Copyright 2018 © Angela Nicole
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, real people, and real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the Author’s imagination and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, organizations or places is entirely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. This book is intended for the reader of this ebook ONLY. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the express written permission of the Author. All songs, song titles and lyrics contained in this book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.
Cover Design & Formatting:
Decadent Designs by Dee
Contents
Daniel
Nicole
Daniel
Nicole
Daniel
Nicole
Daniel
Nicole
Daniel
Nicole
Daniel
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Daniel
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Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Connect with the Author
Dedication
To Lucy Ann, one of my favorite enlightened hearts. God took you home on Valentine’s Day leaving us broken-hearted. I hope you are reading your ass off in heaven.
The music is loud, and the party is just getting started. Mac and Emily’s wedding reception is in full swing at MacAlister’s bar. My sister Chrissy and I put together a quick reception to welcome them home from their wedding in the Bahamas. Scanning the room, I can’t help but notice that the one person I wanted to see has not arrived yet.
Nicole Russell is a neighbor and friend of Emily’s. I met her briefly at Emily’s house a few months ago, and I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind since.
We didn’t even get a chance to have a conversation when we met, but I could tell instantly that she was someone I wanted to get to know better. That alone is saying a lot given my history with women.
I mean, for instance, my high school sweetheart became my wife and then my ex-wife after I caught her in bed with someone else. I came home early from work on Valentine’s Day to find her banging a doctor in our bed. I filed two days later.
Walking around the bar, I talk to several of our friends who came to see the newlyweds. I stop at the front door and shake hands with Colton Murphy, or as we call him, Murph.
“Hey Cooper, how’s the fishing business?” Murph asks.
“Business is great. Bought my own boat a couple of months ago, so we have three boats now in the fleet.”
Murph smiles, at least I think it is a smile. He is a badass motherfucker. Well, not really bad, but he is a tough, no-nonsense biker.
Murph’s dad was a Sergeant at Arms for the Falcon’s MC until he was killed four years ago. The circumstances around his murder have been murky to say the least. Mac and I have rallied around him recently, but he is a pretty closed off guy.
“How’s the motorcycle business?” I ask him.
“I am working on Mac’s bike right now. Just making some minor modifications on his Ducati so that it is easier for him to ride with his prosthesis.”
I shake my head, thinking about Emily’s reaction when she finds out Mac is going to get on his bike.
“I don’t want to be around when she finds out,” Murph says as he nods across the room at Emily.
I couldn’t agree more.
Murph and I grab another beer as we are heading back to our booth. Mac and Emily are talking with family, and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. I begin to think she will never show when the front door opens and my world stops.
She’s here.
Hot damn, he’s here. Daniel is the first person I see when I walk into the bar. I try to look away, but our eyes meet and I can’t. He flashes me a panty dropping smile, and my breath catches. I think I smile back, but who really knows?
I feel as if I am having one of those out of body experiences you hear about. The guy he is with says something to him, and he turns to answer, breaking our spell.
I manage to get my feet moving, but when I start for the bar, I feel a hand on my shoulder. It’s Emily.
“Hey Nicole, I am so glad you could make it,” she says, pulling me into a hug.
“I wouldn’t miss it. You look so happy, Emily.” And she does. I mean, why wouldn’t she be happy? She married the love of her life, and he’s a hottie for sure. She also has a sweet baby boy, Shane. What I wouldn’t give to have a family, but it is not in the cards for me.
“Come with me. I want to introduce you to some of my friends.” Before I can protest, she pulls me across the room to a group of three people and introduces me.
Standing in the corner are two guys, brothers I guess, Marcus and Matthew Bailey, and dear Jesus, they are hot. They could be male models, but Emily says they own an exotic car dealership. Marcus and Matthew are the kind of hot that you know will burn you hard. They are definitely flirts, but not my thing. Now Daniel, he could be my thing.
Standing with the hot Bailey brothers is Chrissy. She is Emily’s best friend, and I have heard her name before, so I am glad to finally meet her. She seems like a nice person, so perhaps I could get to know her better.
After making some small talk, I excuse myself from the group. I manage to fight my way through the crowd, making it to the bar. “What can I get you, sweetheart?” the bartender asks me.
