Page 104 of Trust Again

Tristan and Mackenzie deserved that happy ending. It didn’t feel right to end their story without trying everything. And I knew I couldn’t start a new story until this one was finished.

Frustrated, I opened my email and started to write.

Dear Nolan,

How do I get over writer’s block?

I’ve been sitting here, trying to write the conclusion of About Us, and I don’t know any more. My head is completely empty. I think my muse has left me. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks a lot,

Dawn

I sent off the email and openedAbout Usagain on my computer, reading and reworking the first chapter. My stomach still tingled when I read about the two of them. This story was something special, I was certain. When I reached chapter five, my email inbox flashed.

Dear Dawn,

First of all, strike the word “muse” from your vocabulary—it only discourages you.

As far as writer’s block goes: look at the story from another angle. Go back to the beginning and see where your characters might have made a wrong turn. Sometimes a little intervention can lead to big changes that help the plot along.

All the best,

Nolan

P. S.: If the two of them don’t stay together in the end, that’s okay. There are romance novels with bittersweet endings and even some that end ambiguously.

I read his email. Twice. Three times. Then I readAbout Usup to the end of chapter twenty-six, where I was now stuck.

Of course I could change some things. A lot, in fact. Mackenzie could trust Tristan earlier. They could go home together already in chapter seven. Tristan could make his true intentions clear much earlier, instead of hiding himself behind a façade of jokes and half-truths. It was exactly like Nolan said: a few little changes would be enough to get Tristan and Mackenzie to their happy ending. Not a big deal, if it were just a manuscript.

But it wasn’t.

This was Spencer’s and my story. It was full of mistakes and inconsistencies. It was real—more real than anything I’d ever written. And I just couldn’t let it end without a twenty-seventh chapter.

What I wanted with Spencer was chapter twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, and everything that followed. Because, goddammit, I was in love with him.

I was angry and hurt, and I was sure he felt the same way. But one of us had to take a step in the right direction if we were ever going to get our happily ever after.

I reread chapter twenty-six. And then started to write.

Twenty-seven

Spencer,

Everything that Mackenzie feels for Tristan is what I feel for you. That and so much more. I know I’m really bad at showing you this, but… here it is. In black and white.

I can’t erase my mistakes. But what I can do is what you showed me: start every day fresh and try to be someone who deserves the love of a man who is simply perfect for me.

With love,

Dawn

I printed out the manuscript. Then I called Allie and drove with her to Spencer’s house. I left the stack of pages, tied with a blue ribbon, on his doormat.

Chapter 37

I waited nine hours.