Not So Casual: Part 3

by Harper, Kelly

  Praise for Kelly Harper

  Kelly you are a genius!

  Denita Kee

  OMG I couldn’t stop reading!

  Amazon Reviewer

  Kelly does it again. Another AMAZING book.

  Sammie’s Blog

  So sexy and hot. Kelly does not disappoint and the growth in her writing is impeccable.

  Goodreads Reviewer

  You can feel the emotions felt by each character through the authors writing. Would highly recommend.

  Amazon Reviewer

  You fee like you know each person and what they are feeling.

  Amazon Reviewer

  Easy and fast reading so it fits in to my busy lifestyle in that I can just pick it up and read a little here and there no matter what else is going on around me.

  Amazon Reviewer

  Kelly is becoming my favorite author and she seems to never disappoint anyone with her books! I didn't want to put the book down once I stared reading!

  Amazon Reviewer

  Not So Casual

  Part 3

  Kelly Harper

  Copyright © 2018 by Kelly Harper

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

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  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

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Sneak Peek: Take Me: Part 1

  Sneak Peek: Black: Part 1

  About the Author

  Other Books by Kelly Harper

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  Because it’s fun…

  Chapter One

  “You’re going to make this all about you?” Collin said. It wasn’t the first time a man had said that to her. “I’m done.”

  Collin turned to leave the theater. Bre was still standing there, trying to pull her clothes on. She wanted to chase after him but couldn’t go running through the mansion half naked. He didn’t think he was going to get away like this, did he?

  “You’re the one that made it all about me! You should have told me the truth. I don’t need your protection!”

  Collin whirled around. He shot her the hardest look; he looked like someone pushed to the limit. Where had this side of him come from?

  “The rules weren’t there to protect you! They were there to protect me!”

  The world came to a standstill; everything except Collin. He gave her one final look before spinning around and disappearing into the mansion.

  Bre stood there, stunned.

  She couldn’t believe he’d just walked out on her like that. The rules were meant to protect him? None of this was making any sense and she wasn’t going to get any answers by just standing around.

  She finished pulling on her clothes and double checked to make sure she didn’t run out topless or anything. She wasn’t going to get any answers by standing there like a brainless idiot. She needed to know what in the world had upset him so much.

  She raced out of the theater, into the gigantic hallway that connected to the mansion. She scanned left and right, but Collin was nowhere to be seen.

  Damn him!

  He didn’t get to just say those kinds of things and then run off without telling her what was really going on. If he thought this was the end of the conversation, he was in for a surprise. If they were going to have an argument then, by God, she was going to let him know what was on her mind, too.

  Bre stalked through the mansion with a purpose. They’d slept longer than she’d realized. The sun was already up and the house staff were running about, like usual.

  It took a while to get her bearings but, once she figured out where she was, she made a bee line for Collin’s room. When she arrived she banged on the door twice before trying to barge her way inside. The handle wouldn’t turn; it was locked. She tried again, harder this time. Nothing.

  “Collin, I know you’re in there! We need to talk!” she yelled, banging on the door a few more times.

  Distantly, a part of her understood that she was making a scene. Normally that wasn’t her thing, but she really didn’t care at this point. She’d be damned if Collin was going to get away with acting like this.

  Bre didn’t wait long before the door jingled from the other side. The lock clicked and it swung open. She readied herself to launch into another tirade, but words died in her throat when she saw the person standing there: a diminutive man wearing the crisp uniform of the house staff. A tag on his chest named him Eric.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Sullivan,” Eric said, looking nervous. “I was flipping the room and must have locked the door without thinking.”

  She shook her head, coming to her senses and immediately feeling like a complete idiot.

  “It’s not a big deal, just doing your job.” She gave him a weak smile and hoped he didn’t think she was a total psycho. “You haven’t possibly seen that big oaf around here, have you?”

  “If you’re referring to Mr. Hayes, ma’am, no I haven’t.” He looked discouraged for a moment before perking up. “I can have someone track him down for you, if it’s urgent,” he said, taking a few steps into the hall.

  Guilt washed over Bre in an instant. This man was just trying to do his job, and she was stressing him out even more.

  “That won’t be necessary,” she said, placing a hand on his arm to stop him. “But if you do come across him, can you please let him know I’m looking for him?”

  Eric nodded, quickly.

  “Yes, of course, ma’am.”

