Bella and the Happily Ever After

  Bella and the Happily Ever After

  A Love on the Track Novel

  Amy Sparling

  Copyright © 2019 by Amy Sparling

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Introduction

  1. Bella

  2. Liam

  3. Bella

  4. Liam

  5. Bella

  6. Liam

  7. Bella

  8. Liam

  9. Bella

  10. Liam

  11. Bella

  12. Liam

  13. Bella

  14. Liam

  15. Bella

  16. Liam

  17. Bella

  Epilogue

  Also by Amy Sparling

  About the Author

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  ♥ ♥ ♥

  1

  Bella

  Valentine’s Day is a little bit weird when you’re not quite single but not quite in a relationship. I’m standing in the grocery store aisle that’s been taken over with all things sugary, pink, and red. I was just swinging by here after my classes today to pick up a frozen pizza for dinner, but then this shiny aisle filled with last-minute shoppers caught my attention.

  I could get Liam a card, but I don’t know when I’ll see him. His last race was a week ago and he’s been in California filming interviews and talking about how he’s leaving Team Loco for good. The fans are mad that he’s leaving and press wants answers. He’s supposed to be back home this week, where he’ll move into his mom’s house here in Roca Springs, but I don’t know when that will be because last night he didn’t have his flight scheduled yet. Giving him a Valentine’s Day card after Valentine’s Day would be weird. Plus, I’d feel really awkward trying to find a card with a message that accurately describes how I feel about him.

  I’m pretty sure they don’t make Valentine’s cards that say:

  To the guy I’ve had a massive crush on for eight months, who used to make out with me but then went off to work as a professional athlete and now he’s coming back and we’ll get to be together but we’re not quite together yet: Happy Valentine’s Day

  Hallmark should really get on that.

  Moving past the greeting cards, I look at the array of Valentine’s candy and stuffed bears and plastic crap that no one really needs. This holiday is kind of stupid if you ask me. Candy is good every day of the year. Why do you need an obligation to buy gifts for your loved one today?

  I decide against getting Liam anything. After all, it’s not like I’ll see him today since he’s still in California, and it’s not like we’re officially “lovers” yet. He told me last Thanksgiving that when he’s off Team Loco for good he would ask me to be his girlfriend. That hasn’t happened yet.

  We’ve stayed in contact, talking every single day, but we’re still not official-official. In my mind, he’s my boyfriend, but in real life, we haven’t put that label on it. My best friend Kylie knows all about this romantic arrangement, but I haven’t told my mom. I especially haven’t told my brother Brent, who kind of hates Liam as much as you can hate someone. I’m not sure what we’re going to do about that, but I’m not about to give up on this relationship before we’ve even had a chance to start it.

  Now that I’m in an awkwardly sad mood from thinking about Valentine’s Day and my brother and Liam, I grab a frozen thin crust cheese pizza and head to the self-checkout lane. The sooner I can get home and eat my feelings, the better. Maybe next year I’ll do something cheesy for Valentine’s day with Liam, but not this year. This year, I’m still technically single. And single girls don’t do anything for Valentine’s Day.

  Thursdays are relaxing days. I only have one college class in the morning this semester and then I get to go home and chill out for a while. Mom works until six every weekday, and Brent is away at Texas A&M. I might join him at his fancy university after I get my associate degree here at the local community college in town. Maybe I won’t. I still have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life. And if I’m going to spend tons of money in the form of student loans at a university, I need to know what I’m going to do with my life first.

  But until that day comes, all I’m really doing with my life is attending classes three days a week and then hanging out at home the rest of the time. Kylie’s also attending college, but she’s at the university an hour away, studying to become a teacher. Her family couldn’t afford dorm life and she didn’t want to go into too much debt with loans, so she’s making the two-hour commute twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I never see her on those days because she’s too exhausted to hang out.

  I try not to think about how it kind of sucks that I’m stuck home alone on Valentine’s Day with a frozen cheese pizza. It’s really not a big deal, I tell myself. Not at all.

  Netflix is my friend today. I’m lounging on the couch in true epic slovenly fashion, halfway through a marathon of this home-buying reality show, when my doorbell rings. I startle from the unexpected noise, and then I hear the sound of a truck driving away from my house. Must be a package delivery for my mom.

  When I open the door, it’s not exactly a package sitting on my welcome mat. It’s a large bouquet of flowers. Red and pink and white roses to be exact. My teeth dig into my bottom lip as I bend down and pick up the heavy glass vase. As far as I know, my mom isn’t dating anyone, so that should mean that these are for me. My heart swells as I hobble into the kitchen with these heavy flowers and set them on the table. I really, really, hope they’re for me.

