Preston (Members From Money Book 28)

by Katie Dowe

  Preston

  Can they help each other get through painful pasts?

  A sexy secret romance by Katie Dowe of BWWM Club.

  Addison and Preston are both running away from their painful pasts.

  And fate has them choosing the same remote location to run off to!

  Sparks fly, and soon they fall hard for each other!

  But the weight of their past still bears down a heavy burden on them.

  And both are afraid to share their secrets they hold deeply in their hearts.

  Can they let go of their own insecurities to find a love they never would have expected?

  Find out in this emotional yet sexy romance by Katie Dowe of BWWM Club.

  Suitable for over 18s only due to scorching hot sex scenes!

  Tip: Search BWWM Club on Amazon to see more of our great books.

  Free: Get Jason from the Members From Money series where YOU'RE the star!!

  Hi there. As a special thank you for buying this ebook, for a limited time I want to send a copy of Jason free of charge directly to your email! It's a personalized story, meaning you'll add a few details about yourself (these won't be shared with anyone else) and you'll become the star of the story!! :D

  You'll be emailed a new chapter once a day for 7 days. You can get it by clicking the cover below or going here:

  Direct link: www.afroromancebooks.com/personalized-jason-members-from-money

  This book is so exclusive you can't even buy it. As well as sending daily emails with the story, I'll also send you updates when new books like this are available.

  Copyright © 2018 to Katie Dowe and AfroRomanceBooks.com. No part of this book can be copied or distributed without written permission from the above copyright holders.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

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  Chapter 1

  “This place is as quiet as a mouse. You can hear yourself breathing,” the ample bosomed woman with the rosy cheeks and tightly wrapped greying hair said with a smile as she opened the door to the cabin and ushered her guest inside. “There's no cell service to interrupt the flow of nature. And the television has only basic channels. Many people come out here to gather their thoughts or to grieve quietly.” Rosa Almena stared at the tall, beautiful woman curiously. She was sure she was someone famous but she couldn't put the name to the face and she'd paid her for two months in cash. She secretly wondered if she was hiding from the police. The thought made her excited and she couldn't wait to get back to her house to write about her latest guest. She'd been placed in charge of the Sheltered Lodges ten years earlier and had been instructed by her employers that discretion was key. She'd seen many famous visitors and they had become repeat visitors because of her discretion. “There are two bedrooms, a bathroom and the kitchen is well stocked as per your instructions.” She hesitated as she looked at the woman walking around the place. There was a fire burning cheerfully in the fireplace. It was the middle of January and out here in this remote location it could get pretty icy. “Two whole months! A beautiful woman like you is going to find it hard to survive without other people.”

  “I'm used to being alone,” she said with a brief smile. “Thank you.” She gave a dismissive nod and Rosa knew that she was being asked to leave.

  “Let me know if you need anything,” Rosa said as she left, closing the doors behind her.

  *****

  Addison took off her thick cashmere coat and hung it on the peg by the sofa. Next she sat on the sofa and took off her knee-length leather boots, wriggling her toes, which were encased in black leggings. It was perfect! she thought as she got to her feet and took the rest of the tour. The main bedroom was quaint with a large queen-sized bed, matching chest of drawers and high boy. The closet was small but that was okay as she had brought only a minimal amount of clothing.

  “Are you sure you want to go through with this?” her sister had asked her when she'd revealed her idea.

  “Positive,” she'd told her with a slight smile. “I need to gain a fresh perspective. I need to reevaluate my life and find out if this is what I really want to continue doing.”

  “He was an asshole, Addie, and Sherrill was not your best friend,” Annmarie had told her bluntly.

  “It’s not just my relationship, or lack thereof, Annie. It’s everything. I'm sick of these producers and directors, not to mention the actors. I write from the heart and when it touches their hands it goes through so many changes that I hardly recognize my own work. I've lost the excitement of writing and you know how I feel about it.”

  “You've been spinning stories since we were little girls growing up in the country,” Annmarie remembered with a smile. She was as different from her famous sister as night from day. “You used to read voraciously and turned it into writing your own stories.”

  “And now I'm getting disillusioned. I have to go away and get my head on straight.”

  “But two whole months? Honey, that’s drastic even for you.”

  “I love my own company so I'll be okay.”

  “I will be okay,” she murmured softly to herself as she put her suitcase and overnight bag on a sofa inside the room. The place was cozy and gave her a sense of peace that she needed badly. She'd lost a woman she had come to think of as her best friend and the man she had considered settling down with one day, in one fell swoop. Addison shook her head to get rid of the image of them locked into a passionate embrace outside the restaurant they had gone to for a function. She'd looked around and, not seeing them, had decided to go and look for them. She'd told the producer that she would be right back. They had been so into the passionate kiss that they never even noticed her. She'd stood there in shock for a moment and then had left quietly.

