Come Full Circle by Natalie-Nicole Bates
Fifteen years ago, Bethany Minor fled her hometown after being left at the alter by Dane Brennan. After the sudden death of her mother, she is forced to return home and face her past.
The years have been hell for Dane, and seeing
Bethany again only reopens wounds he long thought closed.
When they realize the flames of their past love
never died, Bethany and Dane will need to confess all before they can have a
chance to reclaim their life that once should have been.
But when the truth of the past is finally
revealed, will they still stand as a couple?
Excerpt:
Dane felt strangely nervous
about meeting Bethany. What could she possibly have that belonged to him? When
he’d seen her earlier, at first she’d barely acknowledged his
presence.
But when she
hugged him so hard it almost took his breath away, all of the old feelings came
welling back up inside him, along with the regret of losing her, and the
promise of everything a life with her would have brought.
The feelings of
loss and sadness became so acute, that he could actually feel a pain in his
chest. He’d made so many mistakes, and the gravity of those mistakes was still
apparent.
Finally, he caught
sight of her walking slowly up the street toward him. She was dressed only in
a loose-fitting old sweatshirt and jeans, totally
inappropriate for the cold, rainy weather. At that moment, he wanted nothing
more than to take her in his arms, and beg her for a second chance. That, he would
not do. He still had some semblance of pride and reality.
“Bethany, why did
you walk here in the rain? I would have been happy to come to you,” he said,
and dared to push a few errant strands of her dark hair away from her face.
“I need fresh air.
Being in my mother’s house with all of her things…it was closing in on me.”
“I’m sorry. Would
you like to get out of the rain? We could go somewhere and get a cup of coffee,
and talk,” he suggested hopefully.
“I’m not really to
being around a lot of people, Dane. The funeral will be hard enough.”
“Would you like to
come home with me for a while? At least you won’t be alone.” He made the offer,
but from the look on her face, he already guessed her answer.
“No. Thank you for
offering, though.”
Her refusal made
it sound as though she’d said no to a business associate, not someone she’d
once loved.
After a few
minutes of silence, she spoke again.
“So anyway, here
is what I came to give you.” She produced a small, familiar-looking box, from
the front packet of her jeans.
He licked his
lips. “I hope that’s not what I think it is.”
She lifted the
lid, and as he feared, it was the engagement ring he’d given her, when he
thought of her as his princess. The round diamond twinkled proudly under the
harshness of the street lights.
“I don’t want it
back,” he stated firmly. He didn’t ever want to see it again. The ring was a
harsh reminder of what might have been.
“Well, I don’t
want it either, Dane. It belongs to you. I thought my mother returned it to you
after…after we broke up. It was wrong for her to keep it.”
She was trying to
push the box into his hand, but he refused to open his hand and stepped back
from her.
“Throw it into the
garbage, Bethany.” He pointed to the public trash receptacle.
“I can’t throw it
away; it’s too expensive!” she exclaimed.
“Then give it
away, donate it, sell it! I don’t care!”
When she shrank
back, he realized his tone was harsher than he’d intended.
Immediately, he stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, I’m
sorry,” he repeated over and over again.
He wasn’t sure
exactly, how it happened, but his lips found their way to hers. He closed his
eyes and basked in her familiarity, her taste, and his tongue gently parted her
lips. As their kiss deepened, he became keenly aware of the contrast of the
intense heat coming from her skin, and the icy coldness of her hand on his
neck. In that one moment, he was ready to beg Bethany to escape with him
forever.
“Hey, Mr.
Brennan.”
The voice jolted
him back to reality. A teenage boy held the hand of a teenage girl
as they passed by. They looked vaguely familiar; most likely they
were from the neighborhood.
“Hey,” he answered
back.
“Hear that? If I’m
Mr. Brennan, what does that make my father?” he whispered into Bethany’s ear.
Without a word,
she tilted her head back and connected her beautiful espresso brown eyes―the
eyes he’d fallen in love with―to his, and held him captive.
There was so much
he wanted to say to her, but the words wouldn’t come. He touched a hand to her
cheek, and found that her skin burned beneath his fingertips.
He then spoke the
obvious.
“Bethany, you’re
burning up with fever. You can’t be alone tonight. Come home, and let me take
care of you,” he implored.
She blinked a few
times, and he held a tiny hope she would agree to leave with him, but she
reached up and ran her fingers through his beard, and said, “You know I can’t
do that.”
“Well, at least,
let’s go to the apartment upstairs at BFC. I lived there for a few years. It’s
really nice.”
Her eyes grew
huge. “I never want to go to that apartment again!”
Then she darted
away from him, and hurried off in the opposite direction.
For a moment, he
simply watched her leave, perplexed at her final words. Why was she so upset at
the mention of the apartment? It wasn’t as though she ever stayed there. It was
mostly for interns from the mortuary college, who were on-call during the
night.
He slowly crossed
the street and walked to his car. Reaching his hand into the pocket of his
jacket to get his keys, he found the box with the engagement ring. A
caustic laugh escaped his throat. While he was lost in their kiss, she’d found
a way to return the ring.
About the Author:
Natalie-Nicole Bates is a book reviewer and
author.
Her passions in life include books and hockey
along with Victorian and Edwardian era photography and antique poison bottles. Natalie
contributes her uncharacteristic love of hockey to being born in Russia.
She currently resides in the UK where she is
working on her next book and adding to her collection of 19th century
post-mortem photos.
Giveaway:
Natalie-Nicole
Bates is giving away a $15.00 Amazon Gift Card to a lucky winner during her
tour.
For a
chance to win just fill out the Rafflecopter below.
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