Burning Love (Hearts on Fire #2)

by Heather Lyn

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Title

  Copyright

  Other Books by Heather Lyn

  Dedication

  Prologue / Kennedy

  Chapter 1 / Kennedy

  Chapter 2 / Grayson

  Chapter 3 / Kennedy

  Chapter 4 / Grayson

  Chapter 5 / Kennedy

  Chapter 6 / Grayson

  Chapter 7 / Kennedy

  Chapter 8 / Grayson

  Chapter 9 / Kennedy

  Chapter 10 / Grayson

  Chapter 11 / Kennedy

  Chapter 12 / Grayson

  Chapter 13 / Kennedy

  Chapter 14 / Grayson

  Chapter 15 / Kennedy

  Chapter 16 / Grayson

  Chapter 17 / Kennedy

  Chapter 18 / Grayson

  Chapter 19 / Kennedy

  Chapter 20 / Grayson

  Epilogue / Kennedy

  Acknowledgements

  Burning Love

  Copyright © 2016 Heather Lyn

  ALL RIGHT RESERVED

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Author acknowledges the use of trademarked titles, names, and places. Author does not claim to own these and was not asked to promote them. Author holds no copyright to them and does not gain anything from their mention.

  This book is intended for mature audiences due to graphic language and sexual content.

  Cover Design:

  MGBookcovers

  Editing:

  Hot Tree Editing

  Cover Model/Photographer:

  Nathan Hainline

  Interior design and formatting:

  Jersey Girl Design

  OTHER BOOKS BY HEATHER LYN

  Hearts On Fire Series

  Hearts Ablaze

  Burning Love

  For Heather:

  You wanted Grayson and now you’ve got him. Thank you for always believing in me and never letting me give up. I love you more than you know. You’re the best friend a girl could ask for!

  PROLOGUE

  Kennedy - Eight Years Ago

  I can hear them fighting again. I’m up in my bedroom trying to work on my English project. Who knows why they’re getting into it? Mom has been drunk since last night, so it’s no surprise that Dad’s upset. Reaching to the side of my desk, I turn my stereo up, hoping to drown out the noise. When it doesn’t, I take a deep breath.

  “Two more months. Two more months,” I chant to myself. Two more months until I graduate high school. I turn eighteen in just two weeks, and I cannot wait to get out of this house. I have already been accepted to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. To say I’m excited to get out of here would be an understatement. It’s only a few hours from here, but that’s far enough for me.

  My mom is an alcoholic. I’m not really sure for how long though. For as long as I can remember she’s liked her wine, but I never remember her being this out of control. Dad is one of the top trauma surgeons in Nashville, and Mom loves being the rich housewife. Growing up, my older sister Hilary and I were super close to Mom. She was always at school events, working on the PTA, etc. But that feels like a century ago.

  Over the last ten months, Mom has gotten out of control. It feels like she is always drunk, and she and Dad are always at each other’s throats. Hilary attends the local college here, but she hardly comes around. I don’t blame her. I would never come home either. I’ve closed myself off from everybody at school. I’ve never really had a lot of friends, but the few I did, I’ve alienated. My life is too embarrassing. I don’t want anyone to know about it.

  After trying to concentrate for more than twenty minutes, I’ve had enough. I stand up from my desk and stomp downstairs. When I make it into the large kitchen, I see what the problem is. It’s Saturday and it’s barely ten in the morning, but Mom is probably at least a bottle of vodka deep and the kitchen is a disaster. Dishes are piled everywhere and Dad is still wearing his business suit. He’s been gone for the last couple days on a conference.

  “I can’t take this anymore, Elizabeth! You need to sober up! I don’t even know who you are anymore!” Dad is shouting at Mom, who is just sitting there staring at nothing.

  “Guys, I really need to finish my project. It counts for more than half my grade in English class. Please, just stop fighting,” I beg them, not looking to start anything. I hate confrontation. If you so much as raise your voice at me, I’ll get emotional. I’m not an outgoing person. Actually, I’m just the opposite, painfully shy. And this situation with my home life has only made it worse.

