The Road to Forever: Book Two of the Road Series

By Marla Machado

Hannah Gomez has been in love with Ian Salerno since she was sixteen. When her assertive flirtations with him at Sawyer and Karina Bank’s wedding leads to a drunken romp in the bedroom, Hannah is mortified, embarrassed, and no longer a virgin. Determined to put the biggest mistake of her life behind her before he awakens, Hannah escapes with whatever pride she has left.

Ian, Hannah’s late brother-in-law’s best friend, has sworn off relationships forever. Hannah has always been in the background—and someone he has never really noticed much—until now. But after he realizes it was her who shared a passionate rendezvous with him at the wedding, Ian finds he is unable to resist her. But there’s only one problem: he is battling more personal demons than he would like to admit. Now only time will tell if fate has made a mistake by throwing them together or if they will somehow manage to overcome their challenges and find true love.

The Road to Forever is a tale of a young couple’s journey together through obstacles and personal demons after their destinies are intertwined at a wedding.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Mar 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781480875555

Marla Machado

Marla Machado loves romance, alpha males, characters with strong personalities, and happily ever afters. She and her husband have one daughter and lives in North Carolina. The Road Back is her debut novel.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Hannah

I don’t know what wakes me up, but the minute I crack open my eye lid, the sun streaming through the slit in the black out curtains feels like an ice pick tunneling into my cerebrum. I slam my eyes shut again, squeezing them tight. My head is throbbing, my stomach is rolling, and my tongue is stuck to the top of my mouth. I have a serious case of cotton mouth. I’m going to be nursing one hell of a hangover all day. Fuuuuucckkkk. My flight home should be fun. Hearing a snore next to me, my entire body goes rigid, I even stop breathing for a minute. Then, I start to get flashes from last night. Sawyer and Karina’s wedding. Too much tequila, too much flirting with Ian Salerno. I knew he was well on his way to drunk when I approached him. I did it on purpose. I knew if he was well into his liquor he’d be more receptive to my flirting. What I didn’t do on purpose was down half a bottle of Patron Silver while Ian pounded shot after shot of Bushmills 21. Of course, Karina and Sawyer would have the best of the best at their wedding. The shit they drink on a regular weekend is good, so nothing but top shelf would have been enough for their wedding day. After everything she went through losing Jason, and reuniting with her first love Sawyer, I can’t begrudge her this moment of joy. I’m over the moon happy for my sister, I truly am. I don’t know anyone who deserves a second shot at love more than her. However, I’m pretty sure I tried to down some of my other feelings in tequila last night.

I’m not a lightweight, but I’m no match for Ian, he’s got nearly a foot and a half and over 100 pounds of pure muscle on me. I was buzzed after my third shot. By my sixth I couldn’t feel my teeth. I’m pretty sure that’s when I should have stopped but clearly logic and reason had gone out the window at that point, and it had seemed like a great idea to continue trying to match him shot for shot.

I try opening my eyes again, nope, still too damn bright. Shit, shit, shit, shiiiiiittttt. I want to tell myself that it’s not Ian next to me in the bed, but as I pick my head up off the pillow and glance over I see that my hopes are not to be. Sure enough, it’s him. A couple of things become clear to me pretty quickly. One, I’m naked under the covers, and by the looks of it so is he, not that I’m going to confirm it. Two, I’m pretty sure we slept together last night. It’s something I’ve wanted for a long, long time, almost from the minute I met him, but I also wanted to remember our first time together. My first time, period. No way did I want it to be some drunken fling. Fucking tequila.

I have to get out of here and fast. I can beat myself up and dwell on the sheer stupidity of what I did in private, later. Right now, it’s time to get the hell out of dodge before he wakes up and this gets really awkward. I slide out of the bed as quietly as I possibly can and hope and pray that he’s a deep sleeper. Once I’ve freed myself from the covers it takes a minute for my head to stop spinning and my stomach to settle down - I can puke my guts out as soon as I hit the safety of my own room. Fucking tequila. I take a survey of the room and what little light is filtering in tells me all my shit is all over the place. Goddamnit! Ok, first things first, find my phone. I can use the flashlight to locate everything else. I’m not looking forward to the walk of shame back to my room, but it cannot be helped and I have to get out of here.

