River Jewel Resort Box Set Books 1-4 BOOK BUNDLE

by Madison Sevier

  “Because they’re part of my destiny. I found my fortune there.”

  “O-o-kay. Whatever that means. Do you have something to tell me?”

  Hunter knew she would one day tell him the story of how she’d met Scarlet and what all of it meant. For now, it could wait. After all, they had all the time in the world.

  “Yeah, I think I do, but you’d never believe me. Let’s go unwrap those presents and spend the morning with our beautiful daughter. I’ve waited my entire life for this moment.”

  THE END

  LONG OVERDUE

  RIVER JEWEL RESORT

  BOOK 3

  Copyright@2013 MadisonSevier

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to lovers of happily-ever-afters everywhere. May you find yours.

  XOXO,

  Madison

  Long Overdue

  Chapter One

  “Ms. Milan!”

  Olivia and her most recent distraction froze in place. She peeked around the shoulder of the naked young man she currently had her legs wrapped around.

  “Um, yes, Mrs. Brooks? How can I help you?”

  “For starters, you can untangle yourself and get dressed!” The hefty old woman crossed tweed-covered arms across her middle and Olivia swore she saw smoke coming from her ears.

  This was not good. And that was a serious understatement. Olivia was screwed and not just by the hot, tan quarterback who was pulling his pants up. Olivia stood and slowly inched her lace panties up her long legs until they were settled on her hips. The entire time, she held eye contact with Mrs. Brooks, giving her a wink and a smile.

  “You know, Mrs. Brooks, sex is an excellent way to help unlock the mind. Maybe you should try it sometime.”

  Olivia knew she was pushing the old bat’s buttons unnecessarily, but she was already in deep shit. She might as well enjoy herself.

  “You were told to stop this kind of…activity.” Olivia could see the woman visibly shaking with rage and embarrassment. It gave her a perverse sense of pleasure seeing the old lady like that, even though Olivia knew she was about to be fired.

  “I won’t apologize. These students, students of adult age, mind you, have been coming to me for help for years and, might I add, these people have had exemplary grades. Everyone I’ve had special sessions with has improved their GPA in record time. That has to count for something.”

  “And the professor last year? How did your session improve his life? Your whorish escapades on campus are coming to an end right now. I won’t tolerate it for another minute.”

  The student she’d been helping stood there with his mouth wide open. As he stood there shirtless and a bit cocky, Olivia couldn’t help but be turned on by his defiance. The sight of the library combined with his unique male scent provided reminders of their unfinished study meeting.

  “Unless you’d like me to inform your parents of your activities, young man, I suggest that you leave the library immediately. In fact, try studying. You’re already on the verge of flunking and I’m sure your mother wouldn’t want to hear about this. Isn’t there a trust fund hanging in the balance? Ms.Milan, follow me to my office. Now!”

  She finished dressing as she gave Sean a few last-minute instructions for his overdue essay. “Don’t forget to ask your professor for an extension. She’s really an understanding woman. She’ll help you catch up and you’ll be fine.” After slipping her shoes on, she followed the stuck-up old biddy out of the library and across the yard to the administrator’s office.

  “You have no one to blame but yourself.” Mrs. Brooks slammed the door and plopped down into an antique leather chair. “As of this moment, Ms. Milan, your employment here is terminated.”

  The woman sitting at the desk across from her glared at Olivia with the coldest eyes she’d ever seen as she slid a piece of paper across the polished surface.

  “You can’t be serious. Mrs. Brooks, I’ve dedicated my life to this University and the library.”

  “I’ve been waiting for this day. In fact, I’ve had this voluntary resignation form on hand for months. Honestly, in light of recent revelations, you should thank your lucky stars we didn’t have you arrested. Over the years, you’ve conducted one-on-one sessions with a professor and other employees. I thought I’d made myself clear when I warned you the last time. Now, you’re back to romping with students? Please pack your things and vacate the premises before morning classes start. Let’s face it, the fewer people who witness your departure, the better. We’ll tell them you resigned and that will be the end of this fiasco. Sign this paper and leave immediately.”

