Reason and Romance (River Valley Book 1) (26 page)

Alex was leaning against the lockers near the classroom. He was checking his phone, so he wasn’t looking up. The shirt he wore set off his muscles to advantage, displaying a toned body that she’d already had her hands on. Bri Latimer would get to do the things with him that Adrian couldn’t anymore. In that moment, she could have cheerfully ripped the girl apart with her two bare hands.

He lifted his eyes and met her gaze, and her heart clenched. Then he glanced at the other students. Most people would have pretended they weren’t there, but Alex had always been Alex. He looked at them directly, challenging them to stick around, and Adrian saw how they wilted under his gaze and hurried on.

“Now that you’ve scared them off,” she drawled, “what did you want to tell me?”

Alex’s gaze swung back to her. “I don’t scare them.”

“You intimidate them.”

A slight smile was what she got in acknowledgment. “Something like that.” Then without missing a pause, he said, “I don’t intimidate you, do I?”

“No.”

“I always liked that about you.”

She had to stop swallowing. His tone was so warm, so intimate that it was easy to forget that they were standing only a few inches apart in a crowded hallway. He’d sounded like that when they had been in bed together, just the two of them. Was it possible, then? Was he going to cave in? She hadn’t planned on quitting, but if he was waving the white flag …

“And because you will be my stepsister,” Alex said, “I thought you’d appreciate knowing that I intend to play nice.”

Every instinct was shrieking at her to run. Where was he going with this? Why was she looking around for a knife in her back?

“Do you really?” she murmured. “We parted on bad terms.”

For a moment only, she could have sworn that his smile had slipped, but it was solidly in place, that slight curve that never left his lips.

“Yes, we did,” Alex said. “That’s all in the past.” He nodded further down the hallway, and now she could see that Bri was hovering at the periphery, as if unsure of her status. “I’m with her now, and you’re—”

“Sleeping with Quentin.”

A muscle tightened in his jaw. “Most people seem to think that we’re at war or something like that. They’re wrong.” He smiled. “To be at war with you would mean that I care about you, Adrian. It would mean that I feel threatened by you.”

He leaned in so closely that she could feel his breath brushing her cheekbone. “The sad truth is, I just don’t give a damn about you.”

Adrian could count on her fingers how many times she had been well and truly blindsided in her life. She had always known about her parents’ increasingly strained and unhappy marriage. Sometimes she thought she had been born to the wrong family. The moment they had told her that her mother was dead, she hadn’t burst into tears like they’d expected. No, instead, she had only felt cool, blessed relief, knowing that Marissa Blake couldn’t hurt her or her sisters or her father anymore. As long as you pretended not to care, they believed you didn’t, and that was as good as not caring.

Moving to Arizona had changed all of that. The people in River Valley didn’t play by her rules, and they had no compunctions about kicking her carefully constructed life to pieces. Vaughn and Travis were so unlike the friends she’d had in Chicago. They had swept her up with their crazy antics. Quentin was a hedonistic whirlwind of energy. Justin and Grant were quieter about it, but they’d somehow made themselves a part of her life.

And Alex …

Pain was clawing at her heart, worse than anything she’d ever felt. This was going to be the mother of the crying fits she’d ever had, but she couldn’t afford to lose it in front of him. Not when he was watching her closely.

“Well said,” she said. She gave a slow clap. “I couldn’t have said it any better. You took the words right out of my mouth.”

Alex’s face was blank. “I’m glad you agree.”

Somehow she found the strength to shrug. “Since we’re being so honest with each other, I should confess why I got with Quentin.” She smiled into those hard green eyes. “I never gave a damn about you either.”

His eyes flickered, and she took perverse pleasure in that.
Didn’t expect that, did you, Alex?

It didn’t take him too long to recover. “Good. I’m glad we’ve settled everything.” He glanced at Bri. “She’ll be relieved. We have a date this Friday.”

“Take her somewhere nice.”

As if by mutual decision, they turned away from each other. Conversations exploded into life as students grouped in twos and threes, happily gossiping and speculating about what they had just seen. They hadn’t been close enough to eavesdrop, although they had certainly tried. One way or another, they were dissecting Adrian, and she couldn’t take it anymore.

Once she was alone in the girls’ restroom, she buried her face in her hands. Alex had never given a damn about her. Hell, he had never cared in the first place. She’d let him break her heart again, just like Jason. She’d wanted to get even with him for that. Oh, how she had wanted to crush Alex, so that he’d see his mistake and come back.

Come back to her.

Tears burned her eyelids. Jason had cheated on her and now Alex was breaking her heart. No, he had broken her heart twice. What did she do now? Nicky was furious with her, and rightly so. By now, she’d probably alienated more than half of the school. And she would never get him back. Was it all worth this?

“No,” she whispered. Trying to convince herself or trying to move on, she didn’t know or care. It was same either way. “You aren’t worth this.”

She carefully wiped a tear from her eyes. That was the only tear she would shed for him. Then she stood up and squared her shoulders. Stepped over to the mirror and studied her reflection. And for a moment, she just stood there, drinking in her reflection. She’d always known that she had her mother’s face, but she’d never really let herself accept the resemblance.

This is really how it should be, Adrian. You deserve to be alone.

She nodded at her reflection and then walked out of the restroom. One way or another, she was going to get over Alex Montgomery.

###

Adrian and Alex and the other characters will return in the sequel
,
THE ONLY REASON
,
coming out in 2015!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

What a long, long journey this has been.

I wrote the first draft of this story years ago, but I never believed I'd publish it someday. Even when I wrote the second and third draft, I didn't think publishing was going to happen. I gave up on writing (or at least I tried), but you guys didn't give up on me, and here we are.

To my parents: my first and forever champions, I love you. And to the rest of the family, I love you too. The next time you're in town, niblets, dinner's on me.

Somewhat to my surprise, I've acquired many friends and mentors over the years that have been able to put up with my sarcastic quips. In alphabetical order, from the bottom of my heart, I thank Doc, Dr. A, Heather, Jon, Kendal, Louisa, Max, Micah, Nenia, Simone, and Wu. Much love and gratitude to the other PH girls. They all know how much I owe them. I know I’ve forgotten many others, so forgive me if I’ve neglected to mention you here!

And lastly, this is for you, dear readers. There are so many of you who never gave up on me or the characters. This story would not have been possible without your support. A special shout-out to Lisa for all of her help.

Thank you all for everything.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenn Young writes primarily Young Adult and New Adult. When she’s not working at her day job, she drinks too much coffee and buys too many books. She loves to hear from readers. Contact her via her website, jennyoung.com, or sign up for her mailing list for the latest news.