The One and Only: A Single Mom Second Chance Romance (Heart of Hope) Ajme Williams (books for new readers TXT) 📖

all real. Cade hadn’t really cared about me. He had just used me for fun, as a distraction, and then dumped me when he was ready to move on to his “real life”.

Humiliation couldn’t cover the entirety of how I’d felt. I had been devastated. I had never been hurt like this before. I was used to disappointment from my mother, I was used to having no friends, but Cade was the first person that I’d ever really pinned any hope on, the first person that I’d ever truly relied on and trusted. But he’d turned around and thrown all that trust out.

I’d been in love with him. And he’d used me. I’d meant nothing to him.

So, the realization that I was pregnant had been like a splash of cold water on my head. But I was determined to see it all through. I wanted my child, and I wasn’t going to let anything take that child, or my career, away from me. I could make it work—I had made it work—and now, I was a successful and happy single mother. I wouldn’t let Cade distract me from the life I’d built or take anything away from me, no matter how strong our chemistry still was.

Obviously, sleeping with Cade again would be a huge mistake. He wouldn’t want anything more than a quick fuck and I wasn’t going to set myself up for another heartbreak. Besides, I was a mother now. I couldn’t afford to have one-night stands or hookups.

I paced frantically outside the caterer’s office, which was a chic, small business that I’d loved working with. I could vouch for their work and quality, and I knew they’d be able to pull off a short-term wedding even though the chefs would good-naturedly complain about it for the next six months.

To say that I was calling in favors for this thing would be an understatement. But luckily, all my vendors understood the value of my customers and wanted to break into that upper crust along with me. So, they were only happy to work something out with me.

However, I hadn’t been able to think much about the wedding for the past few days because my mind was swimming with thoughts of Cade. Should I tell him about Drew? No. I shouldn’t. But the idea of keeping secrets never sat well with me. I’d kept the secret of our relationship in high school because I’d been certain that we would be together once we graduated, that it was only a matter of time until we could be open to everyone about it.

How wrong and naïve I had been. He’d been keeping me a secret, so that nobody would know that he was associating with trailer trash like me.

Drew didn’t deserve to have that kind of man be his father. And I had no idea how Cade would react to the news. Would he try to take Drew away from me and raise him to be just like Cade? What if his parents tried to step in? I could never let Drew be raised by such people, even if they got partial custody.

Drew would know about the truth in time. I would tell him that his father and I had been high-school sweethearts, but his father had left before I’d known that I was pregnant, and I had no way to contact his father. But this would happen when Drew got older, and I wasn’t going to give him any more detail. Cade couldn’t know about his son, which meant that he wouldn’t get to ruin Drew’s life or mine. Not again. Not after he’d badly hurt me once already.

Someone called out my name, “Laura.”

I looked up and saw Cade walking toward me. He was dressed in a suit and tie, looking sexy, with his hair styled to make him look effortlessly stylish but not dressed up or snobby. His gray suit and blue tie contrasted perfectly with his green eyes.

Cade smiled at me. “Sorry, I’m a bit late. I don’t remember this town as well as I thought I did.”

“That’ll happen when you’ve been gone for a decade,” I said as a matter-of-factly, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice.

Cade looked slightly contrite, but I didn’t give him the chance to say anything, as I immediately turned and opened the door for him. “Shall we meet the catering director?”

Again, I didn’t give Cade a chance to respond, as I headed inside, where Sharon, our catering director, was ready to meet us. I heard Cade walk in behind me and made the necessary introductions. Cade shook Sharon’s hand, giving her one of his devilishly handsome smiles, which sent a pang of jealousy through me.

He shouldn’t be allowed to be this charming when I was trying so hard to remind myself of all the reasons to keep my distance. But to my heart, it was like he’d never left, had never hurt me—every time he smiled, it fluttered, full of butterflies.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sharon,” Cade said. “My mother’s running late, as usual.” He winked at us like it was a private joke. “But she’ll be here soon to join us.”

Of course, I had never met either of Cade’s parents when we’d been dating. I’d respected the fact that he didn’t want to talk about them. But I was deeply, painfully aware of my background, and wondered whether he kept me hidden from his parents because he didn’t want them to see the person he was dating—a poor girl living in the trailer park. However, his fiancée would have met his family obviously. Jealousy pricked at me. Of course, Melinda James, the actress famous for her high-end fashion style, would be helping Cade and his fiancé make this wedding the best that it could be.

Stop being jealous! I hissed at myself. There was no reason for me to be upset! I should be glad to have dodged a bullet, that I wasn’t spending the rest of my life with