Nothing Without You

by Monica Murphy

  Nothing Without You

  By Monica Murphy

  A Forever Yours/Big Sky Novella

  Introduction by Kristen Proby

  Nothing Without You: A Forever Yours/Big Sky Novella

  By Monica Murphy

  Copyright 2019

  ISBN: 978-1-948050-52-4

  Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Book Description

  Nothing Without You: A Forever Yours/Big Sky Novella

  By Monica Murphy

  From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Monica Murphy…

  Designing wedding cakes is Maisey Henderson’s passion. She puts her heart and soul into every cake she makes, especially since she’s such a believer in true love. But then Tucker McCloud rolls back into town, reminding her that love is a complete joke. The pro football player is the hottest thing to come out of Cunningham Falls—and the boy who broke Maisey’s heart back in high school.

  He claims he wants another chance. She says absolutely not. But Maisey’s refusal is the ultimate challenge to Tucker. Life is a game, and Tucker’s playing to win Maisey’s heart—forever.

  About Monica Murphy

  Monica Murphy is the New York Times, USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of the One Week Girlfriend series, the Billionaire Bachelors and The Rules series. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and has sold over one million copies worldwide. She is both a traditionally published author and an independently published author. She writes new adult, young adult and contemporary romance. She is also USA Today bestselling romance author Karen Erickson.

  She is a wife and a mother of three who lives with her family in central California on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere, along with their one dog and too many cats. A self-confessed workaholic, when she’s not writing, she’s reading or hanging out with her husband and kids. She’s a firm believer in happy endings, though she will admit to putting her characters through many angst-filled moments before they finally get that hard won HEA.

  For more information about Monica, visit https://www.monicamurphyauthor.com.

  Also from Monica Murphy

  Forever Yours Series

  You Promised Me Forever

  Thinking About You

  Damaged Hearts Series

  Her Defiant Heart

  His Wasted Heart

  Damaged Hearts

  Friends Series

  One Night

  Just Friends

  More Than Friends

  Forever: A Friends Novel

  The Rules Series

  Fair Game

  In The Dark

  Slow Play

  Safe Bet

  Reverie Series

  His Reverie

  Her Destiny

  One Week Girlfriend Series

  One Week Girlfriend

  Second Chance Boyfriend

  Three Broken Promises

  Drew + Fable Forever

  Four Years Later

  Five Days Until You

  Billionaire Bachelors Club Series

  Crave

  Torn

  Savor

  Intoxicated

  The Fowler Sisters Series

  Owning Violet

  Stealing Rose

  Taming Lily

  The Never Series

  Never Tear Us Apart

  Never Let You Go

  Young Adult Standalones

  Daring The Bad Boy

  Saving It

  Pretty Dead Girls

  An Introduction to the Kristen Proby Crossover Collection

  Everyone knows there’s nothing I love more than a happy ending. It’s what I do for a living–I’m in LOVE with love. And what’s better than love? More love, of course!

  Just imagine, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany, collaborating on the world’s most perfect handbag. Jimmy Choo and Louboutin, making shoes just for me. Not loving it enough? What if Hugh Grant in Notting Hill was the man to barge into Sandra Bullock’s office in The Proposal? I think we can all agree that Julia Roberts’ character would have had her hands full with Ryan Reynolds.

  Now imagine what would happen if one of the characters from my Big Sky Series met up with other characters from some of your favorite authors’ series. Well, wonder no more because The Kristen Proby Crossover Collection is here, and I could not be more excited!

  Rachel Van Dyken, Laura Kaye, Sawyer Bennett, Monica Murphy, Samantha Young, and K.L. Grayson are all bringing their own beloved characters to play – and find their happy endings – in my world. Can you imagine all the love, laughter and shenanigans in store?

  I hope you enjoy the journey between worlds!

  Love,

  Kristen Proby

  The Kristen Proby Crossover Collection features a new novel by Kristen Proby and six by some of her favorite writers:

  Kristen Proby – Soaring with Fallon

  Sawyer Bennett – Wicked Force

  KL Grayson – Crazy Imperfect Love

  Laura Kaye – Worth Fighting For

  Monica Murphy – Nothing Without You

  Rachel Van Dyken – All Stars Fall

  Samantha Young – Hold On

  Acknowledgments from the Author

  This collection wouldn’t have happened without (of course!) Kristen Proby, so thank you so much Kristen, for asking me to do this. You’re a great friend and a smart businesswoman—writing my story in your world was so much fun, and I’m so honored to be included in this collection with you and all of the authors involved. A huge thank you as well to Liz Berry—you are so sweet and your enthusiasm is catching! I’m excited to be a part of the 1001 Dark Nights family.

