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
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Epilogue
Charming Jane
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
AVERAGE JANE
First edition: April 27th, 2018
Copyright © 2018 Kristin Coley
Written by Kristin Coley
Proofread by Carolyn at Particular Proofreading ([email protected])
Charming Jane
Jane was a girl in trouble…..not that kind of trouble, sheesh. More like the broke, homeless kind. She finds herself stranded in a city well known for its decadence, and with nowhere to go, she’s a tad on the desperate side.
Enter playboy Ian, uptight Michael, and reluctant bodyguard Buster.
They’ve made the city of New Orleans their home, and while not in the habit of rescuing damsels in distress, they make a unanimous exception for Jane.
It’s not long before Jane develops feelings for her rescuers, but with one of them broken by a past betrayal, can she make a relationship with all three of them work?
Chapter One
“The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected or is no longer working. Please try your call again.”
I hit the disconnect call button a little harder than necessary and let out a rarely used curse word. “Shit!”
I gazed around the busy street I was standing on, taking in the road construction and towering buildings, and knew I was screwed. I’d been had. Well, correction, my parents had been had. I just happened to be the one stuck with the consequences of their trusting natures.
I shifted my backpack to a more comfortable position, grateful I had it at least. I was stranded in an unfamiliar city with no money, no luggage, and now no place to stay. And all because my parents had decided to send me to stay with some old friends for the summer. It wasn’t respectable for a young girl to spend the summer alone, according to my extremely conservative parents. Which meant I was shipped to some old church friends of theirs while they spent the next year in Africa doing mission work. Luckily, I was only stuck here for the summer before I headed to college, but at the moment my prospects weren’t looking so great.
A couple of guys on the corner eyed me and I tightened my grip on my bag. My day had been bad enough and I wasn’t interested in adding robbery to the list. I scanned the street to see if there was anywhere I could go to escape their attention. Nothing caught my eye, but it was clear I wasn’t in the residential section of town. I wanted to check the address I’d been given again, but something told me being distracted would be the worst thing I could do. I steeled my spine and marched down the street like I had a clue where I was going, my main goal now to get away from the guys loitering on the street corner.
I considered myself a decent judge of character, and those guys gave off some seriously creepy vibes. I glanced over my shoulder, my heart stopping for a second as I saw them casually following behind me.
They won’t attack you in broad daylight, I reassured myself, just stay on a busy street and you’ll be fine.
My heart slammed against my chest as I recognized how vulnerable I was. I was alone, broke, with nowhere to go in a city I’d never been in before.
“Where you running off to, sweetheart?”
“We just want to talk.” Laughter followed their words, the sound sinister as fear edged through me, making my legs tingle as I glanced around desperately.
Avery’s
The place was tucked between two buildings, but the tables squashed under a tiny awning told me it was a restaurant. It was still a block away but it was the closest thing I had to safety at the moment. I lengthened my stride, uncaring if it appeared I was running away because at that point I was.
The heavy clouds overhead chose that moment to unleash themselves and hard drops hit the ground around me, soaking me instantly.
“Fuck!” I heard them grumbling behind me, no longer inclined to follow me in the rain, but I didn’t slow my pace as I darted to the door of the tiny restaurant, praying they were open.
The door jingled as it opened easily and I let out a sigh of relief as a gust of air-conditioned air caused me to shiver. I ducked inside, my eyes taking a second to adjust to the dim light, and I saw a woman walk toward me, smiling warmly.
“If there’s one thing you can expect during the summer it’s an afternoon thunderstorm. Grab a seat and I’ll get you a menu.” I nodded, edging away from the door and toward an empty table near the window. I wanted to keep an eye out to make sure those guys didn’t wait around for me. I plopped down in the wooden seat with a sigh, my now wet clothes uncomfortable. When I glanced out the window I noticed it was fogged from the temperature difference and with the rain coming down so hard it was impossible to see anything.
I eased my backpack off my shoulder and set it on the floor between my legs. There was no way I was losing it, not after everything else.
The waitress came back with a menu in her hand, but after watching me shiver she shouted, “Bill, turn down the AC before our guest freezes.”
My teeth chattered as I nodded in appreciation.
“You need a bowl of gumbo. Perfect for this weather. It may be hot as hell here in the summer, but rain calls for gumbo.” She didn’t bother handing me the menu, satisfied with her decision, and I wasn’t going to complain. I’d never had gumbo before, but if it was warm, that was all that mattered. I suspected my shivering wasn’t completely due to the rain and icy air conditioning, but more with the shock that had started to set in.
My parents were on their way to Africa, and I was on my own. My grandparents had died years ago, and I had no siblings. It had always been my parents and me. We’d spent summers and school holidays on mission trips together, and this was the first time they’d left me to go alone. Any of our church family I would have normally called were off on trips too. It found me completely on my own for the first time in my life and, not for the first time, I cursed my parent’s for putting me in this situation.
