Only You
Only You
An Adair Family Novel
Samantha Young
Only You
An Adair Family Novel
By Samantha Young
Copyright © 2023 Samantha Young
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Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior written permission of the above author of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
This work is registered with and protected by Copyright House.
Cover Design By Hang Le
Couple Photography by Regina Wamba
Contents
Also by Samantha Young
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Author Note
Prologue
1. Monroe
2. Monroe
3. Brodan
4. Brodan
5. Monroe
6. Monroe
7. Brodan
8. Brodan
9. Monroe
10. Monroe
11. Monroe
12. Monroe
13. Monroe
14. Monroe
15. Brodan
16. Brodan
17. Monroe
18. Brodan
19. Monroe
20. Brodan
21. Monroe
22. Brodan
23. Monroe
24. Monroe
25. Brodan
26. Monroe
27. Brodan
28. Monroe
29. Monroe
30. Brodan
31. Monroe
32. Brodan
33. Monroe
34. Monroe
35. Monroe
36. Brodan
37. Monroe
38. Monroe
Epilogue
Epilogue II
Also by Samantha Young
Other Adult Contemporary Novels by Samantha Young
Play On
As Dust Dances
Black Tangled Heart
Hold On: A Play On Novella
Into the Deep
Out of the Shallows
Hero
Villain: A Hero Novella
One Day: A Valentine Novella
Fight or Flight
Much Ado About You
A Cosmic Kind of love
* * *
On Dublin Street Series:
On Dublin Street
Down London Road
Before Jamaica Lane
Fall From India Place
Echoes of Scotland Street
Moonlight on Nightingale Way
Until Fountain Bridge (a novella)
Castle Hill (a novella)
Valentine (a novella)
One King’s Way (a novella)
On Hart’s Boardwalk (a novella)
Hart’s Boardwalk Series:
The One Real Thing
Every Little Thing
Things We Never Said
The Truest Thing
* * *
The Adair Family Series:
Here With Me
There With You
Always You
Be With Me
Only You
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Young Adult contemporary titles by Samantha Young
The Impossible Vastness of Us
The Fragile Ordinary
Other titles by Samantha Young:
Drip Drop Teardrop, a novella
* * *
Titles Co-written with Kristen Callihan
Outmatched
* * *
Titles Written Under S. Young
Fear of Fire and Shadow
True Immortality Series:
War of Hearts
Kiss of Vengeance
Bound by Forever
War of the Covens Trilogy:
Hunted
Destined
Ascended
The Seven Kings of Jinn Series:
Seven Kings of Jinn
Of Wish and Fury
Queen of Shadow and Ash
The Law of Stars and Sultans
About the Author
Samantha Young is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author from Stirlingshire, Scotland. She's been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Author and Best Romance for her international bestseller On Dublin Street. On Dublin Street is Samantha's first adult contemporary romance series and has sold in 31 countries.
Acknowledgments
For the most part, writing is a solitary endeavor, but publishing most certainly is not. A massive thank you to my lovely friend Catherine Cowles for reading the first version of Only You and for providing insight and support that means the world to me. Love you loads!
Of course I have to thank my amazing editor Jennifer Sommersby Young for always, always being there to help make me a better writer and storyteller. On top of that, Jenn, you are just the best cheerleader and most supportive human. Thank you for being you. I love ya!
Thank you to Julie Deaton for proofreading Only You and catching all the things. You have an amazing eye for detail and I’m always reassured my stories are going out into the world in the best possible shape.
And thank you to my bestie and PA extraordinaire Ashleen Walker for handling all the little things and supporting me through everything. I appreciate you so much. And miss and love you loads.
The life of a writer doesn’t stop with the book. Our job expands beyond the written word to marketing, advertising, graphic design, social media management, and more. Help from those in the know goes a long way. A huge thank-you to Nina Grinstead at Valentine PR for your encouragement, support, insight and advice. You’re invaluable to me and I hope you know how much I cherish you. Thank you to all the team at Valentine who work so hard to make sure my books find readers. You all are amazing!
Thank you to every single blogger, Instagrammer, and book lover who has helped spread the word about my books. You all are appreciated so much! On that note, a massive thank-you to the fantastic readers in my private Facebook group, Samantha Young’s Clan McBookish. You’re truly special and the loveliest readers a girl could ask for. Your continued and ceaseless support is awe-inspiring and I’m so grateful for you all.
