Not the One Read online

  Being there, she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she wasn’t cut out for city life.

  Another thing she needed to assess.

  Rolling her eyes at her endless list of things to examine in her life, she sat down in her spot and opened her laptop to where her chapter and characters were waiting. She felt giddy not needing her headphones as she jumped in, her fingers flying over the keys.

  “Angel, I can’t.”

  “You can,” she demanded, looking over her shoulder at him, spreading her ass apart for him. Her body was burning with heat, flushed. And fucking hell, he wanted her. He wanted to push his cock so deep inside of her ass, he wouldn’t be able to think, but he couldn’t.

  He wouldn’t.

  “Angel,” he tried to say, his voice cracking as he watched her squeeze her ass cheeks, her eyes searing into his. His nickname for her, angel, wasn’t something he said often, but when it came to her, he found no other word to describe her.

  She took him straight to heaven. With just a look.

  His beautiful angel.

  “I could hurt you. You’re so small, and you’ve never done it—”

  “First time for everything,” she said over him, and his hands shook as he met her gaze. “I want you to fuck me, Travis. I want you inside of me. Now.”

  His heart skipped a beat. How did this happen? She was his best friend’s sister. Baby sister. He knew better, but fucking hell, he was about to fuck her hard.

  Because she was his.

  When her phone rang, Gen glanced over at it, her breath catching. She wanted so much for it to be Montgomery, but it was her mother. Only a little disappointed, since she hadn’t spoken to her mother since she had arrived, she picked it up. “Hey Mom.”

  “Hey, honey, how are you? How’s it going?”

  “Great, words are pouring out of me.”

  “Wonderful. Is everything still utterly beautiful there? I was always so jealous of that place. It reminds me so much of back home in Georgia.”

  Exhaling deeply, Gen leaned back in her chair, and it gave a bit so the sun kissed her cheeks even more. It was such a peaceful day. She could hear the sounds of the distillery on the hill, and she figured she’d need to make a trip up there.

  “It is. I love it here. You should come visit before I leave.”

  “Maybe, we’ll have to see.”

  “Yeah,” she said, her voice trailing off because if she had her way, she’d never leave. “I really don’t want to leave, Mom.”

  Fawn paused for a moment before she cleared her throat. “Well, we both know that Montgomery isn’t going to move there, Genevieve.”

  Gen shrugged, closing her eyes. “I know.”

  “Then that probably won’t happen.”

  “I’m just saying. I don’t want to.”

  She paused once more. “Genevieve.”

  “What?”

  “What’s going on?”

  She cleared her throat. “We haven’t spoken since I left. Well, no, I take that back. I texted him about my room, and he was a smartass about it.”

  “Why? Because you went?”

  “That and because he wants me to quit writing.”

  Her mother took in a quick breath. “What? It’s your job.”

  “He wants me to be a housewife, he says. I guess I should have figured that out since he never really implied that he wanted me to get another career. I want more from my life than that. I want to be successful but also a great mom, ya know?”

  “Oh.”

  Gen’s brows pulled together. “Oh?”

  “I feel that was a bit of a dig at me.”

  “Not at all. You only wanted a mom life, and I want both.”

  “Well, I mean, you won’t have time for writing when the kids come anyway,” her mother treaded gently, and Gen scoffed.

  “I’ll make time. I’ll write with a kid on the tit, I’m good.”

  “I don’t doubt that,” she said softly. “But I don’t think Mont understands that.”

  “He doesn’t. He wants me to be his mom, or hell, you, and I don’t want that. I don’t know, Mom,” she said, frustrated. “Maybe I should call off the wedding.”

  Her mother gasped before she started rambling. “Oh no, Gen, that’s a little dramatic. I’m sure this can be fixed.”

  “Maybe, but I don’t want to get trapped in a marriage where my husband doesn’t support what I do.”

  Fawn didn’t answer for a long time before she said, “I understand, but, Gen, if you call this wedding off, you’re saying goodbye to him permanently because he won’t stand for that. Or really, his momma won’t. And since he’s basically still hanging on to that umbilical cord, that might not go well.”

  Gen snorted as she nodded. She knew her mom didn’t mean to be funny, but it was since it was the truth. Montgomery was the biggest momma’s boy Gen had ever met. It hadn’t ever bothered her before, but now, with the wedding and everything else… Yeah, it was a real problem.

  “Oh, Genny, what am I going to do with you?”

  Gen smiled. “What does that mean?”

  “I just want to know you’re taken care of, and I feel like you’re running.”

  “Mom, I’ll always be taken care of. I don’t need anyone to do it for me.”

  “I mean by a man, and Mont would take good care of you.”

  “Yeah, but he wouldn’t support me even a bit.”

  “That’s unfortunate. I have dinner with Verna tonight. I’ll bring it up.”

  “Ew, please don’t.”

  “Okay.” Gen knew she would anyway, so she let it go. “All right, well, you finish that book and then really do some soul-searching, okay? Can you honestly live without Mont? Don’t you love him?”

  When Gen couldn’t answer automatically, she felt her stomach drop.

  Did she love him?

  “I don’t know,” she answered, more to herself than her mother. “He really hurt me the other day. He accused me of coming here to cheat on him.”

  “What in the hell? Is he insane?”

  “He must be.”

  “Who in the world would you… Oh Lord, is that drug lord still there?”

  Gen snorted as she shook her head. “He wasn’t a drug lord. More of a mover of the drugs, and hell if I know. I haven’t seen him.”

  “Goodness me. I’d forgotten all about that guy.”

  Gen hadn’t. “Yeah.”

  “Okay, well, don’t get into any trouble. And if you see that guy, run. Please. Like you should have when he cornered you in the clubhouse.”

  “I think I cornered him.”

  “Genevieve, don’t ruin my beautiful image of you as a sweet and innocent teenager.”

  That had her guffawing. “Mom, come on. I went home with Montgomery after our first date. I’m no Sister Mary. I write smut, as Montgomery constantly reminds me, for goodness’ sake.”

  “Lord. Please stop. I don’t know what you do. I’m hanging up.”

  “Love you.”

  “Love you more.”

  With a grin still in place, Gen went to hang up, but then her mother said, “And please, really think this through, my love. Don’t let Montgomery go without considering all of the repercussions.”

  Her smile dropped then as she swallowed. “I hear ya, Mom.”

  She hung up and leaned back. It was all just so complicated. Why couldn’t he be supportive? Why couldn’t he just understand that she wouldn’t stop writing? Since her phone was still in her hand, she texted him.

  Genevieve: Why haven’t I heard from you?

  When he didn’t answer right away, she told herself he was working, but she knew damn well he had his phone on him. He always did.

  Before she could go back to work, she heard, “Hey, Gen, you hungry?”

  Gen looked over her shoulder at Delaney who was standing in the door to the kitchen on the other side of the porch. Tilting her head in curiosity, Gen said, “Hey, what are you doing here? I thought the new girl was starting?