Loving Lindsey (An American Dream Love Story Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Lindsey

  Chapter 2: Zach

  Chapter 3: Lindsey

  Chapter 4: Zach

  Chapter 5: Lindsey

  Chapter 6: Zach

  Chapter 7: Lindsey

  Chapter 8: Zach

  Chapter 9: Lindsey

  Chapter 10: Zach

  Chapter 11: Lindsey

  Chapter 12: Zach

  Chapter 13: Lindsey

  Chapter 14: Zach

  Chapter 15: Lindsey

  Chapter 16: Zach

  Chapter 17: Lindsey

  Chapter 18: Zach

  Chapter 19: Lindsey

  Chapter 20: Zach

  Chapter 21: Lindsey

  Chapter 22: Zach

  Chapter 23: Lindsey

  Chapter 24: Zach

  Chapter 25: Lindsey

  Chapter 26: Zach

  Chapter 27: Lindsey

  Chapter 28: Zach

  Chapter 29: Lindsey

  Chapter 30: Zach

  Chapter 31: Lindsey

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Seducing Sienna ~ Book 3

  Loving Lindsey

  An American Dream Love Story

  Book Two

  by

  Josephine Parker

  Copyright©2017 Josephine Parker

  Editing by Chameleon

  Graphics Design by S.G. Hawkins

  For Teri

  Acknowledgment

  Theodore Roosevelt once said, “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust, and sweat, and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

  I scooted into the arena with a healthy nudge from an amazing group of friends, family, and beta readers, all of whom supported me along the way. My parents told me I could do anything and be anyone. My sister believed in my talent. My friends were there to listen when I cried, and cheer when I smiled. They all said, “Keep going.” A greater fortune I could not imagine.

  In particular, I’d like to thank Marilynn, Milt, Teri, Laurie H., Beth B., Melissa W., and Lauri O. You are the people most special to me in this world. Thank you for believing in me.

  I would also like to thank Chameleon for her excellent editing, her guidance, and sharing her wealth of information. And S.G. Hawkins Graphic Design for tirelessly working to create the covers I envisioned.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Lindsey

  Chapter 2: Zach

  Chapter 3: Lindsey

  Chapter 4: Zach

  Chapter 5: Lindsey

  Chapter 6: Zach

  Chapter 7: Lindsey

  Chapter 8: Zach

  Chapter 9: Lindsey

  Chapter 10: Zach

  Chapter 11: Lindsey

  Chapter 12: Zach

  Chapter 13: Lindsey

  Chapter 14: Zach

  Chapter 15: Lindsey

  Chapter 16: Zach

  Chapter 17: Lindsey

  Chapter 18: Zach

  Chapter 19: Lindsey

  Chapter 20: Zach

  Chapter 21: Lindsey

  Chapter 22: Zach

  Chapter 23: Lindsey

  Chapter 24: Zach

  Chapter 25: Lindsey

  Chapter 26: Zach

  Chapter 27: Lindsey

  Chapter 28: Zach

  Chapter 29: Lindsey

  Chapter 30: Zach

  Chapter 31: Lindsey

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Seducing Sienna ~ Book 3

  Chapter 1: Lindsey

  Lindsey jerked to a stop as the metal arm came down in front of her bumper. She clenched the steering wheel in both hands as her eyes darted around, seeing for the first time a sign that read, “Restricted Access. Faculty Only.”

  No, no, no, she muttered to herself, looking at the clock. She couldn’t be late. Her invitation already felt like a joke. Her body went suddenly cold as she considered the possibility her offer could be rescinded.

  There was a stretch of black asphalt just beyond the arm, beckoning her to pull forward and pick one of the few empty spots just ahead. From the corner of her eye, she saw a thick man emerge from a tiny, white guard station and stroll toward her driver’s side window. He stood beside her door and mouthed something she couldn’t hear. He exhaled visibly and made a twirling motion with his hand, instructing her to roll down the window.

  As she did, her chest tightened.

  “I’ll ask again,” the guard said, “you faculty?”

  Lindsey blinked in response, her hand darting out instinctively to grope at the worn cover of her tablet. She had mapped out her route, even looked at a satellite image. This road was supposed to go through to public parking, not faculty parking only. She swallowed and wished silently, once again, that reality matched the virtual world. She should have dug further. Tomorrow, she would hack into the software and update the mapping data. While she was at it, she should hack this school. Why did they accept her anyway? No, scratch that. Google “fear of success.” That was a better plan.

  “Miss,” the guard said, snapping her back to the gentle idling of her car, and the red and white striped bar that blocked her path forward. “There’s another car pulling up behind you. What’s it gonna be?”

  “Um,” Lindsey stammered, dipping her head forward to peer up at the ancient stone bell-tower that loomed just a block away. “The President’s Pavilion is right there. I see it. I—”

  “True, but you can’t get there from here…unless you’re faculty.”