  Addison shook her head again to get rid of the memory and padded off to the kitchen to make herself something to eat. She pulled open the pantry doors and peered inside. It was well stocked. She pulled out a can of soup and a loaf of bread. The can said it had big chunks of meat inside and was highly nutritious. She was about to put it to the test. The bread was slightly hard but it was fresh. She heated up the soup quickly on the stove top and sliced the bread. Taking everything to the small dining table she got ready to have her solitary meal.

  *****

  “You're not thinking straight, darling!” he could hear his mother’s voice reverberating inside his head. “It’s an awful time for both of us. I lost your father a year ago and now your brother but I'm staying right here. I have no intention of running away.”

  “I cannot deal with this Mother,” he'd told her grimly as he finished shoving the clothes inside his suitcase. He'd told the maid who had come into his room to help that he would deal with his damned packing by himself. She had scurried out of the room.

  “I need time and space.”

  “In the meantime, who runs the company?” she'd asked him.

  “The company practically runs itself,” he had reminded her. Sinclair’s Automobiles had been around for decades and had been founded by his great grandfather, who had started out with vintage vehicles. Until now they were the only car company that restored old cars and turned them into luxury cars or racing cars, whatever caught the fancy of people rich enough to shell out tons of money to indulge in their passion. His brother had been reckless and had
been driving their latest prototype when he'd gotten himself killed; he'd been driving way over the speed at which the vehicle had been designed to drive at the time. Preston had always been the careful one. The one who saw to the excruciating details of making sure that their vehicles were roadworthy. He'd been put in charge of the company since his dad had died and before that he'd worked hand in hand with his father to turn the place into a billion dollar company with luxurious stores all over the world. Their slogan was: ‘Want a state of the art ride? Think Sinclair’s’. “I need a break from everything.”

  “What about Janice?” Paige Sinclair had asked him quietly.

  He'd hesitated and looked over at her for a moment. “We're not exclusive.”

  “But she wants you to be and I think she would make a very good wife.”

  “Mother, Parker is dead and not too long in the ground. You think I can think about getting married right now?”

  “Maybe it's exactly what you need,” She'd told him softly. But she was wrong.

  Preston walked over to the window and looked out at the piles of snow on the ground. He'd come here under an assumed name: Cameron Lakes, a mix of his middle name and his mother’s maiden name. He'd told the nosy-looking woman who'd taken him to look at the cabin that he was a writer looking for some sort of inspiration for his next novel.

  “I've never heard of you. What titles?” she'd asked him curiously.

  “Spy novels.”

  “I'm into romance myself,” she'd told him with a laugh.

  “Is there anyone else here?”

  “Just a young lady on the other side. I doubt you'll see each other.”

  “Good.”

  Everything was covered in snow, giving the place a peaceful serenity that he so badly needed. His brother had been the face of the company. Parker Sinclair had been a devil may care individual who'd taken a lot of risks. They were different but they'd been close and now he was gone. Preston rested his head against the cold glass and closed his eyes. Parker was dead and he was still alive. He was left to go on without him and he had no idea if he could do it.

  *****

  Addison stepped into the slightly antiquated bath and put her head back against the pillow she'd placed there, closing her eyes warily. She had eaten half the soup and emptied the rest into the sink. Then she'd bundled up and gone for a walk, plunging through snow until she had come up on a path that led to the other side of the property. She had hesitated as she looked at one of the cabins where a single light was on and then had turned to go back. She'd lost her way for a little bit but had eventually found the path again and heading back to her cabin. The place was deserted, just the way she liked it. She had been cold and trembling from the extreme weather and had decided to take a long, hot bath.

  “You work too hard!” The words flashed through her mind, causing her eyes to snap open. The voice sounded so clear that for a moment she thought he was in the room with her.

  She closed her eyes and sighed but the conversation came back to her. “I love my work and I have deadlines,” she'd told him.

  “I know you have this important job writing blockbuster movie scripts Addie, but you don't have time for me,” Edgar had complained to her one night when they were in her apartment.

  “I know,” she'd told him soothingly as she tore herself away from her laptop to concentrate on him. “It’s just that this scene isn't quite right and I have to deliver it in two days. The characters aren't meshing the way I want them to. I need to fix it.”

  “When are you going to fix us? We're drifting apart Addie and you don’t even see it.”

  “I'm sorry Edgar. I promise that as soon as this is finished we'll take a break and be with each other.”

  He'd left shortly after that and she suspected now that he'd probably gone straight to Ruth’s apartment for comfort. Addison sat up abruptly, causing the water to slosh over the rim of the bath. She picked up the glass of wine she had brought in with her and sipped it slowly. She need to put it behind her and let it go. She'd deleted both their numbers from her phone and blocked them. Ruth had tried to explain herself but Addie had told her that she didn't want to hear any excuses. Addison finished the rest of the wine and decided that she'd had enough soaking for the night. She got out of the bath and reached for the towel to wrap around her and walked back into the bedroom. The fire in the hearth had died down a bit but there was an electronic heater in the room as well. She figured she wouldn't need it because the room was warm and toasty. Turning back the covers she got into bed and within minutes she was fast asleep.

