The New Ever After (The New Ever After Series) Read Online Free Page A

first time Hank and I kissed we were playing the game This or That in Kathy's basement. It was a quick kiss in the dark. No tongue but plenty of slobber. The next time we kissed was in front of our middle school. There was tongue and still plenty of slobber. I ran home and got out my Seventeen magazine and read about kisses with tongue. I didn't have a big sister to guide me in matters of the lips. I learned that we had French kissed and that good kisses didn't involve that much drool. But I knew I wanted more wet kisses because they also gave me butterflies.
    The night after Hank died, I dreamt that he was kissing me . I felt the tenderness of his lips, the heat of his breath and the smell of his slightly sweaty body. I woke up to my mom's arms around me telling me everything was going to be ok. She came running in when I started screaming Hank's name.
    I started throwing up every time I woke up . Sleep let me forget that Hank was dead. As soon as I remembered, I ran for the toilet. Hayes, Gracie and Henry littered our, now my, king sized bed. No one could sleep alone. Hell, no one could really sleep. My mom was in Hayes' room keeping her distance but ready to help when needed. The kids didn't want to go to school. They wanted to stay with me, and I let them. We cuddled on the couch and closed all the blinds. I tried to pretend that if I tuned out the world, time would stop and Hank would come back. But it didn't, and life and the kids forced me to keep going.
     
    Heather saw Peter’s face when she was done with the reading. He had the same kind of pained look in his eyes that he did when she woke up with one of her nightmares. She knew he wanted to pick all of them up and whisk them away from the heartache. And for the most part he did, but their hearts still had holes in them. All the looking back that Heather did on her book tours wasn't good for her psyche. But it was part of the publicity she had agreed to, and he knew it might be responsible for some of the malaise that was lingering in her head. But Heather knew all the reminiscing reminded Peter he wasn't her first love.
    After the signing, Jenny packed up the twins and handed Peter a bag.
    "What's that for?" asked Heather.
    "We're staying here tonight. You need a night away . Jenny's taking the twins and a car will drive us home tomorrow after you get a chance to take a breath."
    "We can't stay here tonight! Gracie has riding lessons, Hayes has a game and Henry has practice."
    "I know. I've taken care of all of it. Victoria has agreed to take Hayes, your mom's taking Gracie, and Matt is driving Henry while I stay with the twins," said Jenny as she jumped into the car, popped her Tibetan chants into the CD player and pulled away from the curb giving Heather no time to argue.
    Peter put his arm across Heather's back and led her across the street into the Four Seasons. He didn't give her time to say good-bye to George and Emily or time to think about what they were doing. He forced her to go with his flow.
    A bellman met them at the door.
    "Hello, Mr. Adamson. Your room is ready. I'll take your bags and show you the way.”
    One of the perks of being a famous and recognizable author was the eager-to-please service that came with it .
    They took the elevator up, and in true Peter style, they stopped at the top floor, the penthouse or the Royal Suite as the bellman called it . He opened the door and Peter took the bags, tipped him and sent him away. Peter's lips were on top of Heather's before the door closed. She started to think about French kissing Hank but was quickly reminded that she was with Peter. She had never kissed anyone quite like Peter before. He had a force and confidence that were uniquely his and even after knowing him for a year and a half and having twins, Peter's passion and Heather's butterflies were still there. But she was annoyed and pushed him away.
    “You cannot make decisions for me like this. You have to tell me. We have five kids and I