by Beth Rinyu
Table of Contents
Two of Hearts
Copyright
Acknowledgment
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Thank You
Two of Hearts
Book 2
Three of a Kind Series
Beth Rinyu
Copyright
© 2016 by Beth Rinyu
All rights reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of Beth Rinyu, except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Cover design and Cover photo by Lindee Robinson of Lindee Robinson Photography
Formatting by CP Smith with Affordable Formatting
Acknowledgment
Thank you to….
Melinda, Barbara, Linda & Janet for all your help with this one!
Dedication
To all of the book bloggers for their continued support, and to all of my loyal readers who have waited patiently for Carrie & Jason’s story… enjoy!
Prologue
Carrie
He was everything a girl could want…. and she was so not worthy of him. Her long auburn hair, her flawless, porcelain complexion, and her gorgeous body may have fooled everyone else, but I wasn't falling for it. There was something underneath her almost too perfect smile that was harboring a secret.
Was it my overactive imagination or the fact that I truly believed no girl would ever be good enough for him?
Except.
The girl who knew him better than he knew himself.
The girl who loved him for what seemed like forever.
The girl who confided all of her hopes and fears in him.
The girl who knew he would never be hers….not in the way she’d always wanted.
The sad and pathetic girl staring back at me in the mirror.
Jason
She’d been the void in my heart for the past seven years… and he was her perfect match. He had a great job, a secure future, and he was one of my best friends. He actually enjoyed going to museums and looking at all the funky art stuff that she would drag me to go see whenever I would visit her.
He was who she belonged with.
So, I would put on my biggest smile whenever I saw them together.
Wishing it were my lips touching hers when he would playfully kiss her.
Wishing it was me who knew what it was like to wake up with her lying beside me.
Wishing I could touch her warm, soft skin the way that he did.
Was it wrong to be feeling this way for her?
Maybe.
But every now and then when I looked into her eyes, I would catch a glimpse deep inside her heart that revealed the same emptiness that was hidden inside mine.
Chapter 1
Carrie
The annoying buzz of my alarm woke me from a horrible night’s sleep. I felt as if I had been up every hour on the hour, battling with the apprehension of starting a new job. Still, I was excited. I was finally going to be working as a licensed counselor. My life had changed so drastically in such a short amount of time. Just a few months ago, I was living in New York City with my sister, Gia, and finishing up my supervised internship in mental health counseling at a crisis center.
I had been dating my boyfriend, Brett, for the last eighteen months. He had landed his dream job in broadcasting. The position was head of production for their west coast operation in San Diego, while I was offered a position at a counseling center, not far from where I grew up. This forced me to make a very difficult decision; go with Brett while he furthered his career, or move back to my hometown and begin mine. After many long nights of discussing the matter and quite a few arguments, I decided I was going to stay, and we would do the long distance thing. It was going to be a big adjustment. He’d always been just a cab ride away, whereas now we’d have thousands of miles between us, but I was hopeful that we could make it work.
My eyes adjusted to the morning light peeking through my windows. I sat up in bed, looking around my room. My one bedroom apartment was five times the size of the little two-by-four Gia and I had shared in the city and a quarter of the cost. I loved the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, but it was nice to be home again. Having my mom only five minutes away was an added bonus. I knew whenever I needed a city fix, I could go back and visit Gia, who was adamant that she didn’t want another roommate and had taken on quite a few jobs just to pay her rent. She was a dancer with several different ballets in the city, along with teaching at a dance studio, and waitressing. Dancing was her true love, and I admired her determination. I was quite certain she was headed for great things.
I got out of bed and turned up the heat. I hated these chilly spring mornings as they always caused a shoe dilemma. I had my outfit picked out, which included my cute new strappy sandals, and I refused to switch them for something warmer. My toes were just going to have to take one for the team.
The warm water enveloped my body long after I was done showering and rinsing off. I always did my best thinking when I was in the shower, and this morning there was a lot of that going on. My head and my heart were in a constant battle over what to do about the situation that Brett and I were in. My head was telling me, he’s a great guy, find a job in California and just be with him. My heart on the other hand was telling me something different, and I wasn’t quite sure what that something was. I always listened to my head and followed logic, and this was the simplest of logic that there was. Move in with Brett, get engaged, get married, have two perfect kids, a perfect house, a perfect marriage…..yada, yada. That’s what everyone expected of me. Hell, that’s what even I had expected from myself, but I just wasn’t ready to change my life so drastically yet. I hated that I felt guilty for not being able to just go with it, but something was holding me back.
