Sweet Little Love Read online

  SWEET LITTLE LOVE

  - TEMPTED SERIES -

  BOOK FOUR

  GABRIELLE SNOW

  Copyright © 2020 by Gabrielle Snow

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination and used in a fictitious manner. Any similarity to actual people, living or dead, places, or events is entirely coincidental or fictionalized.

  Table Of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Epilogue

  Want a FREE Gabrielle Snow book?

  About the Author

  More books from Gabrielle Snow

  Chapter 1

  Lucas.

  I was absolutely devastated and distraught.

  It was as clear as day that Amelia wanted nothing to do with me. I had managed to hurt her in the worst possible way: I had deceived her and hadn’t even been aware of it. The worst part was that I’d let myself believe that not telling her about my true financial status was harmless.

  As the door slammed in her wake and the dooming silence consumed me, I leaned against the wall and slid all the way down to the floor. The hardwood felt stern and sturdy under me, as thought it was the only thing keeping me from disintegrating at this very moment. I wanted to run after her, I needed to—but I knew that I couldn’t and I shouldn’t. So, I stopped myself from doing that.

  Everything had exploded in my face.

  Amelia had delivered her words so clearly that they had cut through me and left me a bleeding mess in this house that now felt so empty without her. I had gotten so used to having her around and sharing my life with her. Now, being deserted and alone made me wonder how I had ever found this state of existence meaningful. I had my company and that was about it—without my work I had almost nothing here, no family or loved ones apart from Xavier. Even he had a life outside of business: he had Lily. I only had myself.

  Either intentionally or unintentionally—I wasn’t sure which it was—I had created a life of solitude for myself over the years. I’d always thought it was best for me since I enjoyed my own company and didn’t care to be too preoccupied with the comings and goings of other people.

  But Amelia had changed that. She had been like a ray of sunshine, breaking through the clouds of my consistently grey life. She had brought life into my monotonous state that I’d considered living. But in truth, I hadn’t truly lived before her, I had just existed. I’d been going through the motions, focusing on the only thing I had going for myself. The company that would not listen to me, love me or care for me.

  I was so disappointed in myself. If only I had been upfront with Amelia once things had gotten serious, she would’ve most likely been here with me right now. Instead, I’d managed to make her feel as if I doubted her character, as if I thought she was a fortune hunter. And now it was too late: she’d refused to believe me when I’d tried to assure her otherwise. The damage was already done.

  I buried my head in my hands, feeling the cold and clammy skin against my palms as my body manifested my inner anxiety into physical symptoms. I disappeared back into my thoughts, trying to process things. I found it disheartening that just as I had gotten over my own insecurities and accepted that she and I were meant to be, this whole situation had completely backfired. My actions had driven her out from here—from our home. I knew she had no place to go, other than her mother’s. I was afraid that Janis would take advantage of the situation and convince Amelia that she had been in the wrong this whole time. Not to mention, that for her to willingly go back home, I had to have hurt her beyond measure. Even the thought broke my heart.

  I swallowed hard, forcing the lump in my throat to go down. I was so close to my breaking point and desperately needed to talk to someone. The only person who I knew would be there for me was Xavier. My hands were shaking as I pulled out my phone from my pocket. I let out a sigh and dialed his number, and then after a few rings he answered.

  “Hey, can I swing by?” I asked, my hoarse voice filling the silence.

  “Lu, is everything okay?” Xavier sounded worried.

  “No, everything’s fucked. I fucked up.”

  I could hear Lily’s voice from the background as he processed my words. “You know you can always come here. I’ll see you in a bit. It’s gonna be okay,” he said, emphasizing his last words.

  “Thanks. I’ll get going. See you in a bit.”

  I ended the call, and then forced myself up off the floor. I found it sweet that Xavier was being so supportive, even when he had no idea what had happened and how badly I had messed things up.

  I made my way to the bedroom and almost broke down at the sight of the closet that Amelia had emptied frantically before walking out of my life. It perfectly depicted how I felt inside—empty.

  After I had changed into a pair of joggers and a hoodie, I grabbed my bike and headed out. I started towards Xavier’s, trying to force the emotional pain out by pedaling faster than humanly possible. I was going so fast, it almost felt like I was flying. The feeling was exhilarating: zooming past people and cars stuck in traffic. I knew my behaviour was reckless, but in all honesty I didn’t care. There was nothing more for me to lose. I needed to feel alive—it was better than being consumed by the open wound in my chest.

  I arrived at his place in record time with my skin slick with sweat inside my hoodie. The elevator doors slid open to reveal a very worried-looking Xavier waiting for me.

  “You look like a mess,” he said, his eyes watching me intently.

  I brushed off his words and walked straight to the living room, throwing myself on the couch. “I feel like one,” I admitted quietly.

  Xavier sat down on a chair next to me and leaned forward. “What happened?”

  I avoided his eyes because I felt too ashamed of myself. “Do you have anything to drink?”

  I figured that if I were to tell him about Amelia, I needed a distraction and nothing would work quite as well as a drink.

