Stone In Love (Jersey Series #1) Read online

  STONE IN LOVE

  The Jersey Series

  Sienna Skye

  Copyright © 2018 Sienna Skye

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblances of characters to actual persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of quotations in a book review. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

  Dedication:

  A special thank you to the dynamic women I am most fortunate to have in my life:

  Amy, Candace, Cindy, Debbie, Laura, Maria, Megan, & Michelle

  Thank you for supporting me in this journey of writing Morgan and Julia’s story.

  Thank you for your enthusiasm

  And a special thank you for a hell of a lot of good advice!

  Chapter One

  Julia

  I had spent the last four years running. Literally at first. I’m talking running out the front door in my bare feet just to get out of there. Then it was packing up my stuff and moving out of state. Running from pain. From betrayal. After that, I was running from the truth…or maybe hiding the truth. Maybe both. Whatever it was, I was living a lie. Here’s the thing about lies, they always catch up with you. They choose their timing and sometimes people are lulled into a false sense of security that the truth will stay hidden, but it never works that way. I had always known the past would end up catching up with me. It’s just that the more time went by, the harder it was to get up the nerve to voluntarily spit out the truth. I had promised myself that when the time came, I would put on my big girl panties and face it all head on.

  The only person in my family in New Jersey I had any contact with was my stepbrother, Hunter. Even he didn’t know everything. At least I didn’t think so. I mean, he didn’t even know where I was living until he asked me for my address, so he could send me an invitation to his wedding. It’s not that I didn’t trust him. I did. He was already in the middle because of circumstance and I didn’t want to put more of a burden on him. Besides, I felt more secure being somewhat incognito, though it wouldn’t be overly difficult to find me if someone was really looking.

  I sat there looking at Hunter’s wedding invitation realizing this was it. Time to grab those big girl panties. I hadn’t spoken to my mother since a few weeks after I fled, my stepfather even longer than that. Honestly, I didn’t lose any sleep over that. If you knew them, you would totally understand why.

  It was Morgan. Morgan was the reason why I ran. Why I kept running. Why I was nervous as hell about going to Hunter’s wedding. Morgan was my other stepbrother, but he was so much more than that. We fell in love and dated in secret for a year. At least I think he loved me. It hurt too much to think that wasn’t true. Jace, Morgan’s best friend, was the only one who had figured it out, but that was Jace, always figuring stuff out. Jace was important to me too. He was the one to help me pick up the pieces of my life and my broken heart. My family had thought I moved to North Carolina, but I had been living in Virginia with my aunt. Not far from where Jace was stationed with the Marines. He was the one part of home I still had.

  I smiled as I looked at the invitation again. A summer wedding down the shore. So very Hunter. He had slipped a written note into the envelope.

  Please come, Idgit. I miss you and it wouldn’t be the same without you.

  He had been calling me “Idgit” for as long as I had known him. Hunter and Morgan’s mother had been an equestrian and she often brought the boys riding and to visit the stable. When Hunter was little, there had been a foal named Gidgit. He couldn’t seem to pronounce the “G” and called it, “Idgit”. Hunter remembered the foal as being a whole bunch of long legs. When we first met, I had not yet grown into myself. He had taken a look at my skinny self and long legs and my nickname was born. He told me he loved that foal with all of his heart and that he felt the same about me. Who could be mad about that?

  Before I could think better of it, I picked up my phone and called him. My heart was pounding in my chest and just when I thought about hanging up, I heard his deep voice.

  “Julia!”

  “Hey Hunter.”

  “How are you, kiddo? God, it’s always so good to hear your voice.”

  “It’s good to hear yours, too. Guess what I got in the mail? A rather beautiful invitation to what is sure to be the wedding of the century.”

  His laugh made me smile. “Wedding of the century, huh? I’m not so sure about that. Please tell me this call means that you are coming. I mean you are coming, even if I have to come down there myself and drag you here.”

  “Of course I will be there for you, Hunter. I can’t wait to see you…and to meet Sarah.”

  “Yes! You’ve made my day, Idgit! Morgan is going to lose his mind when he finds out you are coming. I’m not the only one who has missed you.”

  Time to change the subject. “You do realize that women everywhere will go into mourning now that you will be off the market.”

  I heard him laugh. “You make it sound like I had some kind of fan club or something.”

  “Don’t forget I lived in the same house as you two knuckleheads and saw the bevy of breathless beauties that came in and out like we had a revolving door. There were so many women calling the Good Lord himself, the place sounded like a church revival.”

  “We really were that bad, weren’t we?”

  “Yes, you really were. That’s one of the reasons why I can’t wait to meet the woman who finally tamed my big brother.”

  “Please tell me you don’t intend on telling Sarah about all of our escapades.”

  “I make no promises,” I joked.

  “And why did I want you to meet my fiancé again?”

  “It boggles the mind.”

  “You know she didn’t want anything to do with me at first, right?”

