Snippet Saturday: Ain’t No Sunshine
Aug
4
2012

Today’s theme is one I’m deciding to interpret as a break up/miss you scene. So how about a scene from NEVER ENOUGH? This one comes right before SWAY opens and Gillian and Adrian may have just hit a place they can’t return from…


Gillian Forrester spent most of her life running from who and what she came from. Until Miles came along. From the moment she held the tiny newborn her older sister didn’t want, Gillian stopped running and began to build a life for herself and her adopted son. Now, thirteen years later, as Gillian’s sister lay dying, she reveals the father’s identity and makes Gillian promise to find him.

Adrian Brown is the epitome of the successful rock star. He’s seen and done it all, with few regrets. It takes a lot to shock him—but the bombshell that he has a thirteen-year-old son rocks his world. And Adrian is even more surprised when the buttoned-up, elegant woman who’s raising Miles snags his erotic and romantic attention.

The last thing Gillian expected was to find herself getting hot and heavy with a person like Adrian. But as much as she wants to open up and give herself fully to this amazing man, she’s afraid the secrets of her past and Adrian’s problems with trusting people may keep them apart for good. If love isn’t enough can they find the trust they need?

It was late when he finally arrived. Long after two and heading into three. But he knew she was awake because he heard her piano as he walked up the steps. Sad. Soulful. His heart broke just standing there listening to it.

His key worked but the door wouldn’t open. She had the deadbolt engaged. Damn.

He knocked and continued to do so. Miles wasn’t home, he knew that much, and he wasn’t going to wake anyone up because the houses next door were too far away to hear his knocking.

She continued playing, though louder. So he rang the doorbell and then started knocking again. He’d called and she didn’t answer. He texted and she didn’t answer.

“Gillian, open up,” he said, his mouth close to the door.

He heard an abrupt jangle of piano keys and then the sound of what had to be stomping to the door she then yanked open, standing squarely in his path.

“Why are you here?”

Her face was red and swollen. She wore sweats and a ratty shirt and looked as miserable as he felt.

“We need to talk.”

“Go home, Adrian. I’ve sent your sister an e-mail apologizing to her for what she had to face tonight. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my father. I never wanted to hurt you and I have. That’s really it. We’ve said all we need to say.” She tried to close the door but he blocked it with his shoe.

“We said too much and yet not enough. The both of us. We need to work through this.”

She straightened her posture and took on that starchy thing, but it wasn’t erotic. She was deliberately putting him on blast. “Miles isn’t home. I’ll let him know you stopped by. If you wish to return tomorrow morning, I’ll be gone so that can happen.”

“Gillian . . . please.”

He stood there on her doorstep looking so beautiful it was all she could do not to leap into his arms. She loved him more than she could express. And she wanted him to go before she did and they both embarrassed themselves.

“It’s better this way, Adrian. Before we did something stupid like moving in together and something else comes up you can’t handle.” She closed her eyes. “That was uncalled for. But my past has ugly things in it. Ugly things I can’t put down on a list for you so you can feel as if you know everything about me. This can’t work. You need to go.”

Her breath hitched and the sob was clear enough that even she couldn’t deny it. He stepped toward her but she warded him off with a hand.

“No. It’s for the best that this happened early on. You have trust issues and I’m not sure anyone outside the circle you already have will be good enough for you. I have trust issues and God knows I react poorly to being humiliated in public. They clash and I thought it could work, but clearly it can’t. I won’t stand in the way of you seeing your son, of course. I’d never do that. He loves you.” Like she did. Tears were streaming down her face and she couldn’t stop them so she simply ignored them.

“Don’t do this.”

“I hope you’ll consider Miles’s feelings in all this. He doesn’t know about my father. Not the specifics. Just that he was a career criminal and not part of my life. Don’t blame him for my faults or the faults of a man he never met.”

She let herself touch him then. If only to push him back enough to shut the door and lock it again.

Be Sure To Visit Today’s Snippeters:

Megan Hart:Read in bed!
Leah Braemel
Eliza Gayle
Mandy M Roth
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
TJ Michaels

4 comments to “Snippet Saturday: Ain’t No Sunshine”

  1. Christine
    August 4th, 2012 at 7:06 am · Link

    This scene broke my heart.



  2. Diane
    August 4th, 2012 at 8:10 am · Link

    Making me feel sad…I need to read it. 🙁



  3. Aurore
    August 4th, 2012 at 11:02 am · Link

    I reread Never Enough recently. It was my first book by you and I absolutely love it. This is a beautiful scene, so sad… I was so glad when they made up afterwards, Adrian and Gillian deserve their HEA!



  4. Jen B.
    August 4th, 2012 at 7:06 pm · Link

    I actually begged Gillian to not close the door. It broke my heart. Of course, I offered to soothe Adrian’s broken heart. Darn, I just love Adrian!



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