by Mika Jolie
THE SCALE
Martha’s Way Book 1
Mika Jolie
Sensual Romance
Secret Cravings Publishing
www.secretcravingspublishing.com
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A Secret Cravings Publishing Book
Erotic Romance
The Scale
Copyright © 2014 Mika Jolie
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63105-249-1
First E-book Publication: July 2014
Cover design by Dawné Dominique
Edited by Theresa Stillwagon
Proofread by Laurie White
All cover art and logo copyright © 2014 by Secret Cravings Publishing
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Secret Cravings Publishing
www.secretcravingspublishing.com
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my parents:
Ermithe & Fritz Vaval.
Thank you for introducing me to books at such a young age.
A note of thanks to fellow writers I’ve befriended along the way and all who have helped to make this dream of mine possible.
Marie Lavender
Michael Mizeski
Bonnie Messinger
Ann Creel
Sylvia Cherilien
Gracia R. Montilus
The wonderful staff of Secret Cravings Publishing.
A special thank you to my husband and our happy chaos.
Anyone else , I may have missed. Fear not, there are more books to come.
Love you all!!!
The Cravings Ebook Club
The Cravings Paranormal Ebook Club
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As a new member, you will receive Trouble With a Cowboy* by Sandy Sullivan and Blood Kisses** by H.N. Sieverding FREE, just for joining!
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*Trouble With a Cowboy, a western, erotic romance:
18 wheels had her heart until one hard-up cowboy found her kickin' up her heels and propositions her to take his bull to Vegas.
Jacie Hawkins drives big wheelers for a livin'. Something not a lot of women do. Littleton Oklahoma is just a dry stopover for a few hours of rest and relaxation at the nearest bar. Jacie needs to find a hot cowboy to release some of her pent up frustrations on for the night, but wannabe's aren't her style.
Tucker Marshall needs a big-rig driver to haul his prize bull to National Finals Rodeo and he needs one fast. Who would have thought he'd find one shootin' pool at the local bar dressed to kill and takin' numbers?
Can some slashed tires and an ornery bull bring two hard-headed people together for some fun in the sun and a little more?
**Blood Kisses (Nightwalkers 1), paranormal erotic romance:
Ashleigh Brown, the author of the popular Nightwalkers series, lives a quiet life free of the limelight. She keeps her real identity secret by writing under the pen name, Victoria Allure. She soon finds herself in a bind when she's kidnapped by a group of handsome vampires seeking Victoria. She then agrees to meet their Master, who's a huge fan of her books. But instead of meeting him, she accidentally crosses paths with her rock star crush. He is the sexy muse behind Nightwalkers and the man she based the hero in the series upon. She would do anything to meet him but little does she know her crush has a secret...
We will try to match your books to your preferences, however, if you’re a major paranormal fan, we suggest you join the Cravings Paranormal Club. Everything is the same except that three of your four books will be paranormal. The remaining book will be of a different genre.
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Best wishes,
Beth Walker
THE SCALE
Martha’s Way Book 1
Mika Jolie
Copyright © 2014
Chapter One
“Anything you build on a large scale or with intense passion invites chaos.”
Francis Ford Coppola
Minka blinked, forcing her eyes to adjust to the bright rays of sun piercing into her bedroom. The sheer white curtains danced in the room to the soft morning breeze penetrating the open windows. It was a perfect June day on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. The coolness of spring still lingered in the air while the warm, hazy days of summer lurked in the atmosphere. How she wished the sky was dark and gloomy; at least it would reflect her mood. Instead, the sun gleamed through the window onto her face, taunting and laughing at her.
Absently, she reached over to the nightstand and focused on the personalized wedding invitation beautifully printed on delicate, cream-colored Kraft paper. The words in blue-green colors of the ocean stared back at her.
Keely and Blake
Joyfully request the pleasure of your company
As we gather our closest friends and family to witness our vows and celebrate our love with a relaxed weekend of feasting and sunbathing on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.
The problem was Minka was on the island for two weeks. A long weekend
she could have handled—for the most part. Either way, she was screwed. But fourteen days living and breathing her twin sister marrying Blake Alexander was going to be a slow death sentence.
