The One for You Read online

  Also by Roni Loren

  The Ones Who Got Away

  The Ones Who Got Away

  The One You Can’t Forget

  The One You Fight For

  The One for You

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  Books. Change. Lives.

  Copyright © 2020 by Roni Loren

  Cover and internal design © 2020 by Sourcebooks

  Cover design by Dawn Adams/Sourcebooks

  Cover image © forma82/Shutterstock

  Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks is not associated with any product or vendor in this book.

  Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks

  P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410

  (630) 961-3900

  www.sourcebooks.com

  Contents

  Front Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Back Cover

  Prologue

  2005

  Ashton Isaacs had a hard-on in the back row of The Stuffed Shelf’s children’s section, and Kincaid Breslin had never been more delighted. Ash didn’t see her standing there as she pressed her lips together to keep from laughing since he was currently reclined in a bright-green beanbag chair half inside the tent they’d set up as a reading nook for the kids. The main lights of the store had been turned off, but the two lamps in the children’s area still threw off enough of a warm glow for Kincaid to figure out what was going on. Ash’s face was hidden behind his floppy dark hair and the novel he was reading, but he was far from relaxed. Besides the obvious situation in his pants, his beat-up Chuck Taylors were bouncing like he was nervous—or anticipating something.

  Kincaid grinned, enjoying the sight of her normally staid friend looking so undone. She tucked her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “Got to the good part, huh?”

  Ash jolted so hard that he thumped his head on the top of the tent and almost collapsed the whole thing. “What the—”

  Kincaid watched with amusement as he scrambled to extract himself from the too-small-for-a-seventeen-year-old reading nook, all long limbs and jabbing elbows. Shelves rattled behind him.

  “Dammit, KC,” he said, getting to his feet and quickly turning his back to her as he pretended to check the state of the tent. “What the hell are you doing, sneaking up like that? You left, like, half an hour ago.”

  She rocked onto her toes, trying to get her eyes on the book he’d been reading. “I forgot my backpack. I thought I left it over here. I didn’t mean to…interrupt.”

  “Well, damn, give a guy some warning. What if I’d thought you were an intruder? I could’ve hurt you.” He shoved the book he’d been reading onto a shelf next to Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. The cartoon pigeon on the cover looked scandalized.

  “How? By throwing a dirty book at me?” she teased, stepping closer.

  “It’s not a—”

  Kincaid snagged the paperback from the shelf and flipped it over to get a closer look at the cover. She smiled at the sexy, open-shirted duke on the cover. “Wow, look at you. Mr. Thriller Reader is branching out. The cover got ya, huh? I don’t blame you. Look at those abs. Ooh-la-la.”

  Ash grunted, keeping his back to her. “I didn’t choose it for the abs. We’re supposed to read as much stock as we can so that we can make accurate recommendations. These are popular. I’m being a diligent employee.”

  Kincaid nodded. “Of course. Ash Isaacs working overtime. Such a model employee. Reading naughty scenes and getting all hot and bothered in the kids’ section. Someone give this boy a raise.”

  Ash groaned and finally turned around to face her, blue eyes wary behind his dark-rimmed glasses. “You’re like a dog with a bone, Breslin. You know, a normal person would just politely ignore the situation and change the subject.”

  She smirked. “Good thing I’m not normal. And are you really going to throw the word bone out there right now? Also, did you just call your junk a situation? Because you’re making this too easy.” She eyed the edge of the book to see where the space between pages was obvious and opened to the part he’d been reading. “So what turns the book snob’s crank?” She started reading. “‘William ran his tongue along Isabella’s sweet—’”

  Ashton plucked the book from her hands before she could get to the scandalous part and tucked it under his arm. “You’re not old enough for this one, KC.” He grabbed the pigeon book and handed it to her. “This may be more your speed. That pigeon is nothing but trouble. You’ll have a lot in common.”

  Kincaid laughed and put the children’s book back on the shelf. Ash was only three months older than she was, and she’d bet every penny of her meager savings that she was more experienced. Ash hadn’t had a girlfriend in the three years since they’d worked together at the bookstore, and before that, he’d only briefly dated Harmony Johnson freshman year. And dating seemed like a strong word for what that had involved—a few trips to the movies and the homecoming dance.

  Since then, anytime a girl came in the store and flirted with him, Ash seemed damn oblivious. Kincaid knew that Ash was too focused on getting a scholarship and getting out of this town to get distracted with a relationship, but her boyfriend, Graham, had declared that a ridiculous tactic. Why can’t you study hard and have fun at the same time? he’d say.

