by Pamela Ann
Falling For Ava
(British Billionaires)
Pamela Ann
Falling For Ava
(British Billionaires)
Copyright © 2014 by Pamela Ann
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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 any information storage and retrieval system, without a written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
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“... forgiveness is a four letter word: Love.”
-Elizabeth Marx, Binding Arbitration
Prologue
Ava
My life was splendid. I had a doting husband that loved me to no end; a family who adored me; and a supportive, close-knit group of friends who would keep my secrets to the grave.
Envious people never failed to comment whenever they had a chance that I was a lucky woman. Indeed, I was quite lucky in all fronts of my life.
But as everyone knows, all perfections have their imperfections, whether it’s fully visible or hidden from prying eyes, it’s there, hovering, making one conscious it’s alive and thriving.
My life was fine …
Up until the past decided to give me a vivid reminder of someone I had wanted to forget for a decade yet had never been successful at it.
My parents had once called this “imperfection” a gold-digging bastard without any ambition other than to milk whatever he could from me. For a time, I was swayed by their filthy lies, treating him like the dirt they had described him to be. Mortified though I was, it didn’t stop me from making it known what I believed him to be. For a while, it made me feel satisfied, but as the time went on, my conscience started to waver against my beliefs.
My horrid actions pained him, though he wouldn’t say it out loud because he loved me that much. But shame itself couldn’t hold back from what I felt for him. The shame matched whatever passion I had, loving and hating him at the same time.
My naiveté caused me to believe such lies I knew deep down weren’t true. Realizing how horrific I’d been to him, I halted everything physical because I felt undeserving of his loyalty and love.
Then, one night, tragedy struck and life took him away from me. I was broken, dying with my guilty conscience, and mourning the loss of him. The knife struck so deep I mourned him on a daily basis, even after a decade. There was never a day in which I didn’t think of him.
However, all of this changed when the past haunted me in the form of another man named Craig Chambers.
Chapter 1
Ava
“Allie, must I really go with you tonight?” I moaned my complaint, knowing my best friend wouldn’t let up, even if I told her I had measles.
She was bent on going to this party due to her newfound love interest, and little, ol’ married me, best buddy in the world with her husband across the Atlantic Ocean, would certainly be the perfect tag along person to make sure she wouldn’t shag him before the night ended.
Allie had this two week no sex rule with a new man. I’m not quite sure why she even went to such lengths since she tended to play mind games that would end up with her almost submitting to whomever she was dating at the given moment.
Placing a hand on her hips, she huffed out a sigh. “You have to. It’s not like you have anything better to do. Besides, aren’t you visiting England to spend some time with me?” She raised her brow before opening my closet, rummaging through my dresses with great scrutiny before finally choosing a short, silver, beaded dress. The design was beautifully intricate, and I couldn’t help smiling, knowing that Allie had intentionally found the perfect dress to entice me to come out with her tonight.
“Shall we?” She directed me a sure-fire glance, certain that I wasn’t about to turn her down. As my best friend, Allie definitely knew how to get me to say yes to her antics.
About an hour later, her latest lover named Maurizio, because she liked them exotic, came by to get us with his flashy car before driving us to this jazzy, private, members only bar that had recently opened in Park Lane. It was contemporary designed; sleek and understated, but with a lot of glamour and class. The soft purple/pinkish lighting that subtly illuminated the background gave enough privacy for people who were always in the media. Park Lane bars always lured the powerful and wealthy for its discreet stylishness and subtlety.
In the private booth, Maurizio, Allie, and I were enjoying a bottle of vintage red and whiskey sours when something caught my eye. I supposed it was my ear that caught it first before my eye. It was a very distinct sound. That one of a kind, deep, throaty laugh that went straight to the pit of my stomach, making it drop before I felt like someone punched me. I felt faint and about to have a heart attack all at the same time. I paled as my hands shook.
Setting down my glass as cautiously as I could, my gaze dropped, staring at the beading and stitching of my dress as hard as I could. Thinking, rationalizing, that I was losing my bloody mind.
He is dead, my mind persisted. There was no way he was here, in the same bar as I was. And more importantly, he wasn’t alive. The very idea itself was absurd.
He was dead. He was gone. Yet, that very same throaty laugh made its way into my gut again, making me shiver as if I was cold.
For Heaven’s sake, Ava, snap out of it! I reprimanded myself, loathing that I was still affected by the memory of him even after a decade.
Ten years—ten bloody years of chasing the ghost of him, and tonight was no different. It had happened through the years, but nothing had come as close as this.
Looking ahead to where my gaze landed upon the unknown gentleman’s suited back, the butterflies’ haphazard effect resumed in my insides.
Goodness, how often had I embarrassed myself each time I had these damning spells? I had lost count. It definitely was too many at this point.
