Before I Found You 6p1m37

Before I Found You

A Short Prologue to the ONE SWEET DAY series

Jillian Walsh

Contents

Chapter 1

Before I Found You, A Prologue to One Sweet Day I Found You, Book One of the ONE SWEET DAY series

Copyright © 2020 by Jillian Walsh.

All Rights Reserved.

All rights reserved under International and Pan American Copyright conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, ed, recorded, or stored in any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations for review purposes.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

First Edition, 2020

One

Twenty-five-year-old Courtney Price shivered and started up the engine of her red Toyota Camry. She checked her mirrors, glancing around the small parking lot behind the Latin Fusion restaurant in Chicago’s popular Logan Square neighborhood where she worked. She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. 1:30am. An early night. She sighed with relief, turned up the heater, glanced in the rearview mirror, then backed out of the parking spot. The restaurant was only five blocks from home. She’d worked an evening shift in the dining room until it closed at eleven and then moved upstairs to the bar, which usually stayed lively until one. Then she’d stayed to close, along with two others servers, the bartender, some line cooks, and the manager. It had been a long night, but the extra hands meant they’d finished half an hour earlier than usual. And while Courtney’s feet ached, her tips had left her with no complaints. She rounded a left turn onto a pleasant, tree-lined street, its well-kept, midcentury brick apartment buildings perfectly visible by the street lights, then pushed a few strands of her shoulder-length, walnut brown hair behind her ear. Two minutes later, she pulled into her usual parking spot along the curb and made sure her parking permit was displayed. The last thing she needed tomorrow morning was a parking ticket. She hurried to the building through the crisp October night air. Inside her building, she shut the heavy door and glanced at the staircase beyond the modest lobby. The building didn’t have an elevator. It was a long haul to the third floor, twobedroom unit that she shared with her roommate, Alicia, and she wasted no time commencing the march up the stairs.

Courtney wasn’t thrilled about the hours she kept nowadays, but she’d asked for this lifestyle. She’d given up her steady, daytime, office job downtown, where she’d edited copy for an agency that put out airline publications. But she’d made the decision to quit and go out on her own as a freelance travel writer six months ago—for better or for worse. She rolled her eyes as she untied the ribbons of her black apron. It wasn’t glamorous, that was for sure. So far, she’d sold only a few freelance articles—not enough to make ends meet. She’d finally taken a job waiting tables, five nights a week, to pay the rest of the bills. It had been an adjustment, to say the least, but things could be worse. She finally had a future ahead of her, even if it meant she’d be spending her evenings up-selling menu items and delivering plates of food for a while. The writing was fulfilling. The story she’d finished today was about solo travel for women, and it had hit a chord with her. She might even like to try it, herself, someday. She reached the second floor of her building and shook off the thought. It was silly, wasn’t it? She, herself, had no need for solo travel. Her boyfriend of almost a year, drop-dead gorgeous Austin McDermott, would be at her side for any traveling she wanted to do. They’d already taken a few romantic weekend getaways together. This past summer, the beach, and last winter, the mountains. Courtney sighed. The trips had been romantic and exciting, and surely, there’d be more. She was so lucky to be with him. She rounded the third flight of stairs, still daydreaming. Austin was the kind of boyfriend that most girls only wished for in their twenties. An ambitious twentysix-year-old advertising executive who came from a comfortable background, Austin had started up a conversation with her at a happy hour downtown, not far from his office, one fateful Friday afternoon, about a year ago. Courtney had ed Alicia, downtown, for the rare occasion of happy hour, just by chance. Courtney smiled as she thought back to that day. Austin—his dark hair swept back, his blue dress shirt rolled up at the sleeves, the top button undone, his tie removed. Those broad shoulders and that confident smile—he’d taken her breath away.

Austin was the life of the party, every guy’s favorite drinking buddy, the kind of guy every girl wanted to date. Still, it was a Friday night and she hadn’t talked to him at all today. He was busy at work most days, but he’d usually, at least, call her to say hello before her shift. She’d sent him a text, but he’d only sent back a message saying he’d talk to her soon. He’d mentioned yesterday that he might be going out with some friends for drinks after work on Friday night. He must’ve just gotten distracted, she thought, ignoring the doubt. He knew she’d be working, anyway. If she were being truthful, though, she hadn’t spent much time with him at all, lately. Maybe it was because of her new job, which took up most of her nights, but the two of them seemed to be growing more and more distant. Courtney shook it off again. It was probably nothing. Let it go. Still, he hadn’t been wild about her decision to quit the steady—real—job and go out on her own. She sensed he was almost embarrassed that she’d started waiting tables, too. He hadn’t come to see her at work yet, and she’d been there for months already. It was odd, if not disheartening. “It’s a step backwards, Courtney,” he’d said, with a shake of his head when she’d explained. He didn’t get it, though—the whole freelance writing thing, working for herself. It wasn’t a step backwards—it was exactly the opposite. She just had to make him see. She would show him. She’d be able to quit the restaurant if she kept writing, maybe in a year, maybe sooner. A few more bylines and he’d come around. Courtney jiggled the keys with a frown, searching for the right one. Still, it was frustrating that he showed zero . She sighed and unlocked the apartment door then set her things down quietly on the counter just inside the kitchen. Alicia might be sleeping. She removed her coat and threw it over a chair with her apron.

