Questionable Love (A Love Beyond Labels #2) Read online

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

  CHAPTER SIXTY

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

  CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

  CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

  CHAPTER SEVENTY

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER EIGHTY

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE

  CHAPTER NINETY

  CHAPTER NINETY-ONE

  CHAPTER NINETY-TWO

  CHAPTER NINETY-THREE

  CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR

  CHAPTER NINETY-FIVE

  CHAPTER NINETY-SIX

  CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINETY-NINE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-ONE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWO

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THREE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FOUR

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIVE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIX

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHT

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-NINE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-ELEVEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWELVE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-NINETEEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-THREE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-SIX

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FORTY-NINE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-ONE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-TWO

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-THREE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRE-FIFTY-FIVE

  CGAPTER ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-SIX

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-FIFTY-NINE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-ONE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-TWO

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-THREE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-SIX

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED -SIXTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SIXTY-NINE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTY

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-SEVENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHTY

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHTY-ONE

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHTY-TWO

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED-EIGHTY-THREE

  JACE AND SHAY’S HAPPILY EVER AFTER

  JACE

  SHAY

  JACE

  SHAY

  JACE

  SHAY

  JACE

  DEAR READERS

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  BOOKS BY DANIELLE ROCCO

  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.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, ex
cept in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. The scanning, uploading and distribution of the book via the Internet or via any other means without permission is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support for the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Interior Formatting by: Cassy Roop of Pink Ink Designs

  First Edition

  Questionable Love

  Danielle Rocco

  A love beyond labels trademark novel

  Labeled Love Book Two

  Copyright © 2016 Danielle Rocco

  ISBN: 978-0-9965850-2-6 E- book

  978-0-9965850-3-3 Paperback

  THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN TRUE LOVE

  To every one of you amazing, heartfelt readers that loved Jace and Shay’s beginning,

  Enjoy the journey.

  All this heart-shaped love is for you.

  LOVE NEVER FAILS

  1 Corinthians 13:8

  There once was a young girl who went with her mother to drop off a box of books at a local community center. She took a chance asking a group of boys to join in on their football game, and when the boys saw the girl, the girl only ever saw one boy. She fell in love with him that very first day, and no matter what, she would always stand by that boy’s side.

  NATIONAL DISASTER DAY

  “WE FIND JACE JAMES guilty of aggravated assault.”

  My entire world just shook. Everything happens quickly. I try to get to Jace, but the guard blocks me. My brother, Beau, and my dad are on each side of me, holding me back. Jace pushes out of his seat and turns toward me. Wide-eyed and desperate, our eyes find each other’s.

  Jace whispers to me, “You can’t.”

  I stop. Everyone falls away when dark blue meets pale blue eyes. No one else matters in this moment. I need him to breathe in my love and devotion, but I can’t get within reach. The guard starts leading him away.

  “Do you love me?” I whisper.

  “More than anything,” he answers.

  My eyes quickly slide to my dad’s in a frantic plea.

  “Do something!”

  My dad looks down at me, helpless. I quickly look back at my boy that’s being led away from me.

  “Once a week. Just like when we were kids. We will see each other once a week.” He stares at me with sadness ready to spill from his eyes, and it kills me because my boy has never shown weakness in front of me. I look at the guard trying to take my happiness away.

  “I just want to hold him! Let me hold him! He doesn’t deserve this!” I yell. My dad says my name, his grip tightening around my arm to the point that I should feel pain, but I feel nothing because the pain inside my heart right now is brutal. Right before Jace walks through that door that I swore he wouldn’t go back through, he turns to me, and it’s first moments all over again as he stares lovingly into my eyes the same way he did when we first met and I swore he looked into my soul.

  But this time it isn’t “I’ll take her on my team,” like he told the group of boys at the community center. This time he says, “Don’t cry, baby,” and then the boy I fell in love with at twelve years old is gone.

  “Two years!” I let out a heart-rending cry as the door closes. My hands go to my face, and my breathing is uneven. “Oh my God, this didn’t just happen,” I say, staring at the door, trembling.

  “Jace,” I cry out.

  “Shay, look at me.” I don’t move. “Shay?” I stare blankly at the door my boy stands behind and just shake my head.

  “No…no…no…” Gentle hands start to turn me away from the door that separates Jace from me. I don’t want to lose sight of that door so I try to resist the pull. “Please don’t touch me,” I whisper between ragged breaths.

  Love and concern win, and I turn willingly into my mother’s embrace. With my arms to my side, I let her hold me until a woman in the back of the courtroom catches my eye. Strung out and familiar makes eye contact with me, and she quickly gets up and walks out of the room. “Let go of me,” I say into my mom’s neck. She’s too slow so I pull out of her embrace, practically knocking my friend, Jules, over so I can get to the woman.

  “Shay, what the?” Jules asks. Ignoring her, I push through anyone in my way. I try to catch up to the woman, but she’s walking too fast. I’m so shaken my legs feel like Jell-O, but I’m desperate to talk to her.

