Fearless to Love (Written in the Stars Book 7)

by Harlow Layne

  Fearless to Love

  Written in the Stars #7

  Harlow Layne

  FEARLESS TO LOVE by Harlow Layne

  Copyright © 2020 by Harlow Layne. All rights reserved.

  Edited by: Your Editing Lounge - Editor: Kristen

  Cover Design: Cover Me Darling

  Images from Shutterstock

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Manufactured in the United States of America.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are use fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Contents

  Foreword

  Letter from the Author

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek at Jaded by Love

  Written in the Stars Series

  Enjoy This Book?

  About Harlow

  Also by Harlow Layne

  Foreword

  Dear Readers,

  Do you believe in destiny? Or do you believe you drive your own fate when it comes to matters of the heart?

  The idea for the Written in the Stars series came about one afternoon as I was thinking about how intertwined we are with the universe and the cosmos—we’re made of stardust, after all. It got me thinking about astrology, and whether something as celestial as our Zodiac signs influences how we behave in love. Some may call it pseudoscience, while others use their horoscopes daily to make major life, love, and career decisions.

  That’s how this series was born!

  Twelve months. Twelve wickedly talented romance authors. All coming together to answer the age-old question—Does your horoscope decide your fate in love?

  You’ll have to decide for yourself as you binge-read your way through twelve deliciously sexy and deeply romantic stand-alone novellas—one for each Zodiac sign. I can’t wait to start this journey with you.

  Personally? I think it was written in the stars!

  XO,

  C.M. Albert

  P.S. Please join us in our fun and interactive Written in the Stars readers’ group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/writteninthestarsbooks where we discuss all things horoscope and love related!

  Fearless to Love is a light and fluffy, insta-love story. This is the book to help get you over that angsty book hangover or all that’s been happening in 2020.

  I wrote it because our lives have enough angst in them that sometimes you need an escape and I’m hoping that’s what Dante and Lily’s story will be for you.

  If you’ve read my books before this one is a little sweeter than you’re used to, but I think you’ll love it all the same.

  Chapter One

  DANTE

  I had to get away. Ever since my business partner fucked me over, I’d been running myself ragged, trying to save Flux, and in turn, had spent every waking hour there. I was understaffed and if I didn’t get things under control soon, I was sure to lose my business. My sister had been trying to help me, but this wasn’t her expertise. She was more into spending money than making money.

  When I glanced at the clock, it read a little past ten. Gathering my things, I headed out the back door to my parked Range Rover, but I didn’t want to go home yet. My place, although nice, was lonely. Instead, I decided to go for a drive, not caring where the road took me. Half an hour later, I found myself entering a small neighboring town, Fairlane, with a bar on the corner of the street. It was small but packed. The bright friendly sign read, Rocco’s, and I decided to check it out. What did I have to lose?

  The moment I opened my car door, I heard loud music and laughter, along with people cheering. As I got closer to the door, Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard blasted out of the cracks of the door and windows. When I stepped inside, my eyes instantly went to three girls, two blondes and a brunette, dancing on top of the bar. Their dance looked choreographed and straight out of the movie Coyote Ugly. They were each dressed in the same tight white t-shirts with a red Rocco’s logo, black short-shorts, and cowboy boots, shaking their asses and gyrating their hips, all while singing. They looked like they were having the time of their lives.

  When was the last time I had any fun?

  My breath caught when my eyes met the brunette’s. She was absolutely beautiful. Her caramel colored hair was long, trailing down her back in waves, but it was her grey eyes that captivated me. They were the color of a storm ready to unleash its rain. I felt as if all my breath had been sucked out of me as I stood and watched her dance along the bar. The curve of her hips and her long shapely legs moved with ease. I couldn’t seem to move from my spot even when people bumped into me as they rushed to the bar and threw down their money. I was transfixed like she was my own personal siren, powerless as I stood there taking in the show.

  When she turned and moved to the beat of the song with perfection, I nearly drooled at the sight of her ass in her short shorts. My jeans became tighter as I watched her rhythmic movement. As the song neared its end, the girls headed to the end of the bar where a short man with shaggy brown hair waited for them to finish before helping them down.

  The crowd thinned out enough for me to make it to the bar where I could see the three women standing together and laughing. While I waited to order a beer, I tried to make it not appear as if I was staring at her, but who was I kidding? I was totally staring at her. I probably looked like a stalker.

  “That was so much fun,” one of the blondes yelled over the new song playing. “I love it when Lily shows up and we get to do this.”

  The man laughed, throwing his arm around her. “Anytime you want to strut your stuff for the customers, you’ve got my permission. We probably made more during that one song than we will all night. Why don’t you girls take your break? I think I can handle the chaos for a few minutes on my own.”