After locating my phone, I manage to find my dress and put it on. It’s got a side zipper, thank God for small miracles. I find my shoes but can’t find my panties, fuck it, they’re just going to have to stay behind. It’s collateral damage in the battle to protect what little shred of my self-respect remains intact. I have the important stuff, my phone and my shoes. Luckily, I had the presence of mind to hide my room key in my phone case, which means I can just hightail it back to my room instead of going down to the front desk to get a key. My luck holds because the whole time I’m fumbling around he doesn’t stir once.

I press down on the door handle slowly, so slowly. You’d think the damn thing was attached to a bomb that’s how carefully I’m opening the door. I slip out and pull the door closed just as quietly. I’m almost home free. Sawyer and Karina rented out the whole floor for the bridal party so my room is only a few doors down from Ian’s. I slip the key out and palm it, looking left and right down the hall, seeing it’s wonderfully empty and silent. Taking a final breath, I book it to my room at warp speed.

It takes no more than thirty seconds to make it to my room but it’s the longest thirty seconds of my life. Ever. Inside I lean against the door and finally let the enormity of what I did last night wash over me. I slide down the door and rest my arms on my knees and hang my head. I must have brain damage. That can be the only explanation for doing something so inconceivably stupid. I’ve been in love with Ian Salerno pretty much from the moment I laid eyes on him. I was only sixteen, but from that fateful day at a family barbeque when Karina brought Jason home for the first time, and he tagged along, I was a goner.

I start to become a little more self-aware the more time passes. First off, I’m sore - really sore. I don’t remember much of last night. Obviously, my cherry was popped, and the fact that I have no memory of that event is threating to crush me under the weight of disappointment. I waited years for this, never dating seriously, hoping that Ian Salerno would be my first, and when he finally is, I don’t remember a damn thing. My head falls back against the door and I let the tears flow. I’m going to allow myself this moment of sadness. Then, I’m going to put on my big girl panties, end my pity party of one and pretend the last 24 hours didn’t happen. Hopefully no one saw us leave the reception together last night. Did we even leave together? Christ, I wish I could remember what happened.

Finally, I get up and make my way to the bathroom. It doesn’t take long for me to be naked considering I didn’t have on a bra and my panties were MIA. I turn on the shower and brush my gross teeth while I wait for the water to heat up. The bathroom is steamy in minutes and I step under the hot spray. It soothes and relaxes me, and helps clear the cobwebs from my brain. I’m still very much hungover but it’s nothing that some hot greasy food, a tank of coffee, some ibuprofen and sleep won’t take care of. This is not my first tequila rodeo.

I wash all over twice, I want his scent gone from my body. When I get to my lady bits, I have to be gentler. Based on how sore I am, something tells me we went at it more than once. I wash the dried blood off the inside of my thighs. I watch as the pink tinged water runs down my legs, signaling that yes indeed I did lose my virginity to Ian Salerno. Tears are threating again. I take a deep breath and hold it while composing myself. This won’t break me, I won’t let it. I finish my shower and step out. I have places to be and I don’t have time to wallow.

First and foremost is Karina and Sawyers post wedding brunch. They’ll be leaving for their honeymoon in Italy tonight. My mom is watching baby Sawyer, and Peter and Rebecca will stay with the girls. They were originally going to take all the kids with them but when Peter and Rebecca and my parents got wind of their plan they teamed up and basically staged an intervention. Sawyer and Karina caved in and agreed to leave the kids so they could enjoy their two weeks.

I have to get back home, so I’m leaving right after the brunch. I’ve told everyone I could only take a few days off from school. And that’s kind of the truth, just not the school they think I’m in. My entire family thinks I’m law school. But when Jason died something flipped inside me and I decided to go to the police academy instead. Changing my major meant an extra semester and then applying to the department and passing my background check. Now I’m close to graduating and I had to beg and plead for the days off. I have to be back tomorrow, no if’s ands or buts.

I manage to avoid Ian for the rest of the day. He doesn’t look at me once during brunch. I say my goodbyes to Karina and Sawyer and I’m out the door in minutes. I’ve already checked out, my bag is waiting for me with the concierge, and my Uber is at the front door. I slip in the car and we head to the airport. Finally, I can begin to put the biggest mistake of my life behind me.

