Always Been Mine PDF
Preview Always Been Mine
Always BEEN MINE By Carina Adams 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 entirely coincidental. Always Been Mine Copyright ©2013 by Carina Adams All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical without the expressed permission of the author. Cover art created by M.S. Fowler of Melchelle Designs Editing done by Amber B. of Editing By Amber For Bambino. You and me against the world, In sunshine or in shadow Table of Contents One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty One Twenty Two Twenty Three Twenty Four Twenty Five Twenty Six Twenty Seven Twenty Eight Twenty Nine Thirty Thirty One Acknowledgements One It was raining again. Again. So far, the whole summer had been a washout. Normal rain I could handle, but this dreary want-to-go-back-to-bed weather made me cranky. Well, I could try to blame my mood on the weather. The parking lot was almost empty this morning. I was always one of the first people at the office, but it looked like the other early birds had decided to sleep in. I didn’t blame them. I’d thought about it, but the hotel room was too quiet and if I was going to be miserable, I might as well be miserable at work. I parked in my usual spot, locked my doors, and ran for the three-story brick building, trying to avoid getting absolutely soaked. I was inside waiting for the elevator, looking out the glass door at the growing puddles, before I saw the familiar car parked near the building. My mood instantly improved. Matty was never here before eight. And today was Thursday, the one day we both had full office days. Barring an emergency, there were no meetings to go to, no parent visits to supervise, and no kiddos to see. A full eight hours of my best friend, even though we were working, made me happy. I was grinning by the time I got off the elevator and walked to our cubicles. “Good morning!” I smiled at his back, removing my raincoat. “Hey.” He didn’t turn around and his normally energetic voice seemed flat. Thinking he was on the phone, I started my computer and turned on my light. He didn’t say anything else so I glanced at his desk; his phone was still on its cradle. “What’s wrong?” I sat in my chair, turning towards him. We’d been friends for years, coworkers for even more. When you spend forty hours a week with someone, you get to know them pretty well. Add our Friday lunch out ritual, the time our families spend together, hours of phone conversations, and hanging out almost every Saturday morning for the last few years, I could honestly say that I knew him very well. He never greeted me that way—unless something was wrong. “Not gonna leave it alone, are you?” He sounded annoyed, but he turned and offered me his signature lop sided grin. I shook my head, grinning back. “Taylor stuff.” Of course it was. I felt slightly annoyed that I hadn’t pegged that one. Matt’s girlfriend, Taylor, was the prettiest woman I’d ever met. She was absolutely model perfect from the top of her platinum-streaked head all the way to her impeccably manicured toes. She was flawless, at least until you got to know her. Then you realized that she was one of the most spoiled, self-centered, and pretentious people on the planet. I was biased, of course, but I couldn’t stand her. I hated the way he acted around her. He spoiled her rotten and overlooked her crappy attitude. They’d been together for a little over a year, and we’d learned a few months into their relationship that we couldn’t talk about Taylor. Matty would vent sometimes, but only when he really needed it, and I would just listen, biting my tongue. “Need an ear?” “Nope. Don’t want to think about her right now. I needed a distraction.” He motioned to the thick blue files scattered on his desk. I scanned the piles of chaos; they hadn’t been there last night when I left. “What time did you get here?” “Five-thirty-ish.” He shrugged. Apparently, the Taylor issues were big this time. “Did you get breakfast?” He raised an eyebrow; his normal breakfast consisted of a protein shake that would put hair on even the most feminine chest. It made me nauseous just thinking about it. “Come on, I’m taking you to Denny’s.” He smiled. “I said I needed a distraction, not a heart attack.” I rolled my eyes. “You’ll be ok. Besides, what could possibly be better, or more distracting, than having a nasty grease filled breakfast with me? You’ll be so busy worrying about your figure and how much exercise you’ll need to burn off all those awful calories that you won’t have time to think about other things.” I moved just in time to avoid the highlighter he tossed at me, giggling at the annoyed look that crossed his face. “I’ll drive.” He grinned as he stood up. My breath caught and I looked away. He had the best smile, and when he smiled that way, really smiled, his eyes twinkled and creased. Lately I’d noticed that my heart beat a little faster when that smile was directed at me. Whenever Matty smiled, women noticed, and I’d seen him use his charms more than once. My reaction to it, however, was new, and I blamed Will. Our families, along with a couple of other coworker’s families, had gotten together for our annual Memorial Day cookout the month before. Taylor had worn strappy-heels so she couldn’t play in our traditional soccer match after lunch. Will offered to sit with her, making the teams even. I didn’t argue because I sure as hell didn’t want to sit with her. My team was winning and I was about to kick a goal when I’d been lifted into the air and spun. I screamed and kicked, batting at the strong arms around my waist. The kids stopped playing the game and came to either help me or help Matt keep me from scoring more points. Everyone was laughing and one of the kids tackled us. Before I had really figured out what happened, I was on the ground looking up into Matty’s face, his body heavy on mine, his hand under my head. The kids thought it was the perfect time to pig pile and without warning, they were all climbing on us at once. Matty was smiling down at me and I couldn’t stop laughing long enough to catch my breath. He pushed himself up, knocking off anyone that tried to keep him down and reached a hand to me, pulling me up. “You ok?” His hand ran through my hair touching my scalp, as if checking for bumps. “Yeah, I’m fine. Something broke my fall,” I answered, trying not to start laughing again. He grinned at me. “Thank God it was soft.” The grin
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