Part of Me: Friendship, Texas #3 Read online

  Part of Me

  Friendship, Texas #3

  Magan Vernon

  Also by Magan Vernon

  Friendship Texas

  Part of Me

  My Paper Heart

  A Paper Trail

  These Paper Walls

  My Paper Heart: The Complete Series

  The Only Series

  The Only Exception

  The Only One

  The Only Answer

  The Only Way

  The Only Difference

  The Only Series

  Watch for more at Magan Vernon’s site.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Also By Magan Vernon

  Part of Me (Friendship Texas, #4)

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Also By Magan Vernon

  Text copyright© 2017 by Magan Vernon

  All rights reserved

  www.maganvernon.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form by or any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.

  For information visit www.maganvernon.com

  Summary: Welcome back to Friendship, Texas. A town where your best friend may be dating an Olympic swimmer and his best friend may or may not also be an Olympic swimmer you sort of, kind of did the nasty with against Nonna's goat pen.

  “Is that...?” I asked, staring at Dr. Burly Santa.

  He smiled and nodded. “That would be your baby’s heartbeat.”

  The emotion I’d been storing away came flooding back as tears burst from my eyes. A baby. A person. This was real. I was carrying a tiny human inside me.

  The doctor tried to console me as he gave me samples of prenatal vitamins and paper after paper was piled in a folder with my name and September on the front.

  September. My baby’s due date.

  Holy shit, I was going to be a mother.

  And Johnny was going to be a father.

  I had to do so many things to prepare and people I had to tell. But at that moment, I just stared down at my stomach. My stomach holding my baby.

  This wasn’t just about me and my future anymore. This was about us. And whether I liked it or not, this baby was a part of me, which meant Johnny was a part of me. It was time we stopped running from each other.

  First Edition, February 2017

  Cover Design by Kassi Jean Formatting

  Edited by Editing for Indies

  For more information about the author:

  Website: www.maganvernon.com

  Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/maganvernon

  Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/authormaganvernon

  Twitter: www.twitter.com/maganvernon

  Newsletter: http://www.subscribepage.com/MaganVernon

  Magan’s Minions (Reader Group): http://on.fb.me/1lVsZEo

  For Snogs,

  This was the last book I wrote while you were alive.

  Every single book I’d written up until this point, you were next to me. You were there for all of my cheers and tears. This one, and all of the others are for you, my faithful companion. I’ll never forget your wet nose or your doggy cuddles.

  Part of Me Playlist.

  (The songs that inspired this book as Snogs and I took long walks while I was trying to figure out plot points)

  Part of Me - Katy Perry

  Cold Water - Major Lazer feat. Justin Bieber & MO

  Live While We’re Young - One Direction

  Mercy - Shawn Mendes

  This Town - Niall Horan

  Amnesia - 5 Seconds of Summer

  Story Of My Life - One Direction

  Love Yourself by Justin Bieber

  I Hate U, I Love U - Gnash Feat. Olivia O’Brien

  Loved You First - One Direction

  Give Your Heart A Break - Demi Lovato

  Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

  Nobody Compares - One Direction

  Teenage Dream by Katy Perry

  Stand Up - One Direction

  Chapter 1

  The Conti Christmas Eve festivities were always the highlight of my year.

  My best friend, Lia Conti, had been inviting my parents and me to her family’s house since I first sat next to the Sicilian girl in circle time back in kindergarten.

  Things had changed a lot since that first Christmas Eve, when we had no idea Lia's creepy Uncle Guido wanted us to sit on his lap and not the real Santa. Now, it was just my dad and me because my mom had passed away my sophomore year of high school from bone marrow cancer. And, of course, my best friend, Lia, who, like me, was always perpetually single and would have her older brothers sneak us alcohol. But now, she was arm in arm with her boyfriend, who also happened to be Olympic swimmer Jay Morningstar.

  "You jealous of Lia's golden boy?" Lia's brother Sonny knocked me out of my haze.

  I shook my head as I looked up at the six-foot-two Italian stallion with slicked back hair and a panty-melting smile. I’d had a crush on him at one time for about two minutes—until he gave me a wet willie the first time I met him—and then I quickly got over him.

  "Uh, no. I was just, something ..." I said, not thinking of a good excuse.

  Sonny handed me a plastic cup almost filled to the top with eggnog. "Drink up, Sofie. If you're gonna be stuck here like the rest of us, you can drink and pretend to enjoy it."

  I tapped my cup to Sonny's, and we both said, "Salud."

  I downed a few big gulps of my drink before licking my lips and turning back to Sonny. "At least, Lia seems happy. Jay really is a good guy."

  A good person who took my best friend with him to California. Okay, that sounded bad, even in my head. Sure, she’d always planned to go to USC, but now, she’d been gone since August, and I missed her. I missed her a freaking lot.

  Sonny nodded. "Yeah. I'm happy she's happy."

  Somehow, I doubted that with the way Sonny's dark eyes shifted as he sipped on his drink.

