended. That stupid, dark, soul shocking thing that transformed him into someone else right before my eyes.
Not just no. Hell no!
I’ve grown into myself and I’m now McKenna Burke, successful romance author.
But to Landon, I’ll always be that annoying child who stuck her nose where it didn’t belong, and uncovered secrets I never should've seen the day I picked up his damn journal when he wasn't looking.
I’ll always be the girl who knows something damning I can never believe, but that could ruin him if I ever opened my mouth.
He hates me. And I should hate him.
And he sure as hell won’t want me living on his property anytime this century.
“Kenna? Why not? What's the big deal?” Steve asks, pulling me back from my memory-misted past and into my wine-fogged present. “Hey, it’s not like he’s going to invade your fortress of solitude or anything. You’ll have plenty of free writing time. He won’t even be there most of the time.”
“Why not?”
“His security company’s really taking off. He's a busy dude. Enguard, remember? That's the name. So, he’s away on jobs most of the time. He’s had a few beach bums and prowlers squatting on his property, I guess, and he said he needs to take care of the cats and make sure kids don't mess around. Really, you’d be doing him a favor. Keep an eye on the place, do a little writing, and soak up the beach without paying a dime of rent. No big scary neighbors from the past up in your space.”
I make a noncommittal sound under my breath.
I can’t possibly be considering this, but I have to admit, it does sound tempting. Life rent-free, a place to get my head together, away from the too-familiar rush of L.A.
If it’s possible to get cabin fever from an entire city, I’ve got it.
Still, it's Landon.
“What do you say, sis?” Steve presses.
I sigh. “Give me time. I'll think about it, okay? It’s not really as easy as packing up and taking off. Let's talk later.”
Except it is that easy, if I want it to be, I realize as I hang up the phone.
It’s exactly that easy.
It’s not like I haven’t done it before, only this time I’d be doing it without hungry landlords nipping at my heels. Hell, half my stuff is still in boxes from the last move. I never bothered unpacking because I didn't feel secure.
I can’t possibly be considering this. But the opportunity is too good to ignore, and maybe...
Maybe I need closure.
Maybe he does, too.
I owe Landon an apology, at least. A few words to clear the air. I can tell him I’m sorry, purify the bad blood between us, promise him I’ve kept his secrets, be an adult and hope he’s willing to be one, too.
As I go to bed, I tell myself I'm not doing anything on heartbreak and cheap wine.
But by morning, I’ve already left notice for my landlord that I’m terminating my lease, and I’ll be back in thirty days for my things.
The next thing I know, I’m packing.
Sun, sand, and some time alone to screw my head on straight.
All I have to do is write the perfect book, and I’ll be back in the game and able to take care of myself again. It’s not like, if things go wrong with me and Landon, I have to deal with him very much.
