Stubborn Love (27 page)
Authors: Natalie Ward
Seven days later – Jared
I wake up to the sound of
ice and sleet hitting the window. Winter is here, I think as I roll over. Mia
is gone, but for the first time, this is okay. I can hear her voice coming from
the kitchen, the door to my room slightly ajar as though she wanted me to know
that they were talking. They need to talk, I know that, but I also need to make
sure she is
alright
.
Throwing off the covers, I
pull on a pair of sweats before quietly walking out. The two of them are
standing facing each other in the kitchen. Luke has his arm around her and when
I see Mia brush tears from her face, instinct drives me and I walk out into the
living room as though I don’t have a choice.
Both of them turn when
they hear me, both of them smiling when they see me.
“Hey,” I say tentatively.
Smiling, Mia squeezes her
brother’s arm before walking over to me. Standing on her toes she puts her lips
against mine and whispers, “Hey yourself.”
Smiling back, I kiss her,
my arm sliding around her waist and bringing her closer.
“Come back to bed when
you’re done,” she whispers before walking back into my room and closing the
door.
When she’s gone, I turn
back to face Luke, not sure what to expect from him. The smile and a “Hey,” I
get back in return are probably not top of the list. As walk into the kitchen,
I get busy pouring some coffee for us, anything to distract myself. I’m
surprised when Luke finally speaks.
“I owe you an apology
Jared.”
“What?” I ask, pausing mid
pour with the coffee.
“Mia,” he continues,
gesturing towards my room. “She told me everything.”
“What?” I say again, not
entirely sure where this is going.
“She told me why she broke
up with you,” he continues. “Said it was never your fault, anything that had
happened. Seems we can thank me and my asshole father for that.”
I finally look up at him
as I say, “That’s not exactly true.”
“You and I both know that
it was for those reasons. I might not have realised it, but I should have. I
never knew why you guys broke up…”
“I never really knew
either,” I interrupt, exhaling loudly as I push my hand through my hair.
“Yeah, I get that now,”
Luke
says quietly. “But I’m sorry I was a part of it, I
really am sorry. I should have been looking out for her, not the other way
around. And…” he trails off, running his hand over his head as he takes a deep
breath. “I’m really sorry that my father continues to be a problem. For you and
your family.”
I look at him. He looks
wrecked, which is probably to be expected given everything he’s been through
the last couple of days. They only just got home from the hospital yesterday
and I suspect whatever Mia has told him is the last thing he needed to hear. I
can’t imagine he’s even slept since the night it happened, because he sure as
shit doesn’t look
like
it. I’m about to ask if he’s
okay, when he shocks me.
“She told me about being
pregnant Jared,” he murmurs, his words barely loud enough to hear.
I don’t know what happens
next. All I know is the room suddenly goes blurry and all the noise fades to
the background. All I know is that suddenly Luke is hugging me. Hugging me for
fuck’s sake.
“I’m sorry Jared, I really
am. I’ve been a fucking asshole friend to you, dragging all of my family drama
into your life, and your family’s. I never even knew half of what was really
happening, or what you were going through, but I’m sorry.”
I pull away, embarrassed
by my reaction. “It’s okay Luke, really,” I say quietly. “You can’t control who
your dad is and anyway, it’s, you know…it’s in the past.”
“Maybe,” he continues.
“But I know you never got over her, and I know living with me couldn’t have
made that easy. Fuck, living with me has never been that easy, obviously, and
for that I really am sorry.”
I smile now, looking at
him and saying, “Yeah well, I’m sure I wasn’t always a walk in the park
either.” Trying for a joke, desperately wanting to end this conversation.
Luke smiles back now,
holding out his hand to me. “Thanks for putting up with me for so long,” he
says as he pulls me in for another hug. “Thanks for putting up with all of our
shit.”
“Yeah,” is the only thing
I can
say.
Eventually the two of us
decide to grow our balls back and we pull away, Luke turning to the two coffees
he had poured, spooning sugars into both of them.
“Ash
sleep
alright now that she’s back here?” I finally ask, genuinely concerned.
Smiling Luke answers,
“Yeah, she did, she’s happy to be home, slept really well.” He takes a deep
breath now and I suspect the same can’t be said for him.