“Ava?” Allie questioned, getting my attention as I dragged it away from the man’s beautiful back. Even from afar, I could tell he was going to be just as gorgeous up close and personal. “You’ve been quiet, my love,” she stated offhandedly, but I could detect the worry behind the words. She knew me too well, way too well for my liking, especially tonight.
Shrugging, I took the liberty in grasping ahold of my drink and took a huge sip before giving her a nonchalant smile. The last thing I needed was for her to question me. Then the newfound lover would start asking questions about my long lost, tragic love from once upon a time. No thank you very much.
“I just had a thought is all. Would you two excuse me for a moment? I need to use the loo.”
Maurizio said something in Allie’s ear that made her laugh, easily distracting her from my intentions.
Slowly getting up, my heart jack-hammered against my chest as I took small breaths through my slightly parted mouth, determined to follow through with my instincts. Making a move, I started to pave my way halfway across the room, unwavering from my decision to meet the very man who held that one-of-a-kind laugh which had gotten me into a tizzy.
Without looking back, I gradually strutted towards where he was standing amidst a few women and a handful of men while I straightened the short length of my dress. Nervous though I was, it had been quite some time since I had felt like something had plugged in some electricity to my drained batteries. Revived and alive was what I felt at the moment. It was as if I was goi
ng to get a new revelation. And I knew, the inkling remaining as always, that I would be disappointed after this ordeal was done. It had been ten years, after all. Regardless that disappointment greeted me in the end, I didn’t stop striding forward.
As I inched closer, I pondered over how I was going to approach the situation, meaning the very man himself. Could I simply come up to him, tap him on the shoulder as if I was an acquaintance, and pretend we had met somewhere? It was my go-to strategy, the very same one I used in all of my mild enquiries. I supposed it had never failed me before, so using the same ploy wouldn’t hurt, would it?
Gaining confidence, I stuck to my guns and swallowed whatever pride I had before slowing down my pace when I was a couple of feet away from him. From then on, everything felt amplified, from the sound of my deafening heartbeat to my shallow breathing and the hot and cold feeling that ran all over my body. Everything felt familiar. From the magnetic pull this man had on me to the trancelike way I was captured by him, it was all too familiar. The heady sensation came upon me in waves, drowning me with nostalgia of what I once had.
Boldly tapping the man’s shoulder, I cleared my throat before saying, “Sorry. I couldn’t help but notice you across the room. You seemed very familiar—” I paused as the man spun around and faced me, eyeing me with sparkling, intense, emerald green eyes, eyes that I used to stare at all night long as they showed me unparalleled love and affection. “Reiss—” I gasped, flabbergasted as my mouth hung ajar before I simply lost my mind and reached out to cup his face, staring wildly at him. “It’s you. It’s you, isn’t it?”
Chapter 2
Craig
“Reiss—” She looked gob smacked, seeming erratic as she wildly stared at me. “It’s you. It’s you, isn’t it?” The random woman persisted while I gave her a thorough perusal before I cleared my throat and shook my head, flirtingly smiling at the beautiful woman before me.
“Name’s Craig, but I could be Reiss if you like,” I smoothly provided, knowing well enough that women did this sort of trick to get my attention.
She adamantly shook her head, disbelieving. “No. No. Your face—” she stammered the words out, frantic. “And, and your eyes!” Her gorgeous eyes roved all over my face as they started to water. “How is this possible?” she hissed as her tears welled, brimming to spill over soon. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
All right, this had gone too far because she looked like she was about to have a breakdown. Right here. In the middle of a bar.
“Apologies, but you must’ve mistaken me for someone else. I would truly appreciate it if you’d stop and not cause a scene,” I cautiously warned her, not feeling so jovial any longer.
Tonight, of all nights, I decided to come out, even though everything in me protested that it was best to stay out of the social arena. My gut inkling had never steered me in the wrong direction, but tonight I made an exception because it was Brandon’s, one in my small circle of trusted friends, birthday night. I couldn’t very well say no when he suggested he wanted to go for drinks before adamantly suggesting he wanted to have dinner precisely at midnight and not a minute more. It was thirty past ten and we all had been feeling the pangs of hunger even though he had been severely providing us with inconceivable amounts of strong alcohol.
The beautiful, distraught woman shook her head before gently wiping the wetness on the sides of her eyes, trying to regain some clarity and composure. “What did you same your name was?”
Gritting my jaws, I gazed down onto her delicate face. “Craig Chambers, and if you have any more questions, you can easily Google me.
“Chambers …” she reiterated before looking pale.
“Will that be all, miss? We’d all gladly appreciate it if we could get back to our conversation.” My crude, dismissive approach caused hurt to appear in her eyes, as if I had just slapped her.
“Of course,” she apologetically whispered, still looking dazed. “Forgive me.” She stared into my eyes before apologizing towards my companions. “Have a lovely evening. Again, I’m sorry.” She made a tight smile before hastily wiping her face and rushing towards the exit, looking distraught and out of sorts.