A massive thank-you to Hang Le for once again creating a stunning cover that establishes the perfect visual atmosphere for this story and this series. You are a tremendous talent! And thank you to Regina Wamba for the beautiful couple photography that brings Brodan and Monroe to life.
As always, thank you to my agent Lauren Abramo for making it possible for readers all over the world to find my words. You’re phenomenal, and I’m so lucky to have you.
A huge thank-you to my family and friends for always supporting and encouraging me, and for listening to me talk, sometimes in circles, about the worlds I live in.
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Finally, to you, thank you for reading. It means everything to me.
Author Note
Dear Reader,
Many years ago, I was inspired to write this series set in my picturesque, fictional village in the Scottish Highlands. Because of obligations to other books, I put this series on hold. For that I am thankful, because over the years it evolved into something so three-dimensional in my mind, sometimes it seems impossible that Ardnoch and its characters are not a living, breathing reality. The love and support readers have given me and this series has blown
me away and made writing it even more special. Thank you so much. You’ll never know how much I appreciate you.
When I realized I’d so quickly come to the last chapter in this family saga, it filled me with a sense of restlessness. Usually when I finish a series, it feels right. Complete. However, as much as I believe Brodan and Monroe’s epic love story signals the end of the trials and tribulations of the Adair Family (can you hear them breathe a sigh of relief?), I am not yet ready to leave Ardnoch behind.
Beyond the Thistles is the first book in The Highlands Series and set in this world I have grown to love so much. Once you finish Brodan and Monroe’s story, I hope you’ll be excited about what and who is coming next. You’ll find all you need to know once you scroll to the last page… but don’t rush there in a hurry. Take your time. Find a place to curl up for a while and let the pages guide you into the rugged beauty of the Scottish Highlands and a love story I felt deep in my soul with every word I typed.
With love and gratitude,
Sam x
Prologue
Monroe
YEARS AGO …
* * *
The cinema was a quiet place on a Monday morning, even if it was summer and the school holidays. Only a handful of people waited in the large foyer. Nothing to distract me from the vertical ceiling banner with Brodan Adair’s gorgeous face plastered over it. I couldn’t believe it the first time I saw his brother Lachlan on a chat show promoting his debut Hollywood film.
From there, Brodan started appearing in secondary roles. Nothing that tempted me to watch his movies and TV shows. However, it had been hard to miss his escalating success. Now, there he was on a giant poster advertising his first big lead role in a blockbuster movie.
An ache I’d carried around in my chest for years splintered painfully.
Turn around and get the hell out of here, I urged myself. Stop being such a masochist.
But I couldn’t.
The desire to see what had become of him was too great. I thought years apart would numb it, might even erase it … but ironically, the distance had only made my heart stubborn.
Fuck.
Throwing my shoulders back, I marched across the foyer to the ticket counter and bought a ticket to the next showing of Brodan’s movie.
There he was. That horrible ache bloomed hotter as I stared up at a larger-than-life Brodan, playing the role with a flawless American accent. It almost made him seem like a different person. Except for those eyes. Everything was always in Brodan’s eyes. It was a wee bit disconcerting to see he was such an excellent actor because, for a while, I could almost forget this leading man was once my best friend.
Until he kissed the leading woman with genuine passion.
Rumor had it they were dating in real life.
Watching them, I couldn’t believe it wasn’t true—their chemistry was fire.
Ridiculous hurt and jealousy filled me. Possessiveness.
He was mine first, I thought childishly.
Brodan had never really been mine in the way I wanted, but when we were children, he was my everything. Memories I tried so hard to forget consumed me, whirling before me, blurring the sight of Brodan Adair, Hollywood actor …
* * *
I knew by my mum’s cut lip as I walked into the kitchen that it was one of those days. I opened my mouth to talk, and she shook her head frantically.
Shit.
We lived in a small row cottage on the edge of Ardnoch. Our village was tiny, but not so tiny that we didn’t have streets that were known for housing folks who had less than other folks. We lived on one of those streets.
“That Monroe?” Dad yelled from the living room across the hall.
Mum mouthed, “Leave.”
My heart lurched in my chest, and I turned to go just as Dad appeared in the kitchen doorway.
