Reluctant to Love

by Gallo , Rebecca

  “Hey!” I protest.

  “Today is about celebrating you and your achievements. Who cares about Famke?”

  “Me! I care!” Deep down, I’m such a gossip whore. I want to know all the juicy details and already, a plan is hatching in my brain to search the Internet tonight for more information.

  “Too bad,” Roderick says firmly. I love it when he’s bossy. It’s a huge turn-on when he takes charge. My mom says it’s the Leo in him. “I’m going to go wake up the little princess and get her ready for school.”

  He smiles sweetly and places a hand on my slightly swollen tummy. “You just sit here and rest, ok?”

  My hands cover his and I look down. Getting pregnant was also an unexcepted but happy surprise. We only found out a few months ago. To say I was shocked is an understatement, but the universe does its own thing, has its own plan.

  “If you insist.” I lift my head slightly to give him better access to my lips. He kisses me sweetly but pulls away before the kiss goes any further. My hormones have been off-the-charts and I’ve been insatiable. I can’t get enough of Roderick. He’s not complaining but really, he only has himself to blame. Stupid sexy man bun.

  He leaves the room and soon I hear Izzy’s moans. She is not a morning person. The moans are quickly replaced with delightful squeals and the sound of her begging Roderick to stop tickling her.

  “Daddy, stop!” I hear her yell.

  My breath hitches and my heart thuds to a brief halt. She just started calling him ‘daddy’ and every time I hear it; it makes me stop. A little over a year ago, I didn’t think any of this would be possible.

  Izzy’s bare feet slap against the hardwood floor as Roderick chases her out of her bedroom, waving a dress in his arms.

  “You can’t wear that to school,” he shouts, trying to catch up with her.

  She stops beside me. Her hair is a wild mess of light auburn waves and her eyes are the greenest I’ve ever seen them. “Hi mama,” she says with a lopsided smile. Then she beds down and kisses my belly. “Hi baby.”

  Then she runs away again with Roderick in hot pursuit.

  This is my life. One I was so reluctant to dream of or even accept. And now I can’t imagine it any other way.

  Fuck the universe? Nah. More like accept what it has in store for me.

  The End

  Bittersweet Love by QB Tyler

  Unedited

  Prologue

  Lauren

  I’m sorry, Lauren. Please don’t hate me.

  I read the two sentence text message for the hundredth time today. My eyes well up as I feel my heart splitting apart inside my chest at his words. I shut my eyes so I don’t have to keep reading the soul crushing words, but still I can hear them in my ear. I can feel them in my heart.

  The distance is just too much.

  I’m sorry.

  I met someone else.

  I’ll always care about you.

  I’ve been dating Drew Montgomery for the past year, despite leaving Atlanta and moving to Chicago. The plan was for me to get acclimated here and for Drew to join me once I was settled. We’d made plans for a future. One that included a ring that I had been staring at for the past four months on my Pinterest board. One that included a house I’d already found on quite possibly the cutest street in Chicago with an iron gate and gray shutters and a red door reminiscent of one I’d seen in House & Garden magazine.

  It certainly did not include him falling for another woman.

  I was planning our future unbeknownst to me that Drew had already written us as his past.

  I tuck a dark brown hair behind my ear, my nervous tick I do when I’m uncomfortable and shift in my seat as my leg begins to bounce.

  I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

  This is precisely why I did not want to get involved with Drew Montgomery. I knew he’d break my heart, but tale as old as time, I ignored my intuition and I let myself get swept away by his sweet words, mind-numbing orgasms and promises for the future that he never intended to keep.

  God, I am such a fucking cliche.

  The familiar ping of my email sends my gaze away from my phone and towards my laptop only to see that it’s an email from my boss with his edits attached to my latest piece. I don’t have to open it to know that he’d bled all over it, but I was feeling masochistic and this seemed better for my mental health than stalking Drew’s new girlfriend on social media, so why the fuck not.

  I can barely see the red through my tears, the words blurring together so that it’s just a mass of crimson on my screen.

  “Holy shit, is Lauren Michaels, crying? And here I thought you had thicker skin than that.”

  A shiver snakes down my spine at the familiar voice. A deep voice that always towed the line between playfulness and condescension. I let out a breath, not prepared to deal with this person of all people.

  Vincent Maddox is my arch nemesis.

  The bane of my existence.

