(3 Book Romance Bundle)
The Cowboy's Love
Sex With The Billionaire
Loving The White Billionaire
Copyright 2016
Table of Contents
The Cowboy's Love
Sex With The Billionaire
Loving The White Billionaire
The Cowboy's Love
by
Julie Allen
Copyright © 2015 by Julie Allen
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The Cowboy's Love
All rights reserved.
This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. No part of this work may be used, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording and faxing, or by any information storage and retrieval system by anyone but the purchaser for their own personal use.
This book may not be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Julie Allen, except in the case of a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages for the sake of a review written for inclusions in a magazine, newspaper, or journal—and these cases require written approval from Julie Allen prior to publication. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited without the express written permission of the author.
Chapter One
"Didn't someone tell me there was going to be a party here tonight?" I jumped up at the sound of my best friend Rachel's voice, causing sand to go flying up around my boots. My dress flapped in the wind as I fought against it to jump into Rachel's arms. She was as tall as a model, and she always had a big smile on her face. The other two people I invited weren't far behind her, waving at me as they approached carrying beer and marshmallows; the perfect combination.
"So where's your other half?" I asked Rachel, looking around to see if her new husband was joining us. She was actually visiting the area for a honeymoon slash meet their parents trip. She had gotten married to a man whom her parents hadn't even met. Apparently, he was some executive from New York that had just fallen in love with her when they'd met during Spring Break in Hawaii.
"Oh, he's already setting up our loft in Manhattan. I leave in a few days, so he thought it was best to just let me do my thing while he did his. But that's why he is the perfect guy for me," she explained with a laugh before walking over to the pile of wood I had set in the sand. She used a lighter to spark it, creating a small fire for marshmallows.
Before I could say anything else, I was lifted off the ground and squealed before finally being put down on the sand again to see that it was Miles that had picked me up. He had come into my life in high school. We were in choir together and both sang soprano. He was a very attractive blonde with great fashion sense, but he was that flirty ladies’ man that was okay to be friends with but you never dated.
"I've missed you," I told him as he looked me up and down.
"I guess that freshman fifteen didn't get to you," he complimented, making me blush. He gave me a kiss on the forehead before walking over to set down the marshmallows. It was Lauren who was struggling to carry all the beer, which made sense since she was always That girl.
"It got to me, but I promise it's all alcohol weight!" Lauren called out, patting her belly. She was the shortest of all of us. Despite what she seemed like, she was extremely intelligent. In fact, she was on her way to a Master's degree in Marine Biology. So, she was only home for about a month before she would be back in the grind. But I tried not to let it get to me that I knew it might be one of the last times for a while we would hang out. It wasn't like it hadn't felt the same before we all went off to college in the first place. I just wanted to enjoy my birthday and forget the fact that compared to all of them, my life was relatively boring.
I kneeled in my dress next to the fire as we settled in, trying to picture us all the way we were before. We used to come to the beach nearly every weekend in high school doing things we were so sure were wild and reckless, but they were really just harmless fun. None of us had physically aged too much, but there was something about each one of us now that just didn’t quite seem the same as we did as teenagers. But I hoped for one night we could create who we were and have a great time just the way I liked it; if not for my birthday then to say goodbye to Rachel.
Miles popped open the bag of marshmallows and began to throw a few at each one of us so that we could roast them. "So, what are you going to do in New York, Rachel?" Lauren asked, narrowing her eyes at the leggy brunette.
"Well, I haven't really figured out that part yet. I mean, he makes enough money that I don't have to work, but I don't want to do nothing. I thought about maybe starting my own photography business or something. I don't know, I'll probably just play it by ear." Rachel shrugged, leaving Lauren's mouth hanging open.
"No way, that body would be a waste behind a camera. You should be in front of it. You can't tell me that the guy has no fashion connections. I'd love to see you as like A Victoria's Secret model or something Lauren suggested.
We all laughed. "That's only because you'd live vicariously through her," I said, popping my almost black marshmallow in my mouth before nudging my best friend with my knee. "But I really couldn't see you as a housewife. You should do something. Maybe you can be one of those snooty women that have those charity parties where people wear ball gowns and fight over who donated more." I laughed at my own comment and heard myself snort much to my embarrassment. Rachel nudged me back as the whole circle began to cackle at the terrible sound my sinuses had just made.
I put my hands up in surrender and stood up, knowing the perfect distraction. "So, doesn’t anyone want to jump in that water and get this party started?" I stood up and started to pull my dress over my head, teasing them with little patches of my bare skin. I knew what they were thinking because I had done it before one night when we were drunk. I think it was at Miles' 17th birthday party. We had all ended up going skinny dipping at my suggestion.
Finally, I pulled it all the way off to reveal that I had on a cute blue tankini with most of the back cut out. That was when they all stopped ogling and began stripping off their own clothes. Miles stripped off his shirt and ran at me, scooping me up so that my legs were on one side of him and my head and torso were over his shoulder. I screamed as he ran us into the water, letting the wave’s crash up onto me. Then, he finally threw me down in chest deep water. I gave him a good splash in the face.
“So, what about you, birthday girl? What are you going to do with your life now that you’re getting older?” Lauren asked. She had always been the inquisitive one. Usually, it was a fun part of her personality, but I was unsure whether or not I had the answers. Compared to the other two women before me, it seemed like my life was some undecided tragedy. But it was really as simple as the fact that I hadn’t enjoyed city life at all. I had gone to school to get my BA in Business because it was the most useable degree, and it was going to help me hopefully run my father’s ranch one day. So, I went with honesty.
