A Hot Mess (The Truth in Lies Saga #3) (3 page)
Read A Hot Mess (The Truth in Lies Saga #3) Online
Authors: Jeanne McDonald
“Sleep, sweetheart.”
“I don’t want to sleep,” I yawned. It wasn’t a lie. In my mind, if I fell asleep this might all turn out to be a dream. I didn’t want another dream of Drew. I wanted the real thing. I’d been deluding myself all this time, thinking that I could live without him. So what if he and Olivia were having a baby together. So what if she’d disown me. Olivia and I had barely spoken since I left Florida. She made it very clear that she thought I was being selfish, leaving her when she needed me most. I couldn’t explain to her why I needed to leave, only that it was necessary. Everything between us had been strained. She only called when she had news about the baby, which was nothing more than a knife in my gut. And when she did call, she rarely spoke of Drew, which I found odd, but I didn’t bridge the topic because I couldn’t handle the thoughts of them being together. In my mind, they were the perfect little family and I was the outsider who only dreamed of having what they now shared.
But with him here, now, I knew that Drew and Olivia weren’t meant to be. We could make this work. We
had
to make this work. It may have taken him two months to finally pull his head out of his ass, but he did. He came for me. He couldn’t live without me anymore than I could him.
All of these thoughts in my head played tug-a-war with my heart. It was stupid to think things between us could somehow work out. Drew still left me. He still hurt me. I couldn’t overlook that fact, but my heart needed him like my lungs needed air.
My eyes fluttered closed, a soft pounding thrummed at my temples from lack of sleep and the constant struggle between my heart and my head.
“You need to rest.” He kissed my jaw with deep affection, sending my heart racing in my chest. “We both do.”
No!
my mind screamed. I couldn’t sleep. I needed to know where I stood. Sex was merely sex. Nothing was fixed. If anything, it was more fucked up than ever.
“Okay,” I breathed. I pressed my body closer to his, not wanting to lose the feel of him against me. “Stay,” I muttered, slowly losing consciousness.
“Where would I go?”
“Away.”
Drew chuckled, his warm breath tickling my skin. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Promise?”
He pushed my hair away from my face, placing a sweet kiss on my cheek. “I promise. Now sleep, Beautiful. I love you. I always will.”
I exhaled in a happy sigh. Even if this turned out to be an elaborate dream, what a dream it was. Hearing those words from him was worth more than any card or bouquet of flowers he could send. Heavy on my lips, I replied, “I love you, too.”
I drifted off to sleep with the promise that he wouldn’t leave me, and the hope that everything would be okay.
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Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review?
Thanks!
Jeanne McDonald
Jeanne McDonald began telling stories at the ripe young age of five, when her mother considered the truth to be a lie due to her extensive embellishment to the retelling of an event. She wrote her first short story when she was twelve years old, and at the age of sixteen she tried her hand at poetry. She reconnected with her love for writing in 2010 thanks to the encouragement of a dear friend.
Her passions include a "mild" Starbucks addiction, music, reading, quotes, movies, and romance. When she's not spending time with her family, she can be found reading, writing, chatting with her friends or diligently working toward her bachelor's degree in English Literature. A proud Texan, Jeanne currently resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with her family.
Available Now
The Truth in Lies
(The Truth in Lies Saga I)
The Certainty of Deception
(The Truth in Lies Saga II)
Renegade
: as part of
Branded: A Bad Boy Anthology
Coming Soon
Indulgence
The Truth Be Told
(The Truth in Lies Saga III)
Just a few quick thank yous I’d like to include.
Thank you to Fandoms 4 LLS for inviting me to be apart of such a notable charity. This story has been dedicated to two of my friends who have fought cancer and sadly lost the battle. Their memories are survived by their families and friends, and I’m honored to be amongst those people.
Another goes out to my editors, Amy Gamache of Rose David Editing and Jo Matthews of Written Elegance, for their ability to understand what I'm trying to say, even when I'm not sure I have a clue.
Also, thank you to Mary Devereaux, Penny Reeves, B.L. Wilde, and Sarah Canady. These ladies are always there, cheering me on, and making sure I don’t sound like a blithering idiot.
Last but certainly not least, thank you to my readers. My words are mere letters on a page, forming sentences until you take the time to read them. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything.