Forever Sweethearts: A Love Story

By R. Barri Flowers

In the time-honored tradition of such beloved novels as Bridges of Madison County, The Notebook, The Lost Valentine, and Class Reunion, Forever Sweethearts is a nostalgic and poignant tale of young love gone awry, second chances, and new beginnings, by award winning author R. Barri Flowers.

Taylor Holland, forty-six, is a professor of women's studies at Michigan State University. She has been married for nearly twenty years to a criminology professor, Paul Holland, and has a nineteen-year-old daughter, Audra, attending Oxford University.

After ignoring the underlying tensions in her marriage, they come into greater focus when Taylor receives a phone call from a hot new reality television series that reunites old lovers, called Forever Sweethearts. She is invited to appear on the show with her first love and college sweetheart, Vaughn Mitchell.

Taylor had not seen Vaughn in twenty-five years--not since he inexplicably broke off their engagement, leaving her devastated and disillusioned. Though wary of going down that road again, Taylor agrees to participate in the reality series' reunion in New York City.

Taylor hopes that by doing so she can finally put closure to that part of her life, where feelings and frustrations had continued to linger. She had not counted on Vaughn's determination to "make things right" or her renewed attraction to him.

Vaughn Mitchell, forty-seven, is a Harvard Law School graduate and corporate lawyer living in Chicago. Divorced with a twenty-year-old daughter, Nicole, Vaughn seeks out his first love for old times' sake, stirring up memories and desires neither can ignore.

After reuniting on Forever Sweethearts, a reluctant Taylor begins corresponding with Vaughn by e-mail, leading to discovery, rediscovery, passion, promise, and the bridging of twenty-five years that were lost in time, distance, and regrets.

Forever Sweethearts will stand the test of time of other classic heartwarming relationship novels written by some of today's bestselling authors of contemporary romance and women's fiction.

PRAISE FOR R. BARRI FLOWERS

"R. Barri Flowers writes with the passion and knowledge of someone who truly knows his craft." -- Allison Leotta, bestselling author of Discretion

"R. Barri Flowers always relates an engrossing story." -- Robert Scott, author of The Last Time We Saw Her

"An exquisitely rich and masterfully constructed mystery." -- Jon Land, bestselling author of Strong Vengeance on MURDER IN HONOLULU

"Vividly written, this book holds the reader's attention and speeds along." -- Romantic Times on JUSTICE SERVED

"Gripping writing, wonderfully rounded characters you really care about, and vivid locations." -- Peter James, bestselling author of Dead Man's Grip on MURDER IN MAUI

"A gripping novel in what promises to be an outstanding series, featuring a truly unforgettable detective. A terrific read!" -- Douglas Preston, #1 bestselling author and co-creator of the famed Pendergast series on MURDER IN MAUI

"It gets no better than this! R. Barri Flowers has written another thriller guaranteed to hold onto its readers!" -- Huntress Reviews on DARK STREETS OF WHITECHAPEL

"Flowers once again has written a page-turner legal thriller that begins with a bang and rapidly moves along to its final page." -- Midwest Book Review on STATE'S EVIDENCE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

R. Barri Flowers is the author of bestselling relationship, historical, mystery, thriller, romantic suspense, and young adult fiction. These includes the hot new romantic suspense novel from Harlequin Intrigue, Chasing the Violet Killer, and the gripping legal thriller, Exposed Evidence, from Level Best Books. Other recent novels from the author include The Cabin on Belle Bay, A Reason to Live, Night Killers, and Alive in the Rose City.

Follow R. Barri Flowers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. Barri Flowers
• Release date: Jul 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476195513

R. Barri Flowers

R. Barri Flowers is the award winning, bestselling author of mystery and thriller novels, true crime books, relationship fiction, young adult mysteries, and children's books. Follow R. Barri Flowers on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Goodreads, LibraryThing, and YouTube. Learn more about the author on Wikipedia and www.rbarriflowers.com.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

September 2013

Maui, Hawaii

Taylor Mitchell sat on the park bench on this bright, sunny day, watching happily as her two grandchildren played with each other as if to see which one could impress her the most. As far as she was concerned, they were equally the apples of her eye and she was thrilled to be able to spend time with them. Just as she was when their mother was a little girl and had commanded her full attention.

