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Copyright 2017 by Revelry Publishing
Published by Revelry Publishing at Smashwords
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Disclaimer
This book is a work of FICTION. It is not to be confused with reality. Neither the author nor the publisher or its associates assume any responsibility for any loss, injury, death or legal consequences resulting from acting on the contents in this book. The characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Every character in this book is over 18 years of age. The author’s opinions are not to be construed as the opinions of the publisher. The material in this book is for entertainment purposes ONLY. Enjoy.
Other Books by Carla Coxwell:
Devil's Advocate BBW MC New Adult Romance Series
When Kristie comes home from college, the last thing she is expecting is her world to be turned upside down by the appearance of her step-brother, Gray. Gray is rash, impulsive and breaks the law. Kristie’s mom asks if she can try to befriend Gray, in hopes to get him on the straight and narrow. The plan backfires, however, as Kristie finds herself falling for Gray. Is it possible he feels the same way? The connection between them threatens to tear down everything Kristie has ever held dear.
Fifty Recipes For Disaster New Adult Romance Series
Trying to win a competition for best chef is cut-throat business. Kiara Sands has just won the opportunity of a lifetime. When she arrives at Fission, she has no idea just how much her life is going to change. She’s immediately introduced to Jenny Foster and Robbs Martin, her competitors in the cut throat competition. The only thing Kiara finds more distracting than Robbs’ hateful attitude is the handsome executive chef, Paul Weston. It doesn’t help matters that Paul is quite taken by Kiara, and showers her with more attention than he gives her competitors.
Star Bright New Adult Romance Series (This series follows Fifty Recipes For Disaster New Adult Romance Series)
Torn between her feelings for her agent, Jon, and Rich, a charming bad boy who has ties in the movie industry, Jenny finds herself working through her own past to try to get a grip on her present. As she struggles to learn the lesson that in Hollywood not everyone is what they appear to be, Jenny tries to become a person that she can be proud of. Will she be able to find love and success in Hollywood? Or will she be dragged down by her past forever?
Obsessed Bounty Hunter Romance Series
Jacqui Schneider couldn't help it. Every time the memories of her family's brutal murder haunted her, she had to escape. The only thing that could replace her sorrow was sex...and lots of it. Depressed and with no goal in sight, Jacqui continued on with her self-deprecating lifestyle until it all changed one day. Uncle Max, an old family friend, appeared unannounced. Jacqui was astonished when Uncle Max revealed a secret to her about her father. From those few words, Jacqui's world turned completely upside down. She really didn't know her own father. In fact, she didn't even know much about Uncle Max, except that he visited them for a few days at a time over the years.
Get the latest update on new releases from the author at:
http://www.carlacoxwell.com/newsletter
This book is Part Three of the “Torrid Exposure New Adult Romance Series”
Book 1
April is finished with school and ready to build a career. Coming from a well-to-do family, she has decided to reboot her life completely. With family scars too deep to mend, April craves a fresh start. But the past is harder to shake than April ever would have imagined. At the center of it all is Bennett, an old family friend who is the heir to a billionaire media mogul company. Bennett and April haven’t been able to stand each other since they were kids. But as the world shifts, the two of them discover the past might be the key to their future.
Book 2
April is shocked to find Bennett kissing another woman. What takes her even more by surprise are the sudden feelings that swell up in her at the sight. As April struggles to figure out where she stands with Bennett and resolves to stay away from him, her father falls ill. April toes the line between taking care of her father and not getting involved with the family’s company. Will April be able to stay on top of everything going on in her life and be able to keep her head on straight? Or will family ties drag her down past the point of no return?
Book 3
April has discovered her sister's darkest secret that has kept their relationship on the rocks since her near-fatal car accident. After learning of her father’s death, she suddenly feels as if she has lost her one ally in her family. All she has left is her promise to her father that she will make things right with her sister, Spencer. As April refuses to give up and dives head first into discovering the past, she also falls deeper in with Bennett, the billionaire heir to a far reaching media corporation.
Book 4
April’s world is rocked when she discovers the truth behind the night of her accident. Her sister, Spencer, has deep secrets of her own. Both involve a man they have known since they were kids – Kevin, Bennett’s father and the owner of a billionaire media corporation. April is determined to help her sister break free of Kevin’s clutches and repair their relationship. She wants to help Bennett see that he can stand on his own two feet without needing to bow down to the whims of his father. Can Bennett protect his father without losing April?