My mind wandered back to when they first brought it up and my argument against it. It wasn’t often I argued with my parents but this time I’d known something wasn’t right.
“Mom, Dad. I’m eighteen. I don’t need to stay with some people I’ve never met.”
“You’ve met them!” Mom interrupted, her light brown hair frizzing around her face as she looked up from the box she was packing.
“When I was a baby. It doesn’t count. When was the last time you saw them?” I asked, arms crossed, eyebrow arched, already knowing it had been years, but wanting them to admit the fact. This plan had bad idea written all over it. What I couldn’t figure out was why they persisted with it. I was old enough to stay on my own.
Heck, when college started in the fall I’d be living in the dorms on campus. It wasn’t exactly alone, but I would have to take care of myself, which was something I was more than capable of, after years of miss
ion trips with my scatterbrained parents.
If only my parents didn’t have such conservative ideas.
“Your father has known the family for years. We trust them, and you know we can’t leave you by yourself all summer. What would people say?” Mom stroked my hair back from face, but thankfully managed to refrain from telling me I needed a barrette. She had yet to resign herself to the fact that I was growing up and could legally be considered an adult now.
I bit back the urge to ask what did it matter what other people thought. They didn’t seem to care what I thought of the situation. Ever since they’d come up with the idea a month earlier, I’d been fighting it.
There had to be a better option.
“Mom. People live alone all the time. I’ll be on my own at the dorms. This would just be a few months earlier. I could take care of the house.”
“Sweetie, we’ve rented the house. You know that. You can’t stay here.” She held up her hand before I started in on what I thought of that idea. Who rented their house out to perfect strangers for a year, while they went on a mission trip? All while forgetting about their daughter. “I’ll admit we’ve made some booboos, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go to Africa for a year and do God’s work. You know that.”
“Yes, but sending me to live with strangers until school starts isn’t the best idea either!”
My dad walked in at that moment, determination written on his face.
“Quit arguing with your mother. You’re making this harder than it needs to be. You’re going to stay with the Dales, and that’s final. They’re good people who are doing us a great favor by having you stay with them. We expect you to be respectful and follow their rules while you’re there.” Dad’s voice was firm, and I knew it was pointless to argue when he had the ‘preacher’ tone. It didn’t seem to matter what I said, they didn’t get the same sketchy vibe I felt from the situation, and with no other options it looked like I was stuck spending the summer with strangers.
I counted the money in my purse, checking every pocket and even the change, and with a sick feeling I realized forty dollars was all I had to my name. Looking back, it was easy to see this had all been a scam, and Dad had been taken advantage of by old friends, but it didn’t help me now.
“What about money? I don’t want to rely on strangers for my necessities,” I demanded to know, resigned by this point that I had no choice but to go. I might be eighteen, but I had no money of my own, since my parents didn’t believe I should work and go to school. I was dependent on them for everything, and for the first time it chafed.
“We’ve sent them a check for your room and board and your allowance. It’ll be given to you once a week, just like we do. They didn’t want to take it, but we insisted,” Dad told me with a frown. “And watch your tone, little lady. I can tell them to take that allowance away, and it’ll be a very boring summer for you!”
The idea that I would have to ask a stranger for money all summer had sent a shudder through me. It didn’t matter what I said, I couldn’t make them understand not everyone was on the up and up. I did manage to get them to give me two weeks’ allowance in advance, plus extra money for the trip. I’d argued it was in case of emergency, and at the moment, I was supremely grateful for it.
I tucked the money deeper into my wallet and wondered if stopping in here to eat was a mistake. The rumble of my stomach told me to stay put, as did the gust of wind and rain that came in as the door swung open. I tensed, my heart hammering as two men dashed inside, shaking the raindrops from their hair. It didn’t take long to realize they weren’t the guys loitering on the street. These guys were night and day different from them. I spared a quick glance toward them, noticing they both appeared older than me and lighthearted, in spite of the rain.
They sat down at the table next to me, even though there were several other empty tables. A quick scan of the room revealed why. We were sitting in the brightest part of the building, since it was by one of only two windows. The place was dark and narrow, sandwiched as it was between two other buildings, with a scattering of wooden tables in the front, a bar in the middle, and a narrow hallway leading to a door out the back of the building.
“Darling, I’ve heard you have the best po’boys in the city. Tell me, is it true?”
It was the accent that drew my attention first. I wasn’t familiar with the city but could tell he wasn’t a local. Everyone I’d heard so far had a soft drawl, but his words were clipped. I studied him, noticing his dirty blonde hair was buzzed short and golden stubble covered his jaw.
He smiled up at the waitress, dimples flashing, and she wasn’t immune—to the dimples, or to the accent I finally recognized as British.
