Those 365 Letters

By Mia Ford

I thought I'd loved and lost.

But the man of my dreams is back into my life. 

He's not just a billionaire. 

He's also the hottest man I've ever laid my eyes on. 

It didn't work out the first time around. 

My life was in shambles. 

And circumstances tore us apart. 

Logan sent me letters even after we'd broken up.

Today, he's as tempting as he used to be back then. 

Those deep, intrusive eyes. 

That ever-so-charming smile. 

And the same ambition to conquer the world. 

I think I might fall in love with him all over again. 

But something tells me that I'm setting myself up for disaster. 

I'd be devastated if my heart broke again. 

So, is it better to let the past stay in the past?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mia Ford
• Release date: Dec 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393930440

Book preview

Chapter 1

Cora

This is one of the last times we will ever do this. It’s really coming to an end, isn’t it?

I took a bite of my pizza and set it down on the paper plate in front of me. I was typically a pizza junkie and would gobble it down whenever I got a chance, but today the delicious indulgence held very little appeal for me. In fact, I barely tasted it. My heart was in a dark place and I knew all of the reasons why. Reasons that I could do little about, nor would I want to unless my goal was to hold myself and my friends back from moving forward with their dreams.

Life moved along in stages. And my friends and I were about to move on to another important stage.

You are so wrong, man, Jacob Mueller, a friend of ours since third grade, said. Ironman could totally take The Flash in a fight.

My best friend Miley Rose and I looked at each other with a shared annoyance. Was this the subject of conversation? Really?

Kirby Daniels, a guy who had somehow become our friend over the past few years, but no one could ever remember how he did, took a big drink of soda and slammed his cup on the counter to signify that he was about to speak his mind and everyone around him had better listen that up.

That is the biggest load of garbage I’ve ever heard, Kirby said. The Flash has actual superpowers that defy logic and humanity. Ironman is really just a Batman rip-off. He is a normal guy with a lot of money and a lot of really cool gadgets that he uses to fight evil.

Take it back, dude! Jacob said.

No, I won’t take it back. Kirby replied. Ladies, will you back me up on this?

Miley and I couldn’t stop our laughter. Miley finally speaks to the dumbfounded Jacob and Kirby. Wow, this is the most pathetic conversation I’ve ever heard. You remember that we all just graduated high school last week? We are eighteen years old, headed off to college in a few short months. We are adults. Why are we wasting our time talking about comic book superheroes?

Jacob and Kirby looked at each other totally confused.

Kirby scratched his head. Because it is awesome. And this has become much more than just comic book stuff. These superheroes are doing massive numbers at the box office. Everyone loves that stuff.

I think you may be grossly over inflating the numbers when you say ‘everyone’, I said. Miley is right.

Fine, Jacob said. What do you want to talk about? I’m all ears.

Well, I was just thinking how sad all this is, I said somberly. Just think, this summer is going to be the last. Then we are all going to different schools and we will hardly see each other; our lives are radically changing. I’m not sure I’m totally ready for it. How about you guys?

There was silence among my friends. I could tell that they’d all been thinking the same thing, but had tried to bury it deeply in the back of their minds. I’d just brought it to the light and now everyone was deeply bummed. Good job, Cora.

I know it’s going to be difficult, Kirby said. But we will make it work. I mean, that’s life; you move onto new things. Does any one of us want to stay around here?

I gave him a dirty look. It took him a moment, but he finally caught on to the fact that he’d just insulted me.

Well, you know what I mean, Cora, He backpedaled. But you aren’t really staying here; you’re going down the road to Rio Grande. That’s a good school.

Yeah, but it’s not Ohio State, I said flustered.

You might still get in, Miley offered. The waiting list is pretty cool. As soon as a spot opens, you are there.

Yeah, and I might be on social security by the time it does, I said.

I didn’t want to get into a rant about it; I was tired of talking about that subject, but I was just so flustered by the whole thing. My whole life I’d been Cora Blair, the girl who got straight A’s; the girl who was the head of every club and after school activity; Cora Blair, the captain of the girls’ basketball team, head cheerleader, and student body president. I was the best because I had always strived to be.  I’d always loved working hard and I was committed to my dream of being a top architect in a huge firm one day. That had been my dream since I was ten years old.

And when my dream school told me that I was just good enough to make their waiting list—I was crushed. I had been accepted easily to Rio Grande, and it was a good school, but to get accepted into the top architecture firms, I needed to get into the very best schools. And I’d never be able to afford Ivy League, so Ohio State was where I’d set my sights.

