Elle Fielding: Let Me Be the One

Let Me Be the One: Chapter 3

Elle Fielding — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 02:35:13 GMT

Ben

“Hey, aren’t they the cast of Green’s Law?”

“How should I know?” I ask Seb. “I don’t watch that shit.”

“It’s not like I watch it for the story. Those girls are the hottest chicks on television.”

Okay, now I’m interested. I turn to look at the large, curved booth in the back of Barnaby’s—where Duncan convinced Seb and me we should start our pub crawl. Barnaby’s isn’t one of our regular haunts, but there are plenty of attractive women here even without taking the TV stars into account. Though, the woman returning Seb’s stare right now is hotter than a swimsuit model.

Seb raises his beer in her direction before taking a giant slurp. It’s his seventh beer so far tonight. Not that you can tell from the way he’s knocking it back.

“Pace yourself, Seb,” Duncan says. “You won’t last the night if you go too hard now.”

“Dude, I don’t care about lasting the night if I can take one of those ladies home with me.”

I snort. “What every woman wants to hear: I don’t care about lasting the night.”

Duncan chuckles. “Brewer’s droop should be a warning on the label of every beer bottle.”

Seb gives us both the finger. “You arseholes know that’s not what I meant. I could last for hours with any one of them. It wouldn’t matter how many beers I’d had.”

“Sure,” I mutter, taking another swig of my beer.

“I could,” Seb assures me heatedly. “Even the one wearing those giant glasses is a babe. Though I don’t remember ever seeing her on the show before. Maybe she’s one of the extras.”

I’m assuming Seb is referring to the blonde sitting at the end of the curved booth. Seb can probably see her face from where he’s standing, but I can’t because of the way her body is turned towards the girl next to her. A curtain of hair the colour of dark honey falls past her shoulders, and she’s got a killer set of legs, but I can’t rate her properly until I see her face. Boobs, arse, and body are important, of course, but she’s got to have a face to go along with it if I’m going to think about taking her home with me.

“Hey, wait a minute. Don’t we know her?” Duncan asks as the woman turns towards us slightly.

The beer bottle freezes halfway to my mouth as I realise we do. Usually, she wears contacts, but I’ve seen those giant black circular frames before, and I’m very familiar with the face. Lainey Campbell. I can’t believe I just checked out Lainey. How did I not realise she had such a killer set of legs before now?

Because my eyes were for Amber only, that’s why.

Duncan puts his hand on my shoulder. “Is it her?”

“It’s Lainey, yeah.”

“You know her?” Seb asks.

Duncan rolls his eyes. “So do you. She’s Lucas’s ex-girlfriend. The one that got dumped at the same time.”

No further explanation is necessary. Seb is across the fucked up double dumping that happened three months ago.

Seb frowns. “I don’t remember her.”

“She was at Duncan’s birthday bash last year,” I tell him.

“No way. I would have hit on her.”

“You wouldn’t have,” I correct him. “She was with Lucas at the time and didn’t have eyes for anyone else.”

The look on her face when she realised it was over with Lucas is something I won’t forget in a hurry. Both of our hearts were smashed to smithereens three months ago. I’m still picking up the scattered parts of mine. I’m pretty sure it’s the same for Lainey.

Seb rubs his hands together with gleeful intent. “But she’s single now?”

“Single, yes. Interested, no.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’d bet my life she hasn’t looked twice at a guy since she broke up with Lucas.”

At that moment, Lainey looks over at us. When she sees me standing at the bar, recognition whips across her face and she smiles. Then, as though she’s suddenly remembered she’s not happy with me, a frown replaces her smile, and she turns her attention back to the group she’s sitting with.

My first instinct is to walk over there and ask her what’s up. We used to hang out every weekend and it’s good to see her. I can take a moment out from guy’s night to talk to her. But when she glances back at me briefly, a frown still on her face, I stop myself. I don’t know why she’s annoyed at me, but whatever problem she has is hers, not mine. My days of turning myself inside out, attempting to please someone and trying to work out if I measure up to their expectations or am inevitably disappointing them are over and done with. Rejection is hard enough when you pretend nothing and no one matters. But when you stop pretending and put yourself on the line only to find out you’re not good enough, well, that’s the kind of shit that destroys a man.

“She doesn’t look happy to see you,” Duncan points out. “Did you do something to piss her off?”

“Not that I know of. I haven’t even spoken to her since that night.”