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  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Monica Murphy

  Also from Monica Murphy

  An Introduction to the Kristen Proby Crossover Collection

  Acknowledgments from the Author

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Discover the Kristen Proby Crossover Collection

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Six

  Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights

  Special Thanks

  Chapter One

  Maisey

  “Tucker McCloud is back in town.”

  I nearly drop the cake pan I’m carrying over to the counter at my older sister’s nonchalant statement. I set it down with a loud plop, glaring at Brooke.

  She doesn’t even bother lifting her head. She’s too busy studying her phone
screen, scrolling through Facebook.

  It’s a Sunday afternoon and for some reason, I was full of nervous energy, so I decided to mess around in the kitchen like I do and come up with new cake flavors. When I texted Brooke to come over, she didn’t even hesitate.

  “Are you serious right now?” I practically screech, then take a deep breath.

  No biggie. No big deal. Nope, I don’t care that Tucker’s back in town. It’s probably a rumor. It’s happened before. The residents of Cunningham Falls are always eager to welcome back their hometown boy who made good. The first football player from our high school to ever sign with the NFL, he’s a big deal around here.

  Not to me, though. I’d rather pretend he never even existed.

  “His sister posted a photo of him last night,” Brooke says, her eyes still glued to her phone screen.

  I walk over to where she’s standing, ignoring my rapidly beating heart. When she still doesn’t bother looking up, I thrust my hand between her face and her phone, snapping my fingers. She hates it when I do that. “Brooke.”

  Brooke’s head snaps up, her brown eyes narrow. “What?”

  “Show me the photo.” My voice is surprisingly calm, considering how jittery I suddenly feel.

  She goes to the search box, enters in Tucker’s sister’s name—Stella McCloud—and clicks on Stella’s profile. “Looks like they had a family get-together over the weekend, and Tucker came home for it,” she explains as she starts scrolling, looking for those photos. “Ah, here they are—”

  I snatch the phone out of her hand before she can say anything else, earning an irritated “Hey!” for my efforts, but I ignore her. I’m too hell bent on finding the photo of Tucker.

  Brooke’s right, I realize as I start examining each and every photo—forty-eight in all. There was definitely a family get-together over the weekend for the McCloud clan, and let me tell you, their clan is a big one. They’re one of the largest families in the area. Tucker has lots of siblings—six besides him—and he’s smack dab in the middle. The middle child always craves attention. It’s a known fact.

  And Tucker was the biggest attention hog I knew. From his antics on the football field and on social media, I’m guessing that’s still true.

  I stop on a photo of the entire family gathered together, and I spot him immediately. Very back row, on the far right. Tall and imposing with those broad shoulders and the light brown hair and the laughing eyes. Ugh.

  He’s still ridiculously good looking.

  It’s so annoying.

  The photos are endless, and I’m surprised to see every single McCloud sibling is there. Only three out of the six remain in town, including Stella, the youngest. She’s a teacher at the local elementary school, and Wyatt is the football coach at the high school in the next town over. Wyatt is considered one of the most appealing bachelors left in the area—thirty-four, still single, attractive and with a good job. Women call him the uncatchable catch.

  Just like his stupid twin brother, Tucker.

  My ex-boyfriend. My high school sweetheart. The boy who took me to all the big dances, who made out with me in the cab of his truck after every single game, who snuck through my window in the middle of the night so he could sleep with me, even for just an hour. The first boy to tell me he loved me. The boy who gave me my first orgasm. The boy who told me he couldn’t breathe if he didn’t have me in his life.

  This is the same boy who got a football scholarship from a D-1 school and broke up with me, all in the same day. So excuse the above facts I just listed. He didn’t take me to all the big dances. I didn’t go to his senior prom, but neither did he.

  Little consolation for how badly he destroyed me.

  “He looks great, right?” Brooke says, her innocent question breaking through my nostalgic thoughts. “Actually, they all do. The McClouds are a good-looking bunch.”

  I pause on a photo of the brothers, four in all. Hunter, Colton, Tucker, and Wyatt, their arms around each other’s shoulders, matching smiles on their faces. Yes, they’re all attractive. Hunter and Colton are both married, and Hunter already has children. The twins are single and handsome, but only one McCloud makes my heart thump wildly and my breath catch.

  And all I’m doing is looking at a photo of him on Facebook, for the love of God.

  “He looks phony,” I say as I hand the phone back to Brooke, the only insult I can come up with in my muddled-by-Tucker brain. It’s starting to hit me that we’re in the same state. We’re in the same town. I could bump into him at any given moment and I wonder what I might do if that happened. Hug him?

