by E. K. Blair
For all the people who sacrificed time to make my cover one of a kind—Toski Covey of Toski Covey Photography, a sweet girl I stumbled across when I admired her work on another novel. She took my ideas and ran with it, making my vision a reality. She blew my mind with her energy and willingness to pay it forward to someone she had never met. She took a chance on me, and I’ll never forget it; Sommer Stein of Perfect Pear Creative who designed my incredible graphics and always answered my one million and one emails; and Mariah Jane, the gorgeous redhead who graces the cover of Very Bad Things. You all rock!
For Kristin Anders of The Romantic Editor—my awesome editor with whom I automatically clicked with. (I know you’re editing this as you read it!) I adore you and can’t wait to work with you again. You loved Nora as much as I did and that meant everything.
For Stephanie DeLamater Phillips of Stephanie’s Book Reports—who took my blog tour and buzz event and made it fabulous. Thank you so much for being available to chat with me at the drop of a hat. You have no idea how glad I am that I found you!
For Jessica Carter—the best pimpette ever. She organized my street team and kept us on our toes for Teaser Monday. I love this bad-ass girl with all my heart.
For Julie Titus of JT Formatting—one of the best formatters out there! I love what you did for me and Nora. Thank you for being patient and walking me through the steps. I’ll be using you again!
For my Briarcrest Academy Chicks—as my Street Team, you picked me up when I got knocked down, and you made me laugh when I needed it the most. And for the all the serious pimpettes out there, I can’t thank you enough for the time and energy you put into getting the word out: Jessica Carter, Jessica Bowman, Jessica Ramirez, Joni Payne, Helena’s Book Obsession, Heather Orgeron, Carrie Richardson-Horton, Kimberly Kimball, Ann McBride, Stephanie DeLamater Phillips, Sandy Roman Borrero, Jess Danowski, Stacy Nickelson, Author DL Roan, Author Kaylee Ryan, Jenn Diaz, Kristine Radgman, Wendy Bree Rex, Author Missy Johnson, Sue Stewart, and Lisa Rutledge. Lisa, you may be last, but you are definitely not least! Thanks for being my stalker and all the Leo pics! I can’t wait to see you at the next book signing.
If I’ve left anyone out, please forgive me. I promise to make it up in Book 2.
I love you all, girlies.
Shattered Ties.
Copyright © 2013 by K.A. Robinson All rights reserved.
Cover Photo by Think Stock Photos
Cover Designer: RBA Designs
Editor and Interior Designer: Jovana Shirley, Unforeseen Editing
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 permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
K.A. Robinson
Visit my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/KARobinson13
ISBN-13: 978-1492293293
Prologue .................................................... 1
Chapter One: Emma .............................. 5
Chapter Two: Jesse ............................... 17
Chapter Three: Emma .......................... 29
Chapter Four: Jesse ............................... 39
Chapter Five: Emma ............................. 55
Chapter Six: Emma ............................... 69
Chapter Seven: Jesse ............................. 87
Chapter Eight: Emma ........................ 101
Chapter Nine: Jesse ............................. 113
Chapter Ten: Emma ........................... 127
Chapter Eleven: Jesse ......................... 145
Chapter Twelve: Emma ..................... 159
Chapter Thirteen: Jesse ...................... 171
Chapter Fourteen: Jesse ..................... 187
Chapter Fifteen: Emma ...................... 197
Chapter Sixteen: Jesse ......................... 207
Chapter Seventeen: Jesse ................... 217
Chapter Eighteen: Emma .................. 227
Chapter Nineteen: Jesse ..................... 235
Chapter Twenty: Shattered Ties ........ 245
Epilogue ................................................ 253
Acknowledgments ............................... 255
About the Author ................................ 257
Every child puts his or her parents up on a pedestal. Parents could do no wrong, and their opinions were your opinions as well.
At the tender age of six, I felt the same way. My mother, the famous supermodel, Andria Bellokavich, was my idol. I wanted to wear her clothes, make my hair look the same as hers, and share her opinions with the world.
“I can’t believe they let that kind of riffraff in this park,” my mother said as she wrinkled her nose in distaste.
I followed her gaze to see a boy around my age and his mother playing by the sandbox. “What’s wrong with them, Mommy?”
“They’re low-class white trash, and I don’t see why they feel the need to invade our park.”
I stared at the boy. I saw nothing low-class about him, but what did I know? My mommy knew everything, and if she said they were icky, then they must be.
“Can we make them go away?” I asked, eager to please my mommy.
“I wish, but unfortunately, this is a public park, so there’s nothing I can do. I will say this—we will not be coming back here anytime soon.”
I loved this park, and it made me sad that we couldn’t come back. I instantly hated the boy and his mother for taking away my favorite place in the world.
“Can I go play on the slides?” I asked, not wanting to waste a minute of my time here since it would be my last.
“Of course, honey, but don’t go anywhere near them.” She sniffed as she pulled out her BlackBerry and started punching buttons.
I hated that thing. Mommy was always on it, and she never paid attention to me when she was. Daddy had one, too, but he always put it down if I wanted his attention. I didn’t mind Daddy’s so much.
