The One and Only: A Single Mom Second Chance Romance (Heart of Hope)

by Ajme Williams

  Either way, I was excited for our new child and for our future together.

  “You know, I never really thought about kids,” Cade admitted. “I mean, I had vague notions of a family, but I didn’t even want to marry Della, or anyone else. Why would I think about kids when I couldn’t even think about marriage?”

  He turned to look at me. “But I wouldn’t trade this for anything. The only person I would ever want to have a family with is you.”

  I smiled at him. There had only ever been one person for me, too, and that was Cade. And now that we finally had each other, I had never been happier.

  If you liked ‘The One and Only’, you’re going to love Best Friend’s Brother, the next book in the series.

  It’s been five years since I made that big bad mistake.

  Five years since I hooked up with my best friend’s brother.

  I thought that would be the only secret I’d have to carry.

  But boy, was I wrong.

  He still looks at me the same way he did back then.

  Only now, my eyes are hiding something.

  Adam is a dad.

  He’s got no idea.

  And I’ve got no idea how to break this news to him.

  Especially now that he’s my boss.

  Download your copy of Best Friend’s Brother HERE.

  Best Friend’s Brother (Excerpt)

  Description

  It’s been five years since I made that big bad mistake.

  Five years since I hooked up with my best friend’s brother.

  I thought that would be the only secret I’d have to carry.

  But boy, was I wrong.

  The fact that Adam adored my curves for one night was nothing in comparison to what that night actually led to.

  Adam is a billionaire.

  A man who knows what he wants, and who he wants.

  That hasn’t changed all these years later.

  He still looks at me the same way he did back then.

  Only now, my eyes are hiding something.

  Adam is a dad.

  He’s got no idea.

  And I’ve got no idea how to break this news to him.

  Especially now that he’s my boss.

  But I know that once this secret comes out, it’ll be the beginning of an end.

  An end of a friendship.

  And possibly an end of a love that should get a second chance.

  Prologue

  Adriana

  Five Years Before

  Relax Addi, this is the oldest profession in the world. Women have been doing this for millennia and you aren't even going to have to touch anyone.

  You’re a whore Adriana. You’re a whore and your naked body is going to be on the internet forever.

  Maybe, but my classmate Kenya told me she made two thousand dollars in three weeks showing her tits on the internet and that sounded worth it to me.

  I stared at the address bar on my laptop and typed in the first two letters of the website address. Of course, it auto-filled because this wasn't my first time going on there. When Kenya told me about it, I had to take a look. Some site on the internet where you could make thousands of dollars for just flashing your webcam? Sign me up.

  There wasn't a lot of the page, just these features of different girls who were currently online and links to log in.

  “So, do you actually meet the guys who you talk to on here?” I had asked her.

  “Oh my God, no way. All you do is chat with them, tease them, talk with them, and if they give you credits, you do what they ask,” Kenya said to me like it was the easiest thing in the world. Yeah, it was going to be some random man on the other side of the camera, but he wasn’t actually there.

  “Do you take like everything off?”

  “No. Well, depends. You see, I have like a menu. Depending on the number of credits a guy gives me, he can ask for different things. Full nude is of course pretty expensive, you're lucky if you get guys who’ll ask for that. And the thing is once you're nude, you can't really start putting clothes back on.”

  “Aren't you scared of your stuff ending up being posted online? What if it ends up on porn sites or something?” I asked. Kenya just shrugged at that one.

  “Look, if I was taking my clothes off at a strip club, I could potentially get groped, harassed, followed after work, or run into someone who knows me in real life. Camming isn't necessarily safer, there are risks but I weighed the risks out and it's worth it. At least to me. Think about it. Because you're right, if stuff from your cam shows does get out, it's on the internet forever and that's just something you're going to have to live with.”

  Great, so no pressure.

  I had spent days weighing the risks, weeks considering the life I would live if my bare breasts ended up on a porn site. It wasn’t as serious as that, but I had read stories from online sex workers who had been doxxed and ended up fired from their real-life jobs. Women who hadn’t been allowed to cross the border at the airport because they had adult content online. Girls whose families found out, whose boyfriends dumped them when they started camming.

