Crazy Beautiful
a Redemption novel
Jessica Prince
Copyright © 2020 by Jessica Prince
www.authorjessicaprince.com
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
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Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
More from Redemption
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About Jessica
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REDEMPTION SERIES
Bad Alibi
Crazy Beautiful
HOPE VALLEY SERIES:
Out of My League
Come Back Home Again
The Best of Me
Wrong Side of the Tracks
Stay With Me
Out of the Darkness
The Second Time Around
CIVIL CORRUPTION SERIES
Corrupt
Defile
Consume
Ravage
THE PICKING UP THE PIECES SERIES:
Picking up the Pieces
Rising from the Ashes
Pushing the Boundaries
Worth the Wait
THE COLORS NOVELS:
Scattered Colors
Shrinking Violet
Love Hate Relationship
Wildflower
THE LOCKLAINE BOYS (a LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP spinoff):
Fire & Ice
Opposites Attract
Almost Perfect
The Locklaine Boys: The Complete Series Boxset
THE PEMBROOKE SERIES (a WILDFLOWER spinoff):
Sweet Sunshine
Coming Full Circle
A Broken Soul
Welcome to Pembrooke: The Complete Pembrooke Series
GIRL TALK SERIES:
Seducing Lola
Tempting Sophia
Enticing Daphne
Charming Fiona
STANDALONE TITLES:
One Knight Stand
Chance Encounters
Nightmares from Within
DEADLY LOVE SERIES:
Destructive
Addictive
Prologue
Poppy
Three years ago
It felt like someone had just punched a huge, gaping hole right in the center of my chest. I was still standing, still breathing, but the space where my heart had once been now sat completely empty.
I should have seen this coming. All the signs had been there. The missed calls, the unanswered texts. The nights out with his buddies that got later and later as more time passed. The gulf-sized distance he put between us.
But still, I ignored all of it, fighting tooth and nail day after day in an attempt to get back what we’d once had.
I’d told myself I was never going to end up with a man like my father, a selfish jerk who’d so easily walked away from his family like they meant less than nothing, but there I was, once again, watching as a man I cherished above everything was preparing to leave me behind.
“I-I don’t understand,” I stuttered, watching motionless from the doorway of our bedroom as Cory emptied another drawer, moving to the bed to stuff his things into the bulging duffle bag sitting on the middle of the mattress. “You said this was what you wanted.”
Cory stopped packing to reach up and rub at the back of his neck. “I thought it was. I thought I could be happy with this, but . . .”
“But what?” I demanded to know. If the man I’d loved with everything I had was going to throw away what we’d been building for years, I wanted answers. I deserved at least that much. “But what, Cory? Finish your damn sentence!”
“But I was wrong!” he shouted, throwing his hands out to his sides. My eyes brimmed with tears as I jolted back on one foot like he’d just slapped me. “Christ, Poppy,” he continued, oblivious to the pain he’d just caused. “We’ve been together since we were kids. We’ve lived in the same goddamn town all our lives. Haven’t you ever wanted to see what else is out there?”
I hadn’t thought it possible for words to cut through flesh like a white-hot blade, but it had to be, because I felt like I was bleeding out.
“No,” I whispered, that one word breaking as it pushed its way past the lump in my throat. “I never cared about what else was out there because I had you.”
He lowered his head, but not before I saw the shame spread across his features.
“We were supposed to do this together,” I said, batting the moisture from my cheeks. “We planned this together; buying the inn, getting married, and starting our life. It’s all we ever talked about. When did that stop being enough for you, Cory? When did I stop being enough?”
And why was I so damn easy to walk away from?
The coward couldn’t bring himself to look me in the eyes as he murmured, “I don’t know.”
The pain those three words caused was almost unbearable. Up until the very moment when he told me he was leaving, Cory had been my entire world. We’d been together since senior year of high school. We’d dreamed and made plans for our future. He was going to propose. We were going to get married and build something great . . . or so I thought. He was the only man I’d ever loved, the only man I’d ever been with. He was so engrained in every fiber of my existence that I didn’t have a clue who I was without him.
And maybe that was my biggest mistake.