Chapter 2

Ian

W aking up, I reach across the bed for the chick I came back to my room with last night and find nothing but empty sheets. They’re cold, which means she left a while ago. Damn, that’s disappointing. My dick seems to agree, since I have a monster hard on. Neither of us were close to being done with her. Who the hell did I bring back here last night? It’s a fucking, blur I can’t seem to bring up anything concrete. I know she was the sweetest piece of ass I’ve had in a long time. The snippets I do remember are of her pussy being the tightest I’ve ever had the pleasure of sinking in to, and I was looking forward to some more of that this morning.

I roll over thinking about Karina and Sawyer’s wedding. Best man. Who’d have thought it? Me, best man at another of Karina’s weddings, and to her second husband of all people. The second husband that was only possible because her first husband, my best friend, is dead. My best friend who’s only dead because the bullet that was meant for me. The bullet that took him from us didn’t hit me because I didn’t want to get bitched at by Stacy, my ex-fiancée. My stomach clenches and I push the thoughts out of my head. I can’t go there. If I do, I’ll end up eating a bullet. I don’t deliberately think about Jason, ever. I failed him and there’s nothing I can do to change it. I got my best friend killed because I didn’t want to argue with my fiancée, and I will be carrying the weight of that for the rest of my life. I don’t know how Karina can even still look at me.

When Sawyer asked me to be his best man I initially refused. He could have asked anyone, one of his friends, his brother-in-law, anyone, I should have been the last person he would have even thought to ask. But then he called me back a few days later insisting that it be me standing with him when he and Karina got married. When I asked him why he just that he simply responded that I was important to Karina and the girls and therefore I was important to him. And it was important to both of them that I be a part of this day. They were keeping it small, just the girls and Baby Sawyer as flower girls and ring bearer, a best man and maid of honor. Hannah. Karina’s sister.

I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed her before. Hannah’s always been there in the background and I’ve been aware of her as just one more person in the periphery of my life – until yesterday. Yesterday she looked stunning. Yesterday I truly noticed her for the first time. My dick kicks just thinking about my reaction to watching her walk up the aisle ahead of her sister. It was a good thing my hands were strategically placed. After we were done with the pictures and all that other wedding bullshit I proceeded to drown everything I was feeling in a bottle of whiskey. And that’s pretty much all I remember until a pretty young thing started trying to match me shot for shot with tequila, and well, one thing led to another. Thank fuck I can hold my liquor, I’ve always been able to drink and not feel much of anything the next day. I wonder if I can figure out who she was at the brunch this morning. Maybe we can sneak away again. I have another day here, plenty of time.

Getting up to shower, I catch a whiff of her on the pillow before leaving the bed and I get even harder. It’s light and citrusy, reminding me of fresh lemons in the summer. When I swing my legs off the bed I step on something, lifting my foot I see my mystery woman left her panties behind, I guess she was in a rush. I smile at the thought of what could happen when I return them. Damn I wish I could remember who she was. Maybe something will trigger my memory at the brunch.

I’m finishing up when I hear my phone going off. I rush over to grab it but by the time I reach the night stand the caller has hung up. I see a missed a call from the department, who the hell would be calling me? They all know where I am and I’m not due back for a few more days. I turn back to the bathroom, but before I can go anywhere my phone lights up with a text.

O’Donnell: Hillary Caselli turned up at ER last night, died early this morning, claimed she escaped from a house where other girls are being held. Call me.

I call O’Donnell and he fills me in on what he knows. According to the ER staff, she was severely dehydrated, and had been sexually active at within at least the previous 12 hours, she showed signs of abuse, whether the sexual activity was rape will be determined during the autopsy. I’ve been working her disappearance for the last six weeks. She was last seen attending a party off campus at a warehouse. Her friends said she was talking to a Hispanic man around midnight and they didn’t see her after that. Security footage shows her leaving willingly with a male, he never shows his face to the camera, after that what happened to her is a mystery. Until now. She’s the fifth girl to go missing under mysterious circumstances in the last six months, she’s the first one to turn up though. If she’d lived she could have cracked this whole thing wide open.

