CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
CHAPTER FIFTY
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
CHAPTER SIXTY
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER SEVENTY
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
CHAPTER EIGHTY
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO
CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE
CHAPTER NINETY
CHAPTER NINETY-ONE
CHAPTER NINETY-TWO
CHAPTER NINETY-THREE
CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR
CHAPTER NINETY-FIVE
CHAPTER NINETY-SIX
CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN
CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT
CHAPTER NINETY-NINE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-ONE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWO
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THREE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FOUR
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIVE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIX
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHT
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-NINE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-ELEVEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWELVE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTEEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FOURTEEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTEEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTEEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-NINETEEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-NINE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-ONE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-TWO
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-THREE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-FOUR
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRE-FIFTY-FIVE
CGAPTER ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-SIX
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-NINE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-ONE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-TWO
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-THREE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-FOUR
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-FIVE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-SIX
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED -SIXTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-NINE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTY
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTY-ONE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTY-THREE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTY-SIX
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-NINE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHTY
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHTY-ONE
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHTY-TWO
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHTY-THREE
JACE AND SHAY’S HAPPILY EVER AFTER
JACE
SHAY
JACE
SHAY
JACE
SHAY
JACE
DEAR READERS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BOOKS BY DANIELLE ROCCO
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, ex
cept in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. The scanning, uploading and distribution of the book via the Internet or via any other means without permission is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support for the author’s rights is appreciated.
Interior Formatting by: Cassy Roop of Pink Ink Designs
First Edition
Questionable Love
Danielle Rocco
A love beyond labels trademark novel
Labeled Love Book Two
Copyright © 2016 Danielle Rocco
ISBN: 978-0-9965850-2-6 E- book
978-0-9965850-3-3 Paperback
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN TRUE LOVE
To every one of you amazing, heartfelt readers that loved Jace and Shay’s beginning,
Enjoy the journey.
All this heart-shaped love is for you.
LOVE NEVER FAILS
1 Corinthians 13:8
There once was a young girl who went with her mother to drop off a box of books at a local community center. She took a chance asking a group of boys to join in on their football game, and when the boys saw the girl, the girl only ever saw one boy. She fell in love with him that very first day, and no matter what, she would always stand by that boy’s side.
NATIONAL DISASTER DAY
“WE FIND JACE JAMES guilty of aggravated assault.”
My entire world just shook. Everything happens quickly. I try to get to Jace, but the guard blocks me. My brother, Beau, and my dad are on each side of me, holding me back. Jace pushes out of his seat and turns toward me. Wide-eyed and desperate, our eyes find each other’s.
Jace whispers to me, “You can’t.”
I stop. Everyone falls away when dark blue meets pale blue eyes. No one else matters in this moment. I need him to breathe in my love and devotion, but I can’t get within reach. The guard starts leading him away.
“Do you love me?” I whisper.
“More than anything,” he answers.
My eyes quickly slide to my dad’s in a frantic plea.
“Do something!”
My dad looks down at me, helpless. I quickly look back at my boy that’s being led away from me.
“Once a week. Just like when we were kids. We will see each other once a week.” He stares at me with sadness ready to spill from his eyes, and it kills me because my boy has never shown weakness in front of me. I look at the guard trying to take my happiness away.
“I just want to hold him! Let me hold him! He doesn’t deserve this!” I yell. My dad says my name, his grip tightening around my arm to the point that I should feel pain, but I feel nothing because the pain inside my heart right now is brutal. Right before Jace walks through that door that I swore he wouldn’t go back through, he turns to me, and it’s first moments all over again as he stares lovingly into my eyes the same way he did when we first met and I swore he looked into my soul.
But this time it isn’t “I’ll take her on my team,” like he told the group of boys at the community center. This time he says, “Don’t cry, baby,” and then the boy I fell in love with at twelve years old is gone.
“Two years!” I let out a heart-rending cry as the door closes. My hands go to my face, and my breathing is uneven. “Oh my God, this didn’t just happen,” I say, staring at the door, trembling.
“Jace,” I cry out.
“Shay, look at me.” I don’t move. “Shay?” I stare blankly at the door my boy stands behind and just shake my head.
“No…no…no…” Gentle hands start to turn me away from the door that separates Jace from me. I don’t want to lose sight of that door so I try to resist the pull. “Please don’t touch me,” I whisper between ragged breaths.
Love and concern win, and I turn willingly into my mother’s embrace. With my arms to my side, I let her hold me until a woman in the back of the courtroom catches my eye. Strung out and familiar makes eye contact with me, and she quickly gets up and walks out of the room. “Let go of me,” I say into my mom’s neck. She’s too slow so I pull out of her embrace, practically knocking my friend, Jules, over so I can get to the woman.
“Shay, what the?” Jules asks. Ignoring her, I push through anyone in my way. I try to catch up to the woman, but she’s walking too fast. I’m so shaken my legs feel like Jell-O, but I’m desperate to talk to her.
