All the Pretty Poses by M. Leighton

Author:M. Leighton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, love, contemporary, steamy, pretty series

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Summer, 14 years ago

I push back the last pine limb that hangs between me and the clearing, catching and holding my breath as I move it. It leaves my lungs in a long hiss like a deflated balloon when I see that the meadow before me is empty. The lush, dappled grass is here. The tiny purple flowers are here. The heavenly quiet is even here. Everything is as it should be, only I’m alone. There is no Reese awaiting me.

I step into the opening, biting my trembling lip as I remind myself that I knew there was a chance he wouldn’t show. I knew Reese’s father was here and I knew he was afraid of what that meant for him and his future, but he promised me that he’d come, that nothing and no one would keep him from me. And I believed him.

Dejected, I walk around the little hidden clearing, mourning each tiny flower that I crush under my foot. Each one feels like a broken dream, a broken promise. A broken heart.

The snap of a twig draws my attention. I cock my head to listen. No one has ever accidentally stumbled upon this haven before. I say a silent prayer that this won’t be the first time.

Another twig snaps and I hear the rustle of leaves crunching and limbs moving. Someone is definitely coming.

I hold my breath and watch in the general direction from which the sound seems to arise. My heart is a swollen ball inside my chest, filled with the sudden hope that it might still be Reese.

And then he steps into the meadow, the sun sparkling in the dark golden highlights of his hair, streaks that he’s earned while working outdoors here at Bellano with his uncle. His stunning blue-green eyes crinkle at the edges when he smiles at me and, as always, my heart melts.

“You came,” he says simply.

“I told you I would. I thought maybe you…”

Reese’s footsteps are muted by the thick grass as he crosses the tiny field to me. “I told you nothing would keep me from you.”

“I know you did, but I knew your dad was here.”

“He still hasn’t arrived. Malcolm says he’s supposed to be getting in this afternoon.”

“So this might be our last day together?” I feel panic clawing at my chest. Reese is the one thing that I look forward to every day, the one saving grace this life has for me. Without him, the world is an ocean of despair intent on drowning me. He’s like my life preserver, the one thing I can cling to that doesn’t threaten to drag me under.

“No. Kennedy, I told you—”

“I know what you told me, but I’m just so afraid…”

“Don’t be. He can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do. And I told you that if I leave here, I’m taking you with me.”

“But it’ll be three more years before I can leave with you. Hank would never let me go before I’m eighteen.”

“Then I’ll make him.

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