Surrender Your Love (31 page)

For a moment, the fact he said he was in love w
ith me almost made my heart flutter with renewed hope, until I realized it was a lie. He was trying to wriggle his way out of the situation. I had made myself too available, let him sense my growing feelings for him, and he used that as an advantage. He wasn’t going to manipulate me again.

“
How can you say you love me when you lied to me?” I moistened my lips to gather my thoughts. “How can you say you care for me when you only care about yourself and money?”

“
Because it’s the truth,” he whispered. I searched his gaze and found no traces of lying, but then again wasn’t he a master of persuasion? We had even joked about it.

“
Let me explain, please? Just not here. It’s too dangerous.” His gaze implored me to come with him. He reached out his hand, waiting for me to grab it.

“
No. We’re not going anywhere.” I turned my back on him, unable to look at him, unable to take the pain his sight caused me. I couldn’t bear him telling another lie.

“
Tell me the truth. Just say yes or no,” I said in a tone that could have frozen over a desert. “Did you plan to meet me because of the estate?”

“
It wasn’t like that.”

“
No,” I cut him short. “Just say yes or no.”

“
Yes.” A defeated sigh escaped his throat.

Swallowing down the choking knot inside my throat, I reached the door in two long strides, but he was faster
. His arm pushed past me to block the door.

“
Brooke, please...stop. We need to talk. You have to trust me,” he whispered.

“
No.” My voice, my whole being, trembled. I drew a shaky breath to steady myself for what I was about to say. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this anymore. There’s nothing more to be said, nothing that would ever make me trust you again. You did what you had to do. But it’s time to let me go because you’ll never get the estate. I’ll make sure of it. And if you ever cared about me, even if only for a bit, then you’ll let me go.”

Tension emanated from him in strong waves. His gaze brushed my cheek and lips, sending my heart into a deep plunge.
Before I could move away, he inched so close his hot breath caressed my skin, making me tingle all over.

“
I care enough for you to let you go,” Jett whispered. “But I’ll never stop protecting you.”

I pushed him as
ide, opened the door, and walked out, ignoring the curious glances in the hall. He didn’t follow me. With each step I took putting distance between us, the pain in my chest increased, but I had no choice. This one time, I had to listen to my mind and ignore the feeble attempts of my heart telling me to at least listen to him, to give him a chance to explain because, maybe, just maybe, he meant what he said.

But I didn
’t want to know, so I forced myself to keep on walking.

Leaving the
building, stepping outside, I took a deep breath of the exhaust fume infused New York air.

Morning
’s rays of light warmed my skin, and people hurried past me. New York was abuzz with life. Even though my pain overwhelmed me, I was still alive, and that was what really mattered.

I took another steadying breath and let it out slowly, thinking I
’d be okay…in time. My heart would heal. Maybe someday, I’d find someone who’d prove he really loved me. Someone who’d hold me rather than let me fall. Someone who’d never lie to me.

But that someone wasn
’t Jett.

Even though moving on was hard, I knew I
’d do it eventually, so I could look back one day in the knowledge that I had learned from my mistakes…

Conquer

your

LOVE

COMING SOON!

Surrender Your Love
was an emotional journey for me. Writing it represented a challenging time for me and my children, but I needed to share this story with the world. It took me several months to complete my first romance novel, and now that it’s finished, I can say with good conscience, I poured my heart and soul into it. It was my greatest wish to entertain you, and I truly hope I have achieved that.

I want to thank
each and every reader out there for giving this book a chance.

I want to thank those who have given a shout out
on Facebook, on Twitter and on their blogs, and who have supported me by spreading the word to friends and family.

I want to thank
those who have taken the time to leave a review, no matter how short. Reviews are hard to come. Particularly indie authors, who don’t have the means and support of a big publishing house, struggle. To every reader and blogger out there: thank you for your time and effort. I appreciate it.

There are so many more things I’m grat
eful for: the wonderful bloggers who took a chance on a new contemporary romance author, my beta readers’ encouraging words and enthusiasm at hearing what’s next in store for Jett and Brooke, my amazing editors and cover artist who went above and beyond the call of duty, and lastly my kids accepting that mommy’s busy writing a book at night.

To everyone who
’s supported me: I will never forget you. Without you, this work would not exist. If I could hug you all and send flowers to everyone, I would. You have been amazing. You have been wonderful.

And I thank God every day for meeting amazing people like you.

Thank you.

Jessica C. Reed

Connect with me online:

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http://www.twitter.com/jcreedauthor