by Celia Loren
A Hearts Collective Production
Copyright © 2014 Hearts Collective
All rights reserved. This document may not be reproduced in any way without the expressed written consent of the author. The ideas, characters, and situations presented in this story are strictly fictional, and any unintentional likeness to real people or real situations is completely coincidental.
Also From The Vegas Titans Series:
Crushing Beauty (Harbingers of Sorrow MC) by Celia Loren
Breaking Beauty (Devils Aces MC) by Celia Loren
Other Books by Hearts Collective:
Faster Harder (Take Me... #1) by Colleen Masters
Faster Deeper (Take Me... #2) by Colleen Masters
Faster Longer (Take Me... #3) by Colleen Masters
Faster Hotter (Take Me...#4) by Colleen Masters
Damaged But Not Broken (New Adult Rockers) by W.H. Vega
Wounded But Not Scarred (New Adult Rockers 2) by W.H. Vega
Falling Harder (New Adult Romance) by W.H. Vega
WRECKING BEAUTY
Devil's Reapers MC
A VEGAS TITANS NOVEL
by Celia Loren
CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
About The Author
CHAPTER ONE
Addison stretched lazily in bed. The jersey sheets felt so smooth against her skin, and the morning light was just peeking around the sides of the blinds covering the huge windows that lined the bedroom. She turned on her side, tucking her hands underneath her head. Owen was long gone for the day. A year ahead of her in their MBA program, he had an early class on Fridays.
Getting out of bed, Addison pulled open the blinds, and light flooded the bedroom. She surveyed the view of Centennial Park, and the Parthenon visible to her left. She smiled at the idea of the Parthenon. It still seemed funny to her that this full scale replica of the Greek Parthenon was sitting here in the middle of Nashville, but at least it was a reminder of her European roots.
She turned, and admired the beauty of the light streaming across the mostly-white furnishings. The white had been Owen’s idea. He always teased her that she would have decorated their apartment in plaid and mounted deer heads to remind her of her home in Northern England. Hardly! She just would have felt a little more comfortable with some color, or maybe some less expensive furniture. She was always a little anxious about forgetting to use a coaster, or spilling coffee on something. She supposed it did make the room look larger, not that it really needed help in that area.
The entire apartment was enormous. Owen had picked it out and paid the rent with his family money, and she never even saw a bill. Still, she knew it had to be a large one. The open concept living room contained a leather sectional and flat screen TV mounted over the fireplace, which was covered in grey slate. The kitchen looked out over the dining room and living room, and was updated with silver appliances and marble countertops, though neither of them had much time to cook while pursuing their MBAs at Vanderbilt.
She sank back into bed and took her computer from the nightstand. She’d been working late the night before on a paper for her Global Economic Environment class, and she wanted to look it over one last time before she sent it. She pulled up the Word document and began scanning it. Maybe she should move the section on foreign exchange rates to later on. No! No, no, she thought. She always second-guessed herself and spent too much time changing around her work needlessly. Owen had read it last night and assured her it was fine.
Steeling herself, she opened her email and attached the document in a message to her professor. Ok, done, she thought, pressing send. Sinking back into her pillow, she pulled up the Wall Street Journal’s homepage and began reading. A Skype window popped up, and her computer started trilling at her.
She clicked the window open, and her mother and father’s faces crystallized into view.
“Hi Mum, hi Dad!” she said, waving. She glimpsed her childhood home in the screen behind them. They were in the study, she saw, using the desktop. Over the tops of their heads was visible the maple paneling of the walls, and her father’s bookshelves, stacked with the books he used to stay on top of the new tax laws for his accounting business. Her parents were well off, but maybe not in the one percent that was in the American news so much.
“Hi, darling!” She saw her mom’s eye dart around the screen. “Still in bed?”
“Cora…” her father, James, groaned.
“Yes, Mum. I was working late, and I don’t have class ‘til 11:30!”
“Well, all right. Your father just came home from work, so it seems late to me! Where’s Owen?”
“He has his capital markets class on Friday mornings.”
“Oh, that’s right. Well, we were just calling to thank him for the gift.”
“What gift?” Addison asked.
“Didn’t he tell you?” Her father replied. “He sent us a beautiful vase. Said it was made by a potter who works in the Appalachian mountains, because he knows how much you like to support local artists.” Addison grinned from ear to ear. Owen was always doing thoughtful things like that.
“You’re a lucky girl, Addie!” her mother crowed. “When are you going to give us some grandkids?”
“Well, I dunno, Mum, I thought we might get married first.”
“Oh, Addie, did I tell you I replanted the border along the fence?”
“Again? You’ve got to give those plants some time to take root!” Cora had taken to doing, and re-doing, household projects in her boredom. She had worked as a secretary until she met James, and now that her only daughter was out of the house, she broke up her time as much as she could with small household tasks and volunteering in the pediatric wing at the local hospital.
“Show me the ring again!”
Addison laughed and held up her left hand to the computer’s camera.
