The Monday Girl (The Girl Duet #1)
Page 30
I look at him and a million memories flash before my eyes.
Wyatt grinning at me and telling me he’d change my life.
Wyatt wrapping my freezing body in a towel and holding me close.
Wyatt keeping Cynthia away from the movie to protect me.
Wyatt handing me a bottle of water, telling me to stay hydrated.
Wyatt saying it would be a privilege, not a burden, to love one woman for a lifetime.
Wyatt laughing as he dunked me beneath the warm, salty waves of the South Pacific.
Wyatt pulling me from the depths of a drunken spiral and wrapping me in his safe, strong arms.
Wyatt making love to me, his eyes on mine the entire time, reverence and tenderness in their depths.
I stare at him, frozen in place, hit by a bolt of lightning as realization singes through me.
He loves me.
He has shown me in his every glance, his every touch, his every action. Unfailingly. Unobtrusively. Asking for nothing in return.
He has given me sunshine, but I have buried him in shadow.
While he has brought me joy, I have given him only misery.
I am a cancer. I am a plague.
I will kill anyone who gets too close.
My desolation is infectious.
My sadness is lethal.
“Wyatt…” I whisper brokenly. “Please, listen to me. It’s not…”
“Just go.” His blue eyes, usually so full of light, glitter with ice. “Just get out. I don’t want to listen to you. Frankly, I can’t even look at you.”
With that, he turns and walks out of the room.
I stare at the empty space where he stood, at the syrup from our ruined breakfast leaking slowly across the floor, and I feel my heart, which I thought was already broken beyond repair, shatter into even more irreparable pieces.
Eighteen
“ I love you .”
- A glutton for punishment.
O ne month later …
I sit on the edge of my basin bathtub, in the glamorous bathroom of my brand new beach house, watching the seconds count down on the timer. It’s the longest two minutes of my entire life.
I haven’t spoken to Grayson since I left his house in the middle of the night.
I haven’t spoken to Wyatt since the morning after the wrap party.
I have lost them both .
Sloan’s assistant called this morning, to make sure I got the schedule they sent over. The movie press tour starts next week. I am filled with dread, at the prospect of seeing them.
Especially now.
The past month has been a blur of mind-numbing pain and mechanical productivity. I’ve kept as busy as possible, not letting myself think too much about the mess I created. If I did, I’d never make it through the day without drinking. Hell, I’d never get out of bed in the morning.
Harper’s been a big help, keeping me on track. She and Masters — who she calls Kent in a dreamy voice every time she gets an opportunity — have made sure I don’t spiral again. Between the two of them, I’m never alone. I never set my eyes on a bottle of alcohol, let alone my hands.
I don’t protest their hovering. Left to my own devices, I tend to make questionable life decisions and fuck everything up beyond repair.
We put a serious dent in my AXC check, buying me all the accoutrements that match my new life as Katharine Firestone, A-list actress.
New house in the Pacific Palisades. New car that actually runs. New closet full of designer clothes.
Now, I have everything I’ve ever dreamed of owning.
Now, I have nothing at all.
I am utterly hollow.
I am twisted into knots.
I fell in love with a man who could not love me back.
A man I will never deserve fell in love with me.
Nothing makes sense. Nothing at all.
Especially now.
The timer on my phone beeps. I take a deep breath and stare down at the plastic stick in my hand. The tiny word on the screen fills me with more dread than I’ve ever felt in my life.
Positive.
T o be continued ….
Don’t miss THE SOMEDAY GIRL, the stunning conclusion to THE GIRL DUET, coming February 1, 2017.
* * *
PRE-ORDER NOW
THE SOMEDAY GIRL
REDUCED INTRO PRICE OF $2.99!
(Reg. Price: $4.99)
Acknowledgments
T hank you , first and foremost, to my readers.
As an author, it is always a risk to start a new series, to take on a fresh challenge, to do something different — different genre, different characters, different world to build piece by piece out of words and sentences and paragraphs.
Thank you for following me down new paths. For staying by my side when I decide to try something out of my comfort zone. I appreciate it more than words could ever express.
To my parents — thank you for being there with me for every moment of this process, from brainstorming to beta reading. I love you both so much. Sorry for all the sex scenes.
To my friends and family — thank you for understanding that sometimes, you won’t see me for weeks at a time, and that doesn’t mean I don’t love you. It just means I’m writing.
To my Johnson Junkies — thank you for being a constant bright spot on social media, which is so often full of darkness.
And finally, to my dog Scout. I aspire to one day be the person you think I am.
About the Author
J ULIE JOHNSON is a twenty-something Boston native suffering from an extreme case of Peter Pan Syndrome and an obsession with fictional characters. When she's not writing, Julie can most often be found daydreaming, drinking too much coffee, striving to conquer her Netflix queue, or stalking Goodreads for new books to add to her ever-growing TBR list.
She published her debut novel LIKE GRAVITY in August 2013, just before her senior year of college, and she's never looked back. Since, she has published five more novels, including the bestselling BOSTON LOVE STORY series. Her books have appeared on Kindle and iTunes Bestseller lists around the world, as well as in AdWeek, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today.
You can find Julie on Facebook or contact her on her website www.juliejohnsonbooks.com. Sometimes, when she can figure out how Twitter works, she tweets from @AuthorJulie. For major book news and updates, subscribe to Julie's newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bnWtHH
Connect with Julie:
@authorjulie
juliejohnsonbooks
www.juliejohnsonbooks.com
juliejohnsonbooks@gmail.com
Also by Julie Johnson
STANDALONE NOVELS:
LIKE GRAVITY
SAY THE WORD
ERASING FAITH
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THE BOSTON LOVE STORIES:
NOT YOU IT’S ME
CROSS THE LINE
ONE GOOD REASON
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THE GIRL DUET:
THE MONDAY GIRL
THE SOMEDAY GIRL