The Only One Read online

  THE ONLY ONE

  BOOK TWO

  MELISSA ELLEN

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by Melissa Ellen

  Cover Copyright © 2017 by Melissa Ellen

  Cover Background Copyright © 2017 by istockphoto/elenathewise

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author's intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author's rights.

  Fourth Edition: October 2017

  Printed in the United States of America

  CONTENTS

  About the Author

  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

  Epilogue

  Thank You

  Coming Soon

  Acknowledgments

  BLACKWOOD SERIES

  A REASON TO STAY

  THE ONLY ONE

  A REASON TO LEAVE

  FOREVER YOURS

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  [email protected]

  PROLOGUE

  We were three days into our road trip to California before I decided to answer the phone. He had called me almost every hour of every day since the day I last saw him in my apartment. The day I left my life in Wellesley behind to move to California and start a new one. I always ignored it, turning my phone to silent. Every night he would send me the same text message.

  R: I’m sorry. Goodnight, beautiful. x

  And every night I would silently cry myself to sleep in the hotel bed, hoping Stephen couldn’t hear me from across the room.

  We were at a gas station somewhere in Nebraska. Stephen was inside getting us some drinks and snacks for the road. I was staring at the phone in my hand as the screen silently lit up with Rhett’s name and number again. Before I knew what I was doing, I pressed the green button to answer the call.

  I didn’t say hello. I didn’t say anything. I just held it to my ear, wanting to hear his voice no matter how painful it would be.

  “Ava?” he broke the silence with disbelief in his deep, beautiful voice. “Ava, are you there?” I could hear the stress and exhaustion in his words. I didn’t respond. I just squeezed the phone tighter, fighting back tears as his voice washed over me. He was quiet for a moment, waiting for me to answer. I heard him release a heavy sigh.

  “Ava, you don’t have to say anything. I just need you to listen. I’ll give you space, if that is what you need right now. I’ll wait patiently, but I will come for you. This isn’t over. You are the only one for me.”

  Silent tears started falling down my cheeks. The phone was suddenly ripped from my hand. Stephen had taken it, hung it up and started navigating through my phone.

  “What are you doing?” I asked weakly through my tears.

  “What I should have done three days, ago. I’m blocking his number and deleting it from your phone.”

  I wanted to scream at him and fight him to get my phone back, but I was still too weak to fight. I just laid my head against the seat and stared out the window, letting the tears roll down my face as he started the car and drove back onto the road.

  It was a warm, sunny summer day in Nebraska. We drove down the country road surrounded by corn fields. I kept hearing Rhett’s words in my head as I numbly watched the fields go by in a blur. My heart and mind were at odds with each other. But my heart had been weakened. Shattered. The more distance that was put between Rhett and me, the more my mind started to win. I felt the wall being rebuilt around my heart the closer we got to California, but this time it wasn’t just a wall it was a fortress.

  CHAPTER 1

  “Come on! Move already!” I yelled at nobody in particular as I beat on my car horn. It was pointless. The yelling and honking. We were in a typical Los Angeles gridlock on the interstate. Nobody could move. I had lived in California for three years now, and I still couldn’t seem to get used to the traffic here.

  I was running late for work, once again. I was just thankful my boss was lenient on our work schedules. He never seemed bothered that I arrived an hour late every day. He knew I stayed late most nights and often worked the weekends. I put in my time, and I got the job done. All my clients were happy with my work, so he let me get away with my regular tardiness and occasional long lunches.

  The traffic slowly started to move forward a few feet when my phone rang. Lizzie’s name popped up on the center display of my car dash.

  “Hey!” I answered excited to hear from her. I missed my best friend dearly. With our busy lives, we rarely got to talk much. We tried to talk at least once every couple of weeks, even if only for a few minutes. It was hard being apart the last few years, especially after we had lived together through college and been inseparable growing up.

  She was living in New York City with her husband, Mike, who had become a successful chef. They had moved there right after we graduated from Wellesley. He had worked as an executive head chef at a restaurant that was owned by our former boss, Christopher. Recently though, he had gotten money from an investor to start his own restaurant. I was more than excited for the both of them.

  I had a suspicion of who the investor might be. But I never asked, and they never volunteered the information. We avoided the topic of Rhett altogether after the fight Lizzie and I had, when Rhett and I first broke up. It was the only time we had ever fought in all our years of friendship. She had begged me to hear him out. I was hurt that she would take his side and didn’t understand why I needed to move on.

  In the end, she stopped pushing, and we made up. I knew she still kept in touch with him, though. He was living in New York, now. He had recently taken over his father’s business after his father announced his retirement. It was all over the news, tabloids and business journals. I couldn’t avoid hearing about it even from across the country. He had also been named New York’s most eligible bachelor, shortly after he took over Blackwood Industries. I am sure the women were throwing themselves at him more than they already did.

