AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The One I Couldn’t Forget
No cell phone. No Identification. Stuck on the side of the road. What could go wrong?
I had a plan for my life, boxes to check, and I wasn’t stepping foot back in my small hometown before I accomplished them.
But when do things ever go as planned?
Now I’m back in Magnolia staring into the eyes of the ridiculously gorgeous town sheriff.
The person I’d been obsessed with in high school.
The person I’ve kept tabs on since I left town.
The person I thought my heart had forgotten.
I shouldn’t be interested in romance.
I should be trying to find a way to put my life back together.
But why are Colt Butler and his sexy smirk the only thing I can think about?
This is too much too soon, isn’t it? Or is this the happily ever after I’ve been planning for?
CHAPTER1
Sutton
How the fuck did this happen? I swipe at the tears streaming down my cheeks for the millionth time since I left Knoxville. I always thought that when I returned home to Magnolia, it’d be different from when I left. I was the overweight bookworm, the butt of everyone’s jokes, and the last person anyone believed would amount to anything. But the joke was on them. I left Magnolia with nothing but two suitcases and big dreams, swearing to anyone who would listen that when I returned, I’d be famous. How verySweet Home Alabamaof me, right? The whole idea was laughable, but I was naïve and truly believed that someone would eventually reward my hard work, and mostly, it has been rewarding, but then there are times like this when I question everything.
While I was in school, I became more confident in my appearance and in myself. It was there that I learned everyone isn’t the same and that it’s the people who stand out that are memorable. I learned to love myself and became even more comfortable in my skin. After graduating from The Art Institute in Nashville, my newfound confidence helped me create a clothing brand instead of joining a larger company. I’d be lying if I said it was easy. I worked long days and even longer nights, but by chance, Nicole Kidman’s stylist fell in love with a dress that I made and took it to her, and the rest was history. My small brand became a household name, launching my career to the next level.
It was around that time when I met Maxwell—never Max, always Maxwell. Red flag number one. He was charismatic and drop-dead gorgeous, and his smile made my heart skip a beat. A man like Maxwell had never given me the time of day when I was younger. Red flag number two. I fell instantly and hard for him. Hell, what woman wouldn’t? We spent every day for the next year and a half together before he proposed to me at his parents’ beach house in the Hamptons a few months ago. Red flag number three. My life was perfect, everything I could’ve wished for. I had a gorgeous fiancé and an amazing job, and we had plans to build a home together. He even let me purchase the expensive 800-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets I’ve been eyeing for years. It was more than I ever could’ve imagined for myself, and I was right.
A strangled sob bubbles out of my throat as images of my fiancé and his secretary in the throes of passion on my brand-new sheets filter through my mind. I should’ve said something, given him a piece of my mind. Ripped her fake blonde extensions out of her head for ruining the perfect life I’d built for myself, but I did nothing. Instead, I turned tail and ran right to my car and pointed it toward the last place he’d come looking for me, Magnolia. That’s even if he comes looking for me at all.
Fuck, what am I going to tell my parents?
I should pull over to the side of the road and call them, especially since I haven’t seen them in years. I’ve offered to have them come to Nashville to see me, to be a part of the life I built for myself and what I thought I was building with Maxwell, but they refused. My parents have always lived a simple life. They both grew up in Magnolia, only leaving once for an overnight trip to attend my graduation, and they’re happy. They’ve never once pressured me to be anything other than happy, which I thought I was… until this morning.
Suddenly, my car sputters loudly as all the lights on the dashboard light up. The steering wheel shudders as I try to guide my car toward the right side of the road, my muscles straining at the effort it takes for me to move the wheel. I slam my foot down, alternating between the brake and the gas, but it is no use. The car basically has a mind of its own, and right now, it wants to do anything but drift to the side of the road.
“Great, this is the last thing I need right now!” My voice echoes around the interior as I continue to struggle with the car before it finally comes to a stop with one wheel hanging off the road, hovering over a ditch, and the entire car teetering on the edge.
Fuck. Shit. God damn it. How in the hell am I going to get out of this?
The entire dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree as I frantically turn the key, the engine sputtering loudly but never coming to life. A fresh wave of tears streams down my cheeks as I frantically try to get my car going. Wanting nothing more than to have my mother’s arms wrapped around me, telling me everything is going to be okay.
Why me? Why can’t I catch a break?
I take a deep breath, trying to calm my emotions so I can think of what to do next. Scanning my surroundings, I notice a few key landmarks from my childhood. I’m a few miles from my parents’ house—not an insane distance to walk, but I’m wearing nothing but a thin tank top, black yoga pants, and the first pair of shoes I could grab on my way out the door. I look down, sending up a silent prayer of thanks that I at least match before looking at the seat beside me.
Where the fuck is my bag?
Unbuckling my seatbelt, I lean to the right and search the floor with my hand. I pat around on the floor, looking for any sign of my things but come up empty. I left my dream home with nothing but the clothes on my back, shoes, and my keys. I don’t have my wallet or even my phone to call for help.
I drop my head onto the steering wheel as all the emotions I’ve been trying desperately to keep in check come bubbling to the surface. “What the hell do I do now?” I ask no one as my heart constricts.
All I wanted was to get away from everything going on with Maxwell, to have time to think through what I saw in our bed. To process all these feelings running through my body in peace, surrounded by people that love me, before deciding what my future was going to look like. But instead, I’m stuck here on the side of the road. Alone.
