by Paula Kay
Contents
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BOOK 1: Buying Time
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
BOOK 2: In Her Own Time
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
BOOK 3: Matter of Time
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
BOOK 4: Taking Time
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
BOOK 5: Just in Time
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
BOOK 6: All in Good Time
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Preview: Bella’s Hope (A Map for Bella, Book 1)
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The Golden Gate Bridge, the world famous icon that spans San Francisco Bay, means so much to the people of that community.
It's much more than a beautifully crafted morass of metal and concrete, it's the beating soul of the city. Travelers know they are home when they catch sight of the bridge, people pay a King's ransom to buy homes that have a view of it.
In times of happiness, people turn to the bridge to celebrate their life's successes, proposals are made, love is declared, relationships that last forever start on the bridge.
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Legacy Series
(Book 1)
Buying Time
By
Paula Kay
Copyright © 2015 Paula Kay
Cover design by Beetiful Book Covers
All rights reserved.
PaulaKayBooks.com
Chapter 1
Arianna sighed as she and Blu left Douglas’s office. Finally she could start planning her trip and get on with everything. “I thought this financial business was never going to be settled. You’d think that Daddy would have had things a little more organized,” she said as the two young women made their way across the parking lot.
“Ari, seriously?” Blu said. “What’s your big hurry? It’s only been four months.”
Arianna stopped to turn towards Blu, who’d been walking slightly behind her.
“Really? You wanna go there with me right now?” Arianna glared at her best friend, narrowed eyes hidden behind her designer sunglasses, not bothering to stifle the anger that seemed to come out of nowhere these days.
Blu turned her head away, but not before Arianna saw the tears welling up in her eyes. She could count on one hand the times that she’d seen her best friend cry, and all in the last few months. The petite rocker girl was what Arianna would describe as a little spitfire. Blu was quick to speak her mind and slow to show any vulnerability whatsoever.
Arianna took a deep breath and reached out to pull Blu in for a slight hug. “Hey, I’m sorry. I know the last few months haven’t been easy on you either. And I’m totally out of it, if you want to know the truth.”
At that, Blu reached over and slid Arianna’s sunglasses up onto her thick dark hair, staring intensely at her eyes. “What’s up with you? You’re really starting to freak me out. I’m so worried about you.”
Arianna laughed, dismissing the seriousness of Blu’s question, and reached into her Chanel bag for the keys to her convertible. “Not to worry. It’s just that I haven’t been sleeping well so Doc gave me some new meds to try.” She slid the sunglasses back down over her eyes. “I’m fine…really. I probably just shouldn’t be driving. Do you mind?” She dangled the keys in front of her friend playfully.
Blu grabbed the keys from her friend. “You know me. I’ll pass up the chance to drive a BMW…never.”
Arianna smiled as the vision of Blu’s old beat-up truck flashed in her mind. “And by the way, hopefully now that I’ve finally got access to this money, you’ll let me treat you to something—and that something should be a car that’s a little more reliable for you.”
Blu hesitated for a few seconds and Arianna waited for her typical response, which was to decline anything that even resembled help or what she called a handout. “We’ll see.” Blu reached to turn off the opera music that began blaring the moment she started the car. “And we are not listening to that God-awful music.”
“Yeah, we’ll see. You can be so damn stubborn. I don’t know why you won’t let me help you a little,” Arianna said.
Blu glanced at her as she pulled the sleek red convertible out into the downtown San Francisco traffic. “Excuse me? I’m the stubborn one? I need help? You should talk. You’re seriously starting to annoy me now. Ever since the accident and—”
“I know, I’m sorry.” Arianna’s head was pounding and she knew that she only had herself to blame for seemingly pushing all of her friend’s buttons this morning. And she knew them well. God, what’s wrong with me? She glanced at Blu, suddenly desperate to make everything okay between them, to make things normal.
“If it makes you feel any better, this was a big topic of discussion during my session with Doc yesterday.” It was a manipulation of sorts on her part, because she rarely offered any information about what was happening in her therapy. From the change in Blu’s stern expression, she could tell it had worked.
“What? I was the topic?” Blu said.
“Well no, not exactly that. But I have been opening up to her a bit more. She’s always wanting to know about my support system, and of course you come up in that discussion, being my best friend and all.” Arianna lifted her sunglasses and batted her long black eyelashes at Blu in exaggeration.
Blu laughed. “Why you think your gorgeous Italian looks will ever work on me, I’ll never know. And yes, you’re stuck with me. Forever.”
Arianna glanced at Blu, and then quickly looked out the window as she gathered her words during what seemed to her like an eternity.
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Blu.”
Arianna swallowed the lump in her throat, then laughed, trying to lighten the mood, but they drove across the bridge towards her home in silence.
Arianna could still feel the slight tension as Blu pulled the convertible off at the Sausalito exit that would have her home in less than ten minutes. Suddenly she pulled over at the side of the road and turned the engine off. Not today, Arianna thought. I really can’t handle another big conversation. But true to form, Blu was ready to speak her mind.
