Quartet Complete Series: Billionaire Romance Box Set (An Alpha Billionaire Romance)

by Michelle Love

  “I’m glad to see you’re coming to grips with things. This will make Mom happy. I know we can put this all behind us.”

  He looks at me with a certain grimness in his expression. “Reed, I want you to know that I love you. I know I was a mean little shit and I hurt you plenty. I’m sorry.”

  I about fall out of the chair I’m sitting in. Then feel like I should do a little apologizing too. “Sorry about breaking your arm.”

  He nods. “Thanks. Anything else you feel sorry for, Reed?” His steel-blue eyes twinkle a little.

  “I know you want me to tell you I’m sorry for stealing your girl, Rod. But I don’t see it like that and you know it. I liked her a good two years before you even knew she existed. And I never made a move on her until you left her and had been gone a couple of years. And now I love her more than you can even imagine,” I tell him and look right into his eyes so he knows I’m telling him the God’s honest truth.

  He can’t hold my eyes though and looks away. “I know you do. But I do too. And I need her more than I’ve ever needed anyone or thing in my life. I need her to get me off this bad road I’ve gotten myself on. Only she can do it.”

  I hold my breath to steady myself. The guy’s talking about the love of my life, the woman I’m about to marry.

  I try very hard to say the right words without doing damage to how far we’ve come. And I know Mom’s words to Jenna went deep into her brain. So I have to try hard to make something work between me and my brother.

  “Rod, I can’t walk away from her. And even if I could I don’t think she would go back to you. She’s changed.”

  “I know she has. She’s blossomed. And I know you have everything to do with that. I know you paid for her college and kept her going when I left her. I know your pure love for her opened up her soul. She glows with all you’ve brought out in her. I know this and I’d just walk away if I didn’t have this all-encompassing love and need for her myself.” He looks away as tears start to fall.

  Next to me is a box of tissues and I say, “Here you go.” Then toss the box to him when he looks back at me. “Never have seen you cry before.”

  He shakes his head. “Yeah, I don’t cry. But now I do. Man, I cry all the fucking time. I tried to get my head going in another direction. I got a new chic and treated her like shit all the while trying to change her into Jenna. I was a real asshole. And I know I was one to Jenna too. But not that last year, I wasn’t.”

  “After the incident, you mean?” I ask as I feel kind of like crying myself.

  He nods and blows his nose, making a loud elephant-like sound and I laugh a little. He grins then says, “Yeah, after I threw her around the front yard and the cop came and she had the chance to be rid of me. But she asked him not to take me to jail. She didn’t do that because she was afraid of me like I thought I needed her to be. She did it because she loved me. It made something snap inside me. I changed that day. If I wouldn’t have been an idiot and sold drugs in the first place, then I’d have married her and we’d probably have a bunch of rugrats running around by now.”

  I tap my fingertips on the arm of the chair I’m sitting in. My mind is spinning and I don’t know what to do. “But you did do those things, and it all stopped for you two. No one but you caused that. I don’t see how you think she will be able to trust you again. I mean, even if she wasn’t with me, I still don’t know if she would take you back.”

  I watch my older brother get off the chair he’s sitting in and get on his knees on the floor. A knot forms in my throat as he scoots on them across the floor. Stopping at my feet, he looks up at me with tears in his eyes.

  “Reed, I have no idea if she will either but I need to find that out. All I’m asking is for you to set her free. Who knows if she’ll come back to either of us. But I’m asking for one last chance with her. She is the love of my life, Reed. I know she’s yours too.” He stifles a sob and my throat clenches as I try hard to held back my own tears. “Mom told me you guys have scheduled a wedding in May. That’s about six months away. Set her free. Don’t talk to her and I’ll leave her alone too. But if she attempts to contact either of us and wants either of us back then we agree to accept who it is she picks. And if she moves on to another man we agree to accept that too.”

  “Rod, if I break up with her it will hurt her. I never want to hurt her.” I shake my head as I don’t think I’m capable of doing what he’s asking.

