Believing It To Be

Believing It To Be A Lesbian Romance By: Lauren Hart Copyright 2023 © Lauren Hart This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Free Gift Sign up for my mailing list to receive this FREE exclusive copy of Entwined Encounter and to be notified of any new releases, giveaways, contests, cover reveals and so much more. Click here to sign up for my newsletter Click here to find me on Facebook Description As much as Nickie and Kate believe it to be, can their heated connection in this age-gap romance be irretrievably broken because of outside influences? It’s been three months since Nickie received the call from Kate’s agent, the call that broke her heart. Nickie watches Kate on the TV and sees her holding hands with fellow actress Kimberly Carson as they walk down the red carpet. Numb to the sight of them, Nickie decides to try online dating. Will this help to erase the tantalizing actress from her memory? Kate is struggling to wipe her lake love, Nickie, from her memory so easily. Can the two sort through the sabotage from Kate’s manager to uncover the truth of what happened with the missed phone calls? Will life bring the two lovers full circle back to the lake, where they first found refuge in the simplicity of life and love? The tiniest bite that Nickie has taken from the delicious-sounding life of a celebrity has turned out to be quite disgusting to eat, after all. As Nickie is thrown into the spotlight, navigating the ugly side of celebrity life is more than she is prepared to handle. Nickie’s first-hand experience with rabid fans gives her even more compassion for what life is like for actress Kate Bellina. You will find heat, genuine friendships, a little celebrity drama and wedding bells signifying a guaranteed HEA. Table Of Contents CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE EPILOGUE REVIEW THIS BOOK OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR ABOUT THIS AUTHOR SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER Chapter One Nickie never believed that a time would come when she felt nothing at all. A numbness coursed through her body like a river of molten lava. The numbness moved slowly at first, starting at the very top of her head. It rested there for a moment before it made its way through her chest. Then, it enveloped her heart with the feeling of nothing, and continued down to the very ends of her toes. It must have been a protective mechanism, an action of her brain to protect the rather fragile fibers of her being. She was sure that if she wasn’t numb to what she was seeing, she would either explode with the heat of rage building up over the last three months or sink to the floor as the weight of ice in her veins crushed her very soul. Sometimes Nickie wondered if it was unhealthy to feel so strongly about someone. But she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t help that she had fallen in love with Kate Bellina over a long weekend. And she couldn’t help that her heart had been broken in two only a few days later when Kate’s assistant Melissa had called. The woman’s chirpy voice played like a broken record player in her ears. Every word the woman had recited, Nickie remembered. “I am forever grateful for the time we spent together, but we both know it won’t lead to anything else. I hope you can forgive me for breaking my promise. But this is better for both of us. Take care of yourself, Nickie.” Nickie sat on the edge of Naomi’s couch with her elbows digging into her knees and her chin resting on her palms. She watched the television screen with unblinking eyes. Kate walked along a red carpet. The actress wore a long blush pink dress with rose gold heels and a simple but elegant necklace around her neck. Her chestnut hair hung in luscious waves behind her back. The smile she held on her face wasn’t plastered. The smile was as real as it had been whenever she had smiled at Nickie. It was the same smile she wore whenever their gazes had met, and a look of care had passed between them. It was a smile Nickie had memorized. That smile was sketched down to the very last detail in her mind. And then she had stored for safekeeping, hoping one day she would see that smile again. Kate looked beautiful… breathtakingly beautiful. Nickie’s breath was, in fact, taken as soon as she saw her. But it wasn’t Kate’s beauty that brought the numbness. Rather, it was the woman holding Kate’s hand that incited the numbness. Her name was Wyn Carson, an actress as well. The two of them had met on the set of their latest movie and had been inseparable ever since. Well, that’s what the tabloids had stated beneath a photo of the two of them holding hands on a leisurely walk in the park. The article also included a photo of them only a few blocks away from where Nickie lived. They looked comfortable and relaxed in sweatpants, going on a morning run for coffee. Apparently, Kate had gotten back from Costa Rica two weeks ago. She was in town to promote the new movie and then she was flying off to some other foreign country to do the same. Nickie knew all of this because she had overheard two women speaking about it in a coffee shop around the corner from her home. The two women appeared to be massive fans