It’s messy and crazy, trying to get myself and two kids to school every morning while Rafe goes to his job with Jake before the sun rises.
But this kind of chaos—this mess that I’ll never try to fix and will ferociously hold onto—it’s the absolute dream.
And all it took was opening my heart to the right person and helping him learn to do the same.
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Thank you so much for reading Nolan and Rafe’s story. Man, I didn’t want to let them go. Do I say that every time? Yeah, probably. But their story is special to me. I loved every minute of writing this story, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.
I have so much planned for the future and want to thank you for sticking with me. Yeah, Gavin is getting a story. It has to happen. I loved him too much not to do it.
Just like with Immoral, I fell in love with the best friend, so Gavin will get his story told just as Waylon will get his. Also look for future books with Nash and Hayden from Runaways, both books will be MM but they’ll be two separate books.
I also have a plan for a high school MM (don’t groan at me, they’ll be eighteen). There’s something about that time in life that’s interesting. And a few other books I’m dying to write. I wish there was more time in the day.
Thank you so much to all the Novelties and all the bookstagrammers and readers who truly keep me going. Thank you to Ari, Elle Belle, and Emma for always being there for me. To Jeanna, who cheers me on no matter what. To the girls from my class who I still can’t believe read my work but mean more to me than I could ever say.
And finally, to Bryant and our girls, you all are my everything, no matter how crazy you make me. You all make me smile and motivate me to do only good things. To write stories about love and hope to inspire others to keep going, even when they don’t feel like they have the strength to do it over and over again. I love you all forever and always.
Be kind to everyone you meet. Offer a smile to someone who’s frowning because they could be fighting a battle and really need that kind offering. And just like in this story, don’t be afraid to walk away from toxic because there is good out there.
You just have to find it.
Keep reading, you all! Thank you for everything!
—Nicole
Prologue for Immoral
If you liked this book but haven’t read anything else from me, I thought I’d give you a sample of Immoral my other MM/Rockstar/Sports Romance!
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Keep Reading!
Prologue
Ryan
“What are you doing over here by yourself, loser?”
Grady fucking Bell.
I smile at the sound of my best friend’s voice coming from behind me while I sit on the dock, staring at the rippling water in the moonlight. I’m holding onto the neck of a whiskey bottle resting between my legs, but I haven’t had much to drink tonight. It’s graduation night. I should be happy. I am happy.
My dreams are about to come true. So are his.
But those dreams are sending us in completely different directions.
I feel his body crowd mine as he takes a seat on the end of the dock with me, his sneakers dangling just above the water like my own. “There’s an epic party going on right back there.” He extends his lanky arm behind us, that bigass grin with his bright, white teeth visible in the night.
“Aren’t you tired of partying yet, Grady?”
He laughs at that, effortless and contagious. Grady is larger than life. He was even when we were in second grade, never caring what anyone thought about him. He can hit a home run effortlessly. Get an A on a test without even studying. Sing any song in existence acapella while bringing the biggest badass out there to tears. Score the winning touchdown in the last few seconds of a game. Play a song on his guitar perfectly after only hearing it once.
Grady Bell is a goddamn legend in this town, and now he’s leaving.
“We’re just getting started, Bailey.”
I roll my eyes at the use of my last name but still smile because it’s something he’s always done. Bell and Bailey. In a small town like ours, that meant we were always paired together. School. Sports. Newspaper achievements.
Always.
“Seems to me, Bell, that we were just getting started, but then you had to go and sign with a record label.”
He gives me a sly grin and steals the whiskey bottle from between my thighs, even though I can smell the booze on him already. “You want me to tell them to fuck off?” I turn to look at him and that intoxicating grin on his face. “Because I fucking will.”
I laugh and look out at the lake water again. We both had baseball scholarships to the same college. That was the plan. It’s always been my plan, decided for me before I was even born by a father with the same dream for himself.
Unfortunately, my mom got pregnant in an “oops” situation during their senior year of high school, and my dad proposed, then immediately went to trade school to learn to be a welder. I think it was then he decided I would be the baseball player.
And I’m not half bad.
Grady, the talented motherfucker, is good at all he does and, of course, excelled at baseball along with everything else. So, we decided that was our ticket out of this town. The major leagues. We’d play for the big boys, party like crazy, buy our moms houses, and never come back to this small town.
But instead, he had to go and get signed with a record label who wants him to immediately go to LA and lay tracks for an album. I’m happy for him. Music has always been his favorite talent, but I’m a selfish asshole, feeling lost and abandoned.
“No.” I turn to look at Grady, his black hair just a little overgrown and blowing in the wind, and even though I can’t see his dark green eyes, I know they’re sparkling with mischief. “I want you to go and blow their fucking minds.”
His grin widens. “You know I will. And you?”
I shrug and swallow hard, still facing him. “Me?”
“You’re going to kill it in college sports, and then you’re going to the MLB. You’re going to the big leagues, and they won’t even know what hit them.”
How can I do that without Grady?
What’s a catcher without his pitcher?
I don’t recognize my own voice as I shift my body so I’m facing him directly, pulling my legs up on the dock and tucking them under me awkwardly. “What if I fail?”
He places the whiskey bottle next to him and then turns his body, mimicking my position. His large hands grip my face, not letting me look away. “Ryan, when have you ever failed in your life?”
When hasn’t he been there to back me up? It’s what I want to ask, but I don’t. I just shake my head, taking his hands with me as I do. “I’m scared.”
I hate making this admission. Men don’t get scared. And if we do, we sure as hell don’t admit it. In a small town like this in Kansas, men are still supposed to be “tough.” We don’t show weakness. “Me too.”
I’m shocked when he readily admits this. Grady isn’t afraid of anything. “You’ll be fine.”