A Rose for the Billionaire
Betting On You Series
Book Six
by
Jeannette Winters
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Doug Atwood is determined to help his fellow servicemen cope with PTSD so they can return to a normal life and their loving families. The one thing he never had.
Rose Davis wants to be respected as a woman with her own hopes and dreams. She is a trusted, capable, registered nurse in a busy emergency room. No one ever questioned her judgement, except her family.
Rose’s family intrudes once again in her personal life by setting her up with Doug, her brother’s friend. This time she decides to play along and beat them at their own game.
One innocent kiss changes all the rules and ups the stakes. Will their passion crumble the walls they’ve built around their hearts or will their own demons consume them?
Copyright
Kindle Edition
An original work of Jeannette Winters, 2017.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, events, business establishments or locales is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my dear friend Rosa Laroche. I don’t know what I would’ve done without your call each day to encourage/push me to write this story. I hope you had as much fun as I did.
Karen Lawson, Janet Hitchcock, E.L. King and Marion Arche, my editors you are all amazing!
Thank you Melissa Pinet for a beautiful book cover. www.mldgraphics.com
To my readers who continue to inspire me with endless messages and kind words. Always make time for romance.
Hate to say goodbye to your favorite characters? The perfect solution is a Synchronized Series! One world. Three authors. Character cross-over. Triple the amount of books. Binge reading at it’s best.
Each author’s books are full stories you can enjoy individually! But putting them all together weaves an even more pleasurable reading experience.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
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
Other Books By Jeannette Winters
Chapter One
“I’m not showing up for a wedding that I’m not invited to. It’s a time for family and friends, and I’m neither,” Doug Atwood said, and then heard Beckett mutter profanities under his breath.
“KJ needs you,” Beckett Davis’s voice boomed through the phone.
“I can only help those who want it. I think what she’s going through is stress about her upcoming wedding in a few days and nothing more.”
Doug wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince Beckett or himself. KJ wasn’t his friend, but she was a fellow Marine, and that was an indisputable bond. That didn’t give him the right to force his way into her personal life and ask questions she might not be ready to answer. Especially on her wedding day. Although he did have concerns. KJ had been on his mind since their last meeting a month ago. They’d met at a baby shower for Beckett and Danielle. As a single man, it wasn’t a place he wanted to be, but KJ seemed to want out of there even more than he did. When he saw her outside alone, he followed her. It didn’t take long before the topic turned to the Corps. That’s when KJ confided she was having reoccurring nightmares. She said she saw herself back overseas treating the wounded. Every person she tried to save had the same face—Drew’s. He offered to counsel her, but she refused. She said the nightmares were less frequent, but when she did have them, they shook her to her core.
With her wedding to Drew Navarro fast approaching, he was concerned her past war experiences might be interfering with her future. He’d seen it too often, fellow servicemen afraid of being happy. Not believing they were entitled to happiness. They held on to the pain, kept it close. If there were other stressors involved, like planning a wedding, it wasn’t unusual for memories of horrific events to be triggered. KJ should be a little more settled after the wedding.
“Doug, I’m telling you, this isn’t cold feet.”
He could hear the concern in Beckett’s voice. It was always easier to spot the damage in someone else rather than see your own. Beckett wasn’t facing his own demons. It was possible Beckett was redirecting his emotional state onto KJ. Since getting married to Danielle, Beckett’s struggle with PTSD seemed to be held in check, but Doug knew those invisible scars never healed fully. Add the constant reminder of a missing leg, and it becomes nearly impossible to forget. This easily could be all about you, Beckett.
Unless he was there to observe them both, he wouldn’t know. Yet, he couldn’t just show up at her wedding uninvited. It’d be so obvious why he was there. If she were in distress, thinking her friends were seeking help for her behind her back might only enhance it. If he was going to do anything, he needed to be extremely cautious.
“Has KJ spoken to you about it or asked you to contact me?”
“No, but Drew looks like shit. I asked him what was wrong, and he said KJ wasn’t sleeping well.”
“That’s all you’ve got? Drew saying his fiancée isn’t able to sleep a few days before her wedding?” The sarcasm in his tone wasn’t completely intentional. Beckett wasn’t giving him anything to go on.
“You know me, Doug. I wouldn’t have called if I didn’t think you needed to be here. Besides, I’m inviting you.”
“To a wedding that isn’t yours?” Beckett’s lost his mind.
“Yep, and you even have a date.”
Doug didn’t have anything to go on, nor did he take anything Beckett said lightly. The entire conversation troubled him; if it hadn’t he would tell Beckett what he could do with his so-called date. He had so much on his plate right now that a date was the last thing he needed.
“KJ won’t appreciate you inviting one, never mind two additional people.” Doug didn’t have any siblings, but he knew enough about women to know to tread carefully around certain things. A wedding was on the top of that list.