  Or punch him in the face?

  “Phony?” Brooke actually snorts, something she normally doesn’t do. My older sister has her shit together. She owns Brooke’s Blooms, and she is the most popular florist in town. Oh, and she just so happens to be married to one of the hottest men alive, Brody Chabot. They are so in love, it’s a little sickening.

  Fine, I’m just jealous.

  “Slick. Almost too perfect,” I say, redefining my phony statement. “Look at his hair.” He has amazing hair. Soft. He liked it when I ran my fingers through it. I’d be sitting on the couch and he’d rest his head in my lap, staring up at me with his beautiful blue eyes, practically begging me to stroke his hair. And I always would…

  Brooke comes to stand beside me, peering over my shoulder. “At least he still has hair.”

  “Why wouldn’t he?” I ask incredulously, wondering if I’d still find Tucker attractive even if he was bald. Probably. “He’s not that old.”

  “There were a lot of guys at my ten-year reunion who were already balding,” Brooke points out. “You said the same thing about yours.”

  Tucker didn’t even show up to Brooke’s ten-year reunion—they graduated in the same class. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “I don’t know.” She shrugs. “I’m trying not to focus on his extraordinarily good-looking face.”

  Huh. Of course, this means I have to stare at his extraordinarily good-looking face. And my sister’s right. He’s so freaking hot.

  I hate him.

  “And his body. I mean, did you see the endorsement he had with that one underwear line a couple years ago? We pretty much saw everything.” I glance up at her just in time to see her wrinkle her nose. “Some things I didn’t want to see, too.”

  “Like what?” I saw the photos from the underwear campaign. I might have a secret board on Pinterest where I can study them on rare occasions.

  “Like the outline of his—” Brooke points down below. “Junk. Some things I don’t want to know, Maise.”

  Now it’s my turn to grimace. “Some things I don’t really want to know either, Brooke. Like you have an idea of what Tucker’s junk looks like.”

  “I definitely know his junk is nothing to sneeze at.” Brooke bursts out laughing the second she says the words. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”

  “You’re the one who brought it up!” I’m tempted to go on my phone and look at those photos again. I’m friends with Stella too. We were close in school. We still occasionally get together for lunch or drinks, and we talk about everything and everyone with the exception of Tucker.

  Stella knows he’s off limits.

  “You think he already went back to California?” I ask when Brooke hasn’t said anything.

  “Why? Hoping you’ll run into him?” Brooke smiles, her eyes sparkling. She just got back from her honeymoon and she’s so happy. Wedded bliss looks good on her. Looks good on her husband, too. Brody can’t stop smiling either. It’s so sweet to see them together.

  Makes me a little bit envious. I wish I could find someone like Brody. It’s hard, though, when I’m so busy making wedding cakes for all the other blissed-out couples in town getting married.

  Speaking of wedding cakes…

  “I need to frost this thing,” I say, grabbing the cake pan and setting it on the cooling rack. “And then I want you to give it a tr
y.”

  “You should’ve invited Brody over to sample it.”

  “Um…” I hesitate, not wanting to offend. “He kind of makes me nervous,” I say with a wince.

  Brooke glances up, her expression surprised. “But why? He loves everything you make.”

  “I don’t know.” I shrug. “I want him to be honest with me.”

  “He’s always honest.”

  “He likes everything I bake. Even the gross stuff.”

  Brooke laughs. “He’s easy to please when it comes to sweets.”

  “Uh huh.” My voice is dripping with sarcasm and I grab the bowl full of frosting I made earlier. It’s just the base. I’m going to add a few things to it now to correspond with the cake. “You’re honest. You tell me if what you just ate is total crap.”

  “Nothing you make is ever crap, and you know it,” Brooke says with all that older sister authority she’s so good at delivering. “Sometimes, you get a little—out there with your flavors, but that’s always in good fun. You know what works for your business and you stick with it.”

  “You might not say that about the cake I’m going to serve you here in a bit.” It’s orange. As in, it’s flavored with orange, the cake itself is bright orange, and the frosting is going to have a hint of orange flavor, as well as a pale orange color. Simple, right? But kind of daring, because orange cake is hardly ever ordered anymore. It’s always lemon. Sometimes strawberry, though that can be terribly sweet.

  Orange is from the seventies. Mom still fantasizes about some orange Bundt cake she ate when she was a kid at someone’s birthday party. She wants to find the duplicate of that cake. So when I’m bored, I go in search of it, trying to recreate her memories of sunshine and summer—that’s how she describes the taste of the cake. Later tonight, I’ll bring Mom a slice.