  “Ms. James…” She doesn’t turn around. “Grace?” She continues to ignore me. “Grace!” I scream. Lifeless hair falls over her bony shoulder as her sunken brown eyes meet mine. “Just like I told you, Grace, when I came to see you—I love your son, and I will always fight for him!” She shakes her head from side to side, then pushes the courthouse door open and walks out. I want to run to her and tell her everything. I want her to know her son is still the best person I know and doesn’t deserve to be in prison, and no matter what, I will love him through every moment we are apart. But I stop in a panic as I realize I’m moving farther away from Jace.

  I turn away from the courthouse door and make my way back to the door my boy stands behind. Desperation gets to me, and I feel emotions wash over me I’ve never felt before. Jules tries to grab my hand when I walk back into the courtroom. “Shay?” I pull away.

  “The judge made a mistake!” I look at her. She has tears in her eyes. “Did you just hear me, Jules? He made a mistake!”

  “Yes, I heard you.” She just stares at me and shakes her head.

  “He made a mistake!”

  “We have to leave the courtroom now,” Jules says, trying to grab my hand again.

  “No,” I tell her.

  “They said we have to, Shay.” She tugs on my hand.

  “Let go of me.”

  “Jules is just trying to help, Shay,” Mom says from behind me. I look over my shoulder.

  “And were you helping me when you were talking to the people that just sentenced my boyfriend to two years in prison? I saw you talking to them,” I hiss.

  “Watch how you talk to your mom, Shay. You don’t know what was relayed to them,” Dad scolds.

  “And I don’t ever want to know,” I say to my dad as my brother pushes me through the door into the hallway. With Beau behind me, and my parents on each side of me, we walk out of the courtroom with our shoes echoing through the long, cold hallway.

  Jace’s friend, Landon, opens the door, and Jules walks through first, then Dad lets Mom go. He releases my arm, allowing me to follow with the help of Beau gently guiding from behind through the door of the courthouse.

  The warmth of the sun and the brightness of the blue sky remind me of what Jace will be denied. He’s not going to have sunlight, he’s not going to feel the warmth from the sun, he’s not going to feel my touch—he’s going to be all by himself without comfort. How are we going to survive this? My boy, alone, no sand beneath our feet, no sunset nights holding each other under our warm blanket gazing at the moon and the stars, no slow lovemaking and sweet kisses, no whispered words of forever.

  My mind is a frazzled mess of memories and fairy-tale promises, and I’m choking on my own thoughts of forever that have been ruined. I’m going a hundred miles an hour standing in one spot. I’m floating on a cloud of cotton candy promises as everyone around me speaks.

  I hear nothing but his voice. “I love you, baby… And when I unwrap you, I’m going to treasure you forever…” I smile. Then, it’s like slow motion as my legs buckle beneath me, and I slowly fall to the ground in shock.

  My dad’s voice breaks through the silence. “Beau, pick her up.” Beau starts walking to me with quick strides.

  “No! Don’t touch me! I mean it, Beau! Don’t freakin’ touch me!” I pull away from his reach. “Jace is not staying here! I won’t let them take him away from me! He does not deserve this!”

  “Shay,” Beau says, trying to calm me.

  “Leave me alone!” I scream, turning back
in the direction of my heart. I’m panicking…full-blown panicking. All I can see is his face as he looked at me before they escorted him away.

  I need to see him. I just want to see him. He needs me.

  I hear my mom crying. She reaches out for me, but I push her away.

  “Please, just leave me alone!” I yell, sobbing uncontrollably and garnering attention. “He doesn’t belong in prison!” I can’t catch my breath. I seriously can’t catch my breath. I turn to my dad who is trying to hold my mom back from coming to me again. “You did nothing, Dad. Not a damn thing! Two years… Are they freakin’ crazy?”

  My dad calls out to Beau, “I’m going to get the car.”

  I let out a very long, shaky breath and look up to my dad. “You can go home, Dad. I’m not leaving.”

  “Shay, please,” Jules says.

  Beau stands over me. “Shay, you have to get up,” he says sadly, but I can’t move. I won’t move.

  “Jace’s here. I’m not leaving him and walking away,” I whisper to him. Jules is crying, Landon is staring at me, and with strong hands, Beau leans down and scoops me up into his arms.

  “You can’t stay here on the steps of the courthouse. It’s not going to bring Jace back to you. He probably isn’t even here anymore,” he says as I wrap my arms around his neck.

  “Where is he? Where did they take him?” I ask. His eyes soften as he cradles me to him.

  “They took him back to jail until they are ready to transport him to prison,” he answers. My stomach clenches.

  “I don’t want him to think I’ve left him. I would never leave him, Beau.”

  “He wouldn’t want you sitting here crying like this. He would want you to go home.” I shake my head as the tears continue to fall. “I know you’re hurting, Shay, but I know Jace wouldn’t want to see you like this.”

  Landon walks up to us as Beau holds me tight against him. “If you ever need anything, Shay, you have my number. You can call me anytime.”

  I lift my head from my brother’s neck. “Thank you, Landon,” I say weakly, feeling my energy fading. He gives me a forced smile and walks away.

  Beau starts walking with me in his arms, not caring at all that prying eyes are upon us. I hold on tightly, pressing my face to his neck. My brother, a major movie star, is carrying me off the steps of the city of Los Angeles’ courthouse. I’m sure someone is catching this on social media by now.

  My parents pull up in the car. Jules opens the door, and Beau sets me down and puts my seatbelt on. Dad looks over at Beau. “Are you coming to the house?”