Romance
Rekindled
Is it the end, or a new beginning?
Jenna Allen
Jess and Scott haven’t had a conversation in month that didn’t end in a fight. Making up is fun, but the clock is ticking on their marriage. Is a cross-country move the cause of their problems, or the solution?
Romance Rekindled
by Jenna Allen
Copyright © 2013 by Jenna Allen
First Publication © 2009 by Jenna Allen as Starting Over
Cover art by Novel Graphic Designs.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9900084-0-8
Kindle Edition
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be interpreted as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, organizations or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote brief excerpts in a review.
First electronic publication: Phaze Books 2009
Reprint of revised edition by Jenna Allen: 2013
Thank you so much, Delilah Marvelle, for Starbucks, carpool, local author stickers, and promising me self-publishing was the best way to connect with readers.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
From the Author
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Discover more Happily Bedded Bliss
Lovers Reunited
Desire Renewed
About Jenna
Hello my lovelies,
Thank you for joining me on the Happily Bedded Bliss journey. The time to explore what follows happily ever after has come. The dream is fall in love and get married and grow together in marital bliss. If only staying together were as easy as getting together.
Romance Rekindled dives into the emotional minefield of changing jobs, moving across the country, and realizing the person you married has grown into someone else. Jess and Scott both struggle with their commitment to a person who has changed completely, their responsibilities as parents to young children, and the mediocrity they’ve settled for.
Well, in some departments. The sex is still white hot. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Happy Reading,
Jenna Allen
Chapter 1
“W hat do you know, mood lighting.” Scott nudged my shoulder. The lights on the plane dimmed to accommodate the passengers who could actually sleep on the cross-country flight.
I refused to look at him. I wasn’t going to entertain him while he held me hostage on this flight into hell.
“Come on, Jess. It’s first class,” he whispered.
That did it. I turned towards him, pinning him to his seat with a glare. “It is a red eye flight out of Newark. Newark, Scott. Which meant an extra hour drive that I could have spent with the kids. And I have a nine o’clock meeting at the Waldorf School.”
“Jess, that’s the backup academy, and you know it. Besides, I told you, Oregon isn’t like New York. Kids actually go to public school. If we factor that in with my raise and the cost of living change, my salary doubles. That should make you happy.” He slunk down in his seat.
Let him pout. Moving was his idea. Though our marriage had been a partnership up until now, my vote had been vetoed. “If you’re doing this for money, we’re fine in New York.”
“If I stay in New York, I don’t have a job. The entire group was bought, and very few of us were offered positions.” Scott cleared his throat and reclined his seat.
“You could get another job.” I bunched the tiny pillow, trying to find a position that neared comfort.
“Jessie, you promised me you’d keep an open mind.”
“That was before you sold the apartment.” My chin quivered. I clenched my jaw, praying that the heaviness I felt in my eyes didn’t look like tears. Maybe the dimmed lights would help.
“We need to go, Jess.”
“You want to go. I don’t need to. Janelle and Kyle don’t need to.”
The heaviness of his sigh fell upon my shoulders. “Don’t say something you don’t mean.”
But I wanted to mean it. I wanted to hate him. I wanted to tell him that if he wanted to be with me, he needed to stay in New York. But I was a dozen years and two kids too late to take that stand. He knew I’d go wherever he went. Still, I didn’t have to like leaving my family, my community, my job. In Oregon I’d probably be back to writing restaurant reviews for the free papers.
Scott ran a hand through his dark hair, a few short strands of gray sliding across his temple. My cheeks betrayed me, tightening in a grin as I recalled the summer I met him, when his hair had been down to his shoulders. Quickly I schooled my reaction to him. If I went there, I’d be thinking of how I spent every day slathering myself in SPF forty so I could spend the day at the beach watching him as he did his shift as a lifeguard. It was August by the time he noticed, and by then I’d freckled. Thank goodness I’d grown bolder since then.
“You’re smiling.” Scott’s finger traced down my cheek and I batted it away.
“I still hate you.”
“No, you hate having to leave. Which is why you’re coming out. Portland will be great for us. You’ll see.”
I rolled my eyes and nestled into the pillow, pulling the tiny fleece blanket up to my shoulder as I drifted to sleep.
The hum of the engines echoed in my ear. I never could sleep for long on planes. Maybe if I kept my eyes closed they wouldn’t be too puffy. I snuggled deeper into the pillow, only then noticing where my body had turned.
I peeked up at Scott’s sleeping face, his dark lashes fanning against his cheek. We hadn’t slept this close since before I found out he sold the apartment. Up until then I hadn’t been happy about the thought of moving, but I’d open to the possibility. Then the phone call came and the rug had literally been pulled out from under me. We were going,