The look Duncan throws me is full of sympathy, and I take that as my cue to shove the lid down on my emotions and screw it on tight. I came out tonight with the intention of getting laid and drowning my sorrows, and nothing, not even the strange disappointment I feel over Lainey’s reaction to seeing me, is going to stop me. Fortunately, there are more than a few good pickings around to keep me happy. I like the look of the black-haired beauty over at the other side of the bar. She has streaks of red and purple in her hair, and black and purple eyeshadow highlights gorgeous brown eyes a man could lose himself in for a night. I smirk, thinking she probably likes things a bit wild. My kind of girl.

Ms Multi-coloured Hair catches me watching her and her eyes slide up and down my body provocatively. I know she likes what she sees when her eyes heat and she smiles. Without hesitation, I start walking towards her.

“Fellas, I’ll catch you later.”

The guys make stupid comments to my back, calling me out for bailing on our pub crawl and accusing me of being led around by my dick, but I don’t care. Seb has set his sights on the actresses of his favourite show, and we’re probably going to be here for a while. In other words, it’s pointless standing here, wondering why Lainey is ignoring me when I can find out if Ms Multi-coloured Hair is up for the night of debauchery I suspect she is.

Ch. 4

Let Me Be the One: Chapter 1

Elle Fielding — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 02:27:00 GMT

Lainey

13 months later…

“I’m done.”

Ben’s words are punctuated by the crack of a ball hitting pins and a shout of triumph. Any other night, I’d be looking around for the bowling lane where the action is, but Ben’s two simple words have me paralysed. The surrounding activity is a colourless, soundless blur as I stare at the man in front of me. He can’t mean it, can he? Oh my God, he does. Of course he does. He never says things he doesn’t mean. But…

“Please don’t do this, Ben. I know it seems bad—”

“Bad? They’re disrespecting you, and they’re disrespecting me. It’s a fucking joke. We’re being made fools of.”

“Ben.”

“No, Lainey. Look around you. Where are they?”

The last time I checked, Lucas and Amber weren’t in the queue at the candy bar like they said they would be. Instead, they were standing off to the side, discussing something in heated whispers, oblivious to Ben and me sitting in our booth, waiting for them to come back.

Amber and Lucas walking away and leaving Ben and me alone together is a regular occurrence. It has been from the start. Lately, though, they seem to forget we even exist. Ben looks mad enough to cause a scene. I can’t blame him for that, but if he does… it’ll be the end of everything. Panic claws at my chest, making breathing impossible as different outcomes of the evening flash through my mind.

“Can’t we just get through tonight?” I plead. “We can deal with it tomorrow.”

Ben brings his palms down on the table loud enough to startle me. “I know you don’t want to deal with it. But we need to. We can’t pretend anymore. It’s getting worse. It has been ever since they got back from their trip last month. They can’t hide it from us or each other. Tell me, Lainey, where are they?”

The note of desperation in his voice has me sucking in a deep breath and turning so I can scan the bowling alley from my seat. I can’t see them anywhere, and my chest gets tighter with every second that passes. Refusing to give up, I stand up and continue my search, eventually spotting two familiar-looking people standing in the shadows outside one of the staff bathrooms at the back of the place. My first instinct is to return to Ben and tell him I’ve found them, but there’s such intimacy to the way they are standing together, I hesitate, my stomach roiling.

On legs that are far from steady, I walk in the direction of the couple. The closer I get, the surer I am that’s it’s Amber and Lucas. I stop abruptly when I confirm the worst. The two of them aren’t kissing or hugging, but somehow, it’s still worse. Lucas is looking down at Amber like she is his world. The intensity in his eyes as he looks down at his best friend is unmistakable, his hand around the nape of her neck and his lips just inches from hers.

Lucas has never looked at me like that. Never. The realisation hits me as if I’m being slashed from the inside out.

I can’t move.

I can’t breathe.

And when a small, pained noise does finally escape me, and Lucas and Amber look up and see me standing there, I know my relationship is over. The regret, sadness, and inevitability in Lucas’s gaze as our eyes lock shreds my heart to pieces. I feel sick, and my throat is tight as tears sting the backs of my eyes.

“I told you,” Ben bites out behind me.

He followed me, and I didn’t even realise. Now he’s seen everything I have. Ben said I need to deal with this, and now I know I must, but I don’t know how. I’m not ready for this. I have to get out of here.

My movements are jerky as I turn and brush past Ben, gathering my handbag and jacket from the booth before bolting for the exit.

“Lainey! Wait!”