“Thank you, Mommy!” I said as I leaped off the bench we were sitting on and ran for the slides.
I looked back once to see if Mommy was watching, so I could show her just how fast I could climb up the slide, but of course, she wasn’t looking. She still had that stupid thing glued to her hand.
I sighed in defeat and slowly climbed the ladder. I was so proud of myself when I made it to the top. Not every six-year-old could climb this high without being afraid, but I could. I’d been doing it forever or at least since I was five and Mommy had started to let me run around the park on my own. She always told me that I was a big girl now and that I could take care of myself while she worked.
I sat down and pushed myself down the slide, giggling when I got to the bottom as I felt the static in my pigtails. I loved the slide. It was my favorite part of the park—after the sandbox, of course. I glanced over at the sandbox to see that the boy and his mommy had moved on to the swings.
Now’s my chance! I jumped off the slide and ran as fast as I could to the sandbox. Once I made it there, I sat on the edge, so I wouldn’t make Mommy mad by getting sand all over my dress. I picked up the bucket and started filling it with sand to make my very own fairy princess castle. One day, when I was all grown-up like Mommy, I would find a prince who would build me my very own castle.
“Whatcha making?” an unfamiliar voice asked.
I looked up to see the boy from earlier standing above me. I wasn’t supposed to talk to him, but how could I not when he’d asked me a question?
“Making my princess castle,” I replied, hoping he would lose interest after
the princess part and leave me alone. If Mommy saw us talking, she would be so mad at me.
“Can I help?” he asked as he sat down right in the middle of the sandbox.
I looked around, expecting his mommy to yell at him for getting his clothes dirty, but she was just watching us and smiling as she sat on one of the slides.
“I can do it on my own,” I replied shortly, hoping that he would take the hint and leave me alone.
“Don’t you want to play with me?” he asked, sounding hurt.
“I’m not supposed to play with you. My mommy said so.” “Why not?”
“Because you don’t belong here, and you’re trash.”
His eyes widened at my words, and he frowned. “I am not trash!”
“Well, my mommy says you are, and she’s always right. She says you shouldn’t even be allowed to play here.”
“Well, your mommy is wrong. My mommy says that we are welcome here, just like everyone else.”
I shrugged. “I don’t care what your mommy says. My mommy is right, and you shouldn’t be here. Go away.”
Before he could respond, I heard my mommy calling my name.
“Emma Bellokavich Preston! Come here!”
I glared at the boy as I stood. “Now see what you’ve done? I’m in trouble all because of you!” I turned and ran back to my mommy. I felt a twinge of fear as I saw the angry sneer on her face.
“What did I tell you? I do not want you around people like that!”
I hung my head, ashamed that I’d disobeyed her. “I’m sorry, Mommy. I told him to go away, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“I don’t want to hear it! If you can’t listen to me, then you don’t need to be here. Come on, we’re going home.”
I sighed as I followed her out to the parking lot where her brand-new Mercedes was parked.
All I wanted was a princess castle.
Eleven Years Later
“Emma! Are you ready to go?” my mother shouted through my door.
“I’ll be ready in a minute!” I shouted back as I applied eyeliner around my green eyes.
I needed complete concentration to get the smoky look that I was going for, and my mother yelling through the door wasn’t helping matters. I finished applying the liner and reached for the brush sitting in front of me. I ran it through my strawberry blonde hair until it looked perfect.
Today was the first day of my junior year in high school, and I wanted to look perfect. I needed to be perfect. I’d managed to snag a spot on the varsity cheerleading squad my freshman year, but this was the first year that I was cocaptain. I needed to set the standards for the rest of the girls on my squad. Anything less than perfection was unacceptable for the girls of Hamrick High School’s State Champion Cheer Squad.
I set down the brush and grabbed my bag on the way out of my room. As
I started down the stairs, my phone rang. I smiled as I listened to Ke$ha’s “Die Young” playing. I had that ringtone reserved for one person and one person alone—my dad.
My parents had divorced when I was eight. My dad, Alexander
Preston, traveled a lot with his rock band, Seducing Seductresses, so I rarely got to see him anymore, and I cherished every phone call that I would receive from him.
“Hi, Daddy,” I said as I held my phone up to my ear.
“Hey, baby girl. Are you ready for your first day?” he asked.
“Yep. I’m getting ready to walk out the door now.” “I wish I were there to see you off,” he said sadly.
I knew that he’d meant it, but like always, he was thousands of miles away from the home I shared with my mother in Santa Monica.
“Me, too. How’s England treating you?”
“It’s great. It’s far rainier than I remembered though,” he replied, sounding truly distraught about the weather.
I laughed. “You’re such a dweeb, Dad.”
“Did you just call your rock-god dad a dweeb?”
“I did. Listen, I need to go, or I’m going to be late. I’ll talk to you later?”
“Of course, baby girl. Enjoy your day.”
“Thanks, Daddy. I love you.”