  I had weighed the risks and, well, I was back here again, wasn't I?

  I needed money, I needed a lot of it, and I needed it fast.

  My options for employment weren’t limited, but they wouldn't give me the kind of money I needed in a timely fashion. I was heading into senior year soon, and up until this point, my college education had been paid for partly by my parents, by my own employment, savings, scholarships, and loans. I was determined to have as little debt as possible when I graduated and just one year of loans was going to set me back thousands of dollars.

  A month ago, my dad took a nasty fall which stopped him from being able to work and put my parents on disability. Since they were suddenly on one income, I couldn't rely on them to help me pay for senior year. I was past the deadline for any scholarships or loans, my fault, I would totally cop to that so here I was. All I could rely on now was a job and a normal job just wasn't going to do the trick, not the way I needed it to.

  Looking at the screen with thumbnails of multiple girls in various stages of undress, I felt like I should have felt worse about this, but I didn’t. I was nervous as hell, but damn, two thousand dollars in three weeks? I had done the math and I wouldn't even have to use the site for that long if I managed to first of all achieve and then sustain that kind of income. I could be in and out in a matter of months and then I’d put it behind me.

  People made careers as camgirls but I didn’t want that. The stigma alone, long term wasn’t something I’d be able to deal with. For some reason, the few months I’d be online felt like it wouldn’t count. There were thousands of other girls doing it, I wouldn’t even stand out.

  I had already made my mind up and at this point was just stalling. I clicked the log in button because I had already made an account. After Kenya showed me the website, I wanted to take a look. I had looked at the FAQ's, found out how quickly money was paid out, read the site regulations, and even watched some cam shows to get an idea of how to pull one off.

  I was as prepared as I could have been. As far as my body, I had shaved my legs and trimmed my bush. I was going to have a mask on and since I didn't have any tattoos, birthmarks, or scars, who would be able to tell my naked body from the next curvy girl's on the site?

  Still, my heart was beating a mile a minute. I had stuck tape over my webcam so nobody would be able to see me until I was ready, even after I started my broadcast. I was home alone, and my door was locked just in case my roommate came home and got the bright idea to storm in.

  I had a tip system all figured out. Nothing happened until one hundred credits. I would probably have to get fully naked and anything beyond that, well, we’d see how well the broadcast went.

  Kenya had shown me her collection. Dildos, vibrators, butt plugs, the whole nine. It was a little intimidating. I had one small pink vibrating dildo and that was all I was willing to work with on-camera if it
ever came to that. I wasn’t a prude but I wasn’t experienced.

  I had masturbated, even used toys but I was a virgin, so seduction wasn’t second nature to me. I had watched other girls and talked to Kenya to get an idea of what the guys liked. I wasn't having sex though, I was just chatting with them and letting them look at my tits, so I felt like I’d get away with it. In three to six months depending on how well this went, I did stop, and hopefully, I wouldn't have to log back into the site again. I could take the short-term risks for the long-term reward.

  I needed to graduate on time. I had to. It wasn’t an option for me, it was a matter of giving myself what my family had never been able to give me.

  I got up off my bed and looked in the mirror one last time, I looked pretty good. Checking myself out, I shimmied to the playlist I had put together for this experience. I felt the music would calm me down.

  I had been a little bit worried that my body type would work against me, but Kenya assured me that curvy girls definitely had their audience. I was in a cute floral dress and underneath I was wearing a matching cherry bra and panty set. I had a towel down on the bed to make sure things didn't get messy, and last but not least, the mask.

  It was this elaborate black and pink masquerade mask which covered the entire top half of my face. I was certain that nobody would be able to recognize me. Of course, there was always the risk, but I was ready. When I graduated with minimal debt this was all going to have been worth it.

  I’d look back one day and be glad that I did it. When I had my own car, house, owned my own consulting business, and didn’t have to look up a restaurant online before I went out to eat to make sure it was in my price range, it would be worth it.

  It was easy not to care about money when you always had it. I didn't come from one of those families. It had never gotten to the point where I had to go to sleep hungry, but we never went on vacations either. We only got new clothes when our old ones were falling apart, and my parents had been stuck in the same jobs for years because they didn't have the qualifications for upward mobility.

