Without You (Without You Duet Book 1)

by Marley Valentine

When it comes to hard truths, the mess of my life back in Seattle is a better option than what’s left of it here. My family is now nothing but strangers walking around in a house that will never hold the same warmth and comfort it once did. It’s empty and cold—just like life without Rhett.

They’ve been inseparable since the day we moved here. Julian lived next door with his foster parents, and he and my brother hit it off straight away; their relationship growing and changing as the years passed.

I had plans and dreams. Wants and needs. And now I have nothing; not even a flutter of excitement for things to come and things that could be.

Right now, I really just want to be around him. I want him to invade my space and push my boundaries. For the first time, the unknown is much more appealing than everything I thought I knew, and I love the way it feels. I love that I’m feeling something.

He—my best friend’s brother—was staring at my lips. He—my boyfriend’s brother—was staring at my lips. He—my boyfriend’s straight brother—was staring at my lips. He was staring at my lips.

I’m having odd, crush-like feelings for a straight man, but because it’s Deacon. There’re so many lines there that shouldn’t be crossed. It’s complicated and messy, and who would I be if I moved on from Rhett? What would that say about me?

“Even if you did bat for my team, I still wouldn’t be interested.” “I guess one brother was enough,” he bites. “Fuck you, Deacon. What’s your problem?”

“Tell me you’re not that guy.” “What guy?” “The guy who thinks because he’s gay” —I point to Ray, and then back at myself— “and I’m gay, that we should automatically go on a date.”

“So, he might not be gay, but he’s definitely interested in you.”