So much time had passed since Taylor was a young mother and wife. An even more time had gone by since she was a college student experiencing love for the first time. She could scarcely believe the twists and turns her life had taken over the years, many of which she could never have predicted.

Most people were in the same boat, not always knowing what was in front of them, and often wishing they had more control over what had brought them to this point.

She was now in her mid-fifties and on her second marriage to a man she had known for more than thirty-five years. If she could only turn back the hands of time, they might have had a chance to do things differently. Or was that just wishful thinking on her part? Maybe there were no shortcuts in life and things would have turned out exactly the same no matter what.

If so, Taylor was certain that she would go through it again and again if it would bring her to this point in her life where everything seemed right and she couldn't be more happy.

She focused again on her grandchildren, thinking about the long life they had ahead of them where they would have their own choices to make in determining their future.

It would always come by virtue of the past.

Taylor's thoughts drifted back to ten years ago when a simple phone call set into motion a chain of events that would change her life forever...

CHAPTER ONE

September 2003

East Lansing, Michigan

May I speak to Taylor Braxton, the caller said.

Taylor froze when she heard the name. The caller had referred to her as Taylor Braxton—not Taylor Holland, a woman married for nearly twenty years with a nineteen-year-old daughter. No, she thought, it had to be an echo from the distant past when she still used her maiden name. But who would be calling her? She hadn't kept in touch with many people from the early 1980s and before, which was obvious here, since the caller was not speaking to her as the forty-six-year-old woman she was today.

A flutter of nervous anticipation kept Taylor on edge as she held the phone close to her ear, trying to see if she could recognize the woman's voice, but to no avail. She fretfully hand-brushed away strands of her frosted blonde hair, stylishly cut to just above her shoulders, that had found their way in front of her uniquely bold green eyes.

How did she get this number? Taylor asked herself, stumped. The last I knew it was unlisted.

Was this someone's idea of a practical joke? she wondered.

Taylor speculated on what the odds were that the caller could have dialed the wrong number wishing to speak to a lady who just happened to be named Taylor Braxton. How about a million to one, she thought, quickly dismissing the notion.

Taylor suspected all would be answered in due time. But first she had to recover from her shock long enough to respond to the caller. She switched the handset to her other ear and stood up from the brass bed, glancing briefly at the window. The basswood shutters were barely open, but enough for the sun's glare to nearly blind her on this late September morning.

This is Taylor Braxton, she uttered. Even then, Taylor felt funny saying it. Much like a chicken calling itself an egg again. Actually, I'm now...

Taylor was cut off as the caller said: "Taylor Holland. I knew that. I am so sorry. I was thinking about your maiden name and somehow it just stuck, and..."

This time it was Taylor's turn to break in. Can you tell me what this is about? She didn't want to sound rude but, frankly, her life was too busy for solicitations—even if they were intriguing ones.

Ms. Holland, the woman said abruptly, "my name is Sarah Knight. Are you familiar with the hot new reality TV series called Forever Sweethearts?"

Who isn't? Taylor thought. Not unless you'd been living in a cave the past year. Next to Survivor, it had proven to be the second most successful reality show on television of late, amongst a throng of them that had hit the airwaves over the last five years and showed no sign of disappearing anytime soon. And while Taylor had not watched Forever Sweethearts—and actually didn't personally know anyone who had—she couldn't help but see the frequent promos during other shows, along with a blitz of appearances by participants on entertainment programs.

Yes, I've heard about the series, Taylor said tentatively, wondering exactly where this was going.

Sarah seemed to perk up. "Well good—that's a start. I'm an assistant for the producer of the show. The reason I'm calling is because your former sweetheart—Vaughn Mitchell—contacted the show. Of course, it takes two to reunite, so he told us what he knew about you, which wasn't much, and we took it from there—"

Taylor's knees were suddenly shaking so badly that she quickly sat down on the bed's tapestry coverlet before she fell.