  “Did Mom talk to her? Because she said she did. She said that Jenna agreed to take herself out of the picture if you and I couldn’t come to terms about her.” He looks up at me from his place on the floor with pleading eyes.

  “She did. And if I know Jenna, she’s taking Mom’s words very much to heart.” I glance to the side as I see our father walk past the waiting room. Then he opens the door.

  “Thank, God. Come with me. They’re about to take your mother into surgery and she’s making them wait until she sees you two.”

  Dad doesn’t ask why Rod’s on his knees in front of me. He just holds out his hand to Rod and Rod takes it and gets up. Then we three walk down the hall with clicks and clacks of our shoes to see the woman who has held this family together all this time.

  She breathes a sigh of relief as we all walk into her room and we find her on a gurney and prepared to leave the ICU to go to surgery. “My men!”

  We take turns hugging her and each of us tells her we love her and will be praying for her. Then she gives Rod and I a stern look. “Can I see you two hug before I go?”

  I turn to my brother and open my arms and he does the same and we hug. A real hug, not one for show. One that says we can put this bad shit behind us but it will take some doing. It will take some sacrifices.

  And I’m not sure I want to make them.

  And I won’t if Jenna doesn’t want to. I will never hurt her. I can’t do that.

  We stand back and watch them move the gurney out of the room and wave to our mother and hold it all back until she gets good and gone then collectively we sniffle as we let a few of the tears free that we all were holding back.

  With a clap on Rod’s back, I say, “I’ll go talk to her.”

  We walk down the hallway and Rod looks at me. “Can I talk to her after you have?”

  My father has been eerily silent, and he turns to us in the hallway. “What have you two decided about that girl?”

  “We have a bit of an idea but I haven’t talked to Jenna about it yet,” I say.

  Dad opens the door to the waiting room they told him we needed to wait in so we could be updated about the operation as it goes. “Whatever your plan is, I just want you both to know that if Jenna doesn’t stop being selfish then she has no place in our family.”

  Rod gets an angry look on his face. “Look, Dad, Reed and I can work this out. This is our problem. It’s not Jenna’s fault. And I don’t want you talking about her like that. She’s anything but selfish. She’s selfless!”

  Dad looks kind of shocked. “Well, I talked to her outside and told her to stop being selfish.”

  Rod wags his finger at our father. “Then when Reed brings her back in here you had better apologize to her. She’s not selfish. Reed and I are but not her.”

  I nod in agreement and Dad looks kind of sheepish as I say, “I’ll go get her. For now, we’ll not talk about anything. Let’s get through Mom’s surgery then we can talk to Jenna. Okay, Rod?”

  He nods. “Yeah. Right now all that matters is Mom. Tell her there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll be cool, and so will Dad.”

  I leave the room and go outside. She’s sitting on a bench with her head hanging low as she looks at her phone.

  “Hey gorgeous,” I say and she looks up at me.

  “Oh, it’s you. How’s your mother?” she asks with a lot of sadness in her eyes.

  “They just took her in. I’m here to get you to take you into the waiting room. Dad told us what he said to you and he has an apology waiting for you. Rod jumped his ass about tellin
g you that you’re the selfish one. Rod and I both know it’s us not you.” I reach out to take her hand and she just looks at it.

  “No, he’s right. I am selfish. I want it all, I guess. And that’s not fair, and it is selfish. I was waiting for you to come out so I could tell you that I’m going to go to my parents I think. Your family needs this time alone. This time should be about your mom, not anything other than that.” She looks back at her phone and I kneel down in front of her.

  With a gentle tug at her chin to make her look at me I catch her eyes with mine. “Jenna, come inside, please. I need you, and Rod has promised he’ll be cool. Dad’s sorry. My parents don’t understand things but Rod and I are coming to terms with things. And we can talk about it later. For now, I need you to come hold my hand and Rod may need you to do that for him to and I want you to know if you feel like comforting him you can. Don’t do it if you don’t want to, though. It’s all up to you.”