“And you, are you doing
okay?”
Luke just shrugs and I can
tell that means he’s probably not, but he only says, “I’m
gonna
take her coffee in to her. I’ll talk to you later?”
“Yeah,” I reply, hoping
that this isn’t the start of everything unravelling for him again.
When Luke leaves, I stand
at the counter for a few minutes, trying to work out what the fuck has just
happened, but at the same time, calm myself down before I go back to Mia. With
shaking hands, I eventually pour us both coffees and then walk back into my
room, our room, and to her.
“Hey you,” Mia says when I
walk in.
“Hey yourself,” I reply,
smiling as I climb into bed beside her.
Laughing she pulls me
closer, her body already warm beneath the covers. Pressing my mouth to hers, I
decide right then that kissing her is a far better option for waking up than
coffee ever will be.
Eight days later – Mia
“Shit…”
Jared and I smack into
each other. Hard.
He’s coming into the
bathroom just as I am walking out. I’m busy rubbing my hair with a towel,
trying to dry it before the others all get here and I don’t see him as I’m
walking through the door. We literally smash together, my cheek hitting his
shoulder before we both fall backwards.
“Shit baby, are you okay?”
he asks, his hands gripping my shoulders to stop me from falling.
“
Oww
,”
I say, rubbing my cheek.
I can hear Jared laughing
softly as he turns me and when I look up at him, I scowl. “What are you
laughing at?”
He smiles as he leans in
and gently kisses my cheek, once, twice and three times. “Oh nothing,” he says,
moving so he’s kissing my lips now. “Only that this
kinda
feels a bit like
deja
vu.”
I smile back at him,
thinking he’s right.
Because right at this very
moment, I’m backed up against the bathroom wall, just like I was a week ago.
Jared’s hands, which were just on my shoulders as he caught me, have now slid
down my arms as though he’s about to pull me into his. I want him to, even if
it is
kinda
pointless,
because we are already as close as we can get. His body, his deliciously hard
warm body, which I have spent the last week rediscovering, is now pressed right
up against mine. With the wall at my back and Jared against my front, I am
literally stuck between a rock and a hard place,
again
. And my heart, which is of course, pressed against his, is
pounding in my chest, my breathing coming hard and fast from the look he’s
giving me right now.
“
Deja
vu huh?” I ask
,
dropping the towel I was using to dry
my hair and sliding my arms around his waist.
He smiles as he presses
his body harder against me. He’s wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts,
which I presume he pulled on when he crawled out of bed to come in here. I have
only a towel wrapped around me and right now, one of Jared’s hands has let go
of my arm and is slowly undoing it, so it too, falls to the floor.
“Well, yeah,” he whispers,
leaning in as he presses his lips to my collarbone. I feel the gentle bite of
his teeth; hear the soft moan I let out in response as my head falls back against
the wall. “But I was thinking things could go a little differently this time.”
Smiling, I force my head
off the wall as I find his mouth again with my mine. “Oh,” I say, gently
nipping at his lower lip. “How so?”
Jared lets out a soft
laugh as one of his hands slides around my now naked waist and pulls me even
tighter against him. He presses himself into me, showing me exactly what he has
in mind. As his other hand lets go of my arm, he reaches out and slams the
bathroom door shut, locking us both in here.
“I was
thinking
…”
he whispers, his arm winding around my shoulder now as his lips kiss their way
down my neck. “That this time…” His kisses continue, his lips trailing on to my
shoulder. “I wouldn’t walk out of here so fast…” His lips reach my chest and
slowly kiss a trail across, from one side to the other. “That maybe, I’d stay…”
I slide my hands down to
his boxers, my fingers inching their way under the waistband and pushing them
down his hips. “But you were the one coming in here, Jared,” I say teasingly.
“I was walking out, remember?”
“No,” he moans, his lips
on my breast.
My fingers dig into his
skin, pulling his hips back towards mine. I can feel my heart, pounding hard in
my chest, my breathing heavy and deep, as I stupidly try to get my body under
control, knowing I’m failing completely. “So you want
me
to stay then?” I ask, my voice low.
Jared pushes his hips hard
against mine again, his arm around my waist squeezing me tighter, in answer to
my question.
