Prologue
The Kisses That Broke Me
Lenor
The night smells like tequila, sweat, and too many broken promises.
Blake’s is packed, the band is loud, and half the town has crowded inside like this is the only place on earth.Then again, maybe it is.Around here, Blake’s isn’t just a bar, it’s the heart of Severn.Every secret, every scandal, every story worth telling has passed through these walls.And tonight, apparently, mine joins the list.
I’m trying to distract myself the only way I know how, spinning across the dance floor with Adam Blake.Yes.ThatAdam Blake.
The youngest of the infamous brothers, trouble etched into his grin, mischief written in the cocky set of his jaw.His reputation came before him, and it’s never left.Women throw themselves at him because he’s handsome and wild and dangerous in the way only a man who’s never been broken can be.
And yet, here I am.In his arms.
“You’re a terrible dancer,” Adam teases, his mouth so close to my ear the words vibrate down my neck.
I scowl, stepping on his boot in retaliation.“Eat shit, Blake.I’m amazing.My mind’s just somewhere else.”
He laughs, spinning me so fast the lights blur.That’s Adam’s gift—pulling people into his orbit and making them forget.He does it with everyone.He’s been doing it since we were teenagers.
But the truth is, I can’t forget.Not tonight.Because no matter how hard I try to shove it down, I can feel the ache of what I’ve already lost.
Jacob Wilson.My ex.My mistake.The boy who once swore he loved me, then proved in the ugliest way that love and loyalty meant nothing to him.He ripped me open in front of the whole town, made a fool of me so publicly that I still feel the sting every time someone’s eyes linger too long.And I was stupid enough to love him anyway.
So no, I don’t want Adam’s grin, or his charm, or the temptation glittering in his dark eyes.I want to believe I’ll never fall for the wrong man again.
I’m trying to have fun and just relax.I should be enjoying my best friend’s birthday but instead all I can do is keep reliving my own embarrassment.Maybe I’m not drunk enough?But just when I feel like I can breathe, a single moment snaps everything in half.
From the dance floor I see them.Across the room, in the middle of the crowd, my best friend Karmen—my ride-or-die, my other half—is kissing him.Jacob fucking Wilson.The bane of my goddamned existence.
Her hands clutch his shirt as his mouth moves against hers like they’re the only two people in the world.Time stops for me and my feet glue themselves to the sticky alcohol-covered floor.My throat closes around a scream I don’t let out.I don’t breathe, I don’t move, I don’t even fucking blink.The music fades away with the crowd and the only sound left is the rush of blood in my ears as I stare at what should be an impossible scene.No.No, this can’t be happening.
Karmen loves Wesley.She’salwaysloved Wesley Blake, even if he’s too damn stubborn to admit he feels the same.She would never choose Jacob.She would never, ever betray me like this.But the evidence is right in front of me even if it doesn’t make any damn sense.
Which means this is him.Jacob.Manipulating, twisting, and destroying.The way he always does.
“Fuck,” Adam mutters, his body stiffening.In the space of a second, everything erupts.Wesley shouts something across the bar.Chairs scrape.A glass shatters.People turn, voices rising with gossip before the dust has even settled.
Adam grabs my hand and yanks me off the dance floor, shielding me as his brother lunges.He shoves Wesley back, holding him by the arm as chaos swirls around us.But I don’t hear the yelling.I don’t hear the band cutting off mid-song.
All I hear is the blood rushing through my veins.All I feel is the hollow where my heart used to be.There is no anger, only heartbreak so loud I am surprised that everyone around me can’t hear it.
I tear my hand from Adam’s grip and stumble blindly through the crowd.My purse slams against my hip as I push past familiar faces, ignoring their stares.My heels hit the pavement outside, carrying me into the cool night air, my chest splitting with every step.I don’t stop until I reach the park two blocks away.
The swing set is old, paint-chipped, and the chains squeak as I lower myself onto one of the cracked seats.I grip the cold metal chain until it bites into my palms.For the first time in weeks, I let go and just allow myself to feel everything.The betrayal, the embarrassment, the soul-crushing heartache.
The tears come hot and fast, blurring the glow of the streetlamps.My body shakes as sobs rip through me, and I hate myself for it.I hate that Jacob still has the power to wreck me even after all this time.I hate that Karmen’s face is the one I keep seeing.And I fucking hate that the ache in my chest feels like it might never fade.
I cry until dawn, until the birds start singing and the horizon shifts pink and gold.I should go home, crawl into bed, and pretend I can sleep this off.But grief doesn’t obey logic.It never has.
His shadow falls across me before I hear him, but I already know who it is.I can smell his cologne, faint cedarwood and smoke.I can feel the air shift as he stops in front of me, blocking out the early morning light.
“Let me take you home, Lennie,” Adam says softly.
The nickname breaks me.He gave it to me back in high school, when I was just another girl in the bleachers watching him screw up plays on the football field.No one else calls me that.No one else dares.
The sob escapes before I can stop it, tearing out of my chest.