“Don’t worry about it. Your date is on the guest list, and you just became her plus-one.”
“My date? Who is this mysterious woman?” Up until the time Beckett met Danielle, his choice of women left a lot to be desired. Yes, they were sexy as hell, but without an ounce of intelligence. It wasn’t that Doug didn’t appreciate beauty, but barely skin-deep wasn’t his style. What the fuck am I thinking? Bachelor is my style.
“You remember my kid sister, Rose?”
Not one easily forgotten. She matches her name, a delicate rose. “Vaguely. Why?”
“She’s been dating this guy, and let’s just say the guy has rubbed me the wrong way.”
“Rose isn’t a child, Beckett. You can’t tell her who to date.” Rose is truly beautiful, and if she were a little older, hell, it’d be me Beckett would be warning off.
“Believe what you want, but I’m telling you, there is something about this guy. So I made sure he was not on the guest list.”
Doug shook his head. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Big, bad Beckett had stooped so low as to manipulate his sister’s relationships. “Don’t you have enough going on with Danielle ready to deliver any time?”
“Listen. We’re having a girl. All I can think about is if that creep was hanging around my daughter I’d—”
“I get it. You don’t like the guy. What’s his issue? Drugs? Criminal record?”
“Don’t know. Only met him once. That was enough for me.”
Doug was happy to be off the subject of KJ, yet talking about Rose’s love life wasn’t much better. When he’d first met her at Beckett and Danielle’s wedding, she’d caught his eye. She didn’t look like her brother at all. Actually she looked like an angel, and that was exactly what he called her when he first asked her to dance. Normally, he wouldn’t step foot on a dance floor, yet he hadn’t wanted to let her go. Once he found out his angel was Beckett’s kid sister, it became hands off. You don’t mix business with pleasure, and you sure as hell don’t sleep with your friend’s sister. No matter how tempting it is.
Even though she was off-limits to him, it didn’t mean he liked hearing about her with some shady guy. This isn’t typical Beckett behavior. What’s really going on?
Doug was damn good at reading what people weren’t saying. Over the phone, it was more challenging, yet not impossible. However, it was especially difficult when it came to a person like Beckett, who’d been trained to contain his true emotions. That ability was one of the things that made him an excellent leader in the Corps, but made it difficult to decipher what was going on personally. If they hadn’t been friends for almost fifteen years, Doug might not have noticed.
Beckett’s brother Trent was usually the overprotective, controlling bastard. Beckett normally rationalized things and thought clearer, then typically based decisions on facts. Something more was going on in Beckett’s life, and Doug couldn’t identify what it was. Could it be the stress of the baby on the way? Or was it truly as simple as he didn’t like Rose’s boyfriend? If it was the latter, he didn’t want to get involved in any sibling issues. If they didn’t like the guy, he was sure they could make him go away. The Davis men were an outspoken group and didn’t need any help from him. “What does any of this have to do with me?”
“You’re her date.”
“Rose?”
“I want someone I can trust. Besides, you’re not her type at all. It’s perfect. You can keep an eye on Rose, and at the same time try to get a feel for what’s going on with KJ.”
Gee, thanks for the jab to the ego. It should please him to know Rose wasn’t interested in him. She was his friend’s kid sister, and he wasn’t the man she needed in her life. He’d just turned thirty-eight, and if he was correct, she was only twenty-seven. He’d be the first to admit age was just a number, but they also had nothing in common. Outside of sexual attraction. She was outspoken and full of life. He had no idea what her likes or dislikes were, but he could guess she didn’t sit home with a good book on a Friday night. Someone as stunning as she was had no reason to be sitting at home.
“I’m not doing it.”
“Doug, trust me; she’s not going to make it through this wedding without you.”
Calling Beckett’s bluff wasn’t an option. If KJ needed him, she would’ve called. If Drew thought she needed him, he would’ve called. Beckett’s call seemed more like a cry for help for himself. The problem was, it didn’t matter which one needed him. Doug had made a commitment to help as many Marines as he could. Never before had he turned away anyone’s cry for help. If there was a chance, even a slim one, that KJ or Beckett needed him, Doug had to go. He’d never forgive himself if he lost anyone else. Was it that desperate? Was Beckett that worried?
“I’ll be there,” he said reluctantly.
“Great. I’ll have Gunny pick you up in the seaplane.”
“I’ve got his number. I’ll see you on the island in two days.” There were things Doug needed to take care of first.
“Roger that.”
Doug tossed his cell phone on the coffee table and headed for the room service cart that had brought dinner earlier. The steak was still untouched. He wasn’t in the mood to eat. Drinking seemed more in order.
