Chapter 1 - Brooke

Finally. Summer vacation was here. I could only enjoy it for a short time, and already I could feel my precious free time slipping away like sand through the hourglass. It was all my fault that I had so little of it, since I’d not only signed up for the late summer session to keep my goal of graduating early on track, but I volunteered to take on extra hours at the boutique where I worked. Plus, I was going to keep doing deliveries as long as there was a breath of life left in my ancient car.

I really shouldn’t have taken time off to go down to LA with my best friend Jenna and her new husband. I should have been holding a grudge against her, but I missed her too much since she moved out to secretly marry her boss. A man who also happened to be her sister’s husband’s brother. It was a mess, and I couldn’t really blame her for wanting to keep things as simple as possible during that whirlwind of a time. I could tell Jenna missed me too, and was trying to make it up to me, so it was way too difficult to weasel my way out of the invitation.

As much as I needed every penny I was missing out on by going with her to visit her family, I needed a break, too. I was tired to the bone and couldn’t remember the last time I got a full eight hours of sleep. But my goals of being completely financially stable with a degree and a good career kept me going even when my eyes felt like sand had been ground into them and my feet were pounding from standing all day.

The last time I’d gone down to Jenna’s sister’s huge, glamorous mansion in Los Angeles was at Christmas, and that time had been cut short by some kind of squabble between the sisters that Jenna never would tell me much about. Those two days had been the last time I’d taken any time off, and they hadn’t exactly been stress-free due to the fight and Jenna’s subsequent depression afterwards.

Now, all that seemed to be settled, and I was actually flying first class down to LA. I balked at the extravagance, but Jenna bought the ticket without telling me and insisted it was nonrefundable, so I’d better accept it. First class! Me, the kid who’d never even had her own room. Even on the short little hop down the coast, the cabin was so luxurious I would have wished the flight would never end, except I knew what awaited me when we arrived at Katie and Aleks’s place.

Jenna and Lev were in the seats ahead of me, snuggled up together as usual, but I was happy to spend the time by myself to revel in the big seat and the fancy appetizers. Since Jenna finally admitted she was married to her powerful businessman boss, I’d barely had any time to visit her in her new house. It was a stunningly beautiful place in the hills, with a view that nearly stopped my heart, and instead of making me miserable in the tiny apartment we used to share, it only stoked my fire more.

One day, because of my hard work, I’d have a beautiful home of my own and all the lovely things that went with it. I’d never have to worry about money and, most importantly, never have to be beholden to anyone.

When Jenna and I first met, we bonded almost instantly. Both of us were on our own and scared half to death, but scraping by as best we could. Before she met Lev, Jenna worried about money as much as I did, always wondering if we’d be able to share a medium pizza on Friday nights or if it’d be ramen again while we studied to keep our grades up and not lose our all-important scholarships.

That was where our similarities ended, though. Jenna might have understood scraping for every last penny, but she’d lived with a family who loved her. Her parents had died when she was young, but she still had a sister and aunt who cared and fought for her wellbeing.

Not bounced around from family to family, sometimes having to share a cramped bedroom with four other kids, having to actually fight for food or a blanket. The last family I lived with before they tossed me out on my eighteenth birthday told me that I wasn’t worth anything to them anymore now that they’d no longer get the government subsidy check for putting a roof over my head.

Happy birthday to me.

I was stunned to discover all those families who’d taken me in were getting paid. I’d certainly never seen any of it, having to grovel for the most basic necessities and always being told how grateful I should be. Living on my own was grueling and scary at first, but even though it wore me out, I relished my independence and loved not having to answer to anyone who didn’t have my best interests at heart.

That was why it was so hard to accept this lavish gift of flying first class, even though I was loving every second of it. Jenna would have been sincerely upset if I refused, because I’d learned that some people were good, generous, and kind-hearted. I was lucky to have her as a friend, and we both would have been having just as much fun if we were back in our old place sharing that greasy pepperoni pizza that was the height of extravagance to us.

At the airport, a driver was waiting for us, and as I settled in for the ride up to Jenna’s sister’s place, I was already planning to plunk my behind by the pool and do nothing for ten hours straight. At least.

But before I could even get in the door, Katie hurried out as fast as she could with her adorable baby in her arms, telling me one of her brothers-in-law was going to be taking me on a little tour of Hollywood.

“You remember Max, don’t you? You met him at Christmas, or at least I think you did,” Katie said, looking a bit stressed out.

My mind raced back through time, instantly pulling Max out of my memories. Uh, of course, I remembered him. We’d had a lovely chat during what little of that holiday vacation I got to enjoy before we fled back to San Francisco.

From the moment he introduced himself to me, he had laid it on thick. An obvious flirt and professional player, I nearly got caught up in his games, enjoying myself too much as we talked and laughed. It was probably a blessing that Jenna dragged me back home in such a hurry, or I might have developed an uncomfortable, unrequited crush on him.

Now, he was going to take me somewhere, just the two of us? The crush was springing back to life before I could even stammer out a reply. Lunacy. An accomplished, cocky, older man like him wouldn’t even remember me, and I was sure he had his arm twisted to do this for some reason. The only thing to do was politely decline and get my butt in that pool chair.

But since Katie looked so anxious and it was clear that Jenna wanted some family time alone, I had no choice but to agree.

“Sure, okay, if it’s no problem,” I said.

The words were barely out when Max came out of the big double front doors, taller and more handsome than I remembered. And I remembered him as being pretty damn good-looking.

His dark hair was tousled, a bit longer than I recalled, with the wavy tips brushing the open collar of his dark blue shirt. The shirt was haphazardly tucked into jeans that clung to his muscular thighs, and I quickly jerked my head up before I was caught staring at that part of his anatomy. When I made my way back up to his face, and his eyes met mine, the cafe au lait colored irises darkened to a rich black coffee hue, and a slow smile curled his lips.

And oh, damn. There was that dimple that I recalled.

His long, lean legs ate up the steps as he made his way down, quickly but without seeming like he was in a hurry. He was right in front of me all too soon, taking my hand in a brisk, friendly shake that warmed me to my bones and made me tug at the light sweater I was wearing. Much too warm for LA weather, especially when such a hot man was staring down at me with a look in his eyes I couldn’t decipher.

I shivered as his hand fell away from mine, and he turned to open the door of a bright red convertible—some kind of imported car that was probably worth my tuition for the next three years. He held the door open for me and smiled again, those dark eyes flashing.

“Are you ready, Brooke?” he asked, the sound of my name in his deep, rumbling voice sending a tremor through my knees.

Oh, it was clear now that he recognized me, but other than that, I couldn’t fathom what that spark in his eyes meant. No, I didn’t think I was ready, not at all, but I wanted to find out.