I guess I’m going home earlier than anticipated. My mystery woman will have to remain just that a mystery. It’s for the best anyway. I don’t do more than one night with a woman anyway. I call O’Donnell on my way out of my room after throwing all my shit back in my bag. I let him know I’m leaving Asheville today and will back tonight and back in the office first thing in the morning. My next call is to the airline. Luckily, they have one seat left, I book it and head to the brunch. I grab the panties and put them in my pocket on a whim, a memento if you will. I pull back the sheets before I leave to make sure I’m not leaving anything behind and I see a small red stain on the sheet. There was some blood on me in the shower. Other than realizing we didn’t use a condom, I don’t think much of it, she probably got her period and was embarrassed which is mostly likely why she was gone long before I woke up.

I get to the lobby, check out, and leave my bag with the concierge so I can just grab it and head out. I walk into the room where the brunch is being held and the first person I see is Hannah, she and Karina are talking and laughing and they each have one of the twins on their lap, Sawyer has the baby and is currently talking to his brother in law. My heart kicks up a beat when I see Hannah, how the fuck had I not noticed how fucking gorgeous she is until now? Her fair hair, which is loose today and down around her shoulders, and light eyes only serve to complete her girl next door look. She’s sexy as fuck in a simple strapless dress, a maxi dress I think I’ve heard my cousin Angie call that type of dress. They have a million fucking names for their clothes fuck me if I know what it’s called. Whatever it is, it looks amazing on her. My dick starts to get hard again, hell no dude, that is one chick that is completely off limits. You’re going to have to find somewhere else to park. Shit, now I’m talking to my dick, or rather myself.

Later, I watch as one of Sawyer’s frat brothers makes his way over and starts chatting her up. She stands to talk to him and I see the skirt of the dress is ankle length, but the douche talking to her has barely made eye contact he’s so busy checking out her tits. Why that makes me want to shoot the motherfucker I don’t know, but it does. That’s my cue to make myself scarce. I spend the rest of the morning ignoring Hannah. No way am I going there with her. After Stacy and Karina, ok I never really had Karina and if I’m being honest I think I’ve always been more in love with the idea of her than actually her, I’m not looking to get into anything serious. Ever. Besides this is Hannah, Karina’s little sister. She’s not the kind of girl who’d be up for a quick fuck. She’d expect a relationship and truth be told she deserves that. Hannah’s a good girl. She’s probably got some law school boyfriend who she’s going to marry right after they graduate, they’ll have 2.5 kids and live happily ever after in suburbia. That thought settles like lead in my stomach – the hell is wrong with me, I barely know her.

I look at my watch and realize I have to leave or I’m not making my flight, with a quick goodbye to Sawyer and Karina I head out. Clearing TSA in record time I make it to the gate by the skin of my teeth. When I first arrived I laughed at how small the airport here is, now I’m supremely grateful that it’s a small as it is because it doesn’t take me more than thirty seconds to get to my gate. That feeling doesn’t last very long when I see the only seat left on the plane happens to be next to Hannah.

Chapter 3

Hannah

I look up from my iPad and see the last person I expected to see. Ian. Shit. What the fuck is he doing here? I look at him staring at me. When he doesn’t move for several minutes the flight attendant asks him to please take his seat. That gets his attention and he moves to do as he’s been asked. Ian got the dreaded middle seat, and if I was a better person and less pissed at myself and him I’d offer to switch. But I’m not, so I don’t. Is it petty? Of course, but right now I don’t care. He puts his carryon bag in the overhead compartment and I watch as he struggles to get around the woman sitting in aisle seat who looks less than pleased to have someone sitting next to her. I almost laugh because she’s not making it easy and getting more annoyed with him at every passing second. When he finally manages to get around her and sit he starts fumbling with the seat belt. Another minute and he’s got it on. I shouldn’t be enjoying his discomfort or struggle but I am. I’m not at all comfortable, my nether regions feel like they’ve taken a pounding all thanks to the man currently trying and failing to find a comfortable position next to me. His discomfort is negligible compare to mine. The small logical part of my brain reminds me that I was a willing participant. I tell that voice to stuff it. I’m pissed so logic and reason have no place here.