I’m not sure who is calling out for me to wait. It could be Lucas. It could be Ben. It could even be Amber. All I know is I have to leave before I lose it in front of all of them. This bowling alley has been one of my favourite places since the four of us started double dating every Saturday night, and now I probably won’t be able to come back here without remembering this night and every time we’ve come here before it.

“Lainey.”

The moment the fingers wrap around my arm, I know it’s Lucas. The tingles and the warmth of his touch give him away. Reluctantly, I turn around and face him.

I’ve fought so hard for us, doing everything I can to hold on to Lucas. I’ve ignored the clang of warning bells at every turn, waved away every red flag, convincing myself I’m a paranoid and jealous version of myself, someone I hate.

As stupid as I feel right now, I’m not ready to say goodbye. The thought that I might have kissed him, touched him—made love with him—for the last time… It. Kills. Me. I’m not ready to accept that despite all the effort I’ve put in, Lucas won’t ever love me the way I love him.

Lucas’s thumb scrolls across my cheekbone, and I have to resist the urge to lean into his caress. Two and a half years with this man and it’s nowhere near long enough. My gaze roams his face, taking everything in. I’ve memorised his mouth and the dimples that appear when he smiles. His strong nose, blue eyes, and wavy light brown hair are unforgettable. I would have been happy to spend the rest of my life with him. I wanted him to be my forever.

But he never will be.

“It’s over, isn’t it?” I whisper.

The pain that flashes in his eyes makes my lungs constrict.

“I never meant for this to happen, Lainey.” The misery and regret in his voice are just more barbs to my broken heart. “I tried to fight it, but I lost the battle.”

I want to scream at him. I want to push him and slap him. I want to tell him he’s broken my heart. I want to ask him why he dated me when it was always Amber he really wanted. But I don’t because my pretending prolonged our relationship. This is all my own doing. And attacking him for the way my heart is breaking won’t change a thing.

Placing the strap of my handbag over my shoulder, I look down and nod. I’m not capable of saying anything to him, or of looking at him anymore. My stomach is still churning and my legs won’t hold me up much longer.

“Let me drive you home,” Lucas says softly.

The last thing I want is to spend the next twenty minutes in Lucas’s company, trying to pretend this isn’t one of the worst moments of my life. Besides, I’m sure Lucas isn’t ready to end his evening yet. He probably wants to stay up all night with Amber, talking about where they go from here, and how they take their friendship to the next level. Maybe they’ll even act on the long-denied attraction they’ve felt towards one another for so many years. If they haven’t already.

I close my eyes in an attempt to shut out the crushing pain that thought brings. How do I get home from here? We’re too far from the train station for me to walk, so an Uber might be my only option. Unless…

Ben is standing with Amber when I glance over at him. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that their conversation is very similar to ours. No surprises there. Ben’s expression is bitter, his body tense and his body language unreceptive as he listens to whatever it is Amber is telling him. When she reaches out to touch him, he stands back and says something so harsh that Amber flinches. Considering Ben is best friends with Amber’s brother, their break-up won’t be easy on either of them.

Ben starts stalking towards us, his angry and intense gaze fixed on Lucas. I position myself between the two men. Lucas may have just broken my heart, but I don’t want to see any harm come to him. Ben is all solid muscle from his job in security and he has a short fuse.

“Get out of my way, Lainey. This is between him and me.”

I step forward and place my hand on his arm. Thankfully, he doesn’t shrug it off or step away from me. “Please, can you give me a lift home?”

Honestly, I’ve never been on the back of a motorbike and I’m not particularly keen to get on the back of Ben’s, especially when he’s in such a dark mood. But getting a ride home from him beats the alternative.

For a moment, he looks set to rebuff me, but when he finally looks at my face and stares into my eyes, his jaw tightens and he nods. We’re like mirrors, reflecting each other’s pain.

“Let’s go,” he says, grabbing my elbow and walking me back to the booth to grab his jacket and the helmets before I have a chance to change my mind. Not that I have any intention of that.

The moment we’re out the door, I hug myself against the cold.

“Lainey, wait.” Lucas follows us out of the building and runs in front of us, halting our progress. “Bikes scare the crap out of you. Please let me drive you home.”

“No thanks, Lucas,” I say stiffly. “I can’t spend twenty minutes making small talk about things that don’t matter.”

“Then we’ll drive in silence.”

“I’ll take my chances on the bike, thanks.”

“Lainey, I don’t want things to end like this. Can we at least be friends?”

“Friends?” I snap. “No, Lucas. I don’t want to be your friend. I’m in love with you and my heart is fucking broken. Please don’t ask me to pretend I’m fine with what’s happened between us tonight, because I’m really not.”