Book 5
With Spencer’s daughter, Aria, missing and Kevin hot on their trail, April feels as if things have flown completely off the rails. After Kevin lies and tells Bennett that April was kissing Anderson, she finds herself struggling to plan out her next move. Will Bennett help her work against his own father or will he be more concerned about the company? April must put the pieces of her life story together before it is too late to take down a mad billionaire and his lust for power but will the target on her back prove to be deadly?
Torrid Exposure
A New Adult Romance Series
Book 3
Copyright Revelry Publishing 2017
By Carla Coxwell
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Sample - Torrid Exposure: A New Adult Romance Series - Book 4
Sample - Fifty Recipes For Disaster: A New Adult Romance Series - Book 3
Sample - Alpha Bait: A Paranormal Shifter Romance Series - Book 3
Other Books by Carla
Coxwell
About the Author - Carla Coxwell
Connect with Carla Coxwell
Chapter One
THE WIND cuts through me like a knife. Even though it has been a hot summer, today is oddly chilly. As I walk out toward my car, I wish I had brought a sweater. The thought is an idle one. I would rather think about the cold than why I am out here.
“April!” a voice calls out to me.
I hesitate. For a brief moment, I want to ignore it. But I don’t want to look rude. I stop and look behind me. It is an older man coming up to me now. In his suit and tie, I cannot place him. I am sure I have seen him before. He looks at me fondly as though he remembers me from when I was a little girl.
“April, I just wanted to tell you personally how sorry I am for the loss of your father,” the man says to me. “It is a huge loss to everyone who knew him.”
“Thank you very much,” I say to him, the words tired of being repeated.
He smiles kindly at me. “I’m going to your mother’s house for the wake. I’ll see you there, dear.”
The man walks past me. I watch him go. I have heard so many condolences today at my father’s funeral that they are starting to blend together. They are sorry for my loss. My father was a great man. Everyone will miss him.
I blink rapidly, suddenly realizing my eyes are tearing up. I don’t want to cry in front of all these strangers again. I cried when Dad’s casket was lowered but how could I not? How could it be that Dad was here just a few days ago and now he is gone?
The last few days have felt like a blur. Spencer made the arrangements for the funeral because Mom went on a drinking binge right after he died. In spite of our bickering, I still reached out to Emily to tell her what was going on. She came back from where she had been with Adam as soon as she heard to be by my side, our fight forgotten. I hadn’t seen Bennett since the night he had come over saying he wanted to get away from his father.
Spencer is waiting in the parking lot of the cemetery for me and Mom. I can see her now as I cut across the field, heading toward the parking lot. She is talking to Kevin. I don’t see Bennett. Their heads are bowed close together and they both have dark looks on their faces. Something strikes me… it looks exactly how they looked that day I saw them bickering outside the hospital.
I find myself slowing down. Something is nagging me at the edge of my brain. It is as if something is trying to click into place. But between my grief and my stress, my brain is sluggish and slow to process anything. It is as if a fog has fallen across my brain.
“Hey!”
I look over to see Emily heading over to me. Whatever thoughts my brain was trying to assemble quickly vanish at the sight of her.
“Hey,” I say back to her.
“How’re you holding up?”
“Okay, I guess,” I reply, although I don’t even know if I feel okay.
Emily looks over her shoulder. “Your mom is talking to someone over there.” She juts her chin over in the direction of where my mom is. “She said I could ride with you guys back home for the wake.”
“Great,” I reply, feeling relief at not being stuck in the limo with just Spencer and my mother.
Emily looks at me and concern is clear on her face. “April… I’m really sorry again, about what happened to your father. I really thought he was going to get better.”
“No one was expecting the seizure,” I tell her. “It happened quickly, at least. The seizure, plus the two strokes… it was all too much… he just…” My throat closes and I shrug, unable to say anything else.
Emily wraps her arms around me and pulls me in for a hug. I close my eyes and return it, trying to take comfort in the arms of my best friend. But I still feel empty and detached from everything going on around me.
“He loved you,” she says in my ear. “He really did. I know when you backed out of the family business, Spencer and your mother didn’t understand. But he did.”
“I know,” I reply, not wanting to cry.