  People had been coming in and out of the Conti house all night. The place was always a hangout for the misfits with nowhere else to go. Mama Conti made a feast of food, and Lia's oldest brother, Nicky, manned the bar to make sure everyone had enough booze to go with their food. Of course, only for those who weren’t driving.

  But the guy walking through the door wasn't just another misfit. This guy had Lia and Jay standing up.

  "Johnny, you made it!" Jay said, doing some weird bro-hug with the tall, spiky-haired beefcake of a man.

  Once upon a time, I had a long make-out session with Johnny Laughlin, world record holder in the backstroke. That was almost a year ago when I still had braces and needed to wax my eyebrows. Now, I’d discovered straightener for my chin-length brown hair and how to thread my eyebrows, but I was still intimidated by the guy who towered over me with his dimpled chin and eff-me s
mile.

  Okay, so a year ago, I was at a group hangout at a bowling alley, and I didn’t think I’d see the guy again. Now, I was wishing I had dressed better to make him see what he’d been missing this past year. Or at least worn my push-up bra. Being tiny had some advantages, but mosquito bites for boobs wasn’t one.

  Lia excitedly motioned me toward their little group, her dark hair bouncing against her shoulders in excitement.

  "Friend of yours?" Sonny asked.

  I downed the rest of my eggnog. "Fill me up before I have to go over there, Sonny."

  Sonny made his way over to the bar and ladled until my cup was full then sauntered back over with a smirk. "I guess that answers my question. Pull down that sweater a bit and shake that ass. He won't know what he's missing."

  I rolled my eyes and took another step before I walked toward Lia, Jay, and Johnny, swaying my hips ever so slowly.

  "Are you okay, Sofie? You're rocking a bit. That eggnog’s pretty strong," Jay said, arching an eyebrow.

  "What? Yeah. I'm fine. Totally fine," I said, trying to appear cool as I leaned against the leather sofa.

  "Is that what's in your cup?" Johnny asked, pointing his chin toward my cup.

  "Yeah, you want a sip? I don’t have any teenage diseases or anything." I blabbered, practically shoving the drink in his face.

  Johnny smiled, taking my cup. "Me neither. At least not on my mouth."

  "So ..." Lia said, clasping her hands together. "Sofie, did you know Johnny is working with a coach at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth? He couldn't make it home for the holiday, so we invited him here. Maybe you two can hang out sometime now that he's so close."

  Jay laughed, his ice blue eyes sparkling as he put his arm around Lia. "Way to be subtle, Lia. If you were going to go that far, you should have just told them to go behind the goat’s pen and bone."

  I choked on my own spit and coughed, smacking my chest, so I didn't die.

  Johnny handed me back my drink. "Are you okay? Do you need water?"

  I gulped the rest of my drink, the cool liquid burning my throat. "No. I think I may need more alcohol, though, if this is going to get any more awkward."

  "I think Dana and my ma made some anisette in the bathtub if you wanna do shots," Lia said.

  "Is that supposed to be enticing?" Johnny asked.

  Lia shrugged.

  "I'm in," I blurted.

  Johnny smiled. "I guess I am too."

  ***

  We sat at the big dining room table. Lia couldn't find any shot glasses, so she filled up espresso cups and set them in front of us. "So do we make a drinking game out of this?" Lia asked.

  I smelled the clear liquid, taking in the hint of black licorice that burned my nose hairs. "I say we just drink it as fast as we can and get it over with."

  Johnny clinked his cup with mine. "I'm with you on that one."

  I went to tip my drink back when Johnny put his hand on mine. "Wait!"

  "What? Am I drooling?" I asked, wiping at the corners of my mouth.

  He laughed, shaking his head. "No. You have to look someone in the eye when you do a shot, or it's seven years of bad sex."

  The heat gathered in my cheeks and between my thighs. I could barely look at anything but the guy’s dimples, let alone look him in the eye.

  "Okay," I got out.

  I met his light green eyes and downed my shot. Then the next one. And the one after that. By the time we hit number four, all reason had left my body.

  I found myself slumped over the dining room chair and the only thing holding me up was the oak armrests of the chair that looked like lions. The Contis had eccentric taste, even more than my family did.

  I regretted wearing my sweater and sparkly gold skirt with tights. I was burning up from the alcohol and the fact that as we drank more, Johnny's body drifted closer to mine.

  I always thought Lia was crazy when she told me that Jay always smelled like chlorine and being around public pools weirdly turned her on. That was before I was crossing my legs tightly and getting a big whiff of Johnny’s woodsy cologne and chlorine smell. "Is it hot in here? Is anyone else hot?" I asked as I fanned myself with one of the cloth napkins. The napkin just fell limp in my hands, not doing anything to give me a breeze.

  "I think I need to take a walk or get some fresh air or something. Lia, do you want to go outside with me?" I asked, looking across the table at my best friend, who wore a far-off look on her face. That or maybe she was about to orgasm. Jay had only one hand on the table, so they could have been doing some finger banging, but I didn't want to look and see.