  You can’t get there from here. Story of my life, Lindsey thought, her arms tensing. As she did, she felt a tiny prick against her skin. She mentally shook her head, remembering that she hadn’t removed the price tag from her dress. Way to go, Lindsey. Be late and show up with a tag sticking out of your dress. If she had just worn something old she would’ve had time to find another lot. Her new apartment was stacked high with boxes filled with outfits, but she hadn’t even opened them, she didn’t know where anything went here.

  Lindsey’s eyes darted to her rear view mirror, where another car waited. She gave the driver a little wave before turning back toward the guard. “Listen,” she said quickly, forcing a smile. “I’m late. Wait, please, don’t shake your head. Today is a big deal…at least for me. Couldn’t you make an exception and let me through, just for an hour?”

  “Nope. Gotta turn around,” he said before walking back into his guard station and plopping down into the single worn chair that waited inside. As he sat, he glanced back at Lindsey’s face. She must have looked miserable because his eyebrows unpinned from between his eyes and dropped softly, revealing rows of laugh lines embedded in his skin. With some effort, he stood back up and walked gingerly toward her window. “Miss,” he said, leaning in, “I am not unsympathetic. Truly. But this road, and all of the parking beyond it, is for faculty only. Don’t know if you’re aware, but parking is at a premium in downtown Boston. The university gobbled up all these lots last year, part for new construction, part for more faculty. People take their parking pretty serious here.” He leaned back and made a show of inspecting her windshield before leaning back in. “However, even though I don’t see a decal, sometimes new faculty don’t get it right away. So, I’ll ask you a
gain,” he said conspiratorially, “you faculty?”

  Lindsey twisted her lips to the side in an effort to stop a nervous laugh from escaping. It had been ten years since she had stepped foot on a college campus, and she thought maybe by now she could pass for faculty. She looked again at the road ahead and considered telling a small fib, but…she was a terrible liar. “No,” she admitted.

  “That’s too bad, I guess,” the guard said with a thoughtful smile.

  Lindsey sighed, thinking back to this morning. As she followed her moving truck down the highway, the familiar streets of Worcester gave way to the skyscrapers and narrow streets of historic Boston. Every building seemed to crowd its way on top of another building. After an hour, she and the truck finally crammed awkwardly into an empty space and the movers began unloading.

  Lindsey sat idly on the front stoop as they heaved her boxes onto their backs and packed them up the narrow staircase of her new building, cursing and waving through the neighborhood residents who honked and veered around the truck’s rumbling front-end.

  As they worked, Lindsey daydreamed about her first day back at school. She imagined sweeping into the pavilion in her new blue dress and dazzling everyone. Being late was not in her plan.

  Lindsey looked at the guard’s name tag. “Officer Jones, you seem like a nice guy. If I had known there would be a…barrier,” Lindsey said, glancing pointedly at the red arm still stretched in front of her bumper, “I would have been early. Couldn’t you just accidentally hit the button that raises that thing on your way to the bathroom or something?”

  He shook his head.

  Lindsey nodded gravely and glanced again at the dashboard clock. She would never make it if she had to go back home, park, and get a cab. “Okay, Jones. What do you like? Chocolate? Booze? I’m not above bribery.”

  “Clearly,” he said, looking at her with amused, but unwavering, eyes.

  “I’d even do Sox tickets,” she continued, “but please, don’t say you like baseball because I really can’t afford them.”

  “Good thing for you and your pocket-book the answer is still no.”

  Lindsey exhaled. “You’re going to make me pull out the big guns now.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  She looked up at the guard with her doll-like face and smiled. “Okay, here goes: pretty please? Pretty please with sprinkles on top. Sprinkles! Come on, Jones, who can turn down sprinkles?” she said. “I promise I’ll move my car as soon as the President’s Tea is over.”

  “I appreciate the effort,” he said. “But, no. I’m one year from retirement and a well-earned pension. Can’t risk it. It’s my ass.”

  Lindsey felt the air go out of her body. “I understand.”

  Officer Jones stood back with his hands hitched into his belt, his head tilted to the side. “There is some paid parking on Constitution and Third, it’s the closest you’ll find, but still a hike,” Jones continued. “Not much student parking near here. Most of the kids take public transportation if they don’t live on campus.”

  “You could tell I was a student, huh?”

  He smiled. “You might be a bit more put together than some, but the nerves gave you away. I’ve been here a long time, though, and I’ll tell you—not everyone gets invited to that fancy tea. If you’re one of them, I don’t think you have much to worry about.”

  “I don’t know about that,” she said.

  “Don’t beat yourself up, kid. Tomorrow’s another day.”

  “It’s Lindsey,” she said, reaching her hand out the window.

  He shook her hand, his bulldog eyes crinkling at the corners. “Sorry, Lindsey.”

  “Don’t be sorry, Jones. It’s not all bad. At least I made a new friend, right?”

  Jones laughed. “I guess so.”

  “Alright, Jones. See you around. I’ll go find that lot now.”

  Jones lifted the gate for her to turn around and raised his substantial hand in a cheerful wave. Lindsey hit the gas and pulled forward into the roundabout, then lurched to a sudden stop as a group of students popped up in the crosswalk. The car behind her slammed on its brakes as its horn bellowed. One of the students flipped her off. Lindsey gave Jones an embarrassed shrug, waved to the students in apology and pulled away. Suddenly, she questioned the judgment of the university for offering her an escalated program based on her “experience and potential.” If they could see her now, they might change their minds.

