No Ordinary Love Story

By Kelsie Calloway

This is what happens after the credits roll and the happily ever after isn't so happy anymore.

 

Romeo:

Once upon a time, I had it all. A job I loved, a house I adored, and my high school sweetheart by my side. Then cancer came and took it all away. My wife, Penelope, disappeared into the night. She wanted me to move on and find love again; she said I was too young to spend my life mourning her loss. I missed her anyway, and I spent years searching for her. Until the day came when she showed up at my store.

 

Penelope:

They said my chances of surviving the cancer were slim, so I left in the dead of night. In all the years that I was gone, I hoped that Romeo would find a new Juliet. But now my mom is sick with the same disease I had and I have to return to Westbrook. I thought I would get in and get out without being noticed, but then Romeo shows up at my front door. We're both different, but the fire is still there. It just needs to be rekindled...

 

No Ordinary Love Story is a steamy, romantic love story about second chances. Romeo spent years waiting for his wife to return. He made friends and joined the Devil's Dawn Motorcycle Club, a group of leather-clad lotharios who helped bring him back to life. And now that Penelope is back, he'll make sure he never lets her go again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kelsie Calloway
• Release date: Jul 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223339014

Book preview

PROLOGUE

ROMEO

Our love story started out like all the best ones do.

We met in English class. Penelope came blazing in with punk rock pink hair and an attitude. She handed a note to the teacher and took a seat right beside me. Sipping on a can of Monster and blowing Bubbalicious bubble gum, I stared at her like she was an alien. Girls like her didn’t sit next to boys like me. Girls like her sat in the back of the class with the troubled kids.

What are you looking at, buzz cut? Even her eyebrows were intimidating with their impeccable shape and razor blade sharpness. Penelope looked like she could skewer me with a look of surprise.

This is an advanced English class. I said it so matter-of-factly that even the people around us could hear the trace of condescension in my tone. I bet they were thinking that I thought I was better than her.

Penelope’s button nose wrinkled and her brown eyes darkened sending a shock of fear straight down my spine. Do you think I'm stupid? Is it because I'm a girl? Are you one of those misogynists?

I remember the first time I met her clear as day. I was scared for my life. She stood 5'6 in combat boots and wore her confidence like a second skin. I—I just thought you were in the tenth grade. I think you're in one of my sister's classes. That's all. This is an advanced class for juniors." I could barely keep myself from stuttering; that's how afraid of her I was.

But Penelope seemed to look past that. She must have realized that I wasn't 'one of those misogynists' after all. She leaned back in her chair, took a deep breath, and smiled. Her face softened beneath the look and I thought for a second that I could see her soul. I'm an advanced girl, buzz cut. Almost got accepted into the senior English class, but the principal put a kibosh on that. He said I wouldn't be able to handle my workload. Bullshit, if you ask me.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that I found out she was trying to graduate early. Penelope had a bad home life. The sooner she graduated, the quicker she could leave Westbrook and live the life she'd always dreamed of. The principal was right though; an even more advanced class would have driven her into the ground. As it was, Penelope almost ripped out every strand of her pink hair that semester.

Oh, well, I guess that makes sense. I'd only ever heard of Penelope Berlin for two reasons.

One reason was she was the girl at school who did crazy shit, or at least that's what the rumors proudly boasted. There were tall tales about her driving a motorcycle down main street and skinny dipping in the river outside of Westbrook. In retrospect, she was too young to do any of those things, but kids in high school are cruel. When they believe something about someone, they'll stop at nothing to make sure everyone else believes it, too. Some people didn’t like Penelope and they made sure no one else did, either.

The other reason I’d heard her name before was because she secretly volunteered her time at the local library helping people learn to read. One of my four sisters worked as the Head Librarian and after hearing Billie's stories about Penelope, Summer thought it was strange that Penelope would be so generous with her time.

What's your name, buzz cut? So I can figure out who your sister is, of course. She didn't even look at me, she just doodled in the back of her English composition notebook.

My sister is Billie Carter. I think you have honors physics with her. It's the only field of study she's good at. I could have kicked myself for coming across so straitlaced and buttoned up, especially considering the guy I grew up to be.

Penelope looked