“Gorgeous! Let us know as soon as you start thinking about dates!”
“I will, I will. We won’t even start thinking about it until the semester ends, though. We’re both too busy.”
“Addie,” her father said, “you know your mother and I are both happy that you’re so interested in your studies, but maybe you’re working too hard.”
“Yes,” Cora chimed in, “Owen has more than enough money for the both of you, and for however many children you want to have, so you can just relax!”
Addison rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to relax! I like business school.”
“But, Addie…” her mother continued.
“Shoot, Mum, I’ve really got to get going! I’ve got to study! Bye! Bye, Dad!” Addison knew that when her parents started on this track, there was no fighting them. Best to just retreat.
“Oh, all right, Addie! Say thanks to Owen for us!” her parents said, leaning into their computer’s camera.
“I will! I will! Bye!” Addison replied, shutting her laptop. She leaned back onto the bed’s padded headboard. She loved her parents, but they were both so focused on her getting married and having babies. Always had been. That’s why they had encouraged her to transfer to Vanderbilt before her junior year of college. They hadn’t liked the boy Addison had been seeing at the University of Chester, and thought she could meet someone better at Vanderbilt, where her father went for undergrad. She
could find a nice Southern boy there, while getting a degree that she’d never need to use. Well, she had met Owen, but he was from Connecticut.
Rubbing her face, she put her computer on the bed next to her and stood up. Walking over to the closet, she picked out a pair of jeans, and a lavender, long-sleeved t-shirt from the bureau. In the bathroom, she brushed her teeth, dabbed a bit of concealer under her eyes, and swiped on a layer of mascara. Making her way down the hall into the kitchen, she grabbed a granola bar from the cabinet and filled up her aluminum water bottle from the tap. Crossing the living room, she took her cross-body tote from the couch and walked over to the elevator.
She still couldn’t get over the elevator opening directly into her apartment. Is it safe? She had asked Owen when he first showed her the apartment. Of course! He had laughed. You enter a code in the elevator; that’s the only way the doors will open. It still seemed like something she’d only seen in a movie.
The elevator doors opened, and Addison rode down to the lobby.
“Hi, Brenda!” she called to the lobby attendant.
“Hey, girl!” Brenda called back. Addison walked over to the counter by the lobby doors that Brenda sat behind.
“So what is it today?” Addison asked.
“Well, let’s see,” Brenda responded, reaching for The Tennessean, Nashville’s local newspaper. With her long acrylic nails, she flipped through the paper to the Lifestyles section, where the horoscopes were located. “OK, mine first. It says, ‘Taurus, the moon’s opposition to Venus today means smooth-sailing’—oooh, lucky me! ‘You will soon be receiving a cash windfall that you would be wise to invest. In love, a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.’ Now what the heck is that supposed to mean? I haven’t even got one in the hand, much less two in the bush! And if I weren’t such a lady, I’m sure there’d be a dirty joke to be made there.”
“Well, thank goodness you’re such a lady, then,” said Addison, smiling and munching on her granola bar. “My turn!”
“OK,” said Brenda, “here you are, Capricorn. “’You’ve always been wise with money,’ well, duh, she’s in business school, ‘but tonight you may find yourself strapped for cash.’ Not likely with your fiancé! ‘Also look out for an unexpected love on the horizon.’” Oh, how lucky for you! An embarrassment of riches!”
“Yeah, I think I’m all set on the love front! Do you have a trash bin back there?” Addison asked, holding up her empty bar wrapper.
“Here ‘ya go,” said Brenda, holding up a small metal trash can for her, which Addison tossed her wrapper into. “You better get going! It’s already 11:15!”
“I’m going, I’m going!” Addison laughed, grateful that campus was just a short walk away from her building.
As she sat in class Addison slipped her ring on and off her finger. Sunlight shone in from the windows on the side of the lecture hall through the solitaire diamond and created a splintered rainbow across her notepad. She glanced down at her empty page and frowned. The lecture was almost over, and she’d let her mind wander the entire time. She had been a little distracted all that week since Owen had proposed. Weren’t pre-wedding jitters supposed to take place a little closer to the actual wedding?
She tucked her chestnut hair behind her ear and glanced out the window. Spring was her favorite time of year, especially in Nashville. The Vanderbilt campus sprang to life with new growth, and she loved to stop and read the small plaques that identified all the different kinds of flowers.
The pretty blonde two seats down leaned over to her and whispered “Oh my God, that rock is huge! Did you get engaged?” Addison smiled.
“Oh, yeah!”
“So who’s the guy?”
“Um, Owen Devlin? He’s a year above us in the MBA program and –“
“Owen Devlin? Wait, like of Devlin Auditorium?”
“Yeah, I guess his family donated some money for the building.”
“Oh my gosh, you are so lucky! I’m Stephanie, by the way.” Addison smiled back at her. She just couldn’t get used to people knowing more about her fiancé, and his family, than she did. When she met Owen during her senior year at Vanderbilt, he had completely swept her off her feet. He was handsome, charming, charismatic. Everything just seemed taken care of when he was around. She still didn’t understand the extent of his family’s reach and power, though it seemed like everyone else sure did.
