Begin Again (Beautiful #2) (18 page)

Tamsyn is a 22 year old blogger turned author who has an insatiable hunger for New Adult Contemporary Romance novels, coffee and chocolate. When she’s not getting caught up in yet another steamy romance with a new book boyfriend, she can be found spending endless hours working away on her laptop in pursuit of her Marketing degree and a career in book Publishing. Tamsyn is a Brat when it comes to books and believes that every story, no matter how challenging, should have a Happy Ever After.

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Introducing

Bailey
Townsley

Author of Erotic Romance

Debut novel, All of Me, coming soon.

Synopsis

For the past two years,
21 year old Lacy Forbes has been hiding. From her family, from the media, and from the man that destroyed her heart. Now that she’s returned home to Chicago, her only desire is to move on and forget about everything that sent her running.

Jason Tate has only loved one woman and it’s not his wife. It’s the girl he fell in love with two years ago, and then walked away from, leaving her to deal with the consequences of their affair on her own. He never expected to see her again. When he hears about her return, he’s determined to right his wrongs, and get her to forgive him. 

Lacy believes she no longer feels anything for Jason. Until he kisses her. Until he claims her.

A battle between love and lust ensues, and Lacy will learn the truth – but can she forgive Jason for lying to her again, or will he end up ruining what’s left of her?

Chapter 1

My new loft apartment was quiet when I walked in and I could vaguely make out the box shapes in the shadows. I flicked the light on before discarding my purse on the kitchen counter and walked through the boxes I had yet to unpack. I’d been back in Chicago for less than forty-eight hours and I already wished I
was back on the white sand beaches of Cape Town. For the last two years, the small bustling metropolis situated in the Western Cape of South Africa had been my home, my safe place and my refuge. It was the place I ran to after my life turned to shit and now that I was back I understood why running away was so appealing. I chucked off my ballet flats, not caring where they landed, and checked my answering machine. Oddly enough, unlike all the other times I’d checked, there was a message. My finger hesitated over the button and I wondered if listening to the message would be smart. Against my better judgment I pressed the button and my sister’s voice filled the room. “Lacy…mom said she saw you in the streets today…are you home? Why didn’t you let us know you were back? Call me when you get this, we need to talk. All of us.”

I deleted it immediately, hating that my mother had spotted me today.
There goes my stealthy return,
I thought to myself. Great. I should’ve been more careful. The last thing I need is the unwelcomed attention of my family, especially when they pretty much wrote me off before I left. I wanted nothing to do with them but now that they knew I was back they’d be like sharks circling a whale carcass. I wasn’t going to subject myself to an audience with them willingly. My phone chimed from the kitchen and I walked the short distance from my bedroom to answer it. It was a text from my friend Cassandra. I smiled.

Skype?

I made my way over to my desk and powered up my iMac before typing out a response.

Let’s do it.

A few minutes later, I opened Skype and let Cassandra know that I was online. Seconds later the dial tone came through the speakers and when I answered Cassandra’s beautiful sun kissed face filled my screen.

“Hey bitch,” she greeted, in her slightly British-sounding South African accent. It was just past lunchtime there and I could see the sun shining through the glass doors of her beach house.

“Hey Cass! How’s it going?”

“Same old, same old. Except you’re not here, and I fucking miss you. Come back!”

I chuckled, smiling for the first tie since my return. “I miss you too, Cass. How are things with Kyle?”

She sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Fuck knows,” she replied, “he’s worse than a woman sometimes, I swear. He can’t decide if he wants us to be more than friends or not and I’m getting bored with him. I need some new eye candy.”

“You’re
always
on the lookout for new meat,” I teased playfully, even though it was the truth.

“Well that’s only because I’m tired of playing with boys. I want me a man, a big strong sexy man who knows what he wants without me having to point it out. And preferably someone who doesn’t suffer from pencil dick syndrome.”

I knew exactly the kind of man she was looking for. I’d had one once, only it didn’t end well. I thought about Jason quickly and then banished all thoughts of him immediately. It only took me two years and running away to a different continent to get over him and the last thing I needed was to think about the bastard
now.

“Anyway, how is it being back home? Have you spoken to your family yet?”

It was my turn to sigh. Chicago hadn’t been my home for a while, but I couldn’t stay in Cape Town forever. I’d managed to stay off the radar for this long but eventually I’d had to return to reality.

“They know I’m back,” I replied. I lifted my feet onto my big office chair and rested my chin on my knees. “My mother saw me somewhere today and when I got back to my apartment I had a voice message from my sister.”

“What did the bitch have to say for herself? I hope they groveled like dogs.”

Cassandra did nothing to hide her disdain for my family. She knew everything about them and why it is I ran away. It was odd really. We met at some rooftop party and hit it off. Three months later I was living with her at her Clifton beach
house and had become fast friends with her ‘crowd’ of Cape Townians.

“She just said I should’ve told them I was back in town and that I should call her so we can all talk.”

Cassandra snorted and I realized that I missed her fiercely. She was my only friend, really. All my so-called friends in Chicago ditched me as soon as the tabloids labeled me “Chicago’s Biggest Public Scandal To Date” and wouldn’t even return my calls, let alone be caught dead in public anywhere near me.

“I hope you told them to go jump off the Empire State building and into peak hour traffic.”

“I deleted the message. There’s no point in talking to them if they’re going to make me relive everything. I need to move on now.”

“I agree girly, make them fuckers suffer. On the flip side, I will be visiting in a few short months and you can show me all there is to see of Chicago. Until then, go out and have some fun, but not too much without me. You’ve come so far since I met you and I’d hate to see that all unravel because you have assholes for family members. You’re one tough bitch, Lace. Don’t you forget it.
”

My eyes misted over because I really did miss my friend. She’d been all I had when everything else fell apart.

“I miss you,” I said, grabbing a tissue on my desk.

“Ah girl, don’t you start crying, you know it will set me off too! It won’t be long and I’ll see you in person, but we’ll
skype often so you don’t forget what I look like okay?”

“Okay,” I chuckled. “Tell everyone I say hi and go put Kyle out of his misery. Even I’m sexually frustrated on his behalf.”

Cassandra winked mischievously. “Oh I’m planning on teasing him later. We’re having a bonfire tonight.”

“Have fun. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Cassandra blew me an air kiss and waved before I disconnected our call. I felt better after talking to her and decided to follow her advice. I had to move on and live my life according my own rules. I had no one looking out for me, which was freeing in some ways. I didn’t have to worry about disappointing my family (done that) or being an embarrassment (done that too). Their unrealistic expectations no longer existed in my world and I was determined to keep it that way, regardless of my last name. I was fortunate enough to inherit a large trust fund from my late grandfather, which had supported my lifestyle after my family cut me off. I didn’t live affluently but I was more than comfortable, much to my parents’ displeasure. Needless to say, I was doing perfectly fine on my own. Little did I know how quickly that would change.