He hangs his head, and I have no doubt he feels guilty, but it’s not his guilt I want. It is and always has been his love I’m desperate for.

When he looks at me again, his eyes look glassy in the pale light of the moon. “I’m so sorry.”

Not as sorry as I am. It was a stupid gamble, dating Lucas when he so obviously cared for someone else. A gamble that went on for years longer than it should have.

Ben is hot on my tail as I walk past my now ex-boyfriend. My sole focus is getting on Ben’s bike and getting the hell out of here. However, my newfound courage for motorbikes nearly fails me when we get to Ben’s bike and he hands me the helmet Amber must have worn during the ride here.

“I’ll drive safely,” Ben assures me, taking the helmet back and pushing it over my head.

The ponytail I’d swept my long dark blonde hair into hours ago is now uncomfortably wedged against my scalp. “Thanks.”

Ben throws a leg over his bike and straddles it before turning the engine on and motioning for me to get on. As soon as I’m seated behind him, he revs the engine and I wrap my arms around his waist.

Sitting this close to him, I can smell the leather of his jacket and the scent of his aftershave. It’s not an unpleasant smell at all, but it’s not Lucas’s butterfly-inducing scent, and it simply serves as a reminder that I’m not with the person I want to be with. Something I’m sure Ben must also be thinking. Amber should be on the back of this bike, not me.

“Ready?” Ben grunts at me.

“Yeah.”

I hold on tight as he takes off. We haven’t even hit the main road before I’m regretting my decision to get on a motorbike. If this is Ben driving safely, I don’t want to be his passenger when he’s driving dangerously.

“You okay back there?” he yells.

I nod before realising he can’t see me. “I’m fine,” I yell.

“Can you loosen your grip, then?”

Crap. I’m squeezing the living daylights out of him. Immediately, I comply and try to muster up some courage.

By the time we hit the freeway, I’m absolutely freezing. Thank God I’m wearing jeans and my thickest winter jacket.

The trip should take about twenty minutes, but Ben breaks all the speed limits along the way. It can’t be much more than ten minutes before he turns into my driveway. My extremities are so cold that it’s painful and difficult to get off the bike. I’m grateful no one but Ben is around to see my graceless dismount.

When Ben takes off his helmet, I take mine off and hand it to him. “Thanks for the ride home.”

“It’s fine.”

I glance back at my small but modern and stylish two-bedroom unit before looking at Ben once more. “Do you want to come in for a bit?”

During the ride here, I thought I wanted to be alone. Now that I’m faced with the prospect of having nothing but my miserable and self-pitying thoughts for company for the rest of the evening, I’ve changed my mind. Plus, I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to the only person in the world who understands how I feel right now—someone who shares my pain.

Ben shakes his head. “Thanks, but I want to get home. I need a drink, and I’d rather be somewhere I don’t need to drive home from.”

“You could always crash on the couch,” I offer impulsively. “I have an unopened bottle of bourbon we could christen.”

“One bottle won’t be enough.” His voice is flat, his expression distant. “Sorry, Lainey. I’m going to pass.”

I understand, but I still don’t want him to go. I really need someone to talk to. Sure, there’s Cass, my best friend, but she’s probably tucked into bed already. And Ben looks so defeated, I want to hug him and console him. The only thing that stops me is the thought he really isn’t much of a hugger.

Ben puts his helmet back on and flips up the visor. “I’ll catch you ‘round.”

He’s gone before I can think to ask him when I’m going to see him again. It seems unlikely I’ll run into him anytime soon. His regular hangouts are places I do my best to avoid, and it’s not like we’ll be going on any more double dates with Amber and Lucas.

As I fish my keys out of my purse and let myself into my place, I realise I haven’t just lost the love of my life. I’ve lost my group of people—my regular companions. How many Saturday nights have I spent with Lucas, Amber, and Ben, bowling or watching movies, or going down to the pub? Countless. The four of us have gotten together every weekend for the past year. But those days are over now. I can’t be friends with Lucas anymore. Nor Amber. And I guess there’s no reason for me to see Ben again.

A fresh wave of grief swamps me as I close the front door behind me.

After walking into the dining room, I put my handbag down on the table where I usually work. Right there, next to my laptop, are the first few chapters of the latest novel I’ve been working on.

A loud laugh devoid of humour erupts from me as I pick up the unfinished manuscript. The book is about a woman who fights for and wins the love of a man seemingly caught up in another woman—another woman who just happens to be the hero’s best friend.

