Change: The Broadway Series, #2

By Allie York

Lydia

Raising Ollie alone, hasn't been an easy task but there was no other option. Thirteen years ago, I let his father walk away - without knowing the truth.
I always thought it was for the best. Maintaining the secret about Ollie's true parentage seems like the right thing to do.
But a chance run in with Jacob stirs up all the emotions I thought I'd left in the past and sends my world crashing down around us.
I'm forced to come clean and share my son with a man I never thought I'd see again.

I didn't think we'd have forever...


Jacob

My life is nothing like I planned.
As if the death of my mother wasn't enough, I managed to lose my wife and the roof over my head in one fell swoop. But, my ex's infidelity isn't the end of the lies. Returning to my hometown brings a whole new set of obstacles, including a son I never knew I had.

While Lydia's world is tumbling, I'm realizing this could be my chance at the family I never knew I was missing.
Everything threatens to tear us apart.
I'm fighting for my family, while Lydia is battling her heart.
It's a vicious game of tug-of-war because life and emotions are never simple. But, we could have had forever, can I convince we could have it - again?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Allie York
• Release date: Nov 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215341766

Book preview

Prologue

LYDIA

The first day of second semester was always the worst, but it being my senior year made it nearly unbearable. It was spring and sunny, and all I wanted to do was coast through the rest of the year. The light was at the end of my public-school tunnel, and I could almost taste college life. Finally . Jovie probably had it worse than me, but everyone had to pay their dues. Poor freshmen .

Lydia! I stopped in my tracks just outside of calculus, turning to glare at her. Sorry, but I need help.

I groaned. She needed help all right. Her leggings and oversized shirt looked completely out of place in the sea of first-day-back finery. It was why I loved her, though—she didn’t give a shit.

Jovie was smart, nerdy, and socially awkward but owned it like a champ. Everyone was tan from spring break, even I had gotten some sun, but not Jove. My little sister was pasty white and didn’t care.

You’re going to be late and should know your way around. World history is Mr. Gallo. Next hall, room 112. Jove smiled at me, flashing her braces, and took off into the flow of other prisoners—I mean students. Only one semester left.

I jerked the door open with my free hand and started into my last math class of high school only to slam into a solid wall. The solid wall smelled amazing and put a warm hand on my shoulder. The wall also had the most beautiful dark eyes and cocky smile. When I realized I was staring, pressed up against the crisp dress shirt and practically drooling, I took a huge step back. He was the most gorgeous person I had ever seen. He was tall and broad with close-cropped black hair, pooled chocolate eyes, and sun-kissed skin.

Sorry. The wall’s deep voice rumbled through me, shaking my foundation and making my knees weak. What the hell?

My bad. The words came out strained, and I sounded like I was choking. Neither of us moved. Had I walked into the wrong room? I had never seen the wall before, and he wasn’t Mrs. Lawson.

Gonna move, Lydia? I snapped my head back to see Griffin towering over me and grinning. Today, sweetheart. He waved his hand as the first bell rang.

Screw you, Griff. I rolled my eyes and tried to move forward. The wall with the mesmerizing eyes took a step back, letting Griffin and me through.

Griffin dropped into the desk next to me. Are you offering? Because I could totally make you scream my name.

Griffin Steele had fucked every girl in our senior class and then some. Outside of me, I didn’t know a single girl he hadn’t slept with, except my sister. And he had a whole new batch of freshmen to target. He teased me relentlessly about my virginity, but it was all in fun. Had I been lying out in front of him, the guy wouldn’t touch me. We were friends—I was probably his only actual friend. The guy was kind of an ass.

Griffin, I wouldn’t touch your dick with a ten-foot pole. I glared at Griff’s smirk. How are you even in here? Screw your way through pre-cal? Our banter went on for a few more minutes. I could barely stand other humans, but I could hang with Griff and Mara anytime. He and I had been friends since second grade. His taunts got vulgar—vulgar enough to make me blush—and a voice at the front of the room called for silence.

My tall, dark, and sexy wall was standing next to Mrs. Lawson. The old woman explained that while she would be in the room, Mr. Teller would be teaching our class. I had been drooling over my teacher. Well-known virgin and adamant hater of all men was hot for the teacher. Who could blame me, though?

He was gorgeous and staring at me. Openly staring at just me in the center of the rows of desks. I pulled my eyes back down to the empty notebook in front of me and dragged my pen in curvy designs down the edge of the page. I could feel his eyes on me, and I struggled to catch my breath through the tension.