Vaughn Mitchell.

The memories suddenly came flooding back as though Taylor had just stepped into a time machine and landed squarely back in 1978 again. Vaughn Mitchell was a name she had tried her best to forget over the years, but it had been about as impossible as forgetting that she was once Taylor Braxton.

Taylor and Vaughn had been college sweethearts. But what they had actually went much further. Vaughn was her first true love and the guy who took her virginity at the relatively tender age of twenty when he was a year older. They had planned to get married—or at least she had. Instead, he broke her heart in seemingly a thousand places and, for the longest time, Taylor felt as if it would never heal.

This unwanted trip down memory lane suddenly hit a roadblock when Taylor's mind and body reminded her that it was now 2003. It had been twenty-five years since she'd last seen or heard from Vaughn Mitchell. What on earth had possessed him to want to reconnect with her now? They had said their goodbyes so long ago that Taylor couldn't imagine what he would gain by going through it again, and in a public arena no less.

She believed that, all other things aside, they had both gotten a bit too old to stir up memories that couldn't possibly result in anything meaningful for either of them at this stage of the game.

Are you asking if I want to come on your show to be reunited with Vaughn? Taylor asked with incredulity.

The mere thought made Taylor's heart race, though she was not quite sure why. Whatever they once had was over and done with and there was no going back. No way in hell.

Not in this lifetime.

Well, yes, that is the plan, Sarah said hopefully. I know it sounds intimidating, but—

"But I'm a forty-six-year-old married woman with a daughter in college, Taylor announced, as if to remind herself. I'm sorry, but I don't think I would be the ideal person to appear on your TV show."

I disagree, Sarah said in earnest. "You're exactly what we're looking for. The show isn't about trying to get couples back together, per se. It's about putting closure to a relationship where there were unresolved issues left behind. We simply provide the setting and separate rooms for two days at a fabulous hotel in New York City. It's up to the couples to come to terms with where things went wrong and to right them, if possible, so they can move on. Of course, our cameras would follow your every move, but you're totally in control of how you choose to bring closure to this past relationship. After pausing, she asked tentatively: So what do you think, Taylor? Does this sound like something you might be interested in doing?"

Instinctively, Taylor wanted to say loud and clear: No, I am definitely not interested in becoming part of reality TV and meeting twenty-five years later the man I once loved and thought I'd spend the rest of my life with. I have a life today that doesn't include him in any way and this might only end up somehow hurting the ones I do love and cherish with all my heart.

The part of Taylor that felt she was twenty all over again and wanted to remember a different time when everything she'd ever wanted seemed within her grasp, but was snatched away by fate and a certain someone, did want some answers that she'd never received to her satisfaction. Maybe this would be the only chance she'd ever get to confront him and let him know just how much he'd hurt her. Maybe then she really could put the past and Vaughn Mitchell to rest once and for all.

On top of that, Taylor thought, her life today was not exactly what dreams were made of. At least her marriage wasn't. But that was something she'd chosen to ignore for the most part, simply because it was easier to. For the sake of their daughter. Taylor had come to believe that there was no knight in shining armor or Prince Charming in real life. Certainly not in her life. So you just settled for less and focused on what did work.

Taylor turned her attention back to Vaughn Mitchell and the offer to appear on Forever Sweethearts. She had the feeling that her decision would forever impact her life.

* * *

Immediately after the conversation, Taylor called her daughter Audra who was attending St. Hughes College at the University of Oxford. She lived on campus and was in her second year majoring in English. When Audra was admitted to the program, beating out thousands of others from around the world, it had been one of Taylor's proudest moments. At times like this, she missed her daughter immensely, and wondered if it had been wise to allow her to attend college on the other side of the ocean. But, overall, she knew it was the right thing. Audra had wanted to follow in her father's footsteps by attending Oxford and experience life and other cultures, which he had wholeheartedly encouraged.

