Beneath Your Beautiful (Beautiful, #1)
Tamsyn Bester
Acknowledgements
This has undoubtedly been the most amazing journey, and by far my greatest achievement. There are so many people who have been involved and who I would like to thank.
Firstly, to my parents, and my family, thank you for your love and support. To my mom Nadine, who is my biggest fan, thank you for encouraging me to keep going when I’ve been ready to give up and for giving me the freedom to dream my own dreams! I LOVE YOU!
To my twinnie Kelsey Bester, my best friends Gugu Selahle, Nicole Bietje and Erin Richards, and my friend Brooke Pelser – Your excitement and your support has meant so much to me and I love you all for it!
To my Brat, Amanda Bennett (Who also Beta read for me) – thank you for being an amazing friend and mentor.Beautifully Broken was the first Indie book I ever read and I had no idea that it would lead me here, almost a year later!?
To the best Beta’s ever – Toski Reanne Covey, Carrie Richardson-Horton, Michelle Davis Grad, Jessica Carter, Jessica Bowman, Kendra Jefferson, Ashton Ghaemi (Falling In Fall Book Blog), Ena Burnette (Swoon Worthy Books), Lisa Sharley Serpa, Kendra Zumhingst, Ilsa Madden-Mills, Jeanette Ritter Mackanos, Cami Holt Krystyniak (Who also copy edited for me) and Brooke Pelser – THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all the feedback and for telling me you love Grayson & Huntley’s story! Your words of encouragement kept me going & I am so grateful to have had such amazing group of women cheering me on!
A VERY special thank you to Toski at Toski Covey Photography and Sommer Stein at Perfect Pear Creative, for giving my book the most beautiful cover – words are not enough to express my gratitude for all that you have done for me! And to my beautiful cover models, Lexie Lynn Cain and Carson Fields, thank for bring Huntley and Grayson to life!
Lastly, I would like to take the time to thank every person who reads Beneath Your Beautiful – I know it’s not for everybody, and there will be readers who don’t like it, but THANK YOU for taking a chance on my book and for helping me achieve this!
Prologue
Huntley
I know first-hand how hard life can be. I don’t pretend that it’s all butterflies and roses. When I moved to Breckinridge, Alabama, it was so that I could start over and forget about my past, even just for a little while. I had it all figured out then. I would go to college, graduate and then start my career as a child psychologist. For the most part it was simple, fool proof. Until Grayson Carter walked into my life.
He crashed into me at full speed and I found myself addicted to how he made me feel.
They say that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes but as I succumb to the darkness and the pain, I get a glimpse of what could’ve been mine. I feel a little hand slip around mine and look down, only to be met with green eyes that match Graysons’. The brown-haired little boy looks up at me and smiles before running away laughing. I watch, mesmerized, as Grayson appears, running after the little boy.
“No daddy,” the little boy squeals. He runs towards me and I open my arms for him to jump into. “Mommy!” he squeals again.
I kiss his forehead. “Mommy’s here,” I coo.
Grayson wraps his arms around us and I feel peace in this moment, unaware of what’s real and what’s not.
All I know is that I’m happy, and safe, and home.
Chapter 1
Huntley
“Are you ready sweetheart?”
I spin around at the sound of my aunts’ voice. She’s standing in the doorway to my old bedroom with a box tucked under her arm. “I’ll be down in a minute,” I reply
I take one last opportunity to look around my childhood bedroom, remembering where everything once stood. It would be impossible to forget this place but I would never be able to recall the few good memories it held. Those were all tainted, the innocence ripped apart and thrown away.
Thinking about my mother was difficult, especially when the house still smelled like her. It had been just over four months and her vanilla perfume still lingered everywhere, wrapping itself around me like a blanket. Every time I looked in the mirror, it was as if she was staring right back at me. I had her long blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, heart shaped face and button nose. That was where our resemblance ended. Where she was short and willowy, I had inherited my fathers’ taller and slightly muscular build. Thinking about my parents brought a wistful smile to my face, the melancholy of the moment palpable.
I quickly wipe a tear that rolls down my cheek and pick up the rest of my meager possessions.