by Schultz, JT
Laws of Love
by
JT Schultz
LAWS OF LOVE
Copyright © 2013 JT Schultz
Cover Art by JT Schultz © 2013
Edited by Annie Kelly 2013 – No Copyright Assigned
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system-except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the web -without permission in writing from the author. For information, please contact the author via the contact form at:
http://jtschultz.com/Contact.html
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 or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
Second Edition 2013
ISBN: Not Assigned.
License Statement
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please download an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Praise for JT Schultz
"JT Schultz is an author to watch!!! She packs action, humor and heat between the pages!!!"
~Author Karen Kelley
"JT has a way of combining humor and sensual delights to keep the reader entertained from start to finish! I’m positive you won’t be disappointed at any time!"
~Joni – Twolips Reviews
"JT Schultz has a style that grabs you and drags you in."
~Rachel C. - Fallen Angel Reviews
"I love Ms. Schultz’s writing style and I would highly recommend her stories to others. You won’t be disappointed."
~Diana, Night Owl Romance Reviews
Also Available By JT Schultz
Short Stories
Kiss of the Wolf
Her Wolf Guardian
Un-A-Were of You
Coming Home
Wolf Moon
Novellas
More Than Illusions
Tinsel & Takeovers
Cowboy's Wish
High Stakes
Laws of Love
Novels
The Bride Wore Boots
Lying Eyes & Alibis
All That Ice
Bombshell 2 Boardroom
Frog Tale
Coming Soon
Rocking Christmas
Rescued by a Vampire
Blind Date
Irresistible
Friends With A Cowboy
Sinfully Yours
Dear Reader,
Thank you for purchasing Laws of Love. When I originally wrote this book, I wanted an unusual meeting between the hero and the heroine. The story came out a surprise and both characters learned a lot about themselves which made me happy.
Jackson Hunter has more money than most people will ever see or can imagine exists. Only money can’t buy happiness and after meeting Abby he understands how having someone special in your life can make all the difference. That is until he finds out she is the lawyer suing his family’s company for millions of dollars.
Abby came from humble beginnings. Having grown up in foster care, she worked hard to become a lawyer. After a big win, she has plenty of money and started a nonprofit law firm. She thinks she has life figured out. Then came Jack.
They say you can only make one first impression, but though we don’t mean to, I think often we are quick to judge and not look deeper, thinking we have someone already figured out. Abby and Jack are forced to look a little harder not only at themselves, but what it is about the other, that is worth fighting for.
I hope you enjoy the story as much as I liked writing how sometimes a bad turn of events or in Jack’s case—a bus ride, can lead us down the wrong road, only to discover, its where we were meant to be all along.
~Best,
JT
www.jtschultz.com
Chapter 1
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Jackson blinked at the sight. Nope, it didn’t matter how many times he closed and opened his eyes, the outrageous sight was still there. Leaning back in his seat, he took in his bleak surroundings and groaned. Outrageous was pretty much par for his life as of late, especially today. He had a Maserati GranSport Spyder, which was his pride and one hundred thousand dollar joy. It was sitting in his garage, but he wasn’t in the car, or his limousine. Wherever the hell his driver and limo were still remained a mystery. Of course, hailing a cab in this city was a nightmare—rush hour made it more of a terror and impossibility. So here he was-- Jackson William Hunter-- on a city bus, going through the worst neighborhood in the city to get to his upscale home. He was far from happy. In truth, he was downright miserable. The large vehicle stopped for a pick up and he turned to the front of the bus wondering what would happen next.
The white fluffy atrocity that had stood on the sidewalk hopped onto the bus. Of all the days and all the neighborhoods, he had to share this most undesirable experience with a crack addict—a crack addict in white, fun-fur coveralls. He blinked and shook his head, then ran his gaze over the body, starting at the tip of erect, large ears with light pink fur on the insides. The ears, attached to a hood that covered the person’s head, dipped low enough down on the forehead and around the cheeks to shield the face. Mittens covered the hands, an exact match to the fur of the rest of the outfit, and clutched a deep, multicolored Easter basket. Oh yeah, this was a complete whacko--Easter was long over.
Then the unexplainable happened and turned the event from weird to unbelievable. The crazy person in fun-fur turned. Not only was the lunatic wearing an Easter bunny costume, they had on sunglasses, rosy cheeks, and full, pink lips. Even sitting five rows back he wasn’t blind, and the bunny was—beautiful, but he was curious to know what color the eyes were.
Maybe I am just as crazy as she is.
He shook his head. What did it matter what color her eyes were? Watching those puffy lips turn softly into a smile made him wonder. Although from this distance, he couldn’t tell for sure, but he wondered if she was smiling at him?
