I loved Manning before I knew the meaning of the word. I was too young, he said. I would wait. Through all the carefully-chosen words hiding what we knew to be true, through his struggle to keep me innocent, and through infinitely-starry nights-I would wait. But I'd learn that life isn't always fair. That no matter how much you achieve, none of it matters if you suffer the heartbreak that comes with falling for someone you can never have. Because even though I saw Manning first, that didn't matter. My older sister saw him next. Learn more.
About the Author
Jessica Hawkins is an Amazon bestselling author known for her "emotionally gripping" and "off-the-charts hot" romance. Dubbed "queen of angst" by both peers and readers for her smart and provocative work, she's garnered a cult-like following of fans who love to be torn apart … and put back together.
She writes romance both at home in California and around the world, a coffee shop traveler who bounces from café to café with just a laptop, headphones, and coffee cup. She loves to keep in close touch with her readers, mostly via Facebook, Instagram, and her mailing list.
For more information:
@jess_hawk
jessicahawkinsauthor
www.jessicahawkins.net
Connect With Jessica
Want to discuss this series with others who are reading? Join the SOMETHING IN THE WAY Spoiler Room. (Spoiler alert … there are spoilers.)
Get news first-join the mailing list.
Share the experience-come to The Penthouse, a Facebook reader club.
Stalk her Instagram and YouTube.
All books have inspiration boards & playlists.
Like her Facebook page.
Tweet her.
The Cityscape Series tells a compelling story of devotion, deception, and forbidden love. Come Undone is book one of three.
Olivia Germaine has already found love. Devoted wife, loyal friend, determined career woman-she's created the life she always envisioned. But when Olivia locks eyes with a handsome stranger across a crowded room, he peers a little too closely and sees emotions she thought she'd buried long ago.
David Dylan, alleged playboy and eternal bachelor, challenges Olivia to confront the life she's built and to make decisions that could either lead to happiness … or regret.
Will Olivia be able to draw the line between lust and love? And can David respect that line?
1
EVER SO SLOWLY, I touched the tube to my parted lips and glided on the Ruby Red. I had always lacked the patience for lipstick and only used it for special occasions. Next came a translucent lip gloss that left threads of goop as I smoothed my lips together. I drew back slightly from the mirror to admire my work.
Perfectly coiffed hair, teased and styled into a long bob, floated just at my shoulders, every shiny brown lock suspiciously cooperating. In the trash laid the scattered teeth of yet another broken comb. I'd wrestled especially long with my tangles tonight, but looked particularly poised as a result; so much so, that if one thing were to tremble, everything else would come tumbling down. Or so it seemed. In that moment, I caught Bill's gaze in the reflection, his normally mild eyes watching me intently. I quickly forgot that feeling of unease.
"You look good," he said, admiring my emerald green dress.
"Your favorite color."
"Because it matches your eyes." I picked at a mascara smear on the mirror with my fingernail. "Do we have to go tonight?" he asked.
"What?" I'd successfully chipped off the mark, but now I was faced with the messy smudge of a fingerprint.
"Tonight. Let's stay in."
"Everyone's going to be there." I tossed makeup products back into the drawer and wiped the counter with my palm. "People pay good money for these tickets, babe."
"Whose idea was this again?"
"Andrew's firm got tickets for their clients. Not everyone could make it, so he invited us."
"But," he began. A quick glare silenced him. He held up his palms in defeat. I turned back to my reflection.
I checked my eyeliner one last time to make sure it was even. "I talked to my dad today. He'll be in Chicago for a night next month and wants to have dinner."
Bill groaned and slumped in the doorway.
"What? You don't want to go to the ballet. You don't want to have dinner with my father. It's only one night."
"And you're so thrilled when my parents drive in."
"Touché." I flipped my hair over my shoulder and pushed a gold stud through my ear. "Well, you don't have to come, but I know he'd like to see you."
"Sure he would, where else does he get free legal advice?"
"Oh, please. He has plenty of corporate lawyer friends."
"Not for work, Olivia. For his divorce from Gina. Lawyer friends don't put up with that shit, they charge you for it."
"Well, get used to it, ‘cause he's not going anywhere. I'm sure if you ever need advice on how to win over girls half your age, he'd be happy to help."
"Half my age?" he repeated as he came up behind me and encircled my waist. A piece of brown hair fell over his eye. He was overdue for a haircut. "Are you trying to get me locked up? I'd say I've got my hands full married to a twenty seven-year-old."
"Bill," I whined, swatting his hands away. "You'll wrinkle my dress, and I'm finally ready."
"Yes, darling," he said with a sly smile, backing away. "I'll pull the car around." I followed him out but pivoted back, grabbed a hand towel, and wiped the smudge away.
We arrived at the performance minutes before curtain. Teetering in my heels, I clung to Bill's arm as we scoured the crowd for familiar faces. Sophistication perfumed the lobby, as if it had been bottled and sold to Chicago's elite. Smartly dressed women carefully stepped down scarlet-carpeted steps, passing beneath elaborate chandeliers that cast shadowy corners.
"There they are," Bill said. From behind, my two best friends, registering at just a few inches over 5 feet, could almost be sisters. Gretchen, in a revealing pink dress and boosted by spiky heels, gestured wildly to the group around her. Her long platinum hair bounced in signature curls with each exaggerated movement.
Next to her, Lucy dodged Gretchen's flailing limbs, anticipating her every movement. She wore a boat-neck black dress, and her short brown hair was fashioned into a perfect chignon.
Her boyfriend, Andrew, stood off to the side, wringing a program. Upon spotting us, he grinned toothily and beckoned us over. "Sorry, Gretch," he interrupted. "Everyone, this is Lucy's other best friend, Liv Germaine, and her husband Bill Wilson."
"What, now I'm the other best friend?" I joked, shaking hands with someone. "I only introduced them, you know."
Lucy looked up at me with big brown eyes before hugging me. "Look, we're the same height now," she said, showing off uncharacteristically high shoes.
"I don't know, shrimp," Bill said. "Liv's still got some inches on you."
"Anyway," Gretchen interjected impatiently, "the plane lands, and I rush to the station, just barely making the train. Since it's now one in the morning and I've been traveling for fourteen hours, I immediately pass out. When I wake up, the-what are they called-stewardesses?-she says, ‘Welcome to Chile!'"
"Chile!" one of the women cried.
"I'd gotten on the wrong train, slept through the entire ride, and ended up in Santiago."
Everyone laughed. I politely joined in, though I'd heard the story twice before.
"To make matters worse, it was fifty-something degrees outside, and I was wearing shorts and a tank top."
The man next to me guffawed loudly. He was the only one who'd been introduced without a partner; Gretchen's lure was cast.
"Oh, I think it's time," Lucy said when the lights pulsed.
The single man sidled up to Gretchen as we made our way to our seats. "What do you do that you can take off to Chile whenever you like?"
"Entertainment PR," she said, batting her eyelashes.
"Hook, line, and sinker," Bill whispered, reading my mind. Gretchen turned and shot us a dirty look when I giggled. "Uh oh, Windex is mad," he said with a playful smile. Her face softened. She liked Bill's nickname for her. When I'd introduced them, he'd said hers were the bluest eyes he'd ever seen.
Once we were seated, he leaned over so only I could hear. "Are you familiar with the tale of Odette and Prince Siegfried?" He passed me a program. "Swan Lake. Just another love story gone wrong." He laughed at my expression. "I probably never mentioned my parents took me as a teenager. Another thing to give me culture."