Wrapping my arms around my stomach, I held tight to keep myself from falling apart as I asked, “This is why you haven’t asked me to marry you, isn’t it? You’ve known you wanted out, and just let me sit here waiting and wishing for something that was never going to happen.”
The coward didn’t say a word. He wouldn’t even look at me.
“So that’s it? Seven years, and it’s over just like that?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I want more, Pop. I want more than running this fucking inn in this nowhere town.”
“You mean you want more than me.”
“I didn’t say that,” he snapped defensively. Like he had any right to be defensive when he was the one who had just ripped our whole life apart.
“Then why didn’t you ask me to
go with you?” The silence that descended on the room at my question was stifling. I counted to ten in my head before speaking again. “It never even crossed your mind, did it?”
“Poppy, I—”
“I would have gone with you, you know.” With that confession, a torrent of tears spilled free.
At that, Cory froze so solid the only thing that moved was his chest with each strained breath. But I wasn’t finished. “That’s how much I loved you. I loved you enough to give up all the plans and dreams we’d made together to start somewhere else if that was what you wanted. I loved you enough that I would have started over with you. I’d have done anything for you, given you anything you asked for. But you didn’t ask.”
I wasn’t sure what I expected him to say or even what I wanted to hear, but when all I got was a mumbled, “I’m sorry, Pop,” I felt a piece of my heart shrivel up, because I knew, without a doubt, he didn’t want me to go with him.
There were no more words exchanged. I’d been fighting for us for what felt like an eternity, and I’d lost. So as he gathered the rest of his things, I turned away and moved down the stairs into the kitchen, my favorite room in the house Cory and I were supposed to grow old in.
He might have been the one to end us, but I was going to be the one to walk away.
The tears were still trickling down my cheeks as I poured myself a glass of bourbon, and as I took my first gulp, I heard the front door open. I was on my second sip when the life I thought I’d have with Cory came to an end with the sound of it shutting behind him.
I cried through the rest of the glass, and halfway through the second, I made a decision. Never again was I going to lose myself in a man.
For seven years, I’d made Cory the center of my world, and now that he was gone, not only did I have to start over, but I had to try and figure out who I was in the process. That was a mistake I’d never make again. From here on out, I was determined to rely solely on myself.
Because I was never going to put myself in this situation again.
Poppy
Now
“I’m getting married!”
I barely had enough time to brace myself before Farah crashed into me, her arms wrapping around me and squeezing so tight my ribs let out a groan.
“So I’ve heard,” I replied on a laugh, returning my friend’s embrace. “I mean, this is your engagement party we’re celebrating, isn’t it?”
Loosening her grip, she shifted to the side and looked around at the people filling almost every inch of her and her fiancé’s, sprawling house. Her eyes grew misty and her smile wistful as she took it all in.
Farah was a Redemption, Tennessee transplant, coming from Connecticut several months back. She’d overcome so much in her life before her move: neglectful, unloving parents, a psychotic ex, and a brutal attack that almost cost her her life. But now she was surrounded by love and happiness.
She was one of the sweetest, most kindhearted people I’d ever met. She deserved all the good coming her way, and there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Cannon Banks would give her the life she deserved.
“Hey,” I called out, giving her a little bump with my shoulder. When she finally looked back at me, I could see the dampness building in her eyes. “You okay?”
Her lips slowly dragged up into the most brilliant smile just before she announced, “I’m absolutely perfect.”
I returned her infectious grin. “Good, honey. I’m glad.”
“Only thing that could possibly make this night any better is if you agree to be a bridesmaid.” My eyes widened in shock as she continued to speak at a rapid pace. “Please say yes, Pop. I already asked Shane, and she’s in. I can’t imagine my wedding day without you guys standing up there beside me. You’re the best friends a woman could ever ask for.”
Now it was my turn to get misty-eyed. “Of course. You didn’t really think I’d say no, did you?”
She let out a peel of excitement and jerked me in for another hug.
“So I take it you asked her?” At the sound of Cannon’s voice, Farah and I broke apart. The second I stepped back, he was there. He grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her flush against him, claiming her instantly, like he couldn’t stand not touching her. I hated the pang of envy that lanced through me just then, but I managed to beat it back before it could fester.