  “Of course. But in my defense, there haven’t been that many instances and everyone was a willing, if not exuberant, participant. I haven’t corrupted anyone. Sure, I screwed a few people in the library, but not during open hours. I would never do something like that.” Olivia signed the voluntary resignation form with a flourish, tossed down her pen and stood, stretching her long legs.

  “I expect you’ll leave everything just as you found it.”

  With a pointed look, she dusted off her short black skirt and straightened her satin blouse. “Mrs. Brooks, have you ever known me to leave a mess?” Okay, she probably should’ve thought before saying that. “I mean, yes, I’ll be sure everything is cleaned up. I mean…”

  Mrs. Brooks rolled her eyes. “Just leave. You have no idea how disappointed I am in you. I can’t stand the sight of you.”

  “That really isn’t fair, Mrs. Brooks. You know how much I love this place, how much pride I have in our library. What I do before or after hours should be nobody’s concern but my own.” She shook her head and the long, raven-colored strands cascaded across her shoulders.

  “That might’ve have been the case and may have remained so if you hadn’t had sex in the building you claim to love so much...”

  Yeah. Not her most brilliant idea. But she couldn’t help herself. Everything about that library turned her on. The sight and smell, of long hardwood shelves shined to perfection. Even then, as she stood in Dean Brooks’ office receiving her walking papers, the mere thought of those spotless, long, hard tables used for research had her creaming her panties and her heart thundering.

  “Ahem.”

  “Yes, well, I guess I’ll be going. I’m sorry we couldn’t find a way to fix this.”

  Opening the door, she heard, “Do that. And while you’re at it, find someone to settle down with before you end up an old spinster. You won’t be able to keep the young men coming forever. No pun intended.”

  On her way out of the administration building, Olivia passed one of the young men she’d tutored the week before. The twenty-year-old baseball player had been especially responsive to their one-on-one session. Sam had proven what they say about the size of the shoe to be true and it’d been a lesson for both of them that day. One Olivia wouldn’t forget anytime soon. As she walked across the campus, she wondered if she’d have time to tutor one more time before she left the grounds for good. Unfortunately, she didn’t pass another student and she depended on the crisp air of that March morning to cool her down.

  “If they’d given me a little warning, I could’ve had one last hurrah,” she mused. God, even to herself she sounded like a whore. Which wasn’t the case, really. Over the years, she’d maybe slept with ten guys and all of them were of legal age.

  Olivia unlocked the large doors, letting herself in. After packing up her belongings, she left the bag on her desk and turned to look at everything she’d loved for the past ten years. Never in a million years would she have believed she’d be saying goodbye to her library. Sure, she’d made mistakes. Didn’t everyone? However, this time she knew she’d gone too far. Instead of stepping over the proverbial line, she’d erased it. Getting caught once again with her pants down by Mrs. Brooks put an end to her career. Now what was she going to do? The library had been her entire world, her escape from reality. How could she have been so stupid as to think she’d get away with it forever? Sh
e knew better. She couldn’t help but think of how she’d ended up in such a predicament.

  It hadn’t always been that way. But years of relationships with men who thought she was boring and mousy had changed her. The library filled her with a sense of power. There, she’d been important, needed. Both feelings she hadn’t felt before working here.

  I’m really going to miss you.”

  So engulfed in her own thoughts, she hadn’t heard anyone come in. Turning to face the other woman, she said, “I’ll miss you too, Stephanie.”

  “It’s really not fair that they fired you. It’s not like you were hurting anyone or anything.”

  Olivia smiled and swallowed her true feelings. “I knew better. That’s all that matters.” She wrapped her arms around Stephanie Wilson, her student library assistant, and hugged her.

  “Thank you for always being here for me, Ms. Milan.” The young woman sniffled.

  “Now, stop that. We live in the same town. We’ll still see each other and if you ever need help with your research or want to grab a cup of coffee, just come see me. You know where I live.”