Our conversation is interrupted when I see Spencer walking up to us. She is wearing all black. Her hair is down and flowing over her shoulders. She isn’t wearing any make-up. Her skin is so pale that she looks sickly. There are bags underneath her eyes. I cannot remember the last time I saw Spencer with bags under her eyes.
“Hey, sorry. We have to get going now,” she says to the two of us, her voice hollow.
I nod and together we get into the limo. Mom is already seated inside. She looks worse than Spencer and I put together. She sits in the back, wearing a bulky sweater that clings to her small frame. Even though it is dark inside the limo, she leaves her sunglasses on, which seem to swallow up her face. Her hair is piled messily on top of her head. Her skin is sallow and her face is tilted toward the window, looking out of it.
It is somewhat alarming to see Mom this way. Mom, who has always tended to drink a bit too much, always was able to keep it together. Now, however, one glance is all it takes to show that this is a woman who is letting control quickly slip through her fingers. She looks like a fragile broken doll at the back of the limo instead of a grieving widow.
Once we are all settled in, the limo heads toward the house for the wake. Part of me wishes I didn’t have to stick around for it. It feels odd to stand around the house I no longer live in and discuss my father with business partners and people I do not know. My grief feels private and wholly my own.
No one speaks during the drive there. Mom is staring outside the window. Spencer is silently looking at her hands. I do not feel like speaking either. Emily opens a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and drinks it quietly. The silence feels suffocating. It is grief mingled with broken relationships amongst all of us. I can’t stand it. I suddenly miss Dad more than ever.
As if sensing my thoughts, Spencer’s eyes flick up to me. Our eyes meet. I wonder if she is thinking about a few days ago, when I came to her at the house, trying to patch things up. Dad’s words echo in my mind. Two sides of the same coin. I had promised him that Spencer and I would make up.
Now that Dad is no longer here, I wonder if I will be able to keep that promise. It seemed impossible when I had sworn it. Now it feels as if it is my ultimate goal. Dad wants Spencer and me to be close sisters again. What do I have to do to make that happen? Do I have to simply let go of whatever happened that night of the accident and move on? Part of me wishes that I could. I just didn’t know how to start letting that go.
Spencer finally looks away from me. I wonder what she is thinking about. As children, we were always on the same wavelength. Everything we did, it was on the same page. Now, I can’t make a bet on what my sister is thinking.
“Spencer,” my mom suddenly stirs, speaking up, “did you talk to Brian at the funeral?”
Brian, one of the investors who had alerted me that Dad’s business was in trouble, hadn’t bothered to glance at me at the funeral. Now that Dad is gone, Spencer is the one who has a firm reign on the company. I don’t envy her. When I first heard that the company was in trouble, I had gone crazy, wanting to figure out how to resolve it. It took Bennett to make me realize I was just projecting my own concerns onto the company when it was no longer my business.
At the thought of Bennett, my thoughts grow more scattered. The boy I thought I had known has been replaced by a man I feel an intense pull toward. The billionaire playboy has hobbies that I never would have dreamt he would have had. It feels like a million years ago that Bennett had knocked on my door and had been upset about Kevin forcing him to basically fake-date Stephanie.
“Yes,” Spencer replies, jarring me back to the present. “I did. Everything is under control. Don’t worry about it, Mom.”
This seems to placate her. She leans back in the seat and looks out the window again. The limo makes a turn and before I know it, we are pulling up to the house. Last time I had been here; Dad was still alive. I can’t imagine going in the house now without him.
The limo parks and we get out of it, heading tow
ard the house. People are already here and inside. Spencer is quickly swept up in a business conversation from someone I’m dimly aware of working for the company. Emily holds onto my arm as we step inside the foyer of the house.
It is crowded. People who weren’t invited to the funeral due to space have been invited to the wake. The house is quiet. Classical music is playing. We trail into the living room. The memories of times with my dad threaten to overwhelm me. I wish the house is empty and that I could walk through it by myself. My throat feels closed.
“Do you want anything to drink?” Emily whispers.
“Water, please,” I manage to choke out.
She nods, promises me she will be back soon, and heads off toward the kitchen. I position myself near one of the windows, focusing on where the trees meet the bright blue sky. I trace the outline of the trees, hoping it will calm me down. I feel nervous and jittery, as if I am on the verge of a panic attack.
Emily returns with a glass of water and says, “This place is crowded. Your mom is talking to someone in the kitchen and is already hitting the wine.”
Torrid Exposure Page 1