Violet Ugly: A Contemporary Romance Novel (The Granite Harbor Series Book 2)

by J. Lynn Bailey

  “Yeah, brother, absolutely.” He sets his beer down. “Did you talk to Pop yet?”

  “I’ll do that tomorrow. Merit mentioned something about a barbecue at Brand’s tomorrow.”

  Eli nods as Felix hands us the wine.

  We take our seat next to our ladies. They’re deep in conversation.

  I look around the table at our friends. Eli, Alex, Ethan, Aaron, Lydia. Some old, some new. This is right where I wanted to be my entire life. Not just with my friends, but where my insides matched my outsides. Not searching for the next challenge of a woman’s body—except one woman, now and forever. I watch her as she talks excitedly about Emily, and I know that there’s nothing between us now. Nothing that separates us. No wall.

  Eli talks with the twins, and Merit talks with both Alex and Lydia.

  I quietly take a swig of my beer. Merit in this dress is killing me. I’ll wait until she finishes her wine before I take her to the restroom.

  I lean over to Merit and make sure my lips are against her ear. “Do you need another glass of wine?”

  “Yes.” She smiles. “We’re going to go get another glass of wine. Does anyone need anything?”

  Alex shakes her head. “There’s no way in hell I’m getting drunk. The last time I got drunk in here”—Alex eyes Eli—“I ended up married and pregnant.”

  Eli laughs. “Bring her one more. I’m driving.”

  “He’s just trying to get lucky tonight,” Alex whispers loudly.

  “Lydia? You want anything?” Merit asks.

  “I’m going to nurse this puppy until nine. But thank you.”

  Merit stands, and I stand behind her, placing my hand on the small of her back.

  “I need to go to the restroom. Come with me real quick,” I say.

  I feel her dress against my jeans, and I know it’s short but not too short. I think of all the things I can do to her while leaving her dress on.

  We make it around the corner, and I guide her into a stall in the women’s restroom, knowing they can be cleaner than the men’s—from personal experience.

  Her mouth is already on mine as my hands slide up her legs, and I get a good grip on her ass.

  “Oh my God, are you not wearing panties?” My heart begins to pick up pace as I grow against her.

  “You said you needed easy access,” she whispers as she kisses my lips.

  I pull up her dress and hold her sex against me.

  She spreads her legs in her heels, and I slide my fingers to her front and meet her soft pink space. The space that only belongs to me.

  I open her up, and she’s glad I’m here because I feel her wetness against my fingers. I push back her folds as she groans in my fucking ear.

  “More, Ryan,” she sighs as I push into her.

  “Like this?”

  “Yeah,” she sighs again.

  But, as I push once more, the restroom door opens, and I see the disappointment on her face.

  The other stall door shuts as the woman goes about her business, and I take my time with her and make her crazy.

  “Shh,” I whisper into her ear.

  The woman flushes. I push on her favorite spot, and she whimpers in my ear, her grip tightening around my shoulders.

  The woman washes her hands.

  Merit’s lips collide with my mouth, and I devour her. Quickly, I move my mouth to her soft spot between her legs and pull up her dress, so I have full access to her. I open her up with my tongue. But I don’t allow her to come just yet.

  I pull away, stand up, and watch her almost wither beneath me. I take her mouth with my own. “Your taste is the only taste I want in my mouth.”

  Her body shakes in an almost satisfied way, a permanent smile on her face. “You’re going to need to take care of this situation when we get back to our room.”

  I grab her by the hand and let her dress fall back to its position. “Don’t worry; I fully intend on doing that.”

  Forty

  Merit

  Granite Harbor, Maine

  Present Day

  Ryan takes me by the hand, the blindfold still tight around my eyes, and he walks me from our room to a destination he’s keeping a secret.

  Passing cars.

  A few honks.

  “Hello, Ryan, Merit.”

  “What are you guys doing?”

  “Good luck.”

  “Hey, Merit! Glad you’re home!”

  “It’s a surprise,” Ryan says. “Just a few more minutes.”

  A loud door opens, and a familiar smell fills my nose.

  “I’ve smelled this scent before.” I try to think about where the hell this could be.

  We’re inside, and now, there’s an echo, like we’re in some sort of hallway or something. He gently pulls me left.

  “A few more steps.”

  I trust Ryan, and because I do, I pull his hand to my mouth and kiss it.

  He stops. “Okay. I’m going to ease you down to this chair.” He does and takes off the blindfold.

  I look around as my eyes adjust.

  “Granite Harbor Elementary?” I say, a little stunned but smiling. I catch his eye.

  “This is where I first laid eyes on you.” Ryan moves back to a desk in about the middle of the room. “Do you remember? This is where I knew I wanted to love you forever, Merit Young. When life got hard, I’d go to my happy place, which was always you and me, counting our forevers. Because there are second chances, Mer. We’re a second chance. And I swear to God, I will never get this wrong again.”