Right then and there his breathing stopped. The smile broadened, causing his stomach to flutter, and his heart to pick up speed. She looked away shyly and extra color tinted her rosy cheeks. Turning to the first person on the bus, she passed them an envelope and then repeated it to everyone around her, passing out a variety of pastel colored envelopes. She offered every person a smile with their envelope. When she reached him, she paused.
“Hi,” she greeted softly and slipped him one in light purple.
Since he couldn’t see her eyes, his gaze fell to her lips. “Hi!”
Cheeks tinting to a deeper crimson, she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. There was something incredible about her that he couldn’t put his finger on. Absurdly enough, he was attracted to the crazy in the bunny outfit.
I’m losing my mind. First it was my license for speeding, and now it’s my mind after a long and very bad day.
As she quickly passed out more of the envelopes in her basket, a loud yell pulled his attention off her big, pink, fluffy tail and turned it to the front of the bus. “There’s fifty dollars in it!”
Jack blinked and glanced down at the sealed purple envelope in his hand as other shouts of joy filled the air. He looked around and saw how happy the fifty dollars inside each seemed to make the people on the bus. He shifted in his seat towards the cottontail as the bunny picked up speed in her deliveries. She glanced out th
e window and reached up with a mittened paw and pulled the cord. The “ding” indicated she was about to get off at the next stop.
He surveyed the bus around him. “I can get food!” the woman in the seat across from him almost cried as she turned big, brown eyes on him. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to feed the kids.”
The bus came to a stop. The words the woman spoke with tear-filled eyes hit him at full force. The sound of the back door opening echoed. “Bless the bunny.” The woman wiped her misty eyes.
The bunny!
Whipping his head to the back of the bus, the white fun-fur and pink tail hopped through the doors. He hurried out of his seat and took off towards the back, catching the door just as it was about to close. He jumped off, wondering what the hell had just happened. The doors closed behind him and the heavy engine pulled the long vehicle away from the curb.
Okay, not smart, I’m only in the worst part of town.
Looking one way up the dirty walk, then the other, he sighed.
This is crazy. No, this is insane.
It was then he caught a glimpse of fluffy pink and took off almost in a run. “Stop that rabbit!” he called out. Oh yeah, he was chasing a nutcase with a basket in a bunny outfit down a sidewalk in the ghetto. Smart—real smart.
The scenario confirmed he needed a shrink. He spotted the fur and caught up to the bunny waiting at the lights to cross the street. His hand gently touched her arm, and she turned. Still wearing the shades, she looked up at him.
“Why did you do that?” Not real smooth or debonair, but they were the first words that popped into his head.
“Because I can.” Her voice was silk and sent a wave of heat over his skin. Then she did the unthinkable--she flashed him a brilliant smile. “Have a nice day.”
His heart stopped in awe over that smile. At the same time his body received a nudge backward, taking his attention off the woman. The assailant, a kid on a bike, zipped by. Jack glanced back to the woman and discovered her gone. He scanned the area, but she was nowhere in sight. With a sigh, he looked down at the purple envelope, opened it, and found a card. He blinked at a fifty dollar bill and the only words scribbled in the nicest penmanship, “Love, a friend.”
Quickly slipping the money into his pocket, he looked around. Thirty-four years old and he wondered for the first time since he’d been eight, if there was such a thing as an Easter Bunny.
“Remind me again why we’re here?” Abigail Crosby shouted to her friend over the loud music of the upscale bar.
Tossing her long, dark hair over her shoulder, Gina laughed. “You needed to go out and I needed to get laid.” Lifting her brows over her margarita, she took a healthy sip as her eyes scanned the area. “I heard a nasty rumor today.”
Abigail leaned back on her chair and plucked the toothpick with the olives out of her martini. They interested her more than the drink itself. “Oh? That Elvis really is the hot dog vendor on 8th and Main?”
Gina laughed again. “No, that an amazing thing happened on one of the busses on the lower east side during rush hour.”
Oh hell!
Wrapping her teeth around one of the olives, she pulled it into her mouth, chewed, and purposely kept her friend waiting. “You’re a reporter; you’re supposed to hear rumors.”
“Yeah, but I am most fascinated when they involve do-gooders in bunny outfits passing out money in the poorest section of town.” Gina’s dark eyes narrowed. “You don’t happen to know anything about that, do you?”
“Nope!” Wrapping her mouth around the other olive, she figured now was as good a time as any to avoid questions.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Because as a reporter for the L.A. Times, you are ruthlessly nosy and a skeptic if you think there is a story to be had.”
“I just find it strange that some mystery woman hops on a bus and hands out cards with a fifty dollar bill in them to everyone, then disappears in a puff of smoke.”
“You mean a fluff of fun-fur.”
“I never said it was fun-fur. What do you know?” Leaning in, she looked like she was about to beg.
Setting her elbows on the table, she leaned in close to Gina. “Of course it was fun-fur; real fur would have been inhumane and I still know nothing, or rather, I take the fifth.” Leaning back in her chair, she smiled slyly and lifted her martini in a toast.