Who am I to deny her the opportunity, Taylor thought, especially when Audra seemed happy there and showed no sign of regret. She wished she could say the same when she thought back to her college days at Michigan State University.

Hello, said the lazy—or was it sleepy?—voice.

Taylor quickly did the arithmetic for the five-hour time difference between Michigan and England—making it just after two p.m. there.

Hello, Audra, she said. I'm just checking on you. And wishing you were five again and home so I could cuddle you in my arms, Taylor thought.

Mom! Audra's voice rose with enthusiasm. I was just thinking about you!

You were? Taylor was surprised that her daughter actually had time to think about her.

Yeah, Audra said. You just popped in my head and then you called. Isn't that weird?

Not too weird, Taylor said. It's mental telepathy between a mother and daughter. It sounded good to her anyway.

Yeah, I guess, Audra said. So is everything okay?

Everything's fine, Taylor assured her. Today's my day off. I was just feeling a bit lonely and thought I'd call.

Audra seemed less certain. Where's Dad?

Taylor sighed. He's at the university, doing what he does best. She hoped that didn't come out the wrong way, though she wasn't sure there was a right way to say it.

Of course, Audra said, as if it were the most obvious thing. I always get the time screwed up back in the States. Audra said something in a muffled voice, then told her: Jessie's here. He says hi.

Tell him hi back, Taylor said. Jessie was, as Audra put it, her cutie pie Brit beau. Translation: her English boyfriend. Taylor was okay with it, knowing that Audra was responsible, if not impetuous. She doubted her daughter would be ready to settle down with one guy till she had graduated, started a career, and made loads of money, before starting to seriously think about motherhood.

"Mom, you really need to get out more, Audra said. If Dad's too busy doing his thing, you have every right to do yours."

I'll keep that in mind, Taylor said, and thought about Vaughn Mitchell. She had never told Audra about him and had only mentioned him vaguely to her husband Paul. She supposed Audra had never considered that she might have had a life before meeting her father. Taylor had been content with that. Now she wondered if Audra should know more about her past and what might have been.

We were just about to go out for a bite to eat, Audra hinted, then giggled as though Jessie were tickling her funny bone—or something else.

You go ahead then, honey, Taylor said. We'll talk again soon.

Okay. Love you, Mom.

You, too.

The line went dead and Taylor knew what she'd known all along. Her little girl was now a young woman, getting on with her life. It reminded her of her own free spirited college days when everything was new and exciting...and she had to make her own mistakes and correct them.

But who am I today? Taylor wondered. Am I really who I want to be or where I need to be at this stage of my life?

She looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror behind the bedroom door. Like it or not, staring back at her in a gray sweater, jeans, and bare feet was a forty-six-year-old woman. Over the years, she had pretty much managed to maintain a comfortable weight. Even when she was pregnant with Audra, she'd hardly gained any weight. Though slender, Taylor felt that she could still benefit from thinner hips and a tighter butt.

Taylor studied her face now, trying to remember what it used to look like so long ago, and realized she could not. There were fine lines at the corners of her eyes, around her generous mouth, and creasing her brow. She imagined her face had once been fuller and tighter than the narrower, not as taut image now presenting itself.

Her once long blonde hair had been replaced with a shorter, more manageable style. And she'd noticed that more and more gray strands had begun to appear in recent years, forcing her to add blonde highlights to obscure them, resigning herself to this concession of aging.

The one constant Taylor could always count on was her eyes. They were a rich green that reminded her of the well-manicured shrubbery her father always seemed to be working on outside the house when she was a child. Whereas she had once felt cursed for having green eyes when most other girls she knew had blue or brown eyes, Taylor now saw it as a blessing because they made her who she was.

All in all, she considered herself still attractive for a woman now considered middle-aged.

Have I really gone through my twenties, thirties, and more than half of my forties, with fifty right around the corner? Taylor thought, almost in disbelief. She wondered if Paul had noticed the changes over the years. Or had he been too preoccupied with his own world to pay much attention to her appearance?