And today was one of those days she wished she was a little girl and could climb into her mother’s lap and cry until the hurt disappeared. She let out an exasperated sigh because at the moment she couldn’t remember the last time she’d shared one of those mother-daughter moments with her mom. No, even those intimate moments were left for Keely.
Groaning, she placed the card back on the nightstand. Last night she’d cried a lot because of the wedding. There was a time she used to laugh with Blake, and now she was heartbroken because of him. The hardest thing she’d have to do in the next two weeks was to let go of someone who’d never belonged to her in the first place.
The thought left Minka emotionally done, mentally drained, but physically she needed to smile. She pulled the covers away and forced herself out of the comfort of the bed. “Put on your big girl panties,” she muttered, knowing she could no longer avoid the events ahead. Her head pulsated with pain. Grimacing, she massaged her temples, trying to ease the throbbing sensation as she stumbled into the bathroom to turn on the shower, regretting the amount of wine she’d consumed the previous night. A Do Over button would come in handy right about now because, as much as she would like to deny this little fact, she was hung over and her waistline felt more enlarged than usual.
Great! Of all days to feel bloated, today wasn’t the day. In a few hours, she had to endure her twin sister’s engagement party. The prettier version of me. Minka grimaced, accepting she hadn’t achieved her lose-two-pounds-a-week goal. Leaning on the makeup counter, she studied her reflection in the mirror; swollen, shadowy eyes stared back at her. She sighed in defeat. On a good day she would not consider makeup to be a friend, and today she would need to rely on concealer to hide those dark circles under her eyes.
For a while, Minka stared at her reflection until a small, thin, rectangular-shaped, slick metal device on the floor caught her attention. A knot twisted in her stomach as she turned to face the scale sitting loftily on her bathroom’s navy and white-checkered tiles.
Well, there goes your effort to look trim and sexy. Her nemesis mocked her efforts to trim down her curvy figure, tempting her to prove it wrong—she did have willpower and had met her goal for the week.
Except at that instant, the acid chose to flare inside her esophagus, a reminder of one too many slices of pizza along with the wine she had consumed.
Dejected, Minka turned away from the uninvited monster and wished she could smash it down the garbage disposal. Any opportunity to listen to its metallic death throes was sure to bring her great pleasure. But that thought was not enough to boost her mood as she entered the shower, wishing she was playing Monopoly and miraculously landed on the Go Straight to Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect Two Hundred Dollars card. Anything that could make her vanish for the day.
* * * *
Don’t look at them! Don’t look at them!
But Minka’s gaze deviated from its direct course and wandered to Keely’s glowing smile. Her twin sister looked radiant and overjoyed. Her laughter floated in the room like a melody, causing Minka’s throbbing headache to surge to new heights of discomfort.
Well aware that no one had even detected her presence, Minka studied her sister a little longer than usual as Keely interacted with a woman holding her hand and admiring the beautiful diamond on her ring finger. On a typical day, she always made a conscious effort not to stare too much, which would make people wonder. But like everyone, she couldn’t help but look and today was no different.
If possible, Keely looked more beautiful than ever, wearing a form-fitting sapphire dress that hugged her like a glove, a dress she no doubt had designed herself. Her sister was breathtaking for her engagement party.
Minka’s eyes shifted to the reason for her sister’s happiness.
Blake Howard Alexander.
Her misery. Just the sight of him caused a tightness in her chest.
Yet, he was indeed perfect for her sister. Standing well over six feet tall with broad shoulders and a smooth caramel complexion, Blake was physically flawless. He still possessed the tight, taut muscles of a college athlete, so in opposition to Keely’s delicate stature.
But his physical attributes weren’t the only thing she loved about him. He also possessed intelligence, had graduated cum laude from Yale Law School, and was in line for partnership at a prestigious law firm in Philadelphia. He was financially secure and on a professional upswing. Not that her sister needed his money. Keely was equally successful as a fashion designer.
Minka also admired his sense of humor, his desire to help those in need and his versatility. Blake was the only man she knew, aside from her father, who had the ability to hold a stimulating conversation about anything, regardless how trivial the topic.
