Beginning of the End


 
 
 
 If you like Beginning of the End, find out what happens next for Susie inEnd of Story
 Advance praise for End of Story
 “With its unique setup, End of Story had me hooked from the first page. Scott’s winning recipe blends top-notch banter, a hunky hero, and the charming enigma at the core of the plot into a dish both sweet and spicy. I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen!” 
 —Anna E. Collins, author of Love at First Spite
 “I am in awe of Kylie Scott’s ability to create heroines I’d love as a bestie, a hero to fall head over heels for. I devoured End of Story and adored every page of this hilarious, emotional page-turner. End of Story has shot straight to the top of my favorite list! It’s the perfect balance of wit, steam and heartwarming romance with a dynamic cast of characters that pop off the page. A must read!” 
 —Helena Hunting, New York Times bestselling author
 “Angsty, addictive, warm, and loving! Lars is my new man. A HUGE recommendation from me.” 
 —Tijan, New York Times bestselling author
 
 
 Beginning of the End
 Kylie Scott
 
 
 
 Contents
 Chapter One
 Chapter Two
 Acknowledgments
 Kylie’s Playlist
 
 
 One
 “You’re moving to London?” I asked stupidly for the second time.
 “It’s a big opportunity for me.” Aaron pushed aside the remains of his short rib vermicelli noodles. As if he’d suddenly found them distasteful. This wasn’t the first pout he’d pulled on one of our dates. Being an only child, he tended to be used to getting things his own way. Which could be kind of frustrating. We’d been a couple for a while. Long enough for the honeymoon period to be over, apparently. “I thought you’d be happy.”
 “I, um...yeah. It’s just a surprise, you know?”
 A frown crossed his handsome face. “I’ll only be gone for a year.”
 Around us, people ate and chatted and enjoyed their Tuesday night out. The Vietnamese café was a popular spot by the water in Ballard, Seattle. It had a high ceiling and cool, modern pendant lights. And the people at the next table had now picked up on my boyfriend’s unhappy vibe and terse tone of voice and were not-so-subtly listening to our conversation. Ugh. People. Seriously. If only you could order a cone of silence along with your entrée.
 “Of course I’m excited for you,” I said.
 “Are you?”
 After almost a year with Aaron, it was depressing as all hell to know I still wasn’t getting this relationship stuff right. Still not supporting him in the way that he wanted. I turned thirty this year. It shouldn’t have been this hard. But here we were. Our initial plans for tonight were to have dinner at my place, order some delivery, and relax. Then at the last minute he changed his mind and wanted to go out instead. Call me curious.
 “Did you decide to tell me in a restaurant because you were worried I’d get upset?” I blurted out before sanity could stop me. My mouth was like that sometimes: no filter to be found.
 “What?” He hesitated for a moment. “No. Of course not.”
 “Okay.”
 “Why would you even think that?”
 “I don’t know...”
 “You’re my partner, Susie. My girlfriend.” He smoothed a hand over his slick dark hair and straightened his tie. “I wanted to go out and celebrate, share this important news with you.”
 I just nodded. Something inside of me, however, was unsettled. I was not quite convinced. Time to pull up my big-girl panties and ask the big question. “How do you see this affecting us, Aaron?”
 “I don’t know.” He shrugged and slumped back in his seat. Which was not promising. “Why does anything have to change?”
 “We’ll be living in different countries for a start. That’s kind of big.”
 “Yeah.” His gaze skipped around the room. “But like I said, it’s temporary.”
 Sitting on the edge of my seat, I leaned in closer to him, just narrowly avoiding dipping my ample bosom and my new black cashmere sweater in the bowl of spicy lemongrass tofu. “So you’re saying you want us to try a long-distance relationship? Is that what you’re saying?”
 He jerked his chin in a nod. And that was all.
 “Okay.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “For a minute there I thought you were breaking up with me.”
 “You and your imagination. You’re always so emotional.” He reached out and patted my hand with a smile. “We’re having fun, aren’t we? We’re good together?”
 “Sure.”
 “That’s what matters.” He picked up his beer and downed a mouthful. All while the women at the next table watched on admiringly. It happened all the time. Aaron was movie-star handsome. Six feet tall with dark hair and an athletic build, while I was of average height and weight with pasty skin that refused to tan. We complemented each other, I think. But I digress. Add Aaron’s natural confidence and a nice-fitting suit and you had a man who commanded a lot of attention. He basically looked like a modern Prince Charming. So it was a pity he was a little backward about his feelings. However, no one was perfect. I was most certainly not, but still the man chose me. And considering I didn’t have the greatest track record with relationships, I counted this as a total win.
 The longer I sat there and thought about us being in a long-distance relationship, the more positives came to mind. Things had been a little off between us lately. The last few months, I guess. His tendency to get wrapped up in his work and friends and so on had escalated. Sometimes it seemed as if I wasn’t a priority. Like I hadn’t made it onto his to-do list. And it had been a while since I had felt like I had his full attention.
 The