Romantic - Enemies to Lovers - Forbidden Love
•✦───✧✦✧───✦•
In the peacetime following World War II, Jean Ward loses everything and is sent to live with her best friend, Clyde Mayberry, and his brood of brothers on his family's cattle ranch.
For a...
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•✦─Summer, 1956─✦• Jean, age 18
Jean was on her reading hill when Paulie approached her on a cloudy, summer's day.
"Whatcha reading?" he asked as he pulled his horse, Prancer, to a stop.
"Wuthering Heights."
"And where are you at today?"
"The Moors of Yorkshire."
"Oh, is it any good over there?"
Jean shook her head. "Too sad."
Paulie frowned. "Stop reading it, then."
"I can't. I need to know how it ends."
He extended a hand for her, Jean bookmarking her current page and allowing him to help her up. "Well, take a break from it, at least," he told her. "Come with me and the others to the drive-in."
Jean slipped onto the back of Prancer. "'The others?' Who's all coming?"
Paulie laughed to himself. "You mean, Will Jory be there?" He eyed her playfully over his shoulder. "Yeah, he will. He's the one with the convertible, after all."
Jean patted his back in urgency. "Well, hurry up and get us to the house, then! I need to get an outfit ready pronto!"
•✦───✧✦✧───✦•
Jean chose a pretty, lavender dress with a square neckline, thin straps, and a belt to cinch in the waist.
She fixed her hair with a curling wand, reapplied her makeup, slipped into her favorite, white heels, and breezed onto the back porch smelling of flowers from her new perfume.
The boys were gathered around Jory's white Cadillac, all dressed up for a night out. Jory looked particularly attractive in a pair of dark slacks and a white button-down that rolled up to his biceps.
He straightened up when he caught sight of Jean, his eyes raking over her once before looking elsewhere.
"Well, if it ain't the queen of the castle," Paulie joked as he stationed himself at the bottom step of the porch's small staircase, sticking out a hand for Jean to take. "Don't you look a vision in purple," he teased as he helped her down.
"Why, thank you, Paulie. You're too kind," Jean replied sweetly in the same dramatic fashion. She smiled until she caught Clyde's gaze from where he stood in the open doorway of the car, his eyes intently trained on her.