  She drove as fast as she dared past the cramped historic buildings that lined the nearby streets. Statues and high-rises flew by, all squeezed together through a maze of indecipherable one way streets that changed direction without warning. Boston was a series of contradictions, and Lindsey guessed she was one of them.

  Just as she was about to give up and consult a map, the lot appeared at the top of the hill. She took a sharp breath as she pulled in, trying to convince herself it was excitement more than fear she felt as she parked and gathered her things. She thought of her best friend, Kate. Brave Kate who beat the odds and found her American Dream and true love by taking a chance.

  Lindsey opened her car door and looked out at the expanse of buildings glowing a fresh sherbet orange in the setting Boston sun. She had waited a decade for this. She ripped the price tag off her dress and threw it in a ball toward her passenger seat. “It’s never too late,” she whispered to herself as she started walking. “I got this.”

  Chapter 2: Zach

  Zach’s gaze drifted across the courtyard to the ripples of light bouncing off the Charles River. A light breeze cut a series of hypnotic wedges into the water, and he could feel the shards of sunlight pulling him away. In the shadows, a lone rower sliced through the water in a single-man skull. Zach felt the muscles in his arms and back tighten as he watched it glide by. His hands gripped an invisible oar at his side.

  “Professor Wheeler?”

  Zach looked down and felt himself swing back involuntarily. Dean Cruz stood before him, staring intently through overly painted eyes.

  “My God,” she murmured, “you are easily distracted.”

  Zach sighed. How long had she been standing there? “Just enjoying the day, Dean.”

  “Yes, I can see that,” she clucked, “over here by yourself. Why don’t you mingle? Chat up some of our donors?”

  “I’ll leave that to you. You’re the pro.”

  “Flattery,” she said as she moved closer, constricting the air between them. Zach’s back arched as he tried to lean even further away. He was close enough now to see the dark red streaks of lipstick that had seeped like oil into the corners of her mouth.

  “You are adorable,” she said, her fingers reaching up to trace an invisible line down his lapel. “I’ll forgive you for standing here by yourself, dazed, but only if you tell me you were creating a workable code in that big, big brain of yours.”

  Zach raised his cocktail and took a sip. “No need for concern,” he answered, putting his glass firmly between them, hoping to widen the gap. “We are making progress.”

  “So you say, Professor. So you always say.”

  Zach took a deep breath, preparing himself for the same conversation he and the dean had every time she saw him. “Results take time.”

  The dean tapped the tip of a nail against her wine glass. “Look around,” she said. “See all of this?”

  Zach scanned the courtyard and nodded. “I do.”

  “Impressive, isn’t it?” she said, looking out at the crowd. “Do you think I get extra time to find funding every year? Including funding for your budget-crippling program?” She did not give him time to respond. “Oh, no,” she continued. “I don’t get more time. And neither do you.”

  Zach’s eyes widened. “Meaning?”

  “Meaning, I’ve gone out on a limb for you. Four years is a long time.”

  He scanned her face, hoping to see some hint that she was joking. She looked at him directly, pulling her lips into a tight line. A moment went by as he chose his words. “I’m su
re this year we'll have a breakthrough,” he said carefully.

  “You’d better. There are other demands for the funds I’ve squandered on you, and you just keep asking for more.”

  “More? I thought you turned down my request for faster cabling.”

  “I’m referring to the approval of Ms. Monahan. Where is she, by the way? I was looking forward to seeing this amazing new talent that warranted yet another break in protocol.”

  Zach cast his eyes to the check-in table. He had put Lindsey’s name-tag in the upper right corner so he could keep tabs on when she appeared. It sat alone against the blue tablecloth, untouched. He rubbed his brow. “She’ll be here.

  “Don’t make me regret accepting her.”

  “She’s talented.”

  “Perhaps, but offering a degree for one year of work is unorthodox. What will I say to your colleagues when they ask for similar…concessions?”

  Zach ground his teeth. “She has the credits. And we need her.”

  “Alright,” she said. “Just please, don’t tell me you brought on another weird hacker who can’t manage to be in public.”

  Zach tensed. All he knew were weird hackers who couldn’t manage to be in public. If the dean knew what they knew, she would feel the same. “Our work-product will speak for itself.”

  She smiled, toying with the thick diamond pendant that hung from her neck. “Well, let’s hope so, but this better not be some ploy to keep your funding going.”

  Zach leveled his eyes on hers. “Until today, I didn’t know my funding was in danger.”

  “Of course it is,” she said, swirling her drink in her hand. “There is competition in the university for dollars, you know that. I’ll do my best to help you—if you deliver results—but I can’t make promises.”

  “You can’t make promises?” Zach practically hissed. “I’ve promised my team that their place is solid for the rest of this year. Are you saying that could change?”

  The dean curled her mouth smugly and shrugged. “I need some quid pro quo here, Professor. If I come through for you, will you come through for me?”