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Back Stolen Soulmate Save as PDF
Chapters (66)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Keep Reading
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-One
  25. Twenty-Two
  26. Twenty-Three
  27. Twenty-Four
  28. Twenty-Five
  29. Twenty-Six
  30. Twenty-Seven
  31. Twenty-Eight
  32. Twenty-Nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty-One
  35. Thirty-Two
  36. Thirty-Three
  37. Thirty-Four
  38. Thirty-Five
  39. Thirty-Six
  40. Thirty-Seven
  41. Thirty-Eight
  42. Thirty-Nine
  43. Forty
  44. Forty-One
  45. Forty-Two
  46. Forty-Three
  47. Forty-Four
  48. Forty-Five
  49. Forty-Six
  50. Forty-Seven
  51. Forty-Eight
  52. Forty-Nine
  53. Fifty
  54. Fifty-One
  55. Fifty-Two
  56. Fifty-Three
  57. Fifty-Four
  58. Fifty-Five
  59. Fifty-Six
  60. Fifty-Seven
  61. Fifty-Eight
  62. Fifty-Nine
  63. Sneak Peek
  64. Find Me
  65. Books by Mary Catherine Gebhard
  66. Acknowledgments

“Toast!” my mother said cheerfully, raising her glass.

The dread grew and knotted.

I closed my eyes.

Fuck.

“To a Christmas wedding,” Mrs. du Lac said.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“To the future Mr. and Mrs. Grayson Crowne.”

Cheers rang out, crystal clanked, and everyone shouted for me and Lottie—my future wife. I briefly caught Lottie’s eyes, miserable and broken.

“This is so fucked up,” Story whispered.

My mother’s eyes locked with mine, a tight, satisfied smile on her lips.

Why hadn’t I seen it coming? It was classic Tansy Crowne, vintage Beryl. They don’t give in that easily. They never declared check-mate. They would throw the board out and place their pawns exactly where they needed them to be.

When I looked back, Story was halfway to the door.

“Story, wait!”

I ran after her, grabbing her.

“You have to believe me,” I said. “I didn’t do this.”

“I can’t keep watching you choose her,” Story cried. “I can’t do it anymore. I can’t keep being the girl behind the girl.”

“Let me prove it to you.”

I shoved cake off one of the tables. Million-dollar rings that would go home as party favors clacked to the ground. Diamonds skittered across the marble floor. And the room went silent. I climbed atop the table, shoes smashing into frosting. Then I bent down, giving Story my hand.

“What are you doing?” Her eyes were wide, darting around the room.

“Choosing you.”

I didn’t give her a choice this time, ripping her up on the table with me. I pressed her against my body, anchoring her lower waist.

“Everyone came here for an announcement?” I yelled.

Tansy’s nostrils flared, the only sign of displeasure she’d show in public. Lottie sank into the book stacks, putting a hand over her face. I hated doing this to her, hated that our parents had left me with no choice. We were puppets to them, and they were trying to cast our strings in steel.

“Looks like you got the wrong information. Weird.” I glared at my mother. “She’s who I choose. When I get married, it’ll be to her.”

I gripped Story’s face between my palms, then whispered against her lips so only she could hear.

“I want to kiss you, Story. I want the whole fucking world to know you’re mine. I want it cast in stone.”

“What are you waiting for?”

I slammed my lips against hers. Apologizing with a gentle tongue, demanding her forgiveness with bruising teeth and lips.

Atop a table of broken cakes and promises, at an engagement party that never should have been, surrounded by the bright flash of paparazzi, I kissed my real love, my true love.

We broke apart, foreheads pressed, and I grinned against her lips. “Forever and always, I choose you, Story.”

Fifty

GRAY