  The girl nodded “I’ll do that.”

  “Well, I need to get going. I’ll see you around.”

  Olivia scooped up her bag of mementos and walked through the library, running her hands across the hand-carved, mahogany bookshelves one last time. Years of memories flooded her mind and caused an almost unbearable ache in her heart. This was it. “Ten years of service gone in an instant.”

  She’d be separated from the wonderful worlds she’d discovered between the pages of books by both new and old authors. They’d been her saving grace after losing her fiancé years ago. After she’d found out he’d been cheating, Olivia had immersed herself in the job and it had filled the hollow void that his sudden death and all that she’d discovered about him had created. Behind, she’d found happy endings over and over again. In a cold world full of lies, the library spoke to her, welcomed her with its truth and warmth. With every bit of joy these creations had given her, she’d returned the favor by mending worn covers, caring for them, dusting their shelves, protecting them. Now, she had to let them go. Forever.

  Picking up one of her favorite love stories, opening the hardcover, she ran the pad of her thumb across the pages and let them skim across her soft skin, creating a small breeze. The indescribable scent of the old tome, a smell that only true book lovers could appreciate, permeated her senses. She inhaled deeply in an attempt to preserve the scent and the feeling the library invoked within her in her memory and she reined in her desires, telling herself to just enjoy the atmosphere one last time. She needed one last moment without allowing the insatiable need to make love amongst the world’s greatest treasures to overcome her.

  Lovingly, she closed the book, allowing her fingers to glide over the gold-engraved title once more before setting it back in its place upon the shelf.

  “Goodbye, old friends.” The bag of her belongings felt light as air compared to the sorrow in her heart. Placing the keys on the front desk, she wiped away a tear and with her head held high, she walked out of the library, never looking back.

  * * * *

  “Olivia, you’ve cleaned that countertop three times since I’ve gotten here. The apartment is spotless. It’s been scoured within an inch of its life. I swear I’m high from the fumes. I thought this was what you wanted? So why are you nerved up and going all OCD?”

  She tossed the dishrag in the sink and faced her best friend. “Matt, I never wanted to be unemployed. Sure, I love the chance to have a new beginning and maybe find myself. But, being alone isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. At least my salary paid for everything and kept me busy.” Olivia smoothed hair back and slipped a ponytail holder around the unruly, dark strands.

  “It’s been a month. You’ll find something and let’s face it, you aren’t exactly hurting for money. So, we both know money isn’t the problem. For your own sanity, you need to get out of this house. Go meet a guy, have a lot of sex. That always helps me clear my head.” Matt wiggled his eyebrows as he took a sip from the coffee cup Olivia placed in front of him.

  “You’re right, it isn’t about the money. Besides, you’re not a thirty-something spinster and you have women throwing themselves at you when you walk down the street. You’d be stupid not to sleep with them. I, on the other hand, am not exactly in demand.”

  “True on all counts except one. You, my gorgeous friend, are not a spinster. Why would you suddenly believe anything that old hag said? You’ve never been one to care about what anyone else thought of you, why start now? Besides, how do you know that you aren’t in demand? You haven’t been out on the town in ages.”

  Why had she believed Mrs. Brooks and why was she holding onto her hateful comments? Because the old woman had been right. Olivia had been playing a part during her time at the library and she missed it like crazy. She wasn’t beautiful or exciting. Her ex-boyfriends and fiancé had made that abundantly clear. At five-foot-six, a buck thirty, not-so-bad-rack, raven hair and green eyes, on more than one occasion she’d been discarded for a better, blonder woman. She knew she wasn’t ugly, but she knew she’d never win any beauty contests either.

  “I don’t know. Something about that woman has always gotten under my skin. Now, I can’t get her out of my head.” She wasn’t going to fish for compliments from Matt. She knew he had a healthy appetite for blonde bombshells and as a friend, he’d do his best to assure her that she was pretty. Pity, even from her best friend, wasn’t what she needed or wanted.

