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  Shelby and Aiden stop by daily so she’s never alone. She sleeps in my bed, but I haven’t tried to be intimate with her because I’m afraid it will make things worse. Our days are spent with me working from home when I can, and holding her at night when she lets me. I’m still waiting for my brave girl to shatter and let me in.

  ***

  “Jack! Jack!” I hear Edith calling me.

  “Baby, what’s up?” I run from my office to the kitchen. She’s standing in front of the sink, looking out the window. “What is it?”

  “Snow, Jack,” she whispers.

  “Edie, it’s New Jersey. We get snow every winter,” I say gently. I’m confused, but I want to know where this is all leading in her sweet, complicated mind.

  “No, Jack. Really look at it. It’s making everything new.” Edith puts down the towel and pulls me to the back door, opening it and stepping outside, holding her hand into the icy flakes. Snowflakes are just covering the ground and I know that, by tomorrow, I’ll be shoveling our new driveway so we can get the cars out.

  “Edith, its freezing cold out here. Have you lost your mind?” She doesn’t have a jacket on and she’s still wearing those damn flip flops. The cold air is crisp and biting, and she wants to stand on the porch, looking out into the backyard.

  “No, Jack. I think it’s just waking up.” She turns in my arms and hugs me tightly. I don’t have a clue what she’s talking about, but feeling her skinny arms wrap around my chest makes my heart swell. It must be the fucking cold that’s stinging my eyes as I breathe her in and squeeze her back.

  “God, I’ve missed you, Edith. I love you so much.” I kiss the top of her head, hoping and praying this is real.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Jack Hamilton. I’m finally home,” Edith whispers in my ear. I know we’re slowly moving past whatever hurdles we’ve had. Doesn’t mean life is perfect, but we’re working on it.

  “Sure took you long enough, babe,” I tease her and she pinches my stomach, letting me know we’re all right. She hasn’t said she loves me, but she’s not ready for that yet. I can wait. Statistically speaking, we’re probably better off than most couples at this point, and I’m willing to bet we’re going to do just fine.

  THE END…

  Jack and Edith will be back in 2015 for the next semester.

  XOXO – M.C. Cerny

  About the author

  M.C. Cerny is the author of the romantic suspense Reed Series, having published book one, Flashpoint, earlier this year. M.C. Cerny is a devout runner with a wanderlust that fuels her writing. She is most appreciative to her supportive team, including her very own Mr. Flashpoint, troublemaking child, and three fur balls of the feline variety. Many thanks go to her rock star editor: Kim Young; PR: Danielle; PA: Angie; The Reed Series Street Team; the betas; TJ, the best guy BFF; BH and KK – you girls rock!

  You can find M.C. Cerny here:

  http://mccerny.blogspot.com/

  http://www.facebook.com/MartaWritesBooks

  http://amazon.com/author/mccerny

  https://twitter.com/mccerny

  The Life Plan

  Prequel

  By

  Phalla S. Rios

  Prologue

  Gingers earned a freckle for every soul they stole.

  That was what he told me. And I believed it.

  I trusted him.

  He was the only soul I wanted to steal.

  The only soul that knew my secrets and understood me.

  Our souls were sealed together.

  Forever.

  I had my first kiss when I was ten years old and it changed my life forever.

  He was sixteen, almost twice my age. And I fell. Hard. It wasn’t an adult kiss that included tongue and lust; just a small peck that didn’t last very long. But that was all it took to change the course of our friendship.

  You might be appalled to learn that a ten year old was hanging out with a teenage boy, and questioning where my parents were. But my dad was there. He was the one who took me to Connor Tomlinson’s home every Friday night.

  Connor Tomlinson.

  His name was forever etched into my life plan.

  He was the boy who’d driven me to start the list I needed to abide by. It scared me to have such strong feelings, but I wanted Connor. I wanted him bad. I was young, but I’d seen enough desire, lust and sex to know what those three things can do to someone when they weren’t careful. My dad wasn’t careful, thrusting me into his world and damaging my childhood as he’d spiraled out of control.

  Chapter 1

  My hand clenched the Boston University acceptance letter; a University far, far away from home. I could finally escape.

  “Earth to Vida?”

  My friend Amber waved her hand in my face to get my attention, bringing me back to reality. I blinked twice as I tried to focus.

  “Where the hell did you go?” She laughed and looked expectantly, her hazel eyes shining with questions. “So? What does the letter say?”

  We were standing right outside of our art appreciation classroom with all of our classmates and I couldn’t decide if I should scream my good news or whisper so no one could hear me. Jealousy was running rampant during our senior year while everyone tried to get into the best colleges.

  “I got in with a full ride!” I screamed, wanting the world to know I was going to be free.

  Amber grabbed both my hands and jumped up and down, her brown hair flapping around her shoulders. “Oh my God! Oh my God! We need to celebrate after school!” She threw herself on me, hugging me tightly. “You so deserve this, my friend,” she whispered.