“Ms. James…” She doesn’t turn around. “Grace?” She continues to ignore me. “Grace!” I scream. Lifeless hair falls over her bony shoulder as her sunken brown eyes meet mine. “Just like I told you, Grace, when I came to see you—I love your son, and I will always fight for him!” She shakes her head from side to side, then pushes the courthouse door open and walks out. I want to run to her and tell her everything. I want her to know her son is still the best person I know and doesn’t deserve to be in prison, and no matter what, I will love him through every moment we are apart. But I stop in a panic as I realize I’m moving farther away from Jace.
I turn away from the courthouse door and make my way back to the door my boy stands behind. Desperation gets to me, and I feel emotions wash over me I’ve never felt before. Jules tries to grab my hand when I walk back into the courtroom. “Shay?” I pull away.
“The judge made a mistake!” I look at her. She has tears in her eyes. “Did you just hear me, Jules? He made a mistake!”
“Yes, I heard you.” She just stares at me and shakes her head.
“He made a mistake!”
“We have to leave the courtroom now,” Jules says, trying to grab my hand again.
“No,” I tell her.
“They said we have to, Shay.” She tugs on my hand.
“Let go of me.”
“Jules is just trying to help, Shay,” Mom says from behind me. I look over my shoulder.
“And were you helping me when you were talking to the people that just sentenced my boyfriend to two years in prison? I saw you talking to them,” I hiss.
“Watch how you talk to your mom, Shay. You don’t know what was relayed to them,” Dad scolds.
“And I don’t ever want to know,” I say to my dad as my brother pushes me through the door into the hallway. With Beau behind me, and my parents on each side of me, we walk out of the courtroom with our shoes echoing through the long, cold hallway.
Jace’s friend, Landon, opens the door, and Jules walks through first, then Dad lets Mom go. He releases my arm, allowing me to follow with the help of Beau gently guiding from behind through the door of the courthouse.
The warmth of the sun and the brightness of the blue sky remind me of what Jace will be denied. He’s not going to have sunlight, he’s not going to feel the warmth from the sun, he’s not going to feel my touch—he’s going to be all by himself without comfort. How are we going to survive this? My boy, alone, no sand beneath our feet, no sunset nights holding each other under our warm blanket gazing at the moon and the stars, no slow lovemaking and sweet kisses, no whispered words of forever.
My mind is a frazzled mess of memories and fairy-tale promises, and I’m choking on my own thoughts of forever that have been ruined. I’m going a hundred miles an hour standing in one spot. I’m floating on a cloud of cotton candy promises as everyone around me speaks.
I hear nothing but his voice. “I love you, baby… And when I unwrap you, I’m going to treasure you forever…” I smile. Then, it’s like slow motion as my legs buckle beneath me, and I slowly fall to the ground in shock.
My dad’s voice breaks through the silence. “Beau, pick her up.” Beau starts walking to me with quick strides.
“No! Don’t touch me! I mean it, Beau! Don’t freakin’ touch me!” I pull away from his reach. “Jace is not staying here! I won’t let them take him away from me! He does not deserve this!”
“Shay,” Beau says, trying to calm me.
“Leave me alone!” I scream, turning back
in the direction of my heart. I’m panicking…full-blown panicking. All I can see is his face as he looked at me before they escorted him away.
I need to see him. I just want to see him. He needs me.
I hear my mom crying. She reaches out for me, but I push her away.
“Please, just leave me alone!” I yell, sobbing uncontrollably and garnering attention. “He doesn’t belong in prison!” I can’t catch my breath. I seriously can’t catch my breath. I turn to my dad who is trying to hold my mom back from coming to me again. “You did nothing, Dad. Not a damn thing! Two years… Are they freakin’ crazy?”
My dad calls out to Beau, “I’m going to get the car.”
I let out a very long, shaky breath and look up to my dad. “You can go home, Dad. I’m not leaving.”
“Shay, please,” Jules says.
Beau stands over me. “Shay, you have to get up,” he says sadly, but I can’t move. I won’t move.
“Jace’s here. I’m not leaving him and walking away,” I whisper to him. Jules is crying, Landon is staring at me, and with strong hands, Beau leans down and scoops me up into his arms.
“You can’t stay here on the steps of the courthouse. It’s not going to bring Jace back to you. He probably isn’t even here anymore,” he says as I wrap my arms around his neck.
“Where is he? Where did they take him?” I ask. His eyes soften as he cradles me to him.
“They took him back to jail until they are ready to transport him to prison,” he answers. My stomach clenches.
“I don’t want him to think I’ve left him. I would never leave him, Beau.”
“He wouldn’t want you sitting here crying like this. He would want you to go home.” I shake my head as the tears continue to fall. “I know you’re hurting, Shay, but I know Jace wouldn’t want to see you like this.”
Landon walks up to us as Beau holds me tight against him. “If you ever need anything, Shay, you have my number. You can call me anytime.”
I lift my head from my brother’s neck. “Thank you, Landon,” I say weakly, feeling my energy fading. He gives me a forced smile and walks away.
Beau starts walking with me in his arms, not caring at all that prying eyes are upon us. I hold on tightly, pressing my face to his neck. My brother, a major movie star, is carrying me off the steps of the city of Los Angeles’ courthouse. I’m sure someone is catching this on social media by now.
My parents pull up in the car. Jules opens the door, and Beau sets me down and puts my seatbelt on. Dad looks over at Beau. “Are you coming to the house?”