I smile; my hands cupping
his face so I can bring it back to mine. “Is that a yes Jared?” I ask him, our
eyes locking and my bottom lip between my teeth as I wait for his answer.
Jared smiles at me in a
way that has me losing what little control I have left as I practically melt
into a puddle on the floor. My pounding heart is now actually trying to break
through my ribs and my legs start to shake, barely holding me up as he leans in
towards me. Everything is moving in slow motion and I watch transfixed, as he
slowly moves closer, his beautiful blue eyes shining as they stare into mine. I
can feel the warmth of his breath on my skin, the feel of his fingers, his
arms, his body, as he holds me against him, holds me up. Just as his lips are
about to touch mine, just as I lean in and try to close the last little
distance between us, Jared stops.
“That baby,” he whispers,
his lips, his whole body resting against mine now. “Is a fuck yes.”
And then he kisses me and
this time, neither of us walks out of the bathroom for a very long time.
Acknowledgements
Second time around was a
lot harder than I thought it would be, especially when I realised I actually
should’ve been writing an entirely different book. I know Luke’s was supposed
to have been next, and his will happen, I promise. But Mia and Jared really
needed to have their story told; they needed their HEA. Having said that, the
second time around was also a lot more fun and that was because of so many
people.
To all of the amazing
people I have met through writing these stories. There are far to many of you
to name, but just know, each and every one of you has helped me. I appreciate
all of your messages, support and friendship, more than you’ll ever know. To
all of the blogs who have helped me out, thank you. I couldn’t do this without
you. To everyone at Triple M, thank you for welcoming me into your group, you
gals are a blast and I can’t thank you enough for pimping me, supporting me and
for all those casting pictures. To my RWBs, thank you for the daily
vibers
,
voxers
and hilarious
conversations, here’s to many more.
Sarah Hansen. Geez woman,
I thought I loved the first cover you made me, and then you go and make this
one and I love it even more. Thank you for giving
Stubborn Love
such a beautiful cover. It’s gorgeous, perfect and
exactly what I wanted for them.
Jenny and
Gitte
. You ladies took a chance on me, way back when no one
knew who I was, much less that I’d written a book. And you’ve supported me,
every single day since. Thank you for all of the support, the laughs, the
friendship and love. I appreciate it more than you know.
Nikki. Thank you for your
endless friendship and support, and for laughing with me. You never stopped
telling me I could do this, even before you’d ever read a single word of it.
Thank you for fixing all of my grammatical cock ups (told you I’d get it in
here), even if you did laugh your arse off at me along the way. One of these
days I’ll learn, although grammar karma payback is definitely still my bitch,
even
Pusheen
agrees.
Kristina. You are the
funniest beta reader, ever. Your endless conversations with the characters, the
running commentary of snarky comments directed at both them and me, and the
random facts that weren’t even related to the story, are worthy of publication
in their own right. I loved your weekly instalments and the creative excuses
for why it was 49 and not 50 pages long. Thank you for keeping my cheese under
control, for keeping me laughing and for loving both Jared AND Luke…I know it’s
a struggle.
For my
music guru.
Thank you for all of your fabulous song recommendations, but
more importantly,
thank
you for the friendship. You
are a total stubborn arse, but you make me laugh, repeatedly.
To Lisa and Cathy. You’ve
been with me from the start and you have both always encouraged me to keep
writing.
Thank you for helping me out the second time around,
for your feedback and support, but most importantly, for your friendship.
Jackie, my BFF. Thank you
for always believing in me, supporting me, being there for me, cooking for me, sometimes
ordering take away for me, having chocolate for me, trying to pour wine for me,
watching Supernatural and Vampire Diaries with me and everything else you do. But
most of all, thank you for being such an amazing friend. You are a star and I
love you.
And
lastly, but never least, Andrei.
Thank you, for everything. I know it’s
still not that book I promised, but one day we’ll get there. You make me laugh
every single day and I love all of your crazy plot ideas, even if it means
everything ends up as a
sci
fi story. You’ve always
supported me in everything I do, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I’m
sorry for all of the hours spent on my
laptop,
I
promise it’s not all
facebooking
. I love you.
