Friends & Lovers Trilogy (14 page)

“
Well, this is a nice
surprise,” he said in between kisses along her jaw.

His hair smelled spicy and delicious. She
closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel and smell of him.

“
I have some good news,”
she whispered

He turned in his chair so he could face her.
“I’m always ready for good news.”

“
I just got off of the
phone with the culinary school. I’ve been accepted to start in the
fall.” She said it so quickly that by the time she got to the end
of the sentence her voice was a few octaves higher than
normal.

“
That’s awesome,” he
replied, pulling her in for a quick kiss on the lips, his pride in
her evident on his face. “I knew they’d accept you. It’s so great
that your dream is coming true.”

“
I’m so
glad you think so, ‘cause I’m super excited.” Briana squealed and
gave him another quick kiss. “I’m gonna tell Pam tonight. I know
it’s too soon to give notice, but I don’t want to keep it a secret.
I want to tell
everyone
. And I want her to have a chance to hire someone else that I
can train before I go.”

“
I’m sure she’s going to be
thrilled for you,” he assured her. He held her hands in his,
looking up into her beaming face. “I love you, Bree.”

Briana’s mouth formed an O and her
expression changed from excitement to surprise, and finally to
happiness.

Colin continued talking before she could say
anything. “I know now may not be the best time. You’ve just started
to trust in me again, and it may seem too soon, but I swear, I’ve
never stopped loving you. These last few weeks having you back in
my life have been the happiest of my life, and I don’t want another
moment to pass without you knowing that.”

Tears began to form in Briana’s eyes. She
felt lighter, happier, than she ever had. It seemed like things
were finally turning out the way she had always hoped they
would.

“
But I’m leaving for
Austin.”

“
That’s okay,” he tried to
reassure her. “Austin isn’t that far. We can see each other on
weekends and stuff. Don’t worry about that, we’ll work it
out.”

She smiled even wider and nodded her head
once in affirmation.

“
I love you, too.” she
exclaimed.

Colin beamed at her, bringing each of her
hands to his lips. They heard a throat clear and jumped at the
interruption.

“
Sorry,” Colin’s father
said gruffly. “I needed to get something off of the desk. I didn’t
mean to intrude.”

“
You could never intrude,
Mr. Grayson,” Briana said as she bounced over to him and gave him a
hug. “I have to get to work, anyway.” She looked over her shoulder
and winked at Colin. “I’ll see you later.”

Colin’s father chuckled and patted her back.
“It’s good to see you two so happy again.”

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and
bounded out of the office. She was a little early for her shift,
but that gave her time to talk to Pam, so it worked out
perfectly.

Just as everyone predicted, Pam was as
excited about her attending the school as she was, and she was
happy that Briana would be able to train a new short order cook
before she left.

When she was in the break room clocking in
and putting up her stuff, Kara and Pete came in laughing and
holding hands.

“
Close your eyes, Bree,”
Kara instructed. “We have a surprise for you,”

Briana glanced between them with suspicion,
but did as she was told.

She heard the sound of shuffling feet and
muffled voices and couldn’t keep a smile from forming.

“
Okay,” Kara said loudly.
“Open ‘em.”

Briana opened her eyes and
saw every available shift worker piled into their small break room.
In the center of the table was a delicious looking chocolate cake
that read, “
Congratulations, Bree. We are
so proud of you
.”

Briana didn’t even attempt to hide the tears
that streamed down her face.

“
Thanks, guys. This means
so much to me.”

Everyone took turns giving her hugs and
wishing her luck. The people who had to get on the floor got back
to work with the promise that cake would be saved for each of them.
Everyone else stayed to have a piece.

It was the best cake Briana had ever
eaten.

Epilogue

The last couple of weeks before Briana left
for Austin flew by. She spent every spare moment with Colin, which
only strengthened their relationship.

The day that Shawn texted him to tell him
that she had gone through with the abortion was difficult, but they
got through it together. Colin was sad at the loss, but admitted
that it probably wasn’t the best time for him, or them, to start a
family. He was adamant that he did want to have kids someday, which
made Briana even more excited about their future.

She knew that long distance relationships
didn’t always work, but she had faith that after all that they had
been through, they would find a way to make it work.

She trained the new hire at the restaurant
and felt confident that he would work out just fine.

Nicole and Roni found an apartment together
and were having fun picking out decorations. The biggest surprise
came when Kara revealed that Pete would be taking Briana’s place in
their apartment.

“
I know it sounds crazy.
And fast. And crazy,” Kara admitted to Briana when she told her.
“But he needs a place and I’ve got a room opening up…it just makes
sense. It’s not like we’re living together…I mean, yes, technically
we’re living together, but not living together.”

Briana chuckled at Kara’s rationale and
said, “You guys will be great.”

It was a sad day for both of them when it
was finally time for Briana to leave.

“
I’m going to miss you so
much, Bree,” Kara said between sniffles.

“
Me, too,” Briana whimpered
back.

They hugged, squeezing each other tight.
When Colin’s truck pulled up, they were still locked in their
embrace, not ready to let the other go.

“
Hey, ladies, don’t cry,”
Colin said when he got out and started loading Briana’s things into
the bed of his truck. “Please?”

Briana and Kara broke apart and wiped their
faces, then Briana picked up one of her bags and went to put it in
the truck. She paused before she lifted it in, looking at Colin in
confusion.

“
What are all of these
other bags?”

Colin and Kara exchanged glances and turned
to her with wide grins.

“
I got hired on as an
Assistant Coach at UT,” he said. “I’m going to Austin with
you.”