My eyes moved to the other guy with him, and he was as dark as the other one was light. Dark hair styled perfectly, a straight nose framed by a chiseled jaw shaved smooth and a resigned expression on his face at his friend’s antics.
“Like you don’t know.” She gave him a flirtatious wink, her ample hip bumping against him, and the sight gave me the first smile I’d had all day. “You’ve had about everything on the menu by now.”
“Not everything,” he flirted back, his innuendo not lost on me.
“I don’t recall that being on the menu,” the waitress retorted, slapping his arm as I hid my smile at their banter.
“Forgive my brother,” Tall, dark and handsome broke in. “Ian, I like this place. Try to not get us banned.” His tone implied it wouldn’t be the first time and I noticed he had an accent too, which made sense since he’d called the blonde one brother. Their looks were so different though, I wasn’t sure if it was a term of affection, or if they were actually brothers.
“Oh, it’d take a lot more than a little flirting to get you banned from Avery’s,” the waitress reassured him as she stepped back. “The usual for you boys?”
There was something disconcerting about the way she referred to them as boys because to me they were clearly men. Well-dressed men who were accustomed to getting what they wanted.
“Nothing like a woman who knows how to satisfy a man’s appetite,” the blond one crooned, and I had to stifle a snort.
“Ian,” the other one chided wearily, obviously accustomed to his ways, and I decided they must be brothers because there was no mistaking that older brother attitude.
Ian smirked at his brother, but eased off as the waitress chuckled and left to put in their orders. With their conversation no longer diverting my attention, I checked my phone. Why, I wasn’t sure. I knew my parents wouldn’t be calling any time soon. We’d set up a weekly time to chat via video message, and I knew there would be no way to reach them until then. The cost of calling and using data in another country was ridiculously expensive, and they had a habit of turning their phones off until it was time to contact someone. Either way, they wouldn’t be landing anytime soon for me to even try. They believed I was safely taken care of and would never think twice about my wellbeing.
A few minutes later, the waitress slid a biscuit in front of me, piping hot with a honey glaze poured over it. I glanced up with a confused frown.
“I didn’t ….”
“On the house. It doesn’t look like your day is going so well. Figured you could use a little sweetness to brighten it up,” she told me with a smile, her kindness bringing unwanted tears to my eyes. My clothes were clinging to me from the rain, the hem of my skirt was muddy, and I had no idea what I was going to do. All in all, this had been a rotten day.
I managed to smile as I said, “Thank you.”
“Enjoy.”
I broke a piece off with my fork, relishing the sweetness all the more for the waitress’s kindness.
“Dessert before dinner. A bold choice.”
A sideways glance revealed both of the men staring at me, but I was positive it was the one named Ian who had spoken. I couldn’t help but smile, finding their accents ridiculously charming.
“You should try it. You might be surprised,” I
replied, surprised by my own boldness.
“You know, you have a point, beautiful. I really should try it.”
“Ian.” The dark cutie’s voice held a warning, but it was too late as Ian proceeded to take his fork and steal a piece of my biscuit. I blinked down at my plate, where my biscuit was now missing a large bite. I fought my natural tendency to smile at his audacity, not wanting to encourage his terrible manners. He popped the entire bite in his mouth, a trickle of honey catching on the stubble by his lip. His tongue darted out to catch the drop of golden liquid and I suppressed an unexpected desire to lean over and do it for him.
“There is something to be said for having dessert first,” he agreed, glancing at me through hooded eyes.
I nodded since my vocal cords had apparently stopped working around the moment he’d licked his lips. I gave myself a moment by taking another bite as my gaze was drawn to the dark haired one. He had a relaxed grin now that I hadn’t stabbed his brother in the hand with my fork. He gave an amused shake of his head at his brother’s audacity, seeming unsurprised.
“Would you like dessert first, as well?” My question caught him off guard and I was surprised at myself for my daring. Ian turned toward me, a petulant pout on his face at my singling out his brother.
My question had been a dare more than anything, and he quickly seemed to realize it, granting me a small smile for my boldness. A tilt of his head had me pushing my plate closer, and he reached over to take a piece. It wasn’t like me to encourage perfect strangers to eat off my plate, and I was sure my mother would be shocked at my behavior, but they seemed harmless and provided a much-needed distraction from my problems.
“Yes, a good choice,” he finally said, clearing his throat as the one called Ian looked between us with a knowing smirk. The waitress brought out their food then, and refilled my Coke. I went back to my biscuit, finishing off what was left, as I heard an appreciative groan, which sounded distinctly British.
My gumbo came, and I dove in, ignoring the waitress’s flirtations with the two next to me. I distracted myself with my phone as the gumbo slowly warmed me from the inside. A few minutes later, I heard the scraping of chairs, and then a soft whisper against my ear caused me to shiver.
Charming Jane_A Reverse Harem Romance Page 1