“I’ll take a whiskey on the rocks, please.”
I feel his presence behind me before I see him. How can this man have power over me so quickly?
“I would have pegged you for a margarita kind of girl.”
Turning around, I get the smile I have been fantasizing about for months. “Hi, Daniel,” is all I can manage to get out. Jesus, am I sweating? I am freaking sweating.
“Hi, Nicole. I was hoping you were coming tonight.
”
What???? Stay calm, Nicole. Don’t be a mumbling idiot. “I wouldn’t miss helping Emily celebrate her marriage to Mac.”
Daniel moves to the seat next to me. “Mind if I sit with you?”
I swallow hard. “Of course, please sit.” I wave my hand at the bar stool next to me like I am some sort of game show model displaying a prize. Dork.
Not wanting to wait another second, I approach Nicole while she is at the bar.
Asking her if I could sit with her was a gamble. I mean, she could’ve said no, but the vibe that I was getting from her made me feel a little confident that she wouldn’t.
“It’s a nice party, isn’t it?” I ask her, but she can barely look at me.
“Yes, it is, and they deserve it after everything they have been through. It was nice of you to invite me.”
Sure, it was nice of me. Should I tell her that I invited her hoping that she would come and without a plus one?
“Of course, I know you and Emily have become good friends over the last few months.”
“Emily is great. She wants me to meet all of her friends. I think she is hoping they will become mine too,” Nicole says with a soft smile. “I think she feels bad that I really don’t know a lot of people since I moved here only months ago.”
Nicole is even more beautiful when she smiles. Her blue eyes seem to light right up when she does.
“I’m sure that you make friends pretty easily all on your own, Nicole.” She blushes at my suggestion.
“Actually, I’m quite shy around new people. Well, except for kids.”
“Emily tells me that you are a teacher.”
“Yep. Last school year I was a long-term substitute, but this coming fall I’ll have my own class. The details are still being worked out as students get registered.”
Even though she likes kids, I hold off on telling her about my daughter, Lucy Ann. I love my daughter with everything that I am, but I also know that some women run screaming when they find out a guy has an ex and a kid.
Nicole brings me out of my thoughts. “What do you do for a living, Daniel?”
OK, this is the easy part.
“I help my dad run his charter business. I bought my own boat to add to the fleet. If we have a lot of groups on a certain day, I take some people out on mine, otherwise I go out with my dad and help him.”
“That’s cool, having your own boat. So, you are a captain?”
I chuckle a little. “When I’m on my boat, yes, I am the captain. When I’m on my dad’s boat, I’m the first mate.”
Nicole smiles. “That must be interesting sometimes.”
I laugh to myself because my father and I butt heads a lot when it comes to the business. I think we are more alike than either of us cares to admit. “It was at first, but I’ve learned a great deal from my father’s experiences, so I tend to keep my head down and listen to what he says.”
Nicole takes a long sip of her whiskey. She seems nervous. Maybe she is feeling the connection between us too. I watch her as she fidgets with the napkin under her glass. Clearing my throat, I attempt to put her at ease. “Would you like to go out on the boat sometime?”
Nicole’s eyes snap up to me. Maybe I jumped the gun a little.
“Are you asking me out on a date, Daniel?”
Now it’s my turn to feel on the spot. I try to recover. “We can call it a date if you want. Or it can be just two friends spending some time fishing.”
I’m so unsure of myself when it comes to Nicole. After my disaster of a marriage to Serena, I never thought I would be interested in someone again. One look at Nicole a few months ago, and I wanted to try.
Nicole seems as if she is trying to work through my question. Her beautiful blue eyes are overshadowed by the crease in her brow. Damn. I think I overstepped here.
“It’s OK, Nicole, that was a no pressure invitation,” I say, trying to ease whatever has her deep in thought.
When she finally looks over at me, she appears more confident. “I would love to go out on the boat with you, but only if it’s a date.”
What the hell is wrong with me? I have a hot guy asking me out on a date, and I freeze. Immediate thoughts of Jay and what I can’t have make me doubt myself. I know I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. This could be a one and done date. There isn’t a need to share the fact that I can’t have kids.