  *****

  Paige Sinclair wandered into her eldest son’s suite and stood just inside the doorway looking around. Parker had been gone three weeks now and aside from the maid having made up the king-sized bed it was as if he'd just gone out for a run. Or in his case a drive around the block or on some raceway. His clothes were still hanging inside the huge closet; Parker had more clothes than she and Preston put together, and they were a lot flashier. She smiled slightly as she went further into the room. There were steps going down into the bedroom. Parker had redesigned the place himself, including a sunken bath that was like a pool. He'd been reckless and foolish but lovable. She picked up a photo of him grinning into the camera, his white teeth gleaming against his tanned skin. His emerald green eyes sparkled with mischief and his dark brown hair that was streaked heavily with blonde went to his shoulders. He'd managed to break a lot of hearts in his short thirty-two years, she'd seen women of all ages burying their faces into their lace handkerchiefs as they mourned his passing. She walked over to the sofa and sat there, her expression bleak. He wasn't supposed to die, she thought in anguish. But the way he'd lived his life was a sure fire way to die young. Preston was the sober one, the one who had been responsible ever since he was a child. Preston was also the one who didn't run around. He'd been in two relationships that she knew about and was more interested in the company than anything else, but he'd adored his older brother, no doubt wishing that he could be more like him. Paige sighed deeply as she leaned back against the sofa. Her husband had died of a heart attack some years ago while in bed and she still mourned him, still loved him. Her friends asked her over and over again why she hadn't moved on but they didn't understand. She was mourning a man that she'd been in love with for most of her life and that wasn't going to change.

  Now her elder son was dead and her only remaining child had gone off the grid. She'd tried his phone and gotten his voicemail. “You won’t be able to reach me Mother, so don’t bother trying,” he'd told her.

  “But what if something happens and I need to get in touch with you?” she'd asked him.

  “You're going to have to deal with it.”

  She got to her feet and putting away the photo she left the room, closing the doors behind her.

  *****

  “Preston you wimp, get in!” He jumped up, his heart racing as he looked around the darkened room. He closed his eyes and willed his heart rate to slow down. It had been a dream. But it had seemed so vivid and he'd heard his brother’s voice clearly, egging him on to get inside the car with him for the test drive.

  “Wimps live a whole lot longer,” he'd told him, not in the least bit offended.

  “I cannot believe you're my brother,” Parker had scoffed.

  “The feeling's mutual. You're going to get yourself killed.”

  “But what a way to go!” he'd grinned and gunned the engine as he took off like lightning.

  Preston moved the comforter off himself and reaching for his robe he went into the adjoining bathroom. He turned the switch on and went over to the counter to stare at himself in the mirror. He was the opposite of his brother in more ways than one. He had dark brown hair without the blond highlights, and light green eyes that looked more like hazel. He was tanned but not as muscled as his brother, who when he hadn't been off trying to prove that he was invincible had spent the rest of the time in the gym getting buff. Preston was more of an outdoors p
erson. He preferred to go for a run or go to the club where they were both members and participate in the many games they offered there. He was an excellent tennis player and played golf like a professional. His brother had scoffed at him, telling him that both games were for sissies. He leaned against the counter and stared at his reflection. He needed to shave but there would be no one to see him all the way out here so if he wanted to grow a beard then he could very well go ahead and do so. But he probably wouldn’t. He wasn't impulsive, he was a creature of habit which meant that he was going to shave in the morning. He'd spent his life playing by the rules, getting up and going off to the office at the crack of dawn and leaving after everyone had left for the day. He'd hardly taken vacations because he'd been determined to learn everything about the company inside and out. Now he realized that he felt as if everything inside him was burnt out and he needed to refuel. He stepped back and, rubbing his hands over his face, he went to the toilet to relieve himself before going back to bed.

  *****

  Addison woke up in degrees. A pale sun was trying to shine through the heavy burgundy curtains at the window. She squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them slowly, staring around the room with a frown. It was certainly not her bedroom. Everything looked like it had been bought at an antique sale. Then she remembered. With a small laugh she pushed herself up, coming fully awake and feeling pangs of hunger hit her stomach. She'd considered going for a run but she wasn't sure. She pushed away the comforter before getting out of bed then reached quickly for the thick robe as she felt the cold seep into her skin. The fire had died out sometime during the night, leaving the room cold. She wandered into the kitchen and quickly made a pot of coffee.

  Her last conversation with her sister came back to her. “I'm not saying you shouldn't take some time off honey, but not two months. And you said that I won't be able to get in touch with you? I'm sorry but I cannot accept that.”

  “I need this Annie,” Addison had insisted. “It’s like I'm going around in circles inside my head and nothing makes sense anymore. I just need to clear my head and go from there.”