  I look around for the card that’s hidden in the array of gorgeous roses, and finally find it. My name is on the outside of the little envelope and I exhale a sigh of relief. It’s not like I was expecting anything, but now that my hopes are up, I really wanted these to be for me and not some accidental wrong delivery.

  I open the envelope and pull out the card, expecting to see Liam’s name on it.

  Your real present is outside.

  I frown. What does that mean? I didn’t see any other packages out there…

  Opening the front door, I look down at the welcome mat. Nothing. Maybe I mis-read the card. Or—

  Liam walks up from the side of my porch, wearing black jeans, a blue button up shirt, and that signature smirk of his.

  “Surprise,” he says, holding out his arms to me. I walk straight into them, crushing him in a hug. I am enveloped by the intoxicating scent of his cologne, and the warm, perfect feeling of his muscular frame holding me tightly. I have pictured this hug for weeks now, craved it, daydreamed about it. I’ve missed him so much while he was finishing out the racing season.

  “I’m the real present,” Liam says, his lips pressed against the top of my head. “I hope that’s okay.”

  “Seeing you is better than any physical gift,” I say, dipping my head back to peer up at him.

  “Is anyone home?” he asks, glancing behind me to where I’ve left the front door wide open.

  I shake my head. “Mom’s at work until six, and Brent is at college.”

  “Cool,” he says, his smile timid. He doesn’t have to say it because I already know – he hasn’t met my m
om yet, so if she were here, he’d have to meet her. And of course, the really big concern is my brother. But Brent’s not here. We have the house to ourselves. Nothing is going to ruin this day.

  I let him inside and thank him for the roses. “I didn’t get you anything,” I say, twisting my fingers together nervously. “I thought about it, but I wasn’t supposed to see you today.”

  Liam runs his finger down the side of my chin, and then leans in for a quick kiss. “No worries, Bella. All I want is you. When I realized I could come home a day early, I knew I had to surprise you.”

  “Best surprise ever,” I say.

  I sit on the couch and pull him down next to me. I'm so happy he’s here, that I can’t help myself. I scoot closer to him on the couch until our bodies are pressed up against each other. Liam wraps an arm around me and tugs me even closer.

  “Come here,” he says, wrapping a hand around my feet and tugging them into his lap. Now I'm half sitting on the couch and half in his lap. “I missed you so much, I need more of you next to me.”

  I laugh and snuggle up with him, resting my head on his chest while his arms wrap protectively around me. I want to snuggle up here and stay here forever. But that might get awkward when my mom gets home from work. I should probably tell her about Liam soon. I haven’t dated much in my life and I don’t want her to walk in on me making out with some guy. I need to announce it to her in a better way.

  “So, tell me all about it,” I say. Even my voice sounds softer, happier, now that I'm with him. I feel like an entirely different person. Like someone with things to look forward to now. “How’d all of the leaving Team Loco stuff go?”

  He exhales slowly. “Well, it was hard. That's for sure. I really love those guys on the team, and they’ve become like best friends to me over the months. Or like brothers, really. So that part sucked, but I know we’ll stay friends.”

  “If they make Roca Springs MX into a national race track, then you’ll get to see them once a year,” I say. Our local dirt bike track has been getting scoped out by the industry professionals as a possible place to host a national race. It would be really cool to have that going on in my town, and the thousands of famous racers and fans would really boost the town’s economy, not to mention how great it would be for the track owner.

  “That would be cool,” Liam says. “I basically spent the last week saying my goodbyes, turning in all my gear and stuff, and filming interviews.”

  “More interviews?” I say, rolling my eyes. “Man, these people love interviews.”

  “Yeah, tell me about it. But Marcus said it would help to dissolve any rumors about me before they started. Instead of just dropping off the team and never coming back, I could give an interview and tell everyone why I left, so no one could start some rumor saying I got in trouble, or anything nefarious. Now my reputation is clean.”

  I don’t know why I feel so nervous to ask this question. I guess I'm afraid of what the answer might be, but I want to know it, so I ask, “What did you tell them was the reason you left?”

  His tongue slides over his bottom lip, a quick gesture that makes me want to kiss him. He tightens his hold around me. “I told them I was eternally grateful for the opportunity Team Loco gave me to race professionally, but that my heart has changed, and I'd like to pursue other avenues in my career.”

  I laugh. “That’s a very political answer.”

  “Yep,” he says with a chuckle. “It sounds better than telling them the truth, which is that I just kind of hated professional racing, and that the entire thing was a total let down from what I spent my life believing it would be.”

  “Probably best that you didn’t say that,” I agree. “The fans love you and you don’t want them to hate you.”

  “Totally. Plus, it’s not like I'm done with motocross. I still plan on being at the track with you every chance we get.”