  “Well, stop it. I can’t be friends with you if you’re going to become clingy and whiny.” His lips curved with that crooked grin Olivia had loved since the first time they’d met.

  Olivia swatted at him and laughed, even though inside, she wanted to cling to him, to whine. Instead, she used false bravado to make everything seem all right. “You know I could never be that kind of woman. Whiny is so last decade.” Sitting down beside her best friend, she gazed into his sapphire blue eyes, “Matt, thank you for being here for me. I know this can’t be easy for you and Bitchtoria, I mean Victoria... Is she mad that you’ve been spending so much time with me?”

  He stood, taking his cup to the sink. “Actually, she moved out.”

  Thank God! “What? When and why didn’t you tell me? I’m so sorry.”

  “A few weeks ago. She decided I wasn’t the one. To be honest, she’s right. We weren’t getting along and we both decided we just weren’t right for each other.”

  “Oh Matt, I’m so sorry. I know you were crazy about her.” Matt and Olivia had never managed to get their timing right. He was always with someone or she was. There never seemed to be a good time to profess her feelings for him. Maybe now, with Bitchtoria gone, she could.

  “Yeah, I think that was part of the problem. She made me crazy. Kinda’ the same way you do.” He blew her a kiss.

  “Well, that explains it. Your standards were too high.”

  “Yeah.” He laughed. “That’s it.”

  “Enough chatter. Let’s get outta here before I clean something else.”

  They left Olivia’s house arm-in-arm, strolling down Main Street and turning down Vine Avenue. Many afternoons on her lunch break, she and Matt would head to the river for a long walk. Matt Osgood had been Olivia’s best friend for a decade and they’d been fast friends from the moment he’d hobbled into the library on crutches. Matt had knocked over a display of brand new paperbacks in his attempt to wiggle through the narrow aisles and he’d apologized profusely when Olivia ran to his side. .

  “I really didn’t mean it. I’m so clumsy.” The poor guy was so distraught about the books that Olivia immediately recognized a kindred spirit and their friendship was forged immediately. After that, they were inseparable. She’d brought him coffee every morning, groceries when he needed them and took him to therapy appointments for weeks. After he’d healed, they’d only gotten closer. Through every break-up, one-night stand and emotional cris
is, they’d been each other’s rock.

  Sure, there’d been plenty of women who ran in and out of his life. Hot women, who were always ready and willing to help him feel better, seemed to appear from thin air. Olivia felt she could never compete with them. So, she’d held on to the friendship she had with Matt and nurtured it. Even when jealousy reared its ugly head, Olivia squashed it down. She refused to lose an awesome guy, even if he was only a friend, to something as silly as insecurity and ridiculous emotions. She didn’t have the right to be upset. After all, she’d never confessed her feelings for him. It was her own fault. Maybe, after all of the sexcapades she’d had, she deserved to be alone, sitting on the sidelines and watching as her best friend found lover after lover. After a while, she did the same thing. Flings and one-night-stands became normal for her. None of her relationships had ever become serious after Randy’s death, but that was all right with her. No strings attached meant there wasn’t a chance for her heart to be broken.

  She’d never admitted to Matt that the men she dated were nothing more than a way to fill the void within her heart. Olivia knew he’d worry about her and his career demanded a drama-free zone. Olivia knew better than to run to him with her every sob story or moment of depression. Besides, one good romp could quickly fix her mood for a little while. She soon learned escaping into a book or a new sexual conquest was a lot easier to deal with than reality.

  “I think that skiing accident was a blessing in disguise.”

  “I was just thinking the same thing. I don’t know what I’d do if I hadn’t met you that day at the library. Without you, I’d feel so incomplete, Matt.” Had she just said that? She searched his face for a sign that he knew she’d been dead serious.

  He wrapped his arm around her as they walked along the shoreline. “It’ll be okay, Olivia. You can do anything you want now. I’ve never understood why you locked yourself away in that library morning and night, anyway.”