  “Not now, Kennedy! Just stay out of it.” Dad brushes me away from him and walks to rip the bottle away from Mom. She fights him, and when Dad finally gets the bottle away from her she screams. She slams her fist down on the table and I can’t help but jump.

  “What I do with my own time is none of your business, Henry. You want to play the victim so badly? You’re the one who’s spent the majority of our marriage at work or on call. You’re never home. So what if I have a little drink every now and then?”

  “It’s not every now and then! Look at you! You smell like you’ve been boiled in vodka. The house is a pigsty. You are drunk at ten in the morning, Liz! You need help.” Dad is pacing back and forth. “I can’t do this anymore. The girls deserve better than this. Our daughter shouldn’t be begging us to stop so she can do homework. Enough is enough.” Shaking his head, he pulls his cell phone from his pocket.

  “And what are you going to do, Henry? You finally going to grow a set, you selfish pig bastard? I don’t think so. Such a waste of my time.” Mom is hurling more insults at Dad, because this is what she does best when she’s drunk. She’s a mean drunk, which is why I’ve learned to avoid this.

  “I’m filing for divorce, Elizabeth. I’m taking the girls, and moving to California. The emergency department in Malibu needs a full-time surgeon. I’m taking it. I can’t go on like this anymore. It’s not fair to any of us.”

  For the first time, I really get a good look at my dad. He looks worn. I’ve never been super close to my dad, but he’s always provided well. Now he looks like a stranger to me and is hardly ever home. I don’t blame him for being exhausted.

  “You are not taking the girls.” Mom stands up and stumbles over to him.

  “Why? They’re safer with me. I’m their father.”

  Mom starts giggling and shakes her head. She stumbles back to her seat at the kitchen table and just cackles. I have no idea what’s going on, so I grab a bottle of water and head out of the kitchen, ignoring them both. I have just made it to the doorway when Mom changes my life forever.

  “Kennedy is your daughter. Hilary is not. I had an affair over twenty years ago.”

  I can hardly believe what I just heard. Mom’s just drunk. She has no idea what she’s saying. She’s just trying to hurt Dad.

  I wish that’s all it had been.

  Two weeks later, I’m moving with my dad to a small house he leased through his office. He demanded a DNA test for both my sister and me, and Mom wasn’t lying. She had slept with his best friend from college right after they got married. I guess the guy had always known Hilary was his.

  Two months later, I’m heading off to college with a new car filled with supplies. I have a letter fr
om my dad and an access code to a bank account he set up for me. I have no idea how much money is in it and I don’t care. Dad can’t be around me, as I’m too much of a reminder of his life falling apart. Mom was right; he is a selfish bastard.

  As I drive to my new home for the next four years, I make a promise to myself. Nobody will ever know about my family or our past. I will never let anybody in. I will focus on my studies and get out. Love is just a bullshit excuse to hurt people, and I will never let anybody hurt me again.

  I have never been so scared in my entire life.

  CHAPTER 1

  Kennedy - Present Day

  It has been almost eight years since the morning my mother destroyed our family. Eight years, and it still feels like yesterday. I know they say that time heals all wounds, but in this case I don’t think it ever will. It’s springtime here in Tennessee, and I can’t wait for some warmer weather. I put on my jacket, grab my laptop bag and purse, and start shutting the lights off in my classroom. I’m a kindergarten teacher, and I love every second of it. My best friend Aubrey is in the classroom next to me with the preschoolers. We used to carpool when we still lived together, but she lives with her fiancé now. They got engaged about a month ago and I couldn’t be happier for her. Noah is an awesome guy.

  His best friend Grayson on the other hand? That man drives me nuts. In the “I want to jump your bones” kind of way.