  She looks a little stunned. “Are you kidding?”

  I shake my head. “No. The fact is you loved him once and I could tell by how you looked, the things he told you in that closet had you feeling conflicted. He and I have had our ropes on you for too long now. We’ve pulled and pushed you and that’s going to stop.”

  “I don’t know what to do, Reed. I love you and I’d like a friendship with Rod,” she says as she looks confused. “But right now I feel in the way of your family and your obligations to them.”

  “I can see you feel that way. So let me tell you that if I go back in there without you it will make all three of us Manning men feel terrible. And you can decide what you want to do with that information.”

  I wait for her to digest what I’ve said then she takes my hand. “I’ll go. We can deal with the other stuff later.”

  I wrap my arm around her shoulders and take her inside. Jenna Foster has had a place in our family in one capacity or another for a very long time. Now is not the time to toss her aside as if she’s no part of it.

  And I hope I have the strength to handle it if she decides not to be a part of it after this.

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  Maelstrőm

  1-2

  An Alpha Billionaire Romance

  By Michelle Love

  Since Yesterday

  Maelstrőm

  Part One:

  By Michelle Love

  Young coffee-house owner Sarah Bailey has finally got over the mysterious disappearance of her husband two years previously and is looking forward to her new life as a single woman. She doesn’t count on meeting Isaac Quinn, billionaire tech magnet, who sets out to seduce the beautiful Sarah. Unable to resist the incredible connection between them, they soon begin a passionate and sensual relationship that soon becomes headline news in the gossip columns.

  Their happiness is marred when Sarah attracts a jealous stalker who sends her threats and Isaac begins to wonder if his fame and status has put the woman he is falling in love in terrible, terrible danger….

  Since Yesterday

  If she hadn’t been thinking about the letter, Sarah Bailey wouldn’t have started so violently when Molly shouted her name across the busy coffee house. Sarah felt her balance slip away from her. She landed hard on her backside and laughed, embarrassed. She felt hands slide under her arms and lift her to her feet. She turned to her savior and her stomach flipped. Her rescuer was tall, broad, his dark hair cropped close to his head. He was dressed casually in jeans and tee but she could tell they were artfully distressed to look vintage. Expensive, exclusive. Sarah couldn’t help but stare into his dark green eyes, which were crinkled at the corners in a crooked smile which softened the perfectly sculpted face. His smile widened as he took her in, and as she wobbled, his big hands moved to her shoulders to steady her. He was so tall, she had to tilt her head right back to gaze at him and suddenly she felt vulnerable, tiny in his presence.

  ‘You okay, sweetheart?’

  Oh god, his voice. Chocolate and sex. Damn. His hands on her felt so good. Get a grip, Sarah shook herself and smiled at him.

  ‘Thank you.’

  His smile widened. ‘It was absolutely my pleasure, beautiful.’

  Sarah flushed at the compliment and stammered through another thanks before scooping her bag up from the floor. Molly met her at the counter.

  ‘Sorry, honey.’ Molly grinned, her green eyes amused.

  Sarah hugged her friend. ‘Not your fault. Just me being clumsy.’

  ‘How are you?’

  Sarah held up her left hand and Molly’s eyes widened.

  ‘You’ve taken your wedding ring off.’

  ‘I decided today is the day I move on. Dan is either dead or he left me. Either way, I know he’s not coming back.’ Sarah took a deep breath and smiled. ‘New day, new life. He’s been gone two years on Saturday. It’s time, is all.’

  Molly hugged her. ‘I’m glad.’ She went to serve a customer and Sarah went into the backroom. She pulled the envelope out of her bag. Sarah Bailey. It was the same handwriting as the others and she guessed it would contain the same repulsive, spite-filled messages as the last few. Her stomach clenched with fear, her skin breaking out in a sweat. She wanted to share the letter with Molly, ask her best friend’s advice. She closed her eyes and swallowed thinking of the vile threats and words of the last letters. This one would be no different. Her entire body started to tremble. No. Not now, please. She shoved the letter into the pocket of her jeans and went to work.

