Copyright
Love like Yours Series Box Set
Books 1 - 4
Published by Nicole S. Goodin
Digital edition
ISBN: 978-0-9951206-7-9
Copyright 2019 by Nicole S. Goodin
All rights reserved. ©
This ebook is for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it to your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
First published April 2019
All rights reserved. ©
Cover design by Nicole Goodin
Images purchased from Deposit Photos
Edited by Spell Bound
Disclaimer
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to events, places, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
The author acknowledges all song titles, song lyrics, film titles, film characters, trademarked statuses and brands mentioned in this book are the property of, and belong to, their respective owners.
Nicole Goodin is in no way affiliated with any of the brands, songs, musicians or artists mentioned in this book.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Disclaimer
Rushed – Book One
Pierced – Book Two
Hunted – Book Three
Chased – Book Four
Thank you
Other Titles
About the Author
Dedication
This one is for me.
I woke up one morning with a group of characters, begging me to put their story to paper. Months, and thousands of words later, here I am.
I wrote this without the knowledge of anyone in my real life world. (Aside from that one friend after too many wines on girls’ night...) And I completed it with absolutely no expectations. As much as I would love people all over the world to read and enjoy this book – if it reaches not even one reader, it still would have been worth it, I’ve loved every minute of writing it.
Author’s note
Rushed is the first book in the Love like Yours Series.
There is so much more to come with these characters, I hope you like them, and I hope I get the chance to share more of their stories.
Nicole x
Maybe she needed someone to show her how to live and he needed someone to show him how to love.
- N.R Hart
1. Ellerslie
I walked through the door of my inner city apartment and dropped my stack of unopened mail on to the hall table. Coming back here alone every day was getting old.
Really damn old.
I needed to get a pet... actually, to hell with that idea, what I really needed to do was move – somewhere that was far away from here.
And further away from them.
I knew I should have left this place behind a long time ago. Not this building specifically, but this city – a city that did nothing but remind me of what an idiot I was. I looked around the space that was my home and sighed. I really did love this apartment. It had charm, and class, and oh my god, that view. I really did love that view.
I made my way over to the wall of windows and looked out at the sprawling city below. The sun would be setting soon, and from up here it really looked magical. It never failed to make me feel serene, peaceful. No matter what that particular day had thrown at me, I had grown to count on the sight before me to push it out of my mind, if only for a half hour.
“Dinner for one,” I muttered to myself once the glowing light had faded into the horizon.
Pulling myself away from the window, I made my way into my kitchen. I went through the motions of making myself a Moroccan chicken salad, a variation of my current go-to dish. I ate in silence, at my kitchen bench, and thought about what a lonely loser I was.
The only positive in being here alone was that no one was going to stab me in the back when I wasn’t looking.
2. Ellerslie
“Good morning, Ellerslie, I have some urgent messages for you.” My assistant, Natasha, stood as I approached her desk the next morning.
“Morning, Tash,” I replied brightly. “Bring them through.” Natasha followed me in and lingered as I sat behind the desk and arranged my laptop and files.
“Coffee.” She grimaced as she placed it on my desk. I cringed, knowing full well, that she didn’t bring me my coffee this early unless shit was about to hit the fan.
“Great... that bad, huh?” I asked as she stepped back and looked at me with a nervous expression on her face.
“Uh... well, it’s uh... it’s him again, he won’t stop calling. He’s insisting that he speak to you, he told me he won’t stop calling until you hear what he has to say.” Tash looked at me apologetically. I knew how much she hated delivering these messages to me.
“Good freaking god, can’t he take a hint?” I muttered under my breath. I met her eyes. “Look, the next time he calls, because we both know he will, please tell him that I would rather stick pins in my eyes than listen to what he has to say.” I heard her try to stifle a giggle. “And then explain to him that I am out of the office for the day, and in fact, every day from now on.” I looked back up at my loyal assistant and sighed. “I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with this all morning.”
“It’s not a problem, Ellerslie,” she insisted, with understanding in her eyes. “Is there anything else I can do for you at the moment?”
Well, there is no way in hell I’m staying in here waiting for the phone to ring.
“I’ll be out of the office today. If you could let my father know that I’m heading down to the gym, and that I need to speak with him please. Redirect any urgent calls to Victoria.”
God knows I’m not getting any real work done today.
“And these,” I passed her a folder stuffed with documents, “need to be copied and filed please.”
“Sure.” She nodded and took them from me. “I’m on it.”
***
Walking into the gym, only three floors down from my office, I throw up a silent prayer.
Please! Please be in here.
Thankfully, someone was on my side today.
Quinn, my best friend and work colleague, pulled her ear buds out as I approached the treadmill she was running on. “What the hell happened now?” she demanded as she took in the expression on my face.