  I wanted something different. That was why I had worked so hard to get into college and why I was trying so hard to get through it with as little debt as possible. I had gotten this far with just one year left and I didn't care what it was going to take, I was going to be successful. It wouldn't matter in five years. It wouldn't matter in ten years. I would finally be somewhere and this would be part of my past.

  I went back to my bed and started my broadcast. After peeling the tape off of my webcam, I situated myself in the little frame and started waiting for my room to fill up. Nerves shot through me. Depending on how well it went, I was staying online no more than forty-five minutes. A large part of camming was chatting with the guys. Kenya told me that some guys would pay to go into private chat rooms with you and I was looking forward to it. The money, not the actual chatting.

  After about two minutes, somebody popped up.

  Oh shit. Oh shit, he could see me.

  His screen name was Hapth0r12 and of course, he didn't have an avatar. I waved and said hi, going into the chat and typing him a message.

  bby_jugs: Hi there, thanks for joining me. What would you like to see?

  Hapth0r12: Hey beautiful.

  Almost immediately, I was notified that he had tipped me a hundred credits.

  I would love to see more of you, he sent in the chat.

  That was easy. I got on my knees and slowly pulled my dress up over my head. Getting the dress up over my face, I felt it pull my mask loose. I tried to grab it, but it came off with my dress. I squeaked and quickly ducked out of frame to put the mask back on properly.

  I looked back at the chat to see if more people had shown up. Hapth0r12 had replied.

  Hapth0r12: Addi??

  I froze reading my name.

  Holy shit.

  Oh no, how did he know who I was?

  Oh crap, he just put my name in the chat. I couldn't let anyone else see it. I quickly ended the broadcast and logged out.

  How had he seen who I was? My mask was off for literally two seconds and then I got out of frame.

  If he knew my name it was because he knew my face. Somebody I knew had logged into my broadcast.

  I had been a cam girl for literally six minutes and my worst possible fear had come true. Could I get expelled for this? What if somebody I went to school with saw me and decided to expose me? The thought made me hyperventilate.

  I had thought of all these risks, but it was so much scarier now that somebody in my chat had actually figured out who I was.

  My phone on my desk started ringing. Still shaking from the experience, I went over and picked it up. I wasn't sure who I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't Adam.

  “Hello? Why are you calling me?” I asked. As my best friend's older brother, we knew each other, but not like that.

  “Addi? Adriana, tell me I didn't just see you on a fucking cam site right now,” he said.

  The expression my life flashed before my eyes did not do justice to the immediate flood of emotions that went through me right then.

  “A what? I don't know what you're talking about Adam. I'm busy tonight. I'm hanging up.”

  “You were wearing this pink and black mask and a dress with flowers on it? Do you think I'm blind? What the hell were you doing on there?”

  “Me? What were you doing on there? What the hell are you watching cam shows for?”

  “So, it was you?”

  “No!”

  “Then why can I hear the same song that was playing on the broadcast playing in your room right now?” he asked.

  Fuck.

  “Adam… look, I⸻”

  “No, don’t say anything. I'm coming over. We're going to talk about this.” My mouth dropped open in disbelief. His sister Becka and I had been best friends for years and we had kind of grown up together. It was more than a little bit mortifying that he had seen me in my underwear.

  What the hell was he doing watching cam shows anyway? Adam Webb wasn’t bad looking, he could get laid if he wanted to. He couldn’t dress and he was kind of a nerd, but he had a solid foundation.

  The only person who knew I was doing this was Kenya. I hadn't even told Becka because I was afraid of what she would say. I knew she would have tried to talk me out of it. I had made my decision and I knew what I was getting into and now I had to tell Adam that.

  He couldn't tell anyone. How the hell was I supposed to keep him quiet?

  The most obvious idea immediately crossed my mind.

  He entered my broadcast. There was something he was looking for that he thought I could give him. I could if he gave me what I wanted.

  I needed him to keep my secret. He was going to keep my secret. I was going to convince him by any means necessary.

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