Foolproof (16 page)

“Stop!” I reached to press the button to disconnect, but he grabbed the phone base and held it to his chest.

Why was he doing this to me? Cheesy nineties songs wouldn’
t change what he’d done.

“What? Do you need more than words?”

“Ryan.” I shook my head, tears freefalling down my cheeks.
Stop crying
.
He doesn’t deserve one Goddamn tear.

“I love you, Jules. I know I screwed up, but please, if you give me another chance, I promise, I’m yours.”

He hung up the phone, cutting off the intercom message. A few more customers had gathered around. Ryan’s dad hung back, staring at Ryan making an ass out of himself and me crying like an idiot.

What could I say? Did he really mean it when he said that this was real to him? Could he be that one person who could stand by my side as I started my new life? “Ryan.
”

“Please just tell me you feel the same way.”

I shook my head. This was too much to process. Emotion overload. “You hurt me. If you think singing a song—badly, I might add—is going to win me back, you obviously don’t think very highly of me. This isn’t a game, Ryan.”

Did he really mean it when he said he loved me? To hear those words come from his mouth, the sincerity in his eyes, the way he looked at me like I was his everything. This could be real, right? I wanted it to be real. Not because I needed it to be happy, but because, deep down, I really cared for Ryan.

“What we have is real, Jules. It wasn’t a game to me.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“Do you think I’d get up here and make a fool out of myself if I didn’t really care?”

“Maybe. How am I supposed to have a relationship with someone I can’t trust?”

“But I’ve been straightforward with you the whole time. Yes, I used the stupid magazine, but the feelings are real.”

“I…” This was just too much to handle. “Don’t think I can do this. I’m sorry, Ryan. I just need time.”

“But Jules…”

My chin wobbled as I cleared my throat, swallowing back my tears. “Just go.”

Could he actually be telling the truth? Could this work? Things had been going so well before I’d found out about the whole magazine article fiasco and his chat with Lex. But I didn’t know if I had it in me to put myself out there again.

His shoulders slumped. He pulled a CD case out of his back pocket and placed it on the counter before turning to leave. “Here. I made this for you.”

I looked down at the CD. Numbers with song titles and a note for each one was written around the whole surface, spiraling until it met the middle. Little unicorns decorated the outer rim.

1. Jules, you’ve Been Caught Stealing
my heart

2. From the moment I saw you, I thought, All I Want is You. Only you

3. It’s All the Small Things that make me love you

4. Like the fact I Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You whenever you’re around

5. Or how I can’t stop thinking about how you turned my ears Violet for a week after smashing me with a paint balloon.

6. You’re more than Just a Girl, you’re my whole world

7. I Come Undone when I see your smile

8. I may want to be All Over You when we
’re together, but it’s more than just physical

9. When it’s Just the Two of Us, I can tell you make me a better person. Someone I want to be.

10. But most of all, you gave me Faith. I love you, Jules.

Tears streamed down my face as I finished reading the CD. I looked up, through blurred vision, but everyone had gone back to their aisles, and Ryan was gone.

Oh my God. I just let Ryan walk out. He may have been an idiot to use that stupid magazine, but I knew he meant it when he said he was sorry. I didn’t care if it all started as a game for him, it was real now. We may have pushed each other’s buttons, but what he said rang true. He made me want to be a better person, too. He accepted me, all of me. And I wanted to be with him.

Mr. DeShane strode over and handed me a tissue. “I think he’s still outside if you want to catch him.”

I nodded and wiped my eyes. Racing out from behind the counter, I tore through the store and out the exit. He loved me for me. Not because of what career I wanted, what I wore, who my friends were. He wasn’t trying to change me into something I wasn’t. There weren’t any ultimatums with his feelings. And I loved him. All of him. I loved his dirty humor, the way his fingertips felt as they skimmed across my skin, the way I didn’t have to be someone else while I was with him. Ryan didn’t make me a complete person—I realized that. I was already whole, but I wanted
him
as my equal, my teammate as I navigated through all these changes that were about to happen.

Ryan was just about to get into his car when I grabbed his arm. “Did you really mean that?”
My voice came out forced, my throat thick and scratchy.

“Mean what?” He turned around. His lips pressed into a narrow line and his eyes glistened in the sun.

My voice cracked when I said, “That you love me.”

He nodded, taking my hand in his. “Yes, Jules. I love you. I started falling the moment I met you.”

“I love you, too.”

He gave me a wobbly smile and said, “Thank God.”

I pulled him into a hug, kissed him, and quickly pulled back. “Ryan?”

“Yeah?” He smiled, tracing his finger along my lower lip.

“P.S. You rock my world.”

Epilogue

Ryan

Six months later
…

“Okay, ready?” I whispered into her ear.

“DeShane, what is this?” Jules giggled.

The room was dim, candles lit. Hell, I even set the table.

“Surprise,” I said, removing my hands from her eyes.

She stared a moment in stunned silence. “Oh. My. God. Is this what I think it is?”

“An Oreo feast fit for a princess. And for the first course, we have Oreo brownies.” I slid the plate to the center of the table. Jules’s eyes widened.

“DeShane. You know the way straight to a girl’s heart.” She picked up a brownie and popped it in her mouth. I stared at those damn perfect lips as she chewed, wishing I was the dessert right about now. She closed her eyes and let out a sexy little moan, indulging in her sugar-fueled ecstasy.

