Broken Pieces
By
Allie Able
(August 16, 2016)
Zack: I made a promise to myself the day I met Lexie Sinclaire—a promise that I would protect her. What I didn't expect was to fall in love with my best friend. For eighteen years I have kept my feelings for her a secret, always waiting for the right time to tell her. So, when that time finally comes, the unthinkable happens and I find myself doubting if she is the one who can mend my broken pieces.
Lexie: I never realized Zack's true feelings for me. I should have seen them all along, but I didn't and now it may be too late. My strong best friend is crumbling, barely holding on. I'm scared that his broken pieces are too fractured and I'm not sure if I'm capable of holding them together.
**This book can be read as a standalone.
Excerpt
“I had sex with my best friend.”
Jenna stares at me in shock. Cupcake batter is dripping off the spoon and onto the floor. She is so still I wonder if she is frozen like that. I walk over to where she is standing, careful to avoid the spoon, and poke her in the shoulder.
“Say something,” I demand.
She snaps her mouth closed and opens it again, but no words come out.
I roll my eyes and make my way over to a stool and sit down at the island, grabbing a cupcake off of the cooling rack. I shove half of it in my mouth and stare at Jenna.
It’s still early and we haven’t opened the bakery yet. I was hoping to get a little advice from her, but I’m not sure that’s going to happen since she can’t form words. Zack didn’t say much this morning. He was already awake and in my kitchen making coffee when I woke up. When I walked into the kitchen, he gave me a quick kiss and told me he had to get to work. Now, if that would have been any other man, I would have thought that he was avoiding me, but I know that’s not what Zack was doing.
“Zack?” Jenna ask. I guess she did find her voice.
I continue eating the delicious cupcake as I nod my head. “Yup.”
“You had sex with Zack? Last night?”
I almost roll my eyes. Haven’t we been over this already? But I decide to give the poor girl a break. Maybe, she hasn’t woken up yet. “Yes. I had toe curling sex with my best friend, Zack, last night.”
“Jesus Christ,” she mumbles.
“What?”
“Nothing. So, did y’all talk?”
I wipe my mouth with a napkin and take my time answering. I’ve never been one to hold back, but the things that were said last night with Zack feel like things that should stay between us. I don’t feel right sharing all of those intimate details with anyone else, that’s ours. Finally, I nod my head. “Yeah, we did talk.”
Jenna studies my face for a second and then goes back to stirring the batter. “So, he finally told you he was in love with you. How did that go?”
“What? How did you know that?”
She pins me with a look. “Lexie, the question is, how did you not know that?”
I start shredding the napkin I’m holding into tiny pieces. I’ve been asking myself the same question since last night. I shrug my shoulders and shake my head. “I don’t know.”
“Hmm...”
“What was that?” I ask.
“Nothing.”
“It was something.”
“I was just wondering if maybe you just didn’t want to know.”
“Well, that’s stupid,” I scoff.
She looks at me and raises an eyebrow. I wish Summer were here. At least she would be nice about all of this.
“You’re mean.” I reach for another cupcake and before I know what’s happening, she is moving at super speed and slapping my hand with the batter covered spoon.
“Ouch!” I squeal, looking down at my hand in shock.
“Oh, please. That didn’t hurt,” she says, with an eye roll.
“You are so mean.” I give her my best ‘poor me’ look, but she isn’t falling for it.
“So, tell me how everything went. Are y’all a couple now?”
I look at the cupcakes longingly before standing up to go wash the cake batter off of my hand. “I don’t know. We both had to get to work this morning and didn’t really have time to talk.
“Hmm...”
Her hmm-ing is really starting to piss me off.
“What was that?” I ask, drying my hands off.
“Nothing,” she replies quickly.
“It was something.”
She starts laughing and I roll my eyes. This conversation is going nowhere fast.
“I want Summer.”
That just makes her laugh harder. “Why? So she can baby you?”
I stick my tongue out at her and make my way towards the front of the shop. I quickly scoop up a cupcake and haul ass through the kitchen doors, trying my best to avoid the spoon wielding witch.
“I saw that!” she yells.
“You’re just mad because I’m faster than you,” I yell back. I can’t make out her muffled reply as the kitchen doors close.
I smile as I sit down at one of the tables by the front windows and enjoy my cupcake. God, I love my job
Scattered Pieces (Book 1)
The quaint coastal town of Cape Isle, South Carolina, is the perfect spot for Summer Foster when she escapes her abusive husband.
Finally able to live her dream of owning a bakery, Summer begins the task of rebuilding her life, making sure there is no room for romance or relationships, because in her experience they only lead to trouble. However, when Grant Hamilton, who has served as a Marine for the last ten years, crosses her path, the chance encounter has them both rethinking their futures, as there is no denying the magnetic pull they feel towards each other.
When Summer’s past returns to haunt her, will Grant help Summer pick up the scattered pieces of her life, or will they all fall apart?
**This book can be read as a standalone.
Damaged Pieces (Book 2)
“When something is damaged or broken, the pieces can be put back together, but they will never be the same.”
KATIE: When I was left to raise my daughter alone, I decided dating just wasn't worth it. I never wanted my daughter to experience the kind of heartbreak only a man can give you and I didn't have the time, until Nicholas Sinclaire came walking into my life with his charming smile and his mischievous eyes. I just wish I would have known how it was going to end.
NICK: I knew she was it for me the moment I met her, but I had to leave. I had one more tour to do overseas and then I could come home to her for good. Little did we know, I wouldn't come back the same man. I was damaged beyond repair, so I pushed them away and hurt them. It didn't take me long to realize the mistake I had made. Now, I will stop at nothing to get them back in my life, but will Katie want my Damaged Pieces?
*This book can be read as a standalone.
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