Courtney paused to listen. Music came from the living room. Okay then, Alicia must be up. It was Friday night, after all. Alicia was always out on the prowl on the weekends. Courtney stopped when she heard some noises—Alicia, giggling, and then a quieter male voice. Yes, it seemed Alicia was entertaining. Great. She’d have to walk by to get to her bedroom. Just what she wanted to do —interrupt another make-out session. Alicia frequently brought guys home, and Courtney was getting tired of it. Courtney rolled her eyes and cleared her throat to make her presence known. “Hey, Alicia. I’m home.” The giggling and talking stopped abruptly. Maybe she could get past without making eye . But a quick and unintentional glance out of the corner of her eye revealed Alicia sprawled out on top of someone. She seemed to have frozen in place, and she hadn’t said a word to Courtney, either, which was odd. Alicia wasn’t usually shy, even in a case like this, but something seemed off. Courtney couldn’t help it. She let her glance fall over them. She sucked in a breath. No. It couldn’t be. Courtney’s eyes were drawn to the floor in front of the couch. Their shoes and jackets were strewn about. His phone was on the coffee table. He stared back at her in shock. Austin. Courtney swallowed hard and felt her heart drop into her stomach. Alicia sat up, then tried to stand up, and almost fell backwards onto the floor.

Tipsy. No, drunk. Courtney tore her gaze from Alicia and stared back at Austin, her thoughts racing. He looked like he’d had a few too many drinks, too. Alicia jumped up and turned off the music. Her shirt was unbuttoned. So was his. Austin sat up, swearing under his breath, the very picture of guilt. Courtney’s breath was coming in fast now, too fast. She dropped her gaze to the floor. “What in the…?” Austin peeled himself from the couch, straightened his shirt, and stood there— speechless. Courtney’s heart nearly pounded out of her chest. Meanwhile, Alicia fumbled with the buttons on her blouse and yanked her mini skirt back into place. She tried to straighten the disarray of her long blonde hair, her gaze firmly planted on the floor. Intense emotions crowded Courtney’s brain. She felt sick to her stomach, unable to speak. She ed telling Alicia she’d be home at 2am, the usual. Questions raced through Courtney’s mind. What if she hadn’t come home early? What if she’d never found them there? Would they just have gone on like it hadn’t happened? Had it happened before? And what, exactly, had transpired between them? She held a hand across her forehead and tried to keep from hyperventilating. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be.

Austin stared at her. She clapped a hand across her mouth and stared at him, her heart still racing, her cheeks still burning. Could it? Honestly, it didn’t matter what happened because something obviously did— whatever it was. They were both liars, cheaters—a horrible friend and an even more horrible boyfriend. Courtney felt like she was going to throw up. She blew out a few heavy breaths through her nose. “How could you, Austin? I mean, what…?” She looked at him, her face twisted with rage. Disgust. He looked tortured. Guilty stare. No answer. She turned her gaze to Alicia and spouted off a few choice phrases, feverish with anger now. Alicia’s face had already gone pale, and she turned and marched to her room without a word, slamming the door behind her. Courtney brought her voice down. She glared at the man she’d apparently been foolish enough to fall in love with, the man with whom she’d been stupid enough to imagine a future. “Get out.” Her voice was soft but steady. Austin stood where he was, staring back, not moving. He held out his arms. “Courtney, wait… Let’s talk.” She raised her voice to a shout. “I said get out!” Austin located his shoes and awkwardly slipped his feet into them. “All right, I’m going.” He grabbed his jacket, phone, and wallet, and started toward the door, reaching out to gently graze her shoulder as he ed her by. He stopped in front of her. “I’m sorry. I never meant—” “Don’t touch me,” Courtney said, her tone flat. She pushed his hand away. “Just get out.” Austin frowned.

Courtney swallowed. She’d barely moved from the spot where she’d first set foot into the living room. She tried to control her breathing and listened as he walked through her kitchen. She was stone cold as she heard him unlock and then open her front door. She let out another deep breath through her nose as she heard him close the door quietly behind him. Her eyes grew moist as she marched to her room and slammed the door. She collapsed on the bed and buried her head in her pillow until she burst into tears. What had she done to deserve this? What? And what now?

If this sneak peek into Courtney’s past had your heart pounding—or your fists clenching—find out how she’s doing now, eight months later, in Book One of the series, One Sweet Day I Found You. Now available, the first in a six-book series about friendship, careers, ion, and love, and ALWAYS with a Happily-Ever-After. Find One Sweet Day I Found You and the whole series at JillianWalshRomance.com.