Briana dropped her bag with a thud, her
mouth wide with shock. The tears once again began to fall down her
face.

“
Oh. My. God.”

She jumped into Colin’s arms, wrapping
herself around him and screaming in his ear. “I can’t believe
it.”

He laughed as she pulled back and began to
cover his face with kisses.

“
I love you so much,” she
exclaimed.

“
I love you, too, Bree,” he
replied. “And I promise that this time, we’ll make it
last.”

Keep reading for Nicole
and Kent’s story,
I Choose
You
, followed by Roni and Rich’s,
Trust in Me
. At the end
of Trust in Me, I have included a bonus ending for each couple, but
please wait until after you have read all three stories, since they
are in sequence, and the bonus endings will have spoilers if you
read them first.

Thank you, Bethany Lopez

I Choose You

(Nicole & Kent)

Prologue

Nicole knew that she was going to have to
face her parents and let them know that the plans they’d had for
her were not the same as the plans she had for herself. She didn’t
want to marry Jake or start a congregation.

She knew it would be difficult, and that
they were going to be disappointed in her, but first she had to
face Jake.

She pulled into the parking lot of the city
park where they were meeting.

Jake was already there. He was sitting on
the bench facing the pond and watching the ducks that floated
by.

His light brown hair blew in the soft breeze
and his expression was peaceful.

Nicole’s stomach clenched at the thought of
what she had to do. What she should have done three years ago, but
had been too afraid to.

“
Hey Jake,” he turned and
stood up at the sound of her voice.

They were almost the same height, so she
could see his eyes light up as she walked up to him.

“
Hey Nicky,” he said warmly
as he put his arms out, expecting the hug that she always greeted
him with.

She walked into his arms willingly, taking
stock of the familiarity of his hold, while breathing in the scent
of his familiar cologne.

She knew Jake, had known him since they were
small children. He would never forgive her for what she was about
to do.

She squeezed him tightly one last time,
before pulling back to look him in the eyes.

Jake looked back at him, confusion spreading
across his handsome face when he noticed the look on hers.

“
What is it?” He could
always tell when something was wrong.

“
Can we sit?” Nicole asked,
gesturing to the bench. She had to sit before her knees gave
out.

“
Okay,” Jake said slowly,
as if already beginning to dread what she was going to say
next.

“
Jake,” she began, clasping
her hands nervously in her lap as she forced herself to look at
him. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve changed over the last few
years. Things aren’t the way they were when we began dating. First,
you went away for school… then I left for school. Since then, most
of our relationship has been spent over the phone or on the
internet.”

Jake nodded, waiting for her to get
everything off of her chest.

Nicole bit her lip, then continued, “Look, I
have to admit that I haven’t been honest with you, or my parents,
for some time now. I changed my major to English. I don’t want to
study Youth Ministries and come back here to start a congregation.
That was always my parents’ dream, and yours, not mine.”

Jake looked over her shoulder, as if
processing what she had just said, then looked back at her.

“
That’s okay, Nicky. I
mean, I’m not happy that you lied, but I’m glad you told me now.
You don’t have to run anything if you don’t want to. You can just
be The Minister’s Wife. There will be plenty to keep you busy, even
without running Youth Ministries.”

Nicole sighed. She knew what she had to say
next was going to hurt him, and decided it was best to tell him
quickly.

“
No Jake, I’m sorry, but
it’s more than that. I don’t want to live here at all. I don’t want
to be ‘The Minister’s Wife’. I don’t want to be your wife.” She
stressed, not wanting to hurt him, but wanting him to
understand.

Jake’s face fell, hurt and confusion taking
over.

“
What?” Jake asked, as if
unable to believe what she’d just said. “You don’t want to marry
me? We have been engaged for three years, and you’ve never acted
like you had second thoughts about us. I don’t
understand.”

Jake stood up and walked to the edge of the
water. He raked his hands through his hair, then in his pockets, as
if unsure what he should do with them.

The pain on his face tore Nicole apart, and
she knew that she should have talked to him when she had first
begun to question their betrothal.

“
Jake,” she whispered
softly as she walked up next to him. “I’m so sorry. I love you and
you are the last person I ever wanted to hurt.”

He turned to her at that, anger flashing in
his eyes.

“
If you loved me, you
wouldn’t be hurting me.”

Nicole felt a hot ball of tears begin to
form at the back of her throat, and turned to leave before she made
matters worse.

“
I’m sorry, Jake,” she said
again, a little more loudly. “I promise that I’ll stay away and let
you live your life. I wish you every happiness.”

When she got to her car, Nicole turned back
for one last look at Jake.

He stood in the same spot by the water,
looking out at nothing, as his shoulders softly shook with
sadness.

Two Years Later…

Chapter One

Nicole was nervous and excited about Roni
moving in with her.

She and Roni only met a few months ago, so
she didn’t know that much about her. All Nicole knew was that she
needed someone to help pay the rent and utilities, or else she was
going to be in a lot of trouble.

When she’d brought up the fact that she was
looking for a roommate, her friend Bree had mentioned that Roni was
looking for a place to live.

Bree and her boyfriend, Colin, had left the
weekend prior. They’d moved to Austin, where Bree was going to
culinary school and Colin was working as an Assistant Football
Coach at UT. Nicole was looking forward to heading to Austin in a
few weeks to see their new place.

She and Roni worked together at the local
Bar & Grill. Roni had taken her job as a hostess, when Nicole
had been promoted to server. She’d shown the other girl the ropes,
and had a chance to talk to her a bit.