His face was red, his eyes bright with whisky, fists clenched at his sides.
As a kid, I didn’t know Dad was an alcoholic. Or at least I didn’t understand it. I was twelve now, in my first year at Ardnoch Academy. So I knew. I knew things now that I didn’t know then. I knew it was the drink that turned my dad into a monster.
My hands became clammy.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Where you been?” He stepped toward me belligerently.
“School.”
“You should be out working, helping,” he snarled.
“I’m t-twelve,” I quietly reminded him.
“I was working at twelve, you lazy wee bitch.”
“I have to go to school, Dad. It’s illegal not to.”
His nostrils flared. “You think I don’t know that? You trying to be smart with me?”
“No. It’s just … few places here will hire you for a part-time job until you’re fifteen.” Plus, I wanted to go to school. I wanted to do something with my life.
“Try harder. We’ve got bills to pay.”
I don’t know what came over me, if I was sick of walking on eggshells with the man, but I muttered, “Maybe if you didn’t spend all your money on drink.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I froze, nauseated with fear.
His expression darkened. “What the fuck you say?”
“Dad—”
“Callum, don’t,” Mum pleaded.
“Cheeky bitch. Come ’ere!”
Everything from that point was a blur of black and red and pain. I could hear Mum screaming, “Stop!” She must have finally gotten him off me, but my face hurt everywhere, and I couldn’t open one of my eyes.
“Why?” Mum hissed. “Why did you provoke him?”
I tried to speak through the agony, but the only thing I could think of was my best friend’s face.
Brodan.
I wanted to be with Brodan.
He made me feel safe.
My right side screamed with pain as Mum pulled me up onto unsteady feet.
“Look what you made him do,” Mum cried softly. “This is your fault.”
My fault?
Was it?
Maybe it was.
Brodan’s dad would never dare hurt his children. I knew Brodan wished he was around more. Looking after the Adair brothers and their sister, Arrochar, had mostly fallen to the eldest, Lachlan, but still, Mr. Adair was a gentle man. He’d never beat his daughter to a pulp.
“Now we’ll have to keep you off school for Christ knows how long,” Mum huffed, and I could see through my one eye that she was tearing up. “Let me get some antiseptic for your lip, and then we’ll get some ice on your face.”
On which part? I thought numbly.
As she walked dejectedly out of the kitchen, I got up. Dad was still here. He could come back and do more damage. Maybe even kill me this time.
So I stumbled toward the kitchen door, the floor bobbing up and down like waves in the sea. I pushed past the strange feeling and threw myself out of the house.
Terror made me pick up my heavy legs, and I ran. I took the back streets toward the road that led to Ardnoch Estate. Brodan and his siblings rode their bikes to the castle they called their home. In a few years, Lachlan would be old enough to drive them to school.
Sharp pain cut through my ribs, and I had to slow to a walk. It would be ages before I got to the drafty old castle, and I hurt so much, I didn’t know if I could make it.
“Roe!” a familiar voice called.
I lifted my head, trying to see through my one good eye. Blurry figures appeared on the road ahead.
On bikes.
Brodan?
Brodan! I tried to open my mouth, but suddenly the world tilted and my legs disappeared.
Pain shot through my knees.
“Monroe!”
Brodan.
It seemed like only seconds later that hands were on me, and I looked up into Brodan’s frantic face. Tears glimmered in his eyes. “Arran, get Dad.”
“What … what’s going on?” I heard his brother Arran whisper.
“Arran, get Dad!” Brodan yell
ed. I could hear the panic in my friend’s voice.
Then his arm was around me, and he held me to him. “You’ll be okay, Sunset, you’ll be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you ever again. You’re safe. I’ve got you, Roe.”
* * *
I blinked, coming out of one of the most vivid memories of my childhood. Tears wet my cheeks, and I glanced around to make sure no one paid attention.
There were only two other people at the screening, and their attention was glued to the film.
To Brodan.
From the moment my father had begun beating me, Brodan, my best friend since our first day at primary school, had become my protector. Even at twelve, he’d been determined to take care of me. Because of him and his father, my life changed after that day.
And I’d stupidly thought Brodan’s passionate commitment to my well-being meant something.
I would be fourteen years old when I finally admitted to myself that I loved Brodan more than just a friend.