Giving my friends a sincere smile, I replied, “She asked. And of course I said yes.”
Cannon looked at his fiancée and smirked, love shining in his eyes. “Told you she would, Hummingbird.”
“There’s just one last person I need to talk to, then everything’s set.” Her eyes began to scan the faces in the room. “Have either of you seen Bennett?”
“Want me to go look?” Cannon asked, but before he could so much as move, I cut in.
“I’ll find him,” I answered, downing the last of my champagne and setting the glass on a nearby table. “You two stay and enjoy the party.”
With a pat on Farah’s arm and a kiss to Cannon’s cheek, I moved off, winding my way through the spacious parlor toward the hall in search of Bennett, the man Farah viewed as a father figure. Having grown up with two sorry excuses for parents, the man who’d been the family driver had taken it upon himself to help raise Farah and her older brother, Jase. He was the closest thing to family either of the Hyland kids had, and it was clear from watching the three of them interact that Bennett loved them both as much as they loved him.
Once I escaped the crowded confines of the room, I pulled in a large breath. I was unbelievably happy for my friend, but that niggling bit of jealousy I’d felt, no matter how faint or short-lived it had been, left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t want to feel that way, especially about a woman I’d grown to adore.
However, it had been a long time since a man looked at me the way Cannon looked at Farah, and I couldn’t help but miss it. I missed the affection. I missed the passion. But most of all, I missed the sex. God, I missed the sex.
There really was nothing like an engagement party or impending wedding to shed a fat, blinding spotlight on the sorry state of my love life.
“Knock it off, Pop,” I quietly scolded myself. “This isn’t about you, so stop feeling sorry for yourself.”
When I couldn’t locate Bennett anywhere inside, I decided to try the back patio, and knew I’d hit pay dirt when the sound of raised voices greeted me as soon as I opened the door.
“Christ, son, this isn’t you!”
I recognized that voice as Bennett’s, and when the person he was talking to spoke up, my skin began to tingle.
“It has to be done, Ben. I thought, out of everyone, you’d see that.”
I’d know that voice anywhere. It was like smoke and velvet. As decadent as the richest chocolate and as smooth as a fine whiskey. Jase Hyland, Farah’s older brother, was a walking, talking fantasy, every woman’s dream man come to life, and as a woman—in spite of my past and firm determination not to get lost in another man—I wasn’t immune to all that he was. And everything there was to him was good.
Usually his words were sprinkled with humor, the smile he always seemed to be wearing clear in his voice every time he spoke, but now they were harsh and clipped.
My steps stuttered to a halt at the anger in both men’s voices. My brain screamed at me to turn around and go back inside. I’d never been one to eavesdrop, but I found myself unable to move, listening with rapt attention as the heated conversation continued.
“No one’d be happier to see that bastard taken down more than me, you know that, but not at the expense of your well-bein’.”
“I’ll be fine. Trust me. Nothing’s going to happen.”
There was a long, pregnant pause before Bennett spoke again. “Can’t give you my blessin’ on this one, Jase.”
The coldness in his reply sent a frigid chill up my spine. “Wasn’t asking for it, Bennett. I’m handling this one on my own.”
At the sound of Bennett’s
hushed curses, I decided I’d been listening in long enough and made my presence known by clearing my throat.
Both men had been partially obscured by the shadows farther down the length of the patio, but I saw both their heads whip around in my direction. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt, but Farah’s looking for Bennett.”
“Nothin’ to be sorry for, sweetheart,” Bennett said, moving away from Jase. He stopped beside me and gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder before casting a look I couldn’t quite decipher back at Jase. It almost looked like . . . disapproval? “I actually appreciate the interruption. I’m done with this conversation.”
I stood motionless as he passed me, going back into the house and shutting the door firmly behind him.
Quiet rained down on the dimly lit back porch, oppressive and thick with the tension I’d unwittingly walked into.
I’d never done well with awkward silences. I had the nasty habit of rambling in an effort to fill the void any time I found myself in that situation. That compulsion came over me then, spurred on even more by the fact that any time I was in Jase Hyland’s orbit, I turned into a flustered, bumbling disaster.