The burst of cold water coming from the showerhead broke me from my daydreaming. Quickly turning off the faucet, I reached for my oversized fluffy towel and cocooned myself within it. I wiped the steam from the mirror and talked to my reflection, “Snap out of it Carrie! Today is the first day of your career….a career you worked long and hard for.” From that moment, I promised myself that I wouldn’t let any more thoughts of my love life cloud the rest of the day.
After I dressed, I spent a little extra time on my hair and makeup. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I still had a whole half-hour to myself before I had to head out. I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down to the plethora of text messages that had come through while I was in the bathro
om. My mom, my dad, and Gia, all wishing me luck today. Each of them put a smile on my face but the person who had sent the last one had me grinning from ear to ear - Jason. Over the past eight years he had become my rock, and since his dad and my mom had married he’d also become my step-brother.
Jason: I know you won't need it, but good luck today! I'm finishing up my last midnight shift tonight then I'm off for 3 days. Drinks tomorrow night to celebrate?
Me: Thank you! And yes, drinks tomorrow night sounds perfect!
I hit the send button, still unable to wipe the ridiculous grin from my face. I hated that my heart didn't race with this kind of excitement when I got a text from Brett. I chalked it up to the fact that I hadn't hung out with Jason in a while, but that was all going to change now that we were only living ten minutes away.
I finished up my coffee, deciding I would arrive a little early in an effort to make a good impression on my first day. I also needed to get re-acclimated with driving. Last night was the first time I‘d driven in a while. I didn’t have the need for a car while living in New York City.
When I pulled out onto the main road, I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves as I got closer to the medical center. Heat instantly took over my body and my stomach dropped to my knees when I looked in my rearview mirror to find flashing red lights.
"Shit!" I whispered, not having any idea why I was getting stopped. After pulling over to the side of the road, I fumbled through my glove box with trembling hands. I was always such a rule follower. Stuff like this wasn’t supposed to happen to me! My dad had specifically told me where he was putting the registration and insurance ID yesterday when we’d left the car dealer. Why the hell couldn't I find it now?
I rummaged through the papers, finally locating what I needed, just as the police officer was approaching my car. How the hell was I going to get out of this one? Maybe I could stick out my boobs a little and flirt. No, I couldn't do that. That was such a Gia move.
"License, insurance and registration." I knew flirting was not an option upon hearing the feminine voice and seeing the no nonsense looking woman as I rolled down my window.
"Oh, shoot, my license!" I exclaimed, ripping my wallet out of my purse and spilling its contents in the process. "Sorry," I said, looking up at her from my window. I found my license scattered among my credit cards, old receipts, and a bunch of tampons on the passenger side of my seat. "Here you go!" The butterflies in my stomach flapped as I watched her look over the items.
"Do you know why I stopped you?" she asked, once she was done eyeing up my credentials.
"No, I'm sorry but I don't."
"You rolled through that stop sign back there."
"I did?" Funny, I remembered hitting my brakes and looking both ways, but I wasn’t going to argue. With all the male police officers in this town, I just had to get a female! I needed to think of something to get out of a ticket. She was dressed in her uniform so it wasn’t like I could compliment her on what she was wearing. Besides, she didn’t look like she was much into fashion anyway. I could tell her I had my period, and that made me do stupid things, like not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, but something told me by her stern demeanor she wasn’t going to fall for that. Maybe I would try and be a little less subtle. "Hey, do you know Jason Wilder?" I blurted out. Oh jeez, that was just as bad as talking about my period. I felt lower than low, using Jason's name to get me out of a ticket.
"Yeah, I do. How do you know him?" she asked.
"Oh, we're really good friends and his dad is married to my mom." Her tough demeanor was cracking ever so slightly. "But the truth of the matter is, I really hate name dropping so you can just forget I even said that. It's just that I'm starting a new job today, and I'm really nervous. I haven't driven in a while because I was living in New York City. To top it off, I just got my period, and I have really bad cramps, and well, you know...."
Really, Carrie? Really? You actually went there with the period? I always gave out way too much information whenever I was nervous.
She finally held up her hand to stop me. "Carrie, it's okay." She handed me back my documents. "Jason's a good buddy of mine too, and he'd be pretty pissed if he knew I wrote his sister a ticket."
His sister? Okay, that just sounded weird, but if it was going to get me out of a ticket, it was fine by me.
"Oh, thank you so much Officer. It would’ve really sucked to start my day with a ticket....kinda like bad karma."
