The Arrangement Anthology 1(165)
“Well, look at that.” Sean sounds surprised and stands. He holds out his hand.
The man stops next to Sean and shakes his hand before pulling Sean closer and placing an arm over his shoulder. He slaps Sean’s back a few times. “Good to see you, Sean.”
“Pete.” Sean nods and wriggles out of the hug.
Pete laughs after looking over at me. My jaw is hanging open. “Does she always look like that?”
The closer Pete got, the clearer it becomes. They look like clones. “Are you twins?”
Pete smiles. He seems so laid-back, so opposite of Sean. “Nah, that’s what people always think when they see the three of us together, well, they think triplets. Jonathan’s the youngest, and this guy is older than me. I’m the messed-up middle child.” Pete grins at me and then at Sean. The woman standing behind him is silent. Pete asks Sean, “Well, are you going to introduce me, or do I have to do it myself?”
Sean is so tense that it looks like his face will crack if he speaks. “Avery, this is Peter Ferro—my younger brother.”
Pete reaches for my hand and shakes it. He smiles and looks nervously over at his brother, like Sean will disapprove. “Actually, I ditched the Ferro part. It’s Dr. Peter Granz. Nice to meet you.”
COMING SOON:
THE ARRANGEMENT VOL 8
*****
THE ARRANGEMENT SERIES
This story unfolds over the course of multiple short novels. Each one follows the continuing story of Avery Stanz and Sean Ferro.
To ensure you don’t miss the next installment, text AWESOMEBOOKS to 22828 and you will get an email reminder on release day.
MORE ROMANCE BOOKS BY H.M. WARD
DAMAGED (A Novel)
DAMAGED 2
SCANDALOUS
SCANDALOUS 2
SECRETS
THE SECRET LIFE OF TRYSTAN SCOTT
And more.
To see a full book list, please visit:
/books.htm
CAN’T WAIT FOR H.M WARD’S NEXT STEAMY BOOK?
Let her know by leaving stars and telling her what you liked about
THE ARRANGEMENT VOL. 7
in a review!
The Arrangement
Vol. 8
H.M. Ward
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
MORE FERRO BROTHERS
COMING SOON
MORE ROMANCE BOOKS BY
H.M. WARD
CAN’T WAIT FOR H.M WARD’S NEXT STEAMY BOOK?
THE ARRANGEMENT
Vol. 8
A note for e-readers:
This volume is 121 pages in the print edition (trade paperback). Please be advised that the number of pages may appear to vary based on your e-reader, making this volume appear to have more or less pages due to the size of your screen.
CHAPTER 1
I’m pacing the floor of the hotel room, fuming. How could Sean say that? My fingers ball into fists, as I kick off each shoe and watch them fly across the room. Do whatever you want, he said. Damn right that I’m going to do whatever I want. Moving through the room quickly, I start packing my things, shoving them into the bag. The urge to scream has been building inside of me since dinner. It wasn’t Peter or Sidney—it was Sean.
I had my fork halfway to my mouth when Sean announced that he was leaving and heading out with Peter for a few days. When I first heard the news, I could only manage to blink at Sean. He didn’t invite me along, he didn’t tell me he was leaving, and the words he said made me so goddamn angry that I stormed away from the table like some sort of deranged drama queen—but I couldn’t sit there anymore. I would have smashed my plate over his head.
Sean watched me walk away and did nothing to stop me. He didn’t chase after me or call out for me to stop. He let me walk away without even glancing my way. There was no concern, no remorse. Do whatever you want.
I step into the bathroom, and try to grab all my stuff in one trip. I pile my make-up bag and hair stuff into my arms, and head to the shower to grab my conditioner. When I lean forward, everything tumbles out of my arms and skitters across the floor. I stand there for a moment and stare. This isn’t happening to me. It’s not real. I’ll go home later and Mom will be there. She can fix this.
She would have been able to…
My throat tightens to the point that I can’t swallow. My gaze blurs as my thoughts take off in a million different directions like dandelion seeds in the wind. I don’t hear Sean standing behind me until he speaks.
“What are you doing?” His voice is deep, demanding.
I don’t turn. My body remains rigid, with my shoulders too tense. If he touches me, I’ll punch him. Anger is swirling inside of me and mixing with dread. Things can’t end this way.