  “Yeah sure, hold on.” He got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. A few seconds later he emerged with two glasses and a bottle of scotch in his hands. He placed the glasses on the coffee table and poured a shot in each.

  I reached for one of them and downed it at once. Xavier looked puzzled by my eagerness because I had never been much of a drinker. He had never seen me like this before.

  “Okay,” I said and took a deep breath before recounting the events of the past few days. I started from the night of the frat party and how we had made up after, finishing with her finding the financial statement and leaving.

  He looked shocked. “I’m so sorry Lu, that’s tough...but why did you wait this long to tell her?”

  I raked my fingers through my hair. “It was stupid. I thought it didn’t matter. But if I had actually thought that it didn’t, then I should’ve had no problem telling her. That whole thing with Daria really messed me up,” I admitted, gritting my teeth. “And now she thinks that I didn’t tell her because I think she’d only be after my money. That I think she’s just like her mother.”

  Xavier grimaced. “Fuck. So that whole thing you thought was harmless exploded in your face.”

  He was deep in thought for a while, then continued. “It seems like to her, it’s really important to be independent and self-sufficient. And that she feels like you took those options away from her.”

  “It is. And you probably remember all those things I’ve told you about her mom. You know how she is. And now Amelia thinks that she’s becoming her own mother, just because I took care of her when
she needed it,” I sighed. “Even though I wanted to help her because she was in a tough situation and I cared about her. And I know she’s not like Janis.”

  I reached for the bottle and poured myself another glass. Taking a sip, I felt the scotch moving down from my throat, warming everything in its trail. “But Amelia thinks I took the decision from her. I guess she feels that she would’ve made different choices had she known about all this money.”

  Xavier tipped his glass in his hand, watching the amber liquid move from side to side. “Lu, I really wish I could help you more,” he said and took a sip. “But honestly, I’m not sure what you should do in this situation.” His dark brown eyes were looking at me intently. “If you want to win her back, you need to be able to prove to her that you never thought she’d be after your money. And that you recognize her independence.”

  I nodded at his words, then poured myself a third glass and downed it. I was starting to feel the effects of the scotch and it seemed to be soothing my broken heart. A temporary ailment, for sure, but at least the open wound had stopped bleeding profusely.

  “Thanks Xavier. I really needed someone to talk to,” I gave him a faint smile and stood up.

  Xavier got up as well and patted me on the shoulder. “Hopefully she’ll come around,” he said with a half-smile.

  “Yeah,” I sighed. Hopefully. “Give my best to Lily, will you.”

  He nodded and smirked. “I will. And I actually have something to share with you. We’re expecting!”

  My mouth fell open from the surprise and then twisted into a joyous grin. “That’s fantastic! Congratulations!” I threw my arms around him, giving him a brotherly hug.

  “Thanks, Lu. I’m over the moon! You’re the first one to know about it. And Lily will be happy to find out that you’re in the know.” Xavier chuckled and walked me to the elevator.

  “I feel honored. This definitely brightened up my mood. Congratulate Lily for me, please.”

  He nodded and I stepped into the elevator. The last thing I saw when the doors closed was an encouraging smile on his face.

  Xavier was right. I’d have to find a way to convince Amelia. I would fight for her. I’d do everything it took to win her back and I wouldn’t let anything come between us.

  I hopped on the bike and headed back home. As I pedalled, I kept formulating a plan of action in my head. This time around I was being much more mindful of my surroundings—there was light again in my world.

  Chapter 2

  Amelia.

  I woke up at the crack of dawn on Tuesday. For the first few seconds, my mind was at ease, but as soon as I opened my eyes, reality came crashing down.

  I was in my own bed.

  Lucas.

  I turned on my stomach, grabbing the pillow under me as feelings of disrespect and deceit rolled over me. It felt as though a rug had been pulled from under me, leaving me exposed on the floor while bystanders ridiculed me. While he ridiculed me.

  I couldn’t believe that I had shared my dreams and goals with Lucas, and at the same time he had been keeping his secret from me. The way I saw it, it changed the dynamics of our relationship completely. I couldn’t allow for that to happen: I couldn’t allow myself to stay in the type of situation my mom would have gotten herself into. It was everything I had worked so hard to avoid my whole life.

  I felt tears forming in my eyes, yet again, but I forced them away—I didn’t want to spend another moment crying over Lucas. I was refusing to give him the pleasure.

  I sat up on the bed and glanced at the room. All my stuff was still in the bags, not including my laptop that was beside me on the bed. I’d tried falling asleep, but after three hours of useless attempts, I had given up. Instead, I’d opted for distracting myself with Netflix. It was better than being consumed by these thoughts.

  Luckily, I was going back to work today, which would be the best distraction of all. I needed to focus on myself and my career, now even more so than before. It was the best course of action and eventually it would help me move out on my own. What had happened was truly unfortunate, but it only proved to me that I needed to depend on myself. I would never find myself in a similar situation—no one would have that type of power over me.

