by Nikki Ashton
Mr Monroe was only four years older than us, so when he’d taken over the job from Miss Daniels at the end of the last school year, he’d decided a few changes were needed. One was getting rid of some of the old, bored and frustrated teaching staff so when Mrs Baker our old maths teacher was pensioned off, Adam decided to apply. Lucky for him Mr Raymond, our history teacher had decided to move back to Surrey, so he’d been the one to recommend Adam for the dual role when he’d put his CV forward. The new head also had zero tolerance on bullying and elitism in the school. He liked that Adam had been honest with him about some of the things he’d done in his past, which was why Adam was also heading up the school council. Kids would be able to air their worries and grievances about what went on in the school and it would be a place for them to have open honesty without fear of any consequences. More importantly there would always be a trained counsellor on hand, should Adam feel any of them needed it.
“What time are you meeting Alannah?” he asked, a shadow passing over his handsome face.
“Half seven,” I replied and rubbed at the frown line between his eyes. “We’re having an early dinner as her flight home is practically in the middle of the night.”
He nodded and then glanced over his shoulder to check on the kids.
“She would like to see you, you know,” I said and tugged on his sleeve.
Adam turned back to me and shook his head. “No, I think the past is best left in the past as far as me and Alannah are concerned.”
He still felt haunted about the way he’d treated some of the girls, particularly Alannah and Amber as they’d been my friends. He didn’t understand how Alannah could move on and still be in contact with us, still send birthday and Christmas cards and still like to meet up with me if we were ever in the same place at the same time. Although, meeting with Alannah was rare as she worked as a designer for a car company in Germany and was rarely in the country. It had to be said, she was a pretty forgiving person and claimed none of us were the same people because life shaped you and life changed you. I was lucky to have her as a friend and happy that she was home visiting her family at the time we moved back.
“Well you’d be welcome,” I replied. “And Amber won’t be there.”
Adam rolled his eyes. Amber definitely hadn’t forgiven him, in fact she was generally anti men full stop and had given up her nursing career to travel the world campaigning for women’s rights.
“I would definitely not be joining you if she was,” he said with a grimace. “I’d be worried for my bollocks.”
“She’s not that bad,” I lied. “She just doesn’t like you and I don’t blame her.”
“Exactly.”
He pulled me in for another heart stopping kiss and just when things were getting interesting a little voice caused us to break apart.
“Daddy, I’m hungry.” Paige ran across to us with a face of consternation at the fact that it was evidently our fault she hadn’t been fed almost an hour.
Adam swung her up into his arms and blew a raspberry against her chubby little belly.
“You only just had lunch and if you keep eating, this thing,” he blew her belly again, “will pop.”
Paige giggled and wiggled in his arms and not for the first time, I wondered whether she constantly complained of hunger just so Adam would do that and say those exact words to her each time.
As Adam continued to tickle her, I looked over to Ethan who was concentrating on his dribbling skills around some cones placed in the gym. We may have laughed about him being a future Premier League star, but the coach at the football coaching sessions we’d enrolled him into in London, had said he was pretty good for his age. I guessed that’s what happened when on the day you were born the first thing your daddy did was buy you a full-size football and place it in your Moses basket.
“Hey, Mummy,” he shouted to me with a wave of his hand. “I think I’m getting better, do you?”
My gorgeous, blond haired, kind-hearted boy who, apart from having my colouring, was the mirror image of Adam, filled my heart with joy every time I looked at him. Both my kids did, and I cherished every moment with them. Even at their age I made sure they knew they could tell us absolutely anything, there were to be no secrets in our home and they knew if anyone told them to keep a secret from us then they should check with Aunt Lori or their grandparents if it was the right thing to do. I wanted an open household, but surprise parties and gifts were another thing after all.
“I think you’re amazing,” I replied, and I truly did. I still marvelled that two messed up kids had produced these two miracles. “You ready to go to the new house now, buddy. Daddy’s finished setting up his classroom.”
“Okay, just one more dribble.”
“Okay, just one more.”
I smiled because I knew that as soon as we got to the new house, he’d be out in the large garden at the back, kicking balls into the kid’s size goals that Adam had already put up for him.
“You ready, gorgeous?” Adam asked as he walked towards me with Paige in his arms.
I nodded and took one last look around the gym. I took in the climbing ropes hanging from the ceiling and the usual pile of gym mats in the corner. In place of the speaker Alannah had pumped her cheer music through, there was now a top of the range Bluetooth sound system proving that Maddison High was moving forward. Finally, my eyes went back to our son kicking a ball with the name Hudson and the number 7 on his back, just like his daddy.
