by Lindsey Hart
LOVE
CONTRACT
Lindsey Hart
CONTENTS
BOOK DESCRIPTION
COPYRIGHT
ABOUT 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
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
EPILOGUE
LIST OF BOOKS
CLAIM YOUR FREEBIES
BOOK DESCRIPTION
3 dates for one million dollars. Those were the conditions he stipulated on the contract.
Why she should decline:
Reason #1: She barely knew the guy.
Reason #2: She had absolutely no idea why the hell he wanted a date with Her of all people. It was not like there was anything special about her.
Reason #3: He was her best friend’s brother for god’s sake. Totally off limits!
Reason #4: He was a definite danger for her heart especially when he looked at her with those sizzling grey eyes.
This is a steamy romance novella. No cheating. No cliff-hanger. And the kind of ending you will just love. Team HEA all the way!!
COPYRIGHT
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, or transmitted by email without permission in writing from the publisher. While all attempts and efforts have been made to verify the information held within this publication, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions, or opposing interpretations of the content herein. The book is for entertainment purposes only. The views expressed are those of the author alone and should not be taken as expert instruction or commands.
Copyright © Passion House Publishing Ltd 2018
All rights reserved.
You can contact the team at [email protected].
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lindsey Hart is a married mom and lives in Ohio with her husband and two furry ball Persian cats who consider themselves as owners of the house.
She specializes in sweet to extra hot and dirty romance and strongly believes in happily ever after. If you are looking for a page turner, then you are in for a wild and naughty ride with feisty heroines and alpha male heroes.
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CHAPTER 1
Nina
“I have one hell of a proposition for you.”
It wasn’t exactly what Nina Anderson expected her best friend to say right the very minute she walked through the door of his decrepit bungalow. Shane Rempel had been promising to fix it up since he bought the place three years ago. So far, the only project he’d managed to complete was to change the burned-out light bulbs. Almost. There was still one in the hall that had never received new life.
“Oh yeah? What is it? If it’s another one of those fake girlfriend ideas to try and make someone jealous, forget it. You know how well that went last time…”
Nina slumped down on the one nice piece of furniture in the house; a leather sectional that took up most of the small living room. It was too large and completely out of place. Shane hadn’t thought twice about buying it, but that was just Shane for you. Impulsive. A little reckless. Far too charming. He loved life and lived it in the whole cup half full kind of way.
“No, it’s not some scheme.” Shane thought twice about that. He ran a hand through his tousled blonde waves. That gorgeous mane of hair, combined with icy blue eyes, full lips, carved cheekbones and a physical stature that resembled a damn work of art, had more than one member of the female population sighing after him. “Well- okay, maybe it is a little schemey.”
Fortunately, Nina was immune to Shane’s charms. She couldn’t say what it was that made her different. She’d never found him attractive. She had eyes and she could see he was handsome, but it was just a surface observation, like she knew other women were pretty and admired that beauty and flawlessness without wanting to do anything at all about it. She was sure it had something to do with the fact that they’d been friends since they were four. She’d been through all kinds of scrapes, wild schemes, daring adventures and some not so brilliant ideas with Shane over the years. It added up to make them the best of friends. Some people didn’t believe a male and female best friend could work, but it had always been just fine with them.
Nina groaned. “Are you at least going to offer me a drink before you bounce your horrible idea off of me?”
“It’s not horrible. This one is actually fail-proof.”
“I’m sure,” Nina said dryly, sarcasm as its finest. “Drink first, or no deal.”
“What are you having then?”
“What are you offering?”
Shane rolled his eyes. “I might have a couple beers kicking around.”
“Oh, come on. Is that any way to treat your best friend? A friend who has made so many sacrifices for you over the years? Who has put up with you when no one else would? A friend who leant you money to buy this piece of shit house?”
“My house isn’t a piece of shit. When I get the renovations done, you won’t even recognize it. And you only gave me five hundred bucks.”
“How many years have you been saying that for, now? Oh wait, since day one. We all know you’re never going to fix it up. You need money for that.”
“Don’t count on that. I may have a couple of tricks up my sleeve.”
“Do you have any margarita mix left? I seem to recall a bottle of tequila being left here when I came over last week.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll get out the blender. Just for you, your highness.”
“Drink or no deal. That’s my deal.”
Shane grumbled his way out of the small living room. The house had been built in the sixties and wasn’t exactly open concept. To get to the kitchen, which shared a wall with the living room, Shane had to walk out through the entrance, down the hall and around.