Now, if only my dad had become a plastic surgeon instead of a local family doctor, I might have had a shot at Ivy League.

But then again, if I was only a waiting list material at Ohio State... I didn’t really see Harvard knocking on my door anytime soon.

Cora, Miley said. You are way too hard on yourself. I’m sure you will do awesome things. You are too smart and hardworking to ever accept second best.

Thanks, I said. But I’m going to miss all of you so much.

Well, if you ever want to transfer to University of Toledo with me, we could be roomies, Miley said.

No, I quickly replied. No one could convince me to go there.

Miley pretended to be shocked. What the hell?

I laughed and stole one of her French fries.

Truthfully, I didn’t want to be that far away from home, especially at a school I didn’t really want to go to. If I was going to go to Toledo, or Bowling Green like Jacob, I might as well have stayed at Rio Grande where I could still commute every day.

You know what you need to do this summer, to take your mind off things? Miley asked.

She had that goofy grin she got on her face when she was thinking about something really wrong. It usually ended up with us in some kind of mischief. Miley was one of those people who was endlessly restless. She would most likely get tired of Toledo after a semester and try to transfer somewhere else, or drop out entirely and then go back later on after she’d settled down. She said she wanted to be a veterinarian, but she often talked about just taking some time off to travel the country and see what else she could find out about other places. And ideally she wanted to take a year to travel abroad and visit all seven continents.

You need to have a wild, crazy summer romance, Miley said.

Jacob and Kirby gave each other stupid, gross out faces.

That’s the dumbest idea ever, Jacob said.

What? Why? Miley asked.

Because it has nothing to do with what we are talking about. You need to follow the thread of conversation here.

Just eat your burger, Miley said. She turned to me with a serious look on her face. You need to get back out there. It’s been too long.

I laughed. The way she was taking this so seriously—as if she was explaining how she’d just been diagnosed with a deadly illness—was hilarious. This couldn’t be that important to her.

I’m fine, I said. Jason was a few months ago.

Six. Six months. And it’s long overdue. You need to get out there and find someone else, at least for the summer.

You are crazy. I’m not going to start a relationship. Just because I’m staying here, doesn’t mean I plan on being here long. I’m still waiting on a couple other schools to get back to me. And, like you said—Ohio State might still come through for me.

I’m not telling you to have a relationship. I’m saying you should get out there and have a fling, just some meaningless thing. You know, like you see in the movies. I’m telling you it would be the best thing for you.

You have issues, I said. I have no intentions of doing that. I’m really committed to school and studying as much as I can. I need to work on my extracurricular activities, and I’m going to be competing against so many other people. I’m not going to have time for dating.

Miley scoffed at me. She was hilarious sometimes.

You are overthinking this, she said. It’s almost like you don’t know how to just do that thing.

What thing?

Where you don’t care about society’s conventions, where you throw caution to the wind; where you just grab some random dude and ride him until he walks sideways for a few days.

I almost choked on the last bite of pizza I had left. I don’t think I want any part of what you are suggesting.

Yeah, I think you should go out and get some pipe laid in you, Jacob said. And by the way—I’m available.

I gasped in total shock. Jacob had really said that. I was so offended, but almost so full of shock induced laughter that I couldn’t get mad.

What the hell? Miley asked. Are you on something? You aren’t day drinking are you?

No. She’s my friend; you said she should score with somebody. Do you want her to hook up with some random weirdo she knows nothing about? The guy could be a serial killer or something. She knows me. I’m willing to be that kind of friend.

Kirby’s eyes were about to fall out of his head.

You know, I don’t really know Jacob that well... Kirby said. So, I wouldn’t consider him my friend if you want to kick him out of our group.

Kirby said the words slowly with a very serious expression on his face.

I could not stop laughing. Jacob was a good friend and a cute guy, but I thought of him more like a brother than anything romantic. The idea of just hooking up with him on a whim was hysterically preposterous and funny to me.

This just went to a very weird place, Miley said.

Jacob held up his hands and leaned back. Fine. Then I withdraw my invitation. You can’t have me.

Thanks for the laugh, Jacob, I said. But, I’m good. And Miley, I’m not pursuing some stupid fling.

Ok, Miley said. But I still think it’s the best thing for you. Are you worried about developing feelings for some guy and getting stuck here for good?

She was now starting to get closer to the truth. I thought about it a moment and then began to speak. Yeah, I think so. That’s not such an irrational fear now, is it?