  I let out a loud yawn as I made my way to the bathroom. After a soothing hot shower, I blow dried my hair and got dressed in my most professional outfit. I packed myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to-go and headed to the office. If I could be more productive by having breakfast at my desk, I would do it.

  After a long day of work, I headed back home late in the evening. I had decided to stay longer to finish up some of my assignments for the new project. A perk of working late was that it made me so tired, that I had no energy to think about my broken heart. All I wanted to do was eat dinner and sleep, then repeat. My brain felt heavy and empty, which was a welcomed sensation compared to the tormented thoughts that had occupied it the day before.

  I opened the door to find my mom sitting on the couch and online shopping with a glass of wine in hand. Even though I was grateful that she had let me return, I'd already devised a plan for myself to be able to move out within the next three months. It was just better for us to not live together.

  I sat down next to her, dropping my handbag at the foot of the couch.

  “How was your day?”

  “It’s been alright. I had lunch with friends and now I’m looking for a dress to wear to Kimberly’s wedding,” she took a sip of her wine and smacked her lips. “Her third one,” she added and flashed me a disapproving look.

  I chuckled lightly at her words. Even though I couldn't really relate to her, the stories about New York’s socialites were surprisingly entertaining.

  “So..when are you going to tell me what happened between you and our neighbor?”

  A ball of fear appeared out of nowhere and then nestled in the pit of my stomach. I had been hoping that she would just brush the whole thing off. But of course she didn’t. My throat felt tight, as if I had wrapped a scarf around it way too tightly.

  “He lied to me,” I said cryptically with a grimace on my face, hoping that she would get the hint. I didn’t feel ready to talk about it yet, least of all with her.

  My mom raised her eyebrows. “About what?”

  Sigh. Fine then.

  “Well, turns out he’s very rich. And I had to end it because he’d obviously thought the worst of me.”

  Her jaw dropped. “I thought you were smarter than this. How stupid,” she exhaled loudly. “Why did you leave him? You would have been set for life!”

  The ball of fear in my stomach had started to change into the same ball of rage that I had experienced before. I counted to ten in my head, trying to calm my nerves down.

  “Some of us don’t want that,” I finally said in a neutral tone. “And I want to make my own success, you know that.”

  Mom shook her head and muttered something incomprehensible under her breath.

  Odds were, it was a good thing I couldn’t hear what she was saying. She annoyed me, but I wanted to avoid another confrontation. I’d had enough of those to last me a few years.

  Without another word, I simply got up and walked to my room, closing the door behind me. I took a seat on the bed, feeling more conflicted than ever. I really like Lucas..maybe even loved him. Not that I really knew what love was—I didn’t exactly have personal experience or a role model to look up to. I wanted to run back to him to escape my mother and her influence. I wanted out. But years ago I had made a promise to myself. And I didn’t want to let myself down and break that young girl's heart. I needed to make it on my own.

  A FEW WEEKS PASSED by faster than ever before. November rolled around and brought rain and cool weather with it. The days were shorter while at the same time my days at work only seemed to get longer. Work was the only thing keeping me sane: living with my mother had proven to be more of a challenge than I had initially thought. My solution to this was working twelve hour days, five times a
week. On the weekends, I kept busy with my sketchbook.

  My internship was coming to an end and I had my eyes set on a full-time junior position. The only downside was that so did the other three interns. I wanted the job, and in all honesty, I needed it. Getting it would mean that I could finally move out and start a life of my own. It was the only thing that mattered to me right now and so, I was prepared to do anything to get the position.

  As much as I was staying occupied with work, my thoughts still escaped to Lucas at times. I often dreamed about him and his touch: it felt as though he was haunting my dreams. Every time after dreaming about him, I woke up feeling sad and angry: sad over losing him and angry over my own body’s betrayal. The silver lining was that I had managed to avoid bumping into him— probably because I spent most of my time at the office.

  One Wednesday evening I was on my way back home from work after another long day. When I turned the corner, I immediately spotted Lucas standing outside on the street. Instantly, I felt the urge to hide or to turn around, but before I had a chance to do either, he waved at me. I glanced down and continued towards him. There was no escaping this. It was bound to happen at some point.

  “Amelia,” he said. His voice sounded deep and dreamy—I’d forgotten how much I loved the sound of it. “How are you?”

  I bit on my lip, reluctantly meeting his baby blue eyes. My insides twisted and filled with cold dread and hot lava at the same time. Why did he have this effect on me?

  “I’m okay. How about you?” I tried to sound casual but my voice came out shaky and unnaturally high.

  “I’ve been better.”

  Lucas looked sad and guilty, and I felt sentimental just from looking at him. My first instinct was to tell him everything would be okay and hug him—but I didn’t. He hurt you, I had to remind myself.

  The air around us was thick and awkward and past the point of being extremely uncomfortable. I seemed to be aware of the smallest things and somehow couldn't figure out what to do with my hands. I felt out of place and unnatural, I wasn’t used to being this reserved around him.