by Ryan Michele
Dream Lover
(Propositions and Proposals #1)
Ryan Michele
Dream Lover (Proposition and Proposals #1)
Ryan Michele
©Ryan Michele, Wicked Words Publishing, LLC 2020
All Rights Reserved. This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction in whole or in part, without express written permission from Ryan Michele.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
1st edition published: March 24, 2020
Contents
Blurb
Keep Up to Date
Prologue — Quinn
1. Quinn
2. Quinn
3. Quinn
4. Conner
5. Conner
6. Quinn
7. Conner
8. Quinn
9. Quinn
10. Quinn
11. Quinn
12. Conner
13. Quinn
14. Conner
15. Quinn
16. Conner
17. Quinn
18. Conner
19. Quinn
20. Conner
Epilogue
Killian (The Fearless Few #1)
Other Books by Ryan Michele
About the Author
Thank you!
Blurb
Dream Lover
From Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author Ryan Michele comes a brand new spicy contemporary romance series full of propositions and proposals.
Sin city ... roll the dice, take chances, for only in Las Vegas are the risks absolutely worth the rewards!
My brother is getting married, but before he gets hitched, he and his soon to be Mrs. decide to have a co-bachelor/bachelorette celebration in Vegas.
This isn't your typical celebration. No, they dropped the shocker: a couple's week long retreat full of challenges to test and enhance your love.
The only problem for me? I don't have a significant other.
A single conversation with my lifetime best friend leaves me with one option ... trust her.
Carrie knows me better than anyone, why not? What could it hurt?
She sends me a surprise I never saw coming. A week with him as my pretend lover.
Lines are sure to be crossed and I can only hope my heart won't end up broken.
Throwing caution to the wind, we both give everything to this simple proposition.
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Prologue — Quinn
THE PERFECT MAN: AN UNKNOWN CREATURE FOUND ONLY IN BOOKS AND MOVIES OR A HIGHSCHOOLER’S IMAGINATION
Past
“You’re laughing. You swore you weren’t going to laugh at me.” I narrowed my eyes on Carrie, and she held her palms up in mock surrender.
“I’m sorry.” Her thin lips curved into a mischievous smirk that told me no, she was anything except sorry, but she was doing her best to shut it down and failing miserably. “What were you saying?”
I folded my arms over my chest and looked out the window of my second-floor bedroom, staring at the pool out back, debating diving in. The cool water would feel good right about now. It was one thing I loved about this house—an underwater escape even for a few moments.
“I’m not telling you.” I moved to the side wall and flipped my ceiling fan on. The dry air made me feel like I couldn’t breathe at times. It didn’t matter that I had lived in Arizona half of my life. The heat was something I never adjusted to, and it was worse with summer drawing near. Not to mention the pressure of Carrie’s amused gaze shooting lasers at me.
“Oh, come on now. That’s not fair. I gave you my list of must haves.” My best friend since before I could remember tugged on my arm and pinched my side as she sat at my desk. It was true, she had listed her dream man who also sounded a lot like her latest celebrity crush. Someone unattainable. Someone so far out of reach it made me wonder if she was being truthful. I was very serious about my dream man.
“Stop it, you goof,” I said, pulling away from her and moving to sit on my bed in the middle of the room.
“I’ll leave you alone when you finish that list. What did you say? Dark hair and blue eyes that make your heart skip a beat…” She trailed off and tapped her pencil against her notebook, waiting for me expectantly.
I rolled my eyes but gave in, knowing she wouldn’t give up. I wanted this over with. “He needs to be tall and sexy. But more importantly he has to make me laugh and be kind. He should have a good job. One that makes him happy. A nice reliable car and his own place. I want a guy who doesn’t have to try to be something he’s not. I want a man who can be my best friend.”
“You trying to replace me?” Her dark brows knitted together, then she got that sneaky grin again telling me she was going to hit me with it. And boy did she ever. “You know Conner will be home this weekend.”
“Okay … and I care because?”
Truthfully, I did care. A whole lot, actually, but I couldn’t tell her that. Conner was her older brother and my older brother’s best friend. Growing up it was always the four of us until Drew and Conner got too cool to ‘play’ or hang out with us and got into girls. Then it was a firm, ‘No-go to the baby sister and her friend.’
When it first happened it hit me hard, but as time went on, I understood.
Her left shoulder lifted. “No reason. Just thought you might want to pack a dress when you spend the night. You know my dad will insist that we do a family dinner, and it will be fancy.” Her father loved to spend money on good food. Regularly. Conner being home was just an excuse, which I didn’t mind.
