Never Wanted More (15 page)

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Authors: Stacey Mosteller

Save Me From Myself (Nashville Nights #1) - Available Now!

Lyric Hayes spent the first 22 years of her life trying to be the perfect daughter and the perfect girlfriend. After a tragedy and her fiance's betrayal, she's running. Starting over far away from the person she used to be.

She's made herself a vow - no relationships. She's trying to heal, not complicate her life further.

David Pearson has it all. Confidence, awesome friends, successful business. But, David's dealt with loss too. He knows better than anyone not to judge by what's on the surface.

Drawn to Lyric despite her inability to trust, he'll do anything to own her heart.

Will secrets and misunderstandings send Lyric running again? Or will David finally save her from herself?

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Everything I Shouldn't (Nashville Nights #2) - 6/26/14

It's been eight days, sixteen hours and forty-seven minutes since life as I know it ended. I know, it sounds so melodramatic and teen-soap worthy, but it's the truth. Eight days, sixteen hours and forty-seven minutes since David found out. Since he kicked Jeremy out, ended their friendship and told me I could never see him again.

I didn't count on David getting suspicious, and I definitely didn't plan on getting caught. My selfishness has cost Jeremy everything, my brother won't even look at me, Lyric must hate me for practically blackmailing her to keep silent and my best friend is barely speaking to me.
 

Now my life is full of secrets. The people around me have been affected by the choices I've made and the lies I've told. But what will they do when they discover the biggest secret of them all?

Jeremy is everything I shouldn't want, and the person I can't live without.

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Save Me From Myself (Nashville Nights #1)

Prologue

Shutting the door to the upscale Manhattan apartment that I hate but my mother pays for, I lean my head back against the door and close my eyes. I just want to go back and restart this god-awful day. The past year has been full of nothing but a few ups, lots of downs, and heartaches that are guaranteed to break a person just by having to experience one of them. Me? I'm so lucky I get to experience them all one after the other like a row of dominos. I never used to understand why people would decide they didn't want to go on living, but if there's one thing I've learned this year, it's that that whole "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" platitude thrown around by everyone who's never been through what you have, is a load of crap. Because, if that's the case, he obviously thinks I'm stronger than I am. Either that, or he has way more faith in me than he should.

Once I've calmed my breathing, I head into the living room and sit down on the couch to call my sister. I'm sure she's been expecting this phone call since she left my apartment earlier this afternoon. Aria answers the phone before the first ring even finishes, "Lyric? Are you okay?"

"How long have you known what he was doing?" There should be some kind of anger in my voice, right? It shouldn't sound so flat, so lifeless.

My sister sighs, and her next words come fast, like she's trying to reassure me. "I saw them at a cafe on Lexington this morning. I swear Lyric, that's the first time I saw anything." Well, at least my sister didn't keep the secret. She was over here at lunchtime to tell me about it. "I'm guessing you confronted him then?"

"No A, I didn't get the chance to confront him." Not that I'm sure I would have anyway. "I went over to his apartment and when I walked in, I could hear them in the bedroom. After I saw it for myself, I took some of my stuff back and left."

"Seriously, Lyric? You didn't do or say
anything
? You didn't rip him a new one, or beat her ass? You just saw them and
left
?!?" She sounds really confused, but I don't know how to explain my reaction to her. I know the normal response to finding your fiancé in bed with another woman is not to calmly walk out and leave, but that's exactly what happened.

"Why would I fight
her
? For all I know, she knows nothing about me." I sound like I'm speaking to someone who isn't all there. I don't get how this is the girl's fault. Matt's the one at fault in this situation.

Aria lets out a frustrated groan, making me roll my eyes, "Do I need to send Edward and Phillip to talk to him?"

I don't even try to stop the snort at that mental picture. Talking is so not what she really means. And while my stepbrothers are awesome, they aren't exactly the uber-macho type. Well, Edward isn't at any rate. He'd probably refuse to punch him because he doesn't want to ruin his suit. If he did, his wife Grace would probably kill him. I don't even think she lets their two kids get dirty. Phillip would probably beat him down though. He's extremely protective over Aria, Kaitlin and I. Kaitlin's starting her freshman year at NYU later this month, and I'm fully expecting Phillip to follow her around growling at every guy who looks in her direction.

To answer Aria's question though, "No, sending the two of them over there won't accomplish anything. I'll handle it."

"Right. Sure you will," Aria sounds beyond skeptical, but I need to do this my way.

We talk for a few more minutes, mainly about my last semester in college. I ended up taking a semester off after everything happened last year, so instead of graduating last spring, I'll be graduating around Christmastime. Finally, I'm able to get my sister off the phone, and I don't know how long I sit on the couch staring blankly at the TV, the TV I didn't even turn on. Yeah, I'm pretty pathetic.

***

Standing at the doorway of my fiancé's bedroom, I can't even bring myself to really be surprised. Aria tried to warn me that this was happening, and I wouldn't listen to her. I didn't
want
to listen. Really, I guess I didn't want to believe that after everything that has happened over the last ten months that he would do something like this to me. Was "the accident" as he refers to it not enough of a blow? Now, I have to deal with this too?

Without saying a word, I back out of his bedroom and pull the door closed. Does it make me a coward that I didn't interrupt him and the buxom blonde on top of him? Even if it does, I'm past the point of even giving a damn. I've been numb for months now. Numb to everything, everyone, and every situation.
 

Making my way silently through his apartment, I pick up the things that mean the most to me. I grab the blanket my father's mother made for me when I was younger - it always made more sense for it to be here, I spent most of my time at this apartment once we were engaged. Stopping in the kitchen, I pick up the "Journalists do it on deadline" mug that Aria got me for my birthday last year, and after grabbing a few more things, I realize the noise in the bedroom has quieted. Knowing I don't have long before someone interrupts me, or just finds me and makes me have to deal with this, I practically sprint for the door.

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