PRE-OREDER NOW ready for 9/26
Acknowledgments
Wow! Writing Ben and Lauren’s story has been one hell of an emotional ride. I knew it was going to be a little heavy, but I never expected quite what happened. It was meant to be one book, but only a few words in and I knew these two had a lot more to give. And it’s not just them, because there are a few others I hope you’d like to discover a little more about. Yes, that’s right, I have plans for more. Who do you think’s coming next?!
A huge thank you once again to Michelle. She read every single word of all three of these books almost the moment they fell from my fingers. You lived every second of their pain, betrayals and joy right along with them. I really don’t know what I’d do without you pointing out all my stupid mistakes and loving each of my characters as much as I do.
My betas: Deanna, Helen, Lindsay, Suzanne and Tracy. You waited so patiently for this final instalment and didn’t harass me too much to find out if Ben and Lauren were going to get their happily ever after. Thank you for dropping everything to read their conclusion and messaging me with your every thought along the way.
Evelyn, thank you for falling for Ben and making his and Lauren’s story as good as it can be and for falling for Ben right alongside me.
Andie, a massive thank you for managing to squeeze this into your unbelievably busy schedule for proofreading for me.
I also need to thank you, my readers. Thank you for being on this journey with me, for sharing, reviewing and recommending me to your friends. I really wouldn’t be here without you.
I can’t let this trilogy come to an end without taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of the cover and the incredibly talented James Critchley for taking such amazing shots of a man who just screams BJ to me. His real name is George RJ and for me he represents Ben perfectly. I hope you agree.
And finally, I have to thank my husband and daughter for supporting me through these emotional books and allowing me the time to write all the words.
So, until next time,
Tracy xo
About the Author
Tracy Lorraine is a M/F and M/M contemporary romance author. Tracy has just turned thirty and lives in a cute Cotswold village in England with her husband, baby girl and lovable but slightly crazy dog. Having always been a bookaholic with her head stuck in her Kindle, Tracy decided to try her hand at a story idea she dreamt up and hasn’t looked back since.
Be the first to find out about new releases and offers. Sign up to my newsletter here.
If you want to know what I’m up to and see teasers and snippets of what I’m working on, then you need to be in my Facebook group. Join Tracy’s Angels here.
Keep up to date with Tracy’s books at
www.tracylorraine.com
Also by Tracy Lorraine
Falling Series
Falling for Ryan: Part One #1
Falling for Ryan: Part Two #2
Falling for Jax #3
Falling for Daniel (An Falling Series Novella)
Falling for Ruben #4
Falling for Fin #5
Falling for Lucas #6
Falling for Caleb #7
Falling for Declan #8
Falling For Liam #9
Forbidden Series
Falling for the Forbidden
Losing the Forbidden
Fighting for the Forbidden
Ruined Series
Ruined Plans #1
Ruined by Lies #2
Ruined Promises #3
Never Forget Series
Never Forget Him #1
Never Forget Us #2
Everywhere & Nowhere #3
Chasing Series
Chasing Logan
The Cocktail Girls
His Manhattan
Her Kensington
Flirt Club
His Sorority Sweetheart
Cheeky Trifle
Santa’s Naughty Elf
Resolution: Exposure
Dear All Star Player
Forever Ruined (A Ruined series spin off)
Mr. Silver
Spring Break Secret Baby
His Cherry Blossom
Something Borrowed
Her Smokin’ Firefighter
Sneak Peek
Falling for the Forbidden is a spin off from my Falling series. If you’ve not read it then keep reading for a sneak peek at Falling for Ryan, my friends to lovers romance that kicks off the series.
Falling for Ryan: Part One
Chapter One
Molly
Present
It’s midnight, and I’ve been sat on Ryan’s doorstep for nearly an hour. I’ve already started on one of the bottles of wine. Although it was a scorching summer’s day, the heat has now worn off, the clouds have gathered, and it’s lumping it down with rain. I’m trying to tuck myself into his little porch to stop from getting so wet, but with the wind direction, it’s not doing much good. I’m soaked through. It was a silly idea to pick white t-shirts when I rebranded the coffee shop; thank God for padded bras!
By the time I’d cleaned and locked up, it was just gone ten. I love working at Cocoa’s and have done so since I was sixteen. Hannah and Emma’s parents own it. Susan started the business after she finished university. She came into some inheritance and, with the money, Cocoa’s was born. The place was a huge part of my childhood. Hannah, Emma, and I would go there after school to do homework or just chat about boys, and it pretty much stayed that way until we finished university. We still have a booth in the back corner dedicated to us.
I will forever be grateful for Susan and her husband, Pete, whom she actually met as a customer in Cocoa’s. It was love at first sight for them. Not only did they give me a job, but they took me under their wing when I was much younger.
Megan, who works in the evenings, had a phone call from her boyfriend at eight o’clock saying their little boy was really sick. I let her go home to be with him and finished up the rest of the night on my own.
Once I got in my car, all I could think about was having a nice hot bath and snuggling into bed in my tiny one-bed flat with my boyfriend, Max. We’ve been together on and off for the past three years, but when Hannah, whom I’d lived with above the coffee shop, decided eight months ago that she wanted her own boyfriend to move into the flat, I decided it was time I moved out and left them to it. Max had suggested I move in with him. I wasn’t thrilled by the idea, to be honest, but at the time I didn’t have the money to find anywhere decent to live. I hate being alone. I would have had to find someone who was renting out a room anyway, so it seemed like a sensible suggestion and a logical step in our relationship.