I’d gone to dinner with her family a million times. I didn’t know why she was being so weird about it now. It wasn’t like Conner would care what I wore or even notice I was there at all. He wouldn’t even acknowledge I existed, but to say hi and move on.
“College boy. Hey, is he bringing any of his buddies home this time?” I wiggled my brows and rubbed my hands together.
Carrie shook her head, her face falling a touch. “Doubtful. I heard him griping about Jameson being too flirty toward us. Can you believe that?” Jameson was a friend of Conner’s who came home with him a while back. Jameson did flirt and, truth be told, I kind of liked it. An older hot guy winking and telling us we were beautiful—who wouldn’t like that?
“Well, you are his baby sister. He’s just doing that whole macho protective big brother thing.”
“I guess… But you aren’t his sister. He shouldn’t care if a guy like Jameson flirts with you.”
“He doesn’t. You’re just lumping me into the equation.” I didn’t believe that Conner even knew I existed anymore. He was a junior at Arizona State, was in a fraternity, and had other things and people on his mind. I was the furthest down on that list. I’d accepted that a long time ago.
“Whatever. Do you think we’ll ever find a guy who meets our wants?”
I thought about my bestie’s question, but I didn’t have an answer for her. I hoped one day I’d find my Mr. Right, but there was no such thing as perfect.
Quinn
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE IS NOT KNOWING EVERYTHING… IT’S HAVING
THE PHONE NUMBER OF SOMEONE WHO DOES.
I glanced at the text message from my brother for the third time dreading each word my eyes scanned across. The last thing I wanted to do tonight was meet up with Drew and Rebecca. I loved my brother dearly, though, so for him I was willing to go just to make him happy. It wasn’t every day your brother got married. Unfortunately for me, my future sister-in-law was a bridezilla from hell. Yay me, not.
Drew- Be at Fat Olives at seven. It’s about the wedding. Don’t be late.
Ugh. I sighed and grabbed my keys along with my purse that had my phone inside. It was already half past six. I delayed as long as possible without being late.
I had big plans for my Friday night that consisted of Netflix—hello, Oliver, from the Green Arrow—and chilling with my new bottle of wine until the entire bottle was consumed. At least there would be wine at the restaurant. That was the only perk of the evening, and I was going to need it to deal with Rebecca.
I was surprised to even be included in the wedding, considering Rebecca handpicked the full bridal party including the groomsmen, ushers, flower girl and ring bearer.
Only one of Drew’s friends made the cut and were in the bridal party.
One. Which was surprising because my brother had a ton of buddies, being a very likable man and all. Rebecca gave some lame excuse about everyone needing to be evenly matched in height for the photos. She legit said that Conner, my brother’s lifelong best friend since he was like nine, was too tall and would throw everything off. Who did that shit?
The disappointment in my brother for allowing this decision was what bothered me the most. Him not sticking up for friendships he’d had for years was a complete let down in my eyes.
Drew demanded that his fiancée make me a bridesmaid; it was the one request he wasn’t backing down from. Sadly, though, I wished he had fought for Conner instead of me; it was, after all, his wedding too.
I arrived at the restaurant with a few minutes to spare, finding a parking space on the street in front of the door. Sitting in my car, I contemplated going in or leaving, but I knew Drew was counting on me to suck it up and show. After all, being the only family in the wedding party, I had to show my support for him.
Sifting my fingers through my dark hair, I nearly jumped out of my skin when a fist knocked on my driver’s side window. I looked over and saw it was my brother with an impatient look on his face.
He stepped back, and I exited the car then shut the door. “What?” I huffed, irritated at his look, pushing the leather strap of my purse up on my shoulder.
“Everyone’s waiting for you.”
“Seriously? I still have like five minutes.”
My brother put an arm over my shoulder and ushered me to the door. “Just don’t. You know Rebecca has been on edge and only wants everything to be perfect.”
Perfect? Good luck with that. Nothing was perfect in this world. She had a rude awakening coming soon. When something crashed, she wouldn’t be able to handle it. “Whatever. What’s so important that I just had to be here anyhow?”
“You’ll see.” He squeezed my shoulder, and I tried to hide my scowl as we entered the dining room. The Fat Olive had been a staple in this town for years and had the best Italian food imaginable. The décor wasn’t something to write home about and needed some serious updating.
Plastic grapes and vines hung from the ceiling that collected far too much dust. Let us not forget the huge fake tree in the middle of the room that had monkeys hanging from it. Yes, it needed some serious TLC, but the owners had it this way for thirty plus years and showed zero chance of anything changing.
Rebecca flashed a fake smile at me for my brother’s sake and to keep appearances with the guests all around. It was no secret to me, though, that she didn’t like me. It started early on in their relationship when I called Rebecca out on her shit. She, of course, didn’t like me from that moment on. Frankly, I wasn’t fazed. The feeling for her was mutual. She did not deserve my brother. He was too good for her. I knew, and so did she.