I guess this is what I get for choosing to ignore the common cliché. Best friends always end up together, I know that. God, I’ve written that book. When Ben started dating Amber, I hoped my future with Lucas was safe. Despite Ben doing everything he could to win Amber over, it still wasn’t enough. It’s definitive proof that the best-friends-to-lovers cliché beats all others.

I don’t think twice about ripping the bundle of pages in my hands in half. Of course my work is saved to the cloud and my hard drive, but I’m not interested in writing that story anymore. It didn’t work. My heroine was pretending she had a chance, in denial about her ability to make the hero see her as his leading lady. The hero wanted someone else, and my character was foolish to believe he could love her the way she wanted him to. Nobody cares for a fool. Readers will only tolerate a small amount of stupidity.

With a sigh, I sit down at the table, tearing a piece of paper from my notebook and grabbing a pen from the extensive collection I keep in a box next to my laptop. Then I start making notes about a story now circling inside my head.

As my new plot emerges, dark and depressing, I realise I’m not plotting my usual romance. There won’t be any happy ending for my characters, just denial, betrayal, heartbreak, and loneliness.

Ch. 2

Let Me Be the One: Prologue

Elle Fielding — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 02:25:19 GMT

Lainey

Trying not to shiver in the cool night air, I step towards my boyfriend, wanting a buffer from the wind. We’re not actually touching, but I can feel the tension emanating from him. After a second, he quits glaring at the main road and focuses on me.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

Lucas wraps his arms around me, pulling me against him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You know why.” I reach up and touch his face softly. “You’re protective of Amber, and you’ve never been all that complimentary about any of her boyfriends.”

“Because she always picks the arseholes that are never good enough for her.”

My smile nearly slips, but I manage to hold it. Just. “But she’s known Ben for ages, and she seems happy with him. Shouldn’t we give him the benefit of the doubt?”

“I’ve known him for a while, too, Lainey. He’s not right for her.”

My heart beats faster as I take in the look on his face. “Would any man be right for her, Lucas?”

He stares down at me. “You know they would be. Amber is my best friend, and she has been for more than a decade. Is it wrong that I want her to be as happy with someone as I am with you?”

“Of course not.”

I’m just not sure the overprotectiveness he feels is right, either.

Lucas has told me his love for Amber is platonic. He’s told me he can’t be in love with his best friend when he’s in love with me. Am I stupid for wanting to believe him? For letting myself fall further and further in love with him every day? I hope not, because the idea of walking away from him splits my ribcage in two and makes it impossible to breathe.

Lucas’s thumb scrolls across my cheekbone, and the ache in my chest dissipates enough that I can breathe a small sigh of contentment.

“You’re not regretting your decision to come bowling, are you?” Lucas asks, nodding to the bowling alley behind us.

I’ve never enjoyed bowling all that much, but Lucas and Amber wanted to come here, so I didn’t put up a fight.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun, right?”

“I think so.” Lucas stands up straighter, his eyes back on the main road that leads into the carpark. “That’s them now.”

I turn my head towards the entry point in time to see the motorbike roaring in. Those things scare the crap out of me, and I’m glad it’s Amber on the back of the bike and not me. Lucas’s friend looks like she’s loving every minute of the ride as her boyfriend parks the bike and she slides off, taking her helmet off and beaming at us.

I smile back, relieved she looks so happy, the knot in my gut loosening. Amber starts towards us before stopping to wait for Ben.

With the helmet covering his face, I can’t see what Amber’s new boyfriend looks like, but I can tell he’s well built. Like, extremely well built. I envision him in the Army or Navy until he takes off his helmet and wedges it under his arm.

Immediately, my romance writer’s brain whirs into action as I take in the complete package. Long, messy dark hair, black leather jacket, boots, jeans, and tats peeking above the collar of his jacket. Standing next to his bike, he looks just like a cover model for a book called ‘Falling for the Bad Boy’. Not only does he look the part, but his romance with Amber fits the brother’s-best-friend trope.

His expression is serious yet soft as he looks at Amber, and when she grins up at him, he puts his arm around her, guiding her towards us.

Lucas squeezes my hand and I squeeze his in return.

“Hi, guys,” Amber says, hugging me before moving to hug Lucas, kissing his cheek.

“This is Ben,” she says to me, snuggling into her new man’s side and patting his chest.

I meet Ben’s dark eyes, noting he’s attractive with a strong jaw, a bit of a beard around full lips. His handshake is strong, too, but not too strong—he’s not trying to crush me.