With one arm around her sister’s tiny waist, he leaned over to place a kiss on her lips before whispering something in her ear. As he did so, he ran the back of his hand affectionately over her naked arm, causing her to chuckle. Whatever words he whispered made her sister blush. Minka watched Keely lift her delicate hand to touch Blake’s face. The three-and-a-half carat diamond caught the light and sparkled in the dimly lit room.
Tonight everyone gathered in the large dining room. Minka had to give credit to the inn’s owner for the understated, elegant décor. The buttery yellow ribbons holding back white filmy drapes provided a touch of her sister’s favorite color. The room was dimly illuminated with several blue hourglass candle jars lined up on each table. The floating movement of the flames reflected against the jars projected a hue of amber while filling the room with a tropical fusion of mango and coconut. Cheerful conversation and Sade’s sensuous voice playing in the background completed the invigorating atmosphere, capturing the essence of the couple.
Martha’s Way, one of the most prestigious hotels in The Vineyard, the location for the engagement party and wedding in two weeks, was known for its quiet elegance. The inn was owned and operated by Blake’s longtime friend Jason Montgomery, who had put a lot of effort toward making sure the couple’s night was perfect.
She scanned the room for the host; they had not met but she had seen pictures of him together with Blake and a few more friends on the island. There were four of them to be exact from what she recalled, all handsome and carefree, but she remembered Jason’s features the most. His eyes—if she closed hers she could see them—icy and clouded blue. The last picture she saw of him, his stare had been distant and cold. The image made her shudder.
He had not arrived yet.
She spotted Blake’s other close friends. The dark-haired Italian and the easy-going doctor. Both men were now engaged in a conversation with her sister. A familiarity existed between them; an indication Keely was well accepted and loved. Claire, Keely’s best friend, was due to arrive in a couple of days.
Blake walked over to join the group. He put his arm around her sister and showed off her ring to his friends, their love apparent, forcing Minka to realize her time had passed, if she ever had a chance.
The image burned her mind’s eye, a reminder Blake had managed to move even farther away from her grasp. She needed to stop reaching, hoping for the impossible.
He had chosen Keely.
He had chosen the beautiful twin.
An intense wave of rejection swept over Minka as her mind raced with ideas, questions.
Would he have wanted her had she been thinner with a tinier waist, longer legs, had she been more cheerful and possessed a savvy sense of couture?
Perhaps she could have done more to gain his attention.
Perhaps she could have done less, such as not introducing them to each other.
Or was it that she needed to do anything, everything in her power to make him notice her as a woman?
Because now, the reality was Blake and Keely were no longer parts of her life
that she could continue to hope would change. They were taking the first step toward permanence.
When they had first started dating, Minka refused to believe the possibility of her sister and her best friend as a couple. From their first encounter, the connection between Blake and Keely was undeniable. The moment their eyes met, the attraction was so strong Minka felt an immediate sense of loss. Never in her life had she seen Blake, her friend, the cool, aloof superstar athlete on campus, so taken in by someone.
As their relationship progressed, Minka waited for something to change. She hoped their attraction was just a phase, a short chapter in their lives upon which they would all look back fondly. She waited for them to snap out of it, to see they didn’t work—that they couldn’t work and eventually go their separate ways. But one date turned into two, then a third and before Minka knew it, they were spending long weekends together—romantic getaways, her sister had gleefully referred to them. Those morphed into an enduring living arrangement that culminated in today’s festivities.
Minka could no longer deny the obvious: Blake Howard Alexander, her closest friend in college, the man she had secretly loved her entire adult life, would never fall in love with her.
To block the festivity out of her brain and to digest the overwhelming hurt that weighed heavily on her heart, Minka turned her attention to the meal of gingered salmon with grilled corn and watercress salad.
She eventually needed to do what every good twin sister should do. Go to the happy couple, have a happy conversation with them. Ask all the right questions about their upcoming nuptials. Tell them how perfectly suited they were. Ask Keely about wedding dress ideas, her bridal party. But for the moment, Minka was still trying to digest that information herself. For this reason, she remained seated at the empty table and glanced at the slim gold watch on her wrist.