  He moves back to where I’m sitting. First row, second desk from the left. “I want to be the last thing you think about when you go to bed at night because there’s no worry about us. Know that our love will get us through anything, no matter the tests life puts us through. Because there will never be anything we can’t handle together.”

  He sits in front of me, takes my hands in his, and stares down at them. “These hands, Violet, are the only hands that can reach me. Your eyes are the only eyes that have ever been able to teach me how to love. The only eyes that hold my past, my truth. But you hold everything in your hands, our future. A future that was lived only on a day-to-day basis, but you give me hope. Our future is bright and full of hope, Violet.”

  Ryan pulls something from his pocket. He looks at me and grins. “Worst-case scenario?”

  I drop my head back, laughing. “That this is all a dream.” I shake my head.

  Ryan drops to one knee. “Merit, we’ve been through big tests in our lives. Losing your mother and losing a daughter, but that’s not what defines us. We define us. And I’d love it if you made me the luckiest man on this earth and became my wife.”

  And, just like that, time freezes.

  The air is quiet.

  A beautifully pieced-together man is down on one knee.

  The sun shines brightly.

  Our hearts heal.

  Our broken past has led us to this exact moment.

  Call it God, a divine spirit, our path. Whatever you call it, this is our story.

  If we hadn’t lost my mom, we wouldn’t know how to cope with grief.

  If we hadn’t lost Destiny, we wouldn’t have been able to see our own truths.

  If Eli hadn’t shown up when he did, Ryan wouldn’t be here.

  We are supposed to be here.

  We are supposed to live this story.

  I take the sides of his face in my hands. “Today, I hold the most precious thing I have. It’s always been you. I can’t wait to be Mrs. Ryan Taylor. On one condition.” I grin.

  He smirks. “Anything.”

  “That this will be the story we tell our children, our grandchildren. That love fought for us. That truth fought for us, but most importantly, that we listened.”

  Ryan puts his lips to mine and slowly pulls me up onto my feet. This kiss is the kiss I want forever. It’s not hard or soft. It’s a memory he’s giving me that will remain in my heart forever. Even when all that’s left of us are
plaques in the ground or ashes on a mantel, I want the feeling of this kiss in a deep memory that I’ll draw on for eternity.

  I am whole.

  Ryan pulls away and slips the ring on my finger.

  We’re all born whole. As life moves, pieces of our whole being are chipped away. Some pieces are added back, not exactly fitting into the right specifications, but we take them anyway. Some pieces though don’t come back, leaving holes. Some pieces come back broken. Some pieces we don’t want back. Some, we do. But this is who we are. It’s what we do with the missing pieces, the broken pieces. It’s how we define who we are and not just to see truth, but seek truth and build a whole new picture.

  Our two broken pieces were meant to fit together after all.

  Epilogue

  Merit

  Granite Harbor, Maine

  One Year Later

  “Is that the last box?” I ask, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand.

  “Last box,” Eli says, setting it down in the living room.

  “Here, I’ll take it, E,” I say.

  “And have your husband rip my face off for allowing you to? Don’t think so, Bug. Where do you want it?”

  My husband.

  “Our bedroom.” It still sounds so surreal and beautiful at the same time.

  We got married not long after I came back to Granite Harbor from California for the last time. Neither Ryan nor I is big on lots of people, but Ruthie insisted on helping to plan the wedding. In front of two hundred seventy-five people, Ryan and I were married. In true Granite Harbor fashion, the entire town shut down for the day.

  I wore my mom’s wedding dress and her veil. Emily, too young to be a flower girl at the time, still wore a flower girl dress, and Alex carried her in. Hero and Rookie were our ring bearers. Though we didn’t allow Hero to carry the rings. He was still a puppy at the time and extremely inquisitive of anything that moved, which was everything mostly. We gave that responsibility to Rookie and did so with pride. I thought Rookie, too, was happy for Ryan. He’d always had a soft spot for him. Abbey and Alex stood with me while Eli and Pop stood with Ryan as we tearfully made our words count when we exchanged our own written vows.

  Eddie married us in the same board shorts he still walks the aquarium with. Though rumor has it, he’s retiring soon and giving Abbey the reins, who married Ruben not long ago. I think Eddie and Abbey have worked out their differences, too. She might be late, but she’s a damn good leader.

  A hit in the ribs makes me yelp. I look down at my extra-large belly and run a hand over it. “You can come out anytime, you know.” I’m a week overdue, and I feel it in my hips and legs.

  I go to shut the front door, but before I can, our Chinese food shows up. I pull cash from my expandable mom jeans, the ones with no butt.

  “Thanks, Eddie.” I exchange money for food.

  “No problem, Merit. Dig the new house, by the way.”

