Contents
Title and Copyright
Dedication
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Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Epilogue
Dear Reader
Acknowledgments
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About the Author
Other Titles on Amazon
Always You
Players of Marycliff University Book 3
Jerica MacMillan
Copyright © 2016, 2020 by Jerica MacMillan
*Originally published as Managed Hearts
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
To all the readers who started this journey with me with Summer Fling and have been patiently waiting for Matt’s story. Here you go.
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Chapter One
Hannah straightened her burgundy blazer and stiffened her spine, the cold January air making her shiver as it slid through the door closing behind her. She steeled herself with a deep breath before approaching the receptionist who sat behind a large desk, her red hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail, black rimmed glasses perched on her nose contrasting sharply with her pale skin. The receptionist glanced up and gave a polite smile. “May I help you?”
Giving a nervous smile in return, Hannah nodded. “Hi. Yes. I’m Hannah Glover. I start my internship today.”
“Welcome to Eco Utilities. I’m Alice. Let me know if you need any help with anything. I know it can be intimidating when you’re starting somewhere new, but everyone here is great. You’ll have your HR orientation first, then they’ll take you to your department where you’ll meet your mentor.” She gave directions to the HR meeting room on the second floor before glancing at the clock. “You better hurry! The meeting starts in about five minutes, and you don’t want to be late!”
Hannah gave her another smile, more genuine this time. “Thank you!” She hurried to the stairs Alice had indicated and took them two at a time. Sucking in another deep breath at the top of the stairs in a futile attempt to calm her racing heart, she held up her head and walked to the meeting room, faking the confidence she didn’t feel.
And stopped in the doorway with her heart slamming in her chest. The tingly feeling in her stomach that had been there all morning turned into full-on butterflies rioting in her abdomen. It seemed like everyone could see her chest moving from the strength of her heartbeat, and her skin must be writhing from the butterflies going crazy inside her.
“Excuse me.” A male voice behind her brought her out of her daze. She took a step into the room and another to the side, turning her head to look at the newcomer.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled and made her way to a chair where she kept staring at the man who’d made her stop in her tracks.
It was him. Matt. Her Matt.
He had shorter hair now, his face free of the stubble he’d worn when she’d known him before, his skin paler in the winter, without the tan glow of summer. He’d filled out more in the intervening years, his shoulders broader than she remembered under his white button-down shirt. Of course it had been three years since the summer they spent together. In some ways it felt like a lifetime ago, in others it seemed as fresh as if it had happened last summer.
She couldn’t take her eyes off him, wondering how his pecs and abs now compared to her memories. If the light fuzz of hair across his chest and in a line down the center of his belly had darkened or thickened in the last few years. What it would feel like to run her hands over him again with the freedom she used to have.
All they’d had was one summer when she’d just turned eighteen—meeting a week before her birthday. He’d been nineteen. Two perfect months that she’d spent with her best friend Elena’s family in Westport, Washington. Elena’s parents had gotten a vacation rental and taken the girls and Elena’s brother. Hannah had met Matt one day on the beach where he was teaching a small group how to surf. She’d approached him afterward, asking about surf lessons for herself, and he’d invited her to a party that night.
They’d spent the days on the beach, the evenings around fires, and more time than she’d ever thought possible in each other’s arms. He’d been her first, and she’d ended up comparing everyone since then to him.
Half in love with him by the end of the summer, she’d been crushed when he hadn’t stayed in touch. She’d emailed him for a while, but he only responded a few times, and eventually she stopped. Only Elena knew that he was the reason she’d decided to attend Marycliff. It had a great business program, and she’d gotten an academic scholarship, so her parents had never questioned her decision.
She’d never contacted him after she got to Marycliff, though. The fear of rejection too powerful, the feelings she maintained about their summer romance too precious to her to risk trying to make more out of it, especially when he hadn’t displayed any continuing interest before. No, she’d moved on and dated other guys, keeping herself busy with school and volunteer work. She hadn’t thought about Matt in a long time, and seeing him again shocked her, the feelings