  He had told me the story before, but he was so happy I wanted to indulge him. Hunter and Morgan owned a software company. Morgan was the genius behind the technology and Hunter had the shrewd business sense. One of their divisions was medical software. Sarah was a Nurse Practitioner at one of the hospitals where Hunter was onsite overseeing training.

  “….and in walked this woman who brought me to my knees. She was hesitant to give me the time of day. She thought I was a bit of a player.”

  “Imagine that.”

  “Hush you. I can still pick you up and toss you over my shoulder.” I smiled at the memories of him doing just that anytime I made him crazy. “Eventually, I wore her down. From the day I met her, there hasn’t been anyone else.”

  “I really am happy for you, Hunter.”

  “So…Virginia, huh? You said you were heading to North Carolina when you left.”

  “I know. I’m sorry I lied about that. It’s just that…there’s a lot that happened, Hunter. Besides, I had a feeling you would have done some research and figured it out long ago.”

  “I did. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I was worried. Once I knew where you were, I figured you were with your aunt and Claudia would look out for you.”

  “Yeah, she has been great. And so has Jace. He’s been there for me every step of the way.”

  “Jace. I wondered about that too. Will he be coming with you to the wedding?”

  Subtle Hunter. Real subtle. “No, he is due to be shipping out to parts unknown. He’ll be leaving soon.”

  “Hmmm. You know, I remember when you left, you wanted to work in the publishing field or maybe as a literary agent, but my Google search has not yielded any results. I haven’t pushed to ask you too many questions, but since yo
u are coming to the wedding and all, maybe the time is right.”

  “You have been incredibly patient with me and I appreciate that. But, you are right, it’s time for me to stop hiding. I kind of stumbled upon a talent of sorts while I was at college. It started off as fun and then morphed into a career. I write an advice column. Have you ever heard of Edge magazine?”

  “Of course. Wait…” Three, two, one… “Get out! Are you Ask Nikki?”

  “The one and only.” My Dad’s name was Nicholas and I loved and missed my Daddy so much, that I went with Nikki. Some days I wonder if he was spinning in his grave when I doled out advice on manscaping, or the lack thereof, and the etiquette of hair pulling and ass slapping. We didn’t shy away from anything and the questions came in all sorts of colors and varieties.

  “You disguised yourself pretty well in your picture.”

  “It was the magazine’s idea. You know, to add a little bit of mystery.” That was not entirely untrue. The picture was a close up with me wearing oversized sunglasses and peeking over a tablet. The magazine wanted the tablet, I asked to add the sunglasses. It worked to keep my privacy. Hell, my own brother didn’t recognize me.

  “Listen, I feel like shit saying this, but I have to get to a meeting. I love you, Idgit. You have no idea how incredibly happy you’ve made me today.”

  “I love you, too. I really can’t wait to see you.”

  “Back at ya, kiddo. Bye.”

  Chapter Two

  Julia

  I had been sitting in my office with the door closed. There was a knock on my door and Beth, my PA, popped her head in, but stopped short when she saw me.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Fine. Just tired, I guess.”

  “Mr. Gilmore wants to see you.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, in his office.”

  Patrick Gilmore was my editor, but more importantly, he had become like a father figure to me. Or at least an uncle figure. He had taken a chance on me when I was fresh out of college. Edge magazine was a shoot straight from the hip type of publication. Like I said, we didn’t shy away from much. The topics stayed current and fresh. As opposed to most magazines of the same genre, this one managed to capture a fairly healthy percentage of male readers.

  My column started off just in the print magazine and earned a cult following. Once word got out, the column branched off into the online site and took off like a rocket. Sure, the advice was solid, but that wasn’t the draw. I had a knack of serving my suggestions straight up with a side of wit and wise-assery.

  He also knew my whole story, the entire truth. Patrick always supported me and had my back.

  His office door was open, but I knocked anyway.

  “I heard you wanted to see me.”

  “Come. Sit down.” He took a moment and studied my face. First Beth, now him. I really needed to work on my poker face. “There are two things I want to discuss with you.”

  “Sure. What would you like to talk about?”

  “First, I went to the design team with your request to revamp your web page. The preliminaries are in and I wanted to share them with you.” He tilted his chin in the direction of the large screen on his wall. There were five different design schemes. I studied each one, but it only took me a moment to decide on what I wanted.

  “The second one. It’s perfect.”

  “That was my choice as well. Now for the second thing. Julia, please, schedule yourself a vacation. You have been working nonstop for months. The web page is trending like mad. You are getting hash tagged all over the place. You can take some time to breathe. I will make it an order if I must.”

  “Funny you should mention that. Hunter sent me an invitation to his wedding. It’s back home. I’ve decided to go.”

  Patrick leaned back in his chair, steepling his hands in front of him. He eyed me closely for a few moments. “I agree. You should go to Hunter’s wedding. Take some extra days as well. And you are aware that you can do your job remotely. It might be time for you to spend some time back home. Say like for the summer.”

  My eyes shot wide open. “The entire summer?”