A week later, we all moved. Me into Max’s flat, and Hannah’s boyfriend into the one we’d shared for the past six years.
The ten-minute drive to our home seemed to take forever. I pulled up out the front; it was weird to be parking next to Max’s car. He had worked nights the whole time I’d known him.
I dragged my body up the stairs to the third floor and let myself in. I shut the door behind me; the only light was coming from the bedroom. My heart dropped into my stomach when I heard voices and strange noises coming from down the hallway. As quietly as I could, I tiptoed towards them.
When I got to the door, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Now, I knew Max was no angel, but I was under the impression that we had put the past behind us when we decided to live together and had become a monogamous couple. Yes, the past few months had been a strain, but still.
What was happening before my eyes on our bed showed me how wrong I was.
I numbly slipped back down the hallway and grabbed a couple of pairs of knickers that, luckily for me, were drying on the radiator, and left.
I tried to keep myself together as I made a pit stop at the shop on my way to Ryan’s house. I didn’t want to be one of those emotional women sobbing in the alcohol aisle, trying to decide which bottle would make me forget.
Once I’d paid for two bottles of
my favourite wine and a crate of lager for Ryan, I made my way over to his new house. He’d only moved in two weeks ago, although it was months ago that he made the decision to buy the three-story townhouse in the new development on the outskirts of the city. It was basically a pile of bricks when he took me with him to see it for the first time, but I could see why he’d fallen in love with it. It was modern and spacious, with amazing views across fields from the back. From the front, you could see all the lights from the city in the distance. Because it was yet to be finished, it meant Ryan could choose a lot of the interior to suit his taste, and he didn’t have to spend his whole summer re-decorating.
Grabbing my phone, I open up my messages to re-read the conversation I’d had with him earlier. He said he was going out tonight to celebrate the end of the school year but that he wasn’t expecting to be home late. I guess that didn’t really go as planned—not that he’d be expecting me to be sitting here waiting for him.
I’m starting to think I should have gone somewhere else. It’s not that I don’t have any other options, but out of all my friends and family, Ryan knows me the best.
What we’ve been through this year has made us close. I think I can safely say he’s turned into my best friend somewhere in the last six months.
As I wait, images of what was happening on my bed flash though my head. I guess I should have seen it coming, really. A leopard never changes it spots, right?
Eventually, the tears come flooding out. To add to my misery, I now have black mascara streaks running down my cheeks and red puffy eyes.
Finally, I see headlights coming my way and Ryan’s white Honda Civic pulling into his drive. At first, he looks shocked to see me. That changes to anger as he strides towards me.
Ryan
As I come to a stop, I can see that there’s a very wet Molly huddled in my porch. She looks dreadful. I come to a very quick conclusion that it’s because of her dickhead of a boyfriend. I knew it was coming; it was just a matter of when.
“Ryan,” Molly sobs as I lift her tiny frame off the ground and into a hug. She shakes from both the cold and the sobs wracking her body.
Tucking her into my side, I grab her bags and let us in. On the ground floor, my townhouse has a large room with French doors looking out to the courtyard garden, and a bathroom. I thought it would make an excellent gym. The middle floor is an open-plan kitchen, living, and dining room with a small cloakroom, and the top floor has three bedrooms, one being the master with ensuite and the other a large family bathroom.
I love it.
From the moment I looked at the plans, I just knew it was going to be my little piece of heaven, and I’m still in awe that I was able to buy this place. I’ll be forever grateful for the generous gift from Susan and Pete. Nothing will ever make up for what we all lost, but thanks to them, I’ve been able to attempt to move on with my life.
Currently, there are boxes everywhere. I haven’t had much time to unpack with everything I had to do at school to end the year, but my first holiday job is to get this place sorted and looking like a home.
Anger fills my veins as I lead us up to the living room. “It’s going to be okay. Let’s get you warm and dry and you can tell me what the fucker did.” My fists clench. I want to beat the shit out of him for treating her so badly for so long.
“How do you know he’s done anything?” Molly asks in a quiet voice.
“I can read you like a book, Molly Carter. Plus, he’s a massive dickhead. I think I’ve mentioned that before. Only Max can make you feel this bad about yourself.”
“Why was I so fucking stupid? I had my doubts, everyone had their doubts, but he convinced me that it was what he wanted. I’m not really surprised, but what does shock me is how much it hurts.”
“Come on, get your arse upstairs and in the shower. I’ll find you a t-shirt to wear.”
* * *
As I root through a suitcase in one of the spare bedrooms, the door to my ensuite shuts. I pull out my Oxford Brookes polo and leave it on my bed. I hope my choice will make her smile, remembering happier times.
I knock lightly on the door. “Have you got everything you need?”
There’s silence for a few seconds, and I can imagine her checking out all the products in the shower, realising they’re all for men. Eventually, I hear a quiet “Yes” from the other side of the door.
“Okay, I’ll see you downstairs when you’re done. Take your time.”
I gather up her wet clothes and take them with me. They may be soaked, but I can still smell her vanilla scent on them. It makes me feel oddly warm inside. She’s been my rock for the past six months. I don’t know what I would have done without her.
As I put everything in the washing machine, I spot her bra poking out of the pile. “What the fuck do I do with this?” I mutter to myself. Something in me wonders if it needs some kind of special cycle in the machine, but fuck if I know. I decide to shove it all in and just put it on a cool, quick wash.
That shouldn’t do it much damage, right?
DOWNLOAD NOW to continue reading
Fighting for the Forbidden: Forbidden Series #3 Page 15