  Lizzie wasn’t the only one. I knew he was keeping in touch with my family, too. He had been to see my Mom and Nana a few times, and I knew that he often spoke to Jackson from the times my sister would let it slip in conversation.

  At first, it infuriated me that everyone didn’t turn their backs on him, shutting him out. I slowly realized that wasn’t fair to ask of them. We both had become fond of each other’s families. After all, I was doing the same thing keeping in touch with his sister, Valerie. She was in town this weekend, looking at the USC campus. We had plans to meet for lunch today.

  “Hey! Did I catch you at a bad time?” Lizzie’s voice came through the car speakers.

  “No, I’m just sitting in traffic on my way to work. What’s go
ing on?”

  “Well, I was hoping I could invite myself out to California. I have some free time coming up in a couple weeks. Are you willing to put me up for a weekend?”

  “Put you up or put up with you?” I teased her.

  “Both,” she laughed.

  “Of course! I can’t wait. Will Mike be coming with you?”

  “No. He’ll be stuck here, taking care of business. You get me all to yourself, you lucky bitch.”

  “Perfect,” I laughed. “We can have a girl’s weekend.”

  “I’ll send you my flight details as soon as I have it booked. I have to run. I’ll call you later?”

  “Sounds good. Miss you and tell Mike hi for me.”

  “Will do and miss you, too,” she said before hanging up the call.

  I walked into Willis & Associates, the small firm I had been working at for the last few years. I started working here as an intern while finishing my studies in graduate school. Tom, my boss, had offered me a full time position as soon as I graduated. I didn’t know if he offered me the job because he truly thought I had talent or if it was because he needed the “Associates” for his firm name. But either way, I happily accepted.

  At the time I started, he was a one man operation. He hired Jocelyn and me a few months apart after landing a couple larger residential projects that he wouldn’t be able to do on his own. We both worked as interns, becoming fast friends, so when he offered her a full time job at the same time, I was relieved she took it.

  I loved my job, and our little firm seemed to be growing quickly which was exciting to be a part of. There was now four of us working in our tiny quaint office. Tom recently added a new intern to our little group – Drew – to help us with drafting. For the most part, we all had the same job. The only difference between Joce and me versus Drew was that we would run point with clients.

  “Morning!” I beamed as I passed Drew on my way to my desk.

  “Morning, Ava,” Drew greeted me, standing near the door. “I was just about to make a Starbucks run. Do you want anything?”

  Drew was your average good-hearted guy. He had boyish good looks, but not someone I would say was overly attractive. He was cute in his own way with his curly brownish blond hair and cheeks that seemed to always be flushed. He had an average build and wore thick rimmed glasses that fit his quirky personality and sense of humor that only he seemed to get. He was often laughing at his own jokes which somehow had a way of making us laugh with him.

  “No, thanks. Brought some from home, today,” I lifted my travel cup into his view.

  “Alright, be back in a few,” he said, leaving out the front door of the office.

  Our office wasn’t the most impressive as far as size or layout, but I loved it none the less. It had a long, narrow, open floor plan with only three rooms towards the back of the space that housed Tom’s office, a restroom and a small room that acted as both a break room and make shift meeting area.

  The walls were all painted white, but the warm wood floors, desks and exposed wood beams above all helped keep it from feeling stark and bland. Tom had commissioned photographs over the years of some of his most impressive projects. They were stretched across large canvases that hung on the walls all the way down the space, giving it a gallery feel. Drew, Joce and I each had our own desk all facing the front of the space, allowing us to intercept clients and visitors as they came in. We didn’t have a receptionist, so we all did our part answering phones and greeting people.

  As I sat down at my desk, I noticed Joce’s desk across from me still sat empty. I guess I wasn’t the only one running late today. I put my purse away and began checking my voicemails and emails. A few minutes into reading my emails, Joce came blowing through the door, looking a little rough, but still gorgeous.

  Joce was an unfairly beautiful red-head with long thick hair, pale green eyes, and a tall slender figure. She had fair colored skin that was covered with the faintest of freckles. Her lips and cheeks were a natural pale pink, requiring her to wear little make-up. She reminded me of a beautiful antique porcelain doll. She moved quickly to her desk, dropping her stuff on it with a huff as she sat.

  “Another bad date?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “How did you guess?” she responded sarcastically.

  Joce was boy crazed and seemed to have a knack for picking the wrong guys. She met most of the men she went on dates with through social apps like Tinder and Bumble. She always scheduled her dates for Thursday nights, which meant most Friday mornings she arrived in the same fashion and mood. “I’m thinking I should just swear off men, like you have, Ava.”