  “Thanks, Rocco. Give me a minute; let me see what this handsome man wants to drink.” Turning my head to the voice, my siren was now standing right in front of me with a bright smile on her gorgeous face. “What can I get for you?”

  For the first time in my life, I was tongue-tied. No words escaped me as I opened and closed my mouth.

  “You’re not from around here, are you? If so, I’m sure I would have noticed.” She winked, leaning on an elbow.

  Her words spurred me on. “No, I’m not from around here. I moved to Riverside a few years ago, but I’ve never been to your little town.”

  “What can I get for you before I go on break?” She peered up at me from underneath her impossibly long eyelashes.

  Emboldened, I stood straighter. “I’ll have whatever you’ve got on tap, and your name and number.”

  Biting her bottom lip, which caused my dick to swell even further beneath the denim of my tight jeans, she looked down blushing. “Anything on draft?” she asked, still looking down.

  “Whatever you think is good.” I hated I’d made her uncomfortable. I was afraid I’d come on too strong and ruined my chance. Normally, I didn’t have this problem with women.

  When she came back with my beer, she had a shy
smile on her face. “I’m Lily, and I’m not sure it’s very smart of me to give a complete stranger my phone number...”

  I cut her off. “I understand and I’m sorry for coming on so strong. Why don’t you get to know me during your break? We can find a place to sit where everyone can see you and I can prove that I’m not a stalker.” She hesitated; her eyes darted around the crowded bar. Reaching over the bar, I introduced myself. “I’m Dante. Please give me a chance to win you over. I promise you won’t regret it.”

  When she placed her tiny hand in mine, I closed my eyes at the unexplained warmth that filled me. A strong sense of never wanting to let her go hit me. I was normally a fuck’em and leave them kind of guy. They knew what they were getting into before the fact, but with this beautiful creature’s hand in mine, I was seeing visions of forever.

  What the hell was wrong with me?

  “Alright, don’t make me regret this, Dante.” She moved around the bar and came to stand in front of me. She was tiny compared to my six-four frame. The top of her head barely came up to my chest giving me an intense urge to protect her.

  Seriously, what was going on with me?

  I let her lead us to a booth to show she was in control. I was trying to win her over. Something I’d never done before.

  Once we were seated across from each other, I took a large gulp of my beer.

  Lily smiled brightly at me. “You probably think this happens all the time, but this is a first for me.”

  “The first time you’ve ever been asked for your number? I find that hard to believe.” My smile grew impossibly wider. Surely, she got hit on every night with how gorgeous she was. Their uniforms certainly led to men drooling all over themselves as I did earlier when I first spotted her.

  She blushed. Again. And I found it far too endearing.

  “I can’t even remember the last time I was asked out on a date.” She shrugged, looking over her shoulder to the bar.

  “Surely you don’t need to go so soon.” My stomach dropped at the thought.

  I’d never felt this way about anyone in my life. Why was she having this intense effect on me?

  It was as if she truly was a siren and I was being lured in by her voice. And her beauty. She was crazy beautiful, and I was caught in her snare.

  “I’ve got a few minutes. Tell me about yourself, Dante.” She rested her head in her palm, giving me her full attention.

  No pressure.

  “I’ll give you the basics. I’m Dante Ricci. I was born and raised in Italy.” Inwardly I smiled when I saw her eyes light up at my heritage. “I moved here to go to college at UCLA where I majored in business. I’m twenty-seven and have a nightclub in Riverside called Flux. I met my previous business partner, Michael, in college. He was from here and wanted to move back to the area to open up the club. It’s…well, that’s for another time. I love music and food,” I shrugged unsure of what else to say. “I’m a pretty simple guy.”

  “I’d say you’re far from simple, Mr. Ricci.” She smiled up at me through her long lashes before she tapped her fingernails on the table, biting her bottom lip. “I guess I should tell you a little about myself. I’m Lily Valenti. I’m twenty-four and was born and raised here in Fairlane.” I must have given her a quizzical look because she explained that I was indeed in Fairlane. “I live on the outskirts of town. More in the country I guess you could say. My aunt left me a house a few years ago that I’ve slowly been renovating. I work part time here at Rocco’s helping out the owner when someone doesn’t show up and to get me out of the house. Most of my time is spent writing. I have a series of small-town romance books that I’m slowly expanding on. I too love food and music.”

  I wanted to marry this woman.

  Although I probably shouldn’t tell her that. At least for now.

  Taking another sip of my beer, I sat up straighter in my seat and nervously ran my hand through my slightly too long hair. I’d been meaning to get it cut, but I hadn’t found the time. The longer it got the more it grew on me, so I decided to grow it out.

