Balanced in Love (Written in the Stars Book 9) Read online

He pulls the ice pack away from his face just long enough to see if it’s still bleeding. It is. He replaces it, holding it with his other hand.

  “So, let me get this straight. You two are a couple?” He looks from Taylor to me.

  She nods, smiling up at me. “We’re a couple.”

  “This isn’t just some fling. You’re serious about her?” He narrows his eyes at me.

  “I am. I’m in this for the long haul. As long as she’ll have me.” I wink at my girl and return the smile she’s giving me.

  “Well, shit.” Brody shakes his head, then bounds toward me.

  At first I think he’s going to come after me again. Instead, he wraps his free arm around my back and pulls me in for a hug. “My best friend loves my little sister.”

  “Dude, are you crying?”

  “He is,” Taylor chuckles as she wipes away tears from her own cheeks. “It’s kind of our thing.”

  I wrap an arm around him and pat his back.

  “I love you, man. I’m so happy.”

  “Okay, dude. Love you, too.” I clap my palm against his back again. “But can I put some clothes on? You hugging me while I’m standing here in my shorts is fucking weird.”

  “Okay,” he laughs, then turns to pull Taylor into a headlock, and kisses the top of her head. “You, too.”

  “Thanks, Brody.” I walk down the hallway toward the bedroom.

  “I’ll get dressed, too. Someone needs to drive you two barbarians to urgent care to get stitched up.”

  He nods, sitting back down on the sofa. “Okay.”

  She follows me down the hall into the bedroom.

  “That wasn’t how I planned to handle things,” I say, pulling on a pair of jeans from the floor.

  “I probably could’ve handled it with a little less bloodshed,” she shrugs, pulling her t-shirt over her head. “After I get you guys cleaned up, I guess we should stop by Mom and Dad’s.”

  “Yeah, probably so.” I agree.

  “By the way, I’m also going to law school. I decided on the way back yesterday.”

  “I think that’s great. While we’re at it, I decided, when you lease is up, I think you should move in with me.” She might not go for it, but I figure it’s worth a shot while I’ve got momentum.

  “Oh, you did?”

  “I did. I mean, that’s what people who love each other do. They move in together.”

  “Is that right?”

  “That’s what I hear.”

  “Well, I guess we should do that.” She smirks at me over her shoulder.

  “I’m glad that’s settled.”

  Before we leave the bedroom, I pull her in close. “Seriously, thank you for taking a chance on me—on us.”

  She nods. “Thank you, for loving me.”

  I smile as I capture her lips. “Always.”

  —the end—

  Ready for more swoon-worthy romance?

  Noah is sexy, smart, and after years of being a shameless playboy, finally knows what he wants—his best friend Elle.

  NOAH

  She's the cranky, little spitfire, that I can't possibly live without. Our friendship is the only constant in my life.

  I'd never hurt her, or risk what we have together.

  When she heads out on a two-week trip without me, one thing becomes crystal clear. I've fallen for my best friend.

  Now, it’s time to make the move. Best friends to lovers to so much more.

  But will our perfect friendship turn sour when she knows how I really feel?

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  Prologue: Consumed by Love

  Scorpio – Your Daily Horoscope for Friday, October 29

  Today is going to be a great day, Scorpio woman! You’ve been in a slump lately, but once again, you will rise from the ashes! Your career will take a turn for the better, and your love life is about to get so hot you’ll need to be careful not to get burned!

  A dark stranger will cross your path today—and he just might wield the arrow that pierces your protected heart and captures it for good! But with romance on the horizon, don’t overlook the gifts staring you right in the face. There may be an even better prospect coming soon, a second chance that will tip your good fortune in love—maybe forever.

  Either way, the forecast is looking hot for you, Scorpio! It’s time for this passionate, fiery sign to get a taste of its own medicine and finally be consumed—by love, that is.

  Are you ready for it?

  It was written in the stars.

  Consumed by Love

  Chapter One

  I CHEWED ON the wood casing of my red pencil, something I often did when I was stuck during a particularly challenging edit. It wasn’t that the author’s manuscript was bad just because it was now giving me indigestion. But if I had to cross out the word “throbbing” one more time and write “WC” next to it to let the author know she needed to choose another word, I would absolutely lose my shit.

  I flung my pencil across my desk and stood, stretching the aches from my lower back. I was wracking my brain for an alternative word when my best friend, Lindy, popped her perky blond head into my office from the doorway.

