Always with You

ALWAYS WITH YOU HARMONY WEST WESTWORD PRESS Copyright © 2023 by Harmony West Cover Design © 2023 by Beholden Book Covers Published by Westword Press All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead is purely coincidental and not intended by the author. ISBN (paperback): 979-8-9881181-1-4 ISBN (ebook): 979-8-9881181-0-7 To Alex, For being the reason I write love stories. Thank you for helping make my dream come true. CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Acknowledgments About the Author CHAPTER ONE The first boy I ever loved might be a murderer. At least, that’s what everyone else believes. I know what happened to the girl they all think he killed, and he had nothing to do with it. Not that he’s on social media defending himself. He doesn’t have a single account—no Instagram, no TikTok, no Snapchat, not even Facebook. I’ve been Googling Miles Mariano since he moved away in sixth grade, curious how he’s changed. But I haven’t caught a glimpse of him since we were twelve, not even in any of the press conferences since his sister went missing last year. Not a word from him asking people to help look for Sophie, to come forward with any information. Like he doesn’t even miss her. I hope he doesn’t. I wish they would all stop missing her, and we can pretend she never existed at all. The driver’s side door of Jordan’s BMW swings open and the sounds from Natalie’s graduation party rush in. Laughter, splashes in the pool, Taylor Swift begging a boy not to go. My heart flutters in my chest like it does every time I see him: the best thing that’s ever happened to me. The brief flash of light illuminates Jordan climbing in the backseat with me. He’s massive—six-foot-four with wide shoulders and huge muscles from years playing football. His chestnut hair is perfectly styled, his obsession, and his blue eyes are nearly crystalline in the brightness. Then the light fades. “You’ve been waiting for me?” His voice is low and rocks me like ocean waves. “Where else would I be?” I can just make out his grin in the darkness. “Then I’ll make this worth the wait.” I’m in the tight tank top, tiny mini skirt, and push-up bra he bought me. I wear what I know he likes me in because it’s not my clothes that give me confidence—it’s Jordan. It’s that look he gives me, like he’s about to devour me. It’s the brush of his palm against my neck, rough and calloused from football practices and bench presses, before he grips my hair and pulls me toward him, crushing his lips to mine. I yank his letterman jacket off and toss it onto the floor. His hands are all over me, his tongue slipping into my mouth. Six months in, and we’re still like kids who only get candy on Halloween. We can’t get enough of each other. Jordan’s the first guy I’ve ever been with. First boyfriend, first kiss, first time. When we got together, I kept track of how many times we kissed, how many times we had sex, but now I’ve lost count. I never imagined my first would be the Jordan Goldman. The most popular senior at our school, the hottest guy in Beaumont, our town’s golden boy. His mom is the mayor and his dad is a business tycoon. They run this town, and everyone here thinks Jordan can do no wrong. They have no idea how right they are. He tugs down my bra and shirt together and kisses from my neck to my breasts. “God, you’re so pretty,” he murmurs. I could never get tired of hearing those words from his mouth. “I want you.” That makes him growl against my skin. When his tongue circles my nipple, I gasp and reach for his hair, but he pins my hands down. He hates when I mess it up, but I don’t care if my hair is a mess after. I want people to know exactly what I was doing with Jordan Goldman in his backseat. One of his hands releases me and slides up my thigh and under my skirt. My legs are practically shaking with anticipation. I am the luckiest girl in the world to be here with him. To be the girl he chose to give his heart to after another girl ripped it out. His fingers stop at the edge of my thong. Trailing slowly, agonizingly slowly, to the spot between my thighs. A hard thud of a fist on the window behind my head makes me yelp. Jordan and I jump apart, me scrambling to tug my bra and shirt back into place. A hiss escapes his lips. “Shit.” Is it the cops here to break up the party? Or have they finally come to ask me about what really happened the night Sophie disappeared? A high-pitched laugh outside tells me exactly who it is. My heart rate slows. “Hey, Coitus Interruptus,” I say when I climb out of the car. Natalie Shin keeps cackling, Liv Hernandez her shadow. Raven black hair to golden blonde, cherry red lips to pink matte, preppy to athleisure. Natalie was one of Sophie’s friends from the cheerleading squad, and she and I have been close