Thank you for reading! It is a new month, which means new book rankings, so PLEASE vote and leave a review!
BAILEE EIGHT YEARS AGO (Sixteen years old) “If it isn’t Baby Evans!” Jacob mocked, pulling on a chunk of my hair and jerking my head back. “Ow!” I snapped, spinning around to swat his hand away. “Leave me alone!” “So touchy! What’s wrong, Baby Evans? I thought you liked getting your hair pulled. I've heard all about you.” Jacob said, grabbing a fist full and yanking on my hair again, this time forcing me back so far that I stumbled, crashing into a warm body. “Let her go,” The deep, familiar voice made me tense, but as his arms wrapped around me, I froze. “Come on, Xander!” Jacob laughed, grabbing the strap to my backpack and tugging on it. “Lighten up. Ben’s not here, and she’s not your sister. I’m just having a little fun.” “Don’t fucking call me that, and get your hands off her!” Alexander growled, and my hands grabbed his sides to hold myself up as Jacob gave one last tug on the strap. Ben’s friends hadn’t always bothered me, not until I hit puberty a few years ago,
BAILEEHe was nowhere to be found for the rest of the day, and after dinner that night, I walked down to the docks and dangled my feet into the water. It wasn’t long before I heard footsteps on the wooden planks behind me. The hair rose on the back of my neck, and tingles of nerves shot through my skin as Alex approached and kicked off his shoes to join me. “Are you okay?” He asked, sitting next to me, his thigh touching mine. “Were you suspended?” I whispered, guilt flooding through me at the thought because I knew how hard he was working to better his life since his dad had been sent to prison. I had overheard him telling Ben about his plans to get into a law school, and this could ruin that. Alex let out a bitter laugh before sighing. “Yeah.” “Are your foster parents angry?” “Don’t worry about me, Bailee. I can handle it. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” He hadn’t answered my question directly, so I knew that was a yes. “Me? I wasn’t the one in a fight today!” I ex
BAILEE It had taken several days for Brinley’s fever to break and a few more for me to feel comfortable enough to send her to daycare. I had resisted when Caleb demanded we get a nanny instead of sending Brinley to daycare, but I lost that argument. Now, I finally had the chance to do what I
“You were on a dream vacation with your boyfriend, expecting your own ring and happily ever after. I wasn’t going to dampen your excitement over your future with my drama!” I exclaimed, hearing the bell chime from the front of the store. I always had two employees working up there, so I ignored it
BAILEE By the time I got into the car to end my day, I was hot and sweaty. My hair was sticking to my face, and my shirt was uncomfortably damp from walking the giant bouquets of roses up and down the street, giving them to other businesses. Twenty-Six. He had sent me twenty-six bouquets.
BAILEE I had just put Brinley down in her new bed when I heard voices downstairs. My back went rigid, and the hairs on my arms stood in terror as I scanned my surroundings for something I could use as a weapon. Only the hallway was bare except for a few picture frames. There was nothing for me to
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Some loser sent them to me. I’ll throw them away tomorrow. Just like I did with all the others.” Alex’s face hardened, the muscle above his jaw flexing as he pressed his teeth together. “Others? Is some guy harassing you?” Ben asked, looking angry, but he relaxed
ALEXANDER “I need a favor!” Ben exclaimed, storming into my office with a smiling Brinley in tow. She had purple paint all over her face in the shape of a butterfly, and her hair looked like she had been attacked by a second-grade classroom with unlimited access to colorful ponytails and clips.
EPILOGUE “If you get on one knee without a ring in your hands, one more time, I am going to kill you.” I hissed, narrowing my eyes at Alex. We had already been on the cover of hundreds of magazines. They seemed to get as much of a kick out of this as he did. Each time, there was one page with him
BAILEE Alex was extraordinarily happy that night and the following day. He didn’t stop smiling until we reached Ben’s house to say goodbye. Only then did his good mood fade. As soon as I saw Ben was already by his car, about to put his suitcase in, I jumped out of ours and rushed to unbuckle Br
BAILEE Alex was surprisingly calm for a man who potentially left an engagement ring in the jacket he just asked me to search. Hell, he was even whistling as he got into the shower that night, and I immediately pulled out my phone and dialed Lacey while he was busy, breathing a sigh of relief when
BAILEE My body stilled as my hand closed around the small velvet box in his pocket. Everything in me was telling me to take it out. I needed to confirm that it was what I suspected, but I was also terrified that I would be wrong. What if I was just getting my hopes up, and it was just a pair of
ALEXANDER My knee bounced as I stared at the garage door, waiting for her to open it and enter the kitchen. I didn’t like that she was supposed to be on bed rest, yet she was still going to work and driving around. At the very least, I wanted my driver to take her wherever she wanted to go, but s
Ben stilled, looking down at what he had just packed for a long moment before realizing I was being sarcastic. “Very funny. Look, I leave tomorrow, and I don’t want to forget anything or run out. If the press catches me leaving the facility and running to the store for anything, they will spin it an
BAILEE “I don’t think those are considered fan pages, then,” I mumbled instinctively, and Ben held my stare for a long moment before the corner of his mouth turned up, and he chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” “I’m really sorry you are having to go through that,” I said, walking forward an
BAILEE I didn’t know the girl, but all day, I felt like I needed to call Vivian and apologize again for blowing her up like that, even though we had cleared the air back at the house. My careless accusation had caused her to get dumped and to fear for the security of her job within seconds of ea
ALEXANDER “I told you she would break him,” Bash said, his voice coming through the speakerphone as I sat staring at Mason in my visitor’s chair. “She didn’t break me.” Mason snapped back, sounding appalled by the accusation. “You want her. You’ve never wanted anyone before, not for more than a