  It warms my heart to think about going to the track with Liam again, like how we used to last summer before he went pro. Those days were some of the best days of my life. Just me and Liam, the sun and the dirt bike track. Carefree, amazing days doing the sport I love. I need more of that in my life, especially since it makes me happy. Lately all I've been thinking about is how I'm now in my second semester of college and I have no idea what I want to be “when I grow up.” How long can you go without knowing that kind of thing? I’m almost nineteen. I'm an adult. There's only so many more years until I'll officially be “all grown up” and I'll need a career by then.

  But I refuse to think about that right now. Liam is here, I'm wrapped in his arms, and life is good.

  “Want to watch some Netflix?” I say, reaching for the remote.

  “Yes, but there’s one more thing I need to do,” Liam says.

  “What’s that?”

  He grins and peers down at me. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

  I feel my body flush from head to toe. It's such a simple, little kid type of question, but I think it’s sweet that he asked. I nod, so excited and giddy that I'm having a hard time finding my voice.

  “Yes,” I manage to say after a moment. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  2

  Liam

  It was seemingly overnight that my entire life changed. I went from living in Houston with my dad and training every day of my life to become a pro racer, to getting that dream, to giving it all up and falling for a girl in Roca Springs. Sure, it took eight months, but sometimes it feels like it was just a few hours. In my mind, I'm a brand-new person. I'm not that same guy who was completely obsessed with becoming a professional racer anymore. I'm different. My priorities are different. They’re better. Much better.

  I'm an adult now and I know what I want from this life. Family, my girl, and a career that won’t keep me away from them. I've been getting my college degree online, and now that I'm settling down in one town for good, I've looked into switching to the local university. But if I keep my classes online, I'll probably be able to get a full-time job and do both of them. Just because I got that one big paycheck from Team Loco doesn’t mean I can skip working. Taxes took a good chunk of that money, and college is taking another chunk of it. I want to work and save up for my own apartment. Maybe even a place that Bella would want to share with me one day.

  I get home around six, having left Bella’s house just in time to avoid meeting her mom. Bella assured me that she wants us to meet—and soon—but she wanted to tell her mom about me first. I know her mom will like me, but I worry about Brent. I’m enemy number one to him, and he’s made it very clear that he wants me far away from his sister. Once he finds out we’re officially dating... well, I don’t even want to think about what will happen.

  Back home, I find my little brothers playing Xbox very loudly in the living room. Phil is working on a proposal for his work, and my mom is standing in the guest room, which is now my room. Her hands are on her hips and she’s just staring blankly.

  “What’s going on?” I ask.

  “I’m trying to figure out where to begin,” she says, looking around at all of the junk that’s piled up. This room has a small twin bed up against the wall, and a desk and boxes of random stuff on the other side. It was their junk room before I moved in last summer.

  “You don’t have to clean out the room,” I tell her. “I’m fine sleeping on the bed until I can get a job and get my own place.”

  Mom’s lips press together. “Liam, you’re perfectly welcome to stay here! I want you to stay here! Getting a job and an apartment would just be a waste of your money right now. Just focus on school and you can get a job after you graduate.”

  “School doesn’t take that much time,” I say. “I want a job. I want money. I want to contribute around here.”

  Mom rolls her eyes. “I appreciate that, I do. But you don’t have to grow up so fast, son. Stay here and focus on school.”

  I’m not about to give up so easily. I have a girlfriend now and I want to spoil her like crazy. “What about a part
time job?”

  Mom rolls her eyes. “If you insist. Now help me move all this crap to the garage.”

  We get to work, hauling out every random thing that was hidden away in this room over the years. Mom insists that she and Phil are going to go through it in detail and throw most of it away, but Phil says that once things end up in the garage, they stay there forever. I tend to agree with him, but hey, their junk isn’t my problem.

  With everything out of the room, it looks much bigger. We even get rid of that god-awful twin bed. I thought about having my bed from home moved over here but it was a nightmare getting that thing up to our high-rise condo and it would be just as much of a nightmare getting it down. So, I decide to buy a new bed instead. Bella says she’d be happy to go bed shopping with me this afternoon, so I decide to swing by her house and pick her up. We can get dinner while we’re at it. Bella insists on hitting up a food truck instead of a real restaurant because the Valentine’s Day rush will have all the local places filled with wait lists. I love this new life of mine. Hanging out at home with my family in the day and going furniture shopping with Bella in the evening.

  Now all I need to do is meet her mom and hope that it goes smoothly. My mom and Phil love Bella, but who could blame them? There’s nothing to dislike about her. Bella has assured me that her mom will like me, too, but I'm not so sure. As soon as Brent finds out about our relationship, he’s sure to put a stop to that. I’ll have to meet her mom before Brent discovers that I’m dating his little sister. Maybe I can win her over so much that she won’t let Brent’s hatred of me put too much of a damper on things.