“I thought I’d already gotten to your heart.”

“Yes, but this definitely helps.” She said, her mouth full.

I shook my head. I didn’t think I could love her any more than I already did, but each day, she did something to make me fall a little more. Call me a pansy for admitting that, but I was head over heels for this girl and proud of it. “Just wait for the next course.”

“Shit, there’s more?”

I nodded.

“I’m gonna need to unbutton my pants if I eat any more.”

“I can help you with that.” I lifted my brow suggestively.

“You’re sick.”

I gave her a wink. “You love it. Wait right here. Course two coming right up.” I got up and went to the kitchen, plugging my phone into the portable speakers I’d set up.

“You’re killing me softly with anticipation.” Peach called from the dining room.

These past six months had been the best. I’d gotten the internship at Humboldt—a paid one at that. They’d been paying for me to take classes at Drexler, and some of my core classes from Baylor transferred as I worked my way toward a degree in fish and wildlife protection. Humboldt had been so impressed with my work that they’d surprised me by offering me a permanent full-time position. Dad and I were still on good terms, and I was getting ready to move out soon and live in an apartment with Blake once he graduated.

I clicked on the playlist that I’d made for tonight, a mix of eighties and nineties music. As soon as it started playing, Jules let out a squeal.

“I thought this was supposed to be a romantic date, not a torture sesh.”

“It’s mood music.” Not really, but I had to get a rise out of her somehow.

She’d been doing really great lately— loved her athletic training classes and had a blast with her practicum with the football team. She was on speaking terms with her mom and dad. A phone call every few weeks. She was much happier now that they’d finally wised up and stopped guilt-tripping her.

“Just as long as you don’t sing, we’ll be good.” She poked me in the side as I set down the next plate.

“You don’t like my singing?”

A pained look crossed her face. “You’re horrible.”

“That’s it, no Oreo truffles for you.”

She reached for the plate, but I snatched it up before she could reach it and held it over my head.

She pushed back from the table and shot up from the chair, trying to get the plate. “You’re really going to punish me by denying me dessert?” Even on her tippy toes and her arms fully extended, she couldn’t reach the truffles. My pint-sized sugar fiend.

“I’ll save the punishment for later,” I whispered in her ear.

She shuddered against me, her arms wrapping around my waist. “Is that a sleeve of Oreos in your pants or are you just happy to see me?”

I set the plate down on the table and pulled her closer. “Come and find out.”

She shook her head and smiled. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

We never made it to the third course, but who needed Oreos when I had Peach?

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Acknowledgments

My head is still spinning from how fast this book turned from a draft to a polished book. I always get nervous writing my acknowledgements because I feel like I’m going to leave someone out. So let me say this: thank you to everyone who has given encouraging words, feedback on my book, bought my book, or just given a smile that brightened my day.

Okay, phew, I feel better. On that note, here are some people I am forever grateful for:

My fabulous agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan. Thank you for always being in my corner and giving me great writing advice and peace of mind when I need it the most.

The amazing team at Entangled—Candy Havens, my brilliant editor. Thank you for pushing me to write a better book and believing in Jules and Ryan. Britt Marczak, cover artist extraordinaire and answerer of a million and one questions. Your covers are truly beautiful and better than anything I could ever imagine. Thank you for always being just an email away. Debbie Suzuki, promo queen. Thank you for showing me ways to market better and tips to increase readership! Also big shout out to Nicole Steinhaus for initial feedback, the CE, and everyone else at Entangled who helped Jules and Ryan have their HEA.

Lia Riley and A.J. Pine, my writing compadres. Thank you for always being there for me. Ryan and Jules would not be here today if it weren’t for you two. Thank you for believing in me. You’re both groovy and if I could put an Austin Powers meme in here, I would. I don’t think I would have made it without out g chats, texts, Facebook messages, etc. For that, I am eternally grateful.

My good friends, Jessica Gunn and Rene Gilley, Natalie Blitt, Megan Erickson, Lex Martin, and Jules Barnard. I love our group messages and mutual support. You are all so talented and kind, and I am a better person for knowing you. Thank you for always being there for me.

My writing friends, Amy Trueblood, Brighton Walsh, Esher Hogan, Lisa Houghton, Lisa Burstein, the 14 NA group, and my friends on Twitter—thank you for always making me smile and sending lots of support in the form of virtual chocolate and hot guy pics.

To all the readers in Our So Called Group. Thank you for your support and feedback. Special shout out to the ladies who helped come up with naughty office supply jokes. I think you’ll see I used quite a few of them in the book.

My special blogger friends, Sil from Hopeless Book Lovers, Danielle from Ramblings From This Chick, Tina from Typical Distractions, Three Chicks, Maf from Maf’s Crazy Book Life, Christine from I Heart Big Books (who makes the most incredible swag EVER), Alexis from Three Girls and a Book Obsession, Jessica Anhalt from Desire Divas, Alicia Wyland, and all other bloggers who have given the time to read and review. Thank you all for being so supportive! It means so much to me.

My readers, thank you for picking up this book and giving it a chance. I am grateful for you.

My family—Thank you for always being supportive. I love you all.

Justin and little man, I love you both so much. Thank you for being 110% supportive. I would have never pursued my dream of being a writer if it wasn’t for you.