“You need to think about what you’re doing, Ari. The decisions you’re making. No one would fault you for needing some time. And you should take some time. Right now, you don’t need to be traipsing off on this big world trip like you haven’t got a care in the world. You know it’s not best for you.” Blu seemed well past the pleading stage as she looked Arianna square in the eyes. “You trust me to tell you the truth, don’t you?”
Arianna nodded and braced herself for another one of Blu’s lectures, which had become more and more common over the past few weeks.
“You’re not well. You’ve suffered more loss and shock than anyone I’ve known. I’m just very concerned that you are not dealing with any of this. Does your doctor know your travel plans?”
“She knows. Yes. We’ve been talking about it all month. What’s my motivation, am I running away, do I understand the possible ramifications, blah, blah, blah. I’m sick of talking about it, quite frankly,” Arianna said, not bothering to hide her annoyance.
“You know that’s not what—”
“Blu. Please. Just please. Can we talk about it later? I’m so—” She turned a bit towards her friend, trusting that the exhaustion she felt was just as apparent on her face. “—I’m just so tired.”
Blu nodded, her mouth tight. “Okay, you win for now. But this discussion isn’t over.”
“Okay, Mom.” Blu visibly winced as Arianna uttered the phrase she must have said hundreds of times since they’d become friends. Immediately Arianna regretted it, but not because of her own feelings. Nobody understood her, and she feared she’d spent way too much time already justifying why her tears had dried up so quickly after the accident. After her initial breakdown, that is.
Damn it. Why can’t everyone just leave me alone? What I want isn’t so crazy, is it? Anyone who had just inherited tons of money would do the same, wouldn’t they? Heck, my parents loved to travel—even they would understand my desire. And really it’s the least they could do for me, isn’t it? Arianna swallowed the anger that threatened to bubble up to the surface again.
“Let’s go back to my place and we’ll have Gigi make us a nice cup of coffee. I just need to take a breath and chill for a bit.”
“I can’t today.” Blu picked up her phone to glance at the time. “I’m already running late to pick Jemma up from daycare and I wanna spend a little time with her before I head to work later this afternoon.”
“The restaurant? Or the bar?” Arianna asked, prepared to bite her tongue to keep from saying more. She hated how much Blu had to work, and had tried to convince her to accept some help with her bills, but she was the most stubborn person Arianna knew—at least when it came to financial matters. She recognized the defensive look on her friend’s face now and silently reminded herself to keep quiet.
“Restaurant tonight, bartending tomorrow night. And I have the day free tomorrow—well, I’ll be sewing, but I’ll get Jemma for the day anyways,” Blu said.
They started making their way up the steep driveway to Arianna’s house, which overlooked the bay and city beyond. The view of the Golden Gate Bridge was magnificent here from the large estate where she had grown up, and it never failed to take her breath away.
Blu pulled into the massive garage and handed her the keys. “Go have a rest. We’ll talk later.”
“Give J-bean a little squeeze for me and tell her I have a present for her the next time I see her.” Arianna had bought the six-year-old the cutest little handbag that matched one of her own, and Jemma was going to love it.
“You spoil her way too much.”
Blu’s back was to her as she walked away, so Arianna couldn’t tell by her face if she was still as angry as she sounded, or if the comment was meant to be light-hearted.
“Hey, Blu.” Arianna called after her as she was getting in her own tr
uck outside of the garage. “Thanks for coming with me today. You know I couldn’t do any of this without you.”
Blu turned her truck around to head down the hill, pulling up next to Arianna with her passenger-side window down.
“You’ll be okay.” Blu was silent for a few seconds, and Arianna guessed that there was much more she wanted to say. “And you’re welcome.”
Arianna felt sick to her stomach as she watched Blu drive away. She hated fighting with her; it wasn’t something that happened often. She’d call her later to see about going over to her apartment tomorrow. It had been way too long since she’d seen Jemma, and she knew that her friend wouldn’t stay angry at her for long. At least she hoped not. She sighed, thinking about how tough Blu could be sometimes as she turned to go into the house.
Chapter 2
Before Arianna was at the door, Gigi had it opened and was calling out to her. “Bella, what are you doing out here? Come in. I have a nice cup of tea ready for you. And I want to hear all about the meeting.”
She smiled at Gigi’s familiar term of endearment. She was way more than a housekeeper to Arianna; she had been a part of the Sinclair household for as long as Ari could remember. It was Gigi who had bandaged her knees and taken her to play dates when she was small. She couldn’t remember her mother ever making a plate of cookies or helping her with her homework. It was Gigi who had been the constant in her life.
Arianna brushed a quick kiss across Gigi’s cheek, thinking, as she often did, how lovely her skin was. She could only hope to have such beautiful skin herself at age fifty. The thought was in her head before she had even a moment to stop herself. She sighed.
“Thanks, Gi, but I’m so tired right now. Can we chat later? I’m dying for a hot bath and a little nap. Would you mind?” Arianna was used to Gigi taking care of her, and she had been especially attentive to her since the accident.
Gigi looked at her for a moment with the look of concern that Arianna knew all too well these days. “Come here.” Gigi reached out her arms to pull her into the comfort of the embrace that Arianna had known all her life. “Everything’s going to be okay, bella. You’ll see.”
Arianna cried the tears she’d been hanging on to all day. She didn’t think she had any more tears in her, but they came fast and furious.