No, Miley said. But you have to learn to get a tighter grip on your feelings. It’s easy to fall for someone you are intimate with, especially if it’s good. But if you learn to ignore some of these compulsions, then you can just enjoy it without letting it become some big deal. I think all women owe it to themselves to act like players at least once.

Players? I sure as hell don’t want to be a player, even if I am pretending. Seriously, let’s drop this topic. My love life is not really open for debate.

We finished eating our dinner and left the food court. As we headed past the movie theater where we’d just seen the new Adam Sandler movie about an hour ago, Kirby noticed a flyer hanging on the bulletin board.

Hey, check it out!

I sighed and walked over to see what silliness our friend had discovered. He was the member of our little group who was always trying to decide what new venture we should all be working on. Basically, he was the most likely one amongst us to chase quick riches and to be scammed out of his life savings (of which at this time there were none).

Hey, that sounds cool, Miley said.

I stepped in beside Miley and read the poster. The carnival was coming to town. It came every year at the beginning of the summer and I’d always enjoyed it. The drag races, the food, the games, and of course the rides. My favorite was called The Hurricane. It was not for the squeamish. A few years before Miley and I had ridden it six times in a row.

We had to stop for fear of projectile vomiting if we did it even once more.

We’re going, right? Miley said.

I groaned. I’m not sure I want to.

What? What are you talking about? We always have the most fun.

I know, but this year just feels different. I don’t know...

Are you afraid of it becoming another ‘last thing’? Miley asked.

Wow. She was right.

I guess, I said. I just don’t feel in the mood this year.

Wow, you have to break out of this funk, Miley said. And this is the perfect way for you to do that. We will go and stuff our faces with funnel cakes and then we will ride every stupid ride until we are too nauseous to stand up.

I laughed.

Yeah, we are totally going! Jacob said slapping Kirby a high five.

See, all of us are going to be there, Miley said. You don’t want to be left out, do you?

She looked at me with a fake puppy dog expression. It was the saddest thing I’d ever seen.

Oh, wow! I said. Fine. I’ll go.

I was actually glad they’d talked me into it. The more thought I gave to it, the more interesting it became.

The air outside was warm and balmy. Southern Ohio in the summer is known for its heat and humidity. As we left the Mall, I found myself reminiscing about all of the times we’d spent here. Several times a week and weekends you could have found our little group of friends hanging out at this mall either inside or outside depending on the weather. It was the local hangout for many of the kids in the town our age.

And it was going to be gone soon. I couldn’t imagine myself coming there in college, hoping that some of the high school kids would include me in their group, even though I was old and had graduated. It seemed like a silly thing to think about, but the sadness of it was becoming overwhelming.

We piled in Miley’s SUV and drove across town to the Bowlarama bowling alley. It was another one of our favorite hangout spots, and something else I was surely going to miss. But at the bowling alley I always saw several people I knew from high school.

Go for it! Kirby yelled to Jacob as he stepped up to the lane and released his first roll of the game. Jacob was fun to watch bowl because he always acted like he was a pro by his stance, his movements upon release, and the way he displayed the confidence in himself that the ball was actually going to knock all the pins down for a strike.

And about thirty percent of the time he rolled a gutter ball. In all the years I’d bowled with him I had yet to see him score over one hundred ten.

That guy over there is checking you out, Miley said giving my arm a nudge.

I ignored it. I don’t care. This was getting annoying.

Miley waited a minute until my curiosity got the better of me and I couldn’t stop myself from stealing a glance to the side.

What do you think? Miley asked.

He’s not bad, I said. And he wasn’t. The guy staring at me was tall and broad shouldered with a decent swagger and some intense looking eyes.

Not bad? Are you blind? Miley asked. She leaned in closer. Seriously, why won’t you even consider going on a few dates with someone. It can be fun, even without all the headaches and drama that come with a real relationship.

Why is it so important for you? I asked.

Because of Jimmy, Miley replied.

Jimmy?

Yeah, with him being away at school, I really don’t have much romance, and of course I’m never going to cheat on Jimmy, so I need someone to romance vicariously through.

I threw back my head in laughter. Wow, that is rich. You and Jimmy have been doing the long distance thing for a year now; if it’s so tough then why not just break it off. I mean, are you betrothed or totally in love?

I think so, Miley said.

Really? You think Jimmy is the guy? Like the one for the long haul?

Miley shrugged. I don’t know; it’s too early for that. But he could be.

Could be? I’m not sure you should be waiting around for a ‘could be’ at your age. You remember that you are eighteen?

Yeah, so?

You are telling me that I should go out and have some fun. Well, so should you. I don’t think that a long distance relationship is the ideal thing for someone in your position.

