Julie Olivia

Sometimes, the best rides are unexpected.

Orson Mackenzie didn’t want a relationship. Perfect. Neither did I.

But what started as a fun ride with no commitment turned into hitching our cars to the same train. Orson needed my insurance. I needed his tax break. So we signed a piece of paper to make me his not-so blushing bride.

Forever was never the destination. Until Orson unexpectedly changed course, and we found ourselves on different tracks.

Now, it’s seven months later, I’ve lost my apartment and, luckily for me, my husband still has a heart of gold. And a spare bedroom.

I can move in with my fake husband, right? How hard can it be?

Except I’m having a hard time overlooking how his eyes undress me and the way his voice rasps when he calls me sweetheart. And the more time we spend together, the more I see through his happy-go-lucky exterior. He needs someone in his corner, and for once, maybe I need someone in mine too.

I shouldn’t fall in love with my husband. But my heart might already be thumping to the bumpy tune of forever.

Honeywood Fun Park Series, Book #3

Our Ride To Forever

nanafark

«I make the awkward moment more awkward. It’s my only defense mechanism.»

“they don’t know that we know they know we know.“

He knows I know he knows what I’m thinking.

I can’t imagine a reality where Theo isn’t doing her best. And if she’s not, what was the whole point of this arrangement anyway?

What was the point of getting my heart broken?

It only took me two months to fall for her. Two months of messing around, calling each other husband and wife with stupid grins on our faces. Playing house, like two children who didn’t want to grow up. But then it hit me one night as I ran a single finger through her dark curls, watching as she snored next to me like a worn-out puppy. I knew I didn’t want another woman in my bed anymore. I wanted Theo. 

“You know, I learned a while ago it’s best to just let Theo do what Theo wants,” he says. “Why cage a bird that needs to fly?”

And the word is expressive and filled with poison. But if she’s poison and I’m the victim, I’ll gladly accept my slow, agonizing death.

And then Orson smiles, and right where my heart sank, it’s like he reached his hand in and plucked it back out.

Meghan is right. Theo needs someone. A long-term friend who won’t fall in love with her. Someone to prove to her that she isn’t a vacation friend.

Plus, we’re really good at being best friends. It just needs to stay that way this time around. Then, nobody can get hurt.

“But anyone can see how much he loves you in less than two seconds of being around you,” she continues. “He loves you. He’s so desperately in love with you that it’s sickening. You’re a lucky bitch, and you don’t even know it.”

“Hey. It’s gonna be fine,” she says. “You know that, right?”

And after a few seconds of staring at her eyes —those beautiful green eyes— I give a small nod.

“Yes,” I say. “I know it will be.”

One look at her, and I know it will all be perfectly fine.

Maybe marriage isn’t about who does the dishes or the laundry or why he leaves his socks under the bedsheets even after he makes the bed —bless his heart— or who took out the trash last. But it’s about how you feel. It’s about who is there when you need someone most. And I want Orson there for every single moment.

Our Ride To Forever quotes

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