  “Ooh! I’m glad you’re here!” I said, frantically searching for another red pencil. I always had one somewhere. I reached for my hair and laughed as I pulled out the one that I’d tucked behind my ear earlier. I was such a cliché.

  “What’s another word for ‘throbbing’?”

  Lindy snorted. “Pulsing? Aching? Swollen?” She wiggled her eyebrows at me. “You have all the fun down here in romance,” she complained. “Ooh! I got it! What about engorged?”

  Our eyes met, and we both burst out laughing. “Engorged, huh? Since when does ‘engorged’ sound sexy to you?”

  “Well, if—”

  “Okay, okay. I get it. But I’m not suggesting that word,” I said, eyeing her. “You got your hair cut, didn’t you?”

  Her almost shoulder-length blond bob fell in soft waves, and she had super short new bangs that only Lindy could rock. It was very forties-esque.

  Lindy nodded and ran her plum-colored nails through her hair. “Do you like it?” she asked, fidgeting with her bangs. “I’m still getting used to the fringe again.”

  “Has Walter seen it yet?” I asked. Walter was her current love interest, who happened to be much, much older than she was—and much wealthier too.

  Lindy grinned, the apples of her cheeks flaming a bright red. “He actually suggested it.”

  “Well, I think you look smoking hot, and obviously he does too,” I said, arching a brow. “Very coquettish.”

  Lindy snorted again. “Only you could pull out ‘coquettish’ in a normal conversation,” she teased. “Come on, though, or we’re going to be late. Carlisa is making her big announcement today.” She squealed and tugged my arm to get me moving.

  I grabbed my laptop and closed the door behind us as we headed to our weekly wrap-up meeting. They were usually dull, with each division’s senior editor covering their status on their current authors’ edits and discussing any new queries from book agents that we were on the fence about. Sometimes we had to pass a lead on to a different division because it was really inspirational fiction instead of contemporary romance, that kind of thing. Our meetings usually ended with the entire senior staff heading downstairs to the upscale cigar bar on the first floor of our office building to share a drink and celebrate the weekend.

  But today was different. Today was the day I’d been waiting for, for a long time. Hopefully, I’d be celebrating a lot more than the weekend.

  As Lindy and I took our seats around the conference room table and waited for everyone to trickle in, she tapped on her phone and showed it to me. “What do you think of this?” she whispered.

  I looked down at the strapped harness made of red leather that I could only assume was some sort of bodysuit. There wasn’t enough leather to actually cover anything, so it had to feel like solving a puzzle when climbing into it.

 
“It’s hot,” I admitted. “What’s it for?”

  “I’m wearing it under my costume tomorrow night for the Heart Gala,” she said. “Think Walter will like it?”

  “I think Walter will absolutely salivate over it, Lindy. But aren’t you worried about giving the poor man a heart attack?”

  She giggled and swatted my arm. “He’s not that old.”

  It was my turn to snort back at her. “Yeah, but he’s not that young either,” I reminded her, nodding as the other editors took their places around the table.

  There was a lot of talent at the table, but none nearly as capable as I was to fill Carlisa’s shoes when she went on maternity leave. It was my opportunity to prove I could fill her shoes permanently when she returned and took over as CIO—if she returned. There was already a pool going on about that one.

  “Seriously, Lindy,” I said, glancing down at the picture one last time, “I hope you’re covering that thing at the gala. Otherwise you’ll end up on the front page of the Observer and looking for a new job by lunch time come Monday.”

  “I’ll have something over most of it,” she insisted. “Just the straps are going to show. So . . . Do you have your costume picked out yet?” she asked, scrolling through her phone again. “Oh, I almost forgot! Here’s your daily horoscope.”

  Lindy handed me her phone, and I took it greedily. We both obsessed over our horoscopes and read them together most days.

  “Do you still have time to get a drink at Havana’s after work?” I asked. We tried hard not to break our weekly Friday night ritual, even if it was just one drink.

  “I think so. Guess it depends on how long Cruella blows hot air up there today,” she said, not at all trying to be quiet. Our hunky non-fiction editor, Dan, chuckled. He lifted his coffee to his lips as our eyes met. I grinned back before reading my horoscope.

  “Well, that sounds ominous,” I said, glancing down at the zodiac prediction screenshotted on Lindy’s phone.

  “What’s so ominous about it, Brynn?” she whispered back. “I think it’s exciting, don’t you? You’ve literally been wanting Carlisa’s job for, what, the past seven years? And today of all days you get a horoscope like that?”