  “Yes, the entire summer. Julia, you are very good at what you do, but this time, I am going to be the one dishing out the advice. I’ve come to know you very well. You are still hurt, though you do a damn good job of hiding it. But, all this hiding and waiting for the other shoe to drop is not good for you. It will eat at you, Julia, and I care about you too much to allow that to happen. Agreeing to go to Hunter’s wedding is a good thing. I think it also means that you are ready to start dealing with what needs to be dealt with and that will take some time.”

  “It may not end well, you know.”

  “It may not. But, you will deal with whatever happens and trust me, it will be a huge relief not to have anything hanging over your head.”

  As I was passing Beth’s desk on the way back to my office, she looked up and said, “I’m going to make a beverage run. Would you like anything?”

  “Actually, yes. An iced black tea lemonade.”

  “The small size?”

  “No large.”

  “Without the sugary stuff?”

  “No with.”

  “Interesting. Half the pumps?”

  “Nope, all the pumps they got.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “Get out. Are you PMS-ing? Do you need some chocolate too?”

  “No PMS.” I started to turn away, but then turned back. “And get me one of those big brownies too. Screw it.” I’d deal with the carb overload later. I needed something to calm my nerves. Obviously, caffeine and sugar were the most brilliant of choices.

  I stepped into my office and closed the door. I paced the floor with my phone in my hand. Hunter might still be in his meeting. I debated on just sending him a text. I stared at the phone as if I was waiting for it to make the decision for me. The wedding was one thing. I could deal with a few hours. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I agreed to go to the wedding because it was safe. I wasn’t going to unleash drama at Hunter’s wedding. As much as I talked a good game about those big girl panties, it was going to be easy enough for me to escape without doing what needed to be done. Patrick was right.

  Ah, to hell with it. I tapped my thumb on Hunter’s name.

  “Twice in one day. Wait. Do not tell me you have changed your mind about coming.”

  “No, no not at all. I hope I didn’t interrupt your meeting.”

  “Nah, it was winding down anyway. What’s up?”

  “I was thinking about renting a place down the shore for a few days and then after the wedding, I’d find a place to stay closer to you guys for a couple of months. You know, maybe catch up a bit. Do you think that would be okay?”

  “Of course that would be okay. You don’t even need to ask that. I’ll do anything you need to help. I can get you set up at my old house for the few months you’re here. Who knows, maybe you’ll decide to stay.”

  “Slow down there, cowboy. Let’s just take this one step at a time. But, I may just take you up on staying at your old place.”

  “You could always stay with…”

  “No, Hunter. Thank you, but no.” I wasn’t sure who he was going to say I could stay with, but whoever it was, it was a bad idea.

  “Okay, okay. Morgan is going to lose his mind when he finds out you are coming for the summer!” He had no idea.

  “Let me get things settled here and I will call you in a few days to make plans.”

  I had been pacing the floor the entire time I spoke to him. I had just flopped into my chair when Beth knocked and then walked in with my carbohydrate cornucopia. “Your timing is impeccable.”

  Chapter Three

  Morgan

  I really wasn’t in the mood to sit through a thousand wedding details. But, Hunter was my only brother and he had called me earlier in the day and asked me to meet him and Sarah for dinner. Lately, that meant wedding talk. Lots and lots of wedding talk. Whe
n we spoke, he had sounded like he had something on his mind, so I, like the dutiful Best Man that I was, agreed.

  I met them in the parking lot and we walked in together to be seated. There was definitely something on Hunter’s mind. He kept looking at me, straight in the eye, like he was trying to read me.

  I always liked Sarah. She was smart and she didn’t play games. Sure, she knew how to have a good time, but she had a certain poise and maturity. So, it was amusing to watch her get a little goofy over this wedding stuff. I exchanged a few pleasantries with Sarah and pretended to be overly excited about cake toppers and linen colors. The designer cocktails, well actually the vodka luge, on the other hand, did capture my attention. Every time I looked at my brother, he had that dumbass look on his face. What was up with him?

  The waitress had just brought our drinks and took our food order. I looked at the glass of water in front of Sarah. “On call tonight?”

  “Yep.” She picked up her glass and tapped it against mine and Hunter’s in a toast. “Here’s to the final stretch! I can’t believe how quickly the date is approaching. The wedding seemed so far away at first and now it’s almost here. Morgan, did Hunter tell you that I am finally going to meet your sister at the wedding?”

  Wait, what? I looked up at Hunter as it became very clear what that stupid ass look was all about.

  “Jules is coming to the wedding?”

  “Do we have another sister I am unaware of?”

  “Don’t start, asshat. How long have you known about this?”

  “I spoke to her today. I sent her an invitation. She agreed to come. Actually, she is planning on staying a few months.” A few months? I slugged back my drink and signaled the waitress for a refill.

  “A few months?”

  “For the summer it seems. She would like to catch up.”

  “Catch up.” Down went a few more slugs of my drink. Poor Sarah looked back and forth between us, obviously confused.