“I feel so not put together by saying this, but I really don’t know what’s n
ext. I came back a year ago because this is where I want to live. I love it here, and I love the ranch. I always thought that I would take over the ranch one day when my father gets too old to run it, you know? I’ve been helping him since I was just a little girl. But beyond that I have no real plan other than to not go back to college. I’m done with all of that. It’s just too loud for me.”
Rachel laughed at that, so I splashed her perfect face. She needed it anyway; she was hardly wet. She was so much taller that the water barely covered her still. “You would never make it in New York if you thought college was too loud. This is Texas, and I know they say everything’s bigger here, but really New York has a larger population in a much smaller space. There’s always noise.”
“Well, that’s why I am not planning on living in New York. I’ll settle for visiting you and your husband once in a while,” I said, shooting a look at Rachel. “Besides, I’m not the only one sticking around, right? It’s not like Miles has any specific plans.” I leaned against him, putting my arm up on his shoulder. But the awkward silence that passed between us told me that I might have been mistaken. “Wait, don’t tell me you’re leaving too.” It came out a little whiny. My friends were all growing up and moving on without me. What happened to fun and sticking together?
“Now, don’t give me that look like I’ve betrayed you or something. You know I’ve always wanted to get out of here, Star. And now I am. I can’t wait to get married or get a career or something like that. So, I’m just going to go and find something for myself somewhere else. I leave for Dallas tomorrow morning.” Suddenly my birthday had turned into this big pit of depression that passed through all of us. At least Dallas was still in Texas; New York seemed like the other side of the universe to me at that moment.
I sighed and let it go. There was no reason to be angry with him. If anything, I was secretly disappointed with myself. I had been the fun, interesting country girl in high school. But I’d grown up to be the boring country girl who didn’t want to leave home. It was unnerving. It was like I had lost my spark. I wasn’t ready to let that happen.
I ran to shore, grabbing two beers and instantly guzzling them down. It was time to stop the serious talk and get the party underway. Lauren cheered and whooped, following me onto shore, grabbing another beer of her own before running to her old blue pickup. Soon, she had their favorite country station blasting a Luke Bryan song. Lauren came running at me and grabbed me, swinging me around. I felt instantly dizzy since I had the beers a little too quickly, but Miles showed up behind me and caught me. Pretty soon we were all dancing and grinding on each other like old times, the wet ends of my long blonde curls slapping against my body.
We lost track of time as we danced to song after song and drank more and more beer. It started to feel like old times; I almost forgot I had just turned 24.
Eventually we all collapsed into the sand together, our heads touching and began to look up at the stars to the sound of the waves crashing. I had seen pictures of beaches all around the world my whole life; see through clear blue ones and ones with black sand, but I couldn’t imagine they help anything to my favorite piece of the Texas coast. There were sounds and sights and nature that just seemed not to be found anywhere else. Or maybe it was that all my memories were right there on that beach.
At some point I must have conked out because I woke up drooling on my passenger side window as Miles drove my blue pickup the two hours back home to Guerra. “What happened?” I asked him, feeling tired. “What time is it?”
“You’re alright. You had a bit much to drink, so I decided to drive you home instead of riding with Lauren. She sobered up pretty quick. But of course we all know how well she holds her liquor. Oh, and it’s 2:30 in the morning, just so you know. Your parents will be thrilled.”
I tried to laugh, but it came out sounding fake. He was right, though. It brought back so many memories of when Rachel and I used to stumble in giggling after midnight senior year. “How far are we?” I asked, trying to sit myself up straight so I could get my bearings. He didn’t have to answer, though. I knew exactly where we were. In fact, I could make out the edge of my parents’ property in the distance.
“Well, that answers that,” I commented, trying to finger brush my still damp hair so I didn’t look like a complete crazy person. Of course, I could only hope that it wouldn’t matter and I’d make it in without waking them up. But I never had before.
Miles pulled up next to the front gate leading into the ranch, and I looked around dreamily. Even in the dark I could see how beautiful the place was. It reminded me why I moved back in the first place. Open space with green grass and room to move and be free with the scent of rain and heat forever in my nostrils was as close to paradise as I believed I could get. There were even animals all around I could relate to and enjoy being with.
Miles helped me out of the truck and walked me up to the ranch style home that I’d lived in my whole life. It still had the same white brick and a cactus out front. It was my mother’s idea since she used to live in Phoenix before she married my father. That was her way of compromising. If she had to live on his ranch, then she had to bring the décor with her.
Miles took my key and unlocked the door, leading me inside the dark house. Luckily, my parents had at least left the stove light on. It cast a dim yellow glow towards the hallway that led to my bedroom and bathroom. The benefit of building the house from the ground up instead of just buying one meant that everyone got their own bathroom and even privacy. I basically had my own side of the house.
But sure enough, just as we reached the hallway, lights flicked on, and my parents came out in their pajamas and slippers in classic old people fashion. Sometimes I thought they would make great comic strip characters because of how hilariously but amazingly typical they were.
“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Milligan, I’m just making sure your daughter makes it to bed safely. The truck is parked outside. She didn’t drive home,” Miles explained quickly. He had that down pat still.
“Well it looks like it’s just like old times,” my mother said shaking her head and placing her hands on her hips before cracking a smile. “Good night, Star.”
“Good night, Mom,” I said with a smile as Miles helped me the rest of the way to the bedroom. Before I knew it, I was sound asleep.
(3 Book Romance Bundle) "The Cowboy's Love" & "Sex with the Billionaire" & "Loving the White Billionaire" Page 1