“Hey, we should grab coffee after class!”
“That would be great, but Owen really likes me to meet him after class.”
“Oh, sure, how about next week?”
“No, I meant every class… he’s just, sort of, set in his ways about some stuff.” Addison could see the confusion on Stephanie’s face. “But here, write your number down! We’re having a little party tonight with some of his old friends, you should come!” She tore off a piece of paper off the top of her pad and slid it down.
“Ladies, did you have something to contribute? This material will be on the exam.” The entire class turned around to eye Addison.
“Sorry, Professor Loriston.” The class turned back to look at the white board, and Stephanie slid the piece of paper back to Addison and jokingly winced at her.
The class finally wrapped up, and with an apologetic smile at Stephanie, Addison hurried down the stairs toward the front of the classroom and the exit. As she crossed the front of the class, she saw Professor Loriston signal to her out of the corner of her eye.
“Addison, a word?” Shoot, she thought, feeling like a schoolgirl being called to the principal’s office.
“Sorry I interrupted the class, Professor…”
“No, no, I actually wanted to discuss your project. I read the draft proposal you turned in last week. It was excellent, Addison, really.”
“Really? Wow, thanks! I wasn’t sure about the section on philanthropic outreach, honestly.”
“Well, I had a couple notes on it, but overall, it was very strong. Have you thought about applying for any of our summer internships?”
“I hadn’t thought about it too much yet, but I’ll definitely take a look at it. I heard there were some exciting ones in New York.”
“Well, I’d be happy to give you a recommendation,” Professor Loriston said, handing the binder containing her project back to her.
“Thanks so much, Professor. I’ll see you next week!” As she tucked the binder in her tote bag, she noticed her phone lighting up with a text. She picked it up and swiped the screen to see a message from Owen: Where are you? She texted back: Sorry! Coming right out. Shit, she thought. Owen hated being kept waiting for her.
She hurried through the crowd of students gathered in the building lobby, and out the front doors. She spied Owen seated on a low brick wall in a small patch of sunlight by the side of the quad. The cool spring sun shone through his hair and Addison sighed. He always managed to look so perfect. His blond hair was mussed just so, and his blue polo picked up his eyes. She waved at him and walked over.
“You’re late,” he said.
“I’m sorry, it’s just Professor Loriston wanted to talk to me about my midterm project.” She leaned down to kiss him, but he turned his face so she caught his cheek.
“Bye, Addison!” Stephanie called as she walked away across the grass. Addison waved back at her.
“Who’s that?” Owen asked, squinting up at Addison through the sun.
“She’s this girl Stephanie from class. If it’s OK with you, I invited her to the party tonight.”
“Come on, Addie, tonight’s just supposed to be for my friends.”
“I know, but I still don’t have that many friends here, and my family is all so far away…”
Owen sighed. “I just think sometimes you don’t know how ungrateful you sound. I mean, how much more can I give you?”
“No! That’s not it at all. I mean, in class, Stephanie was just admiring the ring and everything, so I thought… You know what? Let’s just have it be your friends. It was silly of me.�
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“Good. You know I just want you to be happy.”
“Yeah, I know. Oh, and my parents Skyped me this morning. They wanted to thank you for your present. You didn’t tell me you had gotten them anything!”
“Well, I saw it in this art gallery downtown and thought of them.”
“When am I going to get a chance to meet your dad?” Addison asked. Owen’s mother had died when he was young, and he never talked about her. Addison had yet to meet his father, the famous Marcus Devlin.
“Addison, he’s a little busy. He’s got an entire company to run.”
“I know, I just want to get to know him a little, that’s all.”
Owen smiled at her, then took both her wrists in his hands. Tightening his grip, he pulled her down toward him. Addison drew her breath in as she felt a twinge of pain in her wrists. His mouthed closed on hers, and he kissed her deeply. “I love you so much,” he whispered.
“I love you, too,” Addison said. He released her wrists and she rolled them around. He stood up and threw an arm around her shoulders.
“I can’t wait for you to meet all of my old high school friends,” he said. “They’re gonna love you.”
CHAPTER TWO
Addison leaned against the oak bar and looked out at the crowd of people. Smoothing her champagne-colored cocktail dress with one hand, she waved at a couple guys she recognized as Owen’s frat brothers from college. Owen had rented out the restaurant for the night, and the place was packed with people she didn’t know. The Tin Roof was where they’d had their first date, so Owen had thought it would be romantic to come back here to celebrate their engagement.
The place certainly looked romantic. White Christmas lights twinkled from the wooden beams spanning the width of the ceiling, and pink peonies spilled over delicate vases set on the bar and tables. Cocktail waitresses clad all in black circulated with trays of mini-sliders, spinach quiches, and stuffed mushrooms. She plucked a slider from a passing tray and popped it in her mouth.