Jay was my fiancé. I thought he loved me, only to find out that he couldn’t deal with the fact that I can’t have children. He might’ve told me sooner than two months before our wedding.
“How about Sunday?” Daniel’s sexy voice keeps me from falling too far into my thoughts. “We can go out around noon if that works for you?”
“Noon sounds perfect. I can meet you at the marina.”
“Nicole, if this is a date, I’m picking you up. Text me your address, and I will have everything ready for the ride. You don’t get seasick, do you?”
“Seasick? I don’t know. I’ve only ever been boating on a lake.”
“Well, I will do my best to order nice weather.” Daniel reaches over and puts his hand on mine and squeezes. The second he touches me, my body reacts in a way I have never experienced. I feel hot all over. Oh God, this is not good. I pull my hand away when what I really want to do is push him up against the wall and rip his clothes off.
Looking at Daniel, I can tell that he’s concerned that he’s offended me. I can’t believe I am about to do this. Nicole Russell is not assertive when it comes to men, at least not anymore.
Reaching over to Daniel, I touch his arm, trying to reassure him that I’m still interested.
“Sunday at noon.” I smile.
As I watched Nicole leave, I didn’t want the night to end. Sunday seems so far away. OK, it’s only two days, but it’s too long before I see her again. I’m glad Lucy will be keeping me busy tomorrow.
I have my daughter every Saturday morning to Sunday morning. Serena has been cooperative about letting me have Lucy during the week as well.
My daughter and I have settled into a nice routine. I always pick her up at 8:00 am and head to Hazel’s Diner. My kid loves pancakes, and Hazel does a great job making them into the shape of a dinosaur.
My daughter is quite the tomboy. She is a beautiful little girl who prefers fishing to playing with dolls. Lucy would rather be a paleontologist over a princess any day.
I have to laugh because every weekend is the same. After breakfast, Lucy asks to go fishing. I don’t take her out on the boat by myself, so we go to the causeway. We have a great setup, each with our own chairs and fishing poles. I always bring a cooler with all of her favorite snacks and we talk about our week. Not only is she my daughter, she is my buddy.
* * *
My condo is small, but it is just enough for me and Lucy. She has her own room, and it’s covered in baseballs and dinosaurs.
Pulling a beer out of the refrigerator, I take a long swig and flop onto the couch. Looking around, I wonder what Nicole would think about my place. Not only that, but what would she think about my daughter? Lucy is pretty easygoing, but that doesn’t mean that Nicole will like her.
I run my hand through my hair. I shouldn’t even be thinking about introducing Nicole to Lucy. So why am I?
Fuck.
I have to get Nicole out of my head, or it’s going to be a long day tomorrow. Maybe a shower will help…either that, or it will make me hornier. Oh well, it’s worth a try.
I can’t stop tossing and turning. Throwing the covers off, I consider getting out my vibe. Daniel has me so restless. That man’s smile makes me want to do things I haven’t done in a long time.
For one, since Jay and I broke up, I haven’t had the urge to strip off my clothes and throw myself at a man. Now it’s all I can think about. I wonder what Daniel’s lips would feel like on mine? I know how I felt when he touched my hand. Just that little gesture sent my heart racing.
Maybe a cold shower will help me calm my libido. Hmmm, on second thought, why w
ould I want to do that? I haven’t felt this way in a long time. Yep, time for a little self-exploration.
After getting my self-gratifier out of my underwear drawer, I try to get comfortable. God, this is weird. I mean, this isn’t the first time I’ve done this. But it’s the first time I have thought about a real man.
Well, that’s not exactly true. I have fantasized about movie stars and some cover models on my romance books, but Daniel is a guy I’ll be spending time with. Will I be able to look him in the eyes knowing thoughts of him have made me orgasm?
Damn it. I can’t do this.
I throw my vibe across the room, and it bounces off the closet door. Eight months. It’s been eight months since I have had sex. And the sex wasn’t even that great.
Two months after Jay dumped me, I went out on a blind date. My sister, Alex, set me up with a lawyer friend of hers. Darren, I think that was his name. He was a nice guy. You know that is like the kiss of death, but I slept with him anyway…not one of my best moments.
Enlightened Hearts: Mastered Hearts Series Book Two Page 1