  "I'll go outside with you. I could use some air and maybe see that goat you guys have been talking about," Johnny said with an even bigger grin on his tanned face.

  "Yeah, Sofie, show him Capra's pen. Everyone loves a goat," Lia said, giving me a wink.

  I stood up, a little wobbly. God, I hoped I would not puke. Last time I was this drunk was my freshman year of high school when Lia and I got into her dad's homemade wine. We thought nobody knew, but then her mom offered us milk and cookies because she knew and wanted us to admit it. She liked giving us the Sicilian guilt trip. Instead of confessing, we drank the milk, ate the cookies, and then were up puking all night.

  Before I could topple over and knock someone out with my kitten heels, Johnny's arm was around my waist. I leaned into him, inhaling his scent on his sweater. "You smell good. Like I would imagine the beach smells like if the beach had chlorine and was sprayed with boyness."

  "Thanks. You smell like hairspray and licorice," he said with a laugh.

  "That sounds like the name of a drag queen," I replied, looking up at him with a furrowed brow.

  "If this is how you two do foreplay, you'd really better take it outside," Jay said, throwing a piece of salami from the dish on the table at us.

  The salami barely hit Johnny's elbow, and he dusted it off. "You know I don’t like sausage, Morningstar."

  "I do!" I said, raising my hand for who knew why other than the room was a little spinney, and it felt like a good idea.

  "Johnny probably has some in his pants you'd like too." Jay wiggled his eyebrows.

  "As long as it's circumcised, I'd eat it," I said before I realized what was coming out of my mouth.

  Everyone in the dining room went quiet. I put one foot in front of the other and pointed at the door to the kitchen. "Yeah, I'm going to go get some air. Or maybe throw up this word vomit. Or both."

  I scampered off, getting out of Johnny's arms as quickly as I could, and pushed through the crowd of people who all smelled like leather and bourbon.

  It wasn’t until I opened the back patio door and took in the cool night air that I could finally breathe again.

  My dad's house was tiny. The whole place could fit inside the Conti's living room, and that included our postage stamp of a backyard.

  The Contis had an acre of land full of different fruit trees and a big covered patio with a pergola that held all of their grapes.

  The temperature had dropped to around forty degrees, but with the alcohol burning in my system, it felt refreshing instead of freezing.

  My shoes crunched on the grass as I made my way past the patio toward Capra's pen.

  Actually a two-story chicken coop, Sonny had found it on a local for-sale site, but it worked for the fickle goat. I think Lia’s crazy Nonna, who lived with them, liked that goat more than she did most people. Surrounding the wooden playhouse was a fence made of chicken wire and wooden beams. I didn't doubt the goat could’ve probably escaped, but since he lived on a healthy diet of pasta that Nonna fed to him, I didn’t think he’d ever want to leave.

  "Hey, Capra, you in there?" I whispered.

  The goat snorted loudly, and I turned toward the corner of the pen where she was passed out on her back with her hooves in the air.

  "Gawd, that looks nice. Can I just crawl in there with you, Capra? I'll even let you be the baby spoon?" I asked, leaning my head against a
wooden beam. The top beam came right up to my chest so I didn’t have to bend too much to rest it there. A bigger goat pen would probably be needed for most goats, but Capra was the laziest goat alive. All he did was sleep and eat pasta, like Nonna. Probably why they were such good companions.

  "I'm willing to be the baby spoon," a low voice said near my ear.

  Without thinking, I threw my hand back and met something hard before I heard a crunching sound and then a muffled yelp.

  I whirled around to see Johnny, hunched over and holding his nose.

  "Holy shit, are you okay?" I asked. Staring at him wide-eyed, I was unsure of what to do.

  He stood to his full height and pulled his hands away, studying his open palms as if he was mining for precious jewels. "It doesn’t look like there’s any blood."

  "Sorry. You shouldn't have snuck up on me like that,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.

  "I was trying to pull something sexy. Obviously, you'd rather smack a guy in the face who talks to you than respond to him." Johnny rubbed his nose again and took a deep breath.

  "Um, we haven't really talked for like, what, a year now? Not like you called after our one-night make-out session. You didn't even add me as a Facebook friend. That's just rude," I said, trying to sound tough, but I still had too much alcohol in my system. And at five-foot-two and a little over one hundred pounds, I wasn't that intimidating.

  He stepped closer, his toes almost touching mine. "First off, I don't have a public Facebook profile. Second, I didn't have your number since you ran in the house after that little bowling excursion, and third ..." He held up a third finger. "Okay, I've got nothing for three."

  "If you really wanted my number, Lia had it," I said, narrowing my eyes.

  He laughed, stepping closer and leaning down. "You're cute when you're mad."

  "Your flattery isn't going to get me to fuck you behind this goat house."

  He blinked once then twice. "Whoa, that wasn't what I was suggesting at all ... unless you want to?"

  He gave me a smolder that could have rivaled a Disney prince. The guy was hot as hell, and he knew it with that spiky brown hair, swimmer’s body, and mesmerizing green eyes.