The pounding continued. “Open the door,” Janelle’s voice boomed through the room.

  Jordan’s momentary disorientation faded as she remembered that she had places she was supposed to be, and now there was no doubt she would have questions to answer.

  She looked down and realized that she was still stark naked. Quickly, she put on her clothes and attempted to make herself look more collected.

  “My car is outside,” Jordan said, realizing she had nowhere to run. “I’m sure she’s already seen it.”

  Taking a deep breath, Jordan opened the door, glancing back only slightly to silently tell Taylor it was something they had to face.

  “What are you doing here?” Janelle demanded.

  “I’m figuring things out on my own, like any grown woman should have the chance to do,” Jordan said boldly.

  “You’re not a grown woman,” Janelle spat. “You’re just a confused child being led astray by this monster.”

  She pointed a finger in Taylor’s direction. “What do you think you’re doing to this poor girl?”

  “Nothing she doesn’t want, I assure you,” Taylor said. “Why are you at my house? You have no right to be here.”

  “This doesn’t concern you,” Janelle said, turning her attention back to Jordan. “This is just between me and Jordan.”

  “Actually, it does concern me,” Taylor said, stepping beside Jordan and putting her arm around her. “This is my house, and this is my best friend. What can we help you with?”

  “To start with, you can get your hands off her,” Janelle snapped.

  Taylor laughed, but Jordan was too caught up in the confrontation to find humor in the situation.

  “She’s an adult. She can make her own decisions. I don’t speak for her, and neither do you.”

  Taylor turned to face Jordan. “Do you want to go back to Janelle’s house?” she asked.

  Jordan shook her head.

  “I think you should go then,” Taylor said to Janelle.

  “I won’t give up that easy—not when there’s so much at stake.”

  “What is there at stake for you?” Jordan asked. “What does it matter to you?”

  Before Janelle could answer, Jordan continued. “Don’t you dare say that it’s out of concern for my family, because I know it’s not. You have some kind of superhero complex, or something. It’s either that, or you feel the need to have a project, but I refuse to be your project. I won’t allow you try to mold me into a little replica robot of you. I have my own thought process. I’m not nearly as fucked up as you think I am. In fact, you’re the one with some psychological issues that you need to work through on your own—or maybe you need therapy. Either way, I can’t do this anymore. This isn’t working out for me, and all you do is tear me down and mess with my head. I’m going to do things my way, and I’m going to be happy.”

  Janelle stood angry and fuming, obviously searching for the right words to say.

  “I’ll be by tomorrow to get the rest of my things,” Jordan said. “Have a good night.”

  With that, she shut the door and turned the lock into place.

  “Damn,” Taylor commented with respect shining in her smile. “You handled that like a pro.”

  Jordan smiled, feeling freer than she had in days. She took a deep breath.

  “You know that we will have to deal with everyone else soon. It isn’t going to be an easy task.”

  “No,” Taylor said in agreement. “But if it means I get to have you, it’s worth it. Anything is worth having you.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Knowing that she should be a more mature person—but also knowing full well that she couldn’t resist—Callie Wilkins picked up her cell phone.

  After receiving the juiciest bit of gossip she had ever heard, there was no way she could keep it to herself. Anxiously, she tapped her fingers on the table as she tried to decide who to call first. Of course, this was going to be a prayer request for “the families involved who were dealing with a tough time,” but she knew in her heart that it would also be the one thing that she could use to get Taylor Reeves out of town once and for all.

  There would be no more of Taylor’s meddling in her young adults group, and there would be no more competing with her for anyone’s attention. Callie would go back to being the queen bee, as she had always been before Taylor blazed into town with her perfect hair and charm.

  This was exactly the type of situation for which Callie had been waiting. Her smile grew as she considered the fact that this situation was actually far better than anything she could have dreamed up on her own.

  Setting her plan of destruction up in her mind, she dialed one of her favorite gossiping buddies.

  Once she had placed five calls, asking women to pray for the families of Jordan Weston and Taylor Reeves, she sat back with contentment. Her work here was done, and it was only a matter of time until Taylor’s world came crashing down around her.