  I didn’t respond. I just gave her my best sympathetic look. I hadn’t exactly sworn off men. I had at first, but eventually I decided the best way for me to move on was to date. The problem was most men didn’t compare to Rhett, and the few I had actually went on more than one date with ended up losing interest in me after the second or third date. It was like I was cursed to be alone forever.

  “What do you say we get some drinks tonight? I could use a little girl time and who knows, maybe I can meet a good man the old fashion way,” she asked, hopefully.

  I wanted to tell her that meeting a guy in a bar wasn’t exactly her best option for finding husband material, but who was I to judge.

  “Sure,” I smiled at her.

  “Ladies,” Tom interrupted our little chat, “I have some exciting news! I just got off the phone with a new potential client to work on a home in Malibu!” Tom was a little more ecstatic than usual. Malibu meant money, so I didn’t blame him for being overly enthused.

  Tom was a family man in his mid to late forties with a receding hairline of brown hair speckled with grays. He had spent the first part of his architecture career working for large corporations and eventually got burned out from the high stress of commercial architecture. He left his cushy salary job to start his own firm, doing residential architecture.

  He started out with mostly remodels and smaller new construction homes. But he was quickly becoming a recognized architect in the area and had built up his portfolio of residential work. He had more recently gotten exposure to larger projects and clients with more money to spend.

  “That’s great news!” Joce radiated.

  “That is! When do you meet with them?” I asked happy for him.

  “We,” he corrected me. “Ava, you’ll be coming with me. You’re going to help me run point on this one. And the meeting is today. This will be a vacation home for the client and they’re in town for the weekend.”

  Crap. I hoped I wasn’t going to have to cancel on Valerie. We were supposed to meet up after she finished touring the campus this morning.

  “What time is the meeting? Will it be here in the office?” I asked, hoping I could figure out a way to still meet with Valerie and make the meeting in time.

  “The meeting is at two in downtown. I’ll send you the address. We’ll need to drive separate. I have to head straight home after the meeting. My son has a baseball game tonight.”

  Tom’s wife, Marie, was pregnant with twins and had been recently put on bed rest for the remainder of her last trimester after having some complications. Tom was often having to take off early from work to help with their son and do things around the house. He had been assigning projects to Joce and me to run point on, so that the clients always had someone available to them if he couldn’t be. Neither of us minded. It was good experience for us.

  “Sounds good,” I responded, starting to feel a little stressed.

  A two o’clock meeting didn’t give me much time to meet Valerie at The Ivy for lunch. It had been awhile since we had caught up, and now it looked like I would have to cut our lunch date short.

  I spent the rest of the morning responding to emails and getting as much work done as possible. My day had just been derailed by this unexpected meeting. It appeared I would be working some this weekend to catch up on the time I was losing this afternoon.

  I was jus
t wrapping up some final touches to a rendering when my phone vibrated on my desk with a text.

  V: Just finished the campus tour. Still on for lunch?

  I looked at the clock, seeing it was already almost noon. Shit. I had been so focused I lost track of time. I saved my work and rushed to pack up my things, responding to Valerie as I headed for the door.

  “Don’t forget, drinks tonight!” I heard Joce yell from behind me.

  “I won’t! Just text me the time and place,” I waved at her as I ran out the door.

  Valerie was already at a table on the patio when I arrived. She was looking as stunning as ever in a little, emerald green sundress with her long brown and golden hair down in wavy locks. She looked casual enough, but I was sure her dress probably cost more than my rent. She had been watching for me, and when she saw me approach, she stood, waving with excitement.

  “Ava!”

  “Hey, Val!” I hugged her as I reached the table. “You look cute. I love your dress.”

  “Thank you! I’m so glad you could make it.”

  “Me too, but I’m afraid I had an unexpected meeting come up, so I won’t be able to stay as long as I’d hoped,” I apologized.

  “Oh, it’s fine. I know you’re a busy professional woman, now,” she winked at me, grinning.

  The server approached us, taking my drink order. We went ahead and ordered our lunch, so I wouldn’t be rushed to make my meeting. We visited and laughed about random things like clothes and the boys she had been dating. I was enjoying my time with her and hadn’t realized how much I had missed her.

  “So how was the campus tour?” I asked as we ate our lunch.

  “Good, just a typical campus, I guess,” she shrugged, impartially.

  “I’m kind of surprised your family is on board with you coming all the way to California, instead of following in the family footsteps at Harvard.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say they were exactly on board. Dad obviously would prefer me to go to Harvard and get a law degree or something boring like that. But I want to be an actress. Mom finally negotiated that I could come out here as long as I attended college and got a degree.”