What would Vaughn Mitchell think of me now? Taylor thought. Do I even care?

She could imagine that he probably hadn't changed much over the years. Men rarely did, other than around the midsection for those who willingly let themselves go. Vaughn had once prided himself in staying in tiptop shape, which was part of his charm.

The thought depressed Taylor, even if she never saw the man again. She wondered what other information Vaughn had supplied to the Forever Sweethearts staff about them—or, more specifically, about her. The thought of what he may have divulged made her uneasy. It was like having ancient skeletons unearthed that had no place in today's world.

Was it possible that Vaughn had secretly kept track of her whereabouts over the years while keeping a safe distance?

Now you're getting paranoid, she thought. It's been twenty-five long years. Regardless of his desire to see me again, the man obviously had his own life to live.

And she had hers.

It was too late in the game to think otherwise.

Still, a tiny and maybe selfish part of Taylor wanted Vaughn Mitchell to tell her publicly that he was sorry for dumping her and that it had been the worst mistake of his life. Only then could she get some satisfaction in saying: I told you so.

Did he actually hope that if they reunited on a reality TV show they could somehow rekindle a burning flame that had never been completely extinguished?

Oh, for heaven's sake, Taylor admonished herself out loud, snapping back to reality. What was she thinking? There was no point getting too carried away with this. She couldn't go back in time. Nobody could.

Taylor dismissed the notion altogether, as if she were treading down a dangerous path. Yet it was as if something tugged deep within her from yesteryear, something she had no control over but was, in fact, controlling her. Taylor suddenly knew that she had to see Vaughn Mitchell again, if only for one last time. Even if it meant making a complete fool of herself on a reality TV show.

As far as Taylor was concerned, it was the only way she could exorcise a ghost of her past who had suddenly and inexorably reappeared in her life.

* * *

Taylor and Paul sat at the contemporary cherry dining table, eating a combination platter of egg foo young and sweet and sour pork and washing it down with a bottle of wine. Paul loved Chinese food and brought it home at least once a week. Taylor considered it more or less a necessary evil because he loved it. As such, it gave her a perfectly legitimate excuse to keep from cooking real food, which was admittedly not one of her strong points. Now that Audra was away at college, Taylor and Paul had more or less gotten into the habit of eating takeout food, microwave dishes, and dining at restaurants.

Taylor had met Paul Holland at Michigan State University more than twenty years ago. The college was located in East Lansing, Michigan—a quaint town just east of Lansing, the state's capital, and some eighty-five miles from Detroit. She was teaching women's studies and he was a professor of criminal justice, having received his Ph.D. at Oxford. It had not exactly been a match made in heaven. She was all of twenty-six and still trying to find her way in the world. Paul was eight years older, devilishly handsome in an odd way, and much more experienced in the ways of the world. He had lived with a woman for twelve years whom he claimed to detest for much of that time, but stayed with nevertheless.

On the other hand, Taylor had not been in a serious relationship or even had any decent prospects for more than a year. They were a case in point that opposites attract, for she and Paul didn't really seem to be compatible in any way aside from some good debates and incredible sex.

Yet, less than a year later, they were married and expecting a child. And suddenly Taylor was no longer Taylor Braxton but Mrs. Paul Holland.

Taylor believed she had fallen in love with Paul Holland because he was the first man she'd ever met who seemed to want her more for her mind than her beauty and body. It had never occurred to Taylor that time and routine would cause his interest to wane slowly but surely, even as her superficial qualities began to lessen with age. She wondered if this just came with the territory in longtime marriages: they grew stale after a while and neither partner could do much about it other than grumble or get a divorce. She hoped it would never come to the latter, even while the former seemed to do little good in the scheme of things.

She put a chunk of glazed pork in her mouth, and watched the look of amusement on her husband's face across the table.