Staring after her, I took a moment to clear my head before I heard Brandon’s voice break through my train of thought. “If you don’t plan on going after that poor, gorgeous woman, I will. She certainly looked beyond distraught to be out there on her own right now.” He didn’t need to warn me again before I found myself taking the same route as she had, following her out the door.
The second I stepped foot outside, I reprimanded myself for being so thoughtless. What this woman was going through was seriously none of my business, but all of my doubts vanished when I saw her aimlessly walking with her head bent low, arms wrapped around her as she tried to cross the busy street.
Rushing towards her, I yanked quite roughly as I held a tight grip on her elbow. She gave me a perplexed look just as I reprimanded her for not being watchful. “Didn’t your parents teach you to use pedestrians as a child?” Gritting out the words, I made sure we crossed the road safely before gazing at her forlorn face.
She made a melancholy sigh before gazing directly into my eyes. In the dimness of the night, her beauty was only heightened. “They didn’t,” she answered. “My parents were busy making sure I was going to be a polished and suitable wife when I grew up.” Something changed in her eyes before she gestured to cup my face again with her soft hand, gawking at me with fascination and wonder. “You look just like him. I mean, apart from the slashing scar on your brow …” she trailed off, eyes wandering across my facial features. “You could’ve been his twin.”
“You must be quite saddened to have such a strong reaction to a man who resembles someone who was close to you.”
She seemed teary before she made a cruel, dry laugh. “I was young … and I hadn’t known better then. I suppose you could say he is one of my biggest regrets in life. It’s difficult to live with such guilt and burden even after all these years.”
I made a curt nod, understanding where she was coming from. “We all have our fair share of guilt, any human being does.” Not wanting a full-on heart to heart discussion with her, I immediately changed the subject. “How about I hail you a cab so you can go home and rest? A good rest might do wonders, or so they say.”
“Home is New York. I’m just visiting the Motherland to be with friends and family.”
It might’ve been the light teasing that provoked her to smile, but fuck, what a blinding smile it was. I felt my breathing halt just a tad.
Clearing my throat, I made a courteous nod. “Right. Of course. Then we’d have the cab take you to your destination. Wherever that is.”
“That would be lovely … Craig.” She seemed reluctant to say my name, although a faint blush appeared after she did.
There was an air of mystery about her that triggered something within. It felt as if it was compelling me to do something spontaneous, something drastic, and I knew I simply couldn’t chance it. Never again.
Hailing a cab wasn’t a hardship; in no matter of time, a licensed, black cab parked about a foot away, waiting with his blinkers on.
“I suppose this is goodbye …”
“Ava,” she hastily said. “My name is Ava.”
A smirk crossed my lips before giving her a final look. “Have a restful night, Ava. And do try to stay out of trouble for the rest of your stay.”
“You, too …” She gazed up, breathless and seeming reluctant to leave. “Goodnight.”
I wasn’t sure if she was hoping to exchange numbers or if she needed me to give her a hug, but I wasn’t readily giving her either. There was no need to ignite the ghost she was chasing. Therefore, I pressed my lips together instead, hoping she’d get the cue that she was prolonging the inevitable. After a minute of silence, she finally did, much to my relief. She made a final wave of goodbye, opened the cab door, stepped into it, and gave me one last glance that could be interpreted in so many way
s before the cab whisked her away.
I stayed awhile, rooted to the spot where she’d left me, still deep in thought. A twin she had said, I thought with derision before a dark, cruel laugh emerged from me.
My life definitely hadn’t started out easy. Now and again, it still drove a hard bargain. Such as when it attempted to force me into forgiving people who had wronged me …
The word forgiveness certainly wasn’t part of my dictionary.
Chapter 3
Ava
It had been over an hour since I’d arrived back at the hotel. Still, I sat ramrod straight on the luxurious sofa, staring into oblivion. The driver, bless his heart, had seemed kind enough to give me a minute or ten as he patiently waited for me to gather my bearings before exiting his vehicle. In return, I paid him an extra hundred quid as a tip. Had tonight really happened? It kept circling my brain, making me wonder how on earth I would manage to move forth from what had occurred tonight.
Moreover, my mind kept coming back to the mystery man named Craig Chambers.
Same last name. Same face.
What were the odds, really?
Heck the chances were slim, yet fate had guided me to face the ghost of my demons. Everything about Craig—apart from that tiny scarred spot on his brow—was utterly alike to my fallen beloved. There was only a subtle difference to the smooth face that I remembered so well from a decade ago. Had he been alive, I was convinced Reiss would appear just as Craig did with that slight scruff and a confident persona accompanied by an easy smile that made his one dimple appear on his left cheek.
Even that one, tiny, insignificant detail …
Craig had possessed one, too.
However, since Reiss was dead, my mind furthered with theories and such. Surely, they could somehow be related. It could be his long lost, distant cousin. I was convinced Reiss’s familial gene pool could produce another man almost identical to him. It was merely a twisted, freakish accident that I had spotted him tonight.