  But Kincaid understood Ash’s drive in a way Graham couldn’t. Graham’s parents owned the bookstore and had the money to send Graham to whatever school he wanted. Ash’s parents had more than she and her mom had, which wasn’t saying much, but his dad, the high school football coach, had too many strings attache
d to the money. Ash only got college money if he majored in something practical at the University of Texas, his dad’s alma mater. Ash wasn’t much for practical. He had big dreams of writing and travel and didn’t want to get stuck here. So just like her, if he wanted something beyond a Long Acre High School diploma, he was going to have to figure a way out on his own.

  “Come on, don’t lie,” she said with a smile. “You’re just taking the book back because as soon as I leave, you’re going to finish it. You’re dying to know what William is going to do with his tongue.” She reached for the book again. “Heck, I’m dying to know.”

  He batted her hand away. “Nope.”

  She caught sight of a number on the spine of the book. “Hold up. This is the fifth in a series?” Her grin went wider, delight filling her like fizzy soda. “Which means you’ve read four of these already because my buddy Ash would never dare read a book series out of order. Sacrilege. Have you taken good notes? Scribbled naughty marginalia? Highlighted? Tell me everything.”

  He groaned. “Why do I allow you to be my friend again?”

  She laughed and batted her eyelashes dramatically. “Because you can’t help but love me?”

  “I can’t escape you,” he said with a snort, but she didn’t miss the flash of friendly affection in his eyes. “But find your own smut. This is mine. And marginalia? Someone’s been using that Word-A-Day calendar I gave her for Christmas.”

  She gave him a narrow-eyed look. “I know lots of big words. Like ‘pretentious.’ ‘Judgmental.’ ‘Self-important.’”

  He nodded. “Touché.”

  “You know, if you’d let me set you up with one of my friends, you could have the chance to experience your own smut.” She frowned and shook her head. “Wait, that makes my friends sound like hookers. You know what I mean. You could get out of this bookstore and hang out with a real, live girl.” She spread her hands out as if she could conjure him up a girl out of thin air. “Prom is coming up. You need a date. Groundwork needs to be laid!”

  Ash’s gaze met hers, his lips hitching at one corner. “Sounds like you’re just trying to get me laid.”

  Kincaid made a you-said-it-I-didn’t face. “Would that be so terrible?”

  “Did I miss the part where you’re actually a dude, and we’re suddenly in a locker room?” He puffed out his chest and deepened his voice. “Bro, you need to find some hot chick and drain the snake.”

  She cringed. “Oh my God, gross, no one says ‘drain the snake.’” She waved her hand between them, trying to clear that disgusting image from her mind.

  “Hit that?” he suggested.

  “This further proves that we need to get you out of this bookstore. You don’t even know how to speak.”

  “Says the girl who pronounces the word ‘fire’ with one syllable and ‘fair’ with two,” he said, overexaggerating the East Texas accent that had followed her from childhood.

  “Shut up. And for the record, I would be an awesome dude who would never dare use the words ‘bro’ or ‘hit that,’ thank you very much.” She nudged his shoulder. “I just want you to come to prom with me and Graham. Isn’t there someone you want to go with? You’ve got to like somebody at school.”

  Ash’s expression flattened, and his gaze slid away. “Not really.”

  “Not really?” A shimmer of excitement moved through her, her internal sensors going off. “That’s not a no. Oh my God, you do have someone. Ash has a secret crush!” She stepped closer to catch his eye. “I must know. You must tell me right now. I promise I’ll keep it a secret.”

  Ash let out a long-suffering sigh. “You are relentless.”

  She nodded. “Yep. It’s one of my finest qualities.”

  He shook his head. “Too bad. It’s not going to work. I’m not telling you because (a) you’re physically unable to contain a secret. You would hurt yourself trying to do that, and I don’t want that on my conscience. And (b) this person is unattainable, so it doesn’t matter anyway.”

  “No one is unattainable,” she said resolutely. “Have you seen who I’m dating? Who would’ve ever thought the Graham Lowell would be dating the daughter of a woman whose best skill is getting her rent paid by a different guy every month?”

  Ash frowned and adjusted his glasses. “Don’t do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Don’t talk like Graham’s above you just because he’s got money and parents who actually know how to be decent humans. No offense to him, but that’s a life lottery situation, not an accomplishment. And you have no idea how badly he wanted to impress you when he was trying to get you to go out with him. You were out of his league, not the other way around.”