“So glad you could join us.” Her sickly-sweet tone was enough to make my teeth ache.
On a small nod, I slid into my seat, biting my tongue to keep from releasing all the smart assed remarks hanging on the tip. She-bitch from hell…
My seat was next to her lame best friend, Carley, who couldn’t remove the stick from her ass with a chainsaw. Another fake smile was sent my way that I ignored.
My brother sat next to me, which I greatly appreciated. I had no clue what attracted my brother to Rebecca. She wasn’t like any of the other women he dated over the years. I supposed if I didn’t know her rotten insides, her outward appearance was what most would call pretty.
Blonde curly hair that bounced around her heart-shaped face. Big doe eyes that resembled the center of a cinnamon bun, but not the sweetness, and bow-shaped lips. Not a blemish on her porcelain skin, but it was when she opened her mouth all her beauty faded away, leaving nothing but a bitter shrew.
“I ordered you a salad with no dressing. I figured you’d be watching your figure until the wedding.”
My fists clenched under the table as I felt my body start to heat. There was nothing wrong with my weight. My curves were exactly how I wanted them, and Rebecca simply loved to take a jab at me any way she could. Just another way she was a bitch. Kill her with kindness, I reminded myself. “Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Becky.” Her cheeks went firetruck red, and inside I smiled. Bingo. Target hit. There was nothing Rebecca hated more than being called Becky. It was a jab I only used when she pissed me off even more than she normally did, and she had pissed me off a lot in the two years they had been together.
Jaw tight and teeth grinding, my future sister-in-law struggled to hold her composure as she spoke through her teeth. “We’ve discussed this. It’s Rebecca. Just Rebecca. Not Becky. Not Becks. Not Becca. Ra-beck-ka.” She sounded the syllables out, nostrils flared, eyes narrowed on me. The look bounced off me like Jell-O. Her glare didn’t affect me one bit. She was all bark and no bite.
“Oops,” I commented as the server moved in and poured me a glass of wine. I took a hearty sip, trying not to think terrible thoughts like it’d be a real shame if Rebecca choked on a crouton. Her eyes stared at me as I drank, probably racking up my calorie intake with each sip. It only made me want to drink more, but driving was coming up sooner rather than later, at least I hoped. Getting out of here was top priority.
The food was served, and a small salad was placed in front of me. I smiled up at the waiter. “Can you please take this back? I’d like a lasagna with extra cheese and house bread please.” The waiter nodded at me and left.
Eyes bore into me, and I knew they were Becky’s. A small smile played on my lips. It didn’t take long before my food arrived, and low conversations were held around the table. Me, not knowing anyone, ate instead. The lasagna made better conversation than the people in this room. Not to mention it tasted incredible.
My brother stood, tapping his silverware against his glass and garnering everyone’s attention. Rebecca stood next to him, loving being center of attention if the smile had anything to say about it. It wasn’t my brother who spoke, though. It was Becky. “Now that we have your attention. The reason we asked you all here this evening is Andrew and I have an announcement. Instead of boring traditional bachelor and bachelorette parties, we have decided that the entire wedding party is coming to a week of couples challenges in Las Vegas!” Rebecca squealed, and her friends smiled back at her. I, however, would rather have a rusty nail to gouge my eyeballs out with.
The keyword giving me trouble was ‘couple’. I wasn’t part of a couple. I was single. Numero uno. One, and it appeared that one needed a significant other to attend. Maybe this would be my out. No man, no trip. If only I were that lucky. “If anyone”—her eyes zoned in on me, and I knew luck was not on my side—“doesn’t have a partner or significant other, you’ll need to find someone. Everyone in the wedding party has to participat
e.” Only after her final words did she turn away from me.
I should tell her to fuck off, but I couldn’t because of Drew. The things I did for him.
Considering the other members of the bridal party were grabbing each other’s hands and making those stupid googly eyes at each other, they were all coupled up and probably knew everything about one another.
Panic bubbled in my throat and tightened in my chest. The challenges were for lovers. For people in a committed relationship who loved each other. What the hell was I going to do? Who the hell could I bring? I had no one. Not even a fuck buddy who could pretend to be my boyfriend. No way in hell I’d tell Rebecca there was no one, or ask my brother if he had any single friends who could stand in for me. I still had some pride.
I needed a plan, fast. So when Rebecca asked, “Will that be a problem for you?” I lied and shot back with one of her fake smiles she had given me so many times.
“Not at all. It sounds like a great time. I’m looking forward to it.”