  * * *

  With the door closed and locked, the outside world ceased to matter. Jordan watched as Taylor popped the cork on a bottle of champagne.

  “What are we celebrating?” Jordan asked with a knowing smile.

  “We’re celebrating the fact that I’m with you tonight, and the fact that I’m going to ask you to be my girlfriend.”

  Jordan felt her smile grow, and she knew instinctively that there would be no turning back after she agreed.

  “Are you asking me now?” she asked, playfully.

  “I am,” Taylor said, handing her a glass.

  “I’d love nothing more,” Jordan said, raising her glass in the air. “Here’s to my beautiful girlfriend, the girl who has turned my world upside down and taught me more about myself than I ever thought possible. Here’s to her piercing blue eyes that somehow see into my soul and reveal truths I never knew. Here’s to her lips that kiss me with such tenderness, and her touch that ignites unmatchable fire. Here’s to the one I love.”

  Taylor’s eyes widened with each statement and raised her glass in the air. “Here’s to our love. Here’s to us,” she added before clinking her glass against Jordan’s.

  In one gulp, Jordan downed the glass and sat it on the table. She set her iPod up into Taylor’s speakers and carefully selected a song.

  “May I have this dance?” she asked with a wink, extending her hand to Taylor.

  Taylor obliged, taking Jordan’s hand in her own and standing to wrap her arms around Jordan’s waist. Swaying with the beat, with their bodies pressed together, Jordan was confident that time was standing still. There had never been a moment in time more perfect. Of that she was absolutely certain.

  “What happens next?” she asked, nuzzling her head against Taylor’s neck.

  “I suppose this is the part where we live happily ever after,” Taylor joked.

  “I don’t think we’re there yet,” Jordan said with a laugh. “I don’t think we’ve defeated the evil queen quite yet.”

  “Aw, yes,” Taylor said in a silly voice. “The villain still remains. Don’t worry about her, though. We’ll take care of it all in due time.”

  Jordan didn’t want to interrupt their evening, but she had no doubts that Janelle was plotting her revenge as they danced. The thought concerned her.

  “As long as we face it together, it will be okay,” Taylor said, stroking Jordan’s hair and trying to soothe away her fears. “Stop worrying and dance with me.”

  Feeling her hesitation fade as she looked into Taylor’s eyes, Jordan embraced the sweet surrender and decided to let tomorrow’s worries come when they came. There was no sense in rushing it or worrying about it. What was going to happen would happen whether or not she spent all night obsessing over it, so while she had this precious opportunity to let Taylor’s love completely wash over and intoxicate her, that’s exactly what she was going to do.

  As the early night hours faded into the early morning hours, Jordan lay awake in Taylor’s arms. In between the long periods of silence, one of them would utter how happy she was and sleepily luxuriate in the simplicity of new love.

  Jordan’s phone beeped, pulling her from her cozy dreamlike state. Blinking, she glanced at the clock.

  “What could be so important at three a.m.?”

  Taylor shrugged and stifled a yawn.

  “I’m not sure,” she said, covering her mouth. “Better check it just in case it’s something important. People don’t usually text in the middle of the night for no reason.”

  Jordan reluctantly left the security of Taylor’s bed and went to her dresser. She giggled as Taylor shot her bra across the room, hitting Jordan in the arm as she walked by the side of the bed.

  But as she opened up the text message, all traces of humor disappeared. She felt the blood drain from her face.

  “What is it?” Taylor asked, sitting up in bed and covering herself with the sheet.

  “Apparently, I didn’t hear the first several times it beeped,” she said. “I have seven different messages here—from really random people. It looks like the gossip trail was burning hot tonight.”

  “What do they say?”

  “They’re all just pretty much asking me if it’s true. They want to know if I’m a lesbian.”

  She steadied herself, taking a seat on the corner of the bed.

  “Ignore them,” Taylor advised.

  “I plan on it,” Jordan said, setting the phone down on the dresser.

  “Then, what’s wrong?”