  Tears pooled in my eyes, and warmth spread through me as I hugged her back. Amber broke away, grabbing the letter from me and taking them close to her face with both hands. She proceeded to read each word of the letter back to me. My attention slipped as I heard the click of the lock to our classroom door, and the students entered our classroom, leaving just Amber and me in the hallway.

  I grabbed the letter from her. “Let’s get to class. You can finish reading after school while we celebrate.”

  “Oops. I didn’t notice that everyone had left.” She laughed as she grabbed her backpack off the ground and walked into the classroom before me. I grabbed my messenger bag and followed her inside.

  Amber walked straight to our double-seated table, but my feet stopped working, cementing themselves to the ground right by the door as my eyes locked on the teacher at the front of the class. I’d expected to see Mr. Roberts, our gray-haired teacher with dark eyes who always managed to scare me just a little.

  But it wasn’t Mr. Roberts standing there.

  No, standing in front of me was Connor Tomlinson.

  Oh, how the years looked great on him. His long, blond hair was now cut short, and his beige dress shirt, black tie and dark navy jeans showcased his well-toned body. How old is he now, I wondered. I’m seventeen, so he’s … twenty-four? Oh my God, Connor is a twenty-four-year-old man.

  He was all man now.

  He dropped the folders onto the desk and glanced up, meeting my eyes. He blinked, then glanced down quickly.

  “What are you doing?” Amber called out to me.

  Everyone turned to look at me, so I had no other choice but to walk away. When I got to the desk and took my seat, I shoved my letter into my messenger bag angrily.

  He left me. He should have stayed away.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I said, pulling out my notebook and distracting myself from her wondering stare. Amber didn’t know about Connor or the secret life my dad lived. No one knew… except Connor.

  “Are you sure? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she pressed.

  “I’m fine,” I said softly, but adamantly. “I’m just a little shocked not to see our regular teacher up there.”

  “Yeah, I know, but hey, subs are easy.” She smiled and relaxed in her seat.

  Connor walked towards the students, his eyes landing on me
for a second before he scanned the room. My heart beat erratically.

  “Class, I have some bad news.” He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. “Mr. Roberts will not be returning for the rest of the year. His cancer has returned, so he’s taking the time off to battle the awful disease.” He glanced at me, his gaze uncertain before he quickly looked away again. My heart lurched in my chest.

  “A couple of the admins are visiting him later this week, so if any of you would like to send him something, please drop it off with me and I’ll make sure he receives it.” He nodded slightly before turning back to his desk. Picking up a stack of papers, he handed them to a female student who was seated in one of the front desks.

  When he walked to the chalkboard and wrote down his name, phone number and email, I had to swallow the lump in my throat as a ping of jealousy formed. Now all the girls in our class had access to him in such a private way, anytime they felt like it.

  “You can address me as Mr. Tomlinson, but Connor works just as well." He angled his head and pointed behind him. "That’s all my contact info. I have an open policy with my students, so if you need help with an assignment, or you’re unable to attend class, just shoot me a text. "

  His gaze fell on me again. His eyes blazed with every second that passed as if he were trying to confess something to me, dying for my understanding. When he finally looked away and explained the first page of the syllabus, I zoned out. My cheeks were hot and my body coiled with need and anger. I needed to be alone with him. I wanted answers.

  "God, our sub is hot, like really hot. Are you looking at him? Because I can’t seem to look away or think straight," Amber whispered, staring ahead at Connor. “I’m going to call him with a made up problem about our homework just to hear how he sounds on the phone. And from the look of all the drooling girls in this room, I’d say he's going to get a lot of calls tonight." She smiledwickedly.

  Without thinking, I raised my hand to get his attention. "Mr. Tomlinson," I interrupted, “May I have a moment outside? There's a personal matter I need to discuss with you."

  Amber gasped.

  He glanced up from the paper in his hand slowly and blinked in surprise. "Are you able to wait until after class?" he asked, his eyes slanted slightly.

  Rejection.

  I swallowed down my hurt. "Yes, it can wait." I hung my head and pretended to read the syllabus as all eyes remained on me.

  "Uh, what the hell was that?" Amber hissed in a whisper, turning to face me.

  I shook my head, refusing to answer her.

  “What is going on with you today?”

  I pretended not to hear her as I continued to look at the syllabus.

  Connor continued reading and explaining the syllabus, glancing my way often. He picked up another stack of papers and handed them to a male student. “This is your homework assignment. Read it over and I’ll answer any questions after I talk to Mrs. Wakefield.”

  I stood and followed him to the door. He opened it, holding the door for me, and we walk outside together.

  Connor stood as far away as possible from me, waiting for me to speak first.

  “When did you get back?” I asked, my voice cracking.

  “A while ago,” he answered softly.

  “Were you ever going to let me know?”

  “No,” he whispered, running his thumb across his bottom lip. “I didn’t expect to see you again.”

  “I’ve missed you.” The words fell off my lips before I could stop them.

  “Stay after class,” he whispered and walked back to the door, opening it. I walked toward him and stopped, wanting to say so much more. “We’ll talk more, later,” he said quietly to me.