  A know it all, with an axe to grind because I flew in from Atlanta and created some competition amongst the “Boys Club” that was this sector of the NBC Network.

  When I first got here, he’d just assumed I was an intern and spent the entire first week calling me “Laura” and barking his coffee order anytime we crossed paths. The look on his face when he realized we had the same job probably not the same pay, but that’s another story, was fucking priceless, especially since I was promoted from another location to essentially help with his job. He’s spent every day since trying to undermine me or make me look incompetent in front of our bosses. Unlucky for him, he’s never succeeded, and I enjoy making that known every time he fails.

  He moves inside my cubicle, his overbearing yet sinfully smelling cologne wafting around me. It smells like bergamot and cedarwood and… what is that? I inhale deeply and try to ignore the spark ignited between my legs that comes from smelling a man who knows what kind of cologne will make a woman weak. He must peer over my shoulder because he speaks again and he leans on my desk revealing tanned muscular arms.“And over edits, no less?”

  I glare at him, wondering how I appear to be in the mood for our usual battle of wits. “If you do not get the fuck out of my face in the next two and a half seconds we will be spending the rest of the day in HR.” I growl. His lips curl into a playful smirk, and I’m instantly annoyed that my eyes move to his mouth and more importantly his perfect cupid’s bow hidden beneath a layer of hair.

  Vincent had one of those beards that was groomed but thick and full. Coupled with his muscular arms and broad chest, and the five inches he had on pretty much every man in the office, he looked like this sexual lumberjack masquerading as a writer.

  “For me being in your cubicle?” He snorts and cocks an eyebrow before running a hand through his dirty blonde hair. “You don’t have a leg to stand on.”

  “No, because I’m going to take that vase of flowers right there and bash your head in.” I snap. I’d gotten dumped no less than five minutes ago, and I was crossing out of shock and into anger and Vincent Maddox is just the man that could send me into a blind rage. His piercing blue eyes narrow into slits as he leans off my desk. “If you’re crying over edits, you’re not fit for this job.”

  “It’s not over edits, you pretentious fuck. And don’t act like I’m not better than you at our job even on my worst day.” I tell him as I stand to my feet. Even in my four inch heels, I only come to his chest, so I crane my neck to glare at him. “Move the fuck out of my way, Maddox.” I say, crushing my cell phone so hard in my hand, hoping it’ll temper the sting that Drew Montgomery’s words did to my heart. I push him to the side, caring less that I’m leaving him alone in my cubicle with all of my stuff and only about putting one foot in front of the other so I can succumb to the tears of having my heart broken in the peaceful haven of a ladies room.

  I’m vaguely aware that I hear Vincent’s voice behind me, but I ignore it, knowing that if I turn around, I’ll burst into tears or scream or a
ctually throw that vase at his head.

  Pre-order Bittersweet Love (Written in the Stars Book 2) here.

  Written in the Stars Series

  12 Authors. 12 Months. 12 Signs of the Zodiac.

  Pisces - QB Tyler

  Bittersweet Love

  Aires - Karen Ferry

  Daring to Love

  Taurus - Erica Marselas

  Price of Love

  Gemini - Sienna Snow

  Intrigued by Love

  Cancer - Kelsie Rae

  Drowning in Love

  Leo - Haylee Thorne

  Virgo - AJ Alexander

  Jaded by Love

  Libra - C.M. Seabrook

  Measure of Love

  Scorpio - C.M. Albert

  Consumed by Love

  Sagittarius - Andi Jaxon

  Wandering into Love

  Capricorn - Hollis Wynn

  Crashing into Love

  Also by Rebecca Gallo

  The Presidential Promises Duet:

  Presidential Bargain

  Capitol Promises

  Just Like This Series:

  Just Like This

  Just Like Love

  Flirt Club Collaborations:

  Resolution Wanderlust

  Dear Mr. Temporary

  Forever True

  Mr. Cream

  His Cactus Flower

  Wanderlust Wedding

  Her Yankee Doodle Daddy

  Cowboy’s Melody

  Just Perfect: A Flirt Club Collection

  Coming Soon:

  Academic Integrity (Scandalous Daddies Club Book 1)

  About the Author

  Rebecca currently resides in Arizona with her husband, son and tuxedo cat. When she isn’t swooning over book boyfriends or finding inspiration for her next romance, she can be found teaching surly teenagers about literature. Or eating tacos.