Tempting Rowan (Trace + Olivia #3) (33 page)

Fuck.

Dead.

He was gone.

Like,
really
gone.

As in never coming back
gone
.

My heart hurt and my soul felt incomplete.

How on Earth could I be expected to live the rest of my life without him?

I’d have to.

I was going to have to take every day one step at a time. I’d live and love that much harder, because Trenton couldn’t.

He’d always live on in our son.

And in my heart.

epilogue

three months later…

The warm summer breeze tickled my face and I couldn’t help smiling as I closed my eyes, lying back in the tall grass. It scratched my skin, making me itch, but the sun felt so good on my body that I refused to move. I felt so peaceful—something that had been rare in the past few months.

I reached out, smiling as I pulled a dandelion from the dirt.

“Row!” Ivy yelled and I sat up to see her running towards me. She crashed into my arms and then fell to the ground giggling.

“What are you doing, silly girl?” I asked her. “Where’s Tristan?”

“He’s fine,” she shrugged, looking around. “I like it here. It’s pretty.”

“Mhmm,” I hummed. “It’s like a little oasis.”

As if she didn’t hear me, she smiled widely, pointing to the flowers surrounding us. “Can you make me one of those braided crown thingies with flowers?”

“I’ll try,” I grinned, picking the flowers surrounding us. “It’s been a long time since I’ve made one of these.”

Ivy sat down beside me, crossing her legs as she watched my movements. I finished the crown and laid it delicately on top her head. “Now, you’re a real princess, Ivy,” I ran my fingers through her long wavy hair.

She beamed at my words. Since my mom died, Ivy had really come out of her shell. She was always so happy and smiling. She thrived on words of praise and I tried to give them to her as often as I could.

“Now, you need one, Row,” she stood, skipping around to gather more flowers. “Then you can be a Queen!”

I laughed, adjusting the skirt of my dress.

Once she’d gathered enough flowers she sat down once more. “Can I help make this one?” She asked.

“Of course,” I carefully showed her how to braid the stems together.
In no time she had it mastered and I let her finish it.

When it was done, she placed it on my head in the same manner I had done hers. “All hail Queen Rowan!” She squealed, jumping up and running in circles around me.

I laughed, turning my head to watch her run.

I marveled at how much a few months of not being in a toxic environment had changed her. She wasn’t as timid and shy anymore. She was blossoming, and so was I.

For the first time in all my life I finally felt like…
me
.

I was no longer a ghost, drifting through the shadows.

Trent had given me that gift, and I was thankful for it every day.

I’d done a lot of growing since New Year’s when Trent found out about Tristan. With the loss of my mom, it had been easy for me to become the person I was always meant to be. She couldn’t harass me anymore, and Jim was serving life in prison for what he’d done to Trent.

Life wasn’t perfect for me, not by a long shot, but it was getting there.

Ivy skipped through the field, picking wildflowers and arranging them into two bouquets. When she deemed them perfect, she returned to my side, handing me one. “For you, my Queen,” she giggled, her cheeks rosy with happiness.

“Thank you, Princess,” I took the flowers from her, inhaling their scent—then trying not to sneeze.

She twirled some more, her dress fanning out around her legs.

“Oh, look!” She pointed towards the back of the Wentworth mansion. “Here comes the King and Prince now!”

I smiled, enjoying her little game. All I had wanted for so long was for her and Tristan to have
the opportunity to be children. I’d finally gotten my wish.

“Mommy!” Tristan cried, running straight for me, much like Ivy had when she’d found me hiding out back here.

I liked the shade and privacy that the tall grasses provided. When I was here, in this spot, I felt like I was in a new place all together. There was something magical about this place. Once the weather had warmed I’d claimed this area as mine since I had been spending so much time with the Wentworth’s. Lily and I had grown close, and she was beginning to feel like the mother I never had.

Tristan collapsed onto the ground beside me, his chest
heaving with every labored breath from his long run.

“What’s that you’ve got there?” I pointed to the leather bound book in his small hand.

“Daddy told me to give it to you,” he smiled proudly, holding out the book for me.

My eyes
raised, connecting with Trent’s as he approached. God, he was beautiful. He wore a pair of long tan colored pants, and a white t-shirt. He grinned as he caught me staring at him. I stared at him a lot. I had almost lost him that day in the hospital. I always had to remind myself that he was here and he was alive.

Trent reached us and sat down beside me. He draped an arm over my shoulder, kissi
ng my cheek.

I took the book from Tristan’s outstretched hand.

Ivy reached for him, and the two took off running through the field, their laughter dancing through the air.

“Open it,” Trent murmured, his lips grazing my ear.

I shivered at his touch, my body humming.

I opened the book to the marked page, a
breath escaping my lips.

The emerald green ribbon
that had been used as a bookmark had a ring tied around it, and written on the page in Trenton’s scrawling handwriting was:

Will you marry me?

“Trent,” I gasped, my hand flying up to cover my lips. I was shocked, to say the least, but I should have seen this coming.