  Bre thanked him and let him get back to his work. She walked back to her room, chastising herself for letting Collin get under her skin and make her act like a crazy person. This wasn’t her.

  It didn’t occur to her until she was back in her room that Eric may very well have been in the middle of cleaning up the mess she left on Collin’s bed two nights ago. She cringed and considered hiding out in the shower forever.

  Her luggage had been returned to her room at some point, and it looked like something else had been placed in her room along with it: a forest green dress hung from a freestanding rack. She inspected it, quizzically, but there wasn’t a note or anything that gave her any clue as to why it was there. On the dresser next to the rack was a large, black jewelry case. She clicked it open and found an elegant necklace made of coral stones. The stones ranged in shades from white to a light aqua and it perfectly complemented the dress.

  “This is gorgeous,” Bre said. She wasn’t big on fashion, but even she had to admit that she wouldn’t mind getting dolled up in this outfit—it would definitely catch Collin’s attention.

  But first, Bre desperately needed to wash the stench of popcorn and Collin off of her. She pulled her blouse off and threw it on the bed, then pulled her phone out of her pocket and set it on the nightstand, inadvertent
ly clicking it on as she did.

  That was when she saw a missed text message from Aimee. It had come through over an hour ago, probably while she and Collin were still having fun.

  Leaving for the City. Soon. LMK if you want to come with.

  Aw, hell. What the fuck is this all about?

  Chapter Two

  What the hell was going on with Aimee? She can’t be leaving…

  Something else must have happened with Logan for Aimee to suddenly want to leave at such an early hour. Bre wanted to be there for her friend, but she was getting sick of all the drama. Of course, Aimee wanting to leave couldn’t have come at a better time. Maybe Bre should take this opportunity to get out of there also, since it was obvious that Collin didn’t want her around, anymore…

  Bre just hoped she wasn’t too late. The text had come through a while ago, and it sounded like Aimee was leaving with or without her. If Bre got ditched in the Hamptons there was going to be hell to pay.

  She raced to Aimee’s room, worrying it was going to be empty. When she got there, she found the door unlocked. The sound of a shower greeted her from within the bathroom. Annoyance replaced the momentary relief she felt in discovering Aimee was still there. Bre sat on the edge of the bed, determined to wait her out. Thankfully, wasn’t long before the water turned off. Aimee soon emerged with a towel wrapped around her.

  “What the hell is this about you leaving?” Bre asked.

  Aimee let out a scream before noticing Bre sitting on her bed. Good! Served her right for saying she was going to ditch her friend.

  “Can’t you knock or something? You nearly scared me to death!”

  Bre tilted her head and gave one of her patented pissed-off looks.

  “You texted me two hours ago saying you were ditching me… I didn’t even think you’d still be here!”

  “Sorry about that… Things got a little tense there for a while,” Aimee said, grimacing.

  Tense for a while? She didn’t think she was going to get away with that as her only response…

  “Well? Are you going to tell me what happened?”

  Aimee immediately launched into a long story about how she and Logan hooked up in his office and spent the night together out in some garden. Then how this Mara chick—who may or may not be Logan’s fiancée—had apparently recorded them together in the office and left the video waiting for Aimee when she came back.

  She knew it! There was something creepy about this mansion! Maybe it felt like she was always being watched because she really was being watched.

  But, still… Bre didn’t understand how Aimee always managed to find herself in these kinds of situations. She had a history of hooking up with the wrong men.

  What did come as a surprise was the fact that, after sending the text message, Aimee had managed to actually work things out with Logan. And Mara. So, by the time Bre had even seen the dramatic message, the fire had already been put out. There was some irony there, and Bre couldn’t help but point out the obvious…

  “How do you always have so much drama in your life?” she asked.

  “It’s not like I go out looking for it!” Aimee said.

  “Well, there’s only one common denominator here…”

  Aimee sighed, seeming to get the point.

  “So what should I do?”

  For a moment, Bre felt like she was talking to a rock.

  “What the hell are you even talking about?” Bre said. “Last night you were complaining that you weren’t sure if Logan was telling you the truth and now you’ve come up with some other problem out of nowhere… You’ve got to stop taking this stuff so seriously.”

  “But it is serious.”

  She was starting to make as much sense as Collin.

  “You’re the only one making such a big deal about it. We’re supposed to be having fun this weekend and you’re making everything a much bigger deal than it should be. Can’t you just cut loose and not blow everything out of proportion for once?”

  Instead of getting defensive or upset, Aimee gave Bre a confused look.