  It’s an older house that we renovated. Ryan is really crafty with his hands, and with the help of Eli, Ethan, Aaron, and Pop, they were able to get it done. The house is open from the living room to the dining room to the kitchen where there are granite slab countertops. There are four bedrooms. Our bedroom is downstairs, and there are three upstairs. A heated hardwood floor is in every room.

  I feel Ryan’s arms slide around me, stealing the Chinese food.

  “Hey! I will carry that.”

  “Nope. Sorry. Doctor’s orders.” Ryan walks to the kitchen and places the two bags of Chinese food on the counter. He grabs paper plates and utensils, which we purchased earlier from Granite Harbor Grocery. No need to dig through the boxes to find plates.

  Our friends, our family, are gathered out on the back deck. Hero and Rookie keep close tabs on each other and little Emily, who’s fully walking now. She looks just like Alex. Dark brown hair, brown eyes, and the longest eyelashes I’ve ever seen, and she’s got my brother wrapped right around her little finger. She’s got all of us wrapped around her tiny finger.

  The house sits on an acre, just above the Atlantic, next to the harbor where Ryan and I spent many days and nights.

  Ryan walks to me as I watch our friends from the other side of the French doors. Eli, Alex, Emily, Pop, Meredith, Ethan, Aaron, Lydia, and Bryce—who made a surprise visit back to Granite Harbor because Alex, too, is due any day now with baby number two. They’re laughing. Loving. And enjoying what the last of summer brings.

  Ryan reaches around and touches my stomach. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

  We decided to find out what we were having. I know our Destiny is with my mom, watching us in close proximity. Keeping tabs on the family. I know my mom would be happy for Pop that he finally found a woman who pales in comparison to her.

  Meredith and Pop said they’d never get married again, but they have promise rings. It’s really cute. A promise to each other that they’ll love one another until their days come to an end.

  “Dinner’s ready!” Ryan calls, opening the French doors to our backyard. He sets the food down on the table along with the plates, utensils, and napkins.

  I feel a gush of water come from between my legs. “Oh, God.”

  Alex says, “Her water just broke.”

  Hope Rebecca Taylor was born two hours later. A beautiful little girl with ten toes, ten little fingers, and a mess of hair. I guess that explains the heartburn.

  I watch as Ryan sits with her in the chair, her on his chest, his arms securely holding her.

  Some children are raised in extreme conditions. Some children don’t overcome. But some do. Ryan was terrified that he wasn’t going to be a good dad. Worried about not being able to bond with our daughter, love her like he should.

  I repeated it over and over. “You’re going to be a natural, Ryan.”

  The only reason I knew that was because of the way he treated me. The way he treated the people around him. The way he treated the clientele he came across in the field.

  Sometimes, we live through traumas to show others how to do it. I believe we each have a walk of life, and sometimes, human decisions are made that affect us. But it’s how we come out of it, hopefully as better people.

  I watch my life rock back and forth in the chair.

  “I love you,” I whisper to Ryan.

  But he’s fast asleep, holding the world in his hands.

  The End

  Acknowledgments

  A writer always has a team behind her. My team is unbelievable, and I’m so lucky to have these women behind me, pushing me and rooting for me.

  Hang Le, thank you for creating the most beautiful book covers. Not only are you an incredible graphic designer, but you’re also a fantastic human.

  Jovana Shirley, my editor and formatter, you always blow me away. Your attention to detail and all your hard work on my manuscripts never cease to amaze me.

  Julie Deaton and Kaitlyn Moodie, my proofreader experts, thank you for your time. Thank you for the hard work. Thank you for adding the best finishing touches on Violet Ugly.

  Nazarea at InkSlinger PR, thank you for the marking and time you put into each of my books.

  To my ARC team—You’re mothers, wives, professionals, and you still make the time to read and write reviews for my books. I adore each of you.

  To Brandon, Teyler, and Kate—Not a day goes by that I don’t thank God for giving me the three biggest blessings in my life.

  Lastly, to the wonderful readers and amazing bloggers who support my work—THANK YOU! I’m so incredibly grateful for each of you.

  A Note to the Reader

  THANK YOU FOR READING VIOLET UGLY.

  If you enjoyed Violet Ugly, please leave an honest review on Amazon and Goodreads. By leaving a review, it makes the book more visible to more readers. The more reviews, the better promotional opportunities for the author.

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  About the Author

  J. Lynn is an award-winning author and the mother of two beautiful children and a wife to an adorably supportive (and super-tall) husband. He’s her high school sweetheart. She’s also a mother of two fur children (cats) who are extremely needy, Leo and Vinni.

  OTHER BOOKS WRITTEN BY J. LYNN BAILEY

  Black Five

  Standing Sideways

  THE GRANITE HARBOR SERIES

  Peony Red