A few minutes later the noise of the blender crushing ice started up. Nina’s mouth watered. She could just about taste the cool blended drink. Despite his reluctance to lift a finger to accommodate his guest, Shane made damn good drinks. Far better than anything she’d be able to get at any bar around their neighborhood. Houston might be a big city, but their shitty suburb was lacking in any kind of refinement. If Nina wanted to walk into a meat market, she would have gone to the grocery store, not out for a drink.
“Here you are.” Shane walked back into the room, two sweating glasses of green tinted slushy ice in each hand. He passed one over and sat down on the sectional beside Nina.
She noticed the way his t-shirt flexed across his broad chest, how his jeans hung low on his hips, how when he bent down, half his red underwear with the black waistband were exposed. She’d noticed those things since they were kids. Shane always wore his pants too low. It was something his mom still complained about. As to the rippling muscle, that was just part of her best friend be
ing a dude and not a chick. He was built like one. She wasn’t impressed or unimpressed. It was just there.
One sip of the sweet margarita sent her into another plane of existence. “Oh my god, Shane, you’ve outdone yourself.”
Shane smiled wryly. “That’s good. I hope you still think so after you’ve heard what I have to say.”
“Why does that sound horribly foreboding?”
“It’s not really. I just want you to hear me out and wait until I’m finished. I guarantee if you wait until the end to protest and scream at me and tell me I’m an asshole and that I come up with the worst, shit ideas, then it will be well worth it.”
“You inspire such confidence.”
Shane took a deep breath. His margarita sweated in his hand, dripping little droplets onto his jeans. He didn’t even notice. “Okay. Well, you know that I have a father.”
“Don’t we all?”
“But you know he was never around.”
Nina softened her tone. “Yes, of course I know that. We’ve been friends since before kindergarten. I know how hard it was on your mom raising you guys alone. I don’t know how she did it.”
“She worked two, sometimes three jobs, shopped thrift, ate at soup kitchens when we had to. That’s how she did it.” There was an understandable note of bitterness in his voice.
“Yes, I know. Your mom is a saint.” Nina liked Darlene Rempel very much.
While her parents were divorced, and she had two younger brothers, her mother never struggled. Their dad was always in their life, sharing custody and supporting their family. Shane’s dad on the other hand- he took off after Shane was conceived and never came back. Never called or checked in, never even sent a dime for support.
“Okay, this is going to get crazy. Brace yourself.”
A warning from Shane about something getting wild wasn’t to be taken lightly. Most of his plans were out of control wild and didn’t come with a hazard symbol. Nina did brace herself. The hand on her sweating glass tightened until her knuckles whitened.
“Okay, I’ve braced,” Nina said cautiously.
“So, my dad, no I guess that’s not the right word- the guy who made my brother and I- well, he died.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. I guess. I mean, I know he didn’t mean anything to you.”
“Less than nothing. But this is the real kicker. All those years that he could have sent home a nickel of support to help my mom out and he didn’t… now I find out the guy died, and he had a will. He named my brother as the sole beneficiary, like he didn’t even know I existed.”
“Your brother?”
Chet was quite a bit older than Shane. As in eight years older. Nina hadn’t really known him well growing up. If Shane was light haired and golden like his mother, Chet was something else entirely. He’d had a dark, unruly head of curls and a darker complexion growing up. He was always broody, thin but athletic, smart, artsy in a way that Shane never was. The guy had always been a mystery, one Nina had never really tried to unravel. She knew Shane and Chet weren’t close. Chet moved out at sixteen and never came back home. She was still a child at the time, in grade two, and hadn’t really bothered with thoughts of him since.
“Yes. My brother. He conveniently decided to fly into Houston just to tell me about the will.”
“So, is he going to give you any of the money? How much was there?”
“Oh, not much. Just a paltry one million dollars.”
“What?” Nina nearly fell off the couch. She uncrossed her legs and planted her feet firmly on the floor.
“Yes, that was my exact reaction. Why would the guy have so much money and not give a shit about us at all and then leave it all to Chet? I have no idea. Makes no sense. Mom never talks about him. I’ve never asked because I know it upsets her. The guy was probably some kind of fucked up miser who had a will just for the sake of having one even though he probably thought that he was never going to die.”
“Okay…” Nina did a quick mental calculation. “I can see your wheels turning. It’s frightening. I don’t think I’m going to like what you’re going to say.”
Shane nodded. “Probably not.” He tipped his glass back and drained a good portion of the slush and the liquid floating on top. He sighed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Chet did meet with me. I got this weird call and he gave me a hotel address. We met in the lounge. He drinks whiskey. Straight up. I can’t stand the stuff. I don’t even know how we’re brothers. I’ll warn you, he looks crazy.”