“I hate the fact you’re a lawyer and so damn secretive!”
Shrugging, Abby lifted her glass to her lips and glanced out at the other patrons when her heart slammed to a stop and she blinked. What the hell was he doing here? She lowered the glass to the table without a sip and stared at the man that had just walked in with a male companion.
“What are you looking at?” Gina asked then turned her head in the direction Abby was staring. “Oh my God, they are hotter than hell. I think I need to take one home with me tonight.” Laughing wickedly, Gina wiggled her brows. “Hell, I’m woman enough to try taking on both.”
Abby forced herself to breathe and her heart started to beat again, only faster.
It’s him.
That thought worked like some magical dust traveling through the busy bar and on the rhythm of the trendy song because it was then that he turned and looked right at her. He was drop dead gorgeous. A strange flutter rose in her stomach as he smiled from across the room.
“You are such a bitch! The hunk is staring at you. Of course, it had to the better looking of the two. It’s because you’re a blonde.”
“Wow! Look at the blonde and the brunette at the table. I bet they are for--”
“Shut up, Russ!” Hating bars, he didn’t want to be there, but after his day, he needed a stiff drink. “The blonde is beautiful.”
“And my guess is, from the way she is looking over here, she’ll put out.”
Russ, his personal assistant, was a pain in the ass. He'd had a bad day, then the incident with the money bunny, and it went from bad to worse when she’d vanished into thin air. All he had wanted was her name. The bunny’s, not the blonde’s, but since there was no white fun-fur and only a beautiful woman in a low cut, blue shirt, she would have to do. Not that the scrap of shiny fabric that clung to her breasts constituted a shirt, but it did reveal a wonderful amount of cleavage.
“So, are we going to grab a drink, or are you going to gawk like a sex fiend?”
Turning to Russ, he inwardly groaned. “I didn’t realize I had a choice.”
“Right, let’s get a beer.” Russ laughed, then slapped his back and shoved him towards the bar. The music was loud, too loud, and most of the people that came to this particular bar were wealthy, or looking for wealth-- Women obsessed with how much a man made and what they drove. Of course, that would all come down to a prestigious sounding job and a flash of cash. All of which Jack had, but he had bigger things to worry about, like the Gibson Street project.
Ordering his scotch on the rocks and tuning out Russ, who was already ogling another group of women, he still wondered about the bunny. Jack sighed and gulped back the scotch, then glanced back over at the blonde, who was leaning over close, listening to her friend. The brunette may be talking away but her gaze remained on Jack.
The blonde glanced over quickly and swept her eyes over him with brows furrowed. Apparently, this was not his night for women either. Turning back to her friend, she reached for her drink. Before she brought it to her lips, she shook her head. She sat the martini glass down and looked back over at him. He looked away because he was gawking again and wasn’t sure why. Instead, he took another sip of his drink.
“That land is going to make us rich.”
He glanced at Rich and found the statement absurd. “I’m already rich.”
Russ laughed. “Yeah, but it’s going to make you richer. I know you love that. Hell, everyone knows that money is what makes you tick.”
Though there was truth in the words, something lately had been off. It was like he was missing something—other than his driver’s lic
ense. “I need a hobby.”
“I thought that’s what your high maintenance girlfriends were for?”
“Funny.” It wasn’t really. Hopefully Russ was smart enough to pick up on his sarcasm, but he doubted it. His assistant was an annoying ass kiss, the same ass kiss that had shown up at the house and dragged him out for an evening of fun. Again, glancing around the room, this was not Jack’s idea of a good time. Rolling pennies held more appeal. His gaze rested on the blonde, who stared right at him. The brunette was still talking and no longer staring at him with scrutiny. The blonde seemed uninterested in what was being said and the drink sitting untouched on the table. Her attention snapped to her friend, and she rose up out of the chair, looking far from impressed. Turning on her heel, she focused on him and lifted a brow as if asking a silent question.
“Are you gawking at the blonde again?”
He turned to Russ. “As a matter of fact, the lady was looking at me.”
“Well, Romeo,” Russ lifted the beer bottle in his hand, “she is walking this way. Go get her.”
No way!
He glanced back. She was coming toward him, looking incredible with an intent expression. Her walk was a turn on, and turned on was something she had officially made him. She was captivating and he had no idea why.
The blonde made her way across the room and over to where he stood. His gaze roved over her, starting down at her strappy shoes. Slowly, his eyes lifted over her and he was more than appreciative of the short, black skirt that revealed long, tanned legs. His attention lingered below her hemline, his tongue slipped out and slid across his lip--his throat was parched. There was something familiar about her. Something he couldn’t put his finger on.
His eyes continued upward and his tongue retracted back into his mouth as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Their eyes met and she stepped up close. “Hello.” This might be the silver lining to my day.