“Nice to meet you,” I say.

“Same,” he says before shaking Lucas’s hand.

“Lucas.”

“Ben.”

Amber nods at the bowling alley before looking back at Lucas. “When was the last time we came here?”

Lucas grins. “My birthday, three years ago. I believe I beat you by at least a hundred points.”

“I don’t think so. It was no more than twenty points.”

“You wish.”

Amber gives Lucas a little shove, and Lucas playfully grabs her in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles over her head.

Irritation flickers through me before I quickly quell it. Amber is lovely and easy to get along with. She makes it impossible to dislike her, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel resentful when it’s her my boyfriend calls first with news, or when Lucas spends so much time reminiscing with her about the good old days. Amber does her best to clue me in on their inside jokes, but sometimes their relationship feels more than friendly.

I don’t want to be that girl. The one who lives up to the jealous and possessive girlfriend cliché. I do everything I can to snuff out the small fires of insecurity that flare up inside of me whenever Amber and Lucas appear to forget I’m there with them. Now that Ben is dating Amber, however, I hope that I won’t have to spend so much time trying to smother those fires. Maybe I can relax a little knowing Amber is happy with someone else.

Amber pushes Lucas off. “You’re ruining my hair.”

Lucas grins maniacally. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, you look it, too.”

“Are they always like this?”

My attention turns to Ben, who watches me with a raised eyebrow.

I force a smile. “They have a lot of history.”

He doesn’t say anything, merely holds my gaze for a second before his attention flits back to the best friends who are still verbally sparring a few meters away. Ben and I continue watching the other two in silence. The silence isn’t uncomfortable, per se, but as Amber and Lucas continue teasing each other and seem to forget about us, I’m compelled to speak. I don’t want Ben to lose patience with their silliness. I know he’s been around Amber and Lucas before, but he might not have seen them quite like this.

“So, you know Amber’s family?” I ask, drawing Ben’s attention back to me as I fish for information.

“Her brother and I went to high school together.”

Amber finally stops stirring Lucas and comes back to us. “I went to the private college a couple of suburbs over with Lucas, but my brother liked sports and he insisted on going to the public school down the road.” Amber looks up at Ben, then back at me. “He and Duncan were in the same classes, and they started out hating each other.”

When I look at Ben, he shrugs. “You could say we were rivals.”

Amber grins. “They pursued the same girl, wound up in a fight, and ended up serving detention together. Somehow, they ended up thick as thieves after that.”

“Yeah, we’re real bosom buddies,” Ben says dryly.

The words ‘bosom buddies’ from this man sound so funny, I snort, and the side of his mouth kicks up in response.

“What he means,” Amber says, shooting Ben a playful glare, “is they both liked to get in trouble sneaking cigarettes on the school oval, and they were both manwhores.”

Ben smiles down at his girlfriend, his expression hot and tender. “I quit for you. The smoking and the manwhoring. I’m reformed.”

“We’ll see about that.” Amber wraps her arms around Ben’s waist, squeezing him while still looking up at him. “Should we go inside?”

Ben presses a kiss to the top of Amber’s head and pulls her tighter against him. “Yeah, babe.”

The affection in his deep, rumbling voice warms me. And as Amber and Ben walk in ahead of us, I can’t keep the smile off my face. Ben seems like the strong and silent type, the opposite of Amber, but it’s clear he adores her. No matter what Lucas has said about Ben, the guy is smitten.

Turning to Lucas, I whisper, “I like him. He’s nice.”

Lucas frowns, not taking his eyes off Amber as we follow the other couple into the bowling centre. The tick in his jaw tells me he doesn’t agree with my assessment. I shrug off his lack of enthusiasm. Amber and Ben are going to work out. I can feel it. And if Lucas really wants his friend to be happy with someone, he’ll learn to like Ben, too.

Ch. 1

Let Me Be the One

Elle Fielding — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 02:35:58 GMT

A friends-to-lovers romance...

Lainey Campbell and Ben Armstrong have just been dumped. Together. After witnessing each other's heartbreaking rejections, the two opposites strike up an unlikely friendship. Can men and women really just be friends? Lainey is determined to believe so, especially since she's not looking to repeat her past mistakes.

But as Lainey turns to Ben for comfort, the line between friends and more starts to blur. Still, Lainey knows that falling for Ben would be disastrous. Wishing for her happy ever after with a man who is in love with someone else would only lead to more heartbreak. How could it not when she knows she'll never be the one for him?