The Best Man by Alex Kelly 💕 Book Blitz & Gift Card Giveaway 💕 (Contemporary Romance)

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I always turn up at just the wrong moment. I never know how to make the most of a situation; I don’t know the right thing to say, or when I should come or go.

Let’s just say I have really shit timing.

I’m not a smart guy. I don’t have great ideas.

I’m practical, a hard worker; someone who lives for his family, and for the air that she breathes.

It’s just a shame that the “she” in question never knew this. It’s a shame that I waited all these years to make my move. It’s useless to tell you, readers, that it was already too late; that I’d screwed everything up, once again. And, this time, my mistakes forced her to come home.

Except she didn’t want to stay.

And now she hates me – or maybe she doesn’t. I still haven’t worked out what’s going on between us, but like I said, I’m not the sharpest tool in the box. And even though this could be my last chance, I’m not going to be the one to ask her to stay. Not even if she turns out to be the one I’ve always waited for.

Because she doesn’t belong in this place.

And she doesn’t belong in my life.

My name is Alex Brennan, and this is my story: of how I realised I’d lost the most important person in my life, before I even had her.

I whisper my answer onto her mouth, brushing against her; I try to say it again, but louder, in case she didn’t hear me, pressing my lips onto hers more firmly, carrying her away with me, before slowly letting them go with a sigh. I dive back in: this time, my tone is decisive, my movements more impatient. Her lips part, and my tongue slips between them, giving her my answer once again, telling her everything she needs to know. My hands frame her face, her hands lost in my hair. She moves closer, so that we’re chest to chest; her tongue dances around mine, telling me that this isn’t just a senseless monologue, but a full-blown discussion: one with commas, exclamation points, and pauses for breath. There are so many breaths, which she robs from me and I steal back from her.

I’ve never kissed her like this before, and I want to make sure it’s one she never forgets.

We pull apart for a moment, giving me just enough time to admire her shining eyes, before I remind her again of my answer. I don’t think I’ve made it clear enough, yet.

I pant onto her mouth and go back to her; I take her lips between mine and nibble them, gently. My hands slide down her back, her arms, her sides, in search of the hem of her top; my fingers delve underneath, seeking out her skin.

Ellie lets herself go, lets me set the pace. She wants to hear what I have to say, with no interruptions, just as I asked. But her hands have another idea; they don’t know how to stay put, weaving her fingers through my hair and grabbing it, before letting it go. They slide down my face and stroke my beard, keeping me close to her. Her body is pressed against mine, as if it needs to recognise me, know how to excite me; how to love me.

We kiss like this, by the dock, across from the bay.

We kiss like this, like we’ve never kissed before; as if we needed to understand that our mouths were really meant for one another.

We kiss like this, as if we’d been kissing for ten years, and knew the shape of each other perfectly; as if we knew all the stopping points, when to breathe.

We kiss like this, as if the love I’ve always felt for her were the same as the love she feels for me, now.

We kiss like this, as if the woman I’ve been waiting my entire life for is finally back where she belongs.

We kiss like this, as if I were telling her that I could never be anyone but hers.

We kiss like this, as if she were telling me she can only ever be mine.

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Shane

Do you want to know what it means to live like me?

It means being forced not to look at him, not to touch him, not to be left alone in the same room as him.

Not to seek him out. Not to want him.

Not to love him.

Do you know how it feels to spend your entire life pretending to be someone else? Do you know what it’s like to love someone who doesn’t want to be loved?

I’ll tell you how it feels.

It feels as if you’re living in constant torment: you know which path you should follow, but you also know that, if you follow that path, you can never turn back.

And I can’t do that to him.

Every day I come back, because I know that he’s waiting for me.

Every day I promise him that he will never have to live without me.

Andy

Do you know what it means to live like me?

It means being forced not to touch him, not to kiss him, not to be able to leave the room while he’s still in it.

Not to breathe him in, not to lust after him.

Not to love him.

Do you know how it feels to spend your entire life pretending to be someone else? Do you know what it’s like to love the only person you’re not allowed to love?

I’ll tell you how it works.

You can’t seem to feel anything other than him; when you walk away, you know that you’re turning your back on the only thing that’s good in your life.

Yet you still walk away.

Every day I leave, knowing that he will be standing there, watching.

Every day I ask him to promise me that I will never have to live without him.