  He always could read my mind, I thought to myself. “Okay,” I agreed before walking back to my seat. Amber raised an eyebrow as I sat down. “I’m staying after class,” I tell her.

  “Are you going to share with me why?”

  “No.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “But what about our celebration?”

  “Can we do it another day?”

  “Fine.” She frowned.

  “Whenever you two are ready to join us, we’re going over the homework assignments,” Connor called out.

  Amber and I both blushed as the students turned to gawk at us. A small smile formed on Connor’s lips before he turned to write on the chalkboard.

  ***

  The students left class for the day and Amber said her goodbyes. I pretended to be busy, shoveling papers and notebooks in my bag and checking my phone, not focusing on anything else. Once all the students were out of the classroom, Connor closed the door, turning the lock. He stalked toward me then paused. I looked down, my heart drumming loudly. This was it. We were finally alone.

  "I can't believe you're here,” he said softly. I glanced up and met his eyes, filled with longing. "I'd assumed you guys had left too." He leaned back, resting against a desk.

  "We didn’t. We braved the raft of the gossips, the look downs, the shunning of the community,” I whispered.

  "My mom's heart couldn’t deal with what was going to happen,” he explained sadly. "I didn't want to leave …" He grabbed my face gently, his thumb rubbing lightly on my freckles near my nose. "You've grown into your freckles. And your hair, you let it grow. You're beautiful, Vida."

  I closed my eyes, tears brimming my lids, my world reversing as I travelled back in time. He had always reminded me to love my freckles and my fire red hair, to embrace them, to adore them. He told me they were part of my beauty.

  I hated them.

  He sighed and moved his hand away. "We shouldn't do this."

  My eyes flew open and I blinked. "What are we doing?"

  "I don't know." He turned away. "You should go.”

  I slowly stood, dazed from being near him, dazed from his touch. I grabbed my bag. “I'll see you tomorrow.” My head dropped as I took a step to walk around him.

  He grabbed my arm, pressing me against him. "This doesn’t leave the classroom," he murmured before grabbing my face and pressing his lips to mine. He kissed me tenderly, gently, delicately taking his time as if this were my first kiss.

  This was wrong. It was wrong when I was eight, and it was wrong now. But I wanted this … our kiss.

  His tongue darted out, gently playing with mine, gently easing me to forget about anything else but our kiss. This was magical.

  Let it be wrong.

  He moved until I was pressed against the desk, then lifted me up so I could sit. When he moved between my legs, I wrapped them around him, my ankles locking. I felt our kiss would never end.

  I didn’t want it to ever end.

  This was how I'd dreamed it would be if he were to kiss me like an adult. And right now, our kiss was all adult, filled with passion.

  I kissed him harder and he moaned, my hands grabbing his waist. His gentleness seeped away from us as he took full control … demanding and deepening our kiss.

  A knock startled us and Connor stopped everything immediately, slightly pushing me away. My mouth dropped open. This was bad. Our lips were red and swollen, his hair tousled, my wavy red hair messy.

  This was really bad.

  Whoever was behind the door would know what had just happened between Connor and me.

  I grabbed my bag again, ready to bolt.

  "I don't want you to leave like this."

  The knock comes again. I jumped.

  We both stared at the door. "If I stay, they’ll know. I should go."

  He whispered quickly, “Please, Vida, message me later."

  "Okay." I walked toward the door and unlocked it, keeping my gaze to the ground as I pushed it open.

  "What were you doing in there?" a squeaky voice asked.

  Shit.

  I glanced up to see long, raven hair and cold, dark eyes.

  Emma.

  The one person who shouldn’t be here. Her mom had single-handedly exposed my dad's indiscretions to our small town, which led to Connor and
his mom leaving.

  “Nothing." I moved around her and walked away before she could ask anything else. Being vague would stir up rumors in Emma’s head, but I kept walking. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t start any rumors this time around.

  I walked toward my mom's old beat up Honda Civic, a gift from my dad for my seventeenth birthday. He cherished that car, never wanting to part with it because it was the last part of Mom he had. Even after all these years, no woman would ever compare to her. I kissed the top of the car just as I had done since I was five before getting in.

  As I drove home, I tried to remember Connor’s number. I couldn’t.

  Shit.

  And today was Friday.

  Chapter 2

  I walked into the house as my dad reached the door, and we bumped into each other.

  He was leaving for a date night …

  Dad was dressed immaculately in blue suit jacket, white V-neck and jeans. He was a handsome man, muscled with broad shoulders. Sex on a stick is what Amber always called him.

  If she only knew ...

  "Dad, where are you going?" I blocked him from exiting the door. “Why don’t you ever stay home on the weekends? We could go out and do something together.”

  He sighed and scooted me to the side. "Honey, I don't have time right now. I'm running a little behind to meet my client.” He paused before walking out. “I know what you’re doing. But what I’m doing puts a roof over your head and food on the table.”

  Then he left.

  I watched him get into his black Mercedes and drive off. I sighed and looked out to our simple, middle-class neighborhood. People stared as Dad drove past them, and I watched as the knowing looks flashed across their faces.