I thought it was so damned funny, remarked Paul as a preface to a joke a colleague had told him. Stan has always looked at the bottom line, apparently even as a struggling college student. He paused while pushing his gold tinted glasses up to the top of his long nose. Through the bifocals, the gray-blue color of Paul's eyes was as prominent as a foggy lake. After being asked out to lunch one day while in grad school, with barely two cents to his name, he was forced to decline. But because he didn't want his friend to take it the wrong way, Stan claimed he was going to be up to his neck in books and had no time to eat. Paul stopped to sip his wine before continuing. Then the friend said to him, obviously disappointed, 'That's too bad, Stan. The meal was going to be my treat.' Upon hearing that, Stan did a complete about face, rubbed his stomach rather hungrily, and declared: 'Oh in that case, I accept!'

Paul broke into a boisterous laugh that showed all of his whitened teeth, including the porcelain crown he'd gotten just last week. He was an even six feet tall and, at fifty-four, still in pretty good shape. Recently he had shown signs of thickening around the midsection and in his neck. His once thick, curly raven hair had turned grayish-white, was receding, and had thinned considerably.

Taylor noted that Paul was still wearing the crumpled russet-colored suit and wrinkle-resistant white shirt he'd worn to work, minus the silk tie—as though this was a department luncheon instead of dinner with his wife.

She found herself laughing with him, as she usually did. They both knew each other so well that they often operated on habits and instincts rather than impulse. After twenty years of marriage, she wondered if there were no more surprises, magic, or sparks left.

Would Audra end up following in their footsteps—perhaps with Jessie—someday?

The idea did not sit too well with Taylor. She tasted her wine, fully aware that such thoughts had been conjured up by the phone call this morning. She'd had the opportunity to flatly reject any chance to meet with Vaughn Mitchell again. Instead, she had deliberately left the door open, as if it was beckoning her to enter with both feet.

She had decided to accept the challenge and appear on the Forever Sweethearts show. This scared and excited Taylor more than she wanted it to. She had never cheated on Paul or even thought about it, and saw no reason to start now. Though their sex life had gradually declined over the years, in the past few months it had been almost nonexistent by mutual agreement for the same reasons that most wives and husbands stopped making love. They were too tired. Too sleepy. It was too routine. Too much work to do. Too little time. Too this. Too that. And other too's that seemed to fit into their lives perfectly like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Taylor convinced herself that it was perfectly normal not to desire your husband the way you once had after so many years together. Especially when it was obvious that his desire for her had taken a nosedive in favor of work, play, and anything else he could think of. But that hardly meant either of them wanted or needed to look elsewhere. Did it? Certainly not to old lovers from another lifetime.

She quickly erased those thoughts. As far as she was concerned, reuniting in an artificial and platonic setting with an old friend for two days on a reality TV show—and, yes, Taylor reminded herself, they had been friends first—was hardly the same thing as embarking on a torrid affair with the man who had broken off their engagement twenty-five years ago without just cause.

Not in her book.

Taylor hadn't realized that Paul had stopped eating and talking and was staring at her, until he touched her hand. Startled, she jumped involuntarily.

Hello up there, he said. Paul made a fist and knocked on the side of his head mockingly. If I'd wanted to speak to myself, I could have done that during the drive home, he said irritably.

I'm sorry, she said, feeling her cheeks flush. It was almost as if he could read her mind. She knew he couldn't, but that didn't stop her from being annoyed that he had to be cruel about it. She batted her eyes at him. What were you saying?

He sipped his wine and adjusted his glasses. I was saying that they want me to speak at a four-day conference on guns and homicide starting next Friday in Atlanta. Apparently I'd be a substitute for some asshole who backed out at the last minute. He sighed half-heartedly. I said I'd let them know by this weekend—

Aside from teaching criminology courses, Paul frequently traveled around the country to speak at various criminal justice seminars and conferences. He'd gained a reputation as an expert on everything from male criminality to juvenile delinquency to terrorism. In recent years this had been a sore spot with Taylor, since it often meant taking away what little precious quality time they had together. But she tried not to complain too much. It was what he did and apparently loved to do. Deep down inside, she was proud that he was in such demand as