Griff tapped me out of my daze and nodded at the front of the room where Mr. Teller was leaned against the desk, sleeves cuffed to expose his muscular forearms, and flicking his eyes to me every few seconds before he scanned the room again. It was wrong to be attracted to the teacher, right? I mean, everyone had crushes, but the fact that he was so obviously watching me was inappropriate, exciting and really, really wrong. If anyone noticed, other than Griff, they kept quiet. At first, I thought I was being paranoid. Griffin liked to mess with me, and excelled at it, but he was onto something with Mr. Teller. I kept my hand down when he called for answers but got called on anyway. Fortunately, I did know the answers. Even if I wasn’t trying not to stare at his ass through his dress slacks, I would have noticed what a good teacher he was. Mr. Teller commanded respect, even from students like Griff, and knew his calculus.

By the time class was over, I felt stripped raw—exposed. The new teacher quit being so obvious about the attention he was paying me after the first half of class, but I stared at him. I was kind of supposed to since the guy was teaching, but I took it to a whole new level. Considering I never paid a bit of attention to boys, it was a strange drive. Mr. Teller was anything but a boy. The flex and pull of his muscles through his shirt and the way his pants cupped his ass made him completely irresistible and all man.

Is there such thing as senior madness?

At lunch, I found out just how irresistible Mr. Teller was.

Did you see the math intern?

Arianna Wallace’s syrupy voice made my stomach turn. On a good day, I hated her, but on a day where I had been mentally undressed in math class by my new teacher, I really hated her.

I bet he’s at the gym like twenty-four-seven.

Her little posse of bitches nodded. Karen was in the class with Griff and me but probably had no idea I was even nearby. I wasn’t the kind with tons of friends, but I wasn’t the loser eating alone, either. I picked at my salad with Jovie on one side of me and her friend Nick across from her. They were in some fierce disagreement about a video game. They argued like siblings, and while I normally thought it was funny, it was irritating the crap out of me.

You should have seen him staring at Lydia Reed. Maybe that’s how she came out of pre-cal with a perfect grade? Can you imagine her sucking Mr. O’Dell off for her A? Then the girls giggled. It was almost comical. I hadn’t sucked anyone off, or been near a penis, ever. I had no desire to. I was reminded in that moment as to why I hated girls. Well, most girls.

Sorry, bitches. Lydia still has her V-card. How many times have you punched yours now, Karen? Mara winked at me before putting a sassy hand on her hip. God, I loved the girl to pieces. That’s what I thought. So you bitches should mind your business, She shot the three of them daggers, daring them to argue, and dropped across from me. Her short, brown bob and green eyes made me so happy, but most other girls feared her wrath. Her punching Fletcher Markman out cold freshman year for grabbing her boob had earned her a lot of respect.

Heard the teacher was eye fucking you. Mara slid her sandwich out and took a huge bite. He is a hottie.

It was really weird, Mar. I dropped my voice, to add, I hate guys, but he makes me … Hot? Wet? Flustered? I don’t know. I stabbed my salad, hoping Jovie wasn’t listening. She had moved next to Nick to argue more efficiently. They were hilarious. Nick was a junior but they had been best friends for ages and he gave her a run for her money in any argument.

Everyone crushes on a teacher sometimes. Enjoy it while you can sit and look at him, because in a few short months, we are college bound and out of this shit hole. I rolled my eyes at Mara.

We met the first day of freshman year because we have the same last name with different spellings. We ended up in the same classes more than once and finally gave in to being girlfriend soul mates. She was shorter than me with a killer rack and a cute round face but was a complete badass. I loved her so hard.

Mara and Jove hopped in my gold Cadillac at the end of our first day and sat in the endless line trying to get out of the lot. Gwen Stefani sang on the radio and we attempted to sing along, but the three of us sounded awful. A tap on my window made us all squeal and giggle. When I saw who it was, I stopped, but Mara kept laughing. Little bitch even talked to him.

Hi, Mr. Teller.

As I rolled down the window she could barely control herself. Mr. Teller pulled my purple notebook out of his bag and handed it to me, leaning against the car with one hand and flashing a smile that made me melt. It took eighteen years, but I was into a guy, and he was my flipping teacher. Sweet Jesus, I was ridiculous.