  “Now that we’ve gotten to know one another a little bit, I was hoping that you’d do me the honor of going out on a date where we can get to know each other better,” I managed to say without sounding too nervous, but when she didn’t answer after a few seconds I choked out, “Please. Sorry, I’m not normally nervous around women.” I cleared my throat, cursing myself for saying too much. Maybe she thought my nerves were cute.

  “Oh,” she placed her hand on mine and instantly my body jolted with electricity, “you poor thing. I bet you’ve never had to work for dates and here I am…”

  “You’re worth it,” I blurted out. I didn’t know what to do to show her this wasn’t a pickup line, or something I said to every woman I tried to bed.

  “You don’t even know me,” she answered back shyly.

  “That may be true, but I can tell.” I stopped myself from saying anything more like the fact that we may indeed be soulmates, the stars had aligned tonight for us to meet, and I planned to one day marry her and have lots of babies with her. I was sure it would freak her out just as much as the notion did to me. Or maybe this was all a dream. It was possible with how little sleep I’d been getting.

  Holding her hand out, she wiggled her fingers at me. “Give me your phone.”

  Too enthusiastically, I whipped my phone out of my back pocket and handed it over. I was a bumbling idiot in her presence instead of my usual smooth self. I heard her phone go off as she beamed at me from across the table.

  “There. Now I’ve got yours and you’ve got mine. I hope to hear from you soon, but for now, I’ve got to get back to work.” She stood and started to walk away. After only a few feet, she looked back over her shoulder. “It was really lovely to meet you, Dante.”

  “The pleasure was all mine,” I answered to her retreating form.

  The sway of her hips kept me hypnotized as she made her way back to the bar. When she took her place between the two blondes, she looked back over at me and winked.

  I sat for another few minutes as I tried to get my painfully erect cock under control before I left. I knew I was grinning like an idiot and I didn’t care, but I wasn’t going to let her see the bulge in my pants.

  I was so fucked.

  I’d been with my fair share of women. I didn’t do relationships and I definitely didn’t do whatever the hell it was that I had done earlier at the bar, but there was something about Lily that drew me to her. I wanted more with her. Dare I say a relationship? Or more? I only hoped I didn’t come off as some goofball that she was going to turn down when I called to ask her out.

  Stopped at a stoplight, I pulled out my phone to ask her out for the next night. Only a few minutes in her presence and I was already pussy whipped.

  Dante: Are you free for dinner tomorrow night?

  Luckily, she didn’t make me wait long before she texted back. The moment I pulled into my garage I had another big grin on my face as I read her message.

  Lily: I’d love to.

  Dante: I’ll pick you up at 7 for dinner and dancing?

  Lily: Perfect! See you tomorrow! I’ll send you directions tomorrow since it will be late when I get home.

  I didn’t bother to tell her I was a night owl and she could text me anytime she pleased. Owning a night club, you worked at all hours of the day and night. I needed to be there to accept deliveries in the morning and also be there at night once it was open to manage the staff and anything and everything that came up.

  Once inside, I took a cold shower but even that didn’t help my aching cock. I couldn’t get Lily out of my head or the way she moved when she was dancing on that bar.

  Bracing myself with one hand on the cool tile, my other hand squeezed the tip of my cock. I let out a low moan as I envisioned that it was Lily’s hands on me. Touching me. Caressing me. I imagined what she’d look like down on her knees as she took my cock deep into her throat with her pretty pink lips sucking me off. The image alone
made me explode. I came harder than ever before as shot after shot of my cum streamed out and slowly traveled down the drain.

  Chapter Two

  LILY

  I woke up to voices talking downstairs, which wasn’t unusual. Ever since I could remember my best friends and I had always had access to each other's houses. I swore it was as if we didn’t know what doorbells were growing up. We’d walk inside each other's houses as if they were our own and we’d continued to do so now that we were adults with our own houses. Most of the time my two best friends ended up at my house since they helped me with all the remodeling I’d done.

  Turning, I glanced over at the clock to see how early they’d shown up today since none of us had to work. I was shocked to see it was almost noon. I didn’t get home until two in the morning, and then it took me hours to fall asleep, so I shouldn’t be shocked.

  I squealed and kicked the covers off as I thought about my date that night with Dante. It was sweet to see how nervous he was and even better knowing that it wasn’t common for him to feel that way.

  Jumping out of bed, I ran downstairs, ready to start my day. I couldn’t wait for my date and I wanted to wear something special. It had been too long since I’d been on a date.

  I found Tillie swaying to a beat in her head. She’d been doing that a lot lately, and I thought it had something to do with her boss, Rocco. They thought they had everyone fooled, but we’d all seen the looks they gave each other when they thought no one else was looking. Rocco had nearly been panting after Tillie last night when we finished our little dance number.