  Grayson Michaels is easily the most perfect and irritating person in the world. While Aubrey and Noah were getting their shit together, we hung out a lot. We actually have a good time, when we aren’t arguing. About seven months or so ago, the apartment I shared with Aubrey burned down. It was a really terrifying experience, and I ended up staying at Grayson’s house while I was finding a new place to live. Luckily I had that money my dad gave me years before, so I dipped into it to put a deposit on an apartment and new furniture. Aubrey ended up moving in with Noah, and here we are.

  Grayson and I still hang out all the time. He’s a firefighter at the same station as Noah, so we get together for dinner a couple times a week. When Aubrey and I first met him, I was convinced he was a total player. He was all flirtatious and clearly looking to get into my pants, but the more time I spent with him, the more I realized it was all just a façade.

  Grayson is an amazing man, and I can’t help but wish I was able to be with him. He’s six-foot-four, with dark hair and sparkling hazel eyes. He’s almost always wearing a hat, backwards, and when he isn’t he’s forever brushing his hair out of his face. It’s short on the sides and long on the top, and I have half a mind to just grab a pair of clippers and chop it off. But secretly I love it when it’s brushed back and styled. He’s like a sexy-ass Sam Hunt. And don’t even get me started on his voice. Ugh. It’s deep and raspy and has that Southern twang to it. I melt into a pool every time he calls me “darlin’.” Totally swoon-worthy.

  But the problem with Grayson is that I know I could completely lose myself in him. And I learned to never depend on somebody. He’s a good friend, but that’s all he’ll ever be. I mean sure, I dated in college, had a few dates here and there, but they never went anywhere. Any time I met someone I was remotely interested in my father’s words would pop into my head and remind me that love is bullshit.

  So here we have it. My name is Kennedy Grant and I am a twenty-six-year-old virgin, who desperately wants Grayson Michaels to rid her of her virtue. But it’s something that will never happen. If I let Grayson in on my secrets and the drama that was my life, he’d run in the other direction.

  As I throw all my stuff into the backseat of my car, I hear my phone chime with a text message. I check the display and see that it’s Grayson. Shocker.

  Grayson: Kennedy! You wanna get some drinks tonight?

  Kennedy: I can’t tonight. I already made plans with Aubs. Rain check?

  Grayson: Fine. Don’t come hang out with the hottest bachelor in Tennessee.

  Kennedy: Your ego knows no bounds.

  Grayson: My ego isn’t the only thing that knows no bounds, darlin.

  Holy crap. I just can’t with this guy.

  Shaking my head, I throw my phone back into my purse and climb into my car. Cranking up the latest Florida Georgia Line album, I head towards my apartment, making a quick detour to the local drive-thru coffee joint. As I pull up to the window, I order a large coffee and hand over my credit card. I have a few things to take care of when I get home, and then I’m meeting Aubrey for dinner, so I need the caffeine boost.

  My new place isn’t too far from the coffee shop, so it doesn’t take me long to get home. The apartment Aubrey and I shared was a third-floor walkup, so when I leased this one I made sure it had an elevator. That apartment may have done wonders for my ass, but you try lugging groceries up three floors after a long day of teaching kindergartners. Yeah, I didn’t think so. When I reach my apartment, I unlock the door and push inside. I have only just put my coat in the closet and thrown my stuff on the couch when I hear my phone start ringing. Grabbing it up quickly, I see Aubrey is calling me.

  “Hey, biatch, what’s shakin’?” I answer, taking a sip of my coffee.

  “Hey, Kenni. I hate doing this but I was wondering if we could reschedule dinner. Noah forgot about our plans and made reservations for us at that new restaurant in Nashville. You don’t mind, do you?”

  I can hear Noah saying something to her in the background. “Aubs, put it on speakerphone. I can’t understand either of you.”

  I hear shuffling, and then Noah comes over the line.

  “Kennedy! Sorry, Aubrey was in the middle of something. I forgot y’all had plans. Hope you aren’t mad. She’s just been so stressed out with wedding planning and I wanted to take her out, do something nice for her. Ya know?” I can hear the anxiety in his voice.

