The Scene Stealer: A Hollywood Romance

A gasp explodes out of Avery’s mouth at the suggestion.

A year after Declan’s passing, Avery continues to find she is just wandering through life, masking the pain she still feels inside at the loss of her almost-husband. Though there have been a few moments of happiness - a new neighbor that loves to have Avery over for dinner with her two sons – and of course the event that she never saw coming: Max and Melanie's wedding. That one definitely took everyone by surprise. She supposes that in a way, Declan's death illuminated the true meaning of living your life to the fullest, especially for their two friends.

"Hold on, Avery. Don’t get upset. I think it would be good for you. Everything here reminds you of all that you've lost. You need a fresh start."

Taking Avery’s hand in-between her equally small ones, Melanie garners more of her attention.

"Look. My cousin, Nikki, lives in this adorable town in North Carolina. She needs a new roommate since hers just up and left, and I think you two would get along great. She works as a receptionist at a private practice in her town. When I mentioned what you do, she said they were actually hiring a medical assistant for each of the physicians at her practice." Pulling Avery closer, she wraps her in a tight hug. "This is your chance, Avery. You can be someone new where no one knows what you've been through."

Avery takes a moment to consider Melanie’s proposal. The idea isn’t a bad one really; it’s actually something she had been tossing back and forth in her own mind for quite some time.

"You really think I should do it?"

"Max and I don't think you have anything to lose. And I really think you could be happy there. We all want you to be happy, Avery."

Absorbing her words, Avery asks if she can let her know by the end of the day. She wants to make sure she has taken adequate time to decide if this is what she really wants – no, needs to do.

This new idea is so distracting that during her daily workload of patients, Avery is admittedly surprised when she reaches the end of the day without severely harming anyone.

When at last Avery finds Max and Melanie standing by the water dispenser at the end of the shift, she tugs Melanie into her arms before saying, "How soon can I move?"

Continue Reading Coming Alive

Stolen Nights

The Stolen Series Book One

By: RENEE HARLESS

Prologue

The pounding increases behind my eyes as I watch my soon to be ex-husband smile wickedly across from me. We’ve been going through these proceedings for about six weeks, a constant back and forth that has increased my number of migraines exponentially. We make it one step forward and then two steps back.

My ex, Dan, is contesting everything. Nothing is making him happy.

Silently inside the maelstrom of my mind I keep asking, “What does he want?”

But, I know what he wants. What his endgame is. He wants everything of mine but without me. He wants an upgrade. An upgrade that comes in the form of my best friend.

She’s five years younger than us at the ripe old age of twenty-five. I met her at the gym I frequented when she became a personal trainer. She and I built a great friendship and spent many evenings sitting at my home drinking wine and watching reality television. I had no idea that I wasn’t the only one she was giving special attention to. Apparently riding my husband’s cock was part of her personal training skills as well.

I just couldn’t have a normal divorce. Nope. I had to have a whammy of a love tryst thrown in my path as well and it wasn’t until I was handed the divorce papers that I learned my friend was a total of eight weeks pregnant with my husband’s baby.

I rub my temples as another stack of papers is tossed in front of me which my lawyer angrily grasps.

We’ve been in this particular meeting for six hours already. Six fucking hours of my life gone. Poof! My ex is already getting the 3500-square foot house, which I put the down payment on, his vehicle, which I cosigned, and our dog. He didn’t even put up a fight for our kids, which really set me off after our first meeting. He plans on having a new perfect family with Sky once she settles into my old home.

Right now he’s fighting for the restored 1964 Mustang that was passed down to me by my grandfather. He knows that it cost a pretty penny and he has the bargaining chip to get what he wants. Every time I shoot him down, he threatens to take the kids.

Dan is an investment banker with a steady job. He also has a gambling problem that I am certain Sky has yet to discover. He knows that he can pull his weight around, which is why we’re using a mediator instead of a judge. My kids would be taken from me faster than Superman stopping a bullet if I used a judge.

Me? I’m just a baker that gets jobs based on online orders and word of mouth. It’s not steady or a typical nine to five job, but I do well for myself, and I’m lucky that I have a trust left from my mother’s parents to fall back on in an emergency. A trust that includes the car my ex is trying to get his grubby hands on.

Thankfully for me, I have one of the best divorce lawyers working on my team. She also happens to be my college roommate and about the only good thing working in my favor at the moment.

From her poised position at the head of the table Sara, my lawyer, boasts, “You can’t ask for a vehicle that is part of my client’s trust left by a family member. Nor can you continue to threaten my client by appealing to withdraw your signing over of the children. That paperwork has already been filed and approved by the judge. At this point, Mr. Sanderson, I suggest that you and your girlfriend take what has been graciously gifted to you and finalize this divorce. My client has given you practically everything you have requested and has asked for nothing in return but to get these proceedings over with. You continue to dawdle with the paperwork, and frankly, it’s starting to irritate me. If you don’t finalize these today, then I am going to have my client begin to request her own share of your property.”

Dan shifts in his chair while his own lawyer tugs at the tie around his neck. He knows if I begin to fight, the house will be the first hurdle because it was essentially my office and I claimed the addition as such on our taxes. I’m still thankful that Sara had the expertise to take care of the child custody situation first when the proceedings began.