I looked her over as she spoke. Quinn was absolutely stunning. Even now with anger lacing her features. She was always so quick to stand by me. No one had a best friend like mine. She was loyal to an absolute fault, kind, but also one hell of a firecracker. She punched the stop button on the treadmill and pulled her long brown hair from its ponytail as the machine slowed down.
“Him, Q, always him,” I ground out. “He’s been harassing Tash all morning and demanding to talk to me.”
Absolute fucking tosser.
“Why he thinks I would want to talk to him is just beyond me.” I shook my head.
Quinn narrowed her deep-green eyes at me. I had never seen eyes like that on a person other than her. They were piercing and deep, yet somehow soft and welcoming at the same time.
“What does that bastard want from you now?” she hissed. “Hasn’t he done enough?”
He had certainly done enough.
“I’m thinki
ng of leaving,” I confessed to her. “Leaving this building, my apartment... this whole city...” I looked expectantly at her “I’m going to talk to my dad; we’ve been discussing opening a new office for the past three years. Why not now?”
She nodded her head at me. “Where are we going?” She looked me dead in the eye and asked without an ounce of hesitation.
I choked out a laugh. “Well shit, that was easy, I had a whole speech ready and everything.”
“I’m over this city too.” She laughed. “It’s too damn hot. All the men have their heads stuck up their asses. I’m ready for a change.” She stepped down off the treadmill. “You didn’t think I’d let you go without me, did you?” she asked in mock horror.
I smiled widely at her. “I was thinking about moving closer to Reeve. He could help us get a place to live, show us around,” I told her. Being my only older sibling, Reeve was fiercely protective of me and my younger brother and sister. “I’ll have to talk this all through with my dad, but I think he knows that it’s getting to the point where I just don’t want to be here anymore.”
“Eeeeek!” Quinn screeched. “They have snow there! I am so in.” Laughing together, we linked arms and headed to the changing rooms, me to change into gym gear, and Quinn to shower and change for work.
I got dressed into my workout clothes and trainers. “I’ll call you later, Q,” I called into the shower, trying to be heard over the version of ‘Bang, Bang’ that Quinn was currently belting out.
“Sweet, El, let me know what he thinks!” she yelled back before starting back up at the chorus, twice as loud as before.
***
I had pounded out ten kilometers on the treadmill by the time my father found me.
Jefferson Rush was a powerful-looking man, especially here in his business suit. At about 6’1”, he was tall. I had inherited that particular trait from him. He had broad shoulders and light brown hair. I had also inherited his eye color – light sky-blue. Those very eyes were looking at me right now, assessing what he was walking into.
Here we go. Time to sell it.
I slowed the treadmill to a walk and wiped the sweat that was pouring off my face onto my towel.
Too bad I can’t wipe my other problems away so easily.
“Sweetheart.” Dad looked me up and down. “Natasha said you needed to speak with me, and frankly, her tone made me nervous.”
I looked down at my pink and black Nike trainers before stopping the treadmill and stepping off. I met my father’s anxious gaze. “Hi, Dad, um... yeah – we do need to talk.” I tried to reassure him with a smile. “I want to get out of here. I’ve been thinking about the expansion we’ve been working towards.” I decided I’d better just get it all out before he could stop me. “And I think it should be now, I want to do this, Dad. I can be close to Reeve again, he can support me. Quinn wants to come with me too. This could be really great, Dad – for me, and for the business.” I panted a little as I got it all out – out of breath and nervous for his response.
“El.” He sighed. “You don’t have to do this. Natasha told me he’s been calling here again. You don’t have to run.”
I sighed. “I’m not running. Not really. I just need this. I need a new start. New place, new people, new challenges. I need to breathe again. Unless you don’t think I’m the one for the job? I can take Nelson with me if you want. I can just help him with setting it all up, more of a supporting—”
Dad raised his hand at me. “Stop, sweetheart.” I stopped talking and dropped down to the exercise mat in the center of the floor to start stretching. “I have no doubt about your abilities. Hell, you’ve been here with me since day one, I know you are more than capable.”
I knew he was right. I had been supporting and watching my father create and grow this business for my whole life. I still remember being sixteen years old and coming here with my father to see what this building could offer.
“What do you think sweetheart? This isn’t just my future, it’s yours too.”
Ten years ago. Ten life-changing years. I had come on board as a partner and shareholder as a fresh-faced twenty-year-old, and the company had thrived under my influence in the past six years. I knew my father was proud of my work here. I caught him bragging about me often enough – embarrassing as it was. But he always just smiled and laughed.
“I won’t apologize for being proud of you, sweetheart.”