  “Noah, it’s fine. I completely understand. No worries!” Secretly, I’m disappointed. Ever since Aubrey got engaged, I’ve barely seen her. I miss my best friend. A few seconds later, Aubrey comes back on the line. I tell her we’ll reschedule and we hang up. Running a hand through my long hair, I blow out a breath and try to decide what to do. It’s Friday night; I want to do something. I only give it a thought for two seconds before I grab my cell once more and send a text.

  Kennedy: Change of plans. Aubs canceled to go out with Noah. Still want to go out?

  Grayson: Ahh. I knew you’d change your mind. Wheelers at 8?

  Kennedy: Yeah, sounds good. Have a martini waiting for me? Dirty.

  Grayson: Baby, you know I’m always dirty ;)

  Kennedy: Jesus. Shut up, Grayson.

  Grayson: Sorry. My bad. See you at 8.

  Huh. That was weird. No comeback? What’s up with him?

  I glance at the time on my phone: 4:15 p.m. I have plenty of time to get ready. I grab my coffee and plunk down on my couch. I’m pretty sure I have some shows on the DVR that I need to watch. I finally settle on an episode of Chicago Fire and get comfortable.

  A couple hours later, I’ve caught up on my shows and I need to get ready for dinner with Grayson. I quickly shower and then blow-dry my long dark hair. It’s sitting at the small of my back now, and I’ve been thinking about cutting it. I apply a light coat of makeup and then get changed into my favorite skinny jeans, a pair of ankle boots and a cream sweater. I grab my purse and cell phone, locking the door behind me before heading out to the parking lot and climbing in my car. I have just enough time to get to the bar. I head over, hoping Grayson isn’t in a mood tonight. His earlier texts didn’t sit well with me.

  When I pull into the bar’s parking lot, I see his Camaro already parked near the back of the lot. I grab my purse, lock my car, and head inside.

  Here we go.

  CHAPTER 2

  Grayson

  “Can I get a draft beer and a dirty martini, please?”

  I’m sitting in a booth in Wheelers waiting for Kennedy. I pull my phone out of my pocket and check the time. Kennedy should be here soon and I need some liquid courage
to get through this night. We’ve been dancing around each other for almost a year now, and I know I sound like a pussy, but I want her. I had never given settling down an ounce of thought until I saw my best friend Noah with Aubrey. The waitress brings over the drinks a few minutes later and I immediately take a swig of my beer.

  I know Kennedy and I have always kept it casual, but I think it’s time we own up to shit and give this a try. Before I met her, all I did was work, drink, and screw. I mean, why not? I didn’t want an attachment, and who doesn’t like to wet their whistle every now and then? But not anymore. My poor dick has sadly only gotten attention from my hand for the last ten months. And he’s over it. I take another sip of beer and as I put the glass down, I see Kennedy walk in. Holy fuck.

  She’s in tight-ass jeans with some kind of black heels. Her long dark hair is curly and as she reaches the table, I can smell her perfume. I stand and lean down to give her a kiss on the cheek. She gives me a huge smile, then shrugs off her jacket. I take it from her and place it over the back of the booth as Kennedy sits across from me and takes a sip of her drink. She lets out a moan and leans her head back. “Damn, I needed that.”

  I shift uncomfortably, feeling my dick twitch. Swallowing my remaining beer, I motion towards the waitress.

  “You planning on getting wasted tonight, Grayson?” Kennedy laughs, looking at me over the rim of her glass. I shake my head at her as the waitress brings me another beer. I take a huge swallow and set it down, then wipe my hands over my jeans.

  “Grayson. Seriously, what is going on with you?”

  I guess it’s now or never. You got this, Michaels.

  “Kennedy, I need to talk to you about something.”

  She sets her glass down.

  “Is everything okay?” Kennedy has her eyebrows narrowed and she’s giving me her full attention. I take a deep breath and just go for it.

  “Listen, we’ve known each other for almost a year. We’ve been dancing around acting like we’re best friends when I know what we both really want. I like you, Kennedy. Like, really like you. And I think we should give us a shot.” I rest my elbows on the table and lace my fingers together while I look at her.