  She turned to face Taylor with amusement. “It’s just that a few hours ago, I wouldn’t have been able to answer that question—at least not without freaking out first. But, I know now, and I know that it’s okay. It’s not something dirty, and it’s not wrong. It’s who I am—who I’ve always been, and I’m proud of it. I’m not going to run and confirm everything that Janelle has been spreading, but I’m not going to run and hide either. I’m better than that. We are better than that. This love is something to be proud of—not something to run from and hide from the world.”

  Taylor smiled, and she felt more comfortable in her skin than she had ever felt before. Sure, there was bound to be fallout, but whatever came, she knew that she would have Taylor by her side.

  Crawling back into bed, she pulled Taylor in for another kiss before they went to sleep.

  “Thank you,” Jordan whispered.

  “Why are you thanking me?”

  “You taught me what love means, and you taught me to love myself. That’s the most important gift anyone has ever given me, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to adequately thank you. But you can bet I’m never going to stop trying.”

  Taylor rolled over playfully on top of Jordan.

  “And I’ll never stop trying to please you and make you happy,” she said. “I think we’ll both enjoy the challenge.”

  Alternating between giggling and kissing, they tumbled through the sheets. As Jordan soaked in the bliss of the moment, the truth resonated within her. She wasn’t alone in the world, and it did not matter if no one else approved. She was who she was, and she had found the one who made her soul sing.

  That was more than enough for her.

  Three Months Later

  As Taylor loaded the last suitcase into her truck, the smile on her face grew.

  “What are you thinking about, babe?” Jordan asked, sliding behind her and wrapping her hands around her waist to pull Taylor closer to her.

  Taylor spun around in her arms and planted a quick kiss on Jordan’s forehead. “How sweet it is to be with you, and how sweet justice can be.”

  Jordan raised an eyebrow in response, her green eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief. “Well, I was a little upset by how long it took, but you didn’t think I was going to sit idly by and watch that woman tear everything apart for someone else? Justice was necessary.”

  Letting out a low, throaty, teasing growl, Taylor winked. “My baby sounds like a superhero. Serving up justice.”

  “Justice, for sure,” Jordan said, wriggling her hips into Taylor’s. “Justice, with a side of pleasure.”

  Laughing, they climbed into the truck together, headed for their getaway in Denver. When Taylor turned the key in the ignition, “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette played from the stereo, and they shared a satisfied smile.

  “It’s ironic that the two whose reputations she tried to smear are the same two who made sure she won’t blackmail and torture another poor young girl, isn’t it?” Jordan said with a playful shrug.

  Taylor nodded. “Let’s hit the road and put it all behind us for the week.”

  As they drove out of town, Taylor couldn’t help but glance at the church as they circled the block. As if on cue, Janelle emerged from the back office, sour-faced and carrying a box of her belongings. Taylor’s smile grew as she watched her father standing off to the side of the doorway, monitoring her every move.

  When he’d found out all that she had done, there was no way he could keep her on staff. It had taken time, of course, for him to come around to the fact that what she’d done was wrong. But, with Jordan’s persistence, and given the disapproval expressed by Jordan’s family, he had finally seen the jeopardy in having someone on his staff who would practically kidnap and blackmail someone, forcing them into types of therapies she wasn’t even licensed to perform.

  While he had still argued that they both needed therapy, he’d eventually come to terms with the fact that Janelle had gone about it improperly.

  “Do you think he’ll ever come around?” Jordan asked, following Taylor’s gaze.

  Taylor shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. But, if nothing else, I know that deep down he still loves me. He took a stand against Janelle’s actions. In and of itself it’s a huge showing to the fact that to some degree his loyalties still lie with me.”

  Jordan reached for her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Bringing it to her lips, she gave it a gentle kiss. “I think maybe he’ll soften more as time goes on.”

  “Your parents have adjusted quite well—albeit not perfectly.” Taylor felt a slight pang of jealousy at the way Jordan’s parents still invited her to family dinners and surrounded her with love. It was love absent of support for their relationship, but it was love nonetheless. Even so, she was happy Jordan had that type of a support system, as shocking as it might have been for her family initially. “But, no matter what happens, I have you,” Taylor added, completely satisfied by the thought.

  “And I have you,” Jordan said as they drove off, beaming in the glow that can only come from genuine bliss.

  Bella Books, Inc.

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