The flight attendants close the cabin doors, go through their safety checks, and I feel the plane push back from the gate, finally. We’re on our way. I was antsy to get home before he sat down next to me, now my anxiety is at need tranquilizers and a shot levels. Then I realize something else. I can’t do any work, I was planning on working on my paper during the flight, I can’t do that with Ian sitting next to me. He’s going to know and then he’s going to go running to Karina and tell her everything. I do an internal cringe, I know I have to tell my family at some point that I’m not in law school and that I’m actually in the Police Academy. I just haven’t found the right words or time or courage. I’m a coward, I know that but considering my decision was made after Jason died I don’t think my career choice is going to be very well received by my family. Danny, my training partner knows I haven’t told my family and why. We went out one night and got drunk and I contracted a case of verbal diarrhea. After one too many shots of tequila – after last night I’m sensing a theme – I confessed to him that no one in my family knows what I’m actually doing.

Every time we talk Danny asks if my lady balls have dropped yet. It’s his not so subtle way of asking if I’ve found the courage to tell my family the truth. He keeps telling me it’s going to blow up in my face. Just like when he kept it from his family that he was gay, and his sister saw him out one night with the guy he was dating at the time. Lindsey, Danny’s sister was devastated, not by his sexual preference, but by the fact that he felt he couldn’t be honest with her and their parents. It created a rift they’d only just begun to fix. And the guy he was dating? Yup, dumped him after he denied to his sister that they were anything but friends. Danny says he regrets not coming clean to them sooner. It would have saved them all a lot of pain and suffering.

He keeps telling me to just be honest, that they’re going to be worried about me sure, but at least they’ll know the truth. I want to think that’s accurate, but he just doesn’t know my parents. They have a healthy distrust of cops, and while I know that their early years in Cuba and living through the revolution before exiling to the US formed their opinion of all Law Enforcement, it’s a long-held belief that’s been difficult to change. Jason and Ian are the exception to their very firm determination that most cops are worse than criminals. When Karina decided to work for the DA’s office my mom did everything she could to talk her out of it, they felt that kind of law was beneath her. My mom felt she should be working for a corporate firm making tons of money and on a partner track. They had many a disagreement about it. I know he’s right but every time I start to tell them someone brings up Jason and then I lose what little courage I had. And the cycle begins all over again.

That thought is running through my head on repeat like the banner scrolling at the bottom of an ESPN newscast when we take off. I’m so in my head when the plane finally takes off that it startles me. I jump and grab Ian’s arm, I realize what I’ve done when he looks sharply at me and I remove my hand as if he’s burned me.

The short flight seems interminably long. My nerves are strung so taut I feel like a guitar string that’s been pulled too tight. I spend the entire flight leaning away from him, and by the time the hour and twenty minutes are over my lower back screaming. When we land and finally taxi to our gate my anxiety only gets worse. I’m desperate to get off this plane but as usual it takes forever for everyone to get themselves arranged and heading toward the exit.

How are you getting home? Ian asks without preamble looking at me over his shoulder. Seriously?! He ignored me all morning, doesn’t talk to me the entire flight, I didn’t even warrant a hello, and now he wants to know how I’m getting home? Ian Salerno can kiss my lily white, no longer pure, thanks to him, ass. I force myself to be civil. If he wants to pretend nothing happened between us, fine, two can play that game. But he doesn’t get to act like he’s responsible for me getting home safely either. He’s not responsible for me at all.

I’ll get an Uber when I get my bag. I say tightly

I have a car here I’ll drive you.

No, thank you.

I’m driving you.

No. I say more forcefully.

Yes.

Why do you even care?! My voice rises and everyone around us turns and stares. I need to get myself under control.

You’re Karina’s little sister.

Wow. If he’d hit me he couldn’t have made a bigger impact. You know what, don’t do me any favors. I’m good. I can find my own way home. It’s not the first time I’ve had to take care of myself. I don’t know if the double meaning is lost on him, but the sarcastic petty statement makes me feel marginally better.

Finally, the line starts moving and we can get off the plane. Because he was in the middle seat and I was sitting by the window, I’m behind him getting off the plane, but as soon as we hit the jet way I rush past him and down the ramp following the signs to baggage claim. I’m hoping to get away from Ian but he’s hot on my heels. I get to the baggage carousel and it’s not even moving yet. FML. Can this fucking day be over yet? Ian hasn’t gotten the hint that I want nothing to do with him and comes to stand next to me. I can’t do this right now; there’s too much swirling around inside me. I’m likely to say something I can’t take back if I start talking right now.

Ian, I turn and look up at him. His eyes are boring down on mine. You’ve done plenty for one weekend, I don’t want to be around you right now. You need to leave. Me. Alone.

"Hannah, what the