After Trenton was released from the hospital, we had talked through things, and pieced ourselves back together. It hadn’t taken long for us to become a family. Trent and I already loved each other—and after countless hours of talking, of
me telling him everything I’d been through since I was a child, we’d been able to move past what I had done by keeping Tristan a secret. Things had settled into normalcy for us the past few months and it felt like we’d always been a family, not like this was anything new. Trent showered Tristan and Ivy with love and a father’s affection, even though Ivy wasn’t his. He was the greatest man there ever was, I was sure of that.

After he’d been shot, things had been touch and go for a few weeks, but he’d healed. He’d had to drop out of college
since he wasn’t fit to go back. He said that he didn’t need his degree; he had enough schooling to open his own photography studio and go from there.

“Rowan,” his voice was hesitant. “Say something, please.”

“Yes,” I gasped, my cheeks flushed with happiness. “Yes, yes, yes!”

I let the book fall off my lap, and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. His tongue found the seam of my lips, slipping inside. I moaned in pleasure as my fingers grasped the soft strands of his hair.

“Ew!” Tristan exclaimed. “That’s disgusting! Bleh,” he made a face, “kissing is gross!”

With a laugh, Trent pulled away, swiping his thumb over his lips
.

He reached down, untying the diamond engagement ring from the rib
bon. I held my hand out for him and he slipped the ring on.

His eyes filled with satisfaction as he stared at the ring
glimmering on my finger.

His fingers tangled into my hair, cupping the back of my neck as he pulled my lips to his, kissing me sweetly.

Breathing rapidly, he rested his forehead against mine as he stared straight into my eyes so that I was powerless to look away.

“You’re mine now, Rowan Sinclair,” his voice was husky and
his eyes sparkled with mischief.

I
brought my hand up against his where he cupped my cheek. “Always.”

THE END

COMING SUMMER 2014 from Micalea Smeltzer

Beauty in the Ashes

Some stories are a fairytale...
but this isn’t one.

Caelan Gregory’s life fell apart the night he went home and opened the door to find his whole family murdered. Since then, his life has held no meaning. He’s angry. He’s bitter. He’s barely human anymore. There’s nothing left to remind him of the straight A student and football quarterback he once was…but he wasn’t a good person then, and he’s certainly not a good person now.

When Sutton Hale moves into the apartment across the hall from Caelan she’s not prepared for her reaction to him. Something in his broken blue eyes calls to her—after all she’s always had an irrational need to fix everything.

But Caelan doesn’t do relationships or feelings. He does drugs and alcohol. However, he can’t ignore his desire to get to know the raven-haired woman across the hall.

Two broken souls trying to mend one another.

But not everything can be fixed.

In the end, Caelan and Sutton will have to learn that there
is
beauty in the ashes.

COMING FALL 2014

SAVING TATUM
(Jude & Tatum’s book)

Acknowledgements

Wow, I have so many people to thank with this book. I really hope I don’t forget anyone. That would be embarrassing.

First, I have to thank my entire family for being there and supporting my dream. I’m glad you guys don’t think I’m a crazy person for writing stories.

A BIG thanks to my BAFFs Harper James and Regina Bartley. Your support means the world to me. I don’t know what I did before I had you. You keep me sane and I’m so happy that I can go to you when I’m struggling with my plot. Our random chats also help to keep me from working myself to death. Thanks for dealing with my crazy.

Thank you Emily W. for always being there for me. Also, thanks for suggesting that Trace eat ketchup flavored chips instead of plain ones. Genius. Trace does love ketchup.

Thank you to my beta readers, Kendall, Stefanie, Haley, and Stephanie. I appreciate your feedback…even if I’m a nervous wreck when I send you chapters. I truly believe that Tempting Rowan is a better book thanks to your suggestions.

Thank you to all the bloggers that took time to participate in the blog tour for Tempting Rowan. It means so much to me that you’d take time away
from your friends and family to read and support my book. What you guys do for authors is remarkable and I want to hug each and every one of you.

A big thank you to Regina Wamba for the photography and stunning cover design. I think it perfectly captures the ‘feel’ of Trent and Row.

Thank you Eli and Hannah for bringing my characters to life. You guys did a wonderful job and I couldn’t be happier.

Eli, I’m so honored that I had the opportunity to meet you. You’re going to go so far with your photography and modeling. (And I really think you could make it in acting too, haha) One day, I know I’m going to see you or your photography on a billboard somewhere and I am going to scream, “I know him! I KNOW HIM!” But despite your awesome photography and modeling skills, you’re just a really great person. Your attitude and vision is going to take you far.

Thank you Angela McLaurin for the beautiful formatting. It’s always stunning and you’re such a pleasure to work with.

Last, but certainly not least, the biggest thank you goes to my fans. Without you, I couldn’t do what I love. I’m thankful for you every day. I love getting to speak with you guys via facebook or through email, and I’m so happy I’ve had the honor of meeting some of you recently. I hope I get to meet many more of you in the coming years.

About the author

Micalea Smeltzer is a bestselling Young and New Adult author from Winchester, Virginia. She’s always working on her next book, and when she has spare time she loves to read and spend time with her family.

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