  “Did something happen with Collin?” she asked.

  That caught her off guard.

  “Collin doesn’t have anything to do with this,” Bre said, quickly.

  “Do you think you’ll see him after this weekend?”

  “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.”

  They were supposed to be talking about Aimee not Bre! This was getting out of hand.

  “Are you starting to have feelings for him?”

  “Feelings? What are you even talking about?”

  “Just humor me, would you?”

  Bre shrugged a shoulder.

  “We’re just having fun. Like you’re supposed to be doing…”

  “Be honest with me,” Aimee said, flatly.

  Bre hated when her friend got like this. She hated when people could read her and know she was trying to avoid something. She liked the idea that she could keep people on their toes.

  “Look, I’m telling you, it’s just a weekend fling, okay? There’s nothing to tell.”

  “Did he say something?”

  Bre’s eyes flared. Part of her was pissed that Aimee wouldn’t drop it, but another part was pissed at herself for not wanting to open up. Hadn’t she just been wanting to talk the whole situation over? She hated the idea of caving in, but maybe this was her chance…

  “We talked last night—after he finished fucking me for the second time.” Aimee gave her a look, but Bre didn’t want to get into it. It’s not like the number of times they actually had sex yesterday was relevant. “Yes, the sex is good. Really good. But it’s whatever… We agreed that it’s just a weekend fling and that there isn’t a future for us.”

  “How do you feel about that?”

  Bre’s stomach sank even farther.

  “It is what it is.”

  “I hate that saying.”

  “Yeah, well, deal with it…”

  Aimee sat down and wrapped her arms around Bre. It was comforting to have Aimee hold her like that—and that’s exactly what bothered her about it. She had to fight the urge to wriggle away.

  “You like him, don’t you?” Aimee asked.

  “I was being stupid. This is what happens when you get attached…”

  “You don’t really think that, do you?”

  “Relationships are a hassle and a waste of time. Nothing is permanent and people who think otherwise are just going to get hurt.”

  “I’d like to think that some things can last.”

  Bre shook her head. She wasn’t living in the clouds—she knew exactly how things worked in the real world.

  “We’re all going to die one day. Everything comes to an end. Everything.”

  “You mean to tell me that no part of you wonders what the two of you might turn into if you had more time to explore it?”

  “We’d just be delaying the inevitable. Might as well keep it simple and leave it as it is.”

  Aimee let out a loud, frustrated sigh. Bre didn’t know why she was making a big deal out of this—Aimee knew how stubborn she could be.

  “Maybe you’re right,” Aimee said, finally giving in.

  “Look, Aimee, if you’re smart you’ll do the same thing. We should both just leave this weekend behind us. We’ve had our fun. Let’s just leave it at that.”

  “Yeah, maybe…”

  Bre allowed herself a tiny smile, feeling victorious. At the same time, Aimee glanced at the clock and her eyes widened in shock.

  “Fuck, we need to get ready or we’re going to be late!”

  “Late for what?”

  “The big dinner… It’s in a half hour and we still need to get dressed!”

  Big dinner? Was it really dinner time already? Where was the day going?

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Gervas didn’t tell you? He said the house staff was preparing a big dinner for everybody before we go back to the City…”

  Bre r
olled her eyes.

  “I’m sure Collin just didn’t bother to pass along the message.” She sighed, loudly. “One thing goes wrong and he acts like he can’t be around me ever again…”

  Aimee gave her a look. It took Bre a moment to realize what she’d said. Fuck.

  “What went wrong?”

  “It’s nothing,” Bre said, quickly. “Forget I said anything.”

  “You just made me go into graphic detail about my night of sex with Logan… you can’t hold out on me now.”

  Fuck and double fuck.

  A part of her wanted to tell Aimee everything, but she just couldn’t. She was pissed at Collin, but she didn’t want to say anything that might embarrass him.

  “I can’t… It wouldn’t be right.”

  “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

  “It’s not that. This is just one of those things…”

  Thankfully, Aimee got the hint and didn’t keep pressing the issue.

  “You don’t have to explain yourself. But I’m here if you change your mind or just need to talk. About anything…”

  Bre nodded, relief flooding into her. She didn’t know why she was always distrusting of people—even her closest friends.

  “Thanks.”

  Aimee gave her a big smile.

  “Now, we both need to get ready for this dinner. This is our last chance to show these guys how hot we are before we go back home.”