I disconnected the call and walked into our kitchen to find something quick to eat for breakfast. Our chef, Razoule, was standing by the island, holding a granola bar and smiling.
“Thanks!” I said as I grabbed the bar from his hand.
“You are very welcome, Miss Emma,” he replied as he turned back to whatever he had been working on.
Razoule was one of the best chefs in the country, and my mother had managed to snag him a few years ago. After living off of his cooking for most of my life, I wasn’t sure if I could handle it if he ever left us.
I walked to the front door, but just as I put my hand on the knob to open it, I heard my mother calling my name.
“Emma! Don’t forget that I have a committee meeting tonight, so I won’t be home until late.”
“I know, Mom. You’ve only told me about it twenty times since last week.”
“Don’t use that tone with me. This is a very important meeting, and if all goes well, we will have a new and very well-known celebrity on our side.”
My mother was on every committee from here to San Francisco. Since she’d walked away with a huge chunk of my dad’s fortune when they divorced, she could afford not to work. Instead, she spent all her time climbing the social ladder around here, and she expected me to do the same. She only liked my friends if their parents were rich or famous or both. I loved my mom, but she was conceited and power hungry, not two things that you want to put together.
“Have a good day!” she called after me as I opened the door and walked out into the bright sunlight.
I slipped my sunglasses over my eyes and smiled as I walked to my car. I loved California. The weather was perfect, the beach was just a short drive away, and the entire place was beautiful. I’d traveled some with my dad over the years, but no place could ever come close to California.
I attended a private school, Hamrick High School, with most of Santa
Monica’s finest. Rather, I attended it with the demon spawn of Santa Monica’s finest. When mommy and daddy were gone most of the time and they supplied you with endless amounts of cash, the perfectness that surrounded our school and the students attending all but disappeared. Underneath were wild parties, drunken fights, and more than one crashed sports car. Lucky for me, I was at the heart of it all.
I played the perfect daughter and the perfect student by day, but when the parents disappeared and the alcohol flowed, I liked to party with the best of them. Chalk it up to my mommy and daddy issues, but I used the parties as an escape from reality. After all, who is really perfect when it comes right down to it?
My school was less than ten minutes from my house, and I arrived before
I’d even managed to finish my granola bar. I parked my brand-new MercedesBenz next to my best friend, Lucy’s, Jaguar and stepped out. Students were everywhere. Most were standing by their cars while others, the more responsible ones, were walking up the steps to the school.
I caught sight of Lucy’s dark brown hair in a crowd of people next to the stairs. I snuck quietly over and launched myself onto her back. Her squeals of terror had everyone laughing as she tried to throw me off. I finally gave up and released her after I thought she’d suffered enough.
She turned to glare at me. “That was so not cool, Emma!”
“It might not have been cool, but it was funny,” I said as I giggled.
She rolled her eyes as she linked her arm through mine, and we started walking up the steps to the school.
“Lookin’ good, Emma,” Todd Bex said as he walked past us.
I sighed dreamily as I watched him walk by. Todd was a senior and the captain of the football team. Add in his good looks and charm, and he was the most sought-after guy in our school. I rarely wasted my time on boys, but he wasn’t a boy. He was a man. He kept his dark hair cut short most of the time. His eyes were a
beautiful baby blue, and that, coupled with a strong jawline and full lips, made every girl turn to mush at his feet. The fact that he had talked to me, a lowly junior, sent thrills through my body. Maybe this would be the year that someone finally tamed him, and that someone could be me.
“Wipe the drool off your face,” Lucy teased.
I stuck my tongue out at her. “Shut up.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off when we heard a loud backfire coming from the parking lot. Both of us turned to see a beat-up Jeep pulling into the lot and parking beside my car.
I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. Who on earth is driving something like that around here? And why do they feel the need to park next to me?
“Who is that?” I asked as we watched a guy climb out of the Jeep and walk toward us.
“I have no idea, but I wouldn’t mind finding out,” Lucy replied as she stared at the new arrival with lust-filled eyes.
I squinted, trying to see him as he walked toward us. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place him. Lucy squeezed my arm as he looked up and noticed us staring. I thought my arm was actually going to fall off when he approached us and stopped directly in front of me.
“Hi. I was wondering if you could tell me where the office is,” he said politely.
Now that I could see him up close, I understood Lucy’s excitement. Wow. Just wow. I had been ogling Todd not two seconds before, but I had to admit that this guy was far better than Todd. His hair was a shaggy mess of blond curls, and his eyes were the brightest emerald green that I had ever seen. His upper lip was a bit thin, but his bottom was full and just begging to be kissed. He was wearing a fitted polo shirt, and it stretched to its limit every time he moved due to the muscles that it was concealing. Several tattoos covered his arms, and they were a total contradiction to how he was dressed. This boy looked like a fallen angel and a surfer boy all rolled into one, and I wanted to wrap myself around him.
I blushed as I pictured us together, both wearing nothing but a smile. Dear Lord, what has gotten into me? Yes, I was a partier, but I’d never been in that situation before. Virgins didn’t imagine total strangers naked, yet here I was, picturing him naked.