She gave me a slight smile and extended her hand into the car. "I'm Jackie, by the way.”
"Oh, nice to meet you," I said.
"You too," she smiled again. Two times within a matter of seconds; wow, I was really winning this girl over! "Tell Jason I said, ‘hi’. We're on different shifts now, so I really don't get to see him much."
"Will do! And thank you again, so much!"
"Good luck with the job," she said as she backed away from my car, looking more like a kitten than the lion that first approached me.
"Hey, thanks!" I smiled.
I sat on the side of the road, placing my credit cards back in my wallet, waiting for my nerves to diminish. “Wow, first day driving since forever and you almost got a ticket….stupid girl!” I mumbled to myself. Thankfully Jason saved the day without even knowing it. I pulled out my phone and typed out a text:
Thanks for your help, buddy! I’ll tell you about it tomorrow, but you’re the best!
***
Jason
I knew I wanted to be a police officer ever since I was a little kid and to be fortunate enough to land a job in the town I grew up in was an added bonus. I hopped in my car to head home after a long night; while the rest of the world was just getting up and heading into work, I was heading home to go to bed. I looked over my text messages and smiled at the very last one that had come through – Carrie, confirming drinks tomorrow night.
As I scrolled further down, I opened up the text from Ashley. Ashley and I had dated during the last year of college and had broken up right after graduation. We’d just started seeing each other again, but I still felt like there was something missing - maybe because I expected to be able to open up and talk to her like I did with Carrie. Every time I got to feeling that way, I reminded myself that Carrie was so different than any other girl I knew; we were basically family, so of course I wouldn't have that same connection with Ashley. But it was always the same; every girl I’d gone out with, I always found myself comparing them to Carrie. I knew it was a hang-up I needed to get over because Carrie and I would never be a couple. She was perfectly happy with Brett and I was the one who introduced them. Brett had been my college roommate and was still one of my best friends. He treated her well and that's all I cared about. I knew it was only a matter of time before they were engaged, especially now that they were doing the long distance thing. He wasn't happy about Carrie choosing to stay behind, and I couldn’t say I blamed him. If Carrie were my girl, I’d want her with me and not living on the other side of the country, but I was happy she’d decided to stay for now. I just hoped I could feign happiness when he finally did pop the question.
Ashley’s voice came through the speakers of my radio when I answered her incoming call.
“Hey, babe? A bunch of us are getting together tomorrow for happy hour. Do you want to come?”
“Uhh, no, actually I made plans with Carrie.”
“Oh.” I could sense the unease in her voice. She’d never been too fond of the relationship that Carrie and I had had when we’d been seeing each other back in college; it was part of the reason we’d broken up. But Carrie was my friend and always would be, and any woman that wanted to be with me needed to accept that. “Well, she can come along too. I’d love to see her again,” she said, trying to sound more upbeat, but I could tell it was killing her to offer.
“Well, I’ll ask her, but count me out for now.”
“Okay, well, call me if you decide to come. I hope we can get together this weekend at some point.�
��
“Yeah, we will.”
“Okay, cool. I gotta head into work. Have a good sleep.”
“Thanks.” I clicked off my blue tooth, feeling kind of bad for blowing her off tomorrow night, but I hadn’t really hung out with just Carrie in a while. Brett or Gia or my dad and Melanie were always there, and I missed our one on one time.
I arrived home to the three-bedroom house I’d purchased just a few months ago. While it felt good to be a homeowner, part of me wished I had someone who could help me turn this house into a real home. Not that my dad didn’t try, he worked his ass off for three months straight before I moved in, helping out with repairs. In the end, the bargain price I’d gotten it for was well worth it, by the time we were done, it looked brand new. But even with the upgraded appliances, hardwood floors, and granite counter tops, I still felt like it was missing something. I knew I should be happy that my house I had invested so much time and sweat into was now livable, but I wanted someone to share it with. Was that someone Ashley? I wasn’t quite sure.
I dragged my tired ass to my bedroom, not needing any time to unwind like I normally would before going to sleep. I was beat. I undressed and crawled into bed, setting the alarm on my phone just as Carrie’s text came through:
Thanks for your help, buddy! I’ll tell you about it tomorrow, but you’re the best!
She already had the best… the best boyfriend she could ever ask for. She and Brett were the perfect couple. I looked at the text once again and let out a deep sigh before placing my phone on my night table. As my head hit the pillow, the last thought I had before drifting off to sleep was… too bad the best wasn’t good enough.
Chapter 2
Carrie
