Had To Be You

HAD TO BE YOU

Juliet Chatham

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author makes no claims to, but instead acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the word marks mentioned in this work of fiction.

Copyright © 2014 by Juliet Chatham

HAD TO BE YOU by Juliet Chatham

All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America by Swoon Romance. Swoon Romance and its related logo are registered trademarks of Georgia McBride Media Group, LLC.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Published by Swoon Romance

Cover designed by Morgan Media

“To summers, small towns, and first loves.”

HAD TO BE YOU

Juliet Chatham

PROLOGUE

Moonlight framed the inky patch of sky out the port window, illuminating silhouettes of pale shadows. Overhead, halyards clapped softly in the breeze, keeping time with the creak of lines as the boat shifted to gently rock in the waves.

Tiny thrills shivered through her body, thrumming with warm electricity. One moment it felt like she was flying, and in the next, melting away into a dream. His body was hot and hard, his kisses so soft and deep. Her lips parted in a quiet moan as his tongue slipped past, tangling with hers in a delicious slow slide, the surrounding ocean luminous and shimmering in the quiet summer night.

Her breath quickened, the wind like a whisper of cool silk against heated skin as his mouth moved down her neck, his tongue tracing the hollow of her throat. She trembled with longing on every soft caress as his skilled hands curved around her hips, smoothing warm paths down the small of her back. They found their rhythm, the ebb and flow, bodies moving together in perfect waves of passion, a hot undercurrent of lust running beneath this deep well of feeling and emotion.

Mindlessly, breathlessly, she gasped his name in a hot, hungry plea. He responded with a soft groan, a jolt of pure desire.

She bit her lip to mute her cry, clutching at his broad shoulders, grasping at the taut muscles in his arms, anything to hold onto as she began to feel weaker and weaker against that relentless ache of need. Each roll and push of his hips was a pure revelation of sensation, filling her again and again. Her body arched, breasts crushed against the muscled wall of his chest.

The pleasure was indescribable, waves of ecstasy building in intensity. Heart beats raced between shallow breaths and quiet gasps as she tightened around him. Soft, thrilling declarations of love burned in his kisses, murmured into her neck, whispered past her ear as he stroked her hair. Yet he never had to say it at all; she felt it everywhere. This feeling, this exquisite, endless ache, wasn’t just him inside her body, but inside her heart as well, bursting with the diamond brilliance of the starlit sky.

After, feeling thoroughly sated yet somehow still weak from want, she settled into his arms. She could feel the thunderous pounding of his heartbeat gradually soften and slow through his warm skin as the boat bumped against the mooring, floating on an aimless current. A sleepy smile lifted the corner of her lips as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“You’re going to marry me someday,” he said in his usual joking way, though with a husky edge to it. “Just so you know.”

“I’ll consider myself forewarned,” she replied and closed her eyes.

They couldn’t stay here too long. She would have to go soon. But right now her whole world consisted of this place of pure contentment and perfect happiness, wrapped inside a fleeting moment in time.

ONE

Sunset warmed the city skyline even as the smoky edges of dusk crept in, nudging the afternoon out of the way. People lingered on their front stoops to chat with neighbors, and sidewalk cafés and eateries buzzed with early crowds eager to drink up the remains of the day.

As a city transit bus roared and rumbled down the block, Rory heard the buzz of her cell phone. She brought it to her ear without a pause in her step, conscious of the busy foot traffic all about.

Her voice lilted up in amusement, having anticipated the call.

“Hello?”

“What if they hate it?”

She rolled her eyes with a knowing grin. “They are
not
going to hate it, Jonathan. They’re going to love it.”

“But how do you know?”

“Because I love it,” she assured him. “And I have extremely good taste. That’s how.”

She could sense him relax on the other end of the line, having had practice talking him off the ledge quite a few times in these past several months. His new play would be premiering for a limited-run summer theatre production in Connecticut next week, and then, if all went well, opening off-Broadway in the fall.

“Where are you right now?”

“On my way over to the Westside Grill.”

He didn’t bother to hide a sigh. “Oh, right. I forgot you were going out after work. What are you doing later?”

“Later?” Rory spied the dark green awning of the restaurant in the distance. “Well, I have to be at work early in the morning. I was just planning on going to bed.”

“Ah, see, that is a coincidence. Because I just happen to have a bed.”

“That is a coincidence,” she agreed, the hint of a smile shadowing her lips.

“So, I’ll meet you there?”

“Mm-hmm,” she replied. “Don’t start without me.”