He grabbed the bottle of whiskey and a small lead crystal glass. Pouring himself a large helping, he downed the contents. It burned like hell going down, but he didn’t care. It had been a day from hell, and right now he wanted to stop thinking. He poured himself a second drink and headed back to the couch. This time he lay down. It had been days since he’d gotten a good night’s sleep. It was easy for him to listen to others, sort out their problems, and help them overcome obstacles. It was his job. But resolving his own issues? Not as easy.
He grabbed the paper off the table and read the first line again. “Dear Mr. Atwood, We regret to inform you that your father, Earl LaPrade, has died.”
Not even a phone call. You knew where to find me but couldn’t be bothered to deliver the message in person. Instead, he received a certified letter from some lawyer named Handa this morning that contained no details at all. Had his father been in an accident or fallen ill, and no one reached out to him before it was too late? We weren’t close, but fuck, I’d have gone and seen him if I’d known.
Doug had called the lawyer as soon as he’d received the letter, but his secretary said he was in court and unreachable all day. He hadn’t been close to his father. His parents never married and their relationship had been hostile. His mother said it never became physical, but his parents couldn’t be in the same room without yelling at each other. The fight was always the same. His mother complaining that Earl wasn’t involved in Doug’s life enough. Earl’s answer was to come by even less often and increase his monetary support. There were years he only saw his father once.
When Doug turned twenty, he reached out to Earl, thinking their relationship would be different. It wasn’t. He’d say he’d show up and then was a no-call, no-show. He hated to admit his mother had been right. Earl loved one thing—money—and the older the man got, the more singular his focus seemed.
When his mother was alive, she always said Doug and Earl were as different as father and son could be. Earl was all business, nothing more. Doug couldn’t remember seeing him in anything but an expensive suit no matter the occasion, not that he’d seen him often. Doug had been a jeans and T-shirt guy all the way since he retired from the Marine Corps.
For all practical purposes, Doug didn’t have a father. All his life he felt like the bastard son of a man who’d never wanted children. Outside of this damn lawyer, I’m not sure anyone even knows Earl was a father. Never once had Earl publicly or privately claimed him as his own. Not even on my birth certificate. How fucked up is that?
Doug didn’t hate the man; hell, he’d never really known him. Earl had done the bare minimum in person. He sent support to his mother regularly, and gifts on Doug’s birthdays and holidays, so Earl wasn’t a total deadbeat. Since the gifts were exactly what he’d wanted, Doug assumed that his mother had purchased them and put his father’s name on them. There was no way that man knew enough about him to know his likes or dislikes.
Something inside him always hoped one day they could have some type of relationship. Now it was too late. The one parent he’d had was now gone too.
Earl’s lawyer wanted to meet first thing tomorrow morning. Why? He’s dead. Whatever Dad had to say shoul
d’ve been said when he was alive. If Earl had spoken up at any time, he would be back in San Antonio in his own bed right now instead of some fancy hotel in New York City. This was Earl’s style, not his.
There’d been one time when Doug thought his father wanted him in his life. Earl had gotten married two years ago, and Doug actually received an invitation to the wedding. Sad thing was, it was as a guest, not as his son. Earl had taken him around the room and introduced him to many influential people, but only as a decorated hero in the Marines. He’d questioned his father why he wanted him there, and Earl had said, “Someday you’ll understand.” He couldn’t figure it out then, and he still had no idea what he’d meant. They seemed to be a group of people Doug wouldn’t associate himself with willingly. It was just another thing added to a long list of questionable choices his father made.
Nothing at that wedding was normal, not even the bride. Earl married a woman named Candi who was in her mid-twenties. Although Doug only met her that one day, it had been more than enough time. She was the true definition of a trophy wife yet from what Doug could tell, the girl had the IQ of a pigeon. There was no doubt what she saw in his father. His money. If he had the slightest doubt of it when they’d been introduced, it ended quickly. Candi had way too much to drink. Doug watched as she made her way from one man to another, always hanging all over them. That type of woman made him sick, and knowing his father had just married her sickened him even more. Even though Candi didn’t know he was Earl’s son, somehow Doug didn’t think it would’ve mattered. She eventually made her way over to him, grabbing his ass and rubbing herself all over him as she slipped him her phone number.
If he’d cared at all what his father did, he would’ve said something to Earl at that moment. But why bother? His father had never sought his opinion before, so he shut his mouth and walked out of the wedding reception. His father reached out a few times after that, but Doug didn’t return the calls. Then the communication ceased entirely. It was clear. His father had his life, and Doug had his own. Neither of them needed the other. The last of my blood family is gone. I hate that we didn’t have a relationship. I’m not sure how to mourn your loss. His lack of emotion or mixed feelings left him feeling melancholy. Not a feeling he allowed himself.
A Rose For The Billionaire: Betting On You Series: Book Six Page 1