“Didn’t he spend the last couple of years travelling all over?”
“Yeah. He tattooed all over the place. Berlin. Thailand, Vietnam, India, other places in Europe. I don’t know. I never kept track of him.”
“You have him on social media though.”
“Okay, correction. I kept tabs on my brother like a complete stranger would.”
Nina stuffed back her rude comeback. Shane was probably entitled to his obvious frustration. She thought she even detected an undercurrent of hurt. Which made sense, given that Chet hadn’t bothered to call or visit or write for years. She knew Shane would have liked to have his older brother around. She knew that somewhere, deep down in the unexpressed part of himself, he missed Chet.
“Okay, well, what did he want? To give you some of the money? And your mom too?”
“Chet is a wild card. I mean, he’s completely untamed. He has tattoos on his damn hands and neck.”
“Being that he’s an artist, I can see it. He’s obviously into that.”
“I don’t know what he’s into. Anyway, you should add him on your own social media.”
“Why would I do that?” Nina asked the question carefully, guarded, sensing a whole hell of a lot of information she wasn’t going to like coming her way.
“He did agree to give mom a third of the money. Of all the people in the word, she deserves it. He offered me a third as well.”
“That’s great!”
“No. It’s not. He put strings on it.”
“What? What kind of strings.” This time Nina knew she wasn’t going to like the answer.
“He told me that if I could get you to agree to go on three dates with him, he would sign over the money.”
CHAPTER 2
Nina
Nina’s mouth fell open. She knew she was doing as her mom said, gathering flies, but she couldn’t help herself. Finally, she snapped it shut. The glass in her hand was chilling the hell out of her fingers, but she didn’t move to drink anything or set it down.
“Why… why would he ask that? That’s ridiculous. He doesn’t even know who I am.”
“I asked him the same thing. He just told me that he’s very well aware of who you are. I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume the internet has something to do with it. You can look anyone up now. And he knows that we’re still good friends.”
“How does he know that?”
“Because he led off by asking if we were and I didn’t see the harm in answering honestly.”
“I still don’t get why he would want to go on a few dates with me.” Nina slowly shook her head. “It’s weird.”
“You’re right. It is. But then again, my brother has never been normal. Even as a kid I remember him being fucked up. I knew what it was, even when I was six years old and he’d go into these dark spells and just paint for days at a time. He wouldn’t even go to school. Mom gave up trying to force him and just let it happen. Sometimes he’d sleep for days after. I think as he got older, he got that under control. I wouldn’t say he’s dark or fucked up anymore. Just… different I guess. I have no idea what interest he has in you.”
“So, I’m just supposed to go along with this and give your brother three dates and just hope everything is going to work out? What is even defined as a date? Half an hour? More? How much would be involved?” She couldn’t even believe she was asking the questions. Something dark inside of herself drove her to it. Something curious, that part built into every person that coul
dn’t look away from a train wreck.
“I don’t know. We would have to get it written down. Nothing weird or like- uh- nothing against your will. I don’t imagine sex is on the table.”
“What the fuck, Shane? Sex?” Nina did set down her glass. It landed with a bang on the coffee table. “I am not fucking your brother so you can get some money.”
“Hey, I never said that you’d have to. I was just saying, we’d make it clear that would never happen. I’ll get some kind of paperwork for all of it.”
“This is insane.” Nina crossed her arms protectively over her chest. “I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all. It’s the worst scheme you’ve come up with so far.”
“First of all, it wasn’t my idea. Secondly, I guess that’s how you can tell Chet and I are related. We come up with the worst shit.”
“And so, hypothetically, if I agree to go on these dates which do not involve sex or anything lewd and are normal, like one-night date ideas, your brother will sign over the money to you.”
“Yes, I guess so.”
She mulled that over for a minute. “Okay, well if I’m going to help you, I want half.”
“Half!” Shane gaped at her. “Come on, Nina. That’s a lot of money. We’re talking about three hundred thousand. It would go a long way in getting my house fixed up. It’s the only reason I’m asking you. You know that I’m in a bad spot. I want to go back to school, but I can’t. The mortgage on this place is too high for what it is and it’s a dump. I need to get ahead somehow.”
“And what about me? You know I live in a one-bedroom apartment. The lady down the hall had bed bugs last year. Bed bugs! You know my student loan debt is out of control and that I’m exhausted from going to school and working full time. I could use the break too.”
“I know. Which is why if you help me, I’ll give you fifty thousand. That should pay off your student loans at least. I’ll take fifty thousand for the house and I’ll put the rest in the bank. I’ll cover your tuition for next year and the year after.”