We were where we started, where we’d hated each other and where we’d fallen in love with each other. It was one of those times where I was thankful for everything and knew somehow my dad was still looking out for me, my husband and my two beautiful babies. Walking away, I touched the pendant at my neck, now my anchor instead of my fading scar, and started to sing quietly. My smile was wide when Paige and Ethan joined in with the song we now sang as a family in times of happiness, and I felt content.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You’ll never know dear; how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
The End
Acknowledgments
Well, Adam and Sarah’s story is over and it’s time to thank those who helped me. It’s another big list, so sit back and relax.
Anna Bloom thank you once again for your editing skills on this one. I know you found parts difficult to read, but you did it and made it a much better book with your words of wisdom.
My two alpha readers, Lynn Newman and Sarah Dale, I can’t thank you enough for your love and encouragement for this book. You immediately understood my boy Adam and the sort of person he wanted to be, and you never once mistrusted the journey I was taking him and Sarah on. One day we are going to publish those messages and all your theories!
To my beta readers, Cal Sleath, Lesley Robson, Kirsty Adams and Claire Cutler thank you for all your honesty about Love Struck. I couldn’t think of a better group of people to trust with telling me the truth. I hope that I listened carefully to what you all had to say and thank you for taking this ride with Adam and Sarah, I really do appreciate it.
Thank you, Lou Stock for making me another amazing cover. You never let me down and you never, ever lose your patience with me. As always, it’s been a pleasure.
Claire and Wendy at Bare Naked Words, thank you for your promotion skills even if I did kind of land it on you last minute.
I was also going to thank my mum, but I’m not sure I can. She was supposed to help out with some proof reading, but while my other proofreader found over seventy spelling mistakes etc, Mum found one, which wasn’t even a mistake – according to her my spelling of weird looked weird! Anyway, she didn’t do her job because she was too engrossed in the story. To be honest though, it’s great to think two seventeen-year olds have given my seventy-three-year-old mother a book hangover.
Last but not least thank you to all of you for following Adam and Sarah�
��s love story, because that’s exactly what it is. You can call it a bully romance or an enemies to lovers romance, but deep down it’s simply a love story. A tale of, in Adam’s words, an ordinary boy who craved the love of an incredible girl. I hope I gave them both the story they deserve and that you all fall in love with them as much as I have. If not, you at least gave it a try so thank you.
If you love music, then please listen to the playlist for the two books. There are some incredible tunes on there, and most were chosen by the Queen of Angst Chloe Walsh, so you know they’re going to be good.
Thanks again and please stay safe and healthy.
Much love, Nikki x
Hate Struck/Love Struck Playlist on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1BVmvEFoLrvFebyHHEPE5u?si=v4s_ruroSDaT1Yag3rDdcA
Nikki’s links
If you’d like to know more about me or my books, then all my links are listed below.
Website:
www.nikkiashtonbooks.co.uk
Instagram
www.instagram.com/nikkiashtonauthor
Facebook
www.facebook.com/nikki.ashton.982
Ashton’s Amorous Angels Facebook Group
www.facebook.com/groups/1039480929500429
Amazon
viewAuthor.at/NAPage
Nikki’s Book Links
Guess Who I Pulled Last Night
mybook.to/NAGuessWhoIPulled
No Bra Required
myBook.to/NANoBra
Get Your Kit Off
mybook.to/GetYourKitOff
Rock Stars Don’t Like Big Knickers
myBook.to/NARockStars1
Rock Stars Don’t Like Ugly Bras
myBook.to/NARockStars2
Rock Stars Do Like Christmas
myBook.to/NARockStarsXmas
Cheese Tarts and Fluffy Socks
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Roman’s having sex again
myBook.to/RomansHavingSex
I wanna get laid by Kade
myBook.to/NAVJKade
Box of Hearts (Connor Ranch #1)
myBook.to/BOH
Angels Kisses (Connor Ranch #2)
myBook.to/AngelsKisses
Secret Wishes (Connor Ranch #3)
myBook.to/SecretWishes
Do You Do Extras?
mybook.to/DoYouDoExtras
Pelvic Flaws
mybook.to/PelvicFlaws
Elijah (Cooper Brothers #1)
mybook.to/ElijahCooper
Samuel (Cooper Brothers #2)
mybook.to/SamuelCooper
The Big Ohhh
mybook.to/TheBigOhhh
Hate Struck
mybook.to/HateStruck
Audio Books
preview.tinyurl.com/NikkiAshtonAudio