  It sure would be nice if my job took a turn for the better today. I reread my horoscope one last time, doing a double take at the ending.

  Are you ready for it? It was written in the stars.

  Shivers ran over my entire body as I closed my eyes, dreaming of hearing those magic words: “Brynn will be taking over my job while I’m on maternity leave.” My scalp tingled as goose bumps raced up my arms. Maybe that’s why I missed the clipped words actually coming from Carlisa’s mouth. I watched as her lips moved in slow motion, everyone turning to stare at me before she moved on to the weekly division briefings.

  What just happened?

  The conference room was abnormally quiet as we each gave our updates. After the meeting was over, Lindy grabbed my hand and hauled me down the hallway to my office, closing my door behind us. I sat on the edge of my desk, feeling numb.

  “I didn’t get it, did I?” I whispered.

  “It’s okay, Brynn. There will be another chance. You know this was just a temporary solution to judge fit until she moves over to the CIO role.”

  “Yeah, but I can’t prove I’m fit if I don’t have the job.”

  Lindy bit the corner of her lip, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

  “Did they say who got it? I completely spaced out,” I groaned. “Please tell me it wasn’t Shay.” That was my archnemesis from the sweet romance division. How the Wicked Witch of the West could curate sweet and clean romance novels was beyond me.

  “No. She just said it was an outsider, and we’ll find out Monday who it is.”

  “Great,” I muttered, locking up the half-finished manuscript that I’d left on my desk, mid-edit, before the staff meeting. It was my birthday weekend, so there was no way I was bringing work home. Besides, how much would that suck to have to read about things throbbing, while not actually getting to experience it firsthand on my birthday?

  “I’m a mess, Lindy. I need something tall, dark, and—”

  “Throbbing?” she teased, winking at me.

  “Exactly. That’s exactly what I need. To get laid for my birthday,” I joked. I swung my laptop bag over my shoulder and turned off my lights. “Shots?”

  We linked arms and headed down to Havana’s. That was what I loved about Lindy. The damn girl was always there for me no matter what. I needed to get my head out of the clouds. The stupid horoscope was wrong. My career hadn’t taken a turn for the better. Piercing arrows? Second chances?

  More like bullshit.

  Written in The Stars Series

  Reluctant in Love by Rebecca Gallo (Written in The Stars Book 1) – https://amzn.to/2VBXggo

  Bittersweet Love by Q.B. Tyler (Written in The Stars Book 2) –https://amzn.to/2y1ny2r

  Daring to Love by Karen Ferry (Written in The Stars Book 3) – https://amzn.to/2VYhNuy

  Price of Love by Erica Marselas (Written in The Stars Book 4) – https://amzn.to/2zxVpAD

  Intrigued by Love by Sienna Snow (Written in The Stars Book 5) – https://amzn.to/2xYgl3a

  Drowning in Love by Kelsie Rae (Written in The Stars Book 6) – https://amzn.to/2Y9ilAm

  Fearless to Love by Harlow Lane (Written in The Stars Book 7) – https://amzn.to/3cS0IJI

  Jaded by Love by AJ Alexander (Written in The Stars Book 8) – https://amzn.to/2yMb8vk

  Balanced in Love by Jennifer Woodhull (Written in The Stars Book 9) – https://amzn.to/2VokGp8

  Consumed by Love by C.M. Albert (Written in The Stars Book 10) – https://amzn.to/2S8DRl0

  Wandering in Love by Andi Jaxon (Written in The Stars Book 11) – https://amzn.to/2SbvCEV

  Crashing into Love by Hollis Wynn (Written in The Stars Book 12) – https://amzn.to/2xOYVpT

  About Jennifer Woodhull

  Jennifer Woodhull writes romance with heat, heart, and satisfying happily ever afters. Her titles include the popular friends-with-benefits romance, The Dating Alternative, second-chance romance The Last Virgin in Texas, and her entry into the Cocky Hero Club World, British Banger.

  Jennifer currently lives in Tennessee with her real-life book boyfriend and their yellow lab, who can be more persuasive than any roguish hero. She travels to her family home in England often, and has been known to plot novels and write pages of dialogue on her phone from planes, trains, and automobiles (though not while driving, because safety first).

  Don’t miss out on all the latest in Jennifer’s world. Sign up now to get updates, be the first to see cover reveals, and more, join Jennifer’s mailing list at

  www.JenniferWoodhull.com