  Kincaid’s chest squeezed at the fervor in his voice. “Aww, Ash, you do love me.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  “But see, then maybe your secret crush isn’t so unattainable either,” she went on. “Maybe you should try Graham’s method and write her some romantic letters. I think I was half in love with the guy before I even said yes to a date. After those notes he left me, how could I resist?”

  Ash’s expression soured at that. “I don’t think love letters would work in this case.”

  “Why not?”

  He put his hand on her shoulder, giving her the this-conversation-is-over look. “Because this girl is not an option. She’s with someone else.”

  Kincaid’s lips parted, the words hanging between them. Her mind started to scan girls who were in relationships at school, but before she could process all that, the door in the back creaked, and heavy footsteps sounded on the worn wooden floors of the shop. “What’s taking so long, babe?”

  Ash quickly removed his hand from her shoulder and took a big step back, almost stumbling backward over the top of the kiddie tent.

  Kincaid turned her head as Graham’s voice drifted over the shelves, and the floorboards squeaked with her boyfriend’s approach. “In the kids’ section,” she called out. “Ash needed help getting some inappropriate material off the shelves.”

  Graham appeared at the end of the aisle, all blond hair and big, brown eyes, his smile going warm and wide at the sight of her. “There’s my girl.”

  Kincaid’s stomach did a little flip as Graham walked over and gathered her to his side, kissing the top of her head. She’d dated a lot of guys throughout high school, usually briefly and disastrously, but she’d never had a boyfriend like Graham. One who wasn’t shy about giving affection or declaring sappy things about her. One who loved her. Like for real. Not just because she had big boobs and was on the dance team.

  “Hey, baby,” she said, leaning into his side. “Sorry. I was about to head back out. But—”

  “You started rambling on and completely forgot that I was sitting out in the cold,” he said knowingly. “And now we’re going to be even later. Kincaiditis strikes again.”

  He delivered the words with a light tone, like he was teasing, but they still made her wince inwardly. Lately Graham had been on her about how flighty she could be. She was trying to be better, but…well, she really did have Ooh, squirrel! syndrome pretty badly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  “It was my fault,” Ash said, cutting her off. “I needed her help. I didn’t realize you were waiting outside.”

  “Haven’t you spent enough time with my girl already today, Isaacs?” Graham teased. “If it were anyone but you, I think I’d have to be jealous.”

  Ash gave him a droll look. “Gee, thanks, man. Glad I’m so nonthreatening.”

  Graham chuckled and gently punched Ash’s arm. “Aww, don’t get all offended. You know what I mean.”

  Kincaid leaned into Graham, inhaling deeply. His hair smelled like the tea tree shampoo she’d bought for him. “Yeah, he’s like the annoying brother I never had.”

  Ash made some sound she translated as sarcasm as he turned away to straighten the
area he’d been reading in.

  Graham glanced over at Kincaid. “So, did you find your purse?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Oops, I sort of forgot to keep looking when I ran into Ash.”

  Graham gave her an exasperated look, as though she were an adorable puppy that had peed on the carpet again. “Babe—”

  She pushed up on her toes, kissing him and cutting him off. “Two seconds. I promise.”

  He tugged her ponytail. “You’re lucky I love you so much that I think this is cute.”

  She grinned, his words moving over her like a summer breeze. For so long when guys looked at her, they saw only one thing—a party girl to get in bed. Like mother, like daughter, right? Graham didn’t look at her that way. He didn’t see where she came from or who her family was. He didn’t see her as an easy score. Sure, he appreciated how she looked, but he saw so much deeper than that layer. He loved who she was and wanted to help make her even better.

  The guy who’d once seemed so out of her league—student council vice president, son of a well-known family in town, guy on his way to big things—loved her. Loved her so much that he was trying to figure out a way to take her with him to college. Believed in their relationship so much that he was going to ask his family to help her out with costs to attend the community college near Graham so they could be together. Graham was the real deal. Somehow, some way, despite her mom’s repeated declarations that all men were selfish scumbags who were only out for one thing, Kincaid had found herself in a real love story.

  “Let’s go find your purse.” Graham stepped over and bumped fists with Ash. “And get out of here, man. I know my parents aren’t paying you overtime.”

  “On my way,” Ash said, tucking the book into the back waistband of his jeans.

  Kincaid smiled his way. “And let me know what William decides to do with that tongue.”

  Ash kept a stoic expression, but his neck flushed bright red.

  “Huh?” Graham asked.

  “Nothing, baby,” she said cheerfully. “Just messing with my annoying brother.”

  As soon as Graham’s back was turned to head down the aisle, Ash flipped Kincaid the bird.