Miley leaned back and looked over at the guy again. Then she looked back at me.

I’ve thought about that, she said. But what if I’m wrong? Jimmy says he loves me. He occasionally talks about marriage and family.

I am curious as to why you didn’t get into Akron.

Miley turned up her nose and acted puzzled. Yeah, me too. I mean, I got into Columbus State, Toledo, Miami of Ohio, and even Kent. But not there. It’s odd, but I’m not sure how colleges really do their recruiting. Besides, they don’t have the best veterinarian department.

I watched as Kirby got up and bowled a nasty looking split.

He slumped back to the ball return to wait for his ball so he could do his second roll. Bummer.

I didn’t want to suggest what I’d been thinking, but I was afraid it might have been irresponsible of me as a friend to bring it up. I was fairly certain that Jimmy was glad that Miley didn’t get into the same school he was. There had been rumors when Jimmy was a student at our high school that he was actually a bit of a player. So, when he was a senior and Miley was a Junior, I was a little alarmed that the two of them started dating.

I’d never really trusted the guy. I’m not sure how he would have pulled it off to make sure that Miley was rejected from Akron, but I wouldn’t have put it past him to do something to make it happen.

I wanted to tell Miley, but I was afraid she might hate me and it would ruin our friendship, so I bit my tongue for the time being about it.

You’re up, Jacob said to me.

I grabbed my ball and made my way up to the lane. I took a deep breath and gave it my best roll. The ball hit a little left of center, but managed to take out four pins. Not a bad start, at least not for me.

Way to go! Miley cheered.

I smiled as I stood near the ball return. I waited for my ball, I happened to glance up and see the guy from earlier staring at me. He was smiling now, his eyes locking nicely with mine. I didn’t want to reciprocate, but I found myself smiling back at him. He was devilishly handsome.

But it really wasn’t the right time for me to be dating anyone, no matter how casual it might have been.

I grabbed my ball and made my second attempt, hitting only two pins.

You should go for it, Miley said when I returned to my seat.

I’m not in the mood, I said.

Well, that guy is, Miley replied. She gestured over my shoulder.

I turned my head to see the handsome stranger making his way towards me.

I took a long breath and let it out. This was going to be a little awkward.

Chapter 2

Landon

I shut off the engine of my Charger and stepped out. It felt good to have my feet on solid ground again as I stood up straight and stretched my legs out, feeling the tightness in the hamstrings and the back of my knees as I started to stretch out.

I’d been driving for three hours and I was a bit fried. I loved getting out on the open road and letting the car loose, blending into the curves and the pavement beneath me, the hum of the engine pulsating under me, and the sweet sounds of heavy rock music propelling me forward like any great soundtrack should.

It felt good to be home. Well, it felt good to be home on a much more permanent basis. I’d been away at college finishing up my MBA at Youngstown, and now I was ready to move to the next chapter of my life. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted that to be yet, but I was fairly certain that my father was going to continue pushing for the plan he’d had for me since I was in diapers.

I walked up the steps to the front door, admiring the large pillars before me. I’d grown up in this house—technically, it was a mansion—and I’d never gotten over how miraculously huge and imposing the place was. It still filled me with shock and awe when I saw it, especially if I hadn’t been home in a while.

It had been about three months since I’d been home. The last time I had been, my father and I got into a silly argument. I barely remembered what it was about, but it was most likely something to do with him dictating and ruining my life.

Since I was a kid I’d always been interested in starting my own business, being my own man. I’d inherited my father’s entrepreneurial spirit and his guts, but I wasn’t sure if I’d received any of his good business sense. That remained to be seen. I was young and untested, but full of piss and vinegar as my father liked to say.

I had to agree. I’ve always been filled with the type of self-confidence that I can do anything. And I’ve always rebelled against rules and authority. How dare someone else tell me how to conduct myself or my life?

Landon, My father said when I arrived at his office. The butler Yancey let me in and escorted me to where my father was working (as always) in his home office. Yancey had been with my father for about two years, but for some reason he still felt like a stranger to me. I supposed that one day I would get used to him and he’d actually say more than two words to me.

It’s good to see you, my boy, My father said.

I shook his hand and he pulled me into a big hug. Had he forgotten we’d had nasty words the last time I was in his presence? Or did he think it was just old news?

Have a seat, he said. Would you like a drink?

No, I’m good, I said as I sat down in one of the fine, Italian leather chairs seated in front of his desk. It felt good to be back home.

The name Steven Glatt shone on the placard my father kept on his desk. The