Rory ended the call outside the restaurant, keeping her phone securely in hand. Passing by a mirrored column in the entranceway, she hesitated for a quick appraisal. Weeks overdue for a salon visit, her light brown hair was blown-out in smooth layers that now fell far past her shoulders, and since her schedule lately barely allowed time for meals, even her slimmest black pencil skirt was loose at the waist. She lifted one foot to adjust the thin strap on her sling back pumps before approaching the hostess podium.

“Hi.” It appeared almost all the patio tables were full, but she assumed a hopeful tone anyway. “Anything outside?”

“It’s about an hour wait right now,” the girl replied. “Would you like to put your name in?”

“That’s okay,” she said, unsure if Jill would be up for the wait in her current condition. “I’m meeting a friend. She should be here any minute. I’ll take whatever you have.”

The hostess motioned for a waitress, who, in turn, led the way to one of the cozy round-tops in the pub area. Rory smiled, thanking her as she slid into a seat and placed her phone on the table.

In the next moment, she spotted Jill breeze in through the doors. The petite blonde wore a dotted sundress that gently hugged the perfect round swell of her belly and her tiny, tanned legs were as slim as ever (though now she wore flat canvas kicks instead of sky-high platform pumps).

Jill was all baby—Rory couldn’t tell that she had gained any noticeable weight anywhere else, except maybe a bit in her face. Yet it only made her lightly flushed cheeks more round and soft, brightening her hazel green eyes. She was, in a word,
glowing
.

Of course, she would never, ever use that word when speaking directly to her. What kind of friend would she be if she didn’t know better than that?

“Hey!”

“Hi there,” Jill said as she dropped into the chair across from her, slightly out of breath. Her blond curls, always perfectly in place, cascaded down her back.

The waitress appeared immediately, hovering over the expectant mother with a bright smile. “Can I get you anything, hon?”

Rory noticed a lot of people seemed to use a rather patronizing tone around Jill these days. She also knew it drove her nuts.

“Oh, yes, please.” She pushed her soft curls out of her eyes as she glanced up at her. “I’d like a margarita on the rocks.”

The smile abruptly vanished. “Um…” The waitress frowned and fumbled, obviously flustered. “With, ah—with or without salt?”

“With, please. Thank you.”

She immediately turned heel to leave without another word. Jill tilted her head, watching her depart as her grin took on a sly curve. Rory waited a beat before glancing discreetly over her shoulder. As suspected, the waitress marched directly up to some other staff people at the bar and began talking in hushed tones, motioning towards their table.

She turned back with a shake of her head.

“You’re so bad.”

“What? I’ve had to give up nearly every one of my vices,” Jill responded, her voice rising in defense. “Let me have my fun in whatever small ways I can.”

“And horrifying people is fun?”

Jill paused before answering matter-of-factly. “Yeah, it kinda is.” Then her forehead creased into a troubled frown. “I mean, think about it—I basically went from aimless, drunken college student to a brief internship and then straight into impending motherhood! Need I remind you this wasn’t exactly my plan? I never got to realize my inner single, successful young urban professional, or even fully explore my ironic hipster phase! And any chance I had at being the next Carrie Bradshaw is long gone.”

“So there is a bright spot, then.”

“Seriously, I’m done. Stick a fork in me. Hang up a sign—‘
Jill Marie Feeney Once Lived Here.
’”

The waitress came back, avoiding eye contact, mouth set in a thin line of reproof as she placed the cocktail on the table.

“Thanks.” Jill moved it aside and glanced back up to call after her. “Oh, and whenever you get a minute, could I get a cranberry juice and soda water, please?”

The waitress turned back with a confused frown. “Okay.”

Jill slid the drink across the table.

“I tell you every time,” Rory murmured, stirring it once. “No salt.” She paused to take a sip. “How was your doctor’s appointment?”

“Fine. Everything looks good. And I’m not scheduled right now for another ultrasound, but if I am for any reason? I think I’m going to find out. Trevor doesn’t want to…but you know what?” Jill waved her hand dismissively. “Screw him. He’s not the one who has another person using his bladder as a chaise lounge.”

The waitress, of course, picked that very moment to return with her drink.

“Thank you.” Jill flashed her sweetest smile. She then gave Rory a comical look.

Making a mental note to leave an extra big tip, Rory just shook her head again.

On the outside, they probably couldn’t appear to be more different, but being seated alphabetically next to each other for almost all of elementary and middle school revealed they were often of a similar mind. Back then, it got them into trouble more often than not, but built a friendship to stand the test of time. Rory was glad to have her back in her everyday life since Trevor’s temporary job transfer to New York.