See you ladies tomorrow. Mr. Teller tapped the top of my car and the car behind me honked. I pulled out, watching him in my side mirror as he strolled in the direction of his truck. Mara was still giggling uncontrollably next to me and Jovie was reading, not paying any attention in the backseat. It was going to be a long semester.

Prologue

JACOB

Tanya Lawson was talking to me. It was probably important, but I was checked out mentally. I nodded and agreed with her every few statements, but I was gone. It was the seniors’ last day, so what was the point in even having a class? They had one last final and graduation the next day. No one would be listening; they probably didn’t even care about the test they were about to take. I didn’t.

The semester had not gone as planned. At all. I expected shitty attitudes, cocky teenagers, and begging for good grades. I had even expected to get put in my place by other teachers. I hadn’t expected her.

I was sick. Like completely disgusting. I was perverted, gross, and potentially needed to be imprisoned. She opened the door that first day, slammed into me, and I took a flying leap off the cliff into insanity. Red hair, deep-blue eyes and a smattering of freckles across her nose had me completely lost to my own revolting lust.

I had barely dated all through my college career but was all hard for a student. Fuck, I needed therapy. I never acted, never behaved anyway that wasn’t professional, but the thoughts running through my head were anything but pure.

The first bell rang and students started filing in, yelling, out of dress code and not giving a shit. The tests were all on the desks, ready to be half-assed. I shook out my sick thoughts and stood to administer the last final.

Lydia Reed came running in late and bolted through the door just as the last bell rang. She pushed her wild red waves out of her face and kept her eyes on the floor as she moved to her seat next to Griffin. She settled in, piling her hair up on her head and blowing out a sigh. Griffin poked her with the end of his pencil, popping his eyebrows at her, and she stuck her tongue out. She never fell for his flirting, but I shouldn’t have noticed that. I shouldn’t have noticed a lot of things about her, but I did.

I noticed her affinity for Chuck Taylors. I noticed how cute her nose wrinkled when she was concentrating. I noticed that she and Mara Reid were inseparable, and I noticed how pissed I got every time Griffin Steele propositioned her, or even looked at her.

I went through the rules of the test quickly. No phones, no talking, any cheating would not be tolerated. Blah, blah, blah. Thank God the semester was over because I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. Calculator buttons clicked and pencils scratched throughout the test. I drummed my fingers silently on the arm of the rolling chair and scanned the room occasionally, trying not to let my eyes linger on her too long. How had I made it a full semester without imploding?

I watched Lydia climb in her car after the test with her little sister, Jovie, and her best friend Mara. I watched them leave every day, but that day was the last. I loosened my tie and pulled it over my head, tossing it in my shoulder bag. The gold car backed out of the spot, and she floored it out of the parking lot.

I was a monster. The ache I felt knowing I wouldn’t see her again was stomach-churning. Plenty of my students flirted. Actually, most of the girls did. I took good care of myself, was only a few years older than them, and had been blessed with good genes, so it was expected. The upper-class girls were shameless, adjusting their cleavage, giggling, and wearing too much make up. They all knew I was single, too. Or that I wasn’t married, at least. The staff knew, too. Some of the female teachers were worse than the horny students.

I only had interest in her—only had eyes for her. It should have made me feel less like a creep, but it didn’t. My relationship status wasn’t the obstacle; it was that I was her teacher. Her fucking teacher. I spent an entire semester being a creepy asshole, and it disgusted me. I gathered my things, glancing at the classroom one more time, and told Tanya bye as I left. I still hadn’t heard from any jobs I had applied for but had all summer to hear back. My student teaching was done–I had gotten stellar reviews and knew finding a job was going to be a breeze. All I had to do was turn up the charm for interviews and it was a done deal.

I skipped graduation. I didn’t see the point in going to torture myself. If I was honest, I knew I would be stupid to go. I hadn’t had any unneeded contact with Lydia at all. Other than steadying her that first day, I kept my hands completely clean. She never flirted with me, either, but I knew she watched me. Or maybe I hoped she did. No, she definitely kept an eye on me from a distance. Lydia was studious, a killer student and only a few points away from top of the class. I watched from afar and stayed in the safe zone right along with her, but the exchanged glances were undeniable. I was twenty-six and getting all hard over an eighteen-year-old girl. Fuck, I was sick.

The park was quiet since the little kids weren’t out of school yet, so I could enjoy my run in peace. I pushed myself harder, trying to outrun my self-loathing. I hadn’t applied for any local jobs so I didn’t have an excuse to think about her further. I rounded the corner near the tree line, watching the roots