  At twenty-eight, Sarah Bailey had known most people on the island since she was a child and living in the now-closed children’s home down on Dogwood Street. When the Jewell family had moved next door the two kids, Molly and Finn, had claimed Sarah as their own. They were drawn to the shy young part-Asian girl, her dark hair tumbling to the middle of her back, the almond eyes so dark and big, fringed with thick lashes. Her beauty was offset by her tomboyish nature – never out of her flared blue jeans and beloved sneakers, knees and elbows forever grazed from running and climbing. It was a childhood spent climbing trees, swimming, camping out in the county park.

  Unable to stay away from the island, after college and newly married to Daniel Bailey, Sarah had rebuilt the derelict movie house into the Varsity coffee house, mostly with just an instruction manual, and the help of Dan, Molly and Finn. The locals watched in admiration – their local girl come good - and when the coffee house finally opened, it became the heart of Main Street. Grizzled fishermen would sit at the counter and order throat-strippingly strong coffee, next to the tourists who enjoy their tea from the most delicate of china. When Dan had disappeared, so shocking, so unexpected, they had rallied around her, not letting her fall apart, not letting her feel the desperate guilt that consumed her when she was alone. She thought about moving away but this place, this little haven of an island an hour away from Seattle, was the only place she’d ever felt like she belonged.

  The day was sultry with humidity. From the coffee shop window, ferries could be seen pulling into the small dock. The Varsity was full, humming with the music of conversation, crockery and Sarah didn’t have a chance to tell Molly about the letter.

  Late afternoon and the rush eased. Sarah opened the till to change some notes. Molly was at the counter flirting with one of their customers. Sarah pulled out the cash tin. She heard a low soft voice across the restaurant and her stomach flipped. She glanced up. Her savior from earlier was chatting with some of the regulars, leaning back in his chair, relaxed, his long denim-clad legs stretched out in front of him.

  ‘George makes an incredible chocolate mud pie that I practically drool over.’

  ‘Huh?’ Sarah looked at Molly in confusion and her friend grinned.

  ‘I’m just saying.’ She nodded at the guy who was now walking towards them. ‘That’s how you were looking at that demi-God just then.’

  The demi-God came to the counter. Sarah flus
hed and scowled at Molly.

  ‘I was not and shut up. Go wash a cup or something,’ she hissed at Molly then turned her burning face to greet him. ‘Hey.’

  ‘Hey yourself, beautiful.’

  She flushed again. God, she was divine…Isaac Quinn studied the scarlet blush that colored her cheeks, the dark, lovely eyes. He’d seen her name tag earlier…Sarah. It suited her, soft, feminine.

  ‘What can I get you?’ Her voice was gruff and the sound of it made his groin tighten.

  ‘Now let me see.’ He picked up a menu and studied it. Slowly, deliberately he moved his hand so it was next to hers, almost touching. He could feel the heat of her skin, smell her perfume, fresh air, and clean laundry.

  ‘Okay, you ready?’

  ‘I’m ready.’ She waved her notepad and smiled.

  ‘You sure?’

  ‘Sure.’

  Isaac grinned ‘Fine purveyor of all things drinkable…‘I would very much like to partake of a fine cocktail called ‘A Tea Garden’.’

  Sarah laughed and he saw her eyes start to dance, enjoying the joke.

  ‘Ok, your wish is my command, what is it?’

  ‘Okay. It’s one-third vodka, one-third apricot brandy, one-sixth…’

  Sarah started giggling. Isaac mock-scowled at her.

  ‘I’m not done. One-sixth vermouth and wait for it…one-sixth Tiffin.’

  ‘Tiffin?’

  ‘Tiffin.’

  Sarah wrote this down.

  ‘Just one question…what the hell is Tiffin?’

  ‘How should I know? I was kinda hoping you’d tell me.’

  Sarah raised her eyebrows at him, eyes wide and amused. ‘Well, you’ve got me there. I hate to disappoint.’