I had worked and studied hard to get where I was, I was definitely capable. “What is it then?” I asked him. “I can see the hesitation written all over your face, Dad. Is it the business plan? Do you think another location would be better?”
“No not at all, the location will be perfect, it has one of the finest ports in the world, we already have a solid number of contracts there and the economy seems to be doing well.” He looked over at me as he sat down on the edge of the weight bench. “I’m just worried about you. I don’t want you to feel like this is your only choice. I can handle that little bastard if he’s the only reason you’re so desperate to leave.”
I snorted. “I’m not going to lie to you, Dad... Being away from him would be a huge bonus, but it’s not just about that. I need to do this. I really need to make some changes in my life – like I said, I just need to breathe again.” I sighed and pulled at a thread on my black gym pants.
I was waiting for it. For him to let me down gently – present me with some other idea that might sway my thoughts.
“Well then, I will back you one hundred percent.” My head snapped up and I met his gaze. I think my mouth must have been hanging open with the complete shock running through my system. My father chuckled as I leaped up from my spot on the floor, and threw myself across the space and into his waiting arms.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I cried. I couldn’t believe this was really happening.
A fresh start.
“I won’t let you down, Dad, I promise.”
“I know you won’t, sweetheart. You never could.” He pulled back from our embrace and searched my baby blues for a response. “And, El? I want you to know there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I’m going to miss you like crazy, but I can see this is right for you. And that’s the most important thing to me.”
“Thank you, Dad, your support means more than you’ll ever know.” I suddenly felt a bit emotional, but I did my best to push it back down.
“Meet me in my office tomorrow morning and we will finalize the plans from there, okay?” He nodded at me.
“Okay.” I nodded like a bobble-headed dog, a huge grin on my face as I raced off to the changing rooms to get dressed and call Quinn. I couldn’t wait to start this new stage of my life.
***
I’d had to hold my phone out from my ear to avoid being deafened by the screams Quinn had let loose when I’d called her. It was pretty safe to say she was as excited about this as I was. Adding to her excitement was the fact that her brother Lawson had finally settled in the city I would soon be calling home.
The elusive Lawson.
I had been friends with Quinn since she was hired at the company the year after I came on board. She was two years older than I was, and I had loved her instantly. We had been best friends ever since. Quinn had stood by me and got me through the toughest time of my life. She was the rock in my life, and I relied on her constantly. Yet in the five years of our friendship, I had never once seen or met her brother Lawson.
I knew very little about him – only that he was 32, and owned his own company; Pierce Contracting. I had seen pictures of him from their childhood, but those were at least 20 years old. I literally wouldn’t know the guy if I met him in the street. Quinn often joked that he was like lightning. Never striking the same place twice.
Apparently, he had moved away from the rural upbringing years ago. He’d flitted around a lot, only recently settling himself down.
I called my brother next, but got his voicemail. “Hey, Reeve, it’s El, I have news! Call me back as
soon as you get this. Love you.” I couldn’t wait to tell him that we would be living in the same city. Reeve was going to be as excited about this as Quinn and I were.
***
The next morning, I showered and pawed through my wardrobe, I needed a killer outfit for this momentous day. I settled on a high-waist black pencil skirt that hugged my curves, a lightweight black and white striped blouse with a deep v neck, and black pumps. I looked myself up and down in the oversized mirror in my bathroom. My long, damp blonde hair hung down to the middle of my back. It was curly and thick when left to dry naturally. I decided that today, I would try to make an effort with it. I began with blow drying and then straightening the mane of hair before me. I then worked the strands into a sleek fishtail braid and secured the end.
I decided upon a light dusting of powder, a few swipes of mascara and a light gloss for my lips. I rarely wore makeup during the day.
That’ll have to do. I’m no Quinn, but it’s presentable.
Quinn was always perfect. She dressed like a runway model, and had the figure to pull it off. She had an Angelina Jolie sort of thing going on; she was gorgeous. I really did love my body, but it would just be nice to be able to wear anything the way Quinn could.
We were both the same height, about 5’9”. But where I was curvy, she was thin. I was about 148 pounds and Quinn was a tiny 129 pounds. She wore makeup on her olive skin immaculately, even though she didn’t need it. She had a grace about her that made others stop what they were doing and take notice. It was impossible to walk through a room with Quinn and not have people’s eyes on her.
I grabbed my bag, keys and cell phone as I exited my apartment. I shot a quick txt off to Quinn to let her know I would be there in ten as I headed down in the elevator to the parking garage. Pushing the unlock button on my key, the lights flashed on my white Jeep Wrangler.
God I love this Jeep.
I jumped in and headed out of the